A/N: Hey! This is my first ever Kingdom Hearts fic, so I would
appreciate if you didn't flame me too bad. If all goes well with this piece
of fiction, then I will write another one, maybe a sequel, we will see what
happens. It all depends on the amount of reviews and the comments made. For
all of you to know, this is a Sora/ Kairi fanfic, so if you don't like
don't read. I would appreciate if no flames were made based on the
coupling, just on the writing itself. Thanks!
Dreaming Of You
By: Faded Silence
He promised me.
A small smile plays upon my lips as I think about that moment, that moment that we said our good-bye. We were children then, just at the peak of fourteen years, but at that moment we were years older. It was in that darken place, beneath the world that we last saw one another. It was as if his heart had called me there or perhaps it was some mystic force that understood that at that moment he really needed me. What ever it was, it brought me to him, into the very depths of darkness known only as Kingdom Hearts. I can still see him; he was running toward me calling my name. Even now when I close my eyes I can still hear his voice, it keeps saying my name over and over, like a tape recorder frozen in time.
"Kairi!"
He was only inches apart from myself, but it seemed more like miles then inches to me. His brown hair was mattered and messed like it always was it was something I had always loved about him. I remember looking into his eyes, hues of sapphire so deep that seemed to swallow me whole, dragging me down in to the depths of him. It was a place I would not have minded going. It was in those depths of blue that I felt something, something that I had never felt in my entire life.
Love.
I felt the love, the passion that he held for me despite out young age. It was as if he had always known that he loved me and only now was I beginning to grasp the feelings and thoughts that he had held since the very first time we had met. My heart still pounds in my chest when ever I think back to the point, but with it comes a hint of sadness. The sadness of knowing that it had come too late, the realization of that love. All of this I knew, but I didn't cry, not even when he reached out and with a large gloved hand grabbed my own small, delicate hand. I could see the ring of keys that he held around his wrist, I knew the power that he possessed, but that didn't matter then. For a second it was as if he was just that boy I always known, who was my friend and comrade, who had been there through thick and thin. At that moment he was not the key bearer, his job to save the world and human kind. No, he was something else, something that was more powerful then any hero could ever be. He was himself.
He was Sora.
The smile fades from my lips, leaving behind only a frown in its place. My hand vibrates with warmth, but it is nothing more then phantom heat brought on by the images that flow through my mind like that of a never ending river. To me, Sora never needed a keyblade to be a hero; he was already one in my book. He had a heart, one that was always open to the light, a light that can never be extinguished. That was why he had been chosen to be the one, the one to fight the darkness. Even now, I can feel the light that he sheds, it burns in my heart strong and bright, burning like a flame of a star in the night sky. That day, he reached out to me and made a promise, the promise that he would come back. Come back to Destiny Islands.
That he would come back to me.
That was more then three years ago now. I'm no longer that fourteen year old girl, no longer some child that had to let go. I'm a woman of 17, older but still no wiser according to the others. They think I' am crazy, insane for waiting for him. They ask why I have faith in him, when he isn't coming back, that he can't come back. They say I' am foolish, that I should move on and forget about Sora, forget about the only person that every cared about me. They don't understand, they weren't there when I saw him that one last time, when he grabbed my hand like that and made that promise. They were there when he faded from my view, when a wall of blue made by the ocean flushed him from my gaze. None of them saw his face and those eyes, the way they looked at me, with so much love and caring. If any of them had seen what I saw that day, years ago they too would not have given up. They would all be up here with me, on this old wooden dock, looking out to the sunset and sea, hoping to catch sight of something.
To catch sight of him.
I have been coming here ever since that day he left. In part it is because of tradition, one I have since I began my life on this island, but there are other reasons as well. When we were young we used to all sit up here Riku, Sora and myself, all of us looking out there at the sea. The beautiful, deep sea with its soft foamy waves and cool waters, I close my eyes. I can feel the breeze on my face, the way it blows my hair and tickles my cheeks. My heart takes comfort in this small thing, this little bit of comfort provided by the sea. Sora loved the sea, as he did this island and as he did me. It pains me to think that he will never be here again, never get to see this sunset or the ocean with the cool sea breeze. That he will never get to see me.
Suddenly, I feel so alone.
The light that once filled my heart, giving me hope in the future and in him fades. What if he is truly gone or worse what if he is dead? My whole body feels weak with worry and I collapse to the dock, my knees falling upon the chipped wooden boards. He used to sit here, in this very spot with me and watch the sea. He used to talk about how he wanted to see the world and all it had to offer, to find new places and explore them. Nothing could ever tie Sora down; he was to strong with free will and a spirit for adventure that would never die. Not even I could ever stop him and strangely I had never wanted to. I guess I always believed he would be back here and then he would stay with me, after he was done with all his adventures, but I was wrong.
He isn't coming back to me.
