CHAPTER 5: THE MOUNTAIN

Before he started attending school, Cloud had always hated the winter. With the cold weather always came weakness and illness, the tightening in his chest from the frigid air, and isolation from Tifa. While he still strained to breathe sometimes and occasionally felt dizzy and sick, he now saw his friend most every day. And best of all, the children ate their lunches inside the schoolhouse under the watchful eye of Miss Strauss. He was safe from his bullies for the most part.

Cloud was safe on the walk to school and on the way home since he held Tifa's hand the whole way. If he was careful and timed it perfectly, he could get to school just as the teacher rang the school bell so he wouldn't have time to interact with the other students. Thomas and Jason only had the chance to pester him as they sat at the desk, something he had gotten used to by now.

In the rare times that he wasn't in Tifa's presence at lunch time, the trio of bullies would rough him up a bit or take his lunch but it was never too bad. The other students pretended not to notice and Cloud was grateful that they chose not to join in. Tifa would occasionally notice a bruise or a scrape and Cloud would tell her not to worry. Mom had told him never to hit anyone, no matter what.

A gust of wind rattled the shutters and Cloud looked up from the math problem on his slate to glance out the nearest window. The pine trees swayed against the gray January sky—warnings of an incoming snow storm. A stray flurry began to fall here or there and he wondered if they'd become fat flakes by the time school let out for the day. The boy shivered in anticipation, for he didn't have a coat yet. Mom had just about saved enough gil for the material to make one for him, but he'd have to be patient.

Miss Strauss rubbed her hands together from the cold and told the children to break for lunch. The wood stove in the schoolhouse was too small for the heat to radiate very far, so the kids grabbed their lunch pails and sat as close to the warmth as possible. Cloud chose to sit along the wall instead and Tifa was instantly by his side, eager to talk after the past few hours of lessons.

Soon, the chatter of the other children caught their attention.

"Did you hear the story about the man went to cross Mt. Nibel?"

"Yeah, the traveler from the south! Dad said he wanted to cross over without taking the path through the valley."

"But it's the middle of winter! He'll freeze to death!"

"Well, they say no one makes it over the mountain alive. Maybe only ghosts can make it to the other side."

Tifa put her milk bottle down and moved to scoot closer to the semicircle of boys near the woodstove. She just had to hear about this! Papa had been everywhere in the mountains! He knew the best places to gather oak, where the strongest pitch pine grew, and where to cut hard cedar to make wagon wheels. Tifa had sat on his lap many times as Papa looked at his maps, plotting a course in which to take the wagon and gather timber to bring back to town.

From what her Papa had told her, there weren't many trees or plants at all on Mt. Nibel and this had fascinated her. When she asked why, she was told it was because of the ShinRA company's big building high up Mt. Nibel that gave some of the buildings in town electricity. Tifa didn't understand how a building had anything to do with the plants and her father had told her that he'd explain when she was older. She remembered from the detailed maps that Mt. Nibel was full of winding caverns and passageways.

"Hey," she tried to worm her way into the group. "Are you talking about Mt. Nibel? I know a lot about Mt. Nibel!"

She quickly motioned for Cloud to follow, but he made no move to leave his spot by the wall.

"Oh, yeah?" Thomas quirked an eye brow and some of the other kids began to talk amongst themselves.

The boys had largely ignored Tifa up until this point, but looked interested when she said that she had more information on the subject. Cloud watched with unease, wondering if the group would turn her away. To his surprise, they moved aside so she could sit among them. Instantly, he felt the grip of loneliness and anxiety—Tifa had left his side!

"My Papa has maps of Mt. Nibel! He showed them to me—there's a lot of caves an' stuff," Tifa began, sending a reassuring smile in Cloud's direction before telling the children what she knew of the paths of the towering mountain beyond the village. They quietly listened and Tifa was thrilled to show off some knowledge while interacting with her fellow students. Despite her friendly nature, she hadn't been able to form any solid friendships since most of the young boys wanted nothing to do with a little girl. It didn't help that Tifa had spent most of her time with Cloud since day one and he avoided the boys the best he could. She guessed it was because he was shy.

When the teacher called them back to work, Tifa returned to Cloud, crammed the last of her bread and cheese into her mouth and replaced her pail at its place on the back wall. Cloud followed the group back to his seat, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach as he thought about Tifa joining that group of bullies.

… … …

There was a thin coating of snow on the ground by the time the children were dismissed for the day. Cloud took Tifa's hand and held it tight. He couldn't help worry that one day Tifa might realize that there was something wrong with him and reject him like the others. He forgot that such a thing could happen before he saw her leave his side to chat with the boys. Cloud felt selfish and awful, but he wanted her to stay with him even if it meant that she didn't get to make other friends. He turned to begin their usual route home but Tifa tugged the opposite way. When she saw the puzzled look on his face, she explained her motives.

