Campfire
Maybe, it’s time for me to give up, he thought then he tear up a little.
He opened his eyes slowly and wondered, “Where are we going again?”
“Brother, wake up! We’re here!” Al cheerfully said.
Ed widened his eyes out of shock.
“We're, in Resembool?!” Ed shouted
“Be quiet! People are looking!” Al reprimanded his Brother.
Yes, people on board are indeed looking at them in an annoyed manner.
“Sorry, Al” Ed whispered and turned away
“Well?” Al stood up
“Well, what?” Ed questioned, feeling tired and sloppy
“Let’s go to Granny’s house!” Al felt mysteriously joyous even though he and Ed never knew why they landed in Resembool in the first place.
“We can’t. We were supposed to go somewhere!” Ed exclaimed
“We are already here. Let’s go!”
“No! Col. Mustang will scold me.”
“Come on!”
Al grabbed Ed and dragged him out of the train since he was taller and bigger than Ed. Ed kept on hesitating and then he heard the train’s engine start up. The train went off without them. Ed’s jaw was left opened. He didn’t know what was going on. He was too stressed out to figure out anything.
“Al, let go of me.” He calmly said
“Sure.” Al answered and removed Ed from his hand.
“How and why did this happen?! Why did we come here?” Ed asked with a frowning face.
“I don’t know. I got the right tickets! We were supposed to go---“ Al cannot finish his sentence. He cannot remember where their destination was.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Ed screamed out of grief.
“Ed, calm down!” Al lectured his brother
“Al! How am I supposed to calm down? Colonel Useless didn’t even give us any destination after that mission in Siqui!”
“Don’t blame him!”
“Well, whose fault do you think it is?”
Al made a long face and began to warn his brother about being stubborn and reluctant.
“Why can’t you admit that sometimes, even if the Colonel would somehow infuriate you and give you a hard time, he also wanted help? His intentions were clear right from the start----“
“’Be helpless or stand and keep fighting’ is what he said” Ed whispered sadly
“See? He is a good guy! If it weren’t for him, we would never make any progress.”
Ed nodded
“Okay, so let’s just go to Winry and Granny’s house.” Al insisted and then began walking
Ed nodded again but this time with less force. He was feeling weak with all this trouble he had been doing. He was impatient but at the same time resistant to getting his strength and hope back. It was kind of like a student cramming for his/her project, he wanted to finish but he was just being lazy to continue. But it was actually more than that. The pain Ed contained within his heart all these years. He never imagined how difficult this could be. While they were heading to their destination, he kept inquiring himself with the same question, “Should I give up?”
Yellow, blue, red, and other colors of tulips scattered around the hills, farms and gardens in Resembool. Wherever they pass, they smell the fresh and natural air in the province. It was a small town and everyone was welcoming especially, the Rockbells.
Den immediately saw the two boys even though they were 15 feet away from the house. He was excited to see Al and Ed that he jumped on them happily. He kept barking to wake Pinako and Winry.
“Hi Den! We missed you!” Al greeted
Ed was still not in the mood for whatsoever but he managed to stroke Den’s head to show his care.
Pinako was sipping her tobacco like she always does and saw the two boys walking straight into her house. She felt the urge to welcome them first but instead she called Winry.
“Winry! The boys are here.”
Winry was awakened by her grandmother’s yawp. ‘They never called’ she thought. Her eyes opened and she saw a blur vision of her room ‘and now they barge into our house as if it were their own’ she thought again. After a few seconds, her vision became clearer so she managed to stand up and comb her hair using her fingertips. She looked into the mirror and saw her reflection. She hasn’t seen Ed and Al for months. They were busy doing numerous errands for the military that they never visited the home where a family is waiting. Now, they are here to see them, to see Winry.
Winry went to her bathroom and washed her face. She removed her pajamas and wore her casual clothes; namely, her beige shorts and her small block top to cover her breasts. She looked at the window to see the view. She noticed the fair weather, the exceptional breath of air. I’m so happy that they’re back, she told herself.
Ed and Al came inside the house. Pinako was desperate to cook lunch. After all, there are guests.
“It’s going to be noisy here, now that you guys returned.” Pinako teased
“We’ll be here for a short while Granny.” Al explained
“Why’s that?”
“Well, we just wanted to deliver you these jams that we got from Siqui city.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of that town.”
“It is well-known for their spectacularly made jams.”
“Thanks.” Pinako reached for the blueberry ad strawberry jam and placed it in the kitchen. She returned back from the dining table and faced Al to ask, “Anyway, did you come all this way to give us that?”
Al was silent for a while. He looked at Ed who was staring on the floor, looking really down. He exhaled and said, “Long story Granny.” It was all Al could ever respond. Pinako placed her tobacco on the ashtray and smiled at the two boys.
“Welcome Home” she said
Ed nodded, while Al giggled.
Winry used the stairs and while going down, she recalled her memories with Al and Ed. She held her wrench and she was ready to throw it on Ed’s face but then…
“Oh! Hey Winry!” Al said
Winry saw Ed’s expression. It was an expression she never saw before. He looked pale, serious, and worst of all, empty. He had a blank face like someone who’s been punched several times but not physically but emotionally bruised. She put down her wrench and saw Ed’s eyes stare at her.
“It’s better if you throw that to me; since, I deserve it.” Ed announced
“Did something happen?” Pinako asked
Al just scratched his armor head and spoke, “Oh he’s just tired and all.”
