A Promise Written In The Stars
If I was ever in a bind, my hero would come save me.
She was the most beautiful girl in the town, but she didn't care.
Tifa Lockheart, her father's pride and joy, Nibelheim's gem, was perched on top of the well, remembering the splendor of that night. This was becoming almost a basic routine. Sneaking out of her house at night, and relieving her last moments with Cloud Strife. She shut her eyes, and a dreamy smile appeared on her face as she fell into the night that occurred 2 years before.
Fifteen year old Cloud Strife sat at Nibelheim's well, swinging his legs back and forth, in an anxious gesture. He asked Tifa to meet him at the well 7:00 tonight, but there was no sign of her coming. In his heart, he wasn't surprised. After all, Tifa hated him. She had to hate him. It was because of him that she was in a coma for 7 days, even if it was an accident. Even before then he was always the little pest that everyone always beat up on. It was because he was weak. He could not defend himself no matter how much he tried. He was simply ripe for the picking whenever they found fitting to do so. When Cloud felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped. But then was washed over with relief when he realized that he hadn't been stood up after all.
"Relax, it's me." Tifa took a seat down next to him, noticing that his eyes were still a trifle wild. "Sorry, I scared you."
"Don't worry about it," Cloud said, flushing with embarrassment. "At least you came."
" So what was it you needed to talk about?" Tifa asked him, her bright ruby eyes burning into his blue ones.
Cloud lowered his gaze, trying to avoid her face as he spoke. "Coming this spring, I'm leaving Nibelheim."
"All the boys are leaving town," Tifa said sadly, suprising Cloud with her reaction. Almost immediately, he stood up.
"But I'm different from all of them!" He said in a tone just short of a shout. "I'm not just going to get a job. I want to join SOLDIER."
Tifa's eyes narrowed at him, as if in doubt. "But isn't it hard to get into SOLDIER?"
Cloud shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "Yeah, but I'll train real hard." He climbed onto the top of the well, looking up to the gorgeous sea of stars. And almost to himself he said, "I want to be like Sephiroth."
"Sephiroth, the great Sephiroth…" Tifa whispered, her voice far away.
Cloud had read about Sephiroth in the local news. He was nothing short of a hero. A legend would be a more accurate term. Never in recorded history has there never been anyone like Sephiroth. His strength was unreal, so it was no surprise that he was the gem in the crown of the SOLDIER regime. There was nothing that Cloud desired more than to prove to Tifa that he was just as good, if not better, than anyone else. And becoming a member of SOLDIER's elite was exactly how he planned to do that.
" Will I read your articles in the paper if you do well?" Tifa asked him.
"I'll try."
It was at this moment that Tifa spotted a single star in the night sky and said, "Let's make a promise."
Cloud nodded in agreement. It couldn't hurt.
"Ummm...if you get really famous, and I'm ever in a bind, you'll come save me, alright?"
His eyebrows arched quizzically. "Huh?"
" If I'm ever in trouble, my hero will rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."
Cloud looked doubtful. "I don't know…"
"Come on, promise me!"
"Alright! I promise."
Her eyes fluttered open and her smile spread into the grin. In today's paper she had read that SOLDIER was coming tomorrow to investigate the malfunctioning mako reactor. Although Cloud's name wasn't mentioned in the paper, this would be the day when they could perhaps see eachother once again. Perhaps her childhood friend her hero, would return to her and keep his promise.
She was the most beautiful girl in the town, but that didn't matter to her.
Her hero would keep the promise.
A promise written in the stars.
And for that moment, nothing else mattered.