-II-

SANDS

Fall inside the hourglass

Running out

Silent echoes of solid rain

Never returning

Chapter 16: The Garden on a Cloud

Louie Leonhart

The bullet was lodged deep within the cavities of his chest, somewhere between the collarbone and his right shoulder. He felt nothing, though. The medics and the doctors from G-Garden were able to surgically remove the bullet from within his chest and the boy is now in recovery. He has been unconscious for a week. It wasn't normal. But so was he, so they weren't alarmed.

Everything is different now. They were careful about where to place him while he was unconscious. The world knows now and though he may have gained some supporters, one thing was for sure - he was a target. It didn't matter how many people think he's brave or that he's a victim or that he shouldn't be persecuted at all. None of that matters; especially if he can't defend himself.

He dreamt while he was asleep. It was all he could do and all the relief he has before he wakes up. His dreams were nothing but of the brown-haired girl. He dreamt of conversations that would never happen, laughter that will never be shared, and moments that time won't permit. He dreamt of playful days under the sun, listening to the howl of the summer wind; of warm nights by the fireplace, sheltered from the winter maelstrom outside; of cups of warm chocolate and cold lemonade; of endings and beginnings.

Louie knew they were nothing but dreams. But to dream was the only option one has when you're asleep. He dreamt of nothing. But he ached; because nothing meant something to him, and something meant nothing to her. Still, he had no choice but to sleep and to dream.

That was until recently. He was dreaming of a quiet evening with her. The moon was full and the breeze blew gently on the garden. They were sitting on the grass and she was looking at the sky where a meteor shower was happening. She was smiling while playing with a beautiful red rose in her hands. He smiled at her.

It was perfect. He wasn't a sorcerer, she wasn't a SeeD. They were just there basking in the glow of the moonlight.

Then, the sudden realization that he was dreaming hit the sorcerer as it all quickly vanished. The scene started to zoom out from his vision. The changes were too abrupt that he had to close his eyes. It was as if he was being pulled from this dream to the next. Only this time, it was painful. A dull pain started to materialize in his right shoulder. He opened his eyes. The black emptiness of his dreams was washed in harsh white rays that reached his consciousness. He was awake.

He was alive.

Reality hit him as hard as the bullet that put him to sleep; sharp spikes of pain materializing almost as instantly as his dreams vanished. He was alive, and he was dreading this moment. The young Leonhart's eyes adjusted to the light while his brain adjusted to reality. It was harder than he thought. White bandages covered his bare torso. He realized this as he felt a cold chill run up his spine while his ice blue eyes started to see clearly again.

Don't they have hospital gowns? He thought.

The sorcerer glanced around the unfamiliar hospital room. Two girls were sitting on the couch beside the bed, their faces turned against him. They hadn't seen him move. The hospital room was as large as his dorm room, which was odd. Balamb Garden infirmary rooms are pretty small. A few steps in front of his bed was a door, probably the bathroom door. A huge glass window was to his right. The view of the night sky over the ocean filled the glass. No stars.

A metallic side table was positioned by his bed. On it were a vase with no flowers, a cup of coffee with his name written on it and what looks like a slice of chocolate peanut butter cake from that coffee shop in Balamb.

"Are we dead?" He couldn't think of anything else to say. It wasn't entirely out of the ordinary that they'd be dead. In fact, given the circumstances, it was the more likely outcome. Somehow, he would be happier if they answered yes.

Instead, the girls turned around and smiled. "Happy Birthday!" they said simultaneously.

"What?" He blurted out in confusion, coupled with a sudden jerk that made his wound hurt a little. He grimaced from the pain.

Great! Today's my birthday? And I missed most of it?

"Well, we just kinda decided that today's your birthday. I don't know if it's actually yesterday or tomorrow. The timezones are messed up in my head." Celine Branford walked towards his bed and sat on it. He smiled.

Am I dreaming again?

"She decided." Elaine stood behind her. Her arms were crossed as usual.

Celine reached out and grabbed the slice of cake on the side table. "Chocolate peanut butter?"

It was his favorite.

"How'd you know?" He smiled at her again, a habit he couldn't control once she was around. Elaine's eyes were rolling non-stop.

"I asked that Julia girl what your favorite cake there was and I-" she blushed. "I mean.. we got you your usual cup of coffee. I think that Julia girl likes you."

I like you.

"You were at Balamb?" he asked, trying to hide the blush that developed in his cheeks.

"We just left Balamb."

"Celine you forgot the candles. Hurry up and get it!" Elaine tapped the brown-haired girl's shoulder as she motioned for the door.

I swear this girl purposely ruins the moment.

"Oh shoot!" she stood up from his bed. "I'll be right back, birthday boy. Don't eat that cake yet." He'd like to think she winked at him before opening the door. She walked out and ran to wherever she's going to get the candles and Elaine and Louie were left in the hospital room.

"So I'm guessing you never actually planned any of this." he teased Elaine. She nodded.

"It was all her idea. Be happy for it, Leonhart."

"I am happy."

"I know. It's pathetic." She tries to mock him with every sentence she says, but they're pretty good friends now. And she was right. He felt pathetic that he was happy. But he was happy nevertheless.

Silence.

They both didn't like talking that much.

"So. Why all this?" Louie broke the bubble of silence in the room.

"What do you mean? It's just a slice of cake and a cup of coffee." she replied nonchalantly.

"You could've just given me a card. Or like, greeted me or something. Would've been fine with that."

She snickered. "That was my idea."

"So why all this trouble?"

