Chapter 6 - 7:41 PM, Wutai Standard Time, Day 5

Forgiveness

All my worries seemed to have faded away once I arrived in Wutai. Yuffie gave me a proper tour of the city and we went hiking at Da Chao and we did other exciting things. Wutai is so different from the other cities in the world. The people, their culture, and the scenery made me feel like I was in a fairy tale. It reminded me of the small town of Kalm, but with an ethnic flavor. It was late in the afternoon and the air was crisp and the gentle waters were sapphire blue. The sky was crimson red and the moon slowly began to rise over the mountains.

I forgot to mention the food! It's out of this world. There's nothing else like it anywhere. Everything I thought about made me wonder...did I just find a new haven for myself? As I stood alone on the bridge staring at the running water, fireflies gathered around me. Several dazzling lights flickered in unison. At that moment, I answered my question.

Yes.

I wanted to be alone for a little while longer, so decided to have a few drinks at the bar. When was the last I drank alcohol? Forever it seemed. I left the bridge and began to walk.

As I walked towards the bar, a large sign with yellow blinking lights titled 'Turtle's Paradise' greeted me. There was even a turtle illuminated by neon lights by the sign, shining brightly. A young couple, perhaps in their early 20s walked out, laughing. They seemed to have a good time. The young man's arm was wrapped the woman.

"Where to now?" the young woman asked, with a giggle.

"Wherever you want," answered the young man.

"Let's go to that new restaurant, the night is still young!"

The man nodded and said, "Sure. I'm up for it."

"But you have to pay, remember that!"

The man laughed.

"Fine, but no dessert for you!" he replied.

"Why not?"

"I'm just kidding, let's go."

They both walked past me, still laughing and giggling. They seemed to be very much in love, I kind of envied them. Will I be ever to experience something like that? Still wondering, I opened the door and walked into the bar.

As I walked in, the bar was empty. All of the seats were unoccupied...perfect, I thought. There was a lone bartender, cleaning a class. I was kind of surprised that the bartender was a woman. She was standing behind a long horizontal table. Beyond the table, there were several blue stools with circular seats. I walked up to one of the stools and sat down. I wanted to start a conversation with her; I used to be a bartender too after all.

"Empty tonight, huh?" I asked.

"Looks like it," she replied.

She looked like a nice person. She had light skin and facial features were very fair. She had long black hair and she was wearing a black top with blue denim jeans. The typical female bartender look, I thought.

"I haven't seen you around before, are you new to Wutai?" she asked.

"I'm just visiting, from Nibelheim" I replied. "I'm staying with a friend."

"Who?"

She seemed interested in talking to me.

"The Kisaragis," I answered.

"Ah, the dojo master Godo and his rambunctious daughter Yuffie."

"You know them?

"Everyone in Wutai knows them."

"Really?"

"Yep, Godo is a veteran from the war way back when."

"I didn't know that."

"It's true; he got a lot of recognition for his achievements in the war. And as for Yuffie, she's known to stir up trouble throughout the town."

I laughed at what she said about Yuffie.

"I'm good friends with Yuffie, she's a good kid."

"That's when she's not stealing your stuff."

We both laughed. It's true when they say that pubs have all the information.

"So, you're from Nibelheim?" she asked. "I didn't catch your name."

"It's Tifa, nice to meet you. And yours?"

"I'm Miwako. Born and raised here in Wutai. Would you like a drink? It's on the house."

I nodded my head.

"What would you like?" she asked.

"Just some sake would be nice."

"Coming right up!"

Miwako took a small glass and a bottle of sake from a shelf behind her. Sweet smelling, yellow liquid poured into the glass. She gave the glass a little push and it slid into my hand.

"You're really good at this," I said. "How long have you been bartending?"

"About three years," she replied.

"I used to be bartender too."

"Really? In Nibelheim?"

"No, in Midgar. I ran a bar in the slums of Sector Seven called 'Seventh Heaven'.

"Looks like you've been traveling," she said.

"Yeah, I've seen my fair share of places."

Suddenly, a small bell rang from across the table. Somebody else walked into the bar during my conversation with Miwako, and that person seemed to be waiting for a while.

"Bartender?" said a male voice.

I was shocked by sound of his voice. I felt goose bumps all over my body. I instantly recognized that voice, and I slowly turned my neck around to see...

Cloud.

What the hell is he doing here? Did he follow me to Wutai? I had so many questions...

Miwako walked up to Cloud with a smile. He looked really impatient.

"I'm sorry about that sir," she said. "What would you like?"

After a pause, he said, "Water please."

Surprised, Miwako asked, "Water?"

With that familiar arrogant tone, he said, "You heard me! I want water."

"Coming right up..."

She seemed afraid. All I could do was watch. Miwako quickly gave him a glass of water.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No, this is fine," he replied.

I quickly gulped my glass of sake and put down the glass with a slam. I was angry. I got up from the stool and wiped my mouth with my arm. Miwako noticed I was leaving.

"Leaving already Tifa?"

"Yeah, I have to go. It was nice talking to you Miwako."

"You too, I hope I'll see you around."

I looked back at her with a smile.

"I hope so too."

I quickly walked to the door, ignoring Cloud as I walked past him. I didn't know what to say to him. I was just angry at the fact that he was in Wutai. I opened the door and walked into the night.

As I began to walk towards Yuffie's house, I heard the door of the bar open behind me. I heard loud footsteps approaching me and then they stopped. I heard his voice again...

"Tifa, wait!"

His voice sounded concerned now. What did he want? I looked behind me to see that he was a good distance away, but I could see him underneath the flickering yellow lights. I had the nerve to ask:

"What is it, Cloud? What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you."

He was looking for me? He knew that I left Nibelheim?

"Why?" I asked.

"I should be the one that's asking the questions," he said. "Why did you leave Nibelheim?"

"Why should you care? Because I wanted to, that's why!"

He really needs to start minding his own business. I was beginning to get irritated.

Still sounding concerned, he said, "I was worried about you."

"Really? That's nice. Now I have to go. If you will excuse me..."

As I began to turn around, he said:

"Wait!"

What is it now? Just leave me alone...

"Just let me say this Tifa."

I paused to look back at him.

"What is it?"

He was looking right at me. I could see his azure eyes shine underneath the lights. Then he finally said it.

"I'm sorry."

After he said that, he began to walk away, towards the inn. He disappeared as he left the glowing lights, like a shadow. What did he mean by that? I didn't understand...it seemed so simple, but it was so hard to comprehend those words.

I'm sorry.

Entry # 11, 9:24 PM WST

There are too many questions that I have for Cloud, but I know that he will not answer them. He's always like that. He never wants to tell me anything. But why did he follow me to Wutai? Was he really worried about me? And what did he mean by "I'm sorry"? This is all just too confusing for me. Is he sorry for the 'incident' that happened six months ago? Well, it's too late to ask for forgiveness. My mind is already set. Somehow, I will reveal your inner demons to the world, Cloud. If you want forgiveness, why don't ask the people you killed? But that wouldn't do much, now would it?