SPOILER WARNING:  This story spoils some of the events and the ending of
Final Fantasy VII.  If you don't want to know, don't read.  I certainly
found much more enjoyment from *not* knowing what was going to happen.

This is a very short story, really a vignette more than anything else.  My
reasons for writing it are explained in the footnotes.

-Richard




Earthlier Happy

By Richard Lawson


She smiled over the sound of the screaming.  "Lovely, isn't it?"

The man - short, dusty, worn by many years - looked skeptical.  "Er, I
suppose."  He looked down the street, as if looking for an escape.

Her smile grew wider.  "Wouldn't you like one?  Only one gil.  A dozen for
ten gils."

"Um..."  The man looked down at the flower, turned partly away, then shoved
a hand into his pocket.  He pulled out a coin and handed it to her.  He
almost snatched the flower out of her hand and walked hastily away.

She watched after him.  After a few yards, he slowed down.  He raised the
flower in front of him, then slowly tucked it into his shirt.  His pace
increased again, but he wasn't rushing any more.  Rather, he seemed more
vital.

She smiled; she'd been right about him.  She'd sensed the peace in him, and
reached out and tried to touch it.  And he'd listened, and the peace would
grow and spread.

Her hand fell among the flowers in her basket, feeling their dying energy.
It pained her to harvest them, to take the life from them.  But it was
necessary, and the flowers understood.  They sacrificed themselves to help
spread the lifestream.

Her work was not yet done.  She wandered down the street, looking for others
with the spark inside of them.  Most had it, but buried so deeply she
couldn't touch it, their song so drowned out by the screaming that she
couldn't hear it.

Some noticed that she was looking at them.  Some looked back, and there was
desire in their eyes.  She knew that they found her form pleasing to look at
it, and wanted more of her.  Some had even made the mistake that she was
selling something more than her flowers.  She smiled at them and corrected
their errors, willing to let them smile at her and help her spread peace.
But nothing more, they would have nothing more from her.  A very few had
tried to forcibly extract more from her.  She never held a grudge, however;
she made a point of healing them afterwards, even revivifying them if
necessary.

Today, right now, she couldn't see any peace, hear any life in any of the
people around her.  The screaming was loud, it was much too loud.  She
paused in front of an alley, then moved down it.

A power junction was malfunctioning.  Green sparks were flying from it,
sending up a small shower of energy that floated for a few seconds before
fading.  She crouched in front of it, listening to the screams of tortured
life.  This was not what life was meant to do, the powering of these
lumbering machines.  Life objected, and would make its displeasure known
soon.

She looked in the sparks, and her mind drifted.  Soon, so soon.  She felt
the patterns in the energy before her and the energy around her, and she
knew what shape those forces would take.  There was a force, warped by hate,
that would try to seek solace in revenge.  And it was powerful, very
powerful.  Much would be needed to stop it.

Her hand once again fell upon the flowers in her basket.  Sacrifice.

And there was another force coming.  A bright force, itself tortured, warped
in its own way.  But the core was good, and with the right guidance it would
shine brightly.  Brightly enough, perhaps, to save a world.

That core called out to her, seduced her.  She could get lost in that core.
She could find happiness there.

But she shouldn't; he would be hurt.  She would be hurt to know that she
would cause him pain.  Better, perhaps, to distance herself, to go and
guide, but not get drawn in too close.  Better.  Safer.

Colder.

She sighed.  She wouldn't.  *Couldn't*.  She was going to fall towards him,
they would fall towards each other.  They would touch each other once,
twice.  They would know a moment, two moments, of peace and... love.  And
then the needs of the planet would overwhelm them, and there would be an
end.

But in that end, perhaps a beginning.  Maybe, eventually, a reunion.  It
might be too much to hope for.  But she *would* hope for it, and work for
it, because life demanded it of her.  And she loved life so.  Enough to kill
for it.  Enough to die for it.

But she was selfish enough to want to enjoy life as she lived it.  And she
would enjoy as much of it as she could in the coming days.  With help.

The sparks continued to flow, continued to scream, and all of a sudden she
didn't want to listen any more.  She stood and clasped her hands in front of
her face, as if to warm them, silently praying.  I'm coming, Mother.  I'll
be there soon.

She turned her head to the side and looked down the alley; she could sense
him coming like the scent of flowers on the evening breeze.   She walked
towards him, towards the bright force that was coming close, oh so very
close, and her heart quickened at his presence, not yet in her sight but
very much near her spirit.

Not yet in her sight, but very soon.  Just a little while longer.

She stopped at the end of alley as the traffic zoomed by on the street, and
she and the flowers waited patiently to play out their assigned roles.



Either to die the death or to abjure
Forever the society of men.
Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires;
Know of your youth, examine well your blood....

Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood,
To undergo such maiden pilgrimage;
But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd,
Than that which withering on the virgin thorn
Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness.

-excerpts from "A Midsummer's Night Dream"
-by William Shakespeare


~*~

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know, there isn't much story here.

I recently finished Final Fantasy VII.  I went into the game knowing
nothing, and Aeris's death hit me hard.  I liked her character very much,
and while her death was a good thing to do from a story perspective, it made
me feel awful.  I'd really liked her; very Belldandy-ish in nature, but with
a mischievous, playful spirit I liked very much.  The last of her race.
Dead one-third of the way into the story.

Dammit, she was my best spell-caster, too!

Anyway, after finishing the game I felt the need to let out some of my mixed
emotions about what happened to Aeris.  So I wrote this up to allow myself a
little peace of mind.

Comments and criticism welcome as always.  And no, I won't be producing any
more FF7 fanfics.  Frankly, none of the other characters interested me as
much as Aeris (Aerith) did, so I don't have a lot of motivation.  Plus I'm
still not sure what was going on there with Sephiroth.  All I know was that
was a cool final battle he and Cloud had.  :)

-Richard