Author's Note: For those of you who don't read many of my stories, there is a character's name I like to use a lot. Her name is Kitten Dincht. It's actually a name my sister came up a long time ago in a story she wrote. Katharine, as she's normally known as, is the pigtail library girl. In my sister's story she has a crush on Zell. Most of her friends called her Kat. Then slowly it changed to Kitten. Then when they found out about her crush on Zell, they called her Kitten Dincht. So the name as stuck with me all this time. So anytime I want to use the pigtail girl, I use the name Kitten. Hopefully that helps somewhat. Now on to the story!
The Storm
She sits among the pieces of broken glass and photographs
Reluctantly releases the last of what was her past
It struck without a warning or did she just ignore the signs
In those dark clouds forming behind her silver lines
It was hard watching her like this but there was nothing I could really do
about it. I continued to look down upon her from my seat at the top of the
stairs. She was sitting on the floor, staring at pictures of the family…the
good old days. There was one that was her favorite that she used to display in
a picture frame on a table all by itself. It was of her, father, and I. We all
look so happy. Father is holding both of us so close to his body, a great big
charming smile on his face. Mother is smiling as well. That's the last time I
saw her smile though. In fact, I think that's the last time I even smiled.
I continue to watch mother as she runs a trembling hand on the picture in her opposite hand. It kills me to see her so upset. I still can't believe that happened to him.
"Why…why dad?" I whisper to myself.
I am jolted out of my thoughts with the sound of glass shattering and the sight of blood on my mother's hands. I rush down the stairs and stumble to her side.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
I could see that it wasn't an accident. In her right hand was a jagged piece of glass from the picture frame. Her left wrist was bleeding slightly. Blood trickled down off her wrist and onto the picture that had fallen from her grip. She just looked up at me with helpless eyes. I gather up the glass from all around her and wrench the other piece from her hand, cutting her hand and mine in the process.
"Hold still. I'm gonna put pressure on your wrist," I said gently.
"No, let me be. I don't want help."
"Shut up! I'm gonna help you no matter what you say. I need you mom! You can't leave me now…"
I pulled off my over shirt and forcefully placed it on her wrist. It did the trick and the blood stopped flowing. I gently picked her up off the floor and lead her to the bathroom where I cleaned up the remaining bloodstains on her skin and clothes.
"Mayumi…why?"
"I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response."
"Grrr..."
"Oh don't even start that with me. Be mad at me all you want. It isn't gonna change the fact that what you did was wrong. If I hadn't been spying on you, I could have lost you forever. I don't have my father anymore. So don't take away the one thing I do have left. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm here for you…"
The door it slammed like thunder and the tears they fell like rain
And the warnings from her family whirl like a hurricane
She's drowning in emotions and she cannot reach the shore
She's alive but can she survive the storm
His voice had been so soothing that day. It was the first time she had actually felt loved by her husband of two years. Ever since they had gotten married it seemed like the fire they once had was gone. It also happened to be the day that she found out that she was with child. That was why she had been so distant.
"Seifer…I don't know if I can tell you this. When I first met you, you told me that this was something you weren't sure you ever really wanted."
Seifer cocked his head at his brunette wife and smirked.
"To dress in drag and do the hula?" He laughed.
"That's not it at all…Seifer…" Selphie cooed as she reached for one of Seifer's hands, placing it on her lower abdomen. "I'm pregnant…"
"Are you serious?"
Selphie just shook her head through a trickling stream of tears.
"Why Selphie, when I said that I wanted to wait a while…it was only until we were both ready. I didn't want us to still be apart of SeeD when the time finally came. All the traveling would have been too hard on you, a baby, and me. Being gone for so long would just kill me. I couldn't spend all that time away from you and a baby. But now that we don't go on missions anymore, everything is okay. There's nothing to worry about. I'm sorry if I made you afraid of becoming pregnant."
Seifer took his free hand and enveloped Selphie's face in his warm palm.
"I love you Selphie. No matter what happens I am here for you. There I go again…reminding you of that simple concept."
Selphie looked up into Seifer's gleaming cat green eyes and smiled gently.
"I love you too…" she sighed as she fell into his open embrace.
