Paradise

He had always been attracted by her beauty. Her chocolate brown orbs, raven hair, her porcelain face, her fragile complexion, her cherry lips, everything was perfect to his blue eyes. The first time he had laid his spheres on her, he felt a sensation he had never felt before. His five year old self didn't quite understand the feeling; whenever he separated from her, uneasiness instilled in him. The only way he found to "cure" his sickness, was to follow her, watch her and protect her. It wasn't like the time when he found an injured little dog, which he nursed back to health, no it was different. He needed to know she was safe; if she was ever in trouble, he had to be there, her life was very dear to him.

He always said everything to his mom; she was his only family seeing as his father had left them, but this he didn't tell. Maybe he had left him because he wasn't a good son, maybe that's why the townspeople hated him so…

"I don't have a father and I'm a bad influence… They must hate me because of that; my mommy is too nice to be hated by anyone so I'm the one who's doing everything wrong" so he thought.

He would never know why he was the black sheep of the village, but one thing he did know; he shouldn't cause trouble to anyone and he should smile to his family to prove he wasn't sad… Sure it was sad to be alone, not having a dad and not having anyone other than his beloved mom to love him, but he had to be strong; his mother's happiness depended on that, he thought.

Cloud had to do something to prove that fact, so he went outside and "played". Truth be told, he only sat near the well in his own corner watching other kids fooling around without a care in the world. Of course he tried to be friends with the cute girl he had seen and he really cared about making friends with other people other than her; he just wanted to fit in. However the innocent child had always thought of her friends as dumb, and considered them a bad influence on Tifa, "but maybe I'm the real idiot" he thought. Perhaps he only envied them, they who were accepted by her; were near her.

The lonely child knew he was different, but still hoped he would be able to be "normal". That was the only explanation he found to his solitude. Nevertheless, the blond had always tried being close to her, but he always was scared of being hated by her or even worse; that he would make her hated by everyone. Those two main fears were the reason of his distance, that and the fact that each time he would approach her and her friends they would either ignore him or run away. All of this made him settle with watching her from a distance, so as to protect her. He was too kind for his own good, but the shy child would never see it that way. The pale boy would always try his best not to bother anyone, in hopes of being loved, and he didn't want to be a burden to his mommy. That was what he always did until, his beloved's mom died. He was eight, and she was seven. She had started resembling her mother, and she looked as beautiful as ever. That day he had decided to stop looking through the windows of the girl's room seeing as he was too worried about her.

"Hey, Cloud's coming! You think he wants to come in?"

She had only heard him, but she was too devastated too even care about it. His first time in her room was not how he had wanted it to be but right now, it wasn't important. Her floor was covered of wooden tiles. A beige coloured carpet was placed near her bed and black piano decorated the space near the entrance to her room. It was also adorned by a wardrobe made of a dark brown wood, which had an antique look, and by a desk and mirror. The doll like girl was crying near her bed at the time, yet she still had hope of seeing her mother again. Seeing her like that hurt him more than he would lead on. He wanted to run over to her and reassure her that everything would be alright, that her mother was in a better place. He could feel his heart sink at each sobs she would emit. The kind youth wanted to do everything in his power to help her but he couldn't. He couldn't risk tarnishing her, so he watched. It was the only thing he did…

"I want…to see…mom…" she managed to choke up without stuttering.

As soon as she said that, she got up and ran out of her room. She was heading towards Mount Nibel, with her three close friends following close behind. After a while the broken toddler spoke again and said

"…I wonder if there's anything beyond the mountains?"

"Mount Nibel is scary. Many people have died here" replied one of her three friends

"No one crosses that mountain alive" continued another

"How 'bout those that died" asked the Tifa with a tinge of hope in her voice.

"Did mama pass through the mountains?" she continued

She started walking again in hopes of seeing her one last time. The young girl would do so until she had accomplished her purpose. "Was that such a selfish wish" she thought

"I'm going!" she said brimming with determination

Two of them followed, brave enough to help their friend when she was in need. The other, hesitated while looking at his friends who went deeper in the dangerous area. His better judgment got the better of him and decided to turn back and head home: where it was safe.

Cloud had past right by him. He knew how dangerous it was, but his concern for the raven haired girl was greater than his conscience. Some might say it was stupid, but for him, it was of dire importance.

After a while of running, he had finally caught up with them. They were near the bridge, At least two out of three were: the blue dressed girl continued, not looking behind her where the duo had stopped. Finally her comrades turned back on their tracks…and now none but Cloud and Tifa were left.

