Aeris Gainsborough often sold flowers in the top part of Midgar. Occasionally, she did well. sometimes people bought the novelty of a flower in Midgar, for only the rich could really afford their own flowers. Other times, she did not do well, like tonight. No one around her was interested in a flower tonight, but she came up here as often as she could.

She walked the streets of Midgar, basket of flowers in hand. The noise of the upper city was all around her, cars, sirens, voices. The bright streetlights blanked out the stars in the sky even when they weren't buried under clouds like tonight, and not even the perfume of the flowers in her basket could hide the ozone smell of Mako exhaust from the cars or any of the other smells of the city. Rows of cars drove past, crowds of people walked past, and on nights like this when she didn't sell many flowers Aeris could only realise how ugly the city was at times. On the better nights she was distracted by the money.

But everyone in Midgar was distracted by something else. For the last three weeks, a number of strange things had happened. A number of lifelike statues had appeared in strange places. Every one seemed to be a petrified person, too detailed to be a sculpture, and stranger still, normally wearing unpetrified clothing. but softs did not work to revert the statues. Some thought it was just an odd art exhibition. Some thought the stories were made up by the newspapers. some thought that someone or something was stalking the streets turning people into stone that soft could not cure.

There was no pattern, it seemed. Men, women, even children had been found as statues. Some seemed to have been posed, like the statue of a young man and woman found holding hands and kissing. Some seemed to have been "caught" in normal poses, like the statue of a woman reading a book found on a train three nights before. Stranger were the few that seemed to be as if attacked, like the apparent mugger found in the city just this morning. He had a knife in his hand, and a fearful look on his face. but the statues had not just appeared in the top of the city. They had even shown up in the slums, like the trio of statues found playing in a fountain. They had apparently been what the more poetic parts of the upper-city media dubbed "street urchins", but what everyone else just called orphans from the slums. Or at least that was what the statues represented. Aeris didn't think for a minute that these were real people petrified. What could possibly turn people into stone that couldn't be reverted somehow?

She was not concerned, and she didn't know why anyone else was. It was just a silly story in the papers, making up details about the statues. Chances are they were carved and their clothing was just painted. She had more to worry about, like earning money to put food on the table. With people unnerved, they didn't buy flowers. They avoided strangers now. except for a few, and one amongst them.

He was a tall, thin man, with dark hair and glasses. He always wore a blue coat, and every night she sold flowers, he was there, and bought one. Tonight was to be no different.

"Good evening, flowergirl." He said.

He didn't know her name, and she didn't know his, but she found him friendly enough, if a little odd at times. But then, in this city, everyone could be a little odd.

"Hello again." Aeris replied.

"I'd like another beautiful flower for my lady, as always." he said, handing over a Gil coin.

Aeris smiled and held the basket up. He picked out the same flower as always, a rose with grey petals. She usually carried up a number of flowers, yellow geraniums, bluebells, red roses, and in spring when they grew, daffodils. but the grey roses were odd plants, even in her unusual garden. The grey roses grew all the time, mostly in their own patch, but sometimes they grew in other patches and sometimes changed colour to match their neighbouring flowers.

"How is she tonight?" Aeris asked.

"She is well. It was meant to rain earlier but it hasn't. She dislikes the rain. Unfortunately it seems certain it will some time." He replied.

Aeris nodded. She was going to head back home after a few minutes, and she wanted to avoid the rain before it started.

"Thanks for the flower." The customer said, as he did every time, and left.

He was the last one of the night to buy a flower from her, as Aeris decided the black sky above was about to drench the city. The one good thing about the slums was there was no rain there either, the plates of Midgar making the world's largest umbrella.

***

Aeris was back the next night, and though there were no clouds the night sky of Midgar remained an ugly dark smear thanks to light pollution. She wondered sometimes what it was like away from the city, away from the lights and pollution. Another statue had been found in the rain last night. fittingly, a woman holding an umbrella. Aeris was sure the artist behind them was prepared to have a statue ready for any occasion to fit his crazy stunt.

The customer showed up as usual, and once more bought the grey flower. Aeris wondered if his lady would grow bored of these same grey roses every night, but it seemed that day wasn't any time soon.

"How is your mother?" he asked.

She had a cold a week ago, and Aeris had been worried in case it was something worse. But she seemed to be over it now.

