A chilly breeze was blowing as a hand slowly retreated, leaving a single
white rose resting against the massive, wooden cross. The ground was still
wet from the rain that had come down earlier that day, soaking the small
town.
The cross stood lonely, yet firmly on his place in the small garden behind
Tifa Lockheart's former home. The friends had felt the need to leave at
least a tiny sign of her existence, one that visible to the outside world,
unlike the many marks she had left in the hearts of those who had known
her.
It was nothing special; just a wooden cross with a private inscription. Yet
its symbolic meaning went far beyond the actual measurements.
Tifa Lockheart would never be forgotten.
The young blond man's gaze rested on the white rose in full bloom, it's
petals beautifully spread.
Just like her... Taken from us in full bloom... Her skin looked just like the
ivory petals...
Suddenly, he felt a heavy weight come down on his right shoulder. Turning
his head around, he realized it was Barret, nodding at him, patting his
shoulder comfortingly.
Slowly, the group disintegrated, everyone but Cloud left the small garden
to get inside the house.
While a light rain started setting in again, Cloud was kneeling down before
the cross, running his strong fingers of the inscription they had carved
into the wood.
"Don't worry, Tifa... We'll never forget you. I'll never forget you..." he
whispered silently, softly caressing the inscription.
Lowering his gaze from the cross, he quietly got back to his feet and
followed his companions inside.
The cross remained behind alone, silent witness with only one small message
for those who were to discover it:
"In loving memory of Tifa Lockheart. She always had a smile for those in
need."
~ ~ ~
"It has to be pretty hard for him", Yuffie said, plopping down on one of the chairs in the kitchen of the Lockheart home. "Certainly. They did seem to be close." Vincent stated calmly. He had retreated into a darker corner of the room, right be the door. Barret snorted, shifting from one bulky foot to the other. "Hell ya, you bet. Tifa always had the hots for him. Though I dun know what she ever saw in spikey." "They are both no big talkers if it comes to their feelings", Aeris stated, directing her gaze to the floor, intently looking at her shoes. "But I know Cloud has strong feelings for her. It's not like he ever said it, just..." she paused for a short moment, remembering moments that were long gone "they way he acted... How he always cared about her, and made sure she remained safe. Like that time back at Don Corneo's... Cloud didn't hesitate but did anything to free her... We had just met. I admired him for his determination... They always did great as a team, harmonized perfectly..." She tried hard, but still Aeris couldn't keep the tears from flowing again. She hated crying, she simply hated it. It was a sign of weakness and immaturity, yet in a moment like this, it seemed to be the best option available, as the only alternative was bottling it all up. Red seemed to he having the same problems as she did, since fresh, salty tears were glittering in the fur right below his eyes. Cid stayed at the window, looking out to the center of the town, quietly inhaling the warm smoke of his cigarette, exhaling dusty, white rings into the chilly air. He preferred to keep his thoughts to himself if possible. "Let's just try to this over with", Barret said. "The earlier spikey gets out of here, the better." Aeris looked up at the dark skinned man. "I don't know, Barret. I think this is an important part of the process of coping with her... her departure... We should stay just a little longer..." Cid turned from the window to face his comrades and put the cigarette into the corner of his mouth, skillfully holding it there while he was speaking. "Sounds sensible, but we don't really have that much time left. We gotta go after that bastard who killed her if we ever wanna catch up with him." "But..." Aeris started, as the door suddenly opened and Cloud entered the room, his skin damp from the rain. "It's ok, Aeris... You all go back to the Bronco, I'll join you in a bit. I just got some things to take care of over here..." "Allright then", Barret said and was the first one to leave the room. One after the other, they group left, giving Cloud encouraging smiles or even a pat on the shoulder. When he heard the front door of the house fall shut after them, he stepped out onto the corridor, his heavy boots making his steps sound through the small house. Summoning up all his inner strength, he turned the doorknob on the only other room on that floor. Her room... He had only been in this room once since the big town had been rebuilt, together with the other ones a couple of weeks ago, but still he knew every single detail, just as if it was his very own room. The piano opposite the window, with the dolls and clock, the bed right below the