Perhaps it wasn't much of a trouble to get a slice of cake and a cup of coffee as birthday presents. That would be so if they were normal children. They don't even know what a normal birthday is supposed to be anymore. To the sorcerer, it was all too much trouble. They should be getting their rest, but instead they bought coffee and cake and decided to surprise a person who was in a coma a few moments ago.

"It's not just for you."

What?

"It's for us too."

Her smile disappeared.

"Since what happened, we tried to forget, or at least not to remember..."

Remember what? Sylphia? Carlos?

"Look, Louie. I may seem like this soulless heartless bitch no one would ever think of calling their friend."

"You are." He answered her with a smug but the expression on her face didn't change.

"but... Sylphia's gone. Carlos is captured." A tear gently fell from her eye. It was unnatural for her character to cry. Elaine is a strong, independent woman. She was, up until this point in our lives. What happened really affected her. It got to everybody.

Why wouldn't it affect these children? Their friend is dead, another one is captured and is probably being tortured right now and all their lives were in danger, especially the young sorcerer's. A small birthday celebration might be a good break from the emotional burden that everybody is facing.

The young sorcerer started to wonder, though, as silence slowly filled the room again. He wondered what would happen after blowing out the candles and finishing the cake. It would be great if he could just return to his coma, escape from all the desolation that's happening outside their little world. They were just prolonging the inevitable. It was pointless. But he didn't have the energy to argue.

Elaine walked slowly towards the window, not saying a word or making a sound. Louie turned to her. She was staring through the window, into the night.

"Elaine." It was as if the sound of her name woke her up.

She wiped the tear from her face and tried to smile at him. "I'm sorry. I'm ruining your birthday."

"No. It's perfect. Thank you."

"You should thank Celine."

"Well, you're here aren't you?"

She nodded.

"So thank you." He didn't want to ask her about the war. About Carlos or Sylphia or even Krys. She would just be reminded of our helpless situation. It was obvious that they were taking a break from it all.

He didn't even care about the war anymore. It's a lost cause for them. The superpowers have too many allies. People, machinery, propaganda, and power were all at their disposal. While the SeeDs were just a bunch of students who had nothing else to believe in but a stupid dream.

"You're probably their next target." She was thinking of the war too.

"I don't think they're after me."

"Why so?" she asked.

"You know when you fight with someone and you get so far and so deep into the fight that you don't even know why you're fighting?"

"But that's not happening, Louie."

"Still. I don't think they're after me. This means I don't need to care anymore. This doesn't involve me."

"You're right." She said in an angry tone. "But you should know. Countless girls from Esthar and Galbadia have been sent to the Sorceress Memorial site to be imprisoned. They're not even sealing them. They're just putting them in newly built prison cells in the site. They're not just spreading propaganda, anymore. They're moving. They started going to places - Trabia, FH, Balamb. They're taking every girl and looking for signs of her being a sorceress. Our SeeD forces in Galbadia and Esthar are almost wiped. They're calling it the Purification Movement. I call it the Purging. It's unjust, Louie. It's inhumane."

The sorcerer fell silent.

"Maybe you're right. You're not their target. But you of all people should be affected by what's going on, Louie" Her voice seems confused and infuriated at the same time.

"Why me?"

"You are a sorcerer, Louie" She spoke slowly, as if trying to get her point across. The tone didn't change, though. "In case you've forgotten, these are your kind. And these are innocents. I mean, I don't even know what to say anymore. What I've said should be enough for you to be more than infuriated by what's happening."

Louie stood up from his bed and walked to the window.

"It's pointless." He managed to say under his breath. It was pointless to go after them.

"What?!" She was mad at him.

"It's pointless, Elaine! We don't have the power to take them. We might as well give up now while we still have our lives."

"No! Louie, wake the hell up! You are not in your coma anymore. You are alive. What happened to our leader?! What happened to you?! This is not the boy who led us to Timber that day! This is not you!" He could hear the shakiness in her voice. She was frustrated and desperate. He wasn't fazed.

"I don't even know who I am anymore." He said casually. She stared at him, in disbelief or in anger, he couldn't tell. She just looked at him

He didn't even know who he was, who he was supposed to be. A week ago, he was the sorcerer who fought alongside those who are like him. He was a fighter.

No, I was a failure.

He was the SeeD who let the sorceress die right in front of him. He was the leader who abandoned his team in battle. He was the failure who crumbled in the hands of the enemy.

The failure sat on his bed, looking out the window, Elaine right behind him. He gave up from the moment that he awoke. He gave up and she knew it.

Silence.

"How's everybody?" he asked.

"Celine and I had some minor injuries. We recovered in a day. Krys was in the room next to yours until he woke up the other day. Now he's at Balamb Garden, resting." The desperation in her voice was gone, but the lump in her throat was still very much audible.

So we're not in Balamb Garden.

"Information about Carlos is classified, but I hear he has been in the D-District Prison ever since his capture. He's probably being tortured about where the Garden is... where you are... He's probably not saying anything though. It'll be a while before they figure out that he doesn't know where the Garden is."

The sorcerer let his mind run once more. It ran with thoughts he was holding back. He didn't want to care anymore. But Sylphia. Elaine. Celine. Krys. Carlos. They were all just kids. This war opened their eyes to the cruel realities that the world had to offer – trauma, death, misery before euphoria, life and love. Fate was cruel to these children. But the people they fought were even more so.

Blood rushed to his face as his hands started to ball up into a fist. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was awake. He was awake and he was mad. And this is exactly how it should be.

The door opened and in came a smiling Celine Branford, bringing with her a couple of birthday candles. He sat back up, anger in his eyes.

Suddenly, the sorcerer didn't feel like blowing out candles anymore.

He felt like ending a war.