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Traces of Two Pasts: Episode Tifa - pgs 01-24

Hello, this is @o4o4p_ from twitter. To make things easier to follow for people, I decided to post the translations of the ToTP Tifa's parts that I did.

[UPDATED ON 11/01/22]

Episode 1-Traces of Tifa-

Written by Kazushige Nojima

Translated by Peko & Eerie

The wind that blew across the meadow caressed her hair and stirred up memories in Tifa Lockhart of her hometown. The winds that descended from the slopes of Mt Nibel toward the village used to always whip up her hair into a mess.

"Hey, Tifa, you’re used to this?" said Aerith, pointing her finger towards the sweeping meadows of the Grasslands.

It hadn't been long since they met, yet Aerith felt like an old friend.

Tifa turned her back against another strong gust of wind that sprung forth, billowing over the grass. They had an unexpectedly long journey ahead of them.

"Used to what–grassy fields?" Tifa turned to find Aerith walking beside her.

"No, I mean walking like how we're walking now. Through grassy fields or wilderness."

"Hmm, well I don't dislike walking. It's a form of training."

"Uh-huh, so you’re that type. I get it."

"But I do prefer hiking in the mountains because I get to see the changing landscapes."

"Same! I always longed to go on picnics, but I'm so over this!"

"Well, this feels like hiking to me. Picnicking is more about the picnic baskets and just having fun."

"I see... So Tifa, have you ever gone picnicking?"

"Yeah.” She recalled her childhood in the village. "At least something like it. But I used to call it something else."

"What?”

Embarrassment flooded back to her along with memories of the events.

“Tea parties.”

“Hmph!” Red XIII sauntered past them with an amused snort. From his blazing red fur to his flaming tail, his physical appearance was, to say the least, that of a beast. Yet, there was a great disparity between his outward appearance and his inner intellect. Something Tifa still wasn’t accustomed to yet.

“What were your tea parties like? I want to know!” Aerith's eyes lit up.

“Sure!”

But where exactly should she begin?

※

Nibelheim was a small village located at the foot of Mount Nibel. Its history began as a base for people seeking rare animals and plants in the mountain. It was a village consisted of just a few households which provided beds and meals for mountain climbers.

Before long, Shinra in search of a base for its cutting-edge research, away from any possible interference from the Republic of Junon, set its sight on this land.

They discovered mako energy there the following year, in 1960, and began building a facility that would become known as the Shinra Mansion. This was followed by the construction of the Nibel mako reactor, which brought in workers from all over the country. These projects were completed in 1968 – at that time, the village was at its peak activity.

After the completion of the facility, only those contracted by Shinra Company remained to manage the facility. Eventually, the mako reactor got so old that it was nearly deactivated. With no industry to speak of, the population of the village dwindled. The only source of income for the village was paid by Shinra for use of the land and management of its facilities. The village's economy was supported by the aging facilities, which were no longer in use.

Things could not continue this way. But even though that thought weighed on everyone's mind, the voices full of apprehension about the future were carried off by the winds that blew from Mt Nibel and disappeared without a trace.

※

“There were four kids in the village who were the same age as me. All of them were boys. We used to play together so often that our parents called us the ‘Gang of Four.’ They were the members of my tea party,” said Tifa.

“Hmm, but if we’re counting you and those four boys you were with,” Aerith asked, “shouldn’t there have been five?”

“Well, one of them was Cloud. I wish he would just turn us down. But most of the time he'd ignore us which led to so many fights. They thought he was really a strange kid, that he was dangerous.”

Yes, it was that young Cloud Strife who would march on ahead of them as if he was the one in charge.

※

Tifa was born into the Lockhart family in 1987. Her father’s name was Brian, and her mother’s name, Thea.

However, eight years later, Thea passed away from her illness and ever since then Tifa had been raised by her father. The things he wasn’t comfortable teaching her, the women of the village gladly stepped in to help. They taught her everything from sewing to cooking, or any other skill they felt a daughter should learn from her mother.

Theirs was a village steeped in the old traditions of the Republic. Men worked outside while women maintained the household. There was a tendency for the people to think that a woman’s happiness depended on the man she would spend her life with.

