Chapter 1: The Way It Was
Some people would have just died. Many would have just cried. Others wouldn't know
what to do. To lose someone you loved twice, not just once. To know that the person that they
love, who they've lost twice, is actually out there somewhere, and not dead at all. To know, that
they just don't exist. They're just not there.
She looked straight ahead, not focusing on one thing in particular, not noticing the smell
of the sea, or the flocking of seagulls, or the sound of the waves crashing on the sand below. She
wasn't focusing on the glowing horizon, or the beautiful sunset. As the sun faded, she didn't
focus on the stars, or the moon, or the howling of the wind. She just looked straight ahead,
expressionless.
Her eyes finally left the area that she had stared at for so long, and now focused on a new
area. She hugged herself, and rocked in the wind, not even noticing the cold feeling it left on her
arms.
Thoughts spewed into her head, but she didn't acknowledge any of them. A song was
then hummed, coming from her closed lips. The hymn was soft, and rather sorrowful. It was a
recognizable hymn, being one that she had heard over and over in her life. A hymn she hadn't
heard for years.
His hymn. The hymn that stopped as soon as he did. She smiled at the thought, and the
hymn stopped. Was she losing it? Was she completely crazy? Was she insane? She was. She
smiled again, thinking to herself about was craziness was as she rocked back and forth.
She had lost him. She was crazily in love with him, insanely in love. Again, a smile
appeared on her lips. This one didn't disappear as soon as it formed like the others had,
however. This one stayed.
She focused ahead again, still smiling. She was insane. She had lost it. She was crazy.
The smile disappeared. Not only that, but she was sad. Terribly sad. As well as terribly lonely.
She allowed the days to flicker by, an entire year had slipped by faster than a dream. Her
thoughts turned bitter at the thought of dreams, and soft tears fell from her eyes.
"I didn't know sadness then," flashed through her mind, and she sat there, two tears
streaming slowly down her cheek and her mouth slightly agape.
No one knew that she came here. She came here every night, at the sunset. Everybody
thought she was sound asleep in her bed. Everyone thought she was a happy person, a person
who had learned to forget about the past.
"Hm. How can I forget the past when I constantly dwell in the past? How can one even
consider moving on, when all they can think of is the past?" A smile came again, thinking of
herself, dwelling in the past every night, like she was doing now.
"You're foolish Yuna," she thought to herself, "Foolish." The smile disappeared. A
misty glaze formed over her eyes, and she felt soon to cry again. Her tears never seemed to stop
flowing. When they weren't flowing on the outside, they were constantly flowing on the inside.
"Please," she felt herself begging her heart, "Stop aching. Even if it's for two seconds. I
just can't take it any more..."
Her heart never would start aching, no matter how much she could beg. She guessed it
never would.
"I should be happy that you at least came back for a little while," she mumbled to herself,
"But somehow, that just made me feel worse." She sighed, staring out into the open sea.
With one lonely tear falling down her face, she stood up, and did something that she'd
done over a hundred times. She whistled.
The shrill, high-pitched noise was spread throughout the sea, and she forced a smile.
"Perhaps," she found herself thinking, "This will be the day that I will hear your whistle once
again?"
However, like usual, there was no return whistle, not counting Yuna's own echo of a
whistle.
This saddened her, and once again her hopes were smashed. Another tear joined the
lonely one, making even more tears follow.
She would then cast one last look at the empty sea, as if hoping to see him there, and
would then walk slowly back to the village. As soon as she was there, she'd sneak back into her
room, and allow her tears to soothe her to sleep.
"Yunie! Oh Yunie!" Rikku shouted, running down the small path toward the temple in
Besaid. Yuna stopped, and faced her cousin, who was looking at her with her eyes shining
brightly.
"Hi Rikku," Yuna greeted her, "How're things?"
"Oh, okay. Things haven't been the same, you know that. Since Paine and you quit..."
Rikku looked up at her cousin, hoping to see some look of guilt across her face.
Yuna just smiled. There was no way she could sphere hunt again. Ever. She just
couldn't handle any more disappointments.
