BWG 1: déjà vu
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Sephiroth had gone for the day.
That allowed me a sweet chance to go on my own fun forays to town. Town was Nibelheim— speaking in a way, it was the only town. To me, for me. Above all, it was this special little place that Sephiroth appeared so attached to, yet didn't care for at the same time, enough to ignore explaining why. We lived far to its west, nestled on both the coast and the Nibel mountain range that peaked and branched off a little ways to the north of us. If I prepared myself early, I usually had enough time to do, or attempt to do, what I pleased and then get back home before Sephiroth did. He was privy to my fleeing the cage, of course he was, he always was, but like a good girl, I remembered to wear to my cloak more often than not, so he had few bones to pick with me over when and if I didn't.
That early morning, I danced through my wake-up routine: I made myself some hot cereal, showered, dressed, put on my clothes and cloak and hurried on my merry way. All that, I did without losing more than a step or two, if any.
What added to good fortune, besides some materia I couldn't leave home without, were the Chocobos that roamed the Nibelheim lowlands. Sephiroth always questioned why I grew greens in the vegetable patch if they weren't that edible. Chocobos. The answer was Chocobos, plain and simple. They were my occasional mode of transportation while he got around in ways I found mysterious, which he still had yet to ever explain to me.
Sylkis greens were a prime choice; I grew them en masse instead of the others, that and in spite of more superficial thoughts, they looked... nice. The seeds cost a hefty chunk of gil out of my allowance, but since the traveling salesman raved about them like they were Chocobo god's gift, I couldn't resist.
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So there I was, wandering solo. I paced a common Chocobo trail about a few miles southeast from the house. One could tell by the tramped earth and brittle old feathers and things lying in the grass. I'd crouched and arranged a neat pile of the fist-sized vegetable, albeit sparingly. They took a lot of time to grow, thus I had to ration them. Only two or three, rarely four were I feeling overly generous. Then again, I didn't go on these excursions for very long or very often, thanks to Sephiroth, so I could have splurged if I really wanted, again out of the wanton goodness of my heart.
A Chocobo parted from its nearby gaggle of grazers— a gaggle that came to expect and maybe even welcome my presence by now— and that was enough for me.
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Nibelheim.
I'd never noticed a town more stubborn against change, especially during some of my recent visits. A year was short but still enough for change to happen here and there. Hardly in this town. The water tower and its windmill showed no signs of moving any time soon. The streets were almost always so barren when I came along, though I had to admit the children grew more bold by running around outside like children should, yipping and yowling and racing circles around me when I walked alone, asking me the funniest questions. "Are you a clone?", some asked, referring to the cloak I wore or the veil I sported. But one would say "No, they all left for that Reunion, remember?". They were the older ones who knew better, that only asked questions instead of making assumptions. The toddler types just pulled at my clothes like they knew I had something to hide— I hoped it was candy, at least.
No one worked on making their houses bigger or smaller, grander or poorer. Everything stayed the same; as if that was the way it was meant to be. Except for one thing. The old mansion on the hill, Shinra Mansion. When I was lucky, I'd see people coming to and from it, sometimes with wood, metal and tools; sometimes with paper; sometimes with trash. It was easy to conclude that someone was working on that ugly, old thing. Whoever they were, I commended them.
Then I remembered what I came to do.
I hurried to the general store, where two men were standing outside, chatting. I nodded good morning, though with my cloak on they never noticed, and rushed inside. The interior was warm, mellow and smelled of certain, unknown incense, but I liked it nonetheless. This store could never be as comfy and cozy as the one in Icicle, but it managed well enough on its own.
"Hello," I said to the female clerk behind the counter.
"Hello," she returned. "What can I do you for?"
"Just browsing, thanks." I went around to the shelves packed end to end with the usual wares and novelties. I walked slowly, studying what I could, and then spotted towards the end of the store some wind chimes hanging from display rings, among other things. They were the same chimes I'd pore over every now and then, in hopes that I would actually work up the courage to buy one. And I realized that since my excursion had no real point other than to get out of the house, I decided now would be the best time. I was drawn to one set of chimes the most, with tiny tubular bells and colored spades of bowl-like metal. I was also partial to the one with prismatic pieces of glass.
Well, my decision came easily.
There was a noise in the background, a tinkling. Normally, I would've known that this was just the front door's bell, but this time, it slipped my mind entirely.
"Hmm…"
"Excuse me." A finger tapped my shoulder. I gradually stiffened and twisted around. And I gasped silently, not merely out of fear, but surprise.
"D-don't I know you…?" I stuttered.
"I don't know, should you?"
"Y-your face… so familiar." I lifted a hand to my mouth in deliberation. Oh right, I thought.
I gasped again, retreating a couple of steps.
"You're, you're that woman. One of, of… his friends. That man who…"
"Tifa, Tifa Lockhart," she said, grinning half in a way that I used to do. Bright. "Sorry if I scared you, but the way you were dressed… had me a little concerned. I was afraid Jenova was going to pop up again... you know? Well, maybe you don't. I'm probably just talking nonsense."
I took a few more steps back. Should I have expected this? Of course I should have. Regardless of whether this was a large world or a small one, there was always the smallest chance of running across familiar faces, one who'd be sure or not sure was friend, foe, or mere acquaintance when they left them behind. Now was one of those chances, one of those times. "D-do you know who I am?"
"Barely," she answered, her eyes drifting off to the side. "... Drana, right? You're an elusive lot. I forgot you existed for a while because you disappeared so fast. But Vincent reminded me when he thought about you. You left an impression."
Aerith had once told me about this. One was remembered more by their actions than by their faces, their names, or their parents. Actions first, appearances second. In any case, I could have cursed myself for the things I'd done, but I was only doing what I thought was right.
"T, that name- You're not going to take me in, are you?" I tried to keep my voice down, so as not to alert the clerk. But hiding the apprehension Sephiroth had drilled into me was hard to do. Tifa chuckled, shaking her head.
"No, don't worry," she assured. "Sure, we're all still curious about you, but... we can take a hint. You want to be left alone. And that's what we'll do... as long as nothing bad happens."
"O-okay…"
"Listen, I'm really sorry if I startled you. I didn't mean to. Just making sure you weren't a clone, and... saying hello. I've, I've got to go now. Don't be a stranger, or... well, I guess that'd be best if you want to keep a low profile." The tall, wispy brunette glanced down at the floor pensively, then looked back at me with a slightly crooked smile. She waved and turned on the heel of her boots to the clerk, picked something up, dropped something off, and hurried out of the store thereafter. Meanwhile, I caught my breath, snatched the wind chime off the ring and rushed to the clerk to make my own purchase. If one of those people were around, then more were bound to follow. So now, I had to be quick and slip out of town.
"Oh, I hope I didn't screw up…"
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From Sixth: I edit things when you're not looking.
P.S.: What the fuck do I have to do to maintain an underlined format in this...goddamn thing every time I save after editing? My god, please.