Emilio, Lester, Taylor and Tifa had been together since infancy. They were the eldest in their families, and all their mothers were close. The four of them grew up playing together. But, ever since Tifa’s mother passed away and her circumstances had changed, everyone began treating her as that “poor little girl.”

When she turned ten years old, she noticed that the way her friends looked at her felt different from before, their gazes lingering with a budding awareness of her as a possible future life partner. This was followed by a persistence in the boys to insinuate their feelings and compete with one another for her affection.

Despite the weariness she felt over their advances, their schemes to buy time alone with her, she found it difficult to turn them down because she knew it would hurt their feelings. So, even though she didn’t mean to hurt anyone, she pretended not to pick up on their romantic cues, and if any one of the boys made his intentions too obvious, she would dodge him with some vague reply.

It wasn’t long after that the boys started talking about leaving town. The boys in Nibelheim were incensed with this talk. A successful career was waiting for them at Shinra! They were going to get rich in Midgar!

Each one held onto his own separate dream, yet the message she heard was the same. There were promises to provide for her, to protect her… The pretty picture they painted of their future with her wasn’t any different. To those boys, she stood as a symbol that they had succeeded in life, as a victory trophy.

On her twelfth birthday, her father gifted her a new pair of wedge sandals, which she put on and went out for a stroll. The sandals were the latest fashion from Midgar, but they certainly were not suitable for her usual village strolls.

As she scrutinized each of her steps, the village chief, Zonder, called her out.

“Why, if it isn’t Tifa Lockhart! Happy birthday! Our cat just gave birth to a litter, so how about taking one as a birthday gift? I already talked to Brian. Come on over and see for yourself!”

She had mentioned to her father of her desire to have a cat so many times before, and now her dream would finally come true!

Tifa followed Zonder to his home where she peeked into a wooden crate at the slumbering kittens. For a long time, she stood there and studied each one before she finally made her choice.

“That one? We call him Maru. Well, he’s going to be yours so of course you can name him anything you like, but I hope you will keep the name.”

On her way home, the kitten nearly bolted from her arms. Her frantic movements when trying to keep it from jumping made her lose her balance, and unable to brace herself in those stylish, city sandals, she took an awkward tumble on the ground while shielding the kitten.

※

Dr. Sanku diagnosed her with a sprained right ankle.

“My sandals were broken, and then the area where I had grazed my ankle got so infected, I ended up in bed with a fever for a week. What made it even worse was finding out Maru went missing because my dad accidentally left the door open.”

“Yikes! When it rains, it sure does pour, doesn’t it? Wait, so you did end up keeping the name Maru.”

“My father involved the whole village in search of that lost kitten. Our village chief must have told everyone my cat’s name by then, so everywhere people went they would call out for “Maru”. I know it sounds awful, but the cat and its name were two completely innocent things, you know.”

Note: Some people have mentioned that Maru, transliterated to English, sounds like the word “mal” in French, which means bad/evil.

After her fever subsided, family friends came to visit. The joy she felt was short-lived, and by the third day, Tifa had had enough.

“It’s too much trouble with people coming in and out every day, and I don’t think I can finish all the snacks they brought either.”

She needed time to be alone.

“Don’t say that,” said her father.

“Then can I go outside? I want to help look for Maru too, and the doctor said I should try walking, remember?”

“All right. You can go the day after tomorrow.”

“What about tomorrow? Please?”

“I have to go to the mountains. We’re behind on repairs on that pathway to the mako reactor.”

“I can do my walking exercises on my own. I promise I won’t go anywhere outside the village.”

Her father brooded over the thought. Tifa had an idea of what was going through her father's head - he probably felt hurt by her words. The idea of her not needing his help no doubt irritated him.

“All right. Now listen to me…”

What ensued was a long lecture on the dos and don’ts, and every single precaution under the sun. Tifa listened without protest.

The next morning, at the exact moment after her father had left for the mountains, as if waiting on cue, a visitor called on her. It was Cloud’s mother, Claudia Strife.

“I’m really sorry for coming so early in the morning, but I wanted to bring him to you.”

There was a kitten nestled in Claudia’s arms. It was Maru.

“Oh, thank you! Where did you find him?”

