She got off the train at the Sector 1 station. Her hip length brown hair was tied at the top with a pink bow and pulled into a braid down its length. Her beautiful face was framed by loose braids either side. She was wearing her white top with a blue diamond pattern around the waist. Her knee length skirt had the same pattern repeated twice on it. Her shoulders and arms were exposed and a shiver ran down her back as a cool breeze embraced her.

This was Aerith's first time up to the city above the plate. Her first thoughts were that it was colder up here than in the slums to the point that she wished for something to cover up her shoulders and arms with. None of the clothing she owned could fulfil that need since it was always warm in the slums. She assumed the difference in temperature was because up here there was natural light. Light that rarely got down to the slums as they were covered by the 8 plates that divided the circular city into sectors. On the underside of the plates were massive lights that not only lit up the slums but generated massive amounts of heat.

She noticed the air up here smelled fresh. The girl took in a deep breath filling her lungs with the pollution-free oxygen. Finding breathing up here to be easier, she exhaled and took another deep breath. As she stood there breathing in and out she looked up and saw the bright blue sky with only a few scattered clouds floating around. She covered her eyes as the sun appeared from its hiding spot behind a rather dark looking cloud. She had heard descriptions of the sun but this was her first time seeing it. She was used to seeing oppressive metallic plates above whenever she looked up. She knew she looked like a little girl, one who had just taken her first steps alone in the world. The conductor walked over to her. "Are you ok Miss, are you lost?"

She smiled at him. "I am fine, thank you. This is my first time up here. I'm just taking in the surroundings. Everything is so different from down below."

"That it is Miss. Do you need directions to any place in particular?"

"No, I'll be fine, just sightseeing mainly."

"Ok, have a good day Miss." The conductor walked away leaving her alone.

She walked away from the train stopping at the top of a descending staircase to take notice of how the buildings were towering high above her making her feel very small and afraid. In the slums, the buildings were poorly constructed shacks and most were dilapidated. She was one of the few lucky people who lived in a real house with an upper level. She looked again at all the tall buildings fear welling up inside her. She shook it off noticing that people were looking up the stairs at her; were they questioning her. Were they thinking, what was this flower girl from the slums doing up here?

Her fears began to overwhelm her and she decided it was best not to be up here. The timid girl turned around to get back to the platform, get aboard the train, and return to the slums where she knew the people and felt safe. She promised herself she would try this again someday. The train was still there but as she got close, the doors closed and it started pulling away leaving her stranded and alone. What was this scared little girl going to do now? Looking around she found a departure board. Her heart started racing and she struggled for breath, a panic attack setting in as she discovered she was stuck up here for another three hours.

The girl stood there too scared to leave the station, she found a bench to sit on. She placed her basket of flowers beside her and started to weep. Aerith knew she should have stayed in the slums in sector 5 where the church and her home were located. She was safe there amongst friends. Everyone had promised her that people above the plate would pay more for her flowers and her family's need for cash was making that promise too great to ignore any longer. That morning she had decided while gathering fresh flowers from the church where they grew to give selling in the city a try. She now realised it was full of ShinRa personnel and that she could be in danger up here.

Her thoughts drifted back to when she was 7, to the time when her mother lay there dying on the platform of the train station in the slums of Sector 7. How her mother had taken her away from the labs, finally escaping after years of being held captive. How in the labs her mother was experimented upon while she was left alone and unloved in a separate cell. A female wearing a white coat who fed her was the only human contact she knew. How Elmyra had found her kneeling over her mother's limp body, crying and desperately begging her to get up. Elmyra was too late to help her mother, but she could help her as per her mother's dying words, "take care of... Aerith for me... keep her... safe..." How when she looked up at the woman something inside told her she could trust this woman. She took Elmyra's hand as they went to her home in Sector 5.

Her tears subsided and she started to smile now remembering how happy she was living in that house. She thought of Tseng, how she met him for the first time when he was standing at their front door explaining to Elmyra how the little girl in her care was special. How she responded while clutching her mother's leg shouting she was not a Cetra, was not special; she was an ordinary girl. Her adoptive mother had refused to hand her over to him so Tseng had left and did not attempt to take her away again.

She knew that the Turks kept her under surveillance but they were procrastinating over their standing orders to bring her back to the labs. She often saw them hanging around, watching her nonchalantly and protecting her from the dangers of the slums. Over the last couple of years whenever Tseng was alone she would talk with him as he was a cool guy and they quickly became good friends. She came to think of him as her silent protector. She never fully trusted him since she knew that he was trying to gain her trust so that she would willingly go with him. Or at least not put up much of a fight when the day came when he or another of the Turks would have no choice but to take her back to ShinRa.

She got up from the bench, looked at the clock, and realised she still had over 2 and a half hours before the train would arrive. She pulled out her PHS to call Zack but as usual found no answer. She scooped up the basket deciding to do what she came up here to do. She was being silly. She was 16 now and no longer a little girl who needed protection.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and left the platform. Descending the stairs led her into a busy street where she began trying to sell her flowers to anyone who walked by. After an hour with no success, she began to think to herself, 'was the promise true?' She still had over an hour to wait for the train so she kept trying but was feeling more and more demoralised with each passing minute.