"She's well now."

The customer nodded, pleased to hear it. He paid for his flower and left with his usual farewell.

"Thank you for the flower."

***

Two nights later, Aeris was back selling flowers. It had rained again all of the previous evening so she stayed in the slums instead of venturing up to the top and wasting time getting soaked to the skin. There had been no statue found the previous night either, and Aeris hoped that was the end of it and the artist behind it would soon reveal the truth.

He or she would have their fifteen minutes of fame, but her hopes were dashed the same day by the discovery of a statue standing in a doorway of the slums, a man smoking a pipe. Those in the slums were always speculated to have been there a while, and every time one was found in the slums the rumours flew around for days about other statues. The people in the city below were fascinated by the prospect of it really being petrified people, while those above were scared of it.

"Good evening, flowergirl." The customer said as he approached. The common ritual began, but for once he picked up three flowers.

"I have been meaning to ask you. The Materia you wear in your hair. What kind is it?"

"This? It's just a bauble really. It doesn't do anything. I think it might not be Materia at all." Aeris said.

"It certainly looks like Materia." He noted.

"Yes, it does. But it does nothing. I thought I maybe just didn't have the knack to use it, but no one's ever got it to do anything."

"I see. Well, thanks for the flowers." He said, bidding farewell and left.

***

The next night no statue was found, or at least it wasn't reported. The newspapers in the top city and the people walking around were more worried about something else. A bomb threat had been made on the Shin-Ra building, and the worry was it meant that terrorists would really attack. The threat had been just that, to annoy and disrupt the Shin-Ra headquarters, but not everywhere in Midgar was as well defended as that skyscraper, so the newspapers helpfully pointed out to their readers that terrorists went after easy targets. Like public transport, power plants and busy streets. One definitely-not-hysterical populist daily paper had noted that the "Terrorist Mind" would think nothing of attacking even hospitals or schools to ensure everyone had happy thoughts at breakfast.

Thanks to the media-fuelled fear every litter bin had a bomb in it, people were even more alarmed than with the statues appearing, and Aeris for once felt there was a good reason even if she did think the papers and the television had taken it all out of proportion again. After all, the statues were just carved stone, a fact, but there were no facts about the terrorists and so they worried even her. But if she avoided the upper city she made no money.

Her regular approached. She hoped maybe he'd buy three again or maybe more. She'd bought cold medicine to keep in the house rather than be worried there was none if her mother fell ill again

"Terrible business, this terrorist threat." He said.

"Yes, but at least it's more of a threat than statues. It's not as silly for everyone to be worried about something real." She said in response.

"You think so? The terrorists might not even exist. It might have been just a hoax. But these statues really exist for sure."

"But they're just statues. It's still more sensible to worry when someone threatens to blow things up than worry about someone leaving some art all over the place." Aeris commented. the customer smiled.

"People have seen the statues themselves, either in photos or with their own eyes sometimes. They say the statues are all sitting in a police station until they figure out what they really are, but the terrorists, no one has seen them and no one knows where they are. They're like ghosts, but the statues are in a way more real."

"I hadn't thought of it like that." She admitted

"Perhaps not. But you're right. There's nothing to fear from the statues. They're just art like you say. Just a strange new graffiti that can be moved without cleaning the walls… And of course, we fear the unknown. What scares us about the statues is that we don't know where they came from. All I know is, they're something beautiful in a city that has been lacking beauty in recent times."

He picked up three grey roses again.

"Though of course, one merely needs to know where to look to find beauty. Your flowers also help my lady stay pleased and my lady is beautiful when she is happy." He said, handing over three Gil.

"Thank you." Aeris said as she took the coins.

"No, flowergirl, thank you for the flowers."

***

Two nights later again. Her mother had grown worried about the terrorist threat and the statues after the latest set found. A whole family, wife, husband, son and daughter, found frozen in stone. or so the papers would claim. Aeris knew the truth, they were just statues, but she didn't want to worry her mother.  So she had stayed in the slums instead of heading up to sell flowers, but eventually her mother relented and didn't object as she went up tonight.