“Is something wrong Ed?” Winry questioned
Ed shook his head and walked past Winry
“Nothing” he assumed. He stopped for a moment and said, “I’ll be in the guest’s room, just call me when lunch is ready.” He continued to use the stairs. He went up slowly filled with desolation.
Winry knew that something was wrong. He wasn’t JUST tired, he was emotionally wrecked and he felt a grave pain. She wanted to do something but for now, she will let him rest.
“Winry, help me out here.” Pinako called her granddaughter.
“Yes Granny. I’ll help you cook.” Winry claimed.
While the girls are cooking in the kitchen, Al went to the guest’s room to see his brother and tried to talk him out of his depression. The room looks normal and clean. There are some spider webs here and there but it wasn’t totally grimy. The ceiling, bed, and floor tiles were antiquated. There was a closet near the window, it was open and Ed’s red coat was hanged. On the bed, Edward was lying and he was covering his face with a pillow.
“Ed, couldn't you have given a better appearance than that?” Al said.
Ed groaned.
“I mean, we are meeting them for the first time after so many months.” Al continued
Ed tossed the pillow lightly for he was really exhausted. He frowned at Al and said, “I don’t have time for lectures Al.”
Al exhaled and left Ed moping on the bed.
Ed kept asking himself, “Is it time to give up?”
He closed his eyes again and lied down. He tilted his head to the right. He stared at his red coat, he felt delusional and suppressed. He believed that he wasn’t a great alchemist. He wanted to revive his mother but he ended up killing her twice. He was ashamed of himself. He knew that he loved to punish himself again for doing the taboo. He had these regrets before he met Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye and now, there he was again. The fire in his eyes filled with determination was gone. He wanted to be at peace, he wanted to lie down forever. He wondered when he will accept success.
“Ed! Ed!” he heard Granny’s raspy but loud voice. She called Ed from downstairs, her arms folded.
He widened his eyes and felt his tears fall down his cheeks.
“Alright” Ed spoke but not loud enough
“ED!” Pinako strengthened her call
“I’ll be there!” Ed shouted
Once Ed went down, Winry served the food on the table. Al set the table with napkins, plates, forks, knives, bowls and glasses. He prepared three brown chairs, one at the north of the table, one at the east, and one at the west. Pinako placed the large bowl of beef stew on the center of the table. She put the serving spoon at the edge of the bowl. Winry positioned the basket full of bread near the beef stew. Al sat down on the couch, watching his family members eat.
“Where’s Ed?” Al asked
“I called him already, he seemed off” Pinako replied
“Maybe he’s just mad at the Colonel again” Winry fussed.
Winry and Pinako sat down and started eating. Winry took a bite on the piece of bread and then poured stew on her bowl then on Pinako’s bowl.
“Thanks, Winry.” Pinako said
Winry smiled politely and then she poured some of the meat and the soup of the stew on Ed’s bowl.
Winry grumbled and she could not take it anymore. “That stupid Alchemist!” she shouted. She marched upstairs and felt like a complete idiot because she was forcing herself to reach out to Ed. Al exhaled and became ashamed of his brother. He just let things be.
She went to the guest’s room and saw Ed lying comfortably on the bed and resting his head on a pillow.
His golden bangs covered half of his eye, catching Winry’s attention. Winry sat next to Ed and stared at him vividly and curiously. Winry inquired herself, “Why did I ever bother to ask him?” then she looked at Ed’s automail and checked its condition. “It’s not like he would answer me, right?”
There are many reasons why Winry never questioned about Ed and Al’s feelings, adventures and all of their mishaps. a.) because Ed never answered her. b.) Ed never wanted to talk about “the deep stuff”for he is a very secretive person. c.) Ed would only tell her, “It’s none of your business, Winry.”
Winry would love to talk to Ed in a more compassionate and fruitful conversation. All they do is fight and do random stuff but they never had any closure. Ed was the mean one and Al was the gentle type but she always wanted to know why Ed acted that way. She wanted to look into his heart and make him confess even just one bit.
She stroked Ed’s hair to remove it from covering his eye lid. She noticed that his bangs were a little wet.
“He cried.” She hypothesized. Then she touched Ed’s cheek, and it was even damper than his hair.
Ed held on Winry’s palm squeezed it tightly using his metal hand. Winry squealed from the pain and immediately bolted her hand from Ed’s.
“What did you do that for?” she angrily asked
“That’s my line.” Ed said. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Winry with a furious expression.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Ed yelled.
Winry was about to whimper but she chose not to instead she looked away and answered him with a serious face, “I was just going to tell you something.”
“If it’s about lunch, I'll go down in just a sec.” Ed complied
“No it’s---“
“What?” Ed interrupted
Winry thought about something, she wanted to help Ed so bad so she invented a tale,
“We were going to camp later in the woods, would you like to come?”
Ed was silent for a few seconds then he replied, “I’ll think about it.” Ed made a sarcastic smile. His eyes was still pitiful.
Winry made a half smile and then she stood up and said, “I’ll be waiting.” Then, she went downstairs and joined Pinako and Alphonse.
Ed’s cheeks reddened. There was something flirtatious about her voice. It was subtle and inviting to hear. He ignored it anyway and reflected a bit. He stared on his coat again and saw the equivalent exchange symbol. He bowed his head and heard his stomach growl.
“Woods huh, maybe bears will eat me.” He whispered to himself.
Winry continued eating her meal then suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs and right when she faced the stairs, she was astonished with what she saw. Ed looked damaged, his eyes seemed detached from this world. Moments ago, he looked a little alive when he grins but now he was merciful. Ed quietly sat down, facing Winry with a nonchalant face. Ed always had a frowning face. He would seldom grin but that’s the way he is. He always looked courageous in front of anyone but this time, his presence was mournful.
