Chapter 6: You Miss Her

Ed was laughing. Hard. But Al and Elly were silent, their stares glued to the floorboards. Even Al had never seen him laugh this much in a very long time. Ed even began choking on the noodles in his bowl and he made a fist, hitting his chest. When he finally calmed down he shook his head, "You got me there." And he shifted his dinner with the chopsticks. Elly set down her bowl on the small table, and sat Indian style on the chair. Ed looked up at her with noodles dangling from his mouth. "What," He began, mouth full, "you're not gonna eat?" But Elly didn't answer.

"It's true," Al insisted. "What Elly told you wasn't a joke." Ed didn't turn around to look at his brother and instead waved his hand, dismissing it.

"I know what you guys are up to. And I'm not falling for it." Elly darted her eyes to Al who only looked back at her. He continued,

"When Elly and I were sitting by the lake, she told me. She saw me, Ed..." Ed turned around this time and squinted his eyes at Al, then wiggled his fingers,

"Ooooh! Amazing! She saw you...oh would you look at that," he teased. "So can I!" And he smiled knowingly and resumed in eating.

"He doesn't mean like that," Elly said. "I saw your brother, for real. I saw his soul." Ed frowned up at her and dropped his chopsticks.

"You can't see a person's soul," he told her seriously.

"No, not everyone can. But I can." Ed shook his head,

"You really are nuts."

"She is not, brother!" Al defended, getting to his feet. "I know what I felt when she looked at me. All people ever see is this," He pounded on the heavy metal of his suit. Ed could hear his brother's voice rising. Al was clearly upset.

"Al..." Ed said, a bit shaken.

"When people see me," Al continued, calmer, "they really don't. But Elly did. She's not joking, and she's not lying. She can see souls. Sometimes, she can even talk to them." Ed broke his gaze from Al, turning to the girl across from him.

"Either you're both amazing actors, or you're serious."

"I can tell you right now," Elly said. "I didn't win the talent show I put on when I was eight." Ed scoffed,

"What did you do? Tell the audience you could speak to ghosts?" But Elly made no reply and only looked away from him.

"It's not funny, Ed," Al said to him.

"So you believe her?"

"I do."

"I don't know HOW you got my brother to buy that made up story," Ed started. Al froze, wanting to protest but not knowing what else he could possibly say. "But you're taking advantage of his naivety." This hit Al hard and he bowed his head. "I don't know what it is that's so big you can't let us in on it, that you have to make up some phony story to cover it. But I will find out who, and what, you really are." Ed stomped away from the table, shrugging on his coat and turning the knob with his hand.

"You miss her." Elly said simply and Ed stopped dead. "She misses you too." He did not turn to face her, he didn't move at all.

"What?" His voice was low. Al looked to her, astonished.

"Your mother..." Elly continued.

"Shut up. Don't even think of speaking her name. Not that you would know anyway." And he slammed the door behind him.

"I know I upset you but that was not my intention."

"Just leave me alone." Ed snapped. Elly stood uncomfortably, several feet from the Elric brother who did not believe her. But she had expected as much. She studied him, his long blonde hair shielded his face so she could not see his expression, and he was sitting, knees drawn close to his chest. Elly did not draw near him and instead placed her back against the uneven walls of the inn.

"There's a lot of stars out tonight," she commented but he remained silent. "It'll be nice tomorrow."

"Then what exactly is your intention?" He seethed. "I tried to brush off and respect the fact that you had something in your past you didn't want us to know. I honestly wanted to respect your privacy. I figured if you trusted us enough you'd tell us, eventually. But then you go and throw this on my brother, and then try to convince me that some bogus lie is true. I realize it was never your trust I was trying to earn. It's you who needs my trust. And from what just happened, you don't have it."

"I know..." Elly whispered, "so I'll leave you alone. Both of you. I know all too well when I'm not wanted." And she began to walk away quietly.

"So that's it?" Ed called after her and she stopped, her hand gripping the railing on the steps. "That's why they kicked you out?" She nodded simply, her hand still holding on to the railing. "They didn't believe you either?"

"Some of them didn't. There are always people who are skeptical and suspicious. But some of them did, that's why I was forced to leave. People are afraid of what they cannot understand." Ed looked at her, she was right about that at least. "And I was bringing unwanted attention. Things would happen to people that they could not explain. Many people from out of town came only to find me. They wanted to start some big business off of me, for profit of course. I turned it away, naturally. This is not something I merely choose to do, nor is it something I do for personal gain. I do it for them, and for them only."

"'Them'?" Ed asked, even though he had a good idea of who she was referring to. He just didn't want to admit this was something to speak about like it were true.

"Yes." And it seemed as though she didn't need to give him an answer, because she simply felt he already knew. "Like Al said to me before, I have no reason to lie to you. I have nothing to gain from you, except perhaps friendship. No one likes to be alone." She reminded him. And with that, Elly bid him good night and ascended the stairs. Before she could reach the door, she heard him approach the steps below.

"About before, what you said..." Elly could hear the slight uneasiness in his voice and she could sense his hesitation. "You said... you said that she misses me too." Elly slowly turned around and sat down on the first step but Ed made no move to join her there.

"She does. Both of you." Ed looked away.

"Whatever Al told you..."

"Al never mentioned her to me, because neither did you." Ed shot up his head to her, his eyes searching.

"But it's in a different way," Elly began.

"'A different way'?" She nodded slowly.

"You both long for her physically. You can't see her because it's not like how it used to be. You miss her for her smile, for the way she held you..." And Ed tensed because it was true, and because some girl he hardly knew was telling him all this. But, oddly, he found himself almost yearning to know. And he felt conflicted, near ashamed, for not being furious enough to tell her to fuck off, or at least walk away...pretending he hadn't even listened to a thing she had said. "And she misses the fact that you miss it. That she can't do any of that for you anymore. But know this, she is always with you. Even if her body is not."

"I want to believe you, I just don't think I can." And Ed swiftly climbed the steps, passing her and disappearing into the inn.