The sudden realization brings tears to my eyes; they tumble down my cheeks and neck, draining into my shirt. The act makes me utter a gasp for crying is something I rarely do, I can barely remember the last time I let this much emotion show. It was in the cave, where we used to draw together. On one slab of rock he had added to a sketch of him and me, a small arm now reached out and handed me the star-shaped fruit. That fruit meant that our destines were intertwined, it was that symbol that had given hope for his return. I added to the picture then, drawing my own arm handing him the fruit as well, only at the moment did I break down and cry. The chalk fell from my hand sobs wracking my body. The cries echoed through the empty cave, a cave already filled with echoes made so long ago. Whenever I had needed courage I was only to think of that drawing for my faith to be restored, but this time it failed to work. If anything it made me feel worse, knowing that I would never be able to share my feelings with him, that he would never get to know how much I loved him.
"Kairi..."
That voice, I know that voice, it is a sound that has be resonating in my head ever since he left, calling my name over and over again. I look up, my purple hues widening and a gasp escapes past my pursed lips. Could it really be? No, it is impossible, he is gone, there is no way he can come back, the worlds are separated, but yet it looks like him. The boy that stood before me was no more then fourteen years old. He had spiky brown hair and eyes the colors of sapphire. They were eyes that I knew to well, eyes that had haunted my dreams and my deepest thoughts. They were Sora's eyes and they were looking at me.
"Kairi, are you ok? Here let me help you up. Did you fall?" A huge, silver- gloved hand reached down and grabbed my own, plucking me up from the dock. If it hadn't been for his hand, I probably would have collapsed again, but somehow I managed to stand and look him straight into the face. A face that I had waited to see for several years and only now got to really see for what it was.
"So-So-Sora... is that really you?" A shaking hand reaches out and gently touches his cheek, his skin smooth and warm beneath my fingertips. He blinked at me, his brows knitted in confusion at my question.
"Of course it's me, who else would it be? Kairi are you alright, you don't look too good." I could have only imagined what my face must have looked like at that moment for I had suddenly realized that my hands were not my own, but rather they were smaller, almost like the hands of a girl, a teenage girl. My purple hues looked down and for the second time that day I felt as if was going to faint. My body had changed, the plaid skirt with the white blouse was gone, leaving only a purple skirt and a thin strapped top in its' place. How could this have happened? I had thrown out that outfit years ago, having grown to tall for it, but yet here it was once more on my body and what about my hands? Could it possibly be that I had gone back in time? If I had would it necessarily be a bad thing? The more I pondered the situation, the more it didn't seem like it. If Sora was here, how bad could it be? This might be the chance to change things, to make a new start and this time I would not be alone.
I would have Sora by my side.
"Sora, you have no idea how long I have wait to tell this to you. Sora? Sora?" The blue eyed boy had turned away from me, his ocean colored orbs gazing out to sea and the breath taking sunset that had begun to unfold around us. His chocolate locks fell around his face, an expression of content upon his features, but I couldn't help feeling that there was a hint of sadness there as well. I didn't understand how could he be sad? We were together again, he had finally come home to me, isn't that what he always wanted? To be with me? I raised a shaking hand, placing it gently on his shoulder, the white material of his shirt ruff beneath my fingertips. He seemed so distant all of a sudden, physically he was here, but mentally I knew that he was millions of miles away, floating about in some land with his comrades, Donald and Goofy. It was a place I could never go no matter how much I wanted to, for Sora would never let me.
"Kairi, you were always with me, even in the darkest moments of my life. I could feel you there, giving me strength, helping to keep the light burning bright in my heart. Without you, I would never have been able to fight the darkness the way I did and close Kingdom Hearts." He turned to look at me, his brilliant sapphire hues gazing into my own violet ones, a look of love visible in their depths. So, he really did love me as I had thought? My fingers slid from his shoulder, coming to rest by my side, the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. It hadn't been my imagination thinking that he loved me, it was what he truly felt, but would he admit it?
"I want you to know that I will always be with you and when you feel like giving up think back to this moment and know, without a doubt that I will return to you. For my heart lies here within you and nothing, not even distance can change that, nothing." Sora, had taken my fallen hand and grasp it in his own and suddenly I was hit with a feeling of deja vu, like we had been here once before. Like before, I knew what was coming next and I didn't want it to be true, could he really be leaving again? My heart sank to my feet and knees felt weak, as if in any moment they would collapse beneath me. No, he wouldn't leave me, he couldn't leave me like this, not again, not after so long of being apart. Didn't he see what he was doing to me? Hurting me, killing me even as he finished speaking those words? Obviously not because his face remained the same, an expression of regret evident in his eyes, but the hurt there didn't comfort me. If anything it only caused me more pain, to realize that he wasn't lying and he wasn't joking. The guy of my dreams was leaving me once more and I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop him.
It was his destiny.
