CHAPTER 3: KIND MEDICINE

Lia watched from the kitchen window as Tifa played in the backyard. Since the incident in the workshop, Cloud had made himself scarce and his little playmate was trying every trick in the book to convince him to come out and join her. She had called to his open window, knocked politely on the front door of the Strife house, and rang the little jingle bells that had rusted off Brian's snow sled to try to get the boy's attention. She would even try to bribe him with cookies through the wide slats of their fence when his mother sent him in the backyard to fill the water basin from the pump.

But nothing seemed to work, and her daughter was growing irritated.

Lia remembered the first time she saw little Cloud when Tifa was still just a babbling toddler on her hip. Claudia Strife came to town on a wagon of tapestries from the desert east of Corel with empty eyes and solemn spirit. Her two year old clung to her skirts and was nearly as silent as his young mother. The town was not welcoming.

She had come to Nibelheim with just a small satchel and her ghost of a little boy. No one bothered to ask her what had happened; her desperation and the absence of a ring on her finger told everyone all they cared to know. Somehow, Claudia had managed to purchase the tiny cottage at the end of the street with some old bank bonds and her mother's jewels. Lia never dared to ask about Cloud's father, but over time she had learned that he had died and now mother and child were alone.

At that time, Lia was new to the area as well. She grew up in a small fishing village on the coast of the Wutai, a large nation occupying most of the western continent. She happened to meet Brian by chance as he was travelling and the pair had instant chemistry. Getting married at age fifteen and moving to the mountains had flipped her world upside down. The additional changes that went along with getting pregnant made her feel more homesick and out of place than ever.

Unlike Claudia, she had married an esteemed member of the village and was welcomed with smiles and gratuity. However, she found herself sympathizing with the newcomer through feelings of displacement and pangs of loneliness. Lia had made a point to be friendly towards Claudia and her flaxen haired boy, to which she was rewarded by seeing some light return to the young mother's pale eyes. Currently, she and Claudia held a distant friendship. They met occasionally for tea or would chat over the fence as they tended their gardens, but her pretty neighbor was always too busy for any real social engagements.

The daughter of a seamstress, Claudia ended up earning a meager living by making and mending clothes, quilts and the like. It was enough to feed herself and Cloud, but not much else. Fortunately for her, Nibelheim didn't have a proper millinery or tailor and her skills were needed in the community. The townspeople refused to let Claudia know her value and kept interaction with her down to strict formalities. Lia hoped that her quiet companionship filled the cracks in the single mother's heart as much as they soothed the aches in hers.

… … …

With a frustrated huff, Tifa threw a stick high into the air as she could and watched it crash to the ground beside the fence at the rear end of the yard. She just didn't understand. Papa had scared Cloud but that was days ago. And Papa never stayed mad for long, anyway. Didn't he want to play with her anymore? It was unbearable to think of how sad and lonely and boring life would be if Cloud never came out to join her again. She had tried everything! What else was there to do?

She pushed her tire swing aside with one arm as she dragged herself over to the back porch and through the screen door, letting it slam shut with a loud BANG. Lia looked up from where she was stirring a pot of rice porridge on the stovetop.

"He won't come out," Tifa said, eyes cast downward. She frowned tugged anxiously at the hem of her pinafore, "It's been two whole days. I kept trying and trying but Cloud doesn't want to play!"

"He's shy, dear. You know that."

"Why is he shy, Mama?" Tifa asked softly. She didn't understand how one could be shy. It was fun to talk and play and be loud and silly. As hard as she tried to understand Cloud, he often left her confused. But instead of deterring her, this difference set her curiosity ablaze.

Mama seemed to think for a moment before she left the porridge pot to smooth her hand along Tifa's head.

She smiled before explaining, "Every person is different, and sees the world in his own way. Often times people are shy because they're afraid other people won't like them for some reason or another. But don't worry, Tifa. Cloud will come out again."

Tifa didn't seem convinced, "How do you know that?"

"Because you treat him with kindness, and kindness is such a wonderful medicine," Lia tapped Tifa on the nose, drawing out a reluctant giggle from the girl. She rose and set the boiling pot to cool before turning back to watch her daughter take off her shoes.

"Why don't we practice piano until Papa gets home? Then we can have supper together," she suggested and Tifa's small head snapped upwards with hope.

