Chapter One: Fade Me Away
Cloud stood inside the church, staring at the different colors of the stained glass window. An array of colors splashed onto his face, changing his face from a purple to a blue to a green in a matter of seconds. He sighed and turned away to stare at the small fireworks of bright white and yellow flowers. Flowers…she loved them…Cloud sighed again for what had to be the twentieth time in the past minute. He turned away and walked down the aisle, pews at each of his side as if sitting there, watching him mourn in silence. Tifa and Marlene walked in, surprising him with a chorus of Clouds. He turned around to face them and sent them a weak smile. Marlene ran over and attached herself to his leg, "Tifa says you have another delivery request."
Strife Delivery Service. Cloud's non-profit job as a delivery boy. (A/N: LOL, I don't think the non-profit part is correct, but none of the sites I have been to state anything about this, so if you happen upon something concerning his delivery service, please be a kind soul and contact me so that those who read the story will get the correct facts and will not be confused. Thank You!)
Although the directions were confusing, Cloud eventually found the place he was looking for. The small shack was located high up on a cliff. Cloud shivered as snow drifted softly to the ground, it was cold. Who could possibly live here? Cloud thought, I guess whoever lives here isn't really social. As climbing reached a stop when he reached the top of the cliff. He lifted up his hand to knock on the wood door, but he held back, afraid that the fragile looking door would fall if he touched it at all. However, the door opened to reveal a young girl about Yuffie's age, maybe a bit older. Cloud's mouth nearly dropped, but he controlled himself. He handed her the neatly wrapped package and she thanked him with a small smile. "Would you like something warm to drink before you go?" she asked. Cloud shook his head and turned away to leave. The climb down the rocky road that led to his bike was a long one; I should have accepted that warm drink… something warm… that would be nice right now. As the snow continued to fall, he found himself getting dizzier and dizzier, the bright white color, swallowing him up as he collapsed into the mounds of snow. Aeris…
"I want to be forgiven…" said Cloud. "By who?" Aeris retaliated, giggling. "I want to be forgiven…"
Cloud opened his eyes to a darkened room that smelled oddly of jasmine. Where am I? What happened? "Aeris?" Cloud muttered, his eyes, not yet adjusted to the darkness. "No, it's Yuki." Cloud blinked, the vision of Aeris faded as it was. "Oh, it's you," Cloud said. Yuki smiled at him, "Tea?"