"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."
The Sun Doesn't Shine
Randylin Piper
Chapter One
It was sad she had died. Somewhere inside of his heart, Sora wanted to believe that her sudden and agonizing disappearance had not been the result of her death. Maybe she was watching over him and Riku now, and she had been watching the two finally return to Destiny Islands? He remembered the feeling of happiness as he had frantically swam through the water towards Kairi, with Riku at his side. Yet he knew he could never forget what memories he was leaving behind. It had been worth it to find Riku, and save him from the darkness. And it had been worth it to meet her.
Standing at his window, Sora tried to call for her, as she had shown him in the past. 'When you need me, little youth, connect to me. With your mind..
'I will always come.'
He tried. The boy tried to call to her, speak in her mind. He could not feel anything in return, did not hear anything but silence. Sighing, he almost expected to hear her appear behind him, or see her running towards him as though she had come from nowhere. Five seconds passed. No, if she was alive, if she was coming, she would have been there by now. The empty response chilled Sora, nearly made him fall ill.
"I've been trying too." Sora jumped, his heart missing a beat. Looking around for someone, he found Riku standing below him. "Riku? How long have you been there?" he asked, looking down at the top of Riku's head. The older boy had his arms folded. "Since this morning, when the sun rose. I was waiting for you to open your window." Sora raised an eyebrow, "That's disturbing.." Riku only snickered, "Yeah, guess I'm your personal stalker. Although, I know you wish it was really someone else down here. You had been hoping."
Sora did not answer his comment. He didn't really know how. He did miss her, but Riku was closer to him, and he shared a longer history. Riku continued talking after the younger boy's pause. "Does she ever answer you?"
"No," Sora said softly, the breeze picking up his words and carrying them off, it seemed. Then he realized something. "I didn't know you could call to her too..?" Riku looked up at him, and then back down again.
"I can't. I just thought it was worth trying, but it's hard to know I'm doing it right when she never taught me." Sora was silent for awhile. They both were. Sora looked back into his room. His bed with black sheets was beside him, and it was a mess. His tan dresser was on the opposite side of the room, beside the door. He didn't feel like his life was worth living sometimes. He knew Riku was his friend for life. They were meant to be forever. But when Sora met her, he knew she was what completed the circle, was what made the little things in his life easier to appreciate.
"Sora! Come on!" Riku shouted from below his window. Awakening from his daze, Sora looked down at him in confusion. Riku was looking up at him, smiling and showing no sorrow. "Let's go. You need to get out of the house."
Nodding, Sora slammed his window shut. Leaving the house to greet his best friend outside, he tried to forget the pain. The emptiness that was once something he cherished. Something that was once full of protection and purpose. Him and Riku began walking down to the beach. Spending time with Riku would be good, he decided. As long as there were no heartless, no nobodies.
No reason for someone to sacrifice their own life, protecting someone else.