Hello

Playground school bell rings..Again.

Rainclouds come to play...Again.

Has no one told you she's not breathing?

Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to.

Hello.

Edward sat at his desk, looking sadly out the window. It was recess, and all the other children were playing outside in the rain. Everyone was, except himself and his little brother Alphonse. Al was back with Winry's granny, since he hadn't been able o stop crying until that morning, and he went home after getting sick when someone asked them about their mother, not having heard that she had died, and was no longer breathing.

Edward shifted his gaze to the teachers desk where she was correcting papers, glancing up at him worriedly every once in a while. The funeral was the day before, and she thought that it was a bit early for the young boy to be back at school, but there he was.

'She believes your mother is dead,' a familiar voice whispered in his mind. It had been with him ever since his mother's hand went cold, and it was rather good company, and it kept him from breaking down.

If I smile and don't...believe

Soon I know I'll wake...From this dream.

Don't try to fix me I'm not broken

Hello, I'm the lie, living for you so you can hide

Don't cry

'She isn't dead,' the voice told him, 'just on a trip somewhere, she'll be back soon, don't worry,'

"Right," Edward muttered, smiling slightly as he walked to the window, expecting to see his mother walking down the main path in town any moment.

'All these people, saying she's dead, they're all liars. The death and the funeral, it was just a bad dream. Mom will come home, she's not gone...she can't be gone,' the voice assured him, and Edward smiled even more, believing it was true.

"Hey, Ed," the teacher walked over to the small boy, "are you alright? How're you holding up?" she asked softly.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Edward asked, feeling genuinely confused.

'She's trying to fix you, like all the others, just wait, she'll suggest you go see a therapist or something,' the voice hissed.

"You know, Ed, there's a counsellor here that you could talk to. She can help you get through this," the teacher told him.

"Why would I need to see someone? There's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine!" Edward told her stubbornly.

The teacher sighed and rang the bell, signalling the students to come back inside. Everyone pulled out their English books and got started on the questions that were written on the board while the teacher left the room.

Edward finished quickly and leaned back in his seat, just sitting there for a few minutes before sticking his hands in his jacket pockets, and he pulled out a piece of paper, folded in half.

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping.

Hello, I'm still here.

All that's left of yesterday.

He gasped when he saw it. It was the 'program' for his mother's funeral, and inside was a small pressed flower and a small ribbon, his mother's favourite color no less.

'So it wasn't a dream?' edward thought, and noticed the absence of the voice. 'Was everything you said just a lie? Did everything that happened...Really happen?'

"Th-this isn't a dream...She's really gone...She isn't coming back," he whispered.

Edward forced back the tears that were rapidly accumulating in his eyes. No one noticed since they were so immersed in their assignment, and by the time the teacher returned, he had wiped away the tears that had tried to fall.

'Yesterday,' he thought, 'only yesterday was the funeral, why am I here? I shouldn't have come! I should have stayed with Al!' Edward thought, but he remained in his seat none the less, determined to prove that he didn't need people hovering, because he knew that if he stayed they'd back off sooner, but if he left, it would only get worse...

Everyday Edward forced himself to go to school, and everyday he forced a fake smile, and soon, everything was back to normal. Except for the fact that their mother was still gone, and though he still had Alphonse, he felt alone in the world. Nothing could heal the hole in his heart that his mother's death had left him with...