. . . Eden . . .
Her mother told her that death wasn't the end. It couldn't be the end. Life was such a short and frail and terrible thing that there had to be a compensation for it. It made sense.
"Where do you think you'll end up? When you die." she whispered, wide young eyes affixed on his form. He shrugged, all height and order and firmness. Even she didn't know how far he'd gone, how simply unforgiveable these interludes were.
"There's a legend," he replied, looking nowhere, "Where I come from, far from here. You don't really die at all... you just keep coming back until all the sins you've committed can be fixed." Eyes grew wider; her attention was rapt and crushing.
"The same person?" she asked, mouthing the words carefully, "And you remember everything? Like the same Tseng over and over again?" He shook his head.
"Not quite like that," he said, looking at her now, "You remember nothing. You can be reborn as anything, a bird, a fish, a flower... even a little girl." She smiled at being under his gaze. Only sixteen. When did the conversations shift from flowers to a religion he'd tried to forget?
"So you could come back as me then?" she said, like she'd come across a patch of sunlight under the plate, "You won't remember being Tseng... you'd just be me?" He frowned, and shifted his gaze to her garden.
"It would take a lot more than what I'm doing to make that happen," he replied tiredly. He fingered the gun and his side, and wanted to rip it off, it felt so heavy...
"Maybe I'll come back as you," she said, swinging her legs, "But I'd smile more. You look so much better when you smile." The very thing she liked to provoke from him tugged at his lips but never got any farther than halfway.
"I hope not," he whispered, "I hope you never have to die at all, Aeris."
"Why is that?" she asked, craning her neck to catch his face.
"Oh, nothing," he replied, staring off into the gray, "I didn't say anything at all."
AN: Now, I heard the song "Eden" by Sarah Brightman and this story just popped out of it. I have an idea of continuing with this theme, but with other characters. A good/bad sort of thing too. So, ya. I needs to stop the muses!