"…These thoughts and actions miles above reality…"
The day was bright, the water was warm, and the breeze was comforting at Destiny Islands. A very pleasant summer day.
Sora was loving it, running through the cool sand, along with Riku and Tidus his friends.
The sixteen year old tripped on his own feet, falling face first into the sand while his two friends laughed at his clumsiness.
"Sora, you alright?" Riku asked.
The brunette shook his head to attempt to lose the sand in his hair, "I'll get back to you on that, Riku."
"You got face-flat with the sand! It was hilarious!" Tidus said holding his gut with laughter.
"You know what else is funny?" Sora asked, grabbing a handful of sand.
"What's that?"
Throwing the sand at Tidus' chest, Sora laughed as Tidus screamed and fell backward and fell on his butt, "You suffering the same fate!" He took off running with a smile towards the docks.
"Hey!" Tidus yelled as he ran after him, Riku close behind.
Once on the dock, Sora stopped to catch his breath, surrendering to Tidus before he could get revenge. Although Tidus wanted a bit of payback, Riku made sure they stopped tormenting each other. Sora and the others sat down at the dock's edge, looking out into the water.
"So, what do you guys want to do now?"
Sora looked at Tidus, he was bored as well, but he didn't have much in mind. "Well, the summer just started, so we have a lot of time to think about it—"
"But with your slow mind it will take all summer to think of a way to have fun," Riku joked.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Sora replied sarcastically. He ran a hand through his hair, and then spoke, "Hey guys, you have any odd dreams last night?"
Both boys looked at Sora, shaking their heads in compliance.
"Oh, well, I had a dream last night."
Riku sat next to him, "A bad dream? Was it about, say…ugly pink trolls that eat little boys?"
Tidus broke out laughing, Sora punched him in the shoulder, the blond crying out a bit.
"No…it was about…"
Tidus put a hand on Sora's shoulder, "All seriousness, what was it?"
"A mermaid."
Riku was caught off guard, "I do not know how to respond to that…"
Tidus nodded, "Well, let me ask you this—" Putting his arm around Sora's shoulders, Tidus whispered into his ear, "Was she cute?"
At the moment he finished, Riku bopped him upside the head for being insensitive, "Tidus, I know mermaid lore, they aren't always friendly…or cute for that matter."
"Aw man, I've read books too! I heard they're a sign of good luck—"
"And if you happen to kiss a mermaid you and her are destined to be together for eternity."
The boys look behind them, and saw Selphie standing there, hands behind her back and looking all-cute, "Why are you guys talking about mermaids?"
Tidus spoke first, "Sora had a dream last night about a mermaid, and Riku is being a big jerk about it."
Riku put his hands in his pockets of his jeans, "Correction, I was stating facts. Sailors are weary of them, they avoid them."
Selphie took a step forward, "those are old tales, mermaids are extremely docile and pretty, the things you may know may not even be true."
Tidus scoffed, "And what about your comment about if you kiss a mermaid? That sounds like one of those things that you read in those romance books you're so fond of, Selphie."
Selphie stomped, "Oh, I can tell you more, if you want to listen."
Riku and Tidus looked at each other and made faces of disgust, "No thanks, I'm outta here!" Tidus jumped off the dock and into the shallow water, while Riku ran away towards the shack, while Selphie yelled at them in words Sora could not say.
Selphie went and sat next to Sora, "Mind telling me about the dream Sora?"
Looking at Selphie, Sora nodded. He trusted Selphie just a bit more than the guys when it came to personal stuff. She never made fun of him for it either.
Sora began, "Remember that storm a few days ago?"
Selphie nodded, "Where we found you on the beach barely alive? That was scary, Sora, we thought you were dead."
"Well, you ever wonder how I got on shore?"
"We all assumed the tide washed you ashore…wait…you mean to tell me you think a mermaid—"
"Saved my life? Yeah."
Selphie looked as if she had heard the most outrageous story ever, but instead of laughing, she smiled, "Sora, you probably had a hallucination."
Sora shook his head, "No, no, no…I remember her very clearly. She had…sapphire blue eyes, eyes that I could see clearly in the watery depths. Along with long red hair with seashells decorating it. Her tail…pinkish red and shinning like glitter…"
Selphie patted him on the back, "It was just a dream, Sora."
Sora shook his head, but didn't reply, Selphie would not be persuaded no matter how hard he tried. But that didn't mean he had given up on proving everyone wrong. He was determined to get proof, and to, hopefully, thank her for saving his life.
He would start tonight, after the sun went down.
After everyone went to sleep, Sora got dressed in a simple white t-shirt and red shorts before he quietly climbed out of his window and made his way back to the island. The night was silent, even the waves were quiet as Sora rowed his little boat to the dock. Making his way to the beach, the boy scanned the ocean.
He didn't expect to see her right away, but Sora knew she was out there, she had to be.
Nearly an hour later, Sora was tired. He had gone all around the island, to the docks, to the cove full of coconut trees, and his result was the same. Nothing. He couldn't find her.
Shrugging his shoulders, Sora was just about to give up when he remembered a certain spot he had not checked yet.
Paopu Islet, where the Paopu tree was. While the islet was too far up from the sea to be accessed by anyone in the water, there was a small stretch of beach on the far side of the islet. It was a long shot, but it was the only spot he had not looked yet.
Taking off for the islet, Sora got there very quickly, and climbed down the small ladder to the little beach. Beach was not the correct word, the stretch is only about eight feet long and two feet wide. Yet, this piece of sand dropped right off into a deeper part of the reef, at least ten feet deeper than the shallower water near the docks. If she were to go anywhere, this would be the place. Sora sat down and waited, feet barely touching the water, and he laid back onto the sand after awhile.
Even though he was sure of himself, doubt tried to seep its way into his mind.
"What if she was a dream? Then…no, it was too real to be a dream…she had to be real. I'm sure of it."
He closed his eyes, starting to be weary of his late night stroll, and yawned. Sitting back up, Sora opened his eyes, and rubbed them of sleep. He had to have dozed off, since the moon was in a different position than when he closed his eyes before. "I'll just come back tomorrow—"
A sight that simply amazed him cut him off.
Bare shoulders sparkling with glitter just above the water's surface, long red hair decorated by various forms of small shells, and sapphire blue eyes shinning as bright as the moonlight looking right at Sora's eyes.
Either too stunned by what he was looking at or happy by whom he was seeing, Sora found himself unable to speak. He slowly leaned forward, but the mermaid continually backed away as he got closer.
Afraid she was going to flee from him, Sora quickly found a response, "Wait…"
Not knowing if she could understand him, Sora waited, and she didn't move. Alright, so she can understand me…that's a start…
"Are you…the one who saved my life? You know, in the storm a few days ago?" Sora asked this just to make sure she was the one, he didn't know if there were more like her.
The mermaid didn't do anything by blink a few times.
Sora looked away, feeling a bit disappointed—
"You're the boy…?"
Looking back, Sora's eyes went wide with surprise, "You can talk?"
She nodded, "Yes."
"Well…yeah, I'm the boy…" He scratched the back of his head while he looked at her face. She didn't look any older than he was, but then again, mermaids may age differently, but that was beside the point.
"You almost drowned," she said, and Sora noticed her tail lightly splashing the water.
"And I wanted to say thank you for saving me," Sora quickly said, not wanted to troll on while this mystical girl was looking at him.
The mermaid smiled, "You're welcome."
"Say…do you have a name?"
Moving some of her hair behind her right ear, she replied, "Kairi…"
Smiling, Sora replied, "I'm Sora."
This is just too surreal… Sora's mind was about to burst. He was meeting the girl…no, mermaid that had saved his life days ago, and she was the cutest girl he had ever met as well! No way this was a dream!
Kairi turned her head to the water behind her, like something had her attention, and Sora asked, "Something wrong?"
She turned back to him, "I'm not supposed to be on the surface. It is forbidden where I come from. I must go."
She started to push herself away from the sand, and Sora asked, "Will we be able to talk again?"
Kairi looked as if she had thought for a second, "We can both hope we will again."
Before Sora could reply, Kairi dived under the water. He leaned over the water's edge and Sora said, "Kairi! Please tell me! This is not a dream right! Give me a sign that it isn't!"
He waited a few seconds, but just as he was about to give up, he heard the water part under him, and when he looked down, he saw Kairi coming up, and before he could even reply, Kairi had put her hands on both sides of his face, and kissed him on the lips.
While it lasted more than a few seconds, to Sora it didn't last long enough, the kiss was soft as Kairi's lips were, and as overcome with shock as he was, Sora enjoyed what he got.
Once she finished her deed, Kairi let Sora go, smiling, "Trust me, it's not a dream."
He only blinked before he heard Kairi giggle, possibly at his reaction, before she dived back into the water.
When he regained himself, Sora put a hand to his cheek, feeling the heat form there, and smiled, "No way that was a dream…it was more like heaven…"