"Uhm, anyway," Rikku said, noticing the strange look that had filled her cousin's eyes, "I
just came on Brother's orders. He said he wants you back as a sphere hunter, no exceptions.
He...I told him to come for himself and tell you...but..."
"But what, Rikku?" Yuna said, not really feeling much for chatting between her bubbly
cousin and herself.
"Okay, I didn't say this, Yunie, Brother did. But I am getting sick of...of..." Rikku looked
away from Yuna's eyes, "You need to just forget!" Rikku's eyes blazed at her cousin, but then
softened. "Oh Yunie! Did I just say that..."
Yuna was feeling sad. Had it ever occurred to Rikku that she didn't want to forget?
Yuna had no problem dwelling in the past. Why did Rikku? Or Brother? Or...Or anybody?
Rikku looked close to tears. What she had just said really bugged her. She was
surprised, however, to notice that Yuna didn't seem upset over her words.
"Look Yunie," Rikku said, taking her cousin's arm and dragging her over to the bench,
"You're what, twenty?"
Yuna was about to answer that she was nineteen, but then recalled slightly that her
birthday had been just a few days earlier.
"Anyway, a lot of girls your age are married, or engaged, or at least have a boyfriend!
What I'm trying to say is, that maybe there's someone else out there for you?"
Yuna looked annoyed at her cousin's words, but still said nothing. "Time to just go with
the flow," she thought annoyed to herself.
"Anyway," Rikku said, "Maybe we could go hunt guys together...Or... Something?"
"Sure Rikku," Yuna replied distractedly, "Whatever you want."
She felt herself sigh, deciding that it didn't matter how many guys they hunted. She
wouldn't fall for any of them anyway.
Rikku looked astonished at her cousin's answer. "Really Yunie? You'd, actually leave
this place and look for a new guy?"
Yuna's inside smiled for the first time in a year. She had to smile at her cousin's
incapability to see that she was just fine the way she is.
"I'll do it for Rikku," she thought to herself. She didn't realize that one party could
change everything the way it did.
Some people would have just died. Many would have just cried. Others wouldn't know
what to do. To lose someone you loved twice, not just once. To know that the person that they
love, who they've lost twice, is actually out there somewhere, and not dead at all. To know, that
they just don't exist. They're just not there.
She looked straight ahead, not focusing on one thing in particular, not noticing the smell
of the sea, or the flocking of seagulls, or the sound of the waves crashing on the sand below. She
wasn't focusing on the glowing horizon, or the beautiful sunset. As the sun faded, she didn't
focus on the stars, or the moon, or the howling of the wind. She just looked straight ahead,
expressionless.
Her eyes finally left the area that she had stared at for so long, and now focused on a new
area. She hugged herself, and rocked in the wind, not even noticing the cold feeling it left on her
arms.
Thoughts spewed into her head, but she didn't acknowledge any of them. A song was
then hummed, coming from her closed lips. The hymn was soft, and rather sorrowful. It was a
recognizable hymn, being one that she had heard over and over in her life. A hymn she hadn't
heard for years.
His hymn. The hymn that stopped as soon as he did. She smiled at the thought, and the
hymn stopped. Was she losing it? Was she completely crazy? Was she insane? She was. She
smiled again, thinking to herself about was craziness was as she rocked back and forth.
She had lost him. She was crazily in love with him, insanely in love. Again, a smile
appeared on her lips. This one didn't disappear as soon as it formed like the others had,
however. This one stayed.
She focused ahead again, still smiling. She was insane. She had lost it. She was crazy.
The smile disappeared. Not only that, but she was sad. Terribly sad. As well as terribly lonely.
She allowed the days to flicker by, an entire year had slipped by faster than a dream. Her
thoughts turned bitter at the thought of dreams, and soft tears fell from her eyes.
"I didn't know sadness then," flashed through her mind, and she sat there, two tears
streaming slowly down her cheek and her mouth slightly agape.
No one knew that she came here. She came here every night, at the sunset. Everybody
thought she was sound asleep in her bed. Everyone thought she was a happy person, a person
who had learned to forget about the past.
