To Forgive Chapter 3
Let the Training Begin
By Rozalynn
Sora stirred in her sleep as a ray of light hit her slumbering face. It came from a slight break in the curtains. Turning over to get away from the sun she awoke slowly finding herself entangled in blankets and sheets. She struggled to sit up in her bed to look at the clock on her nightstand, which read eleven-thirty. With a jolt Sora scrabbled off her bed to the walk-in closet, leaving a trail of blankets and sheets behind her.
The previous weekend Sora had gone to see Seph to cut his hair but found that it only needed a slight trim. Seeing it wasn’t necessary for her to cut his hair so frequently Sora decided that the next time she came they should practice on their fighting. She hadn’t thought much about practicing her sword skills in over a week, so she assumed it would be a good time to start again.
Not taking time to make her bed she shoved her clothes on. Once Sora was dressed she went to grab her sword from a rack in her walk-in closet. She hoped no one would see her leaving the house to the Midgar ruins but, if she was lucky everyone would be busy. As she made her way down the stairs and through the hall to the main room she heard the voices of Cloud and Aeris talking quietly in the kitchen. Getting as close as possible to the frame of the door Sora listened to their conversation.
Cloud was in mid-discussion when she came, “…sounds like a good idea Aeris. Do you think we should just let her keep going to the ruins though?”
Pondering the question for a moment Aeris answered, “There isn’t any harm in letting her go see him. From what she has told me, he seems like a pretty nice guy. The only thing that is worrying me is the part he’s going to play in the world’s future. I’m just not sure…”
They both were silent for a reason Sora couldn’t see because of where she stood. The person who spoke next was Cloud, “If you’re okay with it right now, I’m okay with it. I think it would be nice for Sora to have someone else to talk to besides her old parents.”
Aeris giggled at the remark while Sora was making her way to the front door to leave. No one stopped her from leaving the house even though it seemed as if they had sensed her departure. She was happy to be out and on her way to the ruins. Sora hadn’t considered breakfast or bringing food for lunch that was just twenty-five minutes away. Stopping she wondered if she should go back to the house to get some. The decision was made for her as she heard her mother behind her.
“You forgot to take some lunch!” Aeris called to her, “You’ll get hungry if you don’t bring any food to eat.”
Sora turned to look at her mother, who had a brown paper-bag in her hand along with a tan cloth bag slung over her shoulder, “Thanks mom, I would’ve starved if you hadn’t thought of it.”
“No problem,” was her reply, with a swift ruffle of Sora’s hair she told her, “What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t look after my only daughter!”
Smiling at Aeris, who Sora was practically eye level with, she said, “At least I won’t go hungry now. I better get going. I’ll be home in time for dinner, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Oh I don’t think I need to worry about you with your dad’s sword with you,” Aeris paused, then pulled a piece of clothing from the bag that was slug over shoulder, “If you decide to take a swim this time here’s your swimsuit.” Handing her the suit Aeris took off the sack from her shoulder and handed it to Sora.
“Why don’t you put all those thing in here,” Aeris told her indicating the bag in Sora’s hands.
“Geez mom! I didn’t know I needed all this stuff. Thanks!”
Sora stuffed everything Aeris had given her into the bag and pulled the strap over her shoulder. Waving good-bye to her mother Sora set off toward the ruins.
*
Seph stared up into the overhead rafters from his position on one of the pews at the head of the church. He let out a small sigh as he wondered why Sora was late. The time seemed to slow whenever he waited for her or at least that’s what it felt like to him besides the fact that he didn’t have a watch. But he always seemed to know what time it was with or without a watch to look at, in a way it was sort of like a sixth sense, even if he couldn’t tell the precise time of day it was. Sora was late none the less.
Waiting for something to happen was what he had been doing a lot in his life. He hadn’t met many people in the Midgar ruins in fact no one ever came into the ruins at all or lived there. There were always the long awaited visits from his mother at the beginning of each month, but no unexpected visitors. Sora had been just what he needed, someone to talk to other than his mother. He wasn’t much of a romantic though, so he didn’t dwell on his feelings for her. The thought of her soon went from his mind as he remembered what he had seen in the river the first day they had met. It had seemed so real...
A loud creak from above him sent his gaze to the roof of the church. Seph kept his gaze locked on the rafters above him as he slowly reached beneath the pew, he was laying on, for his sword.
To Be Continued.....