Riku asks if they want to explore with him, and it's the second biggest mistake he's ever made. He suggests that maybe they can row out past the island.
Sora thinks it exciting, because no one had ever rowed past the island before. He agrees and jumps up, ready to go.
But Kairi isn't so sure, because it's dangerous and what if they get lost? She is quickly reassured by her boys, because they'd never let anything happen to her, and if something did happen, they'd be there to help.
So the boys race for the door, but Kairi stops them before they can get to the dock. She points out that they might need food and fresh water before they set sail, so they stuff a basket full of treats. There's no more stalling to be done, so Kairi walks behind as they run eagerly to the boats.
Riku will lead with Kairi in the middle and Sora behind her just in case. Kairi still feels uneasy, but she packs the basket into the bottom of her boat anyway and tries to quell the fear inside of her that something is about to change. They began to row out and something in Kairi makes her want to cry, though she doesn't know what it is, because somehow she knew that nothing would ever be the same.
Riku has to pace himself, because his friends aren't quite as strong as he, and so he has the time to look around, and watch his home shrink into the distance. He feels powerful, and wonderful, and exhilarated, and he never ever wants that supremacy coursing through his veins to go away.
Sora thinks that Riku is a genius for suggesting this, and doesn't notice the way that Kairi is slouching in fear or the way that Riku's posture is straightening and there's some sort of preeminence that radiates around him. Sora is too busy thinking about now to notice the signs of the future. He isn't concerned with what will await them, or what they left behind, but is happening this second right now.
They row for a while, past their isle, and past nothing but water. Kairi is getting tired, though she'd never tell her boys, and her chest is constricting now. Riku is getting angry, though he'd never show it, because there is nothing there for him to explore, nothing out there that he hasn't seen. Sora is getting confused, though he tried to act otherwise, because he isn't sure if he's angry about there being nothing there, or tired, or afraid.
Kairi is exuberant when Riku yells over the waves and suggests that they head back. She thinks that maybe they dodged the danger, that maybe they cheated whatever destiny had in store for the trio. She sucks it up and rows faster because the sooner they get home, the sooner the feeling of impending doom inside of her would dissipate. But she knew now that she would never doubt her friends, nor would she ever go anywhere without them, because they always knew when to turn back.
Riku isn't happy about his decision, and something inside of him regrets it, but he doesn't reverse the resolution because now he knows the truth: this world holds nothing for him. The sea is vast, and endless, but it's also blank. The sky is the backdrop for the water and nothing else, just as the clouds move slowly but never really get anywhere because there's nowhere to get.
Sora wishes that they could go on, but he acknowledges that it's getting dark and that Kairi must be getting tired. He wanted to keep rowing on, but he knew that Kairi, unlike himself, was afraid of the future. Sora realized that Riku made the right decision and he doesn't think on it anymore because what's the point of that when it didn't happen?
Three days later Riku calls them to the three. Lets make a raft, he tells them, and try to go farther than we've ever been before. He thinks that maybe they can go to another world. Sora is excited, and Kairi wants to cry.
The darkness whispers to him, tells him that there are new worlds for him to explore, new things that he can discover, and Riku lets in into him, lets it into his heart. It's the biggest mistake he's ever made.
Sora is afraid now, because he can't reach far enough to take his friend's hand. But soon he grips a blade, a key, and the future seems brighter, even though he can't find Kairi, and Riku just disappeared. He isn't afraid of the future, and doesn't know how the past will haunt him.
And Kairi, heartless, and being-less, and tearless, can't cry.
0FIN0
Catalyst by Anna Nalick is the recommended listening here. Why am I telling you this after you've already read it? I don't know…
Pretty self-explanatory, and I've nothing to say for once! I should probably be working on the next chapter of Illusions, but whatever.
Reviews are appreciated/loved.