A Lullaby Found
You walk the earth for at least another hundred years. You're around when Marlene passes on, and attend her funeral. Apparently Denzel has already passed. You stop at their graves every few months, and did so even before Marlene died. You place lilies from the church on each of their graves, and you place yellow roses on Tifa's. You remember they were her favorite. You donate gil you've earned over the years to the "Strife Family Adoption Home". You help repair it, watch over some of the kids now and again. Tifa's family that she left behind comes to accept you when you visit. It's a hundred years, though, after Tifa's death, after Kal's revelation, after Marlene's death, and even Aerith's death, that life finally looks up for you.
That's because, life finally ends for you.
Lying in that bed that night, you never really thought you'd be there. You're a guest at Seventh Heaven, once again, with Abagail watching out for you. You're in Cloud and Tifa's old room. You lay there for so long, just staring up at the ceiling, replaying the events of your life; your never ending life. You've aged a few years yet again, it seems. It keeps you hoping. You wonder if Tifa watches over you, along with your mother, and Sera. Your heart pangs a moment with guilt, knowing Sera has passed, and your daughter as well. You haven't visited their graves, as much as you've wanted to. It just hurts so bad everytime you left your mind drift to them. You close your eyes for a second, and don't know how you ended up there. After all, it's been so long since you've dreamed.
That church.
You're sitting on one of the pews that haven't been destroyed yet, the pool gone, and a patch of flowers replacing it.
It seems to of had such an effect on your life, and yet you've spent such little time there. Just enough time to attack and be saved by Tifa. And then there's a woman kneeling in the patch of flowers. The white and yellow lilies you scorned once upon a time are back, and she's caring for them with delicate fingers. She's wearing a long pink dress, with a little red jacket over. You note large bangles on her wrists, and big brown boots. What catches your eye the most though, is her hair. It's like Marlene's was, braided down her back, and pulled up with a pink ribbon. You remember how Cloud and Tifa, and the rest of them had all worn a pink ribbon in remembrance of the Flower Girl. You realize with horror that's whose presence you are in. She stands slowly, brushing the dirt from the front of her dress, and turns to look at you with bright emerald green eyes. They're full of hope and love and life. They remind you of Tifa's eyes.
Why are you afraid?
She doesn't even speak, but you feel the words emote off of her.
"I don't believe...I deserve to be in your presence..." You cast your eyes down in shame.
Why?
"You saved the planet...you were killed...by him..." You struggle with the words. "And at one point in my life, I was trying to revive...him..."
It's a delicate touch on the side of your face as her fingers grace your jaw, causing you to tip your head up. She smiles lightly.
"You're not to blame." She speaks for the first time.
"But I..."
"Were forced...I watched...that night when you were on the cliff. Jenova took you there, and Kadaj. You were all forced into something. You were forced to support Kadaj, and Kadaj was forced to be a remnant."
"She killed my mother, didn't she?"
She smiles, "She's waiting for you."
"Hmm."
"You still do not want to come?"
"I do...more than anything...I just wonder...if I deserve to."
"Oh Shale..." You look up, surprised. "You deserve to so much more than you think. A mistake you made, but do we not all make mistakes? Even I did...so do not blame yourself for something that fate was meant to cause. After all, if things had not ended up as they had, would you've met Sera?" She's caught you off guard again. "After all, you were from two different times...you would've been old by the time she was born...both of you would've went through life without your true love...and...would you had ever met Tifa? The one that saved you?"
You sit in silence, shocked by the truth of those words.
She smiles greatly now, "You're so much like him..."
"Who?"
She turns, walking softly back towards the flowers.
Your foster father.
"C-Cloud?"
She gives a small giggle, her feelings radiating off of her again, rather than speaking.
Always blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault; trying to change the past when the future is the way it's suppose to be.
"I'm like Cloud?"
She giggles softly again, her voice booming in the church, but soft at the same time.
Ready?
"Really?"
Would I lie?
The church is fading, white pulling at the edge of your vision, the Flower Girl kneeling once again in her patch of flowers.
"No...but wait...Vincent...and Kal..."
Kal still has much he needs to atone for...as for Vincent...
