DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything that has to do with Kingdom Hearts, the characters from KH, the locations from KH, etc. If I did, I wouldn't be working at Chick-fil-A for $7.25 an hour
My very first memory is of sand.
Cool sand. Wet sand. Sand stuck to my cheek and sprinkled in my hair. Sand I would find in my socks for days afterward. Sand I spit out of my mouth in disgust.
My second memory is of drawing myself up from the ground and glaring at a young boy, lanky and thin. Of seeing his smug grin and laughing eyes. His wooden sword held limply in his right hand and a chuckle freeing itself from his lips.
I rubbed grainy bits of earth out of my eyes with as much dignity as a defeated 5 year old could muster. Regained a grip on my two curved wooden weapons. Narrowed my eyes.
"Riku, you cheater!" I shouted, an accusing finger pointed in his direction.
The boy laughed lightheartedly, a hand on his hip. "Not my fault you can't spar," he teased.
"You're supposed to wait 5 seconds before we start! Those are the rules! You broke the rules!"
"No I didn't!" he defended, his voice rising. "You're just a sore loser," he teased again, sticking his tongue out.
A grumpy pout formed on my childish face and I stuck my tongue out at him, crossing my arms. "Sora's more fun that you. He actually plays by the rules. Like you're supposed to."
"Sora's an even bigger baby than you are," Riku grinned.
"OW," was the next thing he muttered, rubbing the side of his head and sending a glare my way. Somehow one of my wooden hook blades had slipped itself out of my hands, hurled itself through the air and struck him in the temple.
"Oops," I said smirking, not at all sheepish.
A grin formed on his face and he held out his arms. "I'm gonna get you for that!" he yelled playfully, dropping his sword onto the sand with a light thud.
I let out an excited squeal and began to run away, giggling, happy that another game had ensued. We spent the rest of the day like that, running around on the island, chasing each other and playing hide-and-seek. For a couple of 5 year olds, this was life at its best.
Little did we know that things wouldn't be like this for much longer.
It must have been two months after that when it happened
Riku, Sora and I had been running around the island, excited for our newfound freedom. Only recently had our parents allowed us to take our boats out unsupervised, and we were taking advantage of the opportunity. Riku had been allowed to leave our island home for a few weeks before Sora and I, and boy had we been jealous. "It's not fair, I'm more mah-toor than you are," Sora would pout, his brown spikes seeming to droop with his attitude
"I've never heard of a mature 4 year old before," Riku would tease back, grinning. "I'm 5, you're not a big kid until you're 5, and my mom said you have to be a big kid to go to the island."
Sora boasted for days after his own mother granted him permission only a week later, much to Riku's distaste and my amusement.
We spent a lot of time on the paopu tree's trunk, carving our initials into its sturdy branches and swinging on it like monkeys. Sora always had trouble getting up onto the tree on his own. He would swing one leg over onto the smooth trunk and immediately plop back onto the sand, frustrated, but never giving up until his hands and legs were bloody and scrapped from reaching for branches. Riku sometimes stayed on the ground with Sora so he wouldn't feel inadequate, but usually Riku preferred to taunt the brunet boy from above, sticking his tongue out and calling him a baby. This often led to Sora's annoyance, which then tended to lead to a sparring match between the two. Seven out of ten times, Riku would crush him. He was bigger, stronger, faster, and simply better with his sword.
I would sit on the trunk of the paopu, twisting my pale pink hair in between my fingers and laugh at the silly taunts they would throw at each other as they fought. Sometimes I would even join in on the sparring, twisting my wooden makeshift hook blades in my hands and ambushing them from above and behind, practically running them in circles. What I didn't have in brute force I made up for in stealth, wit and speed. As a child I was often ashamed of not being as strong as the boys; now that I'm older (and much stronger), I've come to appreciate my abilities, cherish them even.
It happened on one of those days: Sora and Riku sparred out of spite and competition. I joined for fun, defeating them with some difficulty, but defeating them nonetheless. I smirked. Sora pouted. Riku called me a baby, despite the fact I'd just run him into the ground. Everything had been normal as ever.