Ed took his share of bread and chewed on it slowly. He took a sip on the stew and munched on the beef and vegetables that sink into his teeth. He didn’t seem to look excited while eating his food. Usually, he gobbles up a lot of food and would comment how good it is. He would always act like it was his final meal for the day. Now, he doesn’t look like the Edward Elric who everyone knows. Winry studied him while entering the food in her mouth.
“What are you staring at?” Ed got annoyed
Winry suddenly blushed and looked away.
“Nothing.” She responded.
“If you are going to ask me about that camping trip, then I’ll go.”
Winry was surprised
“I’ll participate if Al’s going.” Ed added
Winry smiled and suspected something.
“Are you sure?” Winry asked
“Yeah.” Ed responded
“Wow, that sounds interesting.” Al reacted
Pinako wondered about their discussion. She didn’t know anything about this camping trip so she questioned,
“Aren’t you too young for camping trips?”
Winry played with her hair and said, “Well, I think it’s a great activity so I figured why not?”
Ed sighed and took his last bite and stood up from his chair.
“Let’s pack up, Brother!” Al called
“Nah, Winry will do it” Ed claimed
“What?!” Winry bellowed
“You’re the one who thought about the idea in the first place.” Ed said
“But you need to help me!” Winry pouted
“I’ll join you.” Al swore
Winry thanked him and then she started clearing the table while Pinako drinks her water.
“I’ll be upstairs, just call me when we’re about to go.” Ed instructed
Winry shrugged and felt a bit disturbed. Al went near her and patted her back,
“Sorry about him, He’s being a pain in the ass.”
“No, it’s okay Al.”
Pinako looked at Al and Winry and reminded them, “Be careful and have fun, alright?”
Both of them nodded.
Ed rested his body and couldn’t bare look at Winry anymore. He felt like killing himself right now and just take a break on a bed in heaven with bright blue skies and white clouds in various shapes. A bright sun instantly overpowering his sight and then sees his mother reaching for his hand, oh how he loved that. He wanted to look at his mother once more and ask for advice. Although, he has no God to turn to and he would not believe on the idea of an existing heaven. “If there was a heaven…” he thought. Then he smiled, “I’d like to view Winry up on a hill and….”
“EDWARD!” Winry called him, suddenly halting his daydream.
“What?” Ed shrugged
“Come on, get your butt out of the bed and let’s go!”
Ed stood up and took his coat
“This better be good, Winry.”
“Of course it will. I planned it after all.” Winry grinned then Ed gave her a grumpy look.
They both went down and stared at Al who carried the baggage of Winry and Ed. He didn’t need anything, he just wanted to come and support his brother.
“I’m excited.” Al said
“Terrific” Ed being sarcastic which somehow loosens Al’s excitement.
“Don’t mind him Al. He’s just some shrimp who gets too much pressure and blames it to anyone.” Winry assumed
Ed’s fist shaken, he glared at Winry and murmured with a shivering voice, “You know nothing Winry. Don’t treat everything as though as it’s easy.”
Winry was afraid but Ed turned away and insisted, “Let’s move.”
Winry studied Ed’s back and finally picked up the pieces somehow. Maybe, he feels anxious, Winry assumed. Maybe he feels that all he carries the whole world upon his shoulder, Winry thought again.
Al and Ed did not talk for a few hours while walking into the woods. Al was holding a big lamp tolight the way. Ed carried loads of baggage while Winry did all she can to lighten up the mood.
“Hey, did you meet new people along your missions?” she asked
“Well…”Al thought for a few seconds before he would explain his stories in detail.
“We met this guy named, Maes Hughes in our mission with the Frozen Alchemist. He smothered us with food that was cooked by his wife, Glacier. He also kissed his daughter non-stop.” Ed breathe
Winry was puzzled. She didn’t know that Ed would be the one who would respond so quickly.
“On our way to Liore, we encountered a stupid woman, known as Rose who devoted herself in a made up “god” and worships this “god” and the priest named Father Cornello. She believed that by praying, she can have her deceased boyfriend back, but as soon as I exposed that false priest, I diminished the town’s and Rose’s foolishness.” Ed talked as fast and straightforwardly as he could and later on, he panted.
Winry got worried, “Is he forcing himself?” she thought to herself.
“She then asked me, ‘What now? What am I supposed to do next?’ then I said, ‘Stand up and walk, keep moving forward.’” Ed flashed at Winry and raised an eyebrow.
Winry felt guilty for some reason. I should’ve never asked, I only made it look harder for him, she thought.
“And from here on, we never saw a complete, visible and bona fide philosopher’s stone. All we got were red dusts floating before my eyes. Almost like teasing.” Ed continued.
Al gritted his fists. He desired to punch his brother right this instant. He’s starting to hurt Winry’s feelings again, he presumed.
“Do you want to know the best part?!” Ed asked bluntly
“No, I don’t.” Winry felt his urge to shout at her and all his complaints to her.
“I never got Al’s body back!” Ed yelled
Al’s grip on the lamp was more forceful, his hands were shaking with anger. Winry is trying to be composed, not now Winry, she thought. Don’t cry, she whispered to herself.
“And continuously asking about my failures would not make me feel better!” Ed shouted
“Stop reminding me!” Ed scowled but this time, with a broken and shattered voice.
