Chapter 18: Jonaheim
September 4, 1996
The next day, Cloud and Tifa pulled the boat and docked it at the Jonaheim Pier. They dropped anchor, and quickly disembarked.
"Would they tow us?" Cloud asked as he stepped onto the wooden dock.
"Definitely not," Tifa replied. "I'm buying our spot. We can leave it there for years and they won't do anything."
"You're buying our spot?" he asked skeptically. "Where did you get all the gil?"
"In another life, I was President of the Western Continent," she replied.
They went to the pier office, where the clerk had naturally given her a skeptical look.
"My parents are sick," Tifa lied.
The clerk didn't interrogate her; she just wanted the money.
Tifa then turned to Cloud and smiled.
"Step one's over," she said. "Now find us some clothes that actually fit us.
"Sounds good," Cloud replied as he directed his gaze toward the town.
"Hey, Cloud," she began.
She had, no doubt, been thinking about what they had discussed the previous night. She was very concerned over how he was taking it.
"Let's just go," he commanded.
IN THE VILLAGE…
They found a mini-mall on the boardwalk near the beach. This boardwalk was somewhat different from Costa del Sol's; there were lighthouses everywhere.
As they explored the mini-mall, Tifa suddenly gasped.
Before her was a Kid Kot'n.
"This went out of business when I was twelve!" Tifa exclaimed.
She then dragged him in by the arm.
"Don't you remember this place?" she asked.
"I'm trying not to," Cloud replied. "I used to get my hair cut at the one in Nibelheim and they cut my ear."
"Oh yeah," she realized.
The two of them bought several tee shirts and pairs of shorts, changed into one of them, and left the store.
"The best part of being a kid," Tifa said, "is that we can actually dress to be comfortable!"
"Comfortable?"
"We don't have to impress anyone," she clarified. "I don't have the body I did when I was an adult. And that just felt so weird saying it."
The two children began to make their way toward the food court at the other end of the mini mall.
Suddenly, Cloud felt something on his arm.
She had poked him.
So he poked her back.
She poked him again.
It left a feeling of reassurance that at least the friendship element of their relationship was still intact.
But still….
They went to the food court and ate. They then left the mini mall and began to make their way back to the boat.
"We should have gotten bathing suits," Tifa sighed as she eyed the ocean. "That water's so tempting."
And then, the trouble began.
"Hey little girl!" someone shouted. "Are you lost?"
Cloud and Tifa had taken extra care not to draw too much attention to themselves. But, sooner or later, someone would suspiciously spot a nine-year-old and a ten-year-old going about without an adult.
"Where are your parents?" someone else asked.
Adults soon crowded around them.
"I don't talk to strangers!" Tifa protested.
Then, the inevitable happened.
A sentinel, armed with a gun, pushed his way through the crowd.
A Shinra sentinel, to be exact.
"I think you need to come with us," the sentinel said.
Cloud began to shake; he was well aware of what happened to children with no parents.
Tifa, the more optimistic one, placed her hand on his shoulder for support.
"What's the worst that can happen?" she mouthed.
THAT NIGHT…
The worst had happened. They were taken to Darton Manor at the edge of town.
The last orphanage on the Northern Continent.
Cloud and Tifa complied. There was nothing else they could do without risking altering history. They soon realized that they needed to be there anyway; they couldn't reasonably sail the boat around the world for fourteen and a half years anyway; the would need to be fed and clothed.
It was one of many things that had gone wrong with their plan.
The check-in took two hours. Both Cloud and Tifa were brought before Mrs. Yaint, the director of the orphanage.
"Welcome to Darton Manor," she greeted. "I'm relieved someone found you. This is the most dangerous of all three continents."
Cloud and Tifa gave each other a skeptical look.
"What's your name young man?" Mrs. Yaint asked.
"Codi," he replied. "Codi Restful."
"Status of your parents?" asked Mrs. Yaint.
"Deceased," Cloud replied.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Mrs. Yaint said. "Cause of death?"
"My parents and her parents were on a yacht and it struck a rock," Cloud replied. "Everyone drowned but us."
"And you have no next of kin?"
"Neither of us," Cloud dismissed.
"You poor dears," Mrs. Yaint sighed. "And your name, young lady?"
"My name's Tara," Tifa replied. "Tara Underwood."
"And how old are you?"
"Nine."
Neither Cloud nor Tifa had considered falsely identifying themselves as brother and sister.
That mistake would present its consequences later.
LATER THAT NIGHT…
Cloud got the one boys' room that was available. He had one roommate, Wally. Wally was quiet, but friendly. He never revealed why he was alone or why he was in Darton. But he introduced himself, his video games, and that was all Cloud needed.
For the first time in his life, Cloud had found a friend rather quickly.
MEANWHILE….
Tifa, or Tara, as she was known at the orphanage, sat on her bed.
The girl sitting on the bed across the room was staring at her feet. She had green eyes and blond hair. She seemed to be about Tifa's age, or perhaps a year or two older.
Tifa realized that this would be a good opportunity to try out her new identity.
"I'm Tara," she greeted. "Tara Underwood. What's your name?
"Lynn," she replied, without making eye contact.
"Lynn what?" Tifa continued.
"Just Lynn. Stop asking so much!"
That was one unfriendly girl.
"Sorry," Tifa apologized.
She sat quietly, and thought about all that had happened in the past few days.
She knew Cloud was in pain, and wished she could be there to comfort him.
But Tifa, as strong as she appeared, bore the worst of it.
She thought about the time she admitted that she loved him on the bridge of the Highwind.
She thought about the time she had proposed to him. She remembered bending down on one knee, and the dress she had picked for the occasion.
She remembered walking down the aisle as a bride, in her own backyard in Nibelheim, marrying the love of her life.
She remembered how they made love for the first time that night, and how nervous she had been about them seeing each other naked for the first time.
She remembered giving birth to her daughter on her office floor, and the moment she had become a mother.
And, despite the hell her daughter was putting her through, she had recently admitted to Cloud that she had wanted another child.
But now, that was all gone. She was nine years old again.
A nine-year-old orphan.
Not a twenty-year-old bride.
Not a twenty-year-old president.
Not a twenty-one-year-old mother.
A nine-year-old orphan.
She was now crying hard.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" Lynn demanded as she glared at her.
Tifa ignored her, and buried her face in her hands.