Ed smiles a bit too. "Guess it's my turn, then." He sighs, his eyes going a bit distant. "Well, my brother and I were born in a small farming village called Resembool. First couple of years of our lives, it was me, Al, and Mom and Dad. Then when I was two, Dad ran off somewhere, so it was just me, Al, and Mom. And for awhile it was fine. Our dad was an alchemist, and Al and I started going through his old books and teaching ourselves Alchemy. I was... six, maybe? Al was five.

"Then, one day, our mom collapsed while she was working on the farm. The doctor said..." he swallows a bit. "...He said she'd probably been sick for years, but never told anyone, and it was only a matter of time until she... she passed away. I was nine. Al and I... we didn't think we could make it without her. So... after the funeral, I made a really, really stupid decision."