I am the green in the grass that bends back
From underneath your feet.
It was a clear day; the sky was wide open and the sunlight and blue poured down like a waterfall of warmth and brightness. Soft breezes trickled down from the mountains to tickle lose hair and the edges of a loose shirt. It, honestly, was just like any other day in Resembool. But, one single sight on that day would forever stick out in my memories…
It'd been almost a year since they'd shown up on our doorstep, a suit of armor begging for us to help his soaking and bloody older sibling. He'd wanted automail as quickly as we could change his bandages the next morning and I knew in my young mind that there would be nothing that would stop him from his goal. I always knew that there was fire in his eyes, but I'd never seen it burn like that before.
Without much of a second thought, I vowed to make those metal limbs for him. It took tons of sleepless weeks and frustrated tears to get it all done, but I never once felt like giving up on him. He'd vowed to work to get his younger brother back to his real body, so I vowed to help in the only way I knew how. I never knew it at the time, but it might've been just more than friendship that led me to craft those precious metallic replacements for lost limbs.
It took many more sleepless and feverish nights, some of them full of tears and voice cracking screams before he could even twitch a finger or lift the metal arm. But, never once did he waver or stray. Never once did he scream out for us to stop working. Never once did he lie down and say that he was going to try and stop walking. Never. He always got back and tried again, the fire burning intensely in his golden eyes.
If he was never going to waver, then I was never waver from my goal either. No matter how many times it killed me to see him crying out in pain or fall over, I never gave up on helping. His sleepless nights turned to my sleepless nights as I tried to get his fever to break. His pain became my pain whenever he fell and he snapped at me as I tried to help him up. I knew he wanted me to help him and speak to him harshly, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy being treated like that.
Weeks turned into months in the blink of eye and a twitch of a metal before too long. Fall and winter passed and soon the grass was green and his golden hair was long.
One spring morning, the mountain breeze fluttered through the open windows and the soft light of predawn filtered through into the house, turning everything pale and beautiful. I always woke up to that pale light streaming through my window. It was a comforting sight that I don't think I'd ever grow tired of. I climbed out of the tangle of sheets and wandered out of my open bedroom door. I yawned and rubbed my eyes as I struggled not to fall down the creaky wooden stairs. Somehow, I always managed to get down and up them safely no matter how tired or groggy I was. But, once I got into the living room, two very distinct things got my attention.
One, it had been tipped over, but I could clearly see the outline of a wheelchair in the door's shadow. Two, the front door was wide open, the breeze making it squeak on its hinges. Wait…tipped over wheelchair…open front door. My heart rate spiked as I put two and two together.
Panicking, I rushed to the wide open front door. I looked around rapidly, but, right in that moment, the sun crested over the hills, filling the entire valley with blinding, golden light. I winced and lifted my hand to block the light that soaked everything with warmth. I rapidly looked around the yard again, desperately searching for the pair of boys. If they weren't careful, Ed could easily cause permanent damage to himself…
Suddenly, I spotted the two of them. All the air rushed out of my lungs and the world stopped.
His back was to her, but the sun still managed to light up his whole figure, turning him bright and even more golden. His hair that had grown long and silky hung down his back, loose from any band or clip. But, the thing that captivated my attention the most was that he was standing—and standing straight up and down as well. There was no slump or slouch in his posture—only the power of a straight spine and thrown back shoulders. He was standing…supported by the metal were flesh used to be. Even the metal sparkled in the sun, the hill and valleys of the metal picking up every single photon of light and reflecting it, making him shine even more brilliantly.
But, he was standing…on two feet instead of lazy attempts to stand on his one good leg. He had two good feet again…that meant that he could walk again...and run and crouch and crawl and..! My heart filled with happiness as my eyes filled with thick, salty tears. He wasn't whole again, but now he could walk and search for a way to get his brother's body back… To find a way to be whole again. To redeem themselves. To wash away their stain of sin.
To one day…come back home, restored, happy and healthy…and to live out the rest of the days at home where they were safe and loved.