Even thought the bridge wasn't well maintained, even if it wasn't secure, she still decided to move on; she decided to walk until she could no longer. She didn't know she wasn't alone though, she didn't know her "guardian" was following her. Even if she knew it, that wouldn't have prevented her from missing her step. The spikey headed youth had tried to save her, but he was too late. Instead, he had fallen with her. He had had minor injuries; scarred knees, but the long haired seven years old…was not as lucky. Thankfully Tifa's father and his friend had seen them fall. Who knows how worst it could have been had they not been there in time…

"Cloud! Why'd you bring Tifa to a place like this!" said the girl's father, obviously angered by this event.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" replied his friend, astonished by what he thought was the stupidity of Cloud's doing.

They had condemned the innocent child to what he wanted to prevent, but that wasn't what made him angry. His own weakness, he himself, was the subject of his anger. "If only I could've saved her" he would think over and over during the seven day of coma Tifa had. Her injuries were so severe no one thought she would make it. Ever since then he'd feared that his angel hated him, blamed him, for the accident. No matter what his mother said, he would never be convinced that he wasn't to blame. He wanted to save her, not hurt her, why couldn't he do such a simple thing? The shy little boy had turned into an aggressive young man. He would go out of control; he'd get into fights, not even caring who was the one he would fight… That was his own way of dealing with his pain. During that rough time, he had heard of the great Sephiroth. He thought that if he would resemble him, if he were strong like him everyone might accept him, maybe even notice who he was, everyone including his childhood sweetheart. He was thirteen when he had thought of this.

Soon after that, he had decided to aim for first class in SOLDIER. The faithful day of his departure slowly approached, and at the eve of that important event, he had summoned all his courage to ask his loved one to meet him at the town's well. He hadn't been nervous in a long time, not since the first time he'd seen her.

The familiar churning sensation in his stomach, as well as the uneasy feeling in his chest came back, followed by a tingly sensation throughout his body. He wasn't sure if it was due to the cold of the night that he started being embraced by or if it was because he'd fear that she wouldn't show up, after all why would she? His insecurity rose with the same rhythm as the clock's passing seconds. A few seconds later, who seemed like hours to the young man, he saw the woman of his dreams walking gracefully towards him. Her sky blue dress gently cupped her young body and gave her a gentle and angelic feeling. Tifa was growing to be a fine woman, and the effect of her charisma had even more impact to the ponytailed youth. That said determined young man never knew, however, the turmoil he caused to the cheery young woman. She would think he was really cute, with those big blue eyes that had eyes only for her in this twilight. The night sky was the only light they needed, and it was enough. Tiny little fires lit the sky; it looked like rays of hope on a dark sea of insecurity. It was a gorgeous night that was for sure. After short greeting, they sat around the edges of the towns well.

"You said you wanted talk to me about something?" she inquired

"Come this spring…I'm leaving this town for Midgar" he said while moving his legs up and down, in hopes of calming his nerves down

"….All boys are leaving our town" the long haired girl stated, a hint of sadness lingering in her voice

"But I'm different for all of them. I'm not just going to find a job" replied the blond, a bit annoyed at being compared to others.

"I want to join SOLDIER" he continued, standing up and approaching the reason of his departure.

"I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth" determination could be heard clearly in is statement, as well as admiration toward his hero.

"Sephiroth…The Great Sephiroth" she said almost in a daze.

"Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER" she asked, a bit concerned for his safety.

"…I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while." whispered the ambitious young man, avoiding eye contact, while thinking he wouldn't be able to see his ray of sunlight anymore.

Cloud lost himself in his thoughts thinking of how hard it would be without knowing she was doing well, and was healthy. She had become to him what he thought was an unhealthy obsession.

"…hun?" She had disappeared from his sight.

"Will you be in the newspaper if you do well?" the faired skinned asked standing on top of the well, while watching cloud from above.

The bright lit skied made her long raven hair shine like never before

"I'll try." He said unsure himself of hi success.

The atmosphere was bittersweet. He was happy to know she cared enough to wish for his success but he wasn't confident enough. He would like to see her again; standing tall and proudly from his accomplishment.

"Hey, why don't we make a promise?" She said rendering the atmosphere a bit more breathable. It was spontaneous, and a bit weird, but she couldn't resist asking that to the cute young man.

"Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind…… You come save me, all right?" she continued

"What?"

Cloud had always wanted to be of help to her, but the one time she had really needed his help, he hadn't been able to give her any. This promise would created a lot of pressure on him, but whether he did promise or not, he'd do this without a second thought. "However what did she expected from him?" He thought. He felt a lot of conflicted emotion; he was still processing the new important information.

"Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."

She was embarrassed by her own sudden request. She had come that far thought, so she wasn't backing up now.

"What?" He sounded and looked more confused than the first time she has said her request.

"Come on~! Promise me~!" The girl asked insisting more on the promise than she wanted to.

"All right…… I promise. "replied the young man finally yielding to her selfish request.

The light of the stars reflected on both their eyes, giving the orbs a beautiful effect, which made their deep colours have different shadings. They stared at each other for as long as they could, knowing it would be the last time they would see each other.