Save the Children

oOoOo

It was another awkward morning in Edge wherein it was sunny yet the air was cold. Ever since Meteor, there had been several changes in the climate of the Planet, specifically in the areas of Midgar, Kalm and Junon.

Cloud hated those mornings. It was the middle of April and it was supposed to be summertime in Midgar, but it was very cold even though the sun was shining brightly. He thought it was very deceiving, especially when, 2 weeks ago, Tifa decided to take Denzel and Marlene out for a picnic and they all dressed themselves in summer clothes, but when they stepped out of the house, they had to rush back in because of the coldness of the atmosphere outside. The picnic was cancelled and they just decided to stay home and play board games.

Cloud hated board games, especially those concerning money and property like Monopoly, which happens to be Tifa’s favorite game. For some reason, the two children also loved the game; And all the while Cloud thought children normally hated mathematics and anything to do with business

Cloud hated Monopoly because he always seems to be the one to go bankrupt first and then he would have to sit around and wait for the whole game to finish in order not to disappoint the children if he left them to do something else. Tifa would always win, and she would always cheer victoriously when she did so. Her enthusiasm with winning in that money-related board game made him remember Rufus Shinra. “Maybe one day we could invite him over here for a little game of Monopoly and we’ll see who’ll win: Tifa or Rufus.” He was thinking to himself, realizing those are the only entrepreneurs that he knows and he thought that a showdown between the two on who’s better in business should be interesting.

Yet he never got the opportunity to ask Rufus whether he would like to come over or not to spend the afternoon playing Monopoly with Tifa and the children.

Everyday, ever since after the conflict with Kadaj et al, Rufus would constantly request for the company of Cloud. The recuperating man needed a friend and for some reason, he had found friendship in Cloud. Cloud, on the other hand, wasn’t sure whether Rufus was the right friend for him, but he still continued to hang out with him everyday after work. Besides, Rufus just lived nearby in one of the semi-expensive apartments in Edge.

Rufus was a changed man, in Cloud’s opinion, who chose not to be confined in a hospital anymore and just donate his remaining funds to the World Regenesis Organization instead of using them for his personal satisfaction to regain every worldly thing he had lost when Shinra came crumbling down. Besides, the Turks were there to take care of him. His condition had improved ever since his Geostigma got cured by Aerith’s Holy Rain, yet the recuperation of his motor skills would still take a while to get back to normal. He would still need a wheelchair every now and then and his hands still cannot grasp things properly. His left eye, however, is still part-blind. The ophthalmologist told him that his eyesight on his left eye will eventually return if he took his medication as scheduled.

Cloud, however, also changed in a way. His friends were the first ones to notice it. He has become a little bit more sociable and less grumpy. He would smile more and his mood would always appear more pleasant unlike before when he would appear very gloomy especially in the morning. But his change of attitude made Tifa think that there was a catch to it, like he could be losing his mind or something, but in a way, she was pleased that he had become more optimistic… at least.

oOoOo

One particular cold mid-morning, when Cloud was on his way to Rufus’s place from a delivery in Sector 6, he passed by the old Church. He stopped by the front door and then found himself drawn inside the place. Upon getting there, he began to reminisce the time when he last saw Aerith before she walked away from him. He was not yet sure though whether it was an illusion or not—seeing two dead friends: Aerith and Zack.

But then he recalled the two children who were crouched down a few meters away from the doorway. Aerith was also crouched down facing those children as if speaking to them. Cloud then wondered if he was the only one who was able to see her or if other people and the children had seen her too; yet he never asked his friends about it in fear of getting criticized negatively.

Aerith was never mentioned in Tifa’s house. It was not like a bad word; it’s just that, whenever the name is mentioned, everyone would fall into a spell of silence and would become melancholic for the rest of the day. Cloud thought that he was the only one who really cared about Aerith but he never discussed it with anyone except maybe for Rufus Shinra one day when he decided to try out what would happen if he lamented to his new friend. Cloud figured it could be a test whether Rufus could be counted on as a true friend or not. Much to his surprise, Rufus never said anything negative about his laments; he just listened attentively…

…well at least Cloud thought he was listening. Or he could have just been spacing out all the while.

Cloud stared at the remnants of the water from Aerith’s blessing to cure all those with Geostigma. It had been several months ever since that water rained on the Planet; still, it was clean and pure. He smiled softly, his blue eyes being illuminated by the sunlight reflecting on the clean and clear water. Then he heard a sound of cracking wood from the main doorway behind him, the same doorway where Aerith and Zack had disappeared.

Cloud recognized the two children who were crouched down facing Aerith from months ago. Those were the two children whom Aerith seemed to have been talking to. One was a blonde little boy with light brown eyes, and the other one was a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes.

