Deeper Wounds
Written by Justine JBV / Little Chacha
It has been a while since Aerith wrote her eighty-ninth letter to Zack.
She thought of him every day since he left, and often wondered if he ever read any of her letters. She felt a deep level of dread every time, believing that would have replied if he got to read them.
Deep inside, she would rather think that he just didn't want to reply, however much it hurt. Because to think that he did not get the letters may mean that something bad has happened to him.
She kept herself busy tending to her flowers, trying not to be obvious that half the time her mind is elsewhere.
She was, at most, alert to anyone that passes by, hoping every time that the passerby is there to bring Zack's letter, or to relay a message from him.
She often found himself praying for him to be safe.
Patiently, she waited…
Until that day, when the skies turned dark, threatening to rain.
It was then when she felt again that awfully familiar sensation—a feeling she alone can understand—of knowing that a certain soul has reached the Lifestream, never to come back.
It was on that day that Aerith stopped waiting.
From the plate above, a certain spiky-haired guy fell on her lovely flowerbed.
Aerith vividly remembers how four years ago, she met Zack on a very similar situation. It was natural for her to feel curious about him—this soldier who called himself Cloud.
It was weird, the way she feels about him. It may have been due to the fact at first sight; she thought that he and Zack had a lot in common.
And yet, it was something else. There was something about him he could not quite put a finger on.
Their first meeting cut short by enemies, she made sure they will see each other again. In return to his kindness—for saving her from the ones who wanted to take her, and for agreeing to be her bodyguard, she rewarded him a date. It was not a fine reward, she knew, but it was a plausible excuse to meet him again.
It seemed that he, too, was curious of her, and their date went quite peacefully.
She did, however, a small part of their discussion unsettling.
When inquired mildly about her previous love, she had said that it wasn't serious, despite that it was…
But however open and truthful on many things she is, there are just some things that she cannot talk in detail about.
Because despite her healing prowess, Aerith believed that the most effective way to treat the deeper wounds is not by forcing it to heal, but letting it heal on its own. And she knew that it will, fully, in its own time.
Hi! There's probably been hundreds of fics similar to this, and I apologize in advance if this is so common. But then I'm rarely here at the FF7 section and I've read really few fics so I'm not sure ^_^
Ahm, I'm not sure if I'll be writing more FF7 ficlets, since I wrote this one as some sort of exercise before my first cosplay—as Aerith Gainsborough, game version. Yay.
Little Chacha
PS: I'm more active at the YYH section as Chibi Botan, so I might have reviewed using that pen name. If you like YYH, please do visit me there :)