"I won't go unless you offer him..."
You feel her smile, though she isn't facing you.
He's already here...so much like her...your foster mother...Always caring for people before yourself.
"How can you be like Cloud and Tifa at the same time?"
She giggles one last time.
It's all fading again, and her back is the last thing you see before the world turns an airy white. Though there is nothing, you are sitting in this white expanse, and somehow, your clothes and hair ruffles with wind.
Hey...
A voice you haven't heard in so long whispers in your ear, and causes you to cast your gaze up.
Let's go.
There's a hand appearing in this white expanse, pale and dainty, and coming closer and growing in size. You remember watching Kadaj reach towards an invisible hand a top the Midgar ruins so long ago. You reach up unconsciously, thinking it's the Flower Girl again. Instead, there are no bangles on her wrists.
Instead, there is a ring with a wolf carved into it on the ring finger.
Your fingers grace that of her's, and you feel yourself being pulled away, all your feelings disappearing, and then slamming back into you with such force, it drives the breath from you lungs. You assume this is the moment you actually died, that your soul left your body.
And then you open your eyes, lying back in a great field of lilies, eyes cast towards a bright blue sky. You sit up slowly, the lilies tickling your skin, and you cast your eyes about you.
Is this it? Are you there? Have you finally made it to the promised land? Or is this just merely a dream? And if it is a dream, it would really be a nightmare then.
"Shale!" Then hands cover your eyes.
There's a giggle you know, and don't know. And then they're speeding off past you. A woman of the age of about twenty, and a man as well, running through the flowers. She casts a glance over her shoulder at you, and your mouth opens in shock.
"Marlene? Denzel?"
You're seeing them at an age you never saw when you were alive. They're rolling around in the lilies now, and another person is walk up.
"Vincent? Yuffie?"
They wave hello as they continue, Yuffie placing a crown of lilies on your head. She laughs flat out, and even Vincent gives the hint of a smile.
Then there's Reeve, and the Turks and Rufus in the distance laughing about something. Reeve waves at you, as Cid and Shera walk past with an adult version of their daughter. Barret storms past you in a rush, a quick 'Yo!' thrown over his shoulder. You notice the gunarm is gone, as is Vincent's golden claw. Nanaki bounds past you, tossing lilies into the sky. You stand slowly, feeling someone pat your shoulder lightly.
"Cloud?" You breathe.
He keeps walking, though, as if his eyes are set on something else. You turn to follow his eyes, but someone calls to you from behind.
"Shale!"
She giggles, it's the flower girl from your dream. She rushes up, giving you a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
She thieves your flower crown before whispering in your ear, "Glad to see you could make it."
A man with dark hair follows her as she runs on, and he gives you a friendly wave.
You numbly give one back, dreading the moment you'll wake.
But that's the moment you see her.
She's moving towards you as if gliding on water, her red hair is long and billowing out behind her. There's another girl behind her, and a boy, that resemble both of you.
"Sera?" You gasp as she rushes up.
She plants a large kiss on your lips as you meet, crying and laughing.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?" She howls into your arms.
You hold her sobbing form against your chest, as she wraps her arms around you.
"Dad?" The young woman asks.
"Tifannie?"
She smiles, tears forming in her eyes that are so much like your own, and throws her arms around your waist.
"So...you're my father..." The man states, his eyes regarding you.
"What?"
"This is our other...child...Shale..." Sera states.
"We had another child?" You ask, shocked.
She nods giddily.
"Nice to meet you Dad." He grins, holding his hand out.
You laugh, for the first time in ages you actually laugh. Taking his hand you pull him into the hug you share with your wife and daughter.
"Shiloh?"
You recognize the voice.
"I thought I was Shale..."
Your mother laughs, kissing your cheek as your family releases you. Your father pats your shoulder.
"Took you long enough, boy." He states simply.
You can't believe this is happening, that you're actually in the promised land. More people keep appearing, laughing and talking. People you recognize from your travels and the adoption home, and people you don't even know.
"I'm sorry." A voice states from behind you.
You turn, a name caught on your tongue.