The two children, when Cloud turned around to face him, froze in their tracks and stared wide-eyed at him. It was the girl who accidentally stepped on debris of wood, causing a cracking sound.

As Cloud continued to stare at the children strangely, the little girl hid behind the little boy as if she was afraid.

Cloud snapped back into his senses and smiled weakly at the children. “H…hello,” he greeted, trying to sound pleasant so as not to scare the children away. Being around Marlene and Denzel too much had taught him to be gentle to children and not to sound harsh or demanding.

The little boy eyed him curiously but he never said a world.

Cloud looked around, trying to think of something to say. “What are you kids doing here?” he asked curiously.

The little boy and the little girl just kept quiet.

He looked at them again. “You shouldn’t be hanging out much here. It’s dangerous. This is an old place—the ceiling might give way one day.” He told them.

The little boy blinked. “If this is a dangerous place like what you said, how come we always see you here every now and then?” he asked.

Cloud’s eyes widened.

“This place is holy, mister. I don’t think it will crumble.” The little boy pointed out.

“And how do you know that it’s holy?” Cloud asked.

The little boy just stood still as he explained, “Well, first of all, you should never tell anyone else what we know—that this place is holy, otherwise, they will just desecrate it. It’s only me and my sister who knows about this place being holy, and now there’s you.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Cloud asked, narrowing his eyes at the little boy.

The little boy smiled calmly at him. “Because she was here. She showed us.” He answered confidently.

Cloud’s eyes widened at him upon hearing his last statement. “…She?” he asked curiously.

The little boy bowed down his head yet still kept his gaze on Cloud. “…you know who she is. She said she knows you very well.” He said softly. Then he felt his sister squeezing his left arm. He looked at her inquiringly.

She just looked at him as if warning him not to say anything else.

He pouted and looked at Cloud again. “We’re sorry, Mister, but we have to go.” He said before turning away and took his sister’s hand.

Cloud went after them. “Wait. You’re orphans aren’t you?” he asked.

The children stopped walking. The little boy turned around to face Cloud again, but this time, Cloud was already in front of him and they were standing closely to each other. He looked up at Cloud. “Hmm… no, not really.” He answered.

Cloud eyed him strangely. “What do you mean, not really?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

The little boy shrugged. “Let me see… how do I explain this… uh… our parents are still alive somewhere but we don’t know where they are.” He answered.

Cloud was quiet for a few moments before inquiring, “So where do you live?”

“We wander around like the other children. Took a lot of getting used to…” the little boy answered with a slight pout.

Cloud studied the features of the children more closely. “Took a lot of getting used to?” he repeated to himself. He observed the paleness of the children’s faces, but their cheeks were a little flushed. They looked almost like porcelain dolls with the quality and lightness of their skin, and their hair looked very fine and taken care of. Their clothes, however, were old and filthy, but he imagined them wearing fine and expensive clothing. Then it dawned Cloud that these children could have once belonged to a rich family before their house was destroyed probably by Meteor or by Shinra when one of the plates fell on the lower Sectors two years ago. He recalled that Denzel had lost his parents when the plate fell over Sector 5 where an exclusive housing village for Shinra employees once stood. Cloud began to mind the time and the children, but he was torn between leaving them to go to Rufus and taking them with him and let them live under his and Tifa’s care. “Will Tifa get angry if I just take these children home?” he wondered to himself. He began to reassure himself that Tifa has been the motherly one. “She even treats me like a child… so maybe she won’t get angry if there are more children in her house…” he decided quietly before smiling calmly at the children. “Would you like to come home with me?” he asked.

The children stared up at him strangely but they were just quiet.

Cloud also thought that having these children around the house would be pleasant for him because he felt that these children would link him to Aerith. “It’s quite nice there… I’m sharing a house with a friend who’s like a sister… and we’re taking care of another friend’s daughter and an orphan boy. I figured that maybe you guys would like to live with us too.” He explained.

The little boy exchanged looks with his sister before turning back to Cloud. “Okay.” He answered, grinning, while the little girl nodded her head with a quiet smile on her face.

Cloud smiled pleasantly at the children. “Great.” He said before motioning for them to follow him. He remembered that he was supposed to stop by Rufus’s home first but decided to bring the children home to Tifa first before anything else because the children could be hungry already and they looked like they were getting sickly because of the cold, especially the little girl who appeared paler than her brother. “So… you two are siblings?” he asked, wanting to strike up a conversation with the children to get to know them better. He was never the type to initiate conversations with other people unless he was very familiar with them, but in the children’s case, he felt comfortable with them even when it was their first meeting.

The blonde boy nodded. “Yep. She’s actually my twin sister… but I’m older by 7 minutes.” He answered proudly.

