let you go

Monday, May 7, 2007

Rikku popped her head into her granddad’s somewhat messy room. (Lucky her grandma, Ultimecia had already made an attempt to clear up the room or else it would probably be inhabitable due to the emerald liquid that had covered most of the furniture, making it seem like a chemical factory.) Sephiroth sat in his rocking chair, staring into space dreamily. In his lap, he held a piece of metal which appear to look really smashed up and was even dripping with a green-like substance. Yuck. Rikku grimaced when she saw it. The last time she had tried to take a look at that lump of metal, named Jenova (although Rikku always wondered why a piece of metal needed a name), her granddad had almost screamed his head off at her. What was so important about that piece of worthless junk anyway? Rikku did not understand why her granddad always had to hold it in his lap and stroke it like it was a pet or something. She wrinkle her nose in distain, surely a rat would make a better pet than that metal junk?

Deciding she had really better take a look to make sure her granddad is still alive, not that she wanted him to be, Rikku stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

“Granddad?” Rikku called out, the sound of her own voice came echoing back to her in that empty and big room. Not empty as in nothing inside but empty as in there was a lack of liveliness there. When she had gotten no response from her abnormal grandfather, she went right up to him and stuck her face in front of his soulless eyes.

“Ooooh graaaandddaaaaaaad?”

Sephiroth continued to stare right past her, as if she wasn’t there at all. And to top it off, he was drooling. Rikku suppressed a shudder as she looked right into that pair of emerald cat-like eyes. Unable to take it anymore, she shifted her gaze and shook her granddad’s shoulders.

Suddenly realising that his granddaughter was standing right before him, Sephiroth seemed to snap out of his trance and hurriedly ran his right hand across his face to wipe off his saliva. Rikku took a step back from him, looking disgusted by his actions.

“Ahh, Rikku. I didn’t hear you enter.”
“It’s alright, granddad, I didn’t knock,” came the bored reply.
“Children of Jenova should knock when they enter. It is rude to do otherwise,” Sephiroth chided her while looking at her disappointedly.

Seeing that her granddad has yet to leave this world, Rikku was about to go back to her own doings when she heard his reproaching. She sighed, squaring her shoulders in the process to hold herself back from glaring at her creepy excuse of a grandfather. However, Sephiroth seemed to have notice that.

“Children of Jenova would not be rude to their seniors as well,” Sephiroth continued. Somehow, to reasons unknown to Rikku and her brothers, her granddad had always acknowledged them as his “juniors” but never as his grandchildren and had refused at first to be given the title of “granddad” when Squall had first called him that. It seems silly to Rikku. After all, which grandfather would not like to be acknowledged as a grandfather when he had grandchildren?

Rikku grinded her teeth with annoyance as she rubbed her temples with her forefinger. She forgot to mention that her granddad was just as annoying as he is creepy.

“Yes, Granddad” Rikku practically hissed through gritted teeth.
“Don’t “yes” me, child. Mother would not be happy to hear that.” Oh, and did she mention that her granddad refer to that lump of metal as his mother? How crazy.

“Yes, granddad. I would not be rude again.” Rikku said again, this time keeping her anger in check.

“That’s the proper way for Children of Jenova to behave. Now ran along and tell your grandma to bring me some water.” Sephiroth said, smiling at her with a hair-raising expression.

“Yes, granddad.” Rikku felt like as if she was in the army, saying yes to the commander again and again. Just as she closed the door, she thought she heard her granddad mumbled something which sounded suspiciously like “Mother, Your children may have your genes, but they definitely lack respect for you.”

Now left in the doorway all by herself, Rikku let out a loud sigh, followed by a frustrated scream. She mentally noted to herself that she would not visit her granddad anymore unless it was a must.

And when that happens, she will bring ear plugs.

Labels: the final fantasy

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

“Rikku, good thing you’re back. Sephiroth’s been making some weird noises for a while in there.” Gippal smirked at he pointed towards the awkwardly large mansion.

“Granddad’s been what?”

Rikku shook her head. She sure has a weird family that is always doing unusual stuff. To start it off, there’s her creepy grandfather. He’s the one always giving everyone the creeps with his weird smile; it was as if he’d cracked or something. And he’s forever droning on about something called Jenova, which from Rikku’s point of view, was a dirty and smashed up lump of metal which is always dripping with some weird emerald liquid. Here he goes again, carrying it like some treasure and fiddling with it lovingly while calling out “Mother” repeatedly.

Sure seems like he’s really cracked.

Then there was, Rikku’s grandma. She was abnormally slim and well, you could say she was pretty, which was the most surprising thing to expect from some eighty year old or so granny. From what she heard from Dad, she was a sorceress, that’s probably the reason as to how she could keep her youth. Speaking of the devil, here she comes, sashaying up towards Sephiroth. You’d think she wouldn’t be able to stand such a turnoff as her granddad but well, it is worse. Ultimecia doesn’t even care. Well, it seems that she and Sephiroth’s relationship had long gone down the gorge ever since god knows when. The case seems even more so after the great Vayne Solidor made his great entrance. From what Rikku heard, this time from her mother, there was a point when Ultimecia still bore hope for the two’s relationship but seems so that Sephiroth wouldn’t seem to cooperate. Well, their fate was sealed when Vayne stepped into the whole relationship by seducing Ultimecia during her worst days. Ultimecia obviously welcomed him as she was so very deprived from company for such a long time. To this, Selphie admit helplessly that there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was just a daughter-in-law after all, if Irvine, Ultimecia’s own son didn’t even bother, what could she do?

If these two characters weren’t weird enough, there was still Irvine and Selphie, Rikku’s very own parents. How two such different people would be able to come together as man and wife was still a mystery, even more so of a mystery when Irvine was such a lady’s man. He enjoyed any woman’s company and women enjoyed his. It is indeed a wonder how Selphie could keep this man stuck in marriage for such a long time. And that’s not even the most mysterious thing. The most mysterious and ironic thing was that how such lively and happy people as these two could give birth to two sons who seemed to be fated to be stuck with depression since the time of birth. There was Squall, the elder brother of the two. If you could describe him with one word, it’d definitely be paranoid. He’s always thinking way too much and in a pessimistic way too. He feels insecure about every relationship he gets into, no matter friendship or love. Then there was the younger brother of the two, Cloud. He would be the quiet, depressed guy who needs lessons on anger management. Both he and his brother, Squall, have always been problematic. Most of the time, they were problems revolving around emotional matters. They certainly need counseling. Thankfully, this problem has been improving ever sine both of them acquired wonderful girlfriends such as Rinoa and Tifa. The liveliness of these two beautiful girls has certainly brightened up the dreary atmosphere hanging off them. There was one thing you could say whenever you see them hanging out with their girlfriends.

God has been kind to them.

That was what Rikku thought as she saw the four of them walk through the large iron gates of the mansion together. Well, this was her family, an awfully weird family but even so, it was where she belonged in.

Labels: the final fantasy