We were strolling on the beach, teasing each other. Riku yanked on a strand of hair that had come loose from my braid. I whacked him in the arm with my hook blade, narrowing my gray eyes at him. Sora giggled lightheartedly, his wooden sword hiked up on his shoulder.
We turned a corner. Stopped in our tracks. Cocked our heads in confusion. My mouth dropped open, eyes widening in amazement.
In front of us was a woman that none of us had ever seen. She was much older than us, thin and tall. Her straight blue hair fell at her shoulders and her large eyes showed wisdom and kindness. In her right hand she held a large oversized key, silver and blue in color. It seemed to have a faint sort of glow. A faint sort of…light.
At the sight of it, I was instantly drawn in. I dropped my hook blades and reached my hand out to it, taking it in both hands.
"Wow, look how cool it is!" I exclaimed, gripping the blade in my fingers.
Warmth rushed through me, a sort of happiness. It made me smile, it made me feel safe. It made me feel older somehow, wiser. The cold feel of the blade made me feel as though I belonged with it and I was comforted by the thought. I felt as though one day I'd see one of these keys again, hoped I would.
All of this happened in only a second; the blade was gently pried away from my childish, stubby fingers by the blue haired woman, a kind expression on her face.
"It's not polite to touch other people's things, sweetie," she said. Her voice was sweet and soothing, maybe a little deep. It was honey to my ears.
"Wow," I breathed, tearing my eyes away from the key and looking up at the woman, an ashamed expression on my face. "I'm sorry I touched your key. I didn't mean to be rude."
She smiled warmly and knelt down to my eye level. Pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Looked to Riku. To Sora. Back to me.
"You remind me of my friends and me," she said, resting her hands on her knees. "There's light here, in each of you. Protect each other. Friends do that for each other, you know."
We did nothing. We simply stared at her, transfixed.
"Don't let your friends fall into darkness," she continued. "There's a bond that cannot be broken between friends like you, friends of the light. Your paths have crossed; you're destined to be together no matter what happens in the future. Take care of each other. Let the light take you where it will and I know it will lead you back to each other."
"Yes," Riku said, his eyes set. He didn't seem as confused as Sora and I, almost as if he knew exactly what she meant. He was cool, collected. He understood better than us, I suppose.
She looked to him, an expression of understanding passing her face for a fleeting second. She opened her mouth to speak, halted, and then continued. "You understand because you have light in you," she hesitated slightly, pointing her long index finger to his heart. "My friend must have done that for you. You're very lucky to have met him."
Riku did nothing but stare back at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
The woman halted again before returning her gaze to me. "I'm Aqua," she smiled, her eyes brightening.
"I-I'm Akira," I stuttered, still awed by the blue haired woman's presence.
Aqua held her hand out to me, nodding her head as if prompting me to take it. Cautiously, I took a hold of it. A shimmering light emitted from our grip, faint but visible. Warmth rushed through my veins and I closed my wide eyes for a second in appreciation of the feeling.
Aqua released her grip from mine and my eyes opened to see her smiling face. "You need to protect your friend from the darkness," she said, her wise eyes flitting to Riku then back to me, pinned on my childish face. "I gave you something special. Use it wisely. Control it. I have faith in you."
I was puzzled, that's for sure. My hand still tingled with sensational warmth and I looked down at it, perplexed by what had just happened.
When I looked up again, Aqua was nowhere to be seen.
Later that night I couldn't eat my dinner. My childish mind was still reeling, trying to figure out who Aqua was, where she had come from, what she had given to me.
What had she given me?
I excused myself from the table, retreating to my room. I sat on my bed and concentrated on my hands, especially the one that had been in her grip. The only thing I focused on were my palms, my thin pink eyebrows furrowed against my pale skin.
Then. A flame licked itself up from my palm, reaching about four inches tall. I squealed quietly in shock, quickly clamping my other hand over my palm, my eyes widening and curiosity peaking.
As a 5 year old, I didn't know what I was, what I possessed, what that little flame had meant. Now, many years later, after discovering and perfecting each and every spell, I know exactly what Aqua had given me as a child.
The power of magic.
