Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep em coming! But honestly... Those who are not interested in the pairing and the fact that they're already souls... Stop flaming. I'm telling you… their deaths sparks something very interesting and you'll find out what is it in the next chapters. Thanks!
From Afar
He stood a few feet away from her. Another lonely soul. Come join my misery.
"What do you want from me?", Tifa asked, fists clenched in tension. Kadaj took a few steps away from the bench and into the aisle. They stood face to face.
"Nothing.", he answered blankly. "I want nothing from you."
"Really?", she raised an eyebrow. She crossed her arms to her chest and eyed him from head to toe. "Then why are you messing up with my head?", her tone has a hint of being certain, as if she knew he was lying and that she caught him.
Kadaj giggled a little.
"I'm not entering your thoughts whatsoever. You're simply—listening to me."
"Listening to you?", she asked impatiently. He nodded.
"It's a little cold and lonely in here don't you think?", he said, walking between the benches. "You mean this church?", she asked. "I wasn't here for too long so I cant tell." He paused.
"Newcomer, right?", he stared blankly at her. He looks so lonely. "Welcome to the afterlife."
She was getting a little bit uneasy now. Walking a few steps forward in the aisle, she kept her eyes on him, her face marked with tension and alertness. Kadaj sighed.
"I wont hurt you. We're not in the living world, aren't we…", he sadly spoke. His question was more of a reassurance. "Besides… I don't have the reason to.", he smiled at her now. She got the logic. No more Sephiroth. No more Jenova. Kadaj and I have nothing to do with each other now. Her muscles relaxed. "What brings you here?", he asked. "Memories?"
Memories? "I don't know... perhaps."
"We still have them, don't we?", he continued, pacing between rows of benches, steps echoing. "Still have them here.", he repeatedly tapped the side of his head with a finger.
"Of course we do. I wouldn't remember you if I lost them.", she replied. He's absolutely right. Memories led her to the church. Perhaps he was dead long enough to decipher the moves of the souls: why they come to places that may resemble their experiences before and more. "What about you?", she asked back. He shook his head rapidly.
"This church has nothing to do with my memory.", he replied. "I'm not as predictable as you other souls are."
"What?", she suddenly lost her way in the conversation. "Predictable..?" He paused again.
"You came here because of your memories, right? Memories when you were alive. So at some point… you want to live again. And you feel that whenever you come here."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Mother…?"
"Yes?"
"I want to have a word with you."
"Why do you need to come here, then? You know I'm always with you.. in your thoughts. Is it so important that you need to see me face to face?"
"I guess so."
"Then I want to hear it."
"… I'm so lonely."
"Lonely? But I talk to you everyday."
"I find it so cold here. Like… I'm missing a lot of things. I don't think we don't have any difference with the living anymore. Except that… they can choose to end their misery. Mother… I'm so alone! Everyone around me seems to be happy and it seems that they are mocking me because I don't feel the same as them! I…"
"Hush now. If they are happy… then you could be too. Listen to them, they are not mocking you. You've been here for quite a time now. I want you to be happy as you can be. Please help yourself."
"Please don't think that I'm not trying! I try everyday to be happy! So you would be proud and so I could be alright! But I've made up my mind… I want… to be alive again."
"… I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to grant your wish."
Dismissing his wish was easier than she thought it would be. At the sound of her sad, hopeless voice, he gave up that moment. It took eternity as he stared back at her with eyes so lonely, agonizing, and if ever they could muster a few words or even push his lips to speak, they would cry out, WHY?! After what seemed to be forever, he turned his back on her, but she was pretty sure that she saw glittering crystal tears forming in his eyes. Even if she didn't see so she could always feel his soul hurting anyway. And guilt shivered through her body, but she knew it wouldn't be wise to take back what she had said.
Shaking the memory off her head, Aerith went behind her friend a wisp of air. She has this knack of making the souls feel her presence before she actually takes form and appear before them. Tifa, being a close friend, is most likely to expect this. She knew because the moment she touched her hair, making it dance in the wind, Tifa whispered, "You're here."
"Our friends… how are they?", Aerith asked, finally showing her form.
"Do you really need to ask me that?", with a giggle Tifa replied. "I know you watch thme everyday, despite your role here in Lifestream. You see… I met this little girl and she knew that we're friends. You speak to them, don't you…"
"Right.", Aerith confirmed. "I speak to them everyday. They need to be happy."
"I guess they all are.", Tifa said, remembering the smiling faces that welcomed her in her first moment in the afterlife. Somehow, doubt came out with her voice.
"No you don't… right?", Aerith asked. I know everything.
"Kadaj."
"Tifa… Kadaj is just lost. And he needs me. He needs to come back to me. Sooner, he will be alright. I will take care of him."
With a smile, Tifa nodded in agreement. She felt the wind play with her hair before it finally flew away slowly. There is nothing in this world that Aerith does not care about.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Sunlight stroked Tifa's face. They sounded like morning bells waking the entire town. But did I really sleep? She felt as light as when she first came in Lifestream. In the living world you could wake up heavy and pulped in the morning, but not in the afterlife where everything is perfect.
Not long after that, she was walking along the road again, eager to explore what's more in the environment. I wonder what Cloud is doing right now.
She shrugged the thought away. Aerith would be taking care of them, she assured herself. Her worries about her friends are simply things that she will overcome soon—the moment that she finds happiness among the souls.
At the far end of the road, she spotted a familiar figure with its back on her, facing the church. Crystal.
"Hey kid. What's new?", she called after hurrying to her spot. After all, she is the only one whom she knew—just yet. Crystal turned around at the sound of Tifa's voice.
"Good morning!", Crystal said. Then she turned her head back to the church's direction, making Tifa avert her gaze. "Wouldn't you be playing with Bambi inside the church today?", Tifa asked. To her surprise, Crystal shook her head tensely.
"…Why?"
"…There's a weird man in the church. And I keep hearing his thoughts in my head."
