Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ My Happy Ending ❯ Travelin' Prayer ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Travelin' Prayer

“Hey, Lord, would ya look out for her tonight

`Cause she's far across the sea.

Hey, Lord, would ya look out for her tonight

And make sure that she's gonna be alright

And things are gonna be alright with me.”

-Billy Joel “Travelin' Prayer”

The next morning Cid returned to his house. He was up most of the night working on the part that Shera had fucked up. He calmed down for the most part during the hours of darkness, but that did not change the fact that he was still quite agitated that he was behind an entire day's work. Cid was so determined to fix the part that he didn't even think about lighting up a cigarette.

Cid opened the back door rather than storming in, expecting to find Shera busily cooking breakfast. He smelled around for the scent of eggs and bacon, but there was nothing. Not even the scent of tea filled the air. He peered into the kitchen area to find that the dishes from last night were not done, and the sink was still filled with dishwater, now cold. Something didn't feel right.

I bet she's in that goddamed room again.

He walked to Shera's closed door and listened for the hum of the sewing machine or her soft singing. Nothing. Cid tapped on the door.

“Shera?” he called. “You alright?”

No answer came from inside the room.

“Listen I know you're upset about last night, but damn, let's not give me the silent treatment!” Still, Cid was only talking to the wooden door. “Shera? Are you even alive?”

He finally decided to open the door, though he knew he shouldn't invade her privacy. Sure, he was an ass, but he wasn't that big of one, and the only reason he opened the door last night (other than the fact he was madder than a nest of hornets) was he could hear her inside and knew she was decent.

Cid pushed open the door, expecting to find Shera lying in bed, but what he didn't find surprised him. The hide-a-bed was still folded beneath the cushions, the blankets folded neatly on one end of the couch. Cid looked around for any sign of Shera, then, he noticed the closet door standing wide open and empty. He opened her dresser - nothing. The pilot turned to look for the sewing machine that she so much adored, and it was gone; only the sewing table remained, and even that was cleaned out.

Cid stepped back and leaned against the wall in shock. Did she really leave? Had he upset her that much? Maybe there was a note. Yeah, that's it! Maybe Shera left a note! Cid turned and inspected the table for any kind of paper scrap with her familiar handwriting scrawled on it. The only thing he found were her set of keys she left. Cid picked up the keys in his gloved hand and held them up for a moment. Shera would never purposely leave behind her keys. Something definitely was fishy.

Cid replaced the keys on the table, and went out into Rocket Town. He hoped that maybe Shera was staying elsewhere in the settlement. The town was founded by the mechanics who worked on the Shin-Ra Space Program, and Cid was sort of their unofficial mayor. They respectfully called him `Captain', and looked up to him for leadership. Cid turned to glace at the Shin-Ra No. 26 rocket that had given the town its name, but it was no longer there since it successfully launched in an attempt to deflect Meteor.

As Cid walked, the people greeted their Captain as he passed by, and Cid nodded in return, but he was in his own personal hell now. Shera was missing, and he needed to find her. He first checked the Inn, and the keeper said that he had not seen her since the day before yesterday. Then he went to the item shop, the post office, and the tavern, all of which said Shera had not been around. There was only one other place to check. Cid happened to know that Shera was somewhat acquainted with the retired tailor, so he knocked on her door.

The door opened to find a graying blonde-haired woman, around her mid-sixties, staring back at him.

“Cap'n!” she politely said. “What brings you here?”

“Listen,” Cid said. “I know you are sort of acquainted with Shera. Have you seen her any time today or last night?”

The woman's face fell. Alice, which was the woman's name, looked back at Cid as though she were contemplating whether she should tell him anything.

“Maybe you ought to come in,” Alice finally said.

Cid stepped inside Alice's house, and she graciously closed the door. A large grey cat curiously sniffed at Cid's feet as he stood in the entryway. It looked up at him with large green eyes and meowed.

Alice showed him into her parlor and instructed the pilot to have a seat. Cid sat down on a puffy sofa as she took a chair opposite him. The grey cat jumped into her lap and purred loudly.

“Can I offer you anything, Captain Highwind?” Alice asked.

“No - no thanks. I just want to know what happened to Shera.”

“Oh she came over last night alright. She seemed rather distraught. She said she wanted to leave Rocket Town to find her own path.”

“Find her own path?” Cid inquired. “But if she wanted to leave, why didn't she just tell me?”

“I believe she said you guys got into a bit of a tiff,” Alice said.

“Well…” Cid began as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He had a feeling that if Shera indeed ran off it was because of him, and that was the last thing he wanted to admit. “I was kinda hard on her. She…messed up one of my parts.”

Alice shook her head. “Well, all of that is none of my business, but she stayed here for the night, and she left early this morning.”

“How early?”

“Before dawn.”

Cid sat in silence for a moment. “Did she say where she was going?”

“Nope, she sure didn't. The only thing she said was that she was leaving, and she does not want to be found.”

Cid sighed. “Well, okay, then. Is there anything else? Anything at all?”

The older woman shook her head. “I wish I could help you more, Captain, but Shera didn't tell me anything. To be honest, I don't think she has a clue where she is going to go.”

Cid stood up and Alice followed suit. The cat hopped off her lap onto the floor and followed the two of them to the door. Alice opened it and showed Cid out.

“I'm glad you stopped by, Captain. You can visit anytime if you want. Again, sorry I wasn't much help, and I hope that she comes back.”

“Yeah, me too.”

After Alice closed the door, Cid went back home. He picked up his phone and called everywhere that Shera might be - her parents in Kalm, her brother in Mideel, but neither household had seen or heard from her, at least that's what they told Cid. She could have told them not to tell him where she was if she was serious about not being found.

Cid sat down in a chair at the kitchen table. The house was empty now, and it would just be him rattling around in it. If she wanted to leave, then fine. He'd respect that, and he'd respect that she did not want to be found. Could he really blame her for leaving, though? The only regret Cid had was that he wished Shera left on better terms and not because of the fact that he was an asshole.

“Goddammit!” he said hotly, slamming his fist on the table.

The pilot ran a greasy, gloved hand through his hair and stood up. Pouting and feeling sorry for himself wouldn't bring her back, but he still couldn't help but to worry about her. Alice had said she didn't think Shera had a clue where she was going, and Cid certainly did not want her out there traveling alone with what monsters were left after Meteor. What didn't die after the planet fought back was in the process of dying, and everyone knows a sick or starving monster was more vicious than a healthy one, if you could call Jenova-injected creatures `healthy'. There was no way that Shera could defend herself against such beasts, but then again, Shera was smart. She would have sense enough not to travel at night, and he was sure that Shera had hitched a ride with one of the townspeople in the morning somewhere because she had enough brains to go with someone she knew. Cid didn't know how to pray, but he hoped that Shera was alright wherever she was and wherever she would go.