ββββββ"You are leaving."
ββββShe had not expected him, or perhaps she had -- in a way. Of all the people that have came to form this strange circle she would Β -- sometimes in the depth of the night when there was only her and her mother -- call family, he is someone she cannot read.
ββββββIt is much like a piece of puzzle
ββββββthat she may turn in her hand,
ββββββlearn its shapeΒ
ββββ & Β Β familiarize herself with its texture
ββββββbut have yet to find it with places
ββββββββfor this piece of puzzle is forever changing
ββββββββ& Β she has no time left
ββββββββΒ Β Β even when she had wanted to.
ββββSo she will meet him on her ground, with arms folded behind the small of back and both shoulders straightened; with a smile on her lips, how she will turn, leaving a dawn's promise and seeking instead his night.
ββββ It was nearly funny, how he looked.
ββββββHer red bat, forced by them from its cave.
ββββββββββββββ A walking tragic, really.
ββββFighting against the urge to tongue the inside of her cheek, she concluded, and much too amiably for the recognition she saw in his eyes. With him, there is no need to tell a lie, although, she had hoped that like the rest of them, he had taken the dishes she made. A particular spice shown by her mother in her youth had made them extra more succulent.
ββββββStill, he was a Turk once
ββββββ& Β did she not know -- too well
ββββββΒ Β Β -- how a Turk's mind work?
ββββββββββββSaving for that one time,
ββββββββββββsometimes she can still feel his palm on her cheek.
ββββ"I am leaving." Step by step, she trod, drawing her face away from the night. Not because the night is frightful -- the red in his eyes reminded her of good wine and gentle poppy -- but more so because there is a day ahead and she wants to feel the sun on her cheeks. "Did I ever tell you of my church? Well, it is not a church now, not entirely.", and how she would grin, there. Twice already that people had felt from above. While she does not feel like calling Cloud, or Zack an angel, the thought alone is to be cherished.
ββββββThere are peace in quiescence.
ββββββBeneath whispering canopies,
ββββββshe found her embrace.
ββββββUpon the big boulder,
ββββββshaped almost like a turtle with a flat top,
ββββββshe climbed --
βββββββββββonce,
βββββββββββtwice.
ββββββThen she turned.
ββββ"You don't have to go.", he said.
ββββAh, but you see, my crimson knight.
ββββββBoth you and I know too well that is not possible.
ββββSo, there, she will distract him. Words and promises deemed as sweet as as a whisper from soft daffodils, her leaflet green a warm recipient of his cardinal hues. "When this is over,...", she began. "...you should come and visit. I grow flowers there. Have you ever seen a rose, Vincent?" To her question, he had not answered. Eyes of the shade as ripe as red burgundy would shift briefly beneath cascading charcoal bangs where chin mildly tipped forward. She knew it was not an answer. The jaded gleam in his eyes said he was still recalling.
ββββββSomething in life, after all, require time.
ββββββHis acceptance included.
ββββββHe knows what she has long accepted
ββββββ-- there will be no field trip to her church,
ββββββΒ Β at least not one with her.
ββββββΒ Β This is a journey she needs to make alone.
ββββ"I'm going because there is hope yet. I'm going because there is something only I can do. I'm going because there are roses in my church that I would like to see bloom across Midgar's ground as much as in other parts of the world." She did not mentioned the children she had helped looking after when their mothers were working, nor would she mention how she had observed then Ifalna as the spirit that is her mother moved across the church's floor. "I'm going because I must."
Even as she was raising a hand to tuck back her hair, the warmth permeated from the sun on her back told her she should leave soon. How mischievous was the mother's touch. Aerith found a single leaf in her hand.
ββββββββA mother's blessing.
ββββββββββ Β I will be strong.
ββββββThere, would she offer an upraised palm.
ββββββSlender digits would curl in on themselves,
ββββββleaving only an index extended
ββββββwhich she later used to beckon him close. Β
ββββββThere, would she trace a hand down his cheek
ββββββand down
ββββββto beckon the troublesome maroon cowl from his face,
ββββββa mother's blessing entwined inbetween her dainty digits.
ββββββShe was more prepared this time.
ββββββThere, would she lean down,Β
ββββββher knuckles resting lightly against his cheek
ββββββas her first was sealed,
ββββββtheir joining concealed behind a mother's green
ββββββ-- a kiss chaste and simple
βββββββββββββββββΒ Β .... yet, right somehow.
ββββββShe has always long wondered what it's like.
ββββββShe simply wished she had the opportunity before.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββΒ Zack.
ββββββ"Take care of my roses for me, Vincent."
ββββShe would say as she tucked her earthen blessing into his crimson band, and there, then, how she would smile because this meant not as a journey to her end. As she nudged him back -- her hand on his shoulder -- what she caught in his eyes would tell her she could always count on him.
ββββββHe, who is the end.
βββββββββββββββ"Take care of them."