She decided when the train was due to just go back to the slums and sell down there. She walked onto the platform and saw the train was just pulling in. She waited for everyone to get off before boarding. A few minutes later the train pulled away from the platform taking her away from the city and back down to the slums where she belonged.

As she got off the train she smelled the pollution and coughed as she breathed in the dirty air. She smiled, pleased to be back in the slums again. As she walked away from the station in sector 7 she saw Mrs. Parks, her favourite customer. The flower girl approached her asking if she would like to buy a couple of flowers. "Hello Aerith, I thought you weren't selling any today since I've not seen you around." the elderly lady asked her.

"I went to the city and tried to sell up there but no one wanted to buy from me. They all just ignored me," she responded nearly in tears.

The woman pulled Aerith into a hug patting her on the back. "Oh honey I'm sure they were just too busy and didn't intend to ignore you my dear."

A tear fell down the girl's cheek. "Yes, I'm sure that's all it was." They hugged for a while with Aerith weeping into her shoulder. After a couple minutes, Aerith wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll try again tomorrow," she stated with a smile, broke the hug and handed over a couple flowers. Mrs. Parks went to her purse. "No charge today. I want you to have them with my thanks since you are always there when I need you. You know just how to cheer me up," she said declining the money.

"Ok dear. Well take care." The woman shuffled off.

While on her way back to Sector 5 she sold out so she returned to the church. Once inside she looked at the wagon Zack had made for her. She smiled remembering how she watched as he ran around the marketplace doing errands for the storekeepers so he could obtain the necessary parts for it. She giggled, recalling how he had convinced that guy in the city to let him have the old tires from his car.

She then knelt down in front of the flowers to make a wish. 'Minerva, I wish for more confidence so that I will be able to sell my flowers in the city. Everyone keeps telling me the people there have more money so I could charge more than 1 gil per flower.' She got up, looked over the flowers and removed some weeds, then left the church.

On the way back home she saw a navy-blue suit behind a wall. Hoping it was Tseng she decided to walk over and say hello. However, as she got closer she saw instead of neatly combed black hair pulled together into a ponytail, this Turk had unkempt red hair. She knew this was Reno. She disliked that guy since he always flirted with her so she decided to ignore him and hurried away to get home.

The next day she returned to the church to prepare a fresh basket of flowers. She placed her mother's scarf on top of them and then went back to the city placing the scarf around her shoulders to keep the cold at bay. She decided to try another area than the one from yesterday. While exploring and looking for customers she found a marketplace where she hung around thinking since the people here were out shopping they would be more likely to want to buy a flower.

After standing next to a jewelry stand for a while with no success, she went to a stationary stand to purchase a pad of paper and a pen, writing 'Flowers 2 Gil each' on one of the pages. She stuck it on the basket, stood in the corner, and resumed waiting in anticipation of customers. However, like the previous day nobody approached her, it seemed that no one was interested. She started to get demoralised again; she knew people saw her there as their eyes were watching her. Her confidence in her ability to sell was waning so she walked over to a nearby bench and sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees sobbing. She kept thinking, 'why can't I sell flowers up here?'

Suddenly without warning, she felt a hand grab her from behind on the shoulder. She screamed and got up attempting to run. However, she was unable to get away because the hand on her shoulder would not let go. The person spoke, "Aerith, what are you doing here? We have been looking all around the slums for you. I've been worried sick." She started to smile as she recognised the voice; it was her 'protector' Tseng. She turned around to face him and saw it really was him. She threw her arms around him and started crying into his chest.

"Tseng, I was so scared of the sky, of the people, of everything. I just want to be able to sell my flowers up here." Tseng smiled upon releasing her.

"You're not having any luck selling up here?" he asked. She shook her head, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Then I'll be your customer Aerith. Here's 10 Gil." she dried her eyes, picked up the basket, and handed him a small bouquet of 8 flowers. "I'll put these in the reception area of the ShinRa building. Do not give up, business will pick up. Just use your natural charm on these people. The people will be queuing up to buy your flowers. I promise." He left her there speechless and confused.

A couple minutes later she still had no 'real' customers. She looked at the clock on a nearby building, as the train was due soon she decided to leave and head back to the slums. As she neared the station a man ran over to her looking flustered. "Miss, I really need your help. This guy in a suit said you could help me, I've been looking all over for you."

She stopped and faced the man. "How can I help you?" she asked in confusion thinking he had the wrong person.

"I forgot to get my fiancée an anniversary present and she's going to kill me if I come home empty handed. However, I can't afford to buy her anything nice. I was wondering if I could buy some flowers from you. All I have is 10 Gil."

Aerith smiled at him. "I can definitely help you." She reached into the basket and made up a bouquet with 5 of the best flowers. "I'll do you a deal since it's an anniversary present. I usually charge 2 Gil per flower, but since it's for your fiancée I'll knock some off. That'll be 7 Gil."