"So…boy or girl?"
"Girl…for sure. Mayumi Kaede…"
"I see you wasted no time in picking out a name. What happened to Caroline and Lucia?"
"Maybe next time…I can tell she's gonna be special so she needs a unique name." Selphie smiled.
"I love it. It's beautiful…just like her mother…" Seifer said.
"Mother? Are you even listening to me?"I shook her harder this last time, snapping her back into reality.
"You okay," I asked as I handed her a towel.
"I hope so…Thank you Mayumi. I don't know what I would do without you."
I just shrugged my shoulders sarcastically and left her to herself for a while. I could tell that she had a lot on her mind ever since the night of the worse storm in the history of Trabia. The night her world came crashing down.
A broken jewel box dancer lies in pieces down the hallShe's finding out the answers don't change nothing at all
It's time that she stopped searching for who's to blame or what went wrong
The only thing for certain is he's gone, she's got to move on
Selphie sat down on the edge of her bed and removed the towel from her wrist. The cut wasn't as deep as she had been hoping for.
"I can't believe I'm contemplating this," she grumbled to herself. "It was stupid of me to do it in the first place."
Selphie let the tears fall again as she lay down on her side of the bed. In her line of vision was another picture frame. This one held the photo from her wedding day.
"Oh Seifer…" Selphie whispered as she touched the man in the picture. Her wedding ring glittered in the dim light of the room as she stroked the picture lovingly.
"I can't do this on my own. I need you…" She was
interrupted by a crack of thunder.
--
The storm that night had been relentless. Rain beat down anyone and anything that dared to walk in it's midst. Lighting flashed brightly in the dark night sky, illuminating everything in sight. Selphie looked over at the clock again, for the tenth time in one hour, and like every hour before.
"Two…he should have been home a long time ago. Seifer, where in the world are you?"
She wrapped her forest green robe tighter around her body as she sat by the window, watching the driveway with concerned eyes.
"Come on Seifer, you're starting to scare me."
Just as she was about to turn her head to look at the clock again, a set of headlights pulled up into the driveway. Relieved that her husband was okay, Selphie forgot about the storm raging on outside and ran out to greet Seifer. She threw her arms around him tightly as soon as he exited the car. Slightly surprised, Seifer was thrown off balance and fell into the drenched grass, pulling Selphie down with him. Selphie giggled slightly at the confused look on his face. She straddled his hips and leaned into him, kissing him deeply, pulling away almost immediately. The smell of Smirnoff and wine coolers was strong on his breath. But there was another smell that even overpowered that. The scent of an unknown perfume surrounded Selphie as she lie on top of Seifer, bringing the sudden realization of why he had been so late.
"You son-of-a-bitch…" she growled.
"Wha…what's wrong," he stammered.
Selphie
pushed herself off Seifer and stormed into the house.
The door it slammed like thunder and the tears they fell like rain
And the warnings from her family whirl like a hurricane
She's drowning in emotions and she cannot reach the shore
She's alive but can she survive the storm
Selphie ran through the house and into the bedroom where she angrily cleared
the top of the dresser with her arm, letting everything fall to the floor. A
crystal jewelry box crashed into the wall, sending the pieces of all over the
place. Seifer came running into the room with a look of astonishment in his
eyes. He found Selphie collapsed to her hands and knees on the floor. Seifer
knelt down and gently picked up the ballerina angel from the jewelry box and
looked quietly at his drenched wife on the floor.
"What's wrong," he repeated in a stoic tone.
"You fucking know what's wrong, you cheating bastard," she growled through the tears. She stood up onto her feet with what strength she had left and stared upon his kneeling form. "Don't act like you're clueless. I can tell that you've been drinking."
"But what does that got to do with cheating?"
Selphie bent over to look him in the eyes and held his face in her hands.
"Don't take me for a fool. I know Seifer…now what's the little whore's name?!"
Fear glazed over Seifer's eyes as he continued to look into Selphie's evil stare. He gulped loudly before answering her.
"Katharine…"
Selphie cocked her head slightly.
"Katharine who?" She was almost certain of the answer.