“None of this has anything to do with—“
“ENOUGH!” Al could not take it anymore. He cut Ed’s sentence and blasted his madness on his brother’s stupidity.
“Can’t you see? She’s worried!” Al erupted like a volcano. He pulled Ed’s shirt and glowered his eyes at him. He set the lamp aside and punched Ed’s cheeks real hard. Ed looked at his brother with a pitiful face. Winry covered her mouth, she felt scared at Al. She screamed, “Stop it, Al!” Afterwards, Ed pushed Al’s metal hands and escaped from Al’s clutch. He was determined to fight back but then he thought of the situation, “I can’t fight my little brother.”
On the contrary, Al wasn’t finish with his business. He ran towards his brother to kick him; however, Ed managed to avoid Al’s attack.
“I hate you, you idiot brother!” Al shouted
Winry got a lot more worried for both of them. She pulled Ed next to her and yelled, “Stop it, Both of you!”
“Move away, Winry. This has nothing to do with you.” Ed murmured.
“What?” Winry spoke softly and her voice started to shriek.
Ed stepped forward. He surrendered himself to Al. It was all he desired. He wanted to get killed by his own brother. He wanted Al to make him pay for all of his damages. He needed Al to be the one who will give him the judgment. He simply wanted to put an end to this.
“Finish me off, Al” Ed confessed
“AL! NO!” Winry yawped then sobbed dramatically.
Al’s hands were shaken with guilt and resentment. He wanted to knock his brother out but he didn’t want to make Winry feel bad.
“You are an imbecile Ed! You got so immature!” Al pushed Ed so hard that he almost fell down on the huge cliff but he managed to grab a branch.
“EDWARD!” Winry cried.
“Brother!” Al yelped
Edward looked down on the cliff and slowly let go of the branch that he was grabbing.
Winry followed Ed and desperately reached for his hand.
“Ed, take my hand!” Winry said, barely getting Ed’s hand.
But it’s too late… Ed felt the urge to quit and just fall.
Ed rolled down the cliff with the baggage. Winry looked at Al and said, “Wait here Al.”
“What? I can’t leave you here with brother!” Al complained
“No! I insist! You get some help from the neighbors, okay?” Winry advised then skated on the cliff to follow Ed.
“WINRY! WAIT!” Al called her out.
“She didn’t take the lamp.” Al whispered
Ed landed into darkness. He couldn’t see a thing, not a tree, not a bush, or even a piece of brown land. He didn’t move at first, but then he felt damp soil and opened the bag full of supplies but he couldn’t feel any lamp or match inside the camping kit. It was too dark to see anything. He gave up on looking and said, “Maybe, I’ll starve to death.” He sulked, “Al is mad at me.” He clenched his fist and punched the soil. “I can’t believe I made him angry.”
“And Winry…” he thought. “I made her cry….”
Then, he heard a voice echoing and the sound waves are getting nearer.
“AHHHH!!” The voice stopped and then it was Winry, her body stumbled on Ed.
“OW!” Ed screamed
“That’s my line!” Winry said
“Winry?! Is that you?” Ed asked softly
“Yes. It’s so dark in here!” Winry complained
“You think?!” Ed insulted her
Winry shrugged and replied sarcastically, “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m not.” Ed responded
“Whatever.”
They both stood up. Winry checked her pockets for matches and she luckily found one.
“Here Ed, do some Alchemy with this match.” Winry handed the match to Ed.
Ed grasped the match and used it to make fire.
There was a little light and few sticks. He piled the small pieces of wood, scraps of leaves, and the fire from the match on the ground; then, he pressed his hands together and made a bigger fire using his Alchemical powers.
“Why did you track me?” Ed asked
“I, I wanted to save you somehow.” She said
“I can do my Alchemy to save myself. You don’t have to---“
“No.”
Winry interrupted his sentence and then she spoke delicately, “I want to save you from your depression, from your struggles. Things that Alchemy can’t change.”
“I don’t have those kinds of problems.” Ed replied
“But, you look damaged from the inside! You look empty! You need support!” Winry insisted
“I said, I don’t have those kinds of problems.” Ed repeated
“You need to stop all of your stubbornness and let others enter your life!”
“I don’t need you! Why do you keep doing this?!” Ed snapped
Winry was embarrassed and her hands shivered. Ed was astonished by what he saw. Sparkling tears came out of Winry’s eyes and flowed down on her cheeks. She cried her eyes out and whined in front of Ed. She didn’t want to do this. It wasn’t her intention. She knew how much Ed hated her crying face. She wasn’t much of a tough girl. She was too hurt. “I’m… so… sorry….” She whispered.
Ed felt worse and tried to stop her from crying but there was no choice but to hug her. He wrapped his arms around Winry. They were both sad and hurt by all of this. Ed felt like his whole existence is troubling everyone, especially Winry. He didn’t know what to say. Winry kept on sobbing and it made Ed’s dark red coat flooded with salty tears. She wanted to prove her point somehow so she did and started whispering her words to Ed.
“Edward, I was only trying to help…” then she looked at him clearly and sincerely spoke again
“I’m sorry for showing you how weak I am, I should’ve known that this would happen.” She continued
“Please bear with me.”
Ed bowed his head and got pissed at himself once more for making a girl cry.
“Winry… I,” he searched for words but apology won’t be enough.
“I’m not finished.” Winry suddenly touched Ed’s automail hand.
“Why are you so upset about everything? Why do you keep doing this?” Winry asked more
“I didn’t mean for you to feel this way or anything I just…” Ed was lost for words. He was too foolish to do any of this.