"Thank you Miss." The man took the bouquet and handed her the Gil. He walked off with a huge smile on his face; it felt good to help him.

She got to the station as the train was pulling away so decided to stay in the city and go actively looking for customers instead of standing around waiting for them to approach her. She came across a small cafe with an outside seating area where a young couple were enjoying their meal. She approached them and asked warmly, "I am sorry to disturb your meal, I was just wondering if the young lady here would like a flower?"

The lady looked at Aerith then looked in the basket with a huge smile on her face as she surveyed the flowers inside. "James, I want them all." She looked at the man.

"Rachel, don't be greedy. Choose one." Aerith giggled watching the playful interaction between the couple.

The woman looked again at the flowers finally deciding upon a rose. "I'll take this pretty red one." Aerith took it out of the basket and handed it to the woman, the guy happily paying for it. The woman thanked her saying she would treasure it.

"Remember, keep it in water and it'll last longer," Aerith told them smiling, then picked up the basket and walked off.

Realising she had started to find the confidence to sell she discarded the sign from the basket and started approaching people asking them if they wanted to buy a flower. Altering the price depending on how the person was dressed and how they treated her. She soon sold out of flowers finding that people liked her and had actually pre-ordered flowers from her.

She returned to the slums exhilarated from her newfound success so decided to treat herself to a new dress. She went to Mrs. Parks' clothing store and found that the pre-owned pretty pink dress she wanted was still for sale. She smiled, thinking how it was always too expensive for her to afford but that was no longer the case. She walked in and saw Mrs. Parks' daughter behind the counter. "Hi Jennifer."

"Aerith, how have you been?" The girl smiled as she saw Aerith walking up to the counter.

"I'm great, had a good day, I got away from the slums and sold all my flowers today in the city."

"That's fantastic news, I'm so glad for you. You deserve it. Now were you interested in making a purchase? I assume you're rich now then?" adding the last part with a playful look on her face.

Aerith giggled at her, "Well, I did sell for more than 1 Gill each. That pink dress in the window I was looking at with Zack the other week, it's in my size I believe. I would like to buy it."

"Of course, wait there a second." The assistant left and went to the backroom. Aerith watched her leave then looked at the pink dress thinking, 'I meant that one in the window.' The assistant returned carrying another version of the same dress only brand new. "Since you liked it so much, my mom made a new one especially for you and said to let you have it for 40 Gil." Aerith's smile widened and she counted the coins from her purse then handed them over. The girl carefully folded the dress and placed it into Aerith's basket.

She thanked Jennifer and decided to have a look around the store. Stopping, she saw a half-length red denim jacket in the corner. She called over to Jennifer, "How much for the red jacket?" while pointing to it.

Jennifer walked over with a pole to get the jacket down then handed it to Aerith to try on. She walked over to a mirror to see how it looked on her. It suited her perfectly, but she still was not sure. "I do like it Jennifer, just not sure I should splash out like this. We're supposed to be saving."

"Aerith, you deserve a treat every now and then. If you're selling in the city then you need new clothes. Tell you what, for you its only 30 Gil."

"You are right, I deserve a treat. I'll take it." Aerith kept the jacket on and handed over the Gil. "I better leave before you talk me into spending all of my riches here." The girls giggled and the flower girl left the store.

When she got home her mother saw the jacket."How much did that cost dear? We're supposed to be saving for a new cooker."

"I know mom but I went to the city selling today, made loads so I decided to treat myself. I got a new dress too." Aerith handed Elmyra the dress.

"This is a beautiful dress. You never see clothing of this quality down here, did you get this from the city?"

"No, Mrs Parks made it especially for me. Both items only cost me 70 Gil."

"We are supposed to be saving and you only make on average 30 a day dear."

"In the slums I do, but I made over 200 today." Her mother's eyes widened in shock as Aerith emptied the contents of her purse onto the table and counted it, she had 135 Gil left. She handed 100 to her mother for the savings and placed the remaining 35 back into her purse. She realised the promise Zack made to her, "Midgar full of flowers; pocket full of money," was true. She had made more money in that one day selling flowers in the city than she usually made in a whole week in the slums.

That evening after their dinner, she sat in her room and decided to write another letter to Zack telling him about how she was now selling flowers in the city. That if she continued bringing in so much cash per day that her mom could quit her demeaning job as a cleaner at that brothel in the red light part of sector 6 slums. She wrote about how much she missed him and that she had finally made enough to purchase the pink dress he said would look good on her. She set the letter aside hoping to see Tseng the next day so he could pass it on to Zack.

She started to think how popular her flowers had been in the city and thought of different ways to take more flowers at a time. Her first idea was to prepare two baskets so when one sells out return to the slums and switch baskets. She then realised how long the wait was between trains so that would not be feasible. She sighed and decided she would be better off just getting a bigger basket, one that could hold over 100 flowers instead of only 60. She went to sleep thinking about the wagon, how if it was not broke she could have taken that instead of a basket. She could have set up a little stall in the marketplace she had found.

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I would like to thank my wonderful beta for the had work you have put into helping me with this story.