Summary: Attempting to regenerate the two worlds in your own, unproven ways... is it worth the thousands of people dead? And then what about the people left behind? Oneshot, inspired by 9/11.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.
A/N: Very short: just felt like writing a little something. Spoilers for those who haven't made pacts with all of the Summon Spirits yet.
Smiling to Heaven
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"Where's your mother, child?"
She cranes her neck to look up at me in confusion. "Mommy?"
"Yes, child, where is she?" I repeat as calmly as possible.
"Oh." The child smiles up at me, a weak little ray of sunshine in the dark clouds of today. "Nice Lady said that Mommy's in a really far away place called heaven." I stiffen, but the child isn't crying. Or screaming. Or shocked. Or seeking comfort in me.
The child doesn't know.
Ignorance.
Blissful Ignorance.
But life walks on. I am jolted from my thoughts as the child furrows her brow and asks of me why Mommy would go to heaven instead of staying with her?
I don't know what to say. But to say nothing...
"Child, your mother..." I swallow a painful lump in my throat. "Your mommy didn't have a choice." Something starts pricking at the back of my eyes and I unconsciously rub at them.
She looks at me, innocent. "Did mean Desian take Mommy away?" She stops and thinks for a moment. "But how did the giant tree be scary and make Palma go bad?"
I don't have an answer for her because I don't know. "I don't know, child," I answer, feeling very helpless and stupid. Is there anything that I can do to make at least something right?
"Nice Lady said that heaven's up there," here she points upwards, and I follow her gaze and watch the clouds drift, "but I don't see Mommy..."
Of course. To make it easier for the child to grasp the idea, the woman had said that heaven was a material thing, as solid as the earth I am standing on. I don't know how to respond.
She turns to look at me again, her eyes full of questions. "How come Mommy don't fall down?"
"Your...mommy... has wings, child. Angels have wings."
"Mommy's Angel? With Martel?" she says with glee.
"Yes." She positively radiated with pride.
"But what'll Mommy do when wings get tired?"
"She'll rest on the clouds."
"But what if there aren't none?"
"She'll rest on the sun."
"But Mommy get owie!"
"The wonderful Goddess Martel will protect her."
"But what if night and no clouds?"
"She'll rest on either the stars of the moon."
"With Luna?"
"...yes, I suppose so." The child nods seriously, and then asked if heaven was a nice place.
"Yes," I answer automatically.
She cocks her head to one side, confusion scribbled all over her face.
"...Because the Holy writings in Angelic that we are able to decipher say so," I answer to her unspoken question.
"Oh. Kay." The child starts to smile again. "I go to heaven too?"
"Yes, child, if you're good. But not until the Goddess decides when, which may be in a while yet."
"Okay." She beams up at me, no doubt excited about meeting Martel and being with her mother again when it's time for her to go.
And I can only hope that when that time comes...
She'll be with her mommy again, where she belongs.
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A few days later, the child passed away due to a sickness from drinking contaminated water.
She went the same way Neil did. She climbed the stairs to heaven with a heart full of hope.
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End