But what was he supposed to do? He was in need of help for God’s sake! He wanted someone to tell him that everything is going to be fine, that he will accomplish his goal, and that he will stop being a servant of the military, and that he will go back to being a free person again.
“Then, please, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” Winry laid her head on Ed’s right arm.
Ed was frozen. He could feel Winry’s warmth in this cold dark night. He blushed and his mind was suddenly all over the place. He seemed bothered by this. He sniffed her hair and remembered the scent of daffodils, he wondered why….
“We are all worried about you, you know.” Winry begged for his reply
“Al and I want to talk about you. We want to know what’s making you look… odd”
Ed sighed and stared at the camp fire burning the leaves that he used to make it more powerful. He remembered that day… and it all came back to him. Like photographs scattering on his brain. It hurts to see those memories again, he thought.
“Where’s that guy I met a few years ago, the guy full of determination?” Winry tapped Ed’s hand
“He’s gone.” Ed replied
Winry shuddered and raised her head. She saw Ed’s eyes, slowly tearing up. She was in distraught and felt like kissing Ed on his forehead to make him feel better but that would just make the situation even worse.
“Winry, listen to what I am going to say to you…” Ed murmured
Winry nodded and she wiped her tears that finally stopped falling from her eyes.
“I always thought that I will return Al’s body back but things got a little complicated.” He stopped and clenched his fist.
“It’s been 2 years. We’ve been searching for that irrevocably but now, until now… I can’t see the urge to continue this journey any longer.” Ed blinked and he shed a tear.
“I brought back my mom and made her suffer even more, in exchange, Al’s body was gone.” Ed kept on whispering softly and with ultimate pain inside every word.
“I lost my arm and leg… I… burned down our house… and now I am a human weapon of the military.”
Winry covered her mouth to stop her from sniveling. She kept on crying and she remembered those tragic events that tormented Ed’s life. He was in great pain for so long.
“I wanted to do all these things. I wanted to be a good person for my mom, for Al and best of all, for myself.” Ed looked at a distance; he tried to stop his eyes from tearing up so he closed his eyes.
“Sometimes, I feel like giving up and that is what’s happening right now. I give up, Winry.” Ed sniffed and hugged Winry tightly.
“I’m ready to die but, I want Al to continue his journey.”
Winry flustered and flashed her eyes into Ed and they stared at each other.
She never felt so sad in her entire life, but she managed to tell Ed her insights.
“You idiot.” She whispered while whimpering.
“How can you say that?” she cried.
Ed was surprised. He let go of Winry, stuttered.
“Winry?” he was astonished
“We are here, Ed. We will support you!” She grabbed Ed’s shoulders and shook him forcefully and spoke her words:
“We will always be here for you!”
“Al needs you and if you die, he’ll lose hope too!”
Ed’s eyes widened and somehow he felt an epiphany rushing towards his brain.
“Al, Granny, me, and some people who you love will be waiting for you and Al to get your bodies back!”
Winry raised Ed’s automail arm and shouted, “I didn’t give you these arms for you to throw away all your hard work!”
“I’ll wait for that day, Ed!”
Ed stared into nothingness and he looked at his automail limbs as a sign of hope.
“See this, campfire Ed?” Winry said while she pointed the fire that Ed made.
Ed nodded and stared at it. He pictured their house being burnt. He imagined Al, Winry, Granny and him together watching a flaming house like a fireworks display. He was a witness at that time, he watched how the place where they spent their childhood burn into ashes; the kitchen where they eat with their mom, their dad’s study room where they first learned alchemy; and most importantly, the picture that crumpled, fired up, and turned into smithereens.
“You have a resolve. SO COMPLETE YOUR MISSION!” Winry called out to him.
“Easy for you to say, at least you don’t have a big problem in front of you right now.” Ed hesitated.
“I do. However, I don’t know how to explain it.” She confessed
“Tell me about your problem.” Ed offered a sense of compensation.
For the first time, he talked to Winry about the “deep stuff”.
Winry couldn’t believe it. It’s either Ed took drugs or what so she joked,
“It has nothing to do with you, Ed!” then she smiled and giggled.
Ed raised an eyebrow and then he grinned. Suddenly, he felt lighter and brighter.
Oh, the hell with it, he thought and laughed with Winry.
They both chuckled to their heart’s content and Winry opened the bag to get sandwiches that she prepared for them.
“You know…” Ed suddenly spoke while Winry handed a sandwich to him.
“It’s not camping unless you prepare marshmallows, frozen sausages, and other food that can be cooked with fire.”
Winry rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich.
Ed studied the contents of the sandwich. He checked tons of beef and slices of ham inside the sandwich. Some mayonnaise, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes were inserted too.
“I hate camping anyway.” Winry murmured
Ed narrowed his eyes and looked at a rabbit behind a bush, watching them eat.
He snorted and Winry looked at him, wondering why he suddenly reacted.
“What is it?” she asked
Ed smiled a little wider which made Winry blushed. Ed looked a lot more handsome when he is cheerful. Winry loved his childish face, the way he looked so bright and hopeful.
On the other hand, Ed stared at the rabbit and recalled a moment he and Al experienced when they were kids. He grabbed the back and search for a rope.
“What are you doing?” Winry questioned him
Ed kept on fumbling for a string or a rope and then he mouthed the word, “rope”
“Let me help.” Winry insisted.