“Twins, huh? How old are you guys?” Cloud inquired.

“We’re both 10.” the little boy answered. “I’m Teddy by the way.” He introduced happily.

Cloud looked at the little boy. “I’m Cloud.” He introduced himself.

Teddy pointed at his sister with his thumb, “She’s Sam.” He introduced.

Sam just looked at Cloud strangely but did not say a word.

Cloud wondered what was wrong with her. “Doesn’t she ever speak?” he blurted out.

Teddy shrugged. “She’s a very shy girl.” He answered.

Sam just bowed down her head, lowering her gaze to the ground as they continued their way to Edge.

Upon arriving at Tifa’s house, Cloud decided to pass through the door of the bar. He knew that it would be open because he expected that Tifa would be cleaning the glasses to prepare for that night’s business. He was right. And Tifa was there behind the counter cleaning the glasses. She looked up from what she was doing and stared at Cloud with a surprised look on her face. “Cloud!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide in awe upon seeing him back so early from work. Her gaze trailed toward the children who were standing behind Cloud but she was unable to say anything. She just stared at the children, eyeing them curiously, especially the little boy with light brown eyes. She thought she had seen her own eyes as a reflection on the mirror, but this time, it was in a little boy.

“Tifa, these are Teddy and Sam. I met them at the Church.” Cloud introduced.

Tifa swallowed hard, her attention switching back to Cloud. “Oh. That’s… nice.” She answered, forcing a smile. She could feel the children staring at her knowingly as if they had known her before. Yet she could recall not seeing them before…

Cloud urged the children to get inside and led them to one of the booths, telling them to sit down there first while he discussed things with Tifa. The children sat down quietly and watched as Cloud approached Tifa. “I need to ask you a big favor.” They heard him say.

Tifa frowned slightly.

Cloud sat on one of the tall stools facing the counter and rested his elbows on the counter as he leaned forward. Tifa just stood still, eyeing him curiously.

“They’re orphans, Tifa.” He began in a low voice he thought would be audible only for him and Tifa.

She tried to read the look on his face but she could not concentrate due to the fact that she could still feel the children’s looks fixed on her.

He proceeded, “I told them that they could live with us… they don’t have any place to go.”

She blinked. “Cloud, of all the orphans roaming around in the streets of old Midgar and Edge, why did you choose those two to bring home here?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

He shrugged. “I don’t really know… they seem… important.” He answered, not really knowing how to explain it to her.

“Important?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

He was quiet for a few moments before finally saying, “I just figured I should help them…”

Tifa could not understand what was going on in Cloud’s head because he was not very articulate in expressing what really is on his mind. She just took a deep breath, deciding quietly that maybe he has a good reason for bringing those children home with him. “Well… I should try to trust him more if I want to remain friends with him.” She thought silently before nodding her head. “Alright. They can stay. But they’ll have to share rooms with Denzel and Marlene.” She told him sternly.

Cloud thought she sounded like his mother. He fought the urge to laugh. “Thank you.” He said before getting up. “I have to go. I’ll be back by dinner.” He said.

She widened her eyes at him. “You’ll leave me here with these new kids? Where are you going?” she exclaimed.

Cloud faced her and eyed her warningly. “Shh! Keep it down!” he muttered through clenched teeth. He did not want the children to feel unwelcome in their new home. He took a quick glance at the children and saw that they were staring curiously at them. He smiled weakly at them before turning back to Tifa with a serious look on his face, “Now, be nice and take care of them while I’m gone. I’ll just go to Rufus.” He said in a low voice.

She frowned at him and placed her hands on her hips. “Rufus again, huh? You never take me to visit him.” She said, rolling her eyes.

Cloud blinked. “I never knew Rufus interested you!” he pointed out with an amused look on his face.

Tifa turned away. “Well based from your stories, he’s a nice guy. I’d like to prove it to myself so that maybe my guilt of hating him would cease…” she muttered, hoping that he did not hear her voice faltering somewhere in her last sentence.

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh. I see. Then why didn’t you say so?” he asked, shrugging. “But not today. Maybe I’ll just invite him over here sometime since you can’t leave the bar and the children.” He said before proceeding to the door. “Tifa will take care of you, okay? I’ll see you kids later.” He told Teddy and Sam before leaving.

As soon as the door closed, Tifa turned around to face the children. She smiled gently at them. “Teddy and Sam, correct?” she asked, wanting to be sure she got their names right from Cloud.

The little boy nodded. “Yes, Miss Tifa.” He answered pleasantly.

“Oh please, just Tifa.” She corrected with a smile.

The little boy blinked. “Oh. Okay. Tifa.” He repeated.

Tifa stepped away from the counter and approached them. “Come on, let’s take you upstairs so you can meet Denzel and Marlene.” She said.