The terror threat had come to nothing, but still there were few people on the streets. There was also a cold wind tonight, so she was in an alleyway, trying to get shelter and wishing she'd worn more than her white dress. Her shoulders felt like ice. That was another problem the way Midgar was built caused. The slums were strangely always warmer, the "rotting pizza" above helped trap heat from below, while the higher-up top city was colder because of altitude.

The regular approached. Aeris smiled as he did so.

"Good evening, flowergirl. I'm sorry to say this but these will be the last of your beautiful flowers I will have. My lady says she has enough beautiful things for now."

"Ooh. I see." Aeris said, not hiding her disappointment. She'd grown to like the customer. He might have seemed slightly eccentric at first but she felt he was a nice enough person.

"Yes, it's a shame. I shall miss you, but what my lady desires, I give to her."

"I understand. I hope she's enjoyed them so far."

"Oh, indeed." he said. and then, to Aeris surprise, he leaned in and kissed her. Just a quick peck on the lips, but she was surprised. Her hand flew up to her lips that had just been kissed...

... And froze. she couldn't move. She customer smiled.

"You see, every night your flowers give my lady something beautiful. But now the beautiful thing I give my lady, flowergirl, is you."

She didn't understand. She wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but she was frozen in place paralysed. She couldn't move an inch and couldn't close her eyes, open her mouth. She was starting to grow colder than she already was too.

"The grey roses you sell are a most interesting flower. The true name is Petra Rosa, also known as the stone rose. The petals contain a chemical that petrifies if concentrated and mixed with the right other chemicals. It's a very intriguing petrification, that few know about. Only one thing cures it: A soft with the chemical from the rose mixed in. A sort of 'Supersoft' that reverts all petrification to normal, or make real stone melt like ice in a fire. The same supersoft if swallowed makes you immune to all petrification for a day." He said. Aeris was feeling very nervous now. She felt even colder, stone cold.

"It doesn't hurt. normally I spray the chemical. just a quick spray in the face and it's virtually instant. But tonight I put a thin film of it on my lips after I made myself immune. The light kiss I gave you simply put a tiny amount on you. Enough to paralyse you and then slowly petrify you. I felt it only fair to let you know how helpful you were, and that you would be the last of the statues to be found. One of the most beautiful of the gifts I have given to the city. Gifts to my lady."

Aeris was confused now. She knew she should be angry but somehow she wasn't.

"There's also a slight hypnotic effect that will pacify you mentally like this. You'll be thinking by now you have no objections to this fate for you. After all, you will be a beautiful statue, and Midgar lacks beauty. What a fine service you have helped me do, to give my lady something beautiful for her and those who live here, something pretty to enjoy. And if ever I need to give more gifts, I need only use your flowers again. They survive well. hours after they're cut from the ground, all one needs to do is put them in soil and keep them watered. They grow new roots. My greenhouse will soon be filled with them.

Aeris could only agree with what he said. She would be a beautiful statue. The city lacked beauty. She had helped him do his lady a great service.

"Don't worry. You'll be found, and all your fellow statues will soon be on display. In three days time, I will take my first statues, a half dozen that I tested my craft on before I started selecting life subjects in the streets. With my first half dozen efforts, I will claim the rest of my art for my gallery. The police may be upset at my stunt causing alarm in the city, but the terrorist threat was a good time to end it. I shall open my gallery, and give the city something wonderful. When you are found, you will have pride of place. I'll fill your basket with your flowers every week. "

That sounded nice, she thought. Very nice.

"You won't know it. judging by how you look now, you'll be unconscious stone soon. That is how the petrification can't be reversed by soft or magic. One needs to be awake for that magical means of reverting it to work. But this is chemical only. Only chemical can revert it." He continued, then produced a mirror.

He held in front of her face. Her skin was darkened, almost grey now. She was becoming a wonderful statue, she thought. He put the mirror away and plucked all the grey roses from the basket, leaving the rest and Aeris behind as he walked away. Tomorrow, she would be found, a statue of a young woman with a slight look of surprise on her face. One hand would hold a basket of flowers, the other would be raised to her mouth, making her look more surprised. Three days later, she would be given to the customer, the police thinking he had carved her himself from stone rather than making her into it. After that, many would see her in his gallery. But only she and the customer who had bought the grey roses that had petrified her and many others knew the truth of where she and the rest of the gallery had came from. Only those two knew the last words he said before he left her in the alley.

"Thanks for the flowers".