I gripped the rough basket handle as I twisted my head around to shout out to Al to hurry, but in doing so I noticed he was only a couple of feet behind me. My basket was swinging violently, occasionally bumping against my hip. In fear of any of the fruits or vegetables falling out, I slowed my pace to a walk.

Our house loomed in front of us. I couldn't see anything different about it, but there was this strange feel about it; almost a sense of eeriness that cloaked the old building like a veil. As I approached the door the steady sounds of Al's footsteps and heavy breathing closed in on me. An odd sensation formed in my stomach, like butterflies. I couldn't say why, it was just that something felt a little... off.

I opened the door.

What I saw in there sent a complete and total numbness racing up my body. It was Mom. She was lying motionless on the floor. My trembling hand released the basket without thinking, sending the goods it carried tumbling across the floor. Silence caved in on me, seemed to crush my ears and block out everything else except what I saw in front of me and my own heartbeat, which pounded through my skull so that it felt as if someone were driving a stake into my head with every pulse.

"Brother?" Al inquired, tearing away the crushing silence. "Wha-what is it?" I realized that he was still outside, because I was still standing in the doorway.

As a response to his question I simply moved out of the way and darted over to Mom's body. I collapsed on top of her with my head on her chest. Nothing. No rise and fall of breaths whatsoever, not even the faintest trace of a beating heart. A hollowness squeezed my insides so it hurt. All I could do was lay there, blink, and breathe. I just couldn't move. Winry. Her name was the only thing that could somehow find an entrance to the currently sealed space of my mind. Her parents had died somewhat recently. How had she felt? No doubt it was similar to this torture.

The next couple weeks passed by in a pained blur. I cried so much and so often I thought about transmuting something, my fingernails, hair, watever into water to stay hydrated from my torrential flow of tears. If Winry ever says that I don't cry, she's as wrong as humanly possible. But that's only because I cried when I was sure I was alone; I had to stay strong for Al. That's all I remember from the next few wekks after she left. Al and Winry and lots of crying. I can't even remember when the idea of performing a human transmutation popped into my head. Just sometime in there.

Then they buried her. Her grave sat ontop of a small grassy hill, and the whole twn, it seemed, gathered around to say their final godbyes. Winry and Granny were there, begging us to go home wih them when the sun began to descend to wherever it went beyond the horizon. But we stayed. I didn't have the strength, or the will, to move at all. I didn't want to go anywhere, be near anyone or talk to anyone except Al. As we mourned on the hill, whle day faded to night, my brother complained in vain about the cold. I don't know why he kept at it. I wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he if I didn't. So we stayed, and eventually he shut up. I could feel hot tears well up inside my tightly shut eyes. I had to keep them closed or I wouldn't be able to stay strong for him.

Then he said something that for some reason snapped me back into reality. "Brother? How are we going to live without her?" he sniffed, his voice cracking from holding back his tears as well. It was then I realized that he'd been trying to stay strong for me. I realized I'd only seen him cry once since the doctor pronounced her dead. I'm not sure why, but this made me get over it. The wetness in m eyes vanished, and the burning sensation from holding it all back went with it. An almost scary calm enveloped my body. And then, as if possessed, I announced my plan to my brother.

"We're not, Al. We're going to bring her back!"

AN: Hey guys, so this is my first FMA fic, let me know what you think! Because I know there's at least one person on this planet who will read this. It's my first time writing emotional stuff, so yeah, I know it sucks. I'm sorry if you readers out there think it does to. :P But hey, if you don't, that's cool too! Please review!