Memory

By Areku1993

Daylight
See the dew on the sunflower
And a rose that is fading
Roses whither away
Like the sunflower
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn
I am waiting for the day…

Dewdrops shimmered on the flower petals, the ones that remained anyway. The roses in front of the Rockbell home were beginning to fade and die in the November chill. It was, otherwise, a beautiful fall afternoon. The youngest Rockbell did not notice such beauty.

Pinako looked out the door at Winry. The blonde automail mechanic had been this way ever since Edward died. Her knees were curled up to her chest, and her eyes were blank and hollow. She didn’t even seem to notice she was wearing short sleeves and it was dreadfully cold. Worried about her granddaughter, Pinako went out and draped a sweater over Winry’s shoulders. Winry didn’t pay attention, but still stared ahead at the bright sky. Though it was sunny, it was cold, as it should be in November.

Midnight
Not a sound from the pavement
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling alone
In the lamplight
The withered leaves collect at my feet
And the wind begins to moan

Pinako fell asleep that night with troubled thoughts. Her granddaughter didn’t seem right…

All of a sudden, she heard a window open and slam shut. Jumping up, the old woman looking out her window at Winry, running down the path towards town. A red bundle was tucked under one arm as her long legs led the way to her destination. Pinako just shook her head and went back to sleep.

Winry slowed once she reached town. Her feet fell silent on the pavement sidewalks. Her feet swished through the leaves gathering on the path. She didn’t see the gold and red colors as well as she used to. Edward’s jacket was red. Edward’s hair and eyes were gold. The wind howled through the streets of Resembool, troubling many a person as they slept.

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

Back in the old days. Yes, the old days, when Edward and Alphonse were still children, with her. She was young, innocent and small. Death was alien to her, pain, and fear. Love was well known, and that was about it. It was this very moonlight, though, Alphonse brought Edward to her, as a disembodied soul and a limbless boy. She smiled rather grimly. The memories flooded into her mind and hurt her heart.

Every streetlamp
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning
Someone mutters
And the streetlamp gutters
And soon it will be morning

There, the main town clock. This showed the time people should set their clocks to, watches and such. The thought of watches made Winry think of Edward’s pocket watch, the watch she had so wanted to take apart. And when she tried to she saw the crude engraving, the date when Edward set fire to his house and left Resembool for the military. The streetlamps began to dim. Soon the sun would rise over the hills.

Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I mustn’t give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin

The sun wasn’t up yet. Winry had time. A lot of time, in fact. The streetlamps turned off at exactly four in the morning every day. They were turned off manually by switches at the electricity plant. Winry sighed, but quickened her stride.

Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale cold smell of morning
The streetlamp dies, another night is over
Another day is dawning

The streetlamps gave one final flicker, then died, leaving Winry in darkness. It didn’t bother her, she knew Resembool like her favorite wrench. Finally, the girl stopped in front of the Resembool Christian church. Hesitantly, she pushed open the gate to the graveyard and slipped in, letting the gate bang shut behind her. The sun began to clip the buildings of the town.

Touch me
It's so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me
You'll understand what happiness is

Winry had know true happiness before. But that was gone now. Gone like the boy she loved. Gone like the boy she thought of as a true brother. Edward had left her behind. Her and Alphonse. But he had moved on, like the rest of them were hesitant to do. He knew what could happen. WOULD happen. But he took his chances and he lost. But he went with honor. Even though they never found and boy, and Edward wasn’t religious, they thought it was fitting to make a grave. Finally stopping, she looked at the statue protruding out of the ground before her. This was the only time she could see him now.

Look
A new day has begun

The statue was tall, taller than Winry herself. Edward looked so proud, standing there, grinning a permanent, reassuring grin. The artist who created this statue was a true genius. He had caught every detail. Including the Amestris military pocket watch. Winry gently knelt down and set down the red bundle she carried. The roses tumbled out as they slipped, landing on the ground at the statues feet. Winry started to cry. How she wished Edward would come to life and comfort her, how he would come back to Resembool and love her like she loved him. The Fullmetal alchemist hero of Amestris was dead. And now he was no more than a

Memory.