Ed and Al were going into the train station for tickets.

"Ed? Al?" a voice asked. "Where are you going?"

They turned. Kirina stood at the door of the train station, clutching a book.

"We're going to ditch Central for a while to visit our hometown, Risembool," Ed responded.

"Risembool." Kirina smiled wistfully. "It's in the country, isn't it? Must be nice. Well, good luck. Have a safe trip."

Al stared at Kirina as she walked away. Without a moment's hesitation, he called out, "Kirina, wait! Would you like to come with us?"

Both Kirina and Ed looked surprise.

"Al, where are we going to get money for her ticket?" Ed hissed.

"From you, obviously," Al responded. "Look at how sad she looked."

Ed turned to Kirina, who looked a little flustered.

"Um, I shouldn't impose," she said. "Besides, I have work here. Good bye."

Ed groaned with disgust and grabbed Kirina's arm.

"Hey!" Kirina cried as Ed pulled her toward the ticket window. "What do you think you're doing?"

"All I here from you is work this, work that. Leave some for the lazy pigs who've been taking advantage of you." Ed turned to the ticket person. "Three tickets to Risembool."

Kirina turned helplessly to Al.

"Don't worry," Al responded. "You'll have fun there. Winry is a very nice girl---"

"Machine junkie is more like it," Ed mumbled.

"--- and she has a grandmother named Pinako who's also very nice."

"But, my work . . ." Kirina said softly.

"Even alchemists need rest, Kirina," Ed said, handing her a ticket with a grin. "We leave in exactly two hours. Go and pack up. And if you try to run away, we'll find you."

For a moment, Kirina still looked confused. Finally she smiled and took the ticket. "All right."

"Are we almost there?" Kirina asked, peering out the window.

"Just a couple more minutes," Ed said.

"Have you ever been to the countryside?" Al asked.

Kirina nodded and turned around. "I've always liked it better than the city, even if the time I spent there was a little unfortunate. When I was five, my mentor took me to the Field of Broken Dreams."

Ed and Al gave her a look that plainly said, "Huh?"

"It's a field filled with minerals and crystals," Kirina explained. "All of them are broken, thus the name Field of Broken Dreams. Even if it was a little dangerous and to run your finger on the surface of a crystal meant split skin, it was lovely. All the crystals were sparkling. It was like something out of a beautiful dream. Like you could make a wish in that field and it would've come true." Kirina smiled and turned to the brothers. "Have either of you ever had a dream that came true?"

"Not really," Ed responded. "Most of the time I don't even dream. Can't speak for Al, though. I don't know if he dreams or not."

"Do you dream, Al?" Kirina asked.

Al seemed to want to respond, but at that moment, the train stopped.

"We're here," Al said instead.

Kirina gasped with delight once they got outside.

"The air! It smells so pure, not like putrid city air or gunpowder. I don't think I've ever seen anything greener than this landscape. Oh, and what a wondrous blue sky!"

"She sure is making a big deal out of a boring little town," Ed mumbled.

"Thank you!" Kirina said, managing to give both boys a big hug. "I'm so glad you brought me here. It's remarkable! If you ever need me to do any work or anything at all, I hope you'll let me know."

"Kirina, you don't have to worry about work here," Al said. "Just relax and enjoy yourself."

Kirina grinned. "Okay!"

All the way through Risembool, Kirina stopped once in a while to marvel at the sights. By the time they got to the Rockbell home, the sun was setting and everything looked like it was being bathed in golden light.

Ed knocked on the door and Pinako answered.

"Hello, boys. Still short, huh, Ed?"

Ed was about to yell, but Pinako shushed him and walked toward Kirina.

"These boys didn't mention that they were bringing a friend. Who are you, dear?"

Suddenly, Kirina became shy. Bowing her head with respect, she muttered, "I'm Kirina Miracle, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Rockbell."

Pinako laughed. "Just plain Pinako will do. What a pretty name you have, Kirina. Who gave it to you?"

"My mentor."

"And you're also a State Alchemist?"

"Yes, Miss Pinako."

"I see that. Well, come on in."

As Ed, Al, and Kirina walked in, Pinako called, "Winry, they're here and they've brought a friend."

Winry ran down the stairs.

"Hi, guys!" she called. "You didn't destroy yourselves again, did you?"

"Nope, not at all," Ed said. "Oh, Winry, come meet Kirina."

"Kirina?" Winry turned to the shy girl, who was nearly hidden behind Al, and shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Winry, the engineer who designed Ed's limbs."

"I'm Kirina Miracle, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist." Kirina smiled shyly. "You must be a genius, Winry, to have created those prosthetic limbs."

"Well, I don't like to brag, but I am pretty good. Some even call me a prodigy." Winry smiled. "You must be a sort of prodigy, too. You said you were a State Alchemist, right? Just how old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

"Fourteen and taller than Ed. Hmm, big surprise there."

"She's not taller than me!" Ed snapped, flailing his arms.

"No need for you to get so mad," Winry said and took Kirina's hand. "You can stay in my room, Kirina."

"Okay."

Both girls went upstairs. Pinako turned to Ed.

"I suppose you'll want some food. Well, kitchen's all yours."

Ed grinned. "Thanks, Grams."

"Thanks for letting me take apart your pocket watch, Kirina," Winry said, handing the silver thing back to her. "Ed said I'd break it, but I knew I could fix it."

"Thank you, Winry. It looks even better than ever."

Winry sat at her dresser and started brushing her hair. "So how did you meet Ed and Al?"

Kirina laughed. "I accidentally bumped into Al one day and made Ed mad by saying he was an inch shorter than me."

"Big surprise there," Winry said, rolling her eyes. "Whose idea was it for you to come here?"

"I guess you could say Al. Ed only agreed with him after I said I had to get back to work. Kinda strange, don't you think so, Winry?"

"Not really," Winry said. "I don't think Ed likes being an alchemist. Well, I'm pretty sure he likes it, but he doesn't like being a State Alchemist. He's only doing that for Al." Winry gasped. "Oh, no. Did I say too much?"

Kirina shook her head. "No. They've never told me, but I know. Somehow I knew Al's body was empty." Kirina frowned. "Wait, that's not a very appropriate word for him. His body may be empty, but there's a soul there. A human soul."

"His body made a hollow sound when you bumped into him, didn't it?"

"Yeah. It makes me sad. Al's my age, isn't he? I can't imagine what it would be like to be devoid of most of your senses. I can't even imagine doing a human transmutation. That's practically a death sentence." Kirina yawned. "I can see it in there eyes. Something traumatic must've happened when both of them were younger. Something . . . that made their dreams become broken . . . in more ways than one. . ."

"Yeah, something did. By the way, Kirina, what's your story?"

No one responded. Winry turned around.

"Kirina?"

Kirina was sound asleep. Winry approached Kirina and gasped. She backed away from her, shocked. It wasn't the laceration scars. She had already noticed those when she had grabbed her hand. It was something else.

Do Ed and Al know this? Does she even know this?

Winry decided not to say anything. After all, what business of hers was it to interfere in other people's affairs?

Hi! I'm back again! (You're disappointed, right?).

Now, you can tell that all Kirina's been doing is work, work, work and all for the State. No wonder Ed was mad (He doesn't care about it much, remember?). And without further ado, I shall now tell you what Winry was gasping over. It was . . . dramatic pause

Oh, gee, I forgot. Oops! Guess you'll just have to keep reading. Sorry.