"Oh, please! Let's play!"

"Go on and wash up, then we can start." Lia watched as Tifa bounced through the kitchen and made her way to the washroom.

Lia's piano sat in the large study upstairs. That instrument had been her source of solace in the early days of her marriage when homesickness often overtook her. When she'd glide her hands over the keys, she could almost hear the gulls and the bells of the fishing boats of her home town. When Tifa was born, the room was used as a makeshift nursery and currently housed most of the girl's belongings. Tifa's bed was a close fit between the side window and the piano but the arrangement didn't bother the child. Tifa took to it quickly, asking to practice again and again until Brian would playfully shout that she was going to have the whole town complaining about the noise. It filled Lia with great pleasure to teach her daughter the magic of music, just as her own mother had with her.

… … …

Cloud looked up from his storybook when the gentle music reached his ears. Folding his book under his arm, he abandoned his spot at the kitchen table to settle on the window seat upstairs in his room. It was a daily ritual that he enjoyed: hearing Mrs. Lockhart's graceful hands playing a pretty melody, followed by Tifa's clumsy plunking of the same notes. Unlike the flickering candlelight in his own home, the electric light in Tifa's room made it much easier for him to see into her side window from where he sat. If he leaned just so, Cloud could see the very end of the piano. Their houses were close enough that occasionally he could hear Tifa's melodious giggle and Lia's soft laugh as they played together.

Cloud wondered what the piano keys might feel like under his fingers, or how wonderful it would feel to learn to play a song. Maybe one day, Tifa would let him play? That is, if he could swallow his fear. He'd felt guilty for shying away from her since the day her father got angry, but he had always had a bad feeling around Mr. Lockhart and got so frightened when he had shouted!

Turning his attention back to his book, Cloud continued to read his stories of knights and warriors and heroes. They were fearless and strong, saving the day and rescuing the princess. Heroes were never afraid. Heroes didn't have weak bodies or ran cowering from scary things. Oh, how he wished he could be brave like a hero! Then, maybe, the others would smile at him and want him around.

… … …

"Tifa? Are you there?"

Cloud stood apprehensively at the little white gate that led to Tifa's yard. He had made up his mind: he was going to be brave and ask Tifa to play. Mom had said that sometimes it hard to do the things that were best for us, and he could wholeheartedly agree. He inhaled when a figure came around the house in response to his call. It was Mrs. Lockhart, clad in a dirty apron over an old, worn frock. She held a small gardening spade in her hand and adjusted her hat with her free hand.

"Hello, Cloud!" she beamed, "Come on in. Tifa is in the house, but she'll be out in no time!"

Despite his shyness, Cloud felt a smile tugging at his cheeks. Tifa's mother was always kind and he felt safe with her. He followed Lia around to the back of the house and watched her kneel down in her small garden, tending to the plant's that were growing stronger with each sunlit day. He crouched nearby and watched and Lia turned the dirt and plucked weeds from the earth. His mother's garden was much smaller than theirs and only grew potatoes.

Lia urged Cloud into quiet conversation until the porch door banged shut and Tifa hopped down the steps. She halted momentarily upon seeing her blonde companion and squeaked with excitement as she ran to embrace him.

"Cloud, I'm so happy to see you!" she laughed. Mama was right, he did come back! "I missed you! Wanna help Mama and I in the garden?"

The boy nodded before musing, "Your garden sure is big…"

"Uh-huh!" Tifa said proudly, moving to point at the rows of plants. "This one is t'matoes, and this one is carrots. Cabbage is here, right Mama?" She was happy to name the half dozen plants in the garden and show Cloud how to tend to them alongside her mother. Before long, the girl grew restless and led Cloud away to play.

Thankfully, Brian was busy in his workshop and was too occupied to notice that his daughter's playmate was around. It wasn't Lia's intention to deceive him. Brian hadn't forbidden the children from playing and so there was no reason to keep them apart. Tifa was happy, Cloud was happy and why should anything else matter? But still, Lia knew it would be best to have them play when her husband was away cutting lumber or aiding with construction elsewhere. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

A/N: Thank you all so much for your feedback! It's a great source of encouragement and I'm so grateful for everyone who has taken the time to review and tell me their thoughts. :)