Like an electrifying touch, they accidentally touched each other’s palms. Their cheeks reddened from astonishment. Ed felt a touch of coldness from Winry while Winry sensed hotness from his hand. Winry almost panicked, her eyes looking at another direction. Ed removed his hand from Winry’s and just ignored the whole thing. He kept on finding for a rope.
Winry cleared her throat and asked, “Wh-Wha-What do you need a rope for?” Her voice was shaking with nervousness.
“Uhmm… you… you… know… just… just… some stuff….” Ed stuttered while responding to Winry’s inquiry
The rabbit suddenly disappeared but he continued on with his plan. He wanted to make a trap to catch the animal and make it as their dinner for tonight.
Winry scrabbled some of the pockets at the side of the bag.
”Here!” she exclaimed and handed Ed the rope.
“Thanks.” Ed said and grabbed it.
Ed tied the rope on a branch of a tree and did his trap.
Winry was puzzled with Ed’s actions. Is he playing? she thought.
“Alright, give me a piece of lettuce.” Ed commanded
Winry threw a scruff of the vegetable to Ed. Ed caught the lettuce and placed it on the trap. He sat back on his place. He felt a little strange that Winry kept on staring at him and the fact that they were alone in the woods. It’s a good thing that Winry is stuck with me, he thought, that way she would be safe and that no man will ever touch her. But he still felt weird towards Winry’s actions.
“Winry… why are you staring at me?” He finally asked
“Well, why are you doing this?” she asked too
“It reminded me of our training when we were kids.” He answered
“Oh, that’s kind of cute.”
Ed blushed and he played with the stick that he got from the ground. He drew perfect circles when he performs alchemical experiments. He added some formula on the circles and drew various symbols and lines. With this, he made sculptures using soil. He created chicks, horses, and some other detailed animals.
“You really like alchemy, don’t you?” Winry confirmed
“Yeah, it does look like it.” He responded
The two stared at the trap and at one point, after a few minutes, the rabbit was captured.
Ed laughed while Winry’s cheeks reddened. There he goes again, she thought, making me fall in love with that cheerful face. She felt that maybe that rabbit was a gift for her to show how Ed was grateful for this spectacular adventure that Winry gave him. A rabbit as a pet would be fine. Winry said to herself.
“Ed, what’s that rabbit for?” Winry questioned
“You sure ask a lot.” Ed got annoyed
He went to the trapped rabbit and cut the rope. He took the bunny that was resisting. It wanted to escape but Ed took a tight grip on the rope.
Winry pouted and looked at Ed.
She wanted to thank Ed for the rabbit so she said, “Thanks, Ed for this rabbit… I’ve always wanted a pet.”
Ed laughed at her so hard then Winry went silent.
“You are so funny, Winry!” Ed blabbed and chuckled again
“Hilarious.” WInry didn’t quite get him
“This isn’t a pet for you; It’s for us to eat!” Ed finally enlightened her.
Winry panicked so she pushed Ed and shouted at him
“Poor, rabbit! You shouldn’t do this Ed!”
“Come on, we killed like 3 rabbits in order to live during our training.” Ed responded
“Compared to that, this is nothing.” He added
Winry wasn’t convinced so she threw a small pebble to Ed for him to be awakened.
“Have mercy to that rabbit!” she shouted
Ed ignored her and he incidentally recalled his adventures with Al in that forest where their teacher, Izumi Curtis led them to train physically and to understand the fundamental ideas of alchemy.
“I hope Al was here.” He paused… and knotted the rope on both sides of the wood which he made to roast the rabbit.
“It sure would be nice to reminisce the past.” Ed whispered.
He knew that one day he would like to turn back the time. If only he didn’t perform that human transmutation in the first place… he regretted it all.
“Ed, you okay? You’ve been staring at that rabbit for a while now.” Winry noted him
“Uhmm… Winry, can you please pass that knife?” Ed begged politely
She gave the knife to Ed. Ed thanked Winry and proceeded to killing the rabbit.
“Close your eyes Winry.” He said and Winry willingly followed
He gave a fast strike to the rabbit and it made a loud screech. Winry opened her eyes while Ed roasted the rabbit like nothing even happened.
“That’s just horrible!” Winry said
“We’ve got no choice… After all, it is a source of food” Edward smiled
Winry jerked her face and pouted her face long enough so that Ed would notice. Ed sighed and shook his head slowly. He carefully cooked the dead rabbit by rotating the stick.
“What?!” Ed finally got annoyed by Winry’s face
Winry rolled her eyes and took a sandwich inside the duffel bag.
“Oh, Nothing…” she swayed the sandwich in the air to catch the alchemist’s attention.
“It’s just that I’ve worked so HARD in preparing this intricately constructed YUMMY sandwich!” Winry said sarcastically.
Ed’s smile was full of derision, but at the back of his mind, he felt so guilty for not eating Winry’s food. The rabbit was done and roasted nicely. He took the stick and blew air on his dish to lessen the heat. He sat next Winry which made Winry gush out of nervousness.
“What are you up to now?” Winry was flustered.
Ed took half a bite from the bunny and handed it to his gorgeous mechanic.
“Eew! I don’t want to eat your invention!” Winry cried
“Just try it you big complainer!” Ed teased
“No!” Winry persisted
“If you eat this, I’ll finish one—no—two of your sandwiches.”
“Promise?”
“Yep.”
“Ugh, Fine!” Winry finally gave in
The two clanked their food together as if toasting two wine glasses. Winry tossed Ed two ham-filled sandwiches while she chewed on some of the rabbit meat. Ed studied her reaction and started snorting.
