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The night sky was dull and dreary on the day of Maya Lockhart’s wake.
It was as if it’s mourning with the people she left behind. Cloud and his mom stood near the casket while she talked with Mr. Lockhart, both of them clad in charcoal black clothing his mother insisted they wear. They received the news of the lady’s passing two days before when one of his mother’s friends came to visit.
He peeked into the casket and saw Mrs. Lockhart laying there, looking like she was only sleeping. Cloud swore he saw a peaceful smile on her face.
“Mama, are you sure you’re okay? I can play with you right here!”
He glanced at the house next door and saw Tifa Lockhart standing in front of her mother, who sat on one of the chairs on their porch. Tifa was pouting while holding her mother’s hand, trying to convince her mother to let her stay with the older woman, but she only shook her head while squeezing her daughter’s hand gently. She said something that he couldn’t hear before Tifa murmured an answer, kissed her mother’s cheek and sped off.
Slipping his arm out from his mom’s grip, he rose onto his tiptoes and scanned the room for Tifa, yet all he saw was a sea of people in black and not one was the girl he was looking for. He walked around for a bit before he went outside and realized she wasn’t inside.
That was when he saw a figure run away in the direction of the woods.
Tifa!
His eyes followed her as she ran to her friends, her figure becoming smaller the further she went and he was struck with a sense of loneliness. It was as if she was always running far away from him, never within his reach. Was he worthy of Tifa’s attention? She was akin to a moon shining so bright in a night sky. The one that gives you light during the darkest of times.
Beautiful yet far.
He could only look up to her like a lone moonflower.
Cloud noticed someone’s gaze on him and turned to see it was Mrs. Lockhart’s. His face reddened, having been caught staring at her daughter but her expression told him she didn’t mind. It didn’t lessen his embarrassment though, he moved to turn his head to hide his face but he caught her signaling him to come closer.
He knew she was a nice woman. She would always greet Cloud with a smile whenever she bumped into his mom or whenever they visited next door. It didn’t happen much anymore, not since his mom told him that she was sick.
“I hope you don’t mind keeping me company, dear. Do you?” Her voice woke him out of his musings. He didn’t even notice he was standing at the Lockhart's porch now.
“N-no.” He winced at how small his voice sounded.
“That’s good.”
A moment of silence stretched between them as she stared towards where Tifa was, before speaking.
“That little girl, she’s too stubborn for her own good. It worries me sometimes.” It was said with so much affection that Cloud stopped fidgeting and followed the line of her gaze.
“I...I think it’s one of her good points.” He muttered. Mrs. Lockhart let out a small laugh.
“Well, it’s also her charm. She looks best when she smiles, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” He answered with absolute certainty, letting a small smile appear on his face as he remembered how much he loved seeing Tifa’s face lighting up with her smile. A wistful expression replaced the serene one on Mrs. Lockhart’s face.
He ran after her but she was too quick and, before he knew it, Tifa’s out of sight. Cloud frantically looked everywhere, searching every corner of the area, when he saw her sitting beneath a nearby tree. Slowly, his feet led him around the same tree and sat on the opposite side. She didn’t seem to notice him as she was crying, her face in her arms while her knees were drawn up. A litany of Mama, come back came out of her like a desperate prayer.
It was painful. The cries crept upon his body, chilling his spine, Cloud never wanted to hear a broken song coming out of her ever again.
In his peripheral vision, a moonflower bloomed. He reached for it, plucked it off the ground and placed it near Tifa, an offer of silent comfort. A reminder that he was there, that she wasn’t alone.
“I’m afraid that someday, her smile will disappear.” A pause and then, “Do you like Tifa, Cloud?”
Flushing, he sputtered a strangled, “No!” The words registered and he thought that Mrs. Lockhart would get mad, but instead she just laughed again.
“Do you want to be friends with her?”
For a while, he didn’t answer. He searched her expression to see if she was getting annoyed at his silence, but he saw patience in her demeanor. A sense of ease flowed inside of him and the truth came rolling out from his mouth.
“Yes. I want to.”
But I feel like I don’t deserve to be friends with her. She’s the moon and I’m only a moonflower.
“A moonflower?”
He startled. He must’ve said the words out loud by accident. The embarrassment returned and this time he turned the other way and ducked his head.
She must think I’m weird.
“I admire moonflowers.”
A pause.
“Not only they’re beautiful but they symbolize hope and strength during the most difficult moments in your life because they bloom at the darkest time.”
He felt a hand placed on his head, a kind gesture, and it made him look up.
“It may be lonely but not for long. I think that the moon loves the company it gives.”
Cloud took a good look at the woman in front of him like he was seeing her for the first time. She was pale, too pale. She lost a lot of weight from the last time he’d seen her but he thought that she was still pretty. Tifa looks a lot like her mother and he could see the strong resemblance.
“Cloud, dear, is it okay if I ask something from you?” With his nod, she continued.
“You said that she’s the moon and you're the moonflower...one day, I’ll have to go far away for a while, leaving Tifa behind. When that happens, is it alright if you could take care of her? She’s a strong girl but even the strongest can become weak. Can I trust you to protect her for me? As her moonflower can you bloom for her in those times?”
He’d be lying if he said that he understood what she was talking about but the determination in her eyes and the thought of Tifa crying and unhappy. He couldn’t say no. Not ever.
For Tifa and her smile.
For himself.
“I promise. I’ll take care of her.”
Three days later, Cloud followed Tifa on the mountain, reached for her hand and fell.
He’s her moonflower and he will bloom just for his moon.