-Three: The Man Whom She Really Loved-

Tifa had been wondering why sometimes, the four would usually just be silent and would refuse to speak. Mostly, she would be the one talking…

They would be asking her some questions and she would answer, but whenever she starts asking them questions, they would either answer with a very vague group of ambiguous sentences put together or simply smile at her.

"This is so unfair. I try to answer their questions as honestly as possible, but they're really confusing me…" she thought silently as she lay in bed that night.

She also noticed that three of them would almost always have dull expressions in their eyes… Red, Crecia and Eris. In Eris's case, she would always be smiling, but there is still a certain sadness seen within her green eyes… like she had lost a very important love of her life.

Same with Crecia. Sometimes, Tifa would catch her looking outside the window and gazing blankly into empty space with a sad look on her face.

Seth was the one with a quite pleased look in his eyes; while Red's blue eyes would almost always seem to avoid Tifa's gaze whenever she would look at him.

Tifa sighed heavily, but she was surprised when Crecia suddenly spoke up. "You're still awake?"

Tifa hesitated for a while, knowing that it's late and she should be asleep already… but she replied anyway, "Yes. I can't sleep." She said as she sat up, realizing that Crecia was standing by the window and looking up at the stars. "Anything wrong, Crecia?" she asked.

The woman just leaned against the window pane.

Tifa got out of bed and approached her, careful not to wake up Eris. The moment she reached Crecia, the woman spoke up with a solemn tone. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Tifa was surprised by the question. "Uh… yeah." She said simply.

Crecia looked down with a sad look on her face. Tifa forced a smile at her, "You really look so young. I can't believe that you have a son like Seth… How old are you anyway?" she asked.

"59." The woman replied simply.

Tifa's eyes widened in disbelief as she thought, silently, "She's like Vincent… they both look so young… and she's even his age…"

"What about you? How old are you?" Crecia asked.

"22," Tifa replied.

"You're Red's age." Crecia pointed out.

Tifa frowned slightly. "Like I care…" she thought silently before changing the subject, "Where's your husband?" she asked.

Crecia frowned. "I don't have a husband." She said.

Tifa swallowed hard. "I see…" she said simply.

"Seth's father is a big bastard. He used the two of us selfishly for his experiments." Crecia explained.

"Experiments?" Tifa asked in disbelief.

"He was a scientist… but anyway, I think it was entirely my fault because I let him use me and my son. I was so crazy back then… so young and so naïve… I didn't know what I was doing. I did not even realize that I've hurt the feelings of the one whom I had truly loved back then…" she explained with a sad look on her face. She has a sad smile as she kept her eyes fixed on her own hands, looking at them and caressing them gently. "How come whenever you realize how much you love someone, it's already too late?" she asked.

Tifa looked up at the stars. She did not know whether she could relate to what Crecia is saying, but she just thought of it as another message to keep in her mind so that if ever it would happen to her, she would be aware of it already. "Life is just like that. It's cruel." Tifa simply told her.

Crecia looked up at the stars again, "Or maybe it's us humans that make it seem cruel because of the little things that we do to make ourselves suffer…" she thought out loud with tears in her eyes.

Tifa turned back to Crecia with a gentle smile on her face. "About this other man you really loved… who is he?" she asked gently.

Crecia thought for a while before replying, "I wish he was Seth's father… then Seth and I wouldn't be where we are right now." Tears fell from her eyes. She turned to Tifa. "He has the most beautiful crimson eyes I've ever seen… they're almost like blood if you stare at them for too long. And his hands… they're too gentle whenever they used to hold me. When he speaks, he sounds so true and poetic… his words seem to flow like a steady stream. We used to work together in this company… but unlike him, I was also a scientist." She explained with a dreamy look on her face.

Tifa was trying to imagine how he would look and act like. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "The only person I know with red eyes is my friend Vincent." She told Crecia.

Crecia's eyes widened upon hearing the name. She instantly got Tifa's hand and squeezed it. "Wha…what? His name is what?" she asked.

"V…Vincent," Tifa replied uneasily. She suddenly felt nervous.

Crecia's tears fell. "That's… that's my beloved's name…" she admitted with a trembling voice.

Unknown to them, Eris was awake and listening although she appears to be sleeping soundly on the bed. She smiled softly as she thought silently, "At last… you have found him…"

Crecia had this desperate look in her eyes as she held Tifa's arms. "Vincent?" she asked with a sad smile on her face.

Tifa smiled weakly. "I… uh… yeah… Vincent Valentine." She replied uneasily.

Crecia's mouth dropped open as she gasped and more tears fell from her eyes. She slowly let go of Tifa and started chuckling lightly, not caring if Tifa might be already thinking that she's insane. Crecia wiped her tears away and smiled happily at Tifa, but tears still continued to stream down from her eyes. "Oh my God… Tifa… I can't believe it… you know him… I'm so happy!" she embraced Tifa happily.

Tifa raised her eyebrow, feeling so confused. "I… I don't understand…" she stammered.

Crecia let go of her and clasped her hands together. "Tell me… where is he? Is he still here? I need to see him… I have to see him…" she said frantically.

Tifa patted her shoulders. "Okay, okay, calm down… I'll tell you where he is… he's in the ShinRa Mansion in Nibelheim. Wh…why? What do you want with him?" she asked.

Crecia just smiled calmly at Tifa before she gave the girl a kiss on the cheek and the stroked her hair gently. "Bless you, child." She whispered softly before walking out of the room with a pleased smile on her face. Tifa was stunned. "Is she insane?" she thought silently.

Everything was really confusing her even as she fell asleep already…

To her surprise, the next day, Red and Eris told her that Seth and Crecia were gone.