A teenaged, blonde-haired girl drops
her bouquet of flowers and gapes in wonder up the hillside. She whirls
around to run back inside her house.
"Grandmother!"
"What is it, Winry?" A short, elderly woman in spectacles meets her granddaughter at the doorstep.
"Grandmother, look!" The young woman points a finger towards the hill.
Like her granddaughter, the old woman's eyes go wide.
***
Alphonse
held his breath, afraid that any sudden movement would uproot the sight
before his eyes. He was standing in the foyer of the house that he
surmised would never exist again. Yet here it was. Here they were. It
was as though none of them had ever left, for everything appeared to be
in order, as though the house was waiting for its owners to return from
their long journey.
As the young man's eyes came to
rest on his childhood photographs, the sound of heavy footsteps made
their way past his ears. He turned and saw his father carrying his
injured, unconscious sibling towards the basement. The sight reminded
Alphonse of another pressing matter. He strode across the foyer and into
the living room, where he gently laid his brother down on the sofa.
Alphonse
hoisted Edward's legs up on the sofa to place him in a more comfortable
sleeping position. Before there was time to do anything else, there
came several rapid knocks on the front door. Alphonse answered the door
to find Winry and her grandmother, Pinako.
"Oh, Granny Pinako! Winry!"
A
quick glance at her friend caused Winry to be worried. "Alphonse! Are
you hurt?" she asked, indicating the dried blood on the front of his
shirt.
Alphonse had not taken notice of that. "Oh no.
I'm fine. This isn't my blood." Then he remembered. "But I think Big
Brother can use your help."
"Edward?"
Winry's
heart skipped a beat. Her eyes moved to the couch where the young man
was presently resting. After all these months of hopes and prayers,
Edward was finally home again.
As Winry stepped up for
a closer inspection at Edward, she took notice of his arm and leg. They
were no longer automail. A feeling of elation came to her, but that
sensation was put aside when the automail mechanic saw that something
wasn't quite right. Winry peered at Edward's face. The young man's
cheeks were flushed red. A hand to his forehead confirmed her
suspicions.
"He's running a fever! Alphonse, help me get him upstairs."
Unbeknownst
to Winry and Alphonse -- as they were preoccupied with supporting an
unconscious Edward up the stairs -- Pinako headed towards the basement
door. She knocked.
"Old Friend, it's me. Are you down there?"
No answer.
"I'm coming in."
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