"Katharine Dincht…"
"You're risking our marriage to screw around with my best friend's wife? I can't believe this. Does Zell know?"
Seifer hung his head in shame and shook it slowly.
"No…only you know."
"I think Zell has a right to know. He loves Kitten with all his heart and soul. I can't let him go on believing that she loves him the same when she doesn't. And they have two kids! What the hell were you thinking?"
"Please don't tell him. It was only twice." Seifer paused before continuing to explain.
"Twice?! I am not hearing this…" She cried out. "So tell me…when did this start?"
"The first time was at a party. Mayumi was about three and she was pretty sick so you stayed home to watch over her. You told me to go out and have fun anyway. Everybody was getting hammered at the party. Even Kitten had a lot to drink, and I mean a lot. I had also had a lot. Zell had passed out along with most of the guests. Kitten and I were sitting alone in one of the spare rooms just talking. That's all I really remember up until I woke up. We were both cuddling together, naked. There was no mistake…we had fooled around. We both decided to keep it to ourselves."
Selphie turned away from Seifer and walked over to the bedroom window.
"And the second time was tonight, right? That must be why I smell that perfume on you," Selphie snarled.
"Yeah…her and Zell had an argument again, and she wanted somebody to talk to. She had called me up at work so I met her at the local bar and we sat and talked…"
"You understand me better than Zell does. Sometimes I wish Selphie had never met you so she wouldn't be married to you; then I wouldn't have to deal with this. Then maybe it would be you and me together instead of me and him.""No offense Kitten, but I love Selphie and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. I'm sorry you and Zell are having problems, but dwelling on the past won't make things better."
"I blame all of this on Selphie. If she and her ex had just worked things out and stayed together, I wouldn't be this miserable."
"Hey now! Selphie has nothing to do with this!"
"Sure she does. She's nothing but a cum guzzling whore who ruined my life by marrying the only decent man left on this planet, leaving me with…what's his face."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this. I really got to go. I promised Selphie I would be home before too late."
"Seifer," Kitten whispered gently. "Do you remember that party?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Would you ever think about doing that again?"
Before I could get another word out she shoved her tongue down my throat. I think the alcohol got the better of my judgment because I followed her out to her car and we made-out for a little bit. When it finally dawned upon me what was going on I jumped out of the car and made a dash for my own car.
"Seifer, please don't go. I love you!"
"No! Don't say things you don't mean. You don't love me. Now go home to Zell."
"Will we ever see each other again?"
"Probably not…"
"And that's all that happened. I feel horrible, but I can imagine that you feel even worse. Kitten's true opinion of you and my actions don't make things any better. All I can say is that I'm sorry, but I know that will never be enough. So I'll just do you a favor by saying goodbye. You'll never be able to trust me again so this is better for us both."Seifer stood up and walked over to Selphie. He turned her around and kissed her sweetly on the cheek before walking back out into the storm of the night, clutching the crystal angel in his hand tightly. He walked away from the house and down the street, into the raging storm.
Some days just roll on by without a gray cloud in the sky
She keeps telling herself, "I will make it on my own"
And her friends they've all gone back to their lives
Thinking she will be all right
As she races through the night to make it home
I was sitting at the same table with them, trying to finish my homework, but to no avail. My older "cousins", Kai and Aya, were giving me a hard time. The 19 and 16 year old found it amusing to steal my pencils and erasers as I worked on a drawing for art class.
"You sure?" He asked.
"I'm sure. I'm more worried about you, Zell."
"I'll be okay. Life goes on, I guess."
Zell stood up from the table as did mother.
"I guess this is goodbye then." Mom said as she gave him a big hug.
"Yeah. But not forever. I'll be in from time to time, other than that I'll be searching for a new place to live or Aya and me, far from here and the memories. I won't have to worry about Kai, she's going to Garden this fall."
I jumped up from my seat and joined in the hug, as did Kai and Aya.
"I'll miss you Uncle Zell. Promise you won't forget me?"
"Now that's a promise I can keep."
Uncle Zell bent over and kissed me on the forehead before strolling over to the front door with the girls. "Until I see you two again…"
"Bye Zell, I hope you find what you're looking for out there."
"I hope so too."
