Cloud…

Wake up, Cloud…

Who’s there?

Ha, you forgot? …well, doesn’t matter… I have something to say to you…

A soft, yet a note of teasing in that voice… as if it contain million laughter…

…Am I dreaming?

Oh, yeah… you are… you probably won’t remember even if you wake up…

Remember what?

Oh, everything…

A sigh. Yet another smile… she seemed to be happy. Cloud now was certain who that person was.

“Aeris…” He murmured, a relief washing over him. The voice giggled. “Oh, well, might as well as let you see.” She said as if she’s doing him a favor.

Suddenly, Cloud was plunged into the place he had never been before. What’s more, Aeris was standing not far away from him. “Hey.” She said in light greeting which was very much her way. Cloud glanced around.

“Where am I?” He asked. The place was new for him. It was quite peaceful. Though Cloud couldn’t see it very clearly, he saw the forest, the trees, and the bright light that shone from afar. The trees were tall and majestic, and it looked down upon them with hospitality. If he didn’t know better, it seemed as if they were watching them, observing them. Cloud looked at Aeris once more, who were watching him with her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes dreamy.

“Is this real?”

Aeris shook her head with a smile. Why did she look so happy, yet so sad at the same time?

Cloud remembered that he was dreaming. “But it seems so real…” He murmured, looking around at the mist around him. “And this air?”

“That is the proof that you are dreaming right now, Cloud.” Aeris told him. “It won’t let you move, it won’t let you do anything that you wish to do. Not in your dream. In dreams, you just have to go along what it has in stored for us.”

Cloud tried moving his legs. They didn’t feel quite attached to him, but it was moving, and that’s what counted.

“At least my sub-consciousness has let me walk.” He commented, walking over to her. Aeris laughed. “And make mildly funny remarks about them, huh, Cloud?” Then, she subdued her tone. “This place is called ‘The sleeping forest’.“ She said softly. “The path starts from here.”

Cloud glanced at the way Aeris was looking. It was the path made by the dark hovering trees, and the entrance was giving out mysterious light that made almost impossible to see what it leads to. Cloud looked at Aeris once more. “The path?”

“Yeah, my path.” Aeris answered. “This might be the only way.”

What was she talking about? Cloud wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hear this. “Aeris?”

“Sephiroth has got to be stopped. Fortunately, I think I know how.”

“You do?” Cloud suddenly felt nauseated. He had this nagging feeling behind his head that was yelling at him to do something. And there was this one shred of unclear memory that felt so strong in his heart. Sensing this, Aeris glanced at him and smiled. “I told you, you wouldn’t be able to remember this. The more you try, the more confused you’ll get. And it’ll leave you in another dream more complicated than this.”

“How can you be here, Aeris?” Cloud asked, stopping himself from thinking of another pang of feelings of urge that refused to take shape in his head. “How can you exist in my dream, and yet, act on your own free will?”

Aeris took a step forward towards the light. The wisp of silent wind swept past her, making her long dark brown hair fly behind her. “Because I am praying right now.” She said. “I was just praying and I felt like talking to you. I just wanted to see you before I go.”

“Go?” The pang tightened its knob on his chest. He wanted so much to go over to her and stop her from whatever she was going to do next. –and explain the things he had done earlier. The memory was briefly back in his head. The voice inside his head, her face, the beating…

Cloud suddenly remembered. “I hit you, didn’t I?”

Aeris smiled. “Doesn’t matter now. I’m okay.”

Cloud felt terrible. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help it.” The voice of Sephiroth in his head… it felt like a curse. An inevitable curse.

Aeris sighed. “I have to go.” Suddenly, she raised her head and looked at Cloud with an odd smile on her face. “I really enjoyed that date, Cloud.” With that, she waved her hand and started to run towards the bright light.

Her sudden departure dismayed Cloud. “Wait, Aeris!” He shouted and he started to run after her.

She was going so fast. Cloud tried so hard to gain the distance between them, but it seemed as if he was put into a barrier. As if a huge wall blocked him. Aeris was hardly visible now. The light didn’t seem to bother her as she ran without looking back. Cloud felt sweat tickling down his face. He felt exhausted. His desire to run and the lack of will power to do so, made him almost raging mad.

Why aren’t I gaining speed?

And Aeris was gone. She disappeared the moment she entered the light. Cloud stopped running and stood there, panting and gasping. “Aeris…” He murmured. Where’d she run off to?

“She’s really not giving up, is she?” A familiar voice spoke beside him. Cloud jerked his head in that direction.

Sephiroth–

Cloud’s heart stopped. No, it actually started to beat faster. Sephiroth, standing only a few feet away from him, was leaning on the tree. His sea-green eyes were cold. It brought a chill in his heart.

With his face lowered, Sephiroth looked at Cloud with a steady, yet sharp gaze that seemed to penetrate his very thought. He grinned, a wicked one. The side of his mouth curved upward.

“We’ve got to stop her soon.” He said.

Then everything went black.

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