“I hate you.” Winry spoke while gobbling up the meat
“I didn’t do anything!” Ed’s tone was a bit mad but in a friendly way
“Oh, bite me!”
Ed chuckled loudly while finishing the two sandwiches with just six bites. He licked his fingers and wiped his lips using a leftover napkin from the snacks.
“So good!” Ed truthfully complimented Winry’s food.
“You really think so?” Winry asked
“Of course, this is probably one of the best tasting sandwiches that I ever had!”
“Thanks, Ed.”
“What about mine?” Ed asked
“The meat was so gamey but I like the emptiness of the flavor.” Winry released an honest comment
“Oh really?” Ed raised his eyebrow.
Winry chuckled and beamed but later on, her smile disappeared. Ed noticed it so suddenly so he can’t help but ask what’s wrong.
“What’s the matter, Winry?”
Winry looked down and tried to cheer up. She thought that maybe if her mom was here, she would be able to learn on how to cook some better cuisine. She was quite nervous in doing some difficult dishes and sometimes her preparations do not go so well even if Granny would teach her several times. She felt so ashamed because she wanted to be girly enough for Ed. She was timid but anyway, she conveyed her feelings for Ed for the heck of it.
“It’s just that, I wish my mother was here you know…”
Ed looked at Winry and pitied her.
“I wish, she could teach me some cooking skills and let her taste and praise my food.”
Winry’s eyes formed small droplets of salty tears which made Ed surprised. He stroked Winry’s back and said,
“I’m here, Winry. I’ll always be here to eat your food and give some comments about your cooking.”
Winry blushed and then laughed,
“Silly! You can’t be my mom! You’re too short to be a replacement for her!” Winry joked and snickered. “TOO SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRT?!!!!” Ed yawped loudly and rapidly and as a result, the bats flew into the air and escaped from the trees. He made a discerning face full of rage but not in a serious way.
Ed finally returned to his old self. Winry, on the other hand, coughed after a long titter of laughter.
Then, it made Ed transitioned his emotions to worriedness,
“You okay?” he asked with a calm face
“Uh-huh!” Winry responded with a cheerful smile.
“I just need a little water to drink.” She requested
They both lie down their food and started looking for water. Ed brought a torch to guide them in travelling.
Ed searched for a river while Winry walks beside him.
“Do you think, bears will come and get us?” Winry shriveled while asking
“Bears?! Oh, come on… those bears are just gonna get their ass kicked by me.” Ed boastfully said
“Whatever you say.” Winry rolled her eyes and sighed
They walked across twenty different fruit trees and a load of vines. They also saw wild venomous snakes but Ed managed to trap them using alchemy.
“Ed, I think I heard a sound of a river just now.” Winry said
“Really? Are you sure that was a flow of a river?” the alchemist became skeptical
“Yeah! Come on, hurry! Let’s go check it out.”
Ed followed Winry as she ran eastward.
“Careful, Winry!----” Ed got more worried
“You might get tripped!”
When they pushed some green and brown vines, they were shocked on what they saw.
“The Hell!” Ed was astounded
Winry was speechless and she couldn’t believe it.
They saw a majestic kind of place. The beauty of nature never fails. The grasses were green, the place were flooded with different kind of flowers. Some were daffodils, red roses, jasmines, carnations, hyacinths, orchids, tulips and all other kinds of flowers. There were trees in some vacant areas which were also varied in different shapes and sizes. At the center of all the explicitness is an old sturdy cabin and under all this is a perfect moonlight which is almost violet in color. This epic place is surrounded by a clean river which wowed both of them. All of these were under moonlight.
Ed felt like prancing but it isn’t like him to do that sort of thing and it would be uncool to let Winry see that side of him. He just let his mouth do the talking,
“I don’t know why this place existed, but I’m pretty sure that this is one hell of a masterpiece by Mother Nature!”
Winry nodded.
“Come on, let’g go drink this fresh water.” Ed insisted
They knelt on the ground near the river and using their hands they scooped some water and drank from it like they never drank water for almost a year.
Ed made a happy gurgling sound
“That was refreshing!” Ed shouted with a huge goofy smile on his face
“This is the greatest spring water I’ve ever come across with!” Winry blurted out
Winry wiped her mouth using her hands. On the other hand, she was quite doubtful on the spring water.
“How can clean spring water be here? Don’t you think that’s a bit unexpected?” she asked
“I don’t know but I’m too thirsty to not think about it”
Winry pouted and looked at another direction.
The two teenagers leaped so that the fresh water would not get unclean. They stumbled upon the swaying grasses and flowers.
“This is beyond amazing; it’s entirely ludicrous in a good way!” Edward said
The two traveled in the mysterious but stunning place. It was something really unexpected. They walked through the meadow and saw an old cabin.
“It’s a hollow and an antiquated cabin.” Winry hinted
“I put something in it like, alchemic potions and ingredients!” Ed offered
“In your dreams, Alchemy-freak! It should be another toolshed for my automail spare parts!”
“Tch. Crazy gear-head.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Then, the tension got weirder.
“On second thought, we should just let things be.” Ed suddenly suggested
“Making it peaceful, like Resembool?” Winry questioned
“Yep.”
The two of them walked further and saw how vast
“Hey, Ed. Let’s come back here…” Winry asked a favor
“Yeah, Al will come too, right?” Ed responded
Winry couldn’t tell him. She wanted to make this place as their secret stash or something --- a place where they could be with each other. Sort of like a, date?
