Day's child series; Monday
by Lady Aliena

a Zell fic!)...I would have put Quistis on this one, being "fair of face," but I

have another day in mind for her.

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Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

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MONDAY'S CHILD - ZELL DINCHT

The woman screamed in agony. She had been in labor 12 hours and it was

particularly difficult for her. Already she had lost a lot of blood. The midwife

whispered to her assistant to go get some more help. She didn't know if the

woman would make it.

"Just one more push," the midwife urged as the young assistant ran out of the

cabin, "He's almost out."

With tears streaming down the woman's beautiful pale face, she pushed with all

her might. She wasn't sure where the father was. She hadn't seen him in over 6

months. They had been young and in love, so she thought. When she first found

out she was pregnant, he had seemed supportive, volunteering to marry her.

However, as a little time passed, he grew antsy and one morning, she had found a

note.

"Dear Ellen,

As much as it pains me to say this, I have many things that I need to sort out

at this time. I don't think that I could handle the responsibility of a child,

or even of supporting a wife right now. I know this will hurt you but I hope

someday you will come to understand. I just need to experience life before I am

forced to settle down. I'm afraid that if we go through with this, we'll just

both be miserable. Please don't try to find me. And, Ellen, I do love you. I

really do.

I'm sorry,

Zack"

Ellen pushed one last time and felt a great relief in pressure. She was so very

tired. As she heard the tiny baby's cries, she relaxed and smiled.

"Congratulations, Ellen. You have a son," the midwife placed the baby in Ellen's

arms. She examined the child. A tuft of blond hair, fair skin, and what a set of

lungs this little one had! She wanted to keep holding him, but exhaustion seemed

to be overtaking her. The room dimmed and the baby felt heavy in her arms. Too

heavy to keep supporting. She felt herself drifting into slumber.

"I love you, little Zell," she whispered as she shut her eyes. The midwife took

the crying baby as her assistant rushed back inside the cabin with a doctor. She

looked up at the man sadly and shook her head. As a chilly March wind blew

outside on that Monday morning, the very morning of his birth, little Zell

became an orphan.

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12 years later...

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I got up this morning and did the exact same thing that I do every morning. I

have sort of a ritual, I guess. I always do 250 push-ups and punch the punching

bag I have hanging up in the corner for half an hour. Then, I hop in the shower,

get dressed, and comb my hair until it's perfect. Every spike has to be in

exactly the right place. Today was a special day. I was to be enrolled into

Balamb Garden.

"ZELL!!" Ma shouted from downstairs, "HURRY UP OR WE'LL BE LATE!!"

I squirted a little more gel into my hand. 'Not quite right yet,' I thought as I

smoothed a cowlick down. Hey, I may be young, but I still gotta look good! I

finished with the hair and examined myself in the mirror. Short with blond hair

and blue eyes and that type of fair skin that doesn't tan - it burns and then

peels. I guess I'm pretty average, though sometimes I just wish I could stand

out. I swear, one of these days, I'm going to do something that everyone will

notice! I don't know what, but someday when I walk into a room, everyone will

know exactly who I am!

"ZELL??"

"Aw, who am I kidding?" I reached down and grabbed my suitcase and took one last

look at my room, before shutting the door and clambering down the stairs.

"Oh Zell, my handsome boy!" Ma gushed, giving me a hug. "Today's the big day!"

"Mom, chill, will ya? It's not that big a deal. I'm just going to Balamb Garden,

that's all."

Ma stepped back, wiping a tear from her eye. "My boy's going to become a SeeD.

Oh honey, I am SO proud of you!"

"Uh, Ma? We're going to be late if we don't get going."

"Oh! Of course!" she whooped and we headed out the door and towards the car

rental station. Since Balamb was such a small town, we didn't bother with cars.

Everything we needed was within walking distance. But since Balamb Garden was a

little further away, we decided to grab a car.

Heading towards Balamb, Ma sat behind the wheel chattering amicably, but my mind

was wandering. What would Balamb Garden be like? I'm leaving the only life I've

ever known.

