snow | Page 4

pain that cruelly gnawed at his chest and
the fever that plagued him. He felt another seizure coming up, but struggled
vigorously to repress it. Fortunately, the attack wasn't that acute, so the
pain soon vanished and Vincent breathed easily again.
He thought it best to get up and go home, but, much to his surprise, fatigue
had paralyzed both his legs.
So, after some deliberation, he decided to rest on the bench for a while before
moving. He leaned back to stare at the starless sky, ignoring the odd glances
people gave him. the big, round moon that hung in the pitch black sky struck
him as strangely soothing and relaxing.
it's almost as if a person had placed a single pearl against a black cloth of
silk, mused Vincent, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. He shut his eyes slowly,
ready to fall asleep any moment.
A sharp cry, however, pierced the air, dispersing all sleep from his eyes.
Vincent jumped out of his seat and turned around in alarm. Many people, in
fact, turned their heads confusedly to see what caused the commotion.
Vincent saw a young, slender girl rushing among the people in a panic. The girl
was wet and miraculously kept on her feet, but she still persisted to run
frantically as though possessed by a demon.
People dodged the girl as best as they could, but she savagely knocked down an
unsuspecting man and shoved another passer-by to the side.
"OUT OF MY WAY!!!!" she shouted
Before he knew what happened, Vincent felt something crash into him with a
great force. despite the magnitude of the crash, it barely had an impact on
him, as he was only pushed back slightly; but the young girl, who had collided
into him, bounced back and fell to the ground. People gathered around the two,
and amidst loud murmurs, wondered who the delirious girl was.

Vincent, on realizing that he had knocked the girl down, bent over her and
touched her shoulder gently, "Miss? Are you alright?"
Up close, the girl looked about 20 and very pretty, in spite of her disarrayed
hair that covered her face and filthy, drenched rags. She looked up at Vincent
as if she didn't understand him.
Vincent, however, gaped at her in sudden astonishment. He could have sworn he'd
seen her somewhere before. Neither spoke as they stared at each other; one in
confusion, the other in surprise.
Vincent cautiously reached for the girl's pale face, and pushing some of her
hair away from her face, met her bright, green eyes that he recognized at once.
"Aeris?!!!" Vincent blurted out.
The girl blinked in deeper confusion, "W..what?"
"A..Aeris....how..what are.." stammered Vincent in absolute bewilderment as he
narrowed his eyes to confirm his eyesight.
The girl, however, pushed Vincent aggressively away from her with a shriek,
"Get away from me!! GET AWAY!!!"
This time, the push knocked Vincent off his feet, and he landed on his bottom.
The girl quickly jumped to her feet and pushed her way through the crowd in a
frenzy.
I'm sure that was Aeris, thought Vincent. Yes, I'm sure!!
"Hey, Aeris!!" He shouted, springing to his feet and rushing after her, "Aeris!
Wait!!"
He caught sight of her dodging into a dark alley around a corner, and ran as
hard as he could after her.
There's no mistake, he repeated, that was Aeris!! But how could she be alive?!!
She..she died about a year ago!!
The end of the alley was a dead end, as he soon discovered. He slowly looked
around as he gasped for air, then glanced back at the alley's sole exit to make
sure he didn't miss some hidden side street. No trace of her.
His ears, however, discerned a stifled sob near by. He turned his head to the

source. Creeping softly to an overturned car, he peeked behind it to find the
girl huddled by the vehicle, knees drawn in and head bent over. The cold had
obviously greatly deteriorated her health; she shivered piteously and seemed to
be suffering from fever.
"Aeris?" whispered Vincent, coming near her.
The girl looked up in alarm, with tears in her eyes. She immediately sprang to
her feet, ready to flee again, but Vincent quickly grabbed her wrist firmly to
prevent her from escaping.
"Let me go! Let me go!" screamed the girl, scratching his hand with her nails
to loosen his grip.
"Okay..okay..listen to me for a minute," commanded Vincent, muffling her mouth
with his iron claw as he pushed her against the wall. The girl, on seeing his
claw so near, froze solid and made no sign of resistance. She just stared,
petrified, at his bizarre hand then his blood-red eyes. She probably thought
Vincent intended to murder her.
When Vincent decided she was calm enough, he resumed his talk with the girl,
but didn't remove his claw from her mouth, "Now listen. I'm not going to hurt
you. I just want to help you. Do you understand, Aeris?"
"Why do you call me that??" cried the girl, removing Vincent's iron claw from
her mouth, "I don't know you! You have me confused with another person! I don't
know you!"
Vincent looked at her oddly as he gradually loosened his grip