“Winry?” Ed called his mechanic
Winry suddenly slipped and fell down on a meadow. Ed came rushing to her in a vivid effort and came tumbling after just like the Jack and Jill incident, only backwards.
“Win…ry..” Ed’s back suddenly felt a painful sensation because of the abrupt fall
“Ed?! Are you feeling anything serious?” Winry asked
“Nope… Just a little ache but it’s nothing.”
Winry touched Ed’s human hand (not the automail one) and whispered to Ed’s ear, “I think I have these feelings that I can’t say to you.”
“Huh?!” Ed was astounded but at the same time filled with joy.
This electric feeling that he gets with Winry’s words… he can think of anything. Winry just smiled and pretended like nothing happened. She moved away and said,
“Al can come too, but only if you apologize to him.”
“Of course I will!” Ed responded
He thought: Someday, Winry… Someday….
The two of them relaxed while spontaneously looked at the stars. It was a great day for them. The best camping bond ever.
“Thanks Winry, for this… for everything.”
Winry became flustered so she answered,
“Yeah, I know. Just don’t be like this again okay?”
Ed nodded at Winry.
“Maybe tomorrow, you’ll find more clues.”
Ed grinned.
“Oh, and always remember that there is always a single ray of hope in everything that you encounter. Never. Give. Up!” Winry added
“YEP!” Ed happily responded
Then, after a few seconds they stared at each other. Their faces are getting nearer and nearer. They can feel each other’s breath until…
“ED! WINRY! WHERE ARE YOU?!” A metallic voice summoned them, it was Alphonse’s.
“AL?!” Ed called out.
“ED!” Alphonse shouted
Suddenly, a big light flashed before Ed’s eyes and it contaminated him, like it was sucking his whole vision.
Then, he opened his eyes and heard his little brother waking him up.
“ED?! We’re here! We landed at East City!”
“What?” Ed rubbed his eyes.
“The train is about to move, hurry up!” Al bickered
Ed yawned and apologized to his brother. He got up, looked at his pocket watch, and checked the time.
9:00 am
The two left the train and walked slowly as possible
“What the--- we landed at Resembool right?” Edward got confused
“Brother? What’s gotten into you?” Al questioned
“What do you mean ‘what’s gotten into me?’”
“You are confusing your dreams with reality. Dreams can never co-exist with reality.” Al explained
“But—“ Ed got more troubled
“It’s just a dream, Ed. We haven’t visit Resembool for months haven’t we?” Al reminded him
“Oh… then where were we?”
“We were at Liore. We just finished that mission with the fake priest and of course…”
“The fake philosopher’s stone.” Ed continued Al’s sentence.
It all makes sense to Ed now, it was just some dumb fantasy but it was a good one though.
As they walked to go to the office of Col. Mustang, Al was chuckling and it bothered Edward so he asked,
“Hey, Al. What’s wrong?” Ed raised his eyebrow
“Nothing. I just heard you called Winry’s name in the middle of your sleep.”
“WHAT?!” Ed’s face blushed and his jaw dropped
“Well, it’s what I heard from you and you were also smiling.” Al covered his robotic mouth with his hand which made Edward a bit irritated.
“There must be something wrong with your ear!” Ed finally yawped
The two of them walked across the three teammates of Mustang namely; Fury, Havoc, and Falman. They were focusing on paper works that needed to be checked. Meanwhile, Fury’s radio got broken and he tries to fix it. Edward catches him and placed his automail arm on the broken device, fixes it too easily.
“Thanks, Edward!” Fury grinned at the teenager
“Oh, the Elrics! What brings you here?” Lt. Riza Hawkeye flashed bringing more papers to sign and read.
“Where’s Col. Useless?” Edward joked (well half-meant anyway)
“He’s inside and he’s been expecting you.” Hawkeye smiled
Ed groaned and rolled his eyes while his brother waved at Roy’s colleagues. They went inside Mustang’s office and sat down the chair near his table.
“Okay, so what happened at Liore?” Mustang started asking deliberately
“Cutting to the chase are we?” Ed rested his arm on the table
“Well, I knew you guys would receive a fake one but…”
“Oh shut up!” Ed got a little annoyed but he wasn’t that mad
“Oh well, there’s still hope.” Mustang said
Ed nodded but in a serious and motivated way. Mustang opened his drawer and searched for a file about an alchemist.
“Oh, here we go.” Mustang handed Ed the folder with paper clips, papers, and a photo inside.
“Shou Tucker?” Ed read the name of the alchemist and tilted his head unknowingly studying the background of Mr. Tucker.
“Yes, Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist.” Mustang responded
“Why do we need to know about him?” Ed asked
“Well, he is an expert on bio-alchemy so he might help on regaining your respective bodies.” Mustang sipped his tea
“Really?!” Al became excited
“Let’s meet this guy!” Edward folded his arms and grinned genuinely. He is determined and ready to face that alchemist.
“Alright, let’s get to that carriage.” Mustang offered
The three of them rode on the carriage that the military prepared for them. Ed stared on the window and thought to himself, this is it, the ray of hope.
“Hey! Short Stuff!” Mustang called Ed
“WHAT’D YOU SAY?!” Ed screamed
“Listen to me.” Mustang sighed
“Fine.” Ed clenched his teeth and then breathes. He tried to relax and listened to Mustang’s explanation.
Ed got more motivated and maybe this time, he may know the answers to his problem.
Thanks for being in my dream, Winry, he thought and remembered that campfire that resembled their burnt home. He wanted to see the campfire because it wasn't that painful to ponder instead, it only made him stronger.
