The light was so blinding. She felt the cool water rush upon her body, coming up to about her waist. She moaned. She tried moving. And failed. She tried to open her mouth but her lips seemed to be crusted shut and her mouth tasted of salt. Yuck, she thought to herself. She finally she accomplished her goal. She had rolled on to her back. At least it was better than on her stomach and her face in the sand. She brought her hand up to block the sun as she opened her eyes. She opened her mouth and smacked her lips a couple of times, then she wiped her mouth. She spent about a minute coughing up salt and water. She moaned again as she rolled back onto her stomach and then onto her knees and finally to her feet. She put her hand on her head, as if it would stop the pounding headache she had. She wondered how long she had been lying there. She was covered in sand and wet. She felt 50 pounds heavier. It was hard for her to walk. Finally a nice young man noticed her and assisted her to an inn at Costa del Sol, where she had been washed up. The man also bought her a new outfit, a bit too revealing for her but after she had taken off her dress and looked at it, she was thankful. God, I must have looked like a prostitute in this, she though to herself. Her pink dress was ratted and torn. The sleeves were missing, a lot of the buttons had come off and the bottom had tattered so much that it was only about 6 inches below her hips. And don't forget the gaping gash through her back and stomach. She blushed immediately noticing that. She blushed again after inspecting her new attire. The top was a light green almost white midriff revealing halter-top and a pair of light denim daisy dukes. He also bought her a pair of flip-flops. He felt odd buying her undergarments so he purchased a pink bikini instead, and gave her some cash to purchase other necessities. Though she felt very shy and awkward in her new wardrobe, she felt very thankful. She had blushed once more when the thought "Jeez, now I'm dressing like Tifa" entered her mind. She also pinched herself for that one. All the young man asked in return was to keep him company when he went out to eat and to the beach. He in return would pay for her expenses till she got back on her feet. She needed the help so she accepted the offer. It didn't hurt that Beau (the man's name) was cute. Beau was a young man in his early twenties. He had dirty blond hair and pretty blue eyes; they weren't as bright or intense as Cloud, but still lovely. He was tan and in shape, obviously a surfer. He had a rich family and thus could do whatever he wished. So in the fall, winter and part of spring, he went to grad school and instead of working over the summer he spent it at their house in Costa del Sol. As he was walking out of the guest room, where he was there to remind her of their 7:30 reservations at the Lobster Shack, he had only one question for her so far. "What's your name?"
"Aeris", she replied.











Aeris arrived promptly downstairs at 5 to 7:30. Beau had given her more money and she had bought a more modest outfit. It was a form-fitting light pink sundress, and it accented her small waist very nicely. She had washed her hair and wore it in her usual braid. She still had her pink ribbon, but the white materia was nowhere to been found. Beau nearly tripped over the couch while he was walking towards the living room when he saw her. She blushed but he quickly recovered and took her arm and they walked to the restaurant. They talked a lot over dinner, and soon became friends. Aeris told him what she remember about her life, most of the AVALANCHE things were left out because most of that confidential. And Beau told her about his. They had grown very close and were best friends. They hung out all the day, and went to beach daily and explored the near countryside. Aeris really enjoyed her "new" life, but there was always this feeling, lurking behind every shadow, that this wasn't right. Beau had grown a little more affectionate but never over-stepped the "friend" boundary. Aeris did like him, no doubt there, but she had the feeling she didn't belong there and to go find Cloud but she had no idea where to find him or where to start. She always felt like a piece of her was missing. Then one day it happened.


Beau and Aeris were sitting on her talking about life and politics. They were debating about Mako and it's affects on society. Of course, this made her think of Cloud. As her mind wandered farther and farther away from Beau and Costa del Sol, Beau took advantage of the moment (he thought it was a moment) and made a pass at Aeris. He wrapped his arms around her and forced onto her back, all while kissing her, very sloppily. Aeris squirmed and tried to get out of his embrace but couldn't. Finally she managed to knee him where it hurt and got out of his tight grip. She was holding back the tears, only a few leaked out. She just turned around and took one last look at him, and then ran out the door.