𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖢𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖽 𝖮𝖿 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖯𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖾𝗍

6: Cloud Strife.

The sun has set soon and I said my goodbye to Marle and Tifa. Having a new friendly people in my life always boosted my happiness. I was smiling all the way while coming back home.

I kept coming to Marle's place everyday to tend to the garden. Tifa came by to check the progress from time to time and we have become friends. However, as her childhood friend was supposed to arrive in 2 days, his stay got delayed and he would arrive in a week.

And with my frequent visits, the week passed by very quickly.

On my way to Marle, I have picked up fresh strawberries from our garden back at home because thanks to her I was able to work on that beautiful flowerbed that gave me so much joy. She also confessed that she hadn't had a fresh fruit in forever, so this was the best time to give these strawberries to her as the token of my gratitude.

When I was nearing Marle's apartment, I noticed that she was sitting in front of her door, waiting for someone. And as soon as our eyes locked, her face lit up. She was waiting for me.

I felt the inner happiness in me bloom.

"Good morning, Marle!" I said cheerfully.

She smiled so widely that her genuine happiness to see me made me feel instantly so good.

"Good morning, sweetie! I was waiting for you." she then stood up from her seat.

I quickly walked over to her with an excitement that she awoke inside of me with the happiness of seeing me, "I've got you something!" I said as I handed her the basket of the fresh picked strawberries.

Her face turned into an expression of adoration. She was so happy that her wrinkles were now so visible. It was kind of cute.

"Oh my goodness.. Are these strawberries? And they are fresh! Haven't seen fruits in so long." she accepted them with a gratitude.

She looked at me with a smile, "I will make you my specialty then! Couldn't bake in so long with the lack of fruits, but my strawberry pie is one of the best in Midgar, just you wait." she said as she excitedly retreated to her apartment.

I chuckled at how adorable she was. 

The wind was slowly adding up to its strength, so my gardening hat that I brought with me to protect me from the sun, now flew off my head. I automatically turned to catch it, but before I could, a strong arm of a man caught it mid air.

"Here you go." said a deep yet gentle voice.

"Thank you so much!" I smiled as now I have met eyes of a blonde man.

Upon seeing my eyes, his eyes widened in a surprise. His eyes were blue, crystal blue. He had exactly the same eye colour as Zack's.

He was still holding my hat even when I tried to smoothly take it back, "Umm, Cloud, maybe you could give it back to her." Tifa laughed out from behind.

The man who goes by 'Cloud', snapped out of his daze as he handed it to me.

"Hello, Tifa!" I said cheerfully, "Hi, Yui!" she went to hug me.

Over the time, we got to know each other a lot more and we became close friends.

"Alright, Yui, this is my childhood friend Cloud Strife. Cloud, this is the new addition to the team, Yui Gainsborough." Tifa introduced us to each other.

I handed my hand to him for a handshake. He took the hint and took my hand, "Nice to meet you, Cloud." I said with a gentle smile.

But at the contact of our hands, he hissed in pain as his hands shot to his head. Was he okay?

"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa got close to him, holding his hand as a support.

He then looked at me again, whilst his thoughts were all over the place judging by his expression. 

To not make it awkward enough as it already was, I separated from him and looked at Tifa, "I'll go back to work. I have just got here 5 minutes before you and gave Marle fresh strawberries. Seeing that she's not here, she probably went to make her most famous strawberry cake." I chuckled which made Tifa also smile brightly, "Alright, Yui. For the lunch, you can come to the Seventh Heaven, it's on the house." she said sweetly, "Oh, you're too kind!" I laughed out whole-heartedly, "See you then!" I said as I turned on my heels and proceeded to my garden.

"See you, Yui!" she said with a smile, however, the eyes of the coldness still lingered on my back. Cloud was still looking at me which was making me a bit nervous.

I started tending to my garden, meanwhile Marle got introduced to Cloud as well. She wasn't too thrilled that Tifa brought a man home, but in the end, Tifa always talked about him so nicely, clearly being a girl in love, so she kept her calm.

It feels like the universe stops for girls when they fall in love. That's how Aerith explained it to me, at least.

The lavenders were now in a full bloom. I was surprised at how colorful this place got just within a week. But it's because I have a power of lifestream, flowers bloom to such an energy a lot faster. 

While I was very focused on the lavenders, I felt this certain stare again. My instinct made me look towards the source. When our eyes met again, he got all surprised, "Um.. What are they?" he asked awkwardly.

I smiled to reassure him, "They are lavenders... I chose them for this place because it's near apartments, and they are especially good for sleep. Their relaxing scent will make you feel refreshed as soon as you wake up and–" but I felt myself go quiet as I started to talk so much about flowers.

I felt my cheeks blush in embarrassment. He noticed how passionate I got about it that his lips formed in a tiny bit of smile.