window, the desk with the letters on top of it... It was all exactly as he remembered it. According to Tifa, it had been reconstructed to the tiniest fragment. Walking around the room slowly, he let his fingers run over the ivory keys of the old piano, stirring up the dust that had built up in years of being unused. I wonder... Carefully, he sat down on the stool, the keys seeming so much smaller under his long fingers than how he recalled it from years ago. Pressing down one key, it felt weird to hear the sound in the almost complete silence. Yet the more keys the pressed, the more he got used to the clear sound of the instrument, recalling melodies he had been taught when he was a child. Time and again, when he had been standing under Tifa's window, he had heard her play. Her songs had always been filled with so much emotion that he had loved to just sit down, close his eyes and listen to them for as long as they went on. She felt so much closer when he could listen to her songs... Upon finally opening his eyes again after enjoying the play, he gazed at the picture on top of the piano. He had never seen it there, not as far as he could remember, so he bent over a little to get a closer look. It must be a copy, he thought. Everything was burned... Yet if it was a copy, it was an extremely good one. The photo showed Tifa and her dad, a dark haired man with radiant, green eyes, sitting at the top of the well, smiling happily into the camera. The young woman right beside him, her head leaning contently on his shoulder. Cloud smiled ruefully. Yes, this was Tifa... It was the beautiful, radiant woman he had always known, always positive and smiling, even when the world was trying everything to keep her down. But nothing ever could. The young warrior gently ran a finger over the photograph and made his decision. Carefully, he opened the back of the frame and extracted the picture. Taking one last look, he folded it once and put it in his pocket. He did not need reminders to provoke memories of her, but for some reason it made him content looking at the snapshot of pure content and happiness. He had always wanted her happy... Quietly, he got up from the stool and left her room, never looking back.
a/n: OMG, it's been almost a year since I updated?? I knew it was long, but THAT long? Oh my... I'm sorry for the long wait everybody, I'm really really sorry. Whatever excuse I might give now, it can't make up for it. However, I'm still in my huge writer's block that I can't seem to get out of. It's annoying. I don't even like my style of writing anymore. Blame college! All the essay writing spoiled me! Anybody got any ideas how to get out of a major writer's block? If so, please let me know and I'll be really grateful.
Btw, this is NOT the end of the story! I am definitely going to continue writing, however long it might take (years, at the rate I'm going now-.-')
And sorry this chapter being so crappy. Somehow, I just didn't really get into it this time. I certainly tried to, but didn't completely succeed. Also sorry for the extreme sappiness in this (and also my other stories). I just can't help it.
Anywayz, enough of this, or the comment's gonna be longer than the actual chapter^^ I hope you at least like it a tiny tiny bit. If so, please read and review!
"In loving memory of Tifa Lockheart. She always had a smile for those in
need."
~ ~ ~
"It has to be pretty hard for him", Yuffie said, plopping down on one of the chairs in the kitchen of the Lockheart home. "Certainly. They did seem to be close." Vincent stated calmly. He had retreated into a darker corner of the room, right be the door. Barret snorted, shifting from one bulky foot to the other. "Hell ya, you bet. Tifa always had the hots for him. Though I dun know what she ever saw in spikey." "They are both no big talkers if it comes to their feelings", Aeris stated, directing her gaze to the floor, intently looking at her shoes. "But I know Cloud has strong feelings for her. It's not like he ever said it, just..." she paused for a short moment, remembering moments that were long gone "they way he acted... How he always cared about her, and made sure she remained safe. Like that time back at Don Corneo's... Cloud didn't hesitate but did anything to free her... We had just met. I admired him for his determination... They always did great as a team, harmonized perfectly..." She tried hard, but still Aeris couldn't keep the tears from flowing again. She hated crying, she simply hated it. It was a sign of weakness and immaturity, yet in a moment like this, it seemed to be the best option available, as the only alternative was bottling it all up. Red seemed to he having the same problems as she did, since fresh, salty tears were glittering in the fur right below his eyes. Cid stayed at the window, looking out to the center of the town, quietly inhaling the warm smoke of his cigarette, exhaling dusty, white