Mom and I waved at Uncle Zell and the girls until they were out of sight.
You see, the day of the worst storm brought out the worst and the best of my mother and father. Even though mom was undeniably angry and frustrated with dad, she still loved him with all that she was. Dad realized that he loved mom too much for him to walk away from her and I. On his way back to the house, dad was in an accident. The driver of a car had "fallen asleep" at the wheel and didn't see dad walking on the side of the road. They accidentally ran right into dad, pinning him in between a tree and the car. The driver immediately called for help and called mom. When mom and I got there she realized whom the driver of the car was."Kitten? Oh dear god…I didn't know…"
"I'm so sorry Selphie! For everything. I was coming to confess and apologize to you for keeping him out late. I didn't mean to…" Kitten cried.
I
looked up at mom. Her face had gone completely white when she saw the car up
against the tree in the background. She pushed past Kitten, still holding my
hand, dragging me along. She scrambled to the car and cried out when she saw
dad standing there pinned in between the tree and the car. A paramedic/white
mage came up to mom and gently explained the situation.
"I'm sorry, but there isn't much
we can do for your husband. If we move the vehicle, he would be killed
instantly. The pressure of the car against his body and the tree is the only
thing keeping him together right now. But he won't last long. He can't feel
much pain either."
Mom reached out for dad and placed a shaking hand on his free hand.
"Oh my god…Seifer…"
"Hi honey. I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have been walking out here at night with the storm going on." He seemed to be as normal as ever. I don't think he had realized what was going on.
"Are you in much pain?" Mom asked, her voice wavering.
"I'm fine actually. Never felt better." Dad said as he smiled at her.
Mom smiled slightly in return. It only made the pain in her heart worse and she began to cry some more. She ignored the falling tears for the moment.
"Mayumi and I are here dear. We'll be right here for you."
"I know dear. Hey Mayumi. Keep practicing your magic and battle skills. You're getting real good at it. Might even be better than me one day. And do as your mother says, always. Trust me when I say she knows best."
"I promise dad…I love you so much." I cried as I threw myself into mom's side, clutching her tightly.
"And Selphie…never stop smiling. I love it when you smile. It always makes my day easier to get through. I'll always be there for you no matter what. I love you so much."
"I love you too…" Mom cried. Mom leaned over and kissed dad gently on the lips right before he took his last gasp of air and his eyes glassed over. As she looked away from his still form, she found the ballerina angel on the ground, perfectly fine. Mom picked it up and clutched it tightly. Dad was gone…forever.
Zell, Aya, and Kai had moved in with us until we all could get back on our feet again. We enjoyed having him and his girls around but also knew that this day would come. He couldn't stay forever."You okay mom?" I asked. She had a strange smile on her face but yet she was crying.
"I hope so."
"Then why are you crying?"
"I just realized that I'm all on my own. No friends or family to help me. And I miss Seifer…"
"I miss daddy too. I wish I could see him again."
"Maybe one day..." She said, a smile still on her face.
"But I still don't get it. If you're sad… then why are you smiling?"
"Cause I know that I can make it on my own. All I ever needed in this world was the one thing I have right now."
"And what's that," I asked.
"Love. All I needed in my life was love. Your father gave me enough love to last a lifetime and that love also lies within you."
"Then you'll never try to kill yourself again?"
"Never."
I
threw my small arms around my mother and kissed her cheek furiously. I knew
that everything would be okay, with time that is.
The door it slammed like thunder and the tears they fell like rain
And the warnings from her family whirl like a hurricane
She's drowning in emotions and she cannot reach the shore
She's alive but can she survive the storm
Mom set me back down on the floor as she shut the front door. We both walked
back out to the kitchen, but mom was stopped halfway before she got there. I
watched as she walked over to the pile of broken glass from the picture frame
she had broken. Neither one of us had time to clean it up yet. She gently
picked up the pieces of glass and tossed them into a near by trashcan. Then she
picked up the bloodstained picture. Mom caressed it lovingly before placing it
in her shirt pocket, next to her heart…a place he would always stay.
She sits among the pieces of broken glass and photographs
Reluctantly releases the last of what was her past