Teddy and Sam got up.

Tifa eyed the children curiously. They were the most beautiful children she had ever seen. Teddy’s blonde hair could be comparable to Rufus Shinra’s blonde hair—soft, fine and strawberry blonde in shade. As for Sam’s hair, her hair was up to her shoulders, stick straight, shiny and almost as black as the darkest evening sky Tifa could ever imagine. Her eyes were the bluest she has ever seen and she felt like she was looking into the ocean whenever she would gaze into Sam’s eyes. Overall, she thought that those two kids resembled the dolls she never had a child. She smiled at them admiringly before leading the way to the stairs. “So, where did you kids come from?” she asked.

“Midgar.” Teddy answered simply.

“Midgar is a big place. Where in Midgar?” she asked.

Teddy was hesitant to speak for a moment but did so anyway, “…Sector 1.”

Tifa’s eyes widened a little. “So that explains their features. They look like the children of rich people… and their accents give them away too. They speak like Rufus.” she thought to herself. “Er… what happened to your parents… if you don’t mind…” she asked.

“Hmm… not really sure. They just disappeared.” Teddy answered. To Tifa’s wonder, he sounded pleasant and not melancholic or confused. Now she became confused whether he was telling the truth or not. “What if they just ran away from home? But oh well, what rich children would run away from their home if they have everything they could ever want in life?” she thought to herself with a speculative look on her face as she climbed up the stairs with the children. “Disappeared? Were they kidnapped?” she inquired.

“Not really sure, Tifa. One day Sam and I woke up and they’re gone.” He answered simply.

Tifa figured that Teddy might not be able to explain what exactly happened to their parents for now, so she just decided to change the subject. “I noticed I haven’t heard Sam speak yet. How old are you, Sam?” she asked pleasantly with a singsong voice.

The little girl obviously did not answer.

Teddy spoke up. “She’s really painfully shy around strangers. But anyway, we’re both 10. She’s actually my twin sister but I’m older by 7 minutes.”

Tifa blinked. “Oh. I see. Well, there really is no reason to be shy around me, especially since I’ll be taking care of you guys.” She said pleasantly as they reached the second floor. She led the way to Denzel and Marlene’s room where the two were drawing pictures with their crayons.

As Tifa opened the door, Denzel and Marlene looked up at her as they remained seated on the floor, but they stopped drawing. “Oh, hi, Tifa.” Marlene greeted happily.

Tifa smiled kindly at them before stepping aside to let them see the two new children standing behind her.

Denzel and Marlene stared curiously at the new children. “Oh. Hello.” The latter greeted.

Teddy smiled happily at them. He seemed to be a very pleasant child, always eager to sincerely make new friends with a sunny disposition. “Hello there! I’m Teddy. And this is my twin sister Sam.” He introduced cheerfully as she grabbed his sister’s hand and stepped inside the room. He approached Denzel and Marlene who were still seated on the floor and staring curiously at him and his sister, and he offered a handshake to them. “Very pleased to meet the two of you!” he said happily.

Marlene got up and wiped her hands on her skirt for a moment before shaking hands with Teddy. She smiled cheerfully. “Pleased to meet you too, Teddy. I’m Marlene.” She introduced herself.

Denzel eyed Sam curiously before getting up to shake hands with Teddy. “I’m Denzel. Great to meet you.” He said with a slight smile on his face.

Sam turned her gaze towards the bed and saw a teddy bear. She continued to stare at the teddy bear.

Marlene noticed that Sam seemed to be fond of the teddy bear. She smiled. “You like teddy bears, Sam?” she asked before getting the teddy bear from the bed. “It’s old but he’s clean.” She said, handing the bear to her new friend.

Sam smiled softly as she got the bear and looked at it closely. “I had one of these back home.” She said softly.

Tifa was amused that Sam finally spoke up. Her voice was soft yet low.

“Really? What happened to it?” Marlene asked.

Sam’s smile faded away as she returned the teddy bear to Marlene. “I don’t know…” she murmured softly that it was almost inaudible to everybody else but Marlene.

Marlene pouted, sympathizing with her. She placed the teddy bear back on the bed. “Aw… that’s too sad. If I lost this, I’d be sad too.” she said before facing Sam again. “But don’t worry, you can play with my teddy bear whenever you want to.” She said cheerfully.

Sam just nodded slowly before looking at her twin brother who had already joined Denzel in drawing pictures on the floor.

Marlene took Sam’s hand. “Come here, I’ll show you my other dolls!” she said pleasantly before leading the way to the shelf where she keeps her other toys.

Tifa smiled, pleased that Marlene and Denzel had warmed up quite faster than expected to the new children. With that, she exited without saying a word.