rings into the chilly air. He preferred to keep his thoughts to himself if possible. "Let's just try to this over with", Barret said. "The earlier spikey gets out of here, the better." Aeris looked up at the dark skinned man. "I don't know, Barret. I think this is an important part of the process of coping with her... her departure... We should stay just a little longer..." Cid turned from the window to face his comrades and put the cigarette into the corner of his mouth, skillfully holding it there while he was speaking. "Sounds sensible, but we don't really have that much time left. We gotta go after that bastard who killed her if we ever wanna catch up with him." "But..." Aeris started, as the door suddenly opened and Cloud entered the room, his skin damp from the rain. "It's ok, Aeris... You all go back to the Bronco, I'll join you in a bit. I just got some things to take care of over here..." "Allright then", Barret said and was the first one to leave the room. One after the other, they group left, giving Cloud encouraging smiles or even a pat on the shoulder. When he heard the front door of the house fall shut after them, he stepped out onto the corridor, his heavy boots making his steps sound through the small house. Summoning up all his inner strength, he turned the doorknob on the only other room on that floor. Her room... He had only been in this room once since the big town had been rebuilt, together with the other ones a couple of weeks ago, but still he knew every single detail, just as if it was his very own room. The piano opposite the window, with the dolls and clock, the bed right below the window, the desk with the letters on top of it... It was all exactly as he remembered it. According to Tifa, it had been reconstructed to the tiniest fragment. Walking around the room slowly, he let his fingers run over the ivory keys of the old piano, stirring up the dust that had built up in years of being unused. I wonder... Carefully, he sat down on the stool, the keys seeming so much smaller under his long fingers than how he recalled it from years ago. Pressing down one key, it felt weird to hear the sound in the almost complete silence. Yet the more keys the pressed, the more he got used to the clear sound of the instrument, recalling melodies he had been taught when he was a child. Time and again, when he had been standing under Tifa's window, he had heard her play. Her songs had always been filled with so much emotion that he had loved to just sit down, close his eyes and listen to them for as long as they went on. She felt so much closer when he could listen to her songs... Upon finally opening his eyes again after enjoying the play, he gazed at the picture on top of the piano. He had never seen it there, not as far as he could remember, so he bent over a little to get a closer look. It must be a copy, he thought. Everything was burned... Yet if it was a copy, it was an extremely good one. The photo showed Tifa and her dad, a dark haired man with radiant, green eyes, sitting at the top of the well, smiling happily into the camera. The young woman right beside him, her head leaning contently on his shoulder. Cloud smiled ruefully. Yes, this was Tifa... It was the beautiful, radiant woman he had always known, always positive and smiling, even when the world was trying everything to keep her down. But nothing ever could. The young warrior gently ran a finger over the photograph and made his decision. Carefully, he opened the back of the frame and extracted the picture. Taking one last look, he folded it once and put it in his pocket. He did not need reminders to provoke memories of her, but for some reason it made him content looking at the snapshot of pure content and happiness. He had always wanted her happy... Quietly, he got up from the stool and left her room, never looking back.
a/n: OMG, it's been almost a year since I updated?? I knew it was long, but THAT long? Oh my... I'm sorry for the long wait everybody, I'm really really sorry. Whatever excuse I might give now, it can't make up for it. However, I'm still in my huge writer's block that I can't seem to get out of. It's annoying. I don't even like my style of writing anymore. Blame college! All the essay writing spoiled me! Anybody got any ideas how to get out of a major writer's block? If so, please let me know and I'll be really grateful.
Btw, this is NOT the end of the story! I am definitely going to continue writing, however long it might take (years, at the rate I'm going now-.-')
And sorry this chapter being so crappy. Somehow, I just didn't really get into it this time. I certainly tried to, but didn't completely succeed. Also sorry for the extreme sappiness in this (and also my other stories). I just can't help it.
Anywayz, enough of this, or the comment's gonna be longer than the actual chapter^^ I hope you at least like it a tiny tiny bit. If so, please read and review!