"Let's go look at the mountain, Cloud! Can't we just peek at it, please?"

Cloud considered this, pulling his shirt closer around his skinny chest in a futile attempt for warmth. His mother had expected him to come right home in the winter time, for he had no coat and was prone to illness. He was so cold and the wind was picking up but his curiosity about Mt. Nibel won out. What harm could one quick look do?

"All right, if we hurry. My primer will get wet from the snow if we don't."

He allowed her to lead him down the wide path that stretched away from the town and out towards the mountain peak. The path was unfamiliar; Cloud had never left town before. He glanced around as Tifa led him forward and a large, dark structure looming to the left caught Cloud's attention. It was the old manor owned by the ShinRA electric power company. His mother said it had once used by ShinRA scientists and now it sat abandoned on the outskirts of town. They continued along the snowy path and before Cloud could wonder what was in that big, dark building, he heard Tifa speak.

"Look, Cloud!" she stopped and pointed toward the summit that had come into view beyond the timberline. "That's a long way up…"

He gazed at the up and nodded in agreement. The mountain was so high that the blowing snow from the storm obscured the peak from view. Cloud shivered as another gust of wind blew.

"Do you think it's true, what the others said?" he asked, turning his gaze back to Tifa. "You know, about no one being able to cross it alive?"

Tifa paused in thought, her long hair tugging in the wind. One mitten clad hand came up to rest on her cheek as she pondered.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Do you think there are really ghosts up there?"

He thought for a moment. Ghosts…people who die become ghosts, right? Would my father be up there? Nothing about the mountain seemed inviting. If his father really was up there, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see him.

Thick white drifts blew across the path in front of them. The snow danced to and fro, swirling and seeming to take on a shape before dispersing again. Cloud and Tifa watched with fascination as it happened again and again. A gust blew against the children with a loud, moaning howl. Tifa let out a startled yelp and hopped behind Cloud, whose blue eyes were wide with fright. Cold and thoroughly spooked, the pair scuttled back home convinced there was a ghost on their heels.

… … …

It was printed in bold letters on the front page of the newspaper: ShinRA had declared war on Wutai. Lia wasn't surprised, but expecting such a thing didn't make it hurt any less. She had been well informed of the ongoing conflict between ShinRA and Wutai from both the newspapers and from the letters her mother sent her monthly. She frowned and gripped the newspaper so hard that it creased at the sides.

ShinRA Electric Power Company was a world power that monopolized the use of Mako energy, which was harvested from the earth using multiple reactors stationed throughout the world. This energy was used as electric power which improved the quality of life for people around the world. Even in Nibelheim, things like electric powered lights, ovens and ice boxes were beginning to be used in the house holds that could afford such luxuries. But it wasn't without a price. Since the construction of the Mako reactor on Mt. Nibel, much of the plant life of the surrounding area had withered and died.

Wutai had adamantly refused when ShinRA approached them about the building of a Mako reactor. They were the only part of the world that had not yet submitted to the company's tyrannical rule. Lia knew that Wutai's freedom couldn't last forever—and after so many years of heated friction, war had finally come. What did that mean for her family there? Would they be safe?

She hadn't seen her parents in the six years since she married Brian and had hoped to travel to see them in the near future. Now that war had broken out, it would be impossible to get there safely. She felt hot tears burning and threatening to fall as the words of the newspaper blurred together. Tifa had never met her grandparents and Lia wanted so badly to see her mother smile at the sight of her only grandchild. But most of all, she wanted to hear her father's laugh and feel the arms of her mother hold her once more. She hadn't realized how much homesickness still plagued her until the possibility of returning had vanished.

"Are you alright?" a small voice asked. Lia looked up from the newspaper and across the table to see worry in her daughter's deep red eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes and thought of how she could possibly explain what she was feeling to a small child.

"I'm just a little homesick, Tifa," Lia said.

"But we are home, Mama…" The girl looked puzzled and her mother smiled sadly.

"Mama grew up in a place far away from here. Before I married Papa, I lived on the other side of the mountains and across the sea. That's where your grandmother and grandfather live," Lia explained. Tifa seemed to be in thought as she ate another spoonful of her soup. After a few moments of silence, the girl asked what her hometown was like. Somehow, it soothed her to try to describe her childhood home and the smell of the salty air to her daughter.

When it was time for bed, Lia tucked Tifa in and kissed her forehead before turning off the light. Once her mother had gone downstairs, Tifa sat up to look out the window. There were two windows in her room: one that faced the front of the house and the one beside her bed that faced the strife cottage. When Tifa craned her head to the right, she could just barely spot candle light coming from Cloud's bedroom window. She wanted to open her window and call to him, but his window was shut and Tifa was sure her parents would hear her before Cloud would.

She'd have to wait to tell him all about her mother's stories of a faraway place with sand that stretched for miles and a body of water so big that you couldn't see the other side.