"Yes...my name was always Kadaj." He replies, his hair a deep golden color, and his eyes a deep purple.
"So you have been here..."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." You reply.
Your eyes cast about all the people you thought you'd never see again. They're moving away from you, speaking and laughing as if they were all old friends. You see Sera and Yuffie laughing at something, and Vincent and your father conversing. You smile, catching Cloud talking to a petite figure with long flowing hair.
Your eyes continue, until you do a double take. You gasp, your eyes going wide, and your lips parting in disbelief. You realize what Cloud had been watching earlier; there was only one person he was ever so intent upon.
She's there kissing Cloud on the lips lightly, yellow roses strewn through her hair, and her eyes bright with love and life again. You don't dare call out to her, or say her name, in fear that the dream will end, and everything will break.
"I told you he'd be mad at you." Marlene whispers in your ear.
You cast a glance at her. "He couldn't of been...what was it...a week? I had to wait a hundred years!"
She laughs, walking away. You glance over towards Cloud, but she's gone.
Your eyes go wild, frantic to see her again. And she's there, squeezing your arm lightly.
"Welcome home." She smiles.
"Ti...fa...?"
And she grins, and gives you a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, son." she giggles, and hugs you tight.
You hug her back, the woman that changed your life. The woman that gave you a reason to find your lullaby, to love people, to have a wife, and children, to help and to care. The woman who saved you from wallowing in your past about the transgressions you committed. She grins up at you as she pulls back.
"Marlene was right, Cloud was a bit huffy at first...but he understood."
She walks away, as many of them have done, leaving you to stand in awe of everything that has happened. How this once empty flower field turned into a reunion of sorts, of many people who never met in life, meet in death. People who existed in different places and times, becoming friends and sharing stories. It's amazing. And you realize it's not a dream.
Because they're all there...Sera, your mother, and Tifa. All of your angels are here, so there for, you must be dead. You'd expected it to shatter the moment you spoke Tifa's name, but it hadn't. You had been saved by the Flower Girl, and forgiven by all that you hurt, and had forgave the one who had brought it upon you.
You didn't give up, because you had people to love.
You must be in the promised land.
You tip your head back as a light rain begins to fall from the cloudless sky. No one runs from it, instead, many begin dancing and singing. You watch in wonder as Marlene and Denzel shrink in age, becoming the children you knew, clasping hands as they danced in the rain. Tifa grasps Cloud's hand, pulling him beneath a tree in the distance. Sera finds your hand, and you grasp it tightly within your own. She stands up on her tip toes, leaning into your ear.
"I love you."
You smile, "I love you."
"By the way, you have grandchildren."
You laugh, catching her off guard as you grab her by the waist and lift her from the ground, spinning her around. You pull her in, hugging her again tightly to your chest and inhale her scent as the rain pours down around you. She rushes off again, as many of them have a tendency to do, you find. You smile wide, life finally feeling whole and complete, even if you are technically dead.
After all, you finally did find your lullaby.
Breathe my child, it's all okay.
Don't cry anymore, my love today.
Love is life, and life is love,
Fly away my beautiful dove.
In your dreams, sleep peacefully;
Tomorrow will be better, just believe.
So breathe my child, it's all okay,
Don't cry anymore my love today,
I'm here for now, this moment I say;
I'm here for good, in your heart I'll stay.
And feel the love my angel, today,
Just open your heart up and pray.
Mother's here, so don't be lonely,
My dearest, my angel, my child, my only.
The End
A/N: Dude...I love the scene with Aerith...and I wrote this last chapter while listening to Aerith's and Tifa's Theme...which I think was great for inspiration...anyways...and I know, with Nanaki...the timeline does not line up...he's still suppose to be alive...but I couldn't leave him out! special thanks to: crazymoneky101, havoc0gemini, ravenb, DaLover miyuufa, elebelly, Airtos, and ling. It really means alot that this story was enjoyed by you, even if it was a small crowd...I still love ya for it, as to the fact this story was a challenge...so thanks for all of the support! I may write a sister story told in Yazoo's POV...but I'm not sure yet...I'll have to get some inspiration...so, thanks again! Hope you enjoyed 'Lost Lullaby'