"Hm. How can I forget the past when I constantly dwell in the past? How can one even
consider moving on, when all they can think of is the past?" A smile came again, thinking of
herself, dwelling in the past every night, like she was doing now.
"You're foolish Yuna," she thought to herself, "Foolish." The smile disappeared. A
misty glaze formed over her eyes, and she felt soon to cry again. Her tears never seemed to stop
flowing. When they weren't flowing on the outside, they were constantly flowing on the inside.
"Please," she felt herself begging her heart, "Stop aching. Even if it's for two seconds. I
just can't take it any more..."
Her heart never would start aching, no matter how much she could beg. She guessed it
never would.
"I should be happy that you at least came back for a little while," she mumbled to herself,
"But somehow, that just made me feel worse." She sighed, staring out into the open sea.
With one lonely tear falling down her face, she stood up, and did something that she'd
done over a hundred times. She whistled.
The shrill, high-pitched noise was spread throughout the sea, and she forced a smile.
"Perhaps," she found herself thinking, "This will be the day that I will hear your whistle once
again?"
However, like usual, there was no return whistle, not counting Yuna's own echo of a
whistle.
This saddened her, and once again her hopes were smashed. Another tear joined the
lonely one, making even more tears follow.
She would then cast one last look at the empty sea, as if hoping to see him there, and
would then walk slowly back to the village. As soon as she was there, she'd sneak back into her
room, and allow her tears to soothe her to sleep.
"Yunie! Oh Yunie!" Rikku shouted, running down the small path toward the temple in
Besaid. Yuna stopped, and faced her cousin, who was looking at her with her eyes shining
brightly.
"Hi Rikku," Yuna greeted her, "How're things?"
"Oh, okay. Things haven't been the same, you know that. Since Paine and you quit..."
Rikku looked up at her cousin, hoping to see some look of guilt across her face.
Yuna just smiled. There was no way she could sphere hunt again. Ever. She just
couldn't handle any more disappointments.
"Uhm, anyway," Rikku said, noticing the strange look that had filled her cousin's eyes, "I
just came on Brother's orders. He said he wants you back as a sphere hunter, no exceptions.
He...I told him to come for himself and tell you...but..."
"But what, Rikku?" Yuna said, not really feeling much for chatting between her bubbly
cousin and herself.
"Okay, I didn't say this, Yunie, Brother did. But I am getting sick of...of..." Rikku looked
away from Yuna's eyes, "You need to just forget!" Rikku's eyes blazed at her cousin, but then
softened. "Oh Yunie! Did I just say that..."
Yuna was feeling sad. Had it ever occurred to Rikku that she didn't want to forget?
Yuna had no problem dwelling in the past. Why did Rikku? Or Brother? Or...Or anybody?
Rikku looked close to tears. What she had just said really bugged her. She was
surprised, however, to notice that Yuna didn't seem upset over her words.
"Look Yunie," Rikku said, taking her cousin's arm and dragging her over to the bench,
"You're what, twenty?"
Yuna was about to answer that she was nineteen, but then recalled slightly that her
birthday had been just a few days earlier.
"Anyway, a lot of girls your age are married, or engaged, or at least have a boyfriend!
What I'm trying to say is, that maybe there's someone else out there for you?"
Yuna looked annoyed at her cousin's words, but still said nothing. "Time to just go with
the flow," she thought annoyed to herself.
"Anyway," Rikku said, "Maybe we could go hunt guys together...Or... Something?"
"Sure Rikku," Yuna replied distractedly, "Whatever you want."
She felt herself sigh, deciding that it didn't matter how many guys they hunted. She
wouldn't fall for any of them anyway.
Rikku looked astonished at her cousin's answer. "Really Yunie? You'd, actually leave
this place and look for a new guy?"
Yuna's inside smiled for the first time in a year. She had to smile at her cousin's
incapability to see that she was just fine the way she is.
"I'll do it for Rikku," she thought to herself. She didn't realize that one party could
change everything the way it did.