My eyes opened, trying to make out the sudden change of setting. I looked up and around, recognizing the sandy shore of the island I was standing on.
I looked out ahead of me, staring past the bright rays of sun, trying to shield my eyes with my left hand. When everything became clearer, I faced Riku, who was out there, his back to me, standing in the center of what looked to be a calm sea.
My eyes widened as I noticed a huge wave rising and speeding toward him. He slowly turned around to me and reached out his hand, gesturing for me to take it. It almost looked as if he were smiling.
Riku, are you crazy? my mind screamed. I immediately pushed my legs and ran as fast as I could, trying to get to him before the size-increasing wave. My eyes flashed from the wave to Riku still standing there with his arm outstretched.
Before I could get to him, the wave crashed onto both of us. I spun backwards as the current pushed me farther away from him. After I slowed down, I noticed I was still underwater and the surface didn't seem very close from what I could see.
I was still practicing my swimming, but the fact that I could drown wasn't as important as the fact that my best friend was still standing in front of me just as he was before the wave hit. How his feet were still planted on the ground while mine weren't was a complete mystery, but I ignored it while trying to reach his hand that was still waiting for me.
I reached with my left hand, then my right, but before I could get any closer to him, the current suddenly pushed against me with great force. I floated away while giving one last reach for him and everything went black.
My eyes slowly opened as the surface of the ocean came closer and closer. I could see a pink sky past the clear water.
How much time had gone by? The sun had just been shining its afternoon light on the island.
Then, I bursted through the ocean, gasping for air. The ocean was now entirely calm as I stood there looking for Riku.
"Sora!" a familiar voice called.
I looked over to the island and saw Kairi standing on the sandy shore, waving as she called my name again. Waving back, I pushed my way through the calm sea that almost felt like it was trying hold me back.
When I finally reached shore, I took a moment to pull myself together from the headrush I'd suddenly gotten by resting my hands on my knees and lowering my head for a second.
I lifted my head to find Kairi looking down at me and giggling. Smiling, I rose up almost laughing myself at her reaction. But then her eyes flickered from me to something else. I quickly turned and looked up.
Blue mysterious beams of light were falling from the sky. They were like shooting stars, but there were so many and they were shooting downward. I would've been suprised out of my mind, but there was something else...
Something that was falling along with the beams, but it wasn't glowing, and it was shaped differently...
As Kairi and I stared on, the figure came closer. I blinked once more with my mouth hanging open in awe, before something in my mind began to urge that something was wrong.
A wave of air blew past me as my eyes widened and my heart raced. The speeding blazes disappeared as I focused more on the approaching figure. Its features suddenly became clear...as I stared right on at myself.
The illusion of myself revealed my face, which was eyes closed, and totally deprived of consciousness.
I felt the ground beneath me slip away and gravity pulled me backwards. Everything became slow for the smallest moment as I slipped back and further away from Kairi.
She quickly looked down at me, suddenly aware that I wasn't by her side anymore and reached for me, her face full of panic. I reached back as I continued to plummet. Her image slowly faded away as it became part of the pink sky that I felt I was fading into.
I quit reaching, letting my body fall limp, and let my eyes close. It felt as if I shot past the sun after I felt its rays scan me from top to bottom and the air blowing all around me gave me chills again.
I...felt as if I was forgetting...
Was there something to remember...?
The girl...and the boy I'd seen earlier...What were their names...?
I heard and felt my body crashing into the ocean I remembered from earlier and it swallowed me into darkness.
...I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here...
Ahead lies something you need. But to claim it, you must lose something dear.