The dancer
by Diane Kelley
Disclaimer:I do not own FF7, the characters within, nor do I own this song. The song is "For a Dancer" By Jackson Browne. I heard it, and thought how well it fit my favoritr Turk.
The day had dawned clear in Midgar, clear and cool with only a cloud or two scuttling across the sky. The two remaining living Turks stood next to the hole that had been freshly dug, the big bald man with his arm over the petite blond woman's shoulders.
It happened so fast. That was Rude's thought as they brought the casket out that contained the mortal shell of their red-haired compatriot. Just one shot in the dark, and the beauty that lit the body we will be laying to rest this daywas gone in that instant.
Keep a fire burning in your eyes
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down.
Elena suddenly began crying, Though she'd not been anywhere as close to Reno as Rude had been, but she still knew just had much had been lost. The man had had a bright, beautiful spirit that even spending his first 18 years on the streets had been unable to quell. On the outside he may have seemed clownish and ir responsible, but he could always be counted on to be there for those who depended on him.
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view.
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keepin' things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found.
Man. Rude mused. I always thought I'd be the first to die. Never thought it'd be you. I always thought you'd be here to make me laugh and keep me from sinking too deep into myself. But now you're gone, and me and Elena and Rufus are all that's left.
I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it as hard as I try
Like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
but can't help listening.
I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Cryin' as they ease you on down
'Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancin'
Dancin' our sorrows away.
Elenea spoke softly. "He'd hate this you know. ..hate to have us standing around a hole in the ground when there are things to be done." She was trying to ease things a bit, though she knew it would probably do very little good. Reno had Rude had been partners in a way that verged on marriage. Neither one would ever let the other fall without at least attempting to catch them.
No matter what fate chooses to play
You just do the steps that you've been shown
by everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone.
"I guess we'll never know what dying felt like for him. .it's an experience all of us have to go through alone." The deep, rumbling voice spoke very quietly, the bald Turk usually didn't speak much, being one to keep his thoughts to himself, but he knew Elena needed to know she wasn't the only one affected. She, more than any of them, had taken the oath to heart that said "Turks always look out for each other".
Keep a fire for the human race
let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
Just as easy it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found.
Meaning had never been easy for the slum kid to find, though he did try. He always tried, that never say die spirit was part of who he was.
Don't let the uncertainity turn you around
Go on and make a joyful sound!
into a dancer you have grown
from a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
and the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
that you'll never know.
The two watched as the casket was lowered into the ground, and Rude would swear he saw Reno's spirit then, waving in that nonchalant way he had, his ever present smoke tucked into the corner of his mouth, and it was if he was telling them that no matter what happened, he would always be there in spirit to lift them up as he always had.
And the big bald Turk smiled.