His hands were so warm and the feeling spread through my arms to the rest of my body, right down to my white sneakers. The fingers were tightly woven around my own delicate ones, squeezing them comfortingly all the while his blue eyes were looking into my own, silently reassuring me. Strangely, there were no tears and no words, just silence, perfect, absolute silence. Both of us were lost in each other, in a world that we had created ourselves. A place where there was no fighting and no long good-byes, there was only us and at this moment that was all that mattered.
Just being together now.
Slowly, he began to back away, his fingers slipping from my own and I fought to hold on to them. I wasn't ready to let go, not yet, not ever, but it was too late. I could see it in his eyes, those ocean hues that had always captivated me, that nothing could ever change this. He had to go, to save the world from the ever-coming darkness, to do what he always did, to protect them. To protect me and I couldn't convince him other wise. His fingers had pulled from my grasp, leaving only coldness to once again fall over me and he had turned, making his way along the beach. I watched his solitary figure, a small red dot among the yellow sand and green groves of trees. I wanted to run to him, grab him in my arms and hug him, but I couldn't do it. What if he pushed me away? The thought almost brought tears to my eyes, but I stood tall and bit my lip. I wouldn't think such stupid things; Sora would never do that to me. What I saw in his eyes was not a lie and if I didn't go now, I may never have another chance to prove my love to him.
It was now or never.
"Sora! Sora, wait!" I yelled, my feet picking up speed till I was running full out. I was running faster then I had ever run in my entire life and my eyes were on the prize that was still steps ahead. Please wait, I thought franticly, my long legs eating up the ground with ever step. Sweat dripped from my forehead and face, trailing down my neck. The clothes that I was wearing clung to my skin, locks of brown swaying gently against my cheeks now flushed a ruby color. Suddenly, my foot caught on a rock and I fell to the ground, my knees sinking into the soft sand. In a second I was back on my feet though, running at a full pace, both my shoes abandoned in my rush. The sand burned underneath my feet and I couldn't help but wince with every step, but it didn't matter to me. All that mattered was getting to Sora.
"Kairi? What are you doing?" He asked as I ran up, halting in such a manner that I sent droves of sand flying everywhere, landing on the tops of Sora's yellow sneakers. My hands fell to my knees for support and I gasped for air, my lungs burning worse then soles of my feet. He stared at me in confusion, drilling a hole into the top of my head, as I fought for my breath. A million thoughts ran through my head and it seemed like an eternity until I was finally able to stand straight, my eyes meeting his own.
"I want you to know I will never give up on you, I have faith in you Sora. I' am always with you, in your heart." I said gently, my voice shaking with nerves. I reached out and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his black vest. For a second, his body was tense with shock, but then I felt his arms curl themselves around my waist and hug me tightly to him. We both knew that we would not see one another for a long time and maybe forever, though neither one of us wanted to admit it.
"I have to go Kairi, but we will see each other again, I know it." He whispered in my ear, pulling away gently and then he did something I didn't think he could do. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek. His lips were soft on my skin and I felt a warm blush creep across my face, my body was suddenly vibrant with warmth. A warmth that I had never known, but some how loved all the same. I knew I would see him again, we would be together. I just had to have faith that he would come back to me, someday, someway.
"Good-bye Sora, I'll be waiting for you, right here, always." I said, my purple hues watched as he slowly backed up and then he began to fade, like he was nothing more then a mirage. His eyes continued to stare at me, never leaving my own until the very last moment when they disappeared along with the rest of him. To where I don't know, for suddenly the rest of the world was fading to. The trees with there leaves of green, the ocean, the sunset, all of it became nothing more then white. It was as if it had never been there in the first place.
That it had all been a dream.
My eyes opened, the world slowly coming into focus. The shapes of a wooden desk with a chair became visible as well as the sound of birds and most of all the waves crashing into the sandy shoreline. I groaned and sat up, my bones cracking with the movement. What had happened? In short images, almost like a slide show, the events of the previous night returned Sora's departure, the hug and finally the kiss on the cheek. With all these thoughts came a strange feeling of sadness and desire of which I could never have thought possible, I had wanted to see him so bad, but now wished I hadn't. If anything the dream had made his absence harder to bear and the memories more painful.
"I wish I hadn't dreamt of you at all." I muttered under my breath as I stood up from my nest of blankets, stretching my arms above my head causing more cracking noises to fill the air. With much reluctance I bent down, my hands moving to pull the light purple sheet and dark purple comforter up around the pillow, pulling it tight to smooth the wrinkles. It was something I did daily, the fixing of my bed then going down to a breakfast where a dish of fruit would await me, then a calming walk along the beach. Today I decided to skip the breakfast for my appetite seemed to have faded just as the dream had and go for the walk along the beach instead.
"It's so beautiful, the ocean." I said out lout to no one, my arms coming up to wrap themselves around me as if to reassure me that this was not a dream, but reality. A reality I didn't like, but all the same my reality. A sea breeze blew gently from the south, blowing my hair about my face, the dark brