Short Stories of Strangers
My little tributes to the less significant people of Final Fantasy VII
Story Four: Comforting and Comfort Of the Angel
He's coming home!
Your reflection bounces in the mirror, happy and smiling. You can't wait. He, your love, your husband for five years, David, is coming home from the war on leave! How wonderful. He will arrive back in Midgar today at six O'clock at the Sector 5 station. You spend the day flying around the house, tidying shelves, cleaning tables and sweeping the floors. At five O'clock you smooth your white apron that is hanging on a peg by the door, pull on a shawl and sit at the table, overcome with excitement. You read the letter over and over again, which lies unfolded and smoothed flat on the table. It has been a long time since you saw him, and you have missed him terribly.
Finally, as the long hand on the clock crawls towards the number twelve, you stand up and push the door open, and walk out into the Sector 5 slums. Other people are making their way to the station to greet their friends and lovers coming home on leave. You reach the station, and see a young couple lounging by a lamppost. The girl reaches out and cups the boy's cheek with her hand and says something. The boy smiles and wraps his arms around her and spins her around. The girl laughs, and the boy lets her go and leaps onto the lamppost and swings on it. You smile; you are used to seeing such shows of affection. The girl laughs at her boyfriend's actions and holds out her hand to him. The boy takes it, and together they walk out of the station. As they pass you, you greet them; "Good evening, Jessie, Biggs."
"Good evening ma'am!" They reply and you walk on, towards the platform. As you climb up the stone steps onto the platform, all the people on in start peering anxiously down the railway lines. You see the guard waving and hear the screech of the train's brakes as it glides in the station. The people step backwards, and wait as the train stops, and the carriage doors slide open.
A young man in a light blue shirt steps out of the carriage and looks around. A young woman with short dyed red hair and leather clothes jumps forward and smothers the man in a hug. The man blushes and tries to coax her off him. When she lets go, she seizes his wrist and pulls him across the platform and through the crowd and down the road. Some of the group laughs, and you smile to yourself, thinking about whether you should do that to David.
Another man exits the train. Everyone cheers. It's Mr. Hamfon, the owner of the Weapon Shop, in his maroon waistcoat and white shirt, which stretch over his massive belly. He's very popular around here, always laughing and joking. He's quite old too, the grey hair showing plainly among the black. He grins at the attention, and scratches the back of his head sheepishly. Mrs. Hamfon walks towards him, her pink dress swirling in the electric light of the station and her husband spreads him arms and hugs her. Then, to everyone's shock, she lifts him in the air and twirls him around! This is shocking because he is twice her weight, and Mrs. Hamfon is a tiny woman, just over a meter high! The crowd on the platform laughs and gasps and a few of them clap. The Hamfons walk away and more men exit the train. People join up and hug and walk away. There are kisses and hugs and tears. Then they left. And you are alone on the platform. The guard slides and compartment doors shut.
You walk up to the guard and tap his shoulder. He turns around and looks at you.
"Aren't…aren't there any more passengers?" You say hoarsely, your mouth dry. He shakes his head. You turn and walk off the platform and sit to the stone steps. You can still hear the happy laughter of people down the road. You put your face in your hands, and feel hot tears slide down your face.
You go to the station everyday, hopeful, and leave the station everyday, disappointed. You wonder what has happened to David, though you reassure yourself that his leave was just canceled. You are lonely, so very lonely. Until, one day…
You walk the path you have trod for so long, to the station, hoping against hope that, this time, David will be there. But instead you see something else. A woman is slumped against the stone steps, a young girl next to her, who is sobbing uncontrollably. This scene is familiar; this sort of thing happens a lot during the war. You run up to the pair. The woman is very beautiful, dressed in a long red dress and red shoes. There is a purple sash around her waist, and a dark stain is spreading on it and the dress. She is dying. You kneel down and try to stop the bleeding with your shawl, but to no avail. The little girl sobbing next to her mother's body has her mother's emerald eyes and brown hair. The child runs up to you and clings to you, crying. Looking down at her tear-filled, shining green eyes, you feel a lump rise in your throat. The woman chokes and you bend over her, and she turns her head to look at you. Her mouth moves, and you bend closer to listen.
"Please take Aeris somewhere safe.' She whispers, and then lets out a sigh like a murmured breeze and lies still. The little girl wails and her body trembles. A crowd has gathered, and watch the child and her dead mother sorrowfully. You stand up, and turn to the throng of people.
"Will someone please carry the mother to my garden? We can bury her there."
Several of the men come forward. Some women have brought a sheet, and they tenderly lay the body on it. The men carry the body away, and you are left with the child. She clings to your leg, and you reach down and pick her up. You hold her as she cries, and rock her slowly, comfortingly. Her soft turquoise jumper is splattered with her tears and her mother's blood. Gradually, her weeping subsides, and she falls asleep. You carry her back home, where, in the garden, (which is nothing more than two circular areas of dirt) a freshly made grave resides. The men have already buried her and left. You look at the grave, the sleeping girl in your arms. Then, you turn and enter the house again, and take her upstairs and tuck her into the spare bed. You go back downstairs and wash the blood off your hands. You make a coffee, and sit at the table sipping the hot drink. Later, after washing up the cup, you go to bed. In the night, you hear the child having a nightmare, crying and wailing for her mother. You go into her room, and spend the night stroking her forehead gently and holding her in your arms.
It has been three years since you comforted Aeris at the station. You are out in the garden, tending the flowers. The garden had never sprouted a single blade of grass before Aeris came. David had said it was the amount of Mako being pumped around, it poisoned the earth. But the day after Aeris' mother was buried in the garden, a green stalk had pushed its way out of the soil, grown a large bud and opened to reveal a delicate yellow flower. Aeris had been delighted, and now the garden was covered in grass and flowers. You love Aeris very much, and you know she loves you. She calls you 'mom' now. You stand up, brushing dirt off your hands and apron and stroll back to the house. You push the door open and walk to the sink. As you are putting your hands under the hot tap, you hear Aeris call you; "Mom."
You dry your hands on the towel and turn off the hot water as Aeris walks down the stairs. She is dressed in her peach-coloured dress with her brown shoes, her white socks rolled down to her ankles. Her chocolate locks are tied back by a yellow springy hairband. Aeris walks up to you, smiling. But then her smile fades, and she blurts out, "Please don't cry."
You look down at her, and become worried. "Has something happened?" You ask her.
She nods, and says, "Someone dear to you has just died. His spirit was coming to see you but he already returned to the planet."
You are taken aback, and don't believe her. But there it is again. 'Returned to the planet'. What does it mean? She says it so often. And someone has died? She must be mistaken.
She is not mistaken. The letter in your hand says she is not mistaken. David. Your beloved David is dead. Killed in war. You are slumped against the table, crying. Then a pair of small arms wrap around your waist. You raise your head, and look around. Aeris is hugging you, her face buried in your chest. She looks up at you, and says;
"Don't cry Mom. Please don't cry."
Somehow, the fact that she is here and caring for you, it comforts you. You lift her onto your lap and she hugs you. You hug her back and look again at the letter. The fact that David is gone is, and always will be, painful. But you can bear the pain if someone is there to help you. Someone who is kind and sweet and understanding. And Aeris is just that sort of person.