“Cloud found it yesterday, over at the mountain gate. I told him to bring the cat over to you right away, but that boy wouldn’t listen! So, here I am instead.”

Tifa thanked Claudia, and then took Maru upstairs with her to her bedroom.

“Welcome home, Maru. Never thought Cloud even knew about you.”

Now that she had no need to search for Maru, going outside no longer seemed appealing. Although she did bring up the topic of walking practice in earnest, the pain still lingered.

Emilio came over to visit then.

“Come on, time for exercise!” he said while raising a basket up to his chest. “I brought you tea and some fruits.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s try going down to the waterfall. At least there we’d still be honest if we tell him we were inside town limits.”

“Did my dad say something to you?”

“Yeah, he asked me to escort you during your walking exercises. Said for me to make sure you don’t leave the village. Stuff like that.”

Emilio seemed uneasy. He must have thought there was something special behind her father’s request for his help.

As she left the house accompanied by Emilio, they bumped into Lester. In his arms was, as she had expected, a basket. The fleeting look of dissatisfaction that crossed his face did not escape her notice.

Even though it was the village's fountainhead, everyone simply called the place they were headed to "The Waterfall"; it served as an outlet for collected water in Nibelheim.

The boys escorted her down to the waterfall's basin and helped to support her as she lumbered on her injured leg. When they arrived at their spot, Tifa noticed that Taylor was already there, looking for a dry place for them.

It was now apparent that her father had called all three of her friends.

“Since it’s almost time for lunch,” said Lester, “I brought some sandwiches. We made the ham ourselves!”

Emilio and Lester cheered. Taylor’s family’s ham recipe always turned out delicious. Even Tifa, who had been feeling gloomy, couldn’t help expressing her delight.

When the four of them gathered, the conversation usually turned to Midgar, the city of the boys’ dreams. There was a school in Midgar, and students had to study hard. The kids in the slum learned reading and writing from volunteers who came from Midgar. Perhaps their schooling was on the same level as the slum kids.

The shortcut to getting into Shinra Company from the slums was through Soldier, and they wondered how likely it was for a Soldier to die. They thought that money was the solution to every problem for people on the Plate. There were some facts, myths, and misunderstandings in their discussions, but the looks on their faces were serious.

For Tifa, Midgar became, in its own way, a subject of great interest to her. She couldn’t help thinking about this faraway world, this big city, with wonder and excitement.

“If you go and live in Midgar, would you ever want to come back here?” said Tifa.

“If I can’t adapt to city life, then there’d be no other choice.”

“I don’t want people here looking at me like I’m some loser, so if that ever happens, I’ll probably move to another city.”

“But if none of us come back, you’ll be lonely, won’t you, Tifa?” “Who knows?” she said. “You might even forget about me.”

Tifa felt embarrassed the moment the words left her mouth. It sounded like she was sulking, and sure enough, Emilio and the others started trying to cheer her up. As they left the water basin, the boys started talking over each other.

“The picnic was fun! Let’s do it again sometime!”

“You call that a picnic? We need to go out farther for that.”

“You can have picnics nearby. Don’t get it mixed up with hiking.”

“How about a tea party?” Tifa chimed in. “Tea parties seem so elegant and lovely.”

She recalled a photo of herself sitting on her mother’s knee while her mother sat at an outdoor tea table set up on a meadow, sipping tea with some of her wealthier relatives during the Republic Era. Her mother’s grandparents may have been in the photo too.

“Tea party? What’s that?”

“Well, if Tifa wants to do one, then I’ll be happy to!”

“Me too!”

The “tea parties” continued until the numbers of parties became less frequent, and then one by one the boys all left town.

※

“The boys kept talking about Midgar so much that eventually I looked to Midgar as my rival. I wanted to wear the latest fashion that the girls there wore, so I asked someone who was good at needlework to help me make them. And it had to be fabrics that we couldn’t get from our general store. I even learned how to bake sweets. Up until then, I don’t think I had ever tried to get any boy’s attention.”

“Making Midgar your rival, eh? I like that about you Tifa.” It was Barret Wallace, who they hadn’t noticed was right behind them.

The spring when her friends said they would be leaving town had arrived. Their time together was coming to an end. This premonition of things to come made her unexpectedly emotional.

Late that night, she set her mind to baking a cake. She wavered on whether she should bake cookies, but a cake just seemed so much more appropriate for the occasion and would make this Spring memorable for them.

She quickly checked the kitchen pantry, jotting down all the missing ingredients, and then dashed out to the General store which was owned by Emilio's family.

As she stood in the front of the store, she felt someone’s gaze on her back. She turned and saw Cloud Strife. Their eyes met.

Usually when that happened, he would look away and run off somewhere, but today Cloud seemed different. She saw his mouth move.

He said something but Tifa couldn’t hear it. She tilted her head to the side. The motion caused Cloud to dash over toward her, and she instinctively prepared to flee.

He stopped just as he was about to bump into her, and blurted out, “Midnight. At the Water Tower.”

“Okay.”

When he heard her response, Cloud took off running as if he was trying to evade her. He didn’t have to do that, she thought, since she, herself, was frantically running away from him to get home.

The ingredients! She forgot to buy the ingredients! Her father watched her with a puzzled expression, but she pretended to be upset over something to escape any questioning, and went to her room where she could compose herself.

Maru was on top of the bed, and she picked him up and held him in her arms as she sank to the floor. Her heart was beating wildly. No, it wasn’t just because she had been running.

When was the last time they spoke to each other? Yes, that’s right. Maru went missing several times after his first breakout when Cloud found him and gave him shelter. It happened so many times after that that Tifa realized, if left alone, he would come back on his own after a few days. But, still, whenever he went missing, she went out looking for him. She wasn't allowed to go outside much, but there were monsters roaming those mountains…

When she was at the mountain gate, searching for Maru and calling out his name, she saw Cloud walking down. He noticed her too but refused to look at her.

"I saw Maru. Right where you're about to step in," Cloud said, as he brushed past her.

“Thanks.”

Cloud headed back toward the village without stopping, but finally turned around and said to her, “Don’t you feed him? I saw him eat a bird.”

“I do!”

In an act of fierce protest, she stormed into the mountains, and sure enough there was Maru with his mouth covered in blood.

“When was that?”

Maru was on her lap. She petted him, and he purred with eyes half-closed from bliss.

When they were younger, she and Cloud used to play together a lot. Their houses were right next to each other, and it was easy to go back and forth.

“Cloud has such a beautiful face,” her mother once complimented him at the dining table. Did that happen when she was seven, or was it eight? For some reason that compliment made her feel happy and a bit shy.

Her mother had given her a knowing wink, which didn't escape her father's notice - he scowled at them. This moment became one memory she had of her family life before her mother passed away.

When did Cloud start to drift away from everyone? Did something happen between him and the other boys? What was clear in her mind was that it must have had something to do with that disaster incident that happened because of her mother’s death. But he stopped coming over to play even before then.

“I wonder why…”

Cradling Maru in her arms, she went over to her window, where she spotted the water tower in the middle of the village. If they meet there, everyone might see them. Oh, so that’s why he wanted to meet her at midnight. By then everyone would be asleep.

What time was midnight again? Twelve o’ clock at night, right? Did Cloud really trust that she’d be able to understand him just like that?

“Cloud is…Well, never mind.”

There was no point in playing guessing games now.

“Hey, what do you think I should wear?”

Maru was completely disinterested. He jumped out of her arms and strolled towards the bed.

There was a knock on her door, and she heard her father’s voice.

“Tifa?”

She opened the door, and saw him standing in the hallway, blinking sleepily.

“I’m going to bed early tonight. The repairs on the rope bridge have been giving us some trouble lately.”

“Okay, I understand. Please get some rest.”

“Oh.” He looked uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?”

“You were in a bad mood earlier.”

"When you say things like that, of course it puts me in a bad mood," laughed Tifa.

“Alright, I see.”

Her father laughed too. He told her good night, and then went back down to his bedroom.

As she was choosing what outfit to wear, the realization came to her that this would be the first time she would sneak outside at midnight behind her father’s back, and with, of all people, Cloud Strife! This night was special. Her spirit soared. Sleep was the last thing on her mind.