I feel I'm one of the lucky ones because I grew up with two parents who loved me

very much. We were never rich, but we always lived comfortably. Ma was my best

friend. It was always so easy to talk to her. One of our favorite things to do

was sit and play Triple Triad. She's pretty good for an old person! My dad

worked at the dock. When he was off, he'd always take me fishing and he taught

me how to box. He died a few years back. There was an accident at the docks. I

remember the night Dad's best friend, Eddie, came to the door.

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"Uh, hi Marie," he removed his hat and looked at Ma nervously.

"Eddie!" Ma grinned, "What're you doing here? Where's Ken?"

"That's what I came to tell you." Eddie glanced over at me and suddenly Ma's

face fell. I think at that moment, she knew something terrible had happened. She

looked my way.

"Zell, go upstairs, ok?"

"But Ma!"

"ZELL! Please!"

"OK," I hung my head sullenly and ran upstairs to my room. I sat there with my

ear against the door trying to hear what Eddie was telling Ma. I couldn't make

out most of the conversation. Just bits and pieces. "...Ken...at the

docks...cable broke...tried to help him but..." And then I heard a sound I had

never heard before. My mother crying. It was loud and full of anguish. After a

few minutes, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs and I scrambled over to

my punching bag and pretended to be hitting it. Quietly, she opened the door.

"Zell?"

"Yeah Ma?"

"There's been an accident. I'm afraid Daddy's not coming home. It's just you and

me now."

I looked at her tear-streaked face, not quite comprehending. "Never?"

She shook her head, walked over, and just held me, "Never, honey."

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I don't know how long we stood there that night. I was eight years old when it

happened. So, it's been just me and Ma for a while now. And now she'll be alone.

I looked over at her sitting there driving with that little grin that always

seems to be on her face. Ma, can you forgive me for leaving you?

"Zell, look!" she pointed on ahead to the big looming Garden. It was the most

awesome thing I've ever seen. I mean, I had always seen it from afar, but it was

absolutely splendid up close. We drove into the garage and followed crowds of

people inside. It was chaotic in there - there were tons of kids everywhere! A

couple of older teenagers were shouting above the crowd trying to get people

lined up. Someone accidentally pushed me and I bumped into a tall blond kid. He

whirled around and glared at me, "Watch it Chicken-wuss," he whispered just so

Ma couldn't hear him. Then he looked at her, flashed her a big smile, and said,

"Excuse me, Ma'am," and ran off.

Ma smiled as she watched the blond boy squeeze through the crowd, "Well, he

seems nice. Maybe the two of you will become friends." She started to straighten

my shirt collar.

"Ma..." I protested.

"Listen, Zell. This is so exciting! I want you to know you've made me so proud

and if you need me, I'm only a phone call away. Do you still want to come home

this weekend or stay up here?"

"Home," I replied.

"OK, home it is." She dropped her arms to her side. "Well then, I better head

out. It looks like they're trying to get everyone lined up. My son, a SeeD!"

"I'm not a SeeD yet, Ma."

"You will be and then you'll save the world and..."

"Ma!" I laughed. "Let's take things one step at a time, ok?"

She grinned and gave me one last hug and a kiss on the cheek, "OK, then. Call me

if you need me. I love you."

"I love you too."

I watched her squeeze through the crowd. When she was out of sight, I looked at

the people around me. Will I fit in here? Will I do ok? Or will I just be

another average face in the crowd?

"Hey, chicken-wuss, tan much?" that same blond boy I had bumped into earlier

pointed down at my pale legs. He poked one of his friends in the ribs and they

walked away laughing. Great! Not even here half an hour and I'd already somehow

managed to get a rather...ahem...unflattering nickname! Well one thing was for

certain, it wasn't going to be easy here...

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Author's note: Squaresoft owns all the characters. Mother Goose owns the

rhyme...Coming soon...Tuesday's Child. Who will it be?

Maintained by:

d Galloway (Insert Image Here)