Chapter 15

It was a dark, dark place down in the canyon. Nobody had ever set foot here. This is an unexplored area.

On that night, a man named Strife had visited this dark canyon, and first set head on this uncharted land. Yes, head, not foot. He crash landed on his head when he fell.

Strife, with bad injuries and a nearly broken neck, was unconscious, and there is a probability that he was…dead. A body lying there, not moving, covered with blood, anybody would think that he was dead. With a fall like that, no human could survive. This could only mean that he was…

Seasons passed by. From summer to winter, winter back to summer. Flower had bloomed in spring, and fallen in Autumn. This continues for a few times, and still, the body was not moving.

Something was very strange with the body. The body didn’t decay. Instead, the wounds started to heal up. The flora around the body somehow decay instead, as if it was eaten by something. This body is strange.

And after another few years, the body started to move. It looks like as if it was reviving. The cells in the body was repairing the damage and slowly reviving the body. Then, the day came where the body finally pushed itself up, and then…it opened it’s eyes. The person called Strife, was unconscious for years in this canyon after that fatal fall, was standing up and was walking around like a person that was alive. What…is Strife?

Strife, walked around to test his muscles and joints. He was like a person without injuries, even though that couldn’t be possible. Strife then jumped around a little and then looked up at the top of the canyon. He then quickly jumped up and grabbed a ledge, and make his way upwards to the top of the cliff. That was easy for him. Climbing up this canyon was a piece of cake.

On the top of the cliff, he saw the bridge where he fought Sephiroth. It all seemed like yesterday to him, except that the bridge was much, much older. Strife looked at the sea shore and see no ships docking. He felt strange at first, as he was expecting a pickup ship. He didn’t know years had passed by.

Strife make it to the shore and couldn’t see any pickup ship to bring him home. He then jumped into the sea and swam across the ocean instead. Nothing much, just a couple hundred of miles wouldn’t hurt. Strife swam without stopping for days and finally, he reached the shore of the middle continent. He continued his way back to Nibelhelm, a placed where he longed for. He could feel the sensation of Jenn in his arms, her embraces, her tears…

Nibelhelm was nothing it used to be. He knew no one there. Everybody kept saying they have been there for more than 10 years but he knew none of them. Worse, he couldn’t find Jenn. She isn’t here. His heart was broken. There was nobody he knew in this town now and there is nobody he could go to. All the town folks are strange, as if they are hiding something. Strife felt that he just entered a strange land.

In just a short time, he realized that it was already 21 year since he left Nibelhelm. Anything could happen in this span of time. Jenn might had already moved, some of the town folks he knew had already passed away…21 years is a long time. But he won’t give up his hopes. He is still going to search for Jenn.

His dream was shattered when he read something in one of the houses in Nibelhelm one day. A letter saying that Nibelhelm was burnt down 5 years ago. That the Nibelhelm there is now was just filled with actors and rebuilt in the same way Nibelhelm was in order to cover up Shinra’s dirty job. Worst of all, the letter stated that there are no survivors in that disaster. Nibelhelm burnt down along with all of Strife’s memories, happiness, treasured moments, and also the one he loved, Jenn.

21 years, anything could happen in 21 years. Wonder what would happen if he made the war end earlier, if he didn’t fought back when Sephiroth challenged him, if he never leave town to work 21 years ago, leaving the town vulnerable. 21 years to regret…

“So…how long had it been already?”

Aeris was suddenly woken up by Tifa’s question. Tifa, with a frying pan in her hand, was preparing breakfast for everybody. Aeris helped by beating eggs for her but she seemed to drift off into dream world.

“Uh, what is it again?”

Aeris asked and continued with what she was doing. Tifa looked back at Aeris, thought about something for a moment. Then she asked her question again.

“How long had Cloud been away?”

“Uh…around 3 months already.”

Aeris answered with a soft tone. Tifa looked at her and felt a surge of disappointment. Cloud and Aeris been through so much to be together. They been through life and death, joy and sorrow, any barriers that could form in between them. Imagine, Cloud could dump Tifa at his wedding day and go after Aeris but now he couldn’t even bear what happened recently. A beautiful relationship broken just like that because of something that happened in the past, something that is better not to be spoken about.

“So…any news from him when he will be back?”

Tifa asked Aeris and Aeris just shook her head. She seemed so quiet. Not anything like the cheerful girl they first met back in Midgar but she looked more like a person filled with problems. Aeris was like this ever since she was revived. Had she been through so much that she grown up to be a person that was filled with worries? The only time that people actually saw her smile were those days when she was just married to Cloud, those short days, those happy short days…

Oh yeah. It was back to the present again. It was 3 months after Cloud had left with that man and left the Avalanche without notice. At first the Avalanche was surprised when they found out that Cloud was gone with that mysterious man and they weren’t that used to it when Cloud was gone. It was like they just lost a leader…though this wasn’t the first time. Aeris wasn’t able to cheer herself up despite what the others do but as time go by, things started to get back to normal.

Just like after the battle with Sephiroth and meteor, everyone have their own life. The 7^th Heaven had been set up again and it was open for business as a bar. Tifa was the bartender and manager of this bar. Barret and Marlene helped Tifa out, Cid and Shera was busy with the Tiny Bronco and the Highwind, Aeris was a volunteer worker in the nearby church, Cait Sith entertained kids in the nearby childcare center, Yuffie and her materia hunting, Red XIII and Vincent were no where to be seen…

Ah…that’s just life without Cloud. Peaceful, peaceful life. Just like the other people in the peaceful city of Kalm. Ah…wasn’t that great.

So, with another peaceful day in Kalm, the sun rose high up and then set down behind the horizon. The members of the Avalanche came back gathering at the 7^th Heaven, ate dinner that Tifa prepared, and then continued with their lives. Some of them went back to their rooms, Cid and Shera went back to their house, Tifa helped out with Marlene’s homework, Customers left to join their families…

Again, the hall was quiet again. The lights turned out and then like any other day, a dark figure will rose from a corner and then just leaned against the wall like a statue, indulging itself in the darkness. But this night, the figure wasn’t alone. He had company.

“Um…Vincent?”

A soft female voice was heard. The dark figure immediately recognized that voice. The female voice was nobody other than Aeris’s one.

“What is it?”

Vincent replied coldly and didn’t even bother to open his eyes. Aeris just stood in front of him, not knowing what to say.

“I don’t know who to turn to…Tifa somehow still have something to do with Cloud, Barret wasn’t patient enough, Shera was too busy with her job…”

“I understand. Just say it.”

Aeris was hoping to hear this. She needed someone to talk her feelings to. Vincent was a quiet and patient one. He will never speak a word to others about what she said. He is what she need, a statue that she can express those hidden feelings to.

“You know, I believe many of you wanted to know what was between that man and me. Right?”

Aeris said and then she just casually leaned herself against the wall beside Vincent. Vincent kept quiet. A perfect listener.

“It sounds crazy and stupid…but at a time, I really, really loved him.”

Aeris continued. Vincent just listen.

“It’s a long story. I didn’t thought that I would tell it to anybody. But somehow, I just need to talk about it. To let it out…”

A long story was about to begin.

“I don’t know. Those feelings…I really don’t know…”