After she was dressed, Tifa glanced out the window. It was almost time. However, unlike how she had imagined it, there were many windows still lit up. No sight of Cloud anywhere near the water tower. She turned off her lights and went out.

Maru tried to follow her out, so she led him back to her room and closed the door behind her.

Leaning in close, she listened at her father's bedroom door. He was snoring peacefully. She tip-toed downstairs, careful with each and every step. After passing through the living room, she opened the entrance door.

The moment she stepped outside, she took a deep breath. The sky was filled with stars, stars that looked like they were falling down around her.

Was Cloud waiting for her on that water tower, thinking of her with special emotions, emotions that were more than a friendship? Would he confess those feelings to her? If that were the case, how would she respond?

Did she even like him?

She held a hand up to her heart and thought it over. Yes, there was no mistaking it. She liked him. However, this "fondness" she had for him was different from just wanting to spend time alone with him.

Cloud has such a beautiful face. She recalled her mother's words, and how her mother went on to say, "Well, I think he's even more beautiful than your great hero, Sephiroth."

Her mother compared Cloud to a Soldier from Shinra Company – who the youth in those days touted as the great hero, Sephiroth – as a way of complimenting Cloud. Tifa remembered thinking in her head at that time, "Oh, is he?"

Yes, the reason why her heart was racing now was because Cloud was unreachable, a thing of beauty. Like the stars.

"Thanks, Mom." She felt less nervous; her footsteps became lighter. She sprinted toward the water tower.

Cloud was already there. He sat on the scaffold, swinging his legs to and fro. The last time she came to the water tower, they were still small kids. What tone of voice should she use to talk to him? Well, normal is best. Wait, how did she normally sound?

"Thanks for waiting!"

Did that sound too fake?

The things Cloud told her at the water tower were nothing out of the ordinary. He told her he was going to leave town when spring came. That he was different from everyone else. All the boys said the same thing to her in the end. But even so, she wasn't disappointed.

Was it due to some sort of spell cast on her the night of the stars falling down? Or was it perhaps the sight of Cloud seeming slightly enthusiastic that she found so endearing? That promise she suggested they make was just a simple idea.

"Hey, promise me something. When you become famous, and if I'm ever trapped or in trouble, promise you'll come and save me."

Just a simple idea, yet the moment they exchanged words, it became an irreplaceable promise. And it was that night that also made her see Cloud, whom she adored, as an ordinary boy. Tifa fell in love with Cloud. It was the kind of "love" where she wanted to be with him. That was how she felt.

Just as the winds from Mt. Nibel lost its bite, her tea party friends departed on their journey. Emilio showed up the night before to tell her that he promised to come back for her, and then hopped onto the truck that transported equipment to repair the facility and left the village, leaning out the window and waving goodbye the whole way.

Meanwhile, a helicopter came for Lester and Taylor. It was a privilege reserved for candidates who enlisted with Shinra Company.

Lester said his farewell speech to her vigorously, and then just as vigorously pulled her into an embrace. Meanwhile, Taylor fidgeted behind him, without saying a word. Time was almost up, and Tifa reached over to hug him instead. Taylor must have resented Lester, who he had seen hugging other girls who came to send him off.

When the weather turned warm, Cloud also left the village. She heard he had hitched a ride on a Shinra Army truck that came late at night. Due to some issues with his paperwork, his enlistment got delayed, and the helicopter that was supposed to come get him was engaged elsewhere, in battle.

They didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to one another, to make plans to meet each other again, or even just to hug.

Her predictions were correct. Tifa chuckled to herself. She smiled, and then the tears fell.

As Nibelheim became shrouded in silence, Tifa turned thirteen years old. Her father threw her a grand celebration. But not a single birthday card came from any of the boys who left the village. Perhaps they were so busy with pursuing their new life that they had forgotten her. She chased away her loneliness with those thoughts.

※

“Hey, Tifa.” It was Barret calling her, looking worried.

“Hm?”

“You went quiet all of a sudden. What's gotten into you?”

“Oh, sorry. It‘s just...all these memories are coming back to me. Now where was I?”

“About Midgar being your rival.”

“Okay, then next up is the fateful encounter with my Master.”

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