The Thin Line Between
by : Beatriz
Epilogue - The Thin Line Between
"So grandma, what happened to Riley," a preteen child with large ocean blue eyes asked curiously, a smile of interest locked on her face. She had her father's lopsided grin, the one he had inherited from his own father.
"Well, Riley and I divorced and that was when I married your grandfather. It seemed like such a hard decision to make but in the end, all I had to do was listen to my heart and look carefully at what was right in front of me," an older version of Tifa Lockheart explained, a small smile on her slightly wrinkled face.
"Do you ever regret you're choice? Do you ever wish you stayed with your other husband?"
Tifa sat back in her rocking chair and contemplated the highlight of her life when she was a young woman. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have never taken back marrying Cloud, she loved him and always will. But sometimes, thoughts of what if did plague her mind. Something she was sure of, she may have been living a much more financially stable life with Riley, but would never be as happy as she was with Cloud. There could be as many as a hundred what ifs but in the end, the decision was no contest.
Instead of explaining all the thoughts she had pondered of the topic, Tifa shook her head slowly and gave a small grin of satisfaction at her granddaughter's happy and satisfied face, "Now it's off to bed you go, if your mother and father find out you were awake this late, let's just say you won't be seeing you're grandmom tomorrow."
Giggling, Tifa's granddaughter went up to her and kissed her cheek gently while stating, "Thank you for telling me a great bedtime story, grandma. I'm never going to forget it."
Smiling, Tifa watched part of the generation of Strifes run up the stairs quickly and happily. She was so proud of little Aeris. She honestly was a reflection of Cloud. Her rambunctiousness. Her quaint sense of humor. Her slight sarcasm and mostly, her eyes.
She was a beautiful girl. That was, yet another reason, to add to choosing Cloud as her heart's desire
I always kept that story as a part of my past, yet also a part of my heart for all time. This story was my legacy and the reason I had spent the rest of my adulthood living a life of complete bliss, knowing finally, what it was like to feel love and be loved in return. Riley, I believed, loved me and it was no doubt that I loved him as well. But Cloud gave me a reason to want to change. A reason to want to be different. Riley was there for me when I indeed needed him, but Cloud always held a part of my heart, no matter how much of that small fact I wanted to ignore.
In our years of growing old together, we experienced more love in almost three decades, than an average human being would experience in a lifetime. After I married Cloud it was almost as though a part of me was finally complete, I finally knew what that poem, my mother taught me so long ago about love, actually meant. Cloud helped me learn that lesson I was destined to learn. He saved me from a life of dissatisfaction and wondering. Not only was he a hero to this very world, but he was a hero in my heart. But after those years of dedication and unconditional love, he left me, just as he was intended to so long ago, with his undying faith.
Destiny, I learned, was nothing to resent, but something to respect. You may not want to believe me right now, but you'll learn that lesson life has to offer. Whether it be the easy or the hard way. I smiled when destiny shone upon me and soon, so will you.
Every night, I still look up at constellations and think of him. I close my eyes, imagining the star's symmetric lining and almost feel his love exploding from my heart. I still miss him, but I never forget the lessons he taught me and the emotions he made me feel. I'll never forget him and hopefully one day, we'll be reunited just as we had before. You see, I learned, in my life experiences, that there's a thin line between logic and the miracles you believe your heart can lead you to. You just have to know what side you're on.
AN : OK people! What did you think? Sorry I ended it so abruptly and didn't go back into the whole Riley issue, but I didn't want to drag things out and plus my brain was already racked so I wanted to finish this as swiftly and as quickly as possible. But don't get me wrong, I had so much fun writing this story and I'd like to thank all of you who supported me when I was writing, posting your reviews and showing your support for what I did. I couldn't have completed this story without your help and so I'm thanking you all so much again. Hopefully, I'll come out with another story, we'll see, and hopefully, I'll have all of you reading and enjoying more of what I have to offer. Peace :o)
by : Beatriz
Epilogue - The Thin Line Between
"So grandma, what happened to Riley," a preteen child with large ocean blue eyes asked curiously, a smile of interest locked on her face. She had her father's lopsided grin, the one he had inherited from his own father.
"Well, Riley and I divorced and that was when I married your grandfather. It seemed like such a hard decision to make but in the end, all I had to do was listen to my heart and look carefully at what was right in front of me," an older version of Tifa Lockheart explained, a small smile on her slightly wrinkled face.
"Do you ever regret you're choice? Do you ever wish you stayed with your other husband?"
Tifa sat back in her rocking chair and contemplated the highlight of her life when she was a young woman. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have never taken back marrying Cloud, she loved him and always will. But sometimes, thoughts of what if did plague her mind. Something she was sure of, she may have been living a much more financially stable life with Riley, but would never be as happy as she was with Cloud. There could be as many as a hundred what ifs but in the end, the decision was no contest.
Instead of explaining all the thoughts she had pondered of the topic, Tifa shook her head slowly and gave a small grin of satisfaction at her granddaughter's happy and satisfied face, "Now it's off to bed you go, if your mother and father find out you were awake this late, let's just say you won't be seeing you're grandmom tomorrow."
Giggling, Tifa's granddaughter went up to her and kissed her cheek gently while stating, "Thank you for telling me a great bedtime story, grandma. I'm never going to forget it."
Smiling, Tifa watched part of the generation of Strifes run up the stairs quickly and happily. She was so proud of little Aeris. She honestly was a reflection of Cloud. Her rambunctiousness. Her quaint sense of humor. Her slight sarcasm and mostly, her eyes.
She was a beautiful girl. That was, yet another reason, to add to choosing Cloud as her heart's desire
I always kept that story as a part of my past, yet also a part of my heart for all time. This story was my legacy and the reason I had spent the rest of my adulthood living a life of complete bliss, knowing finally, what it was like to feel love and be loved in return. Riley, I believed, loved me and it was no doubt that I loved him as well. But Cloud gave me a reason to want to change. A reason to want to be different. Riley was there for me when I indeed needed him, but Cloud always held a part of my heart, no matter how much of that small fact I wanted to ignore.
In our years of growing old together, we experienced more love in almost three decades, than an average human being would experience in a lifetime. After I married Cloud it was almost as though a part of me was finally complete, I finally knew what that poem, my mother taught me so long ago about love, actually meant. Cloud helped me learn that lesson I was destined to learn. He saved me from a life of dissatisfaction and wondering. Not only was he a hero to this very world, but he was a hero in my heart. But after those years of dedication and unconditional love, he left me, just as he was intended to so long ago, with his undying faith.
Destiny, I learned, was nothing to resent, but something to respect. You may not want to believe me right now, but you'll learn that lesson life has to offer. Whether it be the easy or the hard way. I smiled when destiny shone upon me and soon, so will you.
Every night, I still look up at constellations and think of him. I close my eyes, imagining the star's symmetric lining and almost feel his love exploding from my heart. I still miss him, but I never forget the lessons he taught me and the emotions he made me feel. I'll never forget him and hopefully one day, we'll be reunited just as we had before. You see, I learned, in my life experiences, that there's a thin line between logic and the miracles you believe your heart can lead you to. You just have to know what side you're on.
AN : OK people! What did you think? Sorry I ended it so abruptly and didn't go back into the whole Riley issue, but I didn't want to drag things out and plus my brain was already racked so I wanted to finish this as swiftly and as quickly as possible. But don't get me wrong, I had so much fun writing this story and I'd like to thank all of you who supported me when I was writing, posting your reviews and showing your support for what I did. I couldn't have completed this story without your help and so I'm thanking you all so much again. Hopefully, I'll come out with another story, we'll see, and hopefully, I'll have all of you reading and enjoying more of what I have to offer. Peace :o)