I clenched my mothers hand as we walked through the small market place, faces that were vaguely familiar making their way around the small shop stands. Here i was, 12 years old and i was holding mothers hand as if someone was going to snatch me away. it's not that holding mothers hand was a bad thing or that i was getting weird looks, just the occuring thought.
its been 4 years since i moved from Gongaga...since i moved away from Zack. My father was a business man that (in some way) had worked for Shinra. We had to move to Nibelheim in order for him to proceed in his career, there i met Cloud. spending 4 years with Cloud wasnt exactly long but i got to know him a lot better than most of the people around the small town. father had a choice to stay in Nibelheim or to move back to Gongaga. Mother loved the views and the scenerio that Gongaga had provided , she insisted that we move back home, Nibelheim(as far as her concern) was a little too quiet for her liking.
"Laina, i promise and i have told you multiple times that they are only here for an investigation.Recon of the mysterious monsters that have been coming up.Besides, i thought you wanted to be in SOLDIER?" mother said with utmost concern. i gave a small sigh of agitation, there you go again. how many times will i need to say it?! "I do mom, i really do, but you saw what happened to Mr. Don! i mean, was it honestly necessary?!" i retaliated. mother sighed, probably a sign that she wants to drop the subject,until she whispered, " if Mr. Don hadn't tried to hurt the young man, then maybe the operative wouldn't have had to use force." i clenched my free hand into a fist. i hadn't thought about it that way at all. but still, there were other ways to unarm Mr. Don right?
As mother walked ahead a little more, i realized this was the old path to our house. wow, its funny what 4 years can do to you. when i walked closer i was welcomed by the warming smile of father. i ran and hugged him lightly, " hey lai, i see your doing well. so? how did you enjoy Nibelheim?" father asked with a smile. " it was great dad, really. the sights were amazing. Although i just wish we didnt stay so long, i really miss cloud." i smiled sadly. father gave a small chuckle and he slowly patted my head, " i know how much you miss him laina. i may not be a hundred percent correct, but you will see him again.promise." he smiled. yeah right, like you knew all the things cloud did for me.....and the necklace, that one night.... i shook my head, ridding myself of such a painful yet joyous memory. after unpacking all of my stuff, the sun had already started setting. i slowly walked over to my window and rested on it for a while, i closed my eyes recalling one of zacks memories.:
"Laina? do you believe in heroes?" zack asked out of the blue. i turned to look at him a small blush creeping to my cheeks." well, yeah i do. why do you ask?" he gave a small smile and shook his head "nothing really....how much longer you got?" he asked, face full of seriousness. i felt tears squirm their ways into my eyes." 2 hours." i bit back the tears. zack lightly grabbed my shoulder and smiled sweetly." its the perfect amount of time for me to show you something." after a hour and a half of just normal conversation, i looked out and saw that moon was shinging brightly in the air. zack whispered something, before i could ask him what, he grabbed my hand and ran to the top of cliff at the speed of light. "laina, look out over the hill and tell me what you see." he said. i looked over the cliff and into the sky, my breath caught as i sighted rainbow colored figures dancing through the air. a light green, magenta, gold, sky blue. "zack! this is...its not the aurora borealis...." i struggled to find my words. then the figures all began to shift into different animals. a chocobo chick gently flew around me, surrounding me in a cloud of colored mist. " remember when i was out for a couple days last week?" zack asked, i nodded. " well, theres a place out there that has a magical tree that bears a 'shifting necklace'. well i kinda asked it if it could surprise you on this very night." i smiled, tears getting the best of me "come on Patel, don't cry on me now. please? i promise i'll see you again. you and i are a big part of each others lives and well....we can't forget each other no matter how much we fear we will." at that i wrapped my arms around zack, and buried my face in his shoulder. " your right, why am i crying so much over something so silly?" zack's hand carefully swiped tears away and he kissed my forehead,
i opened my eyes, tears shimmering at the edge of my eyes. "im back now, but why am i still crying?" i decided to spend the rest of the time walking around. i walked through the marketplace, waving occasionally to some villagers or to the shopkeepers. i finally found what i was looking for, it was the cliff that held so many memories of me and zack that i had to go there. as i was walking past the waterfall, i heard a male yell. this can;t be good i thought. as i ran to the source of the yell i was welcomed by the sight of a wounded SOLDIER. "hey! are you alright!" i asked, trying to keep my composure. he grabbed my arm and shoved me violently "get..out of here...it's after...." before he could finish, a towering hypogriff had landed before me, its beak just a few centimeters from my face. my scream had gotten caught in my throat, then the creature shrieked in my face.
before i knew it, the SOLDIER's sword was in my hands. i swung at the hypogriffs stomach, blood spewing from the now open wound on its abdomen. it gave a pained shriek as it lunged at me and pinned me to the ground. it had both of its hind claws digging into my ankles and one taloned front paw that held my throat. i squirmed beneath it, trying to get free but it had me in a stone grip. i could here the panicked screams of the villagers along with my parents, my vision began to blurr and block spots soon joined with it. i felt tears wanting to spill out No!! i haven't seen Zack yet! im not going to die, don't die......don't.........not gonna... everything in my mind was completely blacked out. i stood among darkness, silent and cold. waiting till i gave in to take me with it. before it could even do so, i saw an orb of light bright colors float through the air. i stood with my arms stretched, letting the little light dance across my palm...then i was sucked into a whole barrage of memories:
"thats the real thing laina, im sure of it. every single one of your memories will be in that crystal. one day when we meet up again, i'll wear to see what's happened over your life!" Cloud said with a cheerful smile.
Zack....i remember when he made a toy sword for the two us. we got into so much trouble that day, riding a chocobo and scaring the others. nearly making one have a heart attack. swimming in the pond that was filled with "flesh -eating fish" and eating from the acai berry tree that grows near the roof.
"don't cry on me now. i'll see you again, i promise. you and i are a big part of each others lives now and well.....we won't forget each other no matter how much we fear we will....."
the orb suddenly shuttered in my palms and slowly began to expand until i saw zack squatted before me offering me his hand," come on patel, you almost had it, don give it up. you'll NEVER be in SOLDIER if you just lay there. just let the sword move you, if that doesnt sound odd."
i then felt a surge of energy run through my veins. my eyes hot open and i kicked the monster in the oozing wound. as i watched it jump off of me with a loud shriek, i swung the sword in an arc and landed it perfectly in the middle of the hypogriffs head. i watched it explode into a beam of light that's not normal of a monster, they don't just explode into oblivion like that.... suddenly i lurched forward grabbing my stomach as pain shot through my entire body. i fell onto the grass, my eyes catching a small sight of ivory and then i went unconcious..........please don't let me die......zack....i need to make sure he's okay.
