Gathering up the Past from the Ruins

[polly_okeefe]

A tree had fallen on my hut.

I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise. We'd gone through a whole hurricane. Jack's hut was so badly damaged, he and Logan were thinking about moving. And, irony of ironies, I had been thinking of moving. Moving in with Zell. Well, not much choice, now.

I stood on the trunk of the tree that was now horizontal, laid

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[gunbladescar]

While they'd been at the compound, I'd been at the dojo keeping an eye on things as best I could. It probably would have been a lot safer if I'd gone to the compound, especially now that I'm looking at her hut with a tree laying on it, but at the time, it just seemed like a good idea. Well ... maybe not a good idea, but one that no one was going to talk me out of.

"There's a lot of it," I say, then realizing maybe she needs some comforting or reassuring words, I add, "Glad you weren't in it at the time. Can I help with something?"

[polly_okeefe]

I smiled. I suppose we all had to count our blessings in times like this. "Thanks," I said. "I guess we start salvaging. Sift through the rubble and find what's worth keeping."

Though the place looked so flat, it looked like my furniture was destroyed too.

[gunbladescar]

Great. She wants me to find something worth keeping. It's a squashed hut. If she had anything worth keeping, she should have taken it with her. Still, nothing to do for it except start shifting, so I shrug and start overturning debris.

"You actually have stuff you want to keep here?" I ask to pass the time.

[polly_okeefe]

"Well, if there are clothes in here that haven't been completely smooshed in the mud, I'll take them," I said. "It's one less visit to the clothes box. I also have some souvenirs I'd like to keep. I spent almost two years in this hut. That's a lot of memories. Good memories, too, despite the things the Island's pulled."

I tipped up a wooden panel and let it fall. The other side has my handwriting on it. Names and occupations of the first people I met on the Island. Back when I was madly trying to find the commonalities and figure out what was going on. Back before I figured it out, and wished I hadn't. I hadn't updated the thing in a year.

"Huh," I said, staring at it.

[realnicetrip]

"Heck of a weekend, wasn't it?" Harry agreed. "Just when I'd thought my garden had recovered from the monsoon, too... damn island."

Harry'd been run off his feet the past few days, patrolling with the ITF to make sure that nobody was trapped or injured by the hurricane damage. He was used to navigating through damage and devastation, but not to such extreme weather; he'd had to sleep in the cellar because the walls of his room kept swaying.

He'd just been strolling back from some work clearing the damage, off to grab a much-needed cup of coffee, when he'd overheard Polly and felt like chatting. If he was dating one of his best friends, it seemed only right he get acquainted.

[polly_okeefe]

"You're telling me," I said, ruefully. "First I spend the whole weekend in the Children's Office, and now this." I shrugged. "Still, it could have been worse." I looked over at the newcomer. "You're Harry, right? Zell's friend? Or, one of them, anyway. I've seen you around."

[realnicetrip]

"That's right. Me and Zell have known each other for ages - we met not long after either of us first arrived here," Harry said. He considered telling Polly the story of how they met, but then thought better of it. It didn't show either of them in the best light, and knowing how easily embarrassed Zell was, it'd be better to let him tell it himself if he ever wanted to.

"And you're the gal who's been taking up all his spare time, right?" he went on. "The poor kid's completely crazy about you, y'know."

[polly_okeefe]

"Yes, I'm that girl," I said ruefully. "And the feeling is mutual. I'm sure we must be a little much to watch."

[spirited_hero]

[polly_okeefe]

This gets a small laugh from me. I clasp his arm closer to me and lean back against him. This is comforting.

"I know it could have been a lot worse," I said. "And I know I was planning to move out of here but... Seeing it like this makes me remember the times I've had here. And despite what the Island has done to us, there've been some good times." I patted his arm affectionately to show he was one of them. "I wasn't expecting my move out of here to be quite this... final."

[spirited_hero]

[polly_okeefe]

"Mmm," I said, relishing the feel of his arms around me. "Thank you, Zell. Did you... mention it to Squall?"