Final Fantasy VII (7): On The Way To A Smile

Case Of Tifa: Page 11

It was true and he done a very thorough job of cleaning. When he was asked if it was his passed away mother who taught him how to clean, he answered no. The following day, Tifa asked Cloud who Denzel's cleaning teacher was. He had told Cloud about it. Tifa was a little hurt.

I was troubled at why Denzel told Cloud and didn't tell me. One day I tried asking a customer that was about the same age as Denzel about it. His answer was that boys were just like that. So there really weren't any problems. We were just a normal family.

The answer didn't make her understand them more but, the words "normal family" relieved Tifa.

After the bar was closed, the usual three people sat around the table. It wouldn't be a surprise if someone said it was a young father with his two children. If Tifa felt like it, she could go over to that table and be welcomed with smiles.

Cloud laid out a map on the table. He was making sure of the routes that he was going to take to do deliveries the next day. Denzel and Marlene was sorting out the papers. When there were any words that Marlene couldn't read, she asked Denzel. Denzel would then teach Marlene like an older brother. When there were words that even Denzel couldn't read, he would ask Cloud. Cloud had the habit of handing them a pen after telling them how to read them. He told them that if they couldn't write the words then they wouldn't be able to remember them either. The various names of places on the papers made the children curious and they asked Cloud what they were like. Cloud's descriptions were simple. There are lots of people. There are very little people. There's 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 content. Soon, Tifa wanted to talk a little about the places too. When she added in more detail, Denzel would ask Cloud if it was true. It annoyed Tifa a little. But she also thought it was all right. That's probabbly what normal families were like.

Maybe they became a real family after Denzel arrived. 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.

"So the problem was resolved?"

"What problem?"

"Your problem."

"Yeah..."

Cloud thought about it.

"It's ok if you don't want to tell me."

"I can't really explain it well...." Cloud warned before starting to talk.

"The problem isn't resolved. Well, I don't think it will be resolved for a long time to come. You can't retrieve lives that have been lost."

Tifa nodded silently.

"But maybe we can still save those lives that are endangered 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?"