On the Way to a Smile, Episode: Tifa [Revised]
Once Denzel had recovered his strength, Tifa listened to his story about everything that happened to him before he arrived there.
Denzel was supposed to come here. His parents were among the victims when Sector Seven was destroyed.. It was destroyed because of AVALANCHE. That’s why we had to take responsibility and raise him. He met Cloud so that he could come to me.
Tifa told Cloud and Marlene that she wanted to welcome Denzel into their family. Cloud nodded silently, but Marlene was full of joy.
At first, Denzel was persistent in helping them as thanks for taking care of him, but his heart began opening to them as he helped with the bar and Cloud’s work.
The number of customers had visibly decreased. The reason was clear. But, Tifa, Cloud and even Marlene never mentioned it.
It was night, and the bar was closed. Tifa was cleaning up in the kitchen. She looked up from the dishes towards the centre table. There sat the president of the Strife Delivery Service—Cloud—and his two assistants, Marlene and Denzel. Denzel often suffered because of Geostigma , but on the days when the fever and pain subsided, he would hang around with Cloud.
Usually, Cloud spent most of his days out at work. So once he was home, it was Denzel’s precious time to spend with his hero. Yes, Cloud was a hero to Denzel. Saving Denzel as the symptoms of Geostigma appeared without warning, suffering with the fear of death.
The way Cloud carried himself, the bike he rode around… it was everything Denzel looked up to. Denzel wanted to ask everything about Cloud’s past. Even if he had questions Tifa could have answered, he would always wait until Cloud returned home. Once, half jokingly, she told him that she was the one who cooked the meals. Denzel put on a grown up voice and informed her that he was the one who cleaned up the bar and the house.
It was true, Denzel did a very thorough job of cleaning. When she asked him if it was his mother who taught him how to clean, he answered no. Days later, Cloud told her about the woman who taught Denzel how to clean. Tifa was a little hurt that Denzel had told Cloud and not her. It troubled her.
“Why does he talk to Cloud and not me?”
One day, she tried asking one of the older children who came into the bar. His answer was that boys were just like that. There really wasn’t anything to worry about. They were just a normal family.
The answer didn’t make her understand, but the words “normal family” relieved Tifa.
After the bar was closed, Cloud, Marlene and Denzel sat around their usual table. You could say they resembled a young father with his two children. If Tifa sat with them, she would be welcomed with smiles.
Cloud had a map spread out on the table. He always made sure to check the routes that he intended to use to make deliveries the next day. Denzel and Marlene were sorting receipts. When there were any words that Marlene couldn’t read, she would ask Denzel. He would then teach her like an older brother. When there were words that even Denzel couldn’t read, he would ask Cloud. He had the habit of handing them a pen after telling them how to read them. He said that if they couldn’t write it, then they wouldn’t be able to remember it. Looking at the names of places on the receipts, the children would ask Cloud what they were like. Cloud’s descriptions were concise. There are lots of people. There are very few people. There are lots of monsters, so it’s dangerous. Taking the north route is safer. They were descriptions that would make you ask, “is that all?” but the children seemed satisfied. Soon, Tifa wanted to talk too. When she added in more detail, Denzel would ask Cloud if it was true. It annoyed Tifa a little, but she thought it was fine.
That’s probably what normal families are like.
Tifa wondered if they became a real family after Denzel appeared. Cloud was clearly taking less jobs. At night, he would always make sure he had time to spend with the children. The silly little conversations he had with Tifa were also back.
“Did you fix the problem?”
“Which problem?”
“Your problem.”
“Oh…”
Cloud thought about it.
“It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me.”
“I can’t really explain it well…”
Cloud searched for the right words.
“I didn’t fix the problem. Well, I don’t think I’ll ever fix it. You can’t retrieve lost lives.”
“…”
“But maybe we can save the lives who are in a crisis just now. Maybe even I can do it.”
“You mean Denzel?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, do you remember what you said when you brought Denzel here?”
“What did I say?”
“You said, ‘Denzel came to my place'”
“Well…”
Cloud had an expression like a kid who thought he would get scolded.
“Tell me. I’ll decide whether I should be angry or not after I listen.”
Cloud nodded and continued.
“Denzel had collapsed in front of Aerith’s church. That’s why I thought Aerith lead him to me.”
Cloud couldn’t look Tifa.
“You went to the church?”
“I didn’t intend to hide it from you.”
“But you did.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not saying you couldn’t go. But next time, I’ll go with you.”
“I understand.”
“And Cloud, you’re wrong.”
Cloud looked at Tifa with a puzzled expression.
“Aerith didn’t bring Denzel to you.”
“Ahh, I only thought that…..”
“You’re not listening to me. Aerith brought Denzel to us.”
Cloud gazed into Tifa’s eyes again, and finally smiled. It had a kindness to it, as if to say “everything will be alright now”
**
Days after having that conversation, Cloud left.
“Was the future I saw in that smile just an illusion?”
She kissing her sleeping children goodnight and went into Cloud’s office. She brushed away the faint layer of dust from the photo they had taken as a family. She picked up the phone and dialed. After several rings, the messaging service took over.
