Remember.

Disclaimer of Kingdom Hearts.

Inspired from Artificial Angel by Mitsukaii.

Influenced from Haunted by Evanescence.

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October 16th

Faithful friend

A sweet child

Never forget

The only words that were engraved upon the smooth stone--graphite, perhaps? Or even marble?--or the stone that appeared to be smooth, though they still had the chilling same effect as the mirrored engravings that endured forever. Sora's gaze lingered intently on the gravestone, believing that if he looked away she would be gone forever. It was ironic, though, in a way. As far as Sora knew, everyone he had met and who had known about his bond with Kairi had believed that the two would end up together, get married, have children and die together. Except Sora knew that this little fairytale life wouldn't really happen. They didn't get married or have kids, and they definitely didn't die together. Proving that asKairi was the one buried under six feet of earth and perhaps wood, and Sora was standingin front ofher grave.

However, Sora also knew something else. The fairytale without an ending didn't even have a beginning to start with. He and Kairi never were one. Despite the theory between the two, they had loved each other but they weren't in love with each other. They had been soully connected as expected, but they didn't really have a full connection. All that had went on between them was a lasting friendship and what was labelled as a childhood crush. He recalled how he had sketched Kairi's reflected self, while she had sketched his and after she had gone, and years after they had craved in their identites into the cave's walls, he had added in the extra detail; the paopu fruit that was shooting towards her, linking them. At the time, he and Riku had discussed the mystical fruit and how it had connected one person to the other, intertwining them for years to come.

He didn't try the fruit; after all, it wouldn't have changed the effect of what happened to their friendship. Not even the mystical fruit could prove their bond to grow closer; but then Kairi had died after days, weeks, months even years of becoming slower and more tired as each day passed by. And on the last day she was bedridden and in a critical condition. Her breathing was shallow, hoarse, and uneven. Her lungs grew tired of forcing her to live on, and to survive the illness she had mysteriously gained. Sora had been there on her last day, as she lay there before him weak and feeble like a ragdoll, a struggling child, fighting for her life.

She had choked another painful breath and then came the almost inaudible gasp that had changed their friendship forever. Sora had urgently counted, hoping for another breath after that silencing gasp, but it never came. And after that, she looked completely different from what she had looked ten minutes before. She was relaxed, accepting, cold and alone. Her hair, that used to shine a strange blend of crimson before her illness took hold, had dissolved into a faded colour of washed out mahogany and her eyes that used to glisten with an electrifying violet, which slowly had become more lifeless and the laughter was slowly dying behind her false smiles and laughs, had remained hidden, unseen under those eyelids that were never to flitter open again.

Still, she still looked completely different in comparison to how she had been a long time ago. Her smiles were genuine back then, and she was just so full of life, the same essence that had left her recent state, along with her current one. Sora had glanced again at the scraped in words upon the stone's surface, in a way reading into it, understanding it. Kairi had been a faithful friend to him, and to Riku, and to the others of Destiny Islands before the storm and in a way, she always will be, despite her absence from the world. For all he knew, she actually could have been a sweet child to her unknown parents, before she had washed up on the shore which she also had proved to be among the others in her quirky ways.

And he knew, along with everything else he knew about her life, and her death, that he will never forget her.

16th October

One year had passed since Kairi's departure and Sora had taken it upon himself to visit her at least five times a week, saying his hellos and trying to have a one-sided conversation with her, while subconsciously trying to imagine that she was still alive, in front of him, in front of the gravestone of someone else entirely. But that idea always faded from his mind as he kept noticing that it was still her name, no one else's, no matter how much he wanted to pretend it wasn't. He held a fresh bouquet of flowers in his clutch, knowing that by now the previous bouquet had probably decayed since he had last visited the graveyard.

He didn't bother wearing a tuxedo; he knew that Kairi wouldn't like him to dress in something he detested, and it would probably make her even more uncomfortable about the whole being dead thing, but that really matter, now did it? He sighed, knowing that it's going to be the same thing as it was yesterday, the same routine as ever, and looked back upwards facing the gravestones ahead of him, his spine tingling slightly as he passed by the many other gravestones that had belonged to others who had probably meant the same to other people as Kairi had meant to him. His focus had readjusted and his sight was on Kairi's grave at last.

Except it wasn't only Kairi's grave he had seen this time.

Namine was standing in front of the grave of her other half, her expression sad yet also unreadable and concentrated. Sora blinked and wondered to himself, why would Kairi's Nobody visit her grave? Why was Kairi's Nobody even there to visit her grave in the first place? There was a bitter silence, and Sora felt that Namine had known he was there the whole time. One word, "Namine," and the silence was broken, and the blonde Nobody turned to face him, her features not surprised by his appearance, as though she expected him to be there in the first place. She smiled sadly at him, and turned away, starting to wander off in the other direction.

"Wait, Namine." Sora's voice echoed in the Nobody turned around in response, after a few slow seconds of frosty silence. "Namine..." Sora called out again, his voice softer this time, as he approached the blonde Nobody who made no movements of fleeting again. He silently sighed to himself in relief as he caught up to her, finally just behind her. "Namine, what are you doing here?" he asked, cautiously, making sure not to offend her. Namine locked her empty blue eyes at him, almost unable to answer.

"She would have wanted you to know." She answered quietly, and stayed silent until she decided to speak again. "She would have wanted you to know that it hurts her, to see you like this. Your memories pain you, but why? She knows, but she won't say." Sora stared at her for a moment before hanging his head slightly, almost ashamed of what he had heard. "But... she said that she wouldn't want you to forget the good times you had. Your friendship meant a lot to her, and it still does. She wants you to remember that, and not her death."

Sora nodded slowly in understanding, and Namine smiled her saddened smile again before touching a pale hand onto his shoulder, startling the boy slightly. "Remember... never to forget." She whispered before letting go of him and turning away, walking away from him once more. But this time, Sora didn't follow. Instead, he looked back to his friend's grave and placed the flowers on the soil that had hidden his childhood friend that was really gone. He didn't realise it until now, but she really was dead. And even so, he had to move on, he had continue on living and just remember that she was still his friend and that she had lead a good life, but it had ended, and now was the time he had to accept that. He looked back to the grave and for the first time, even though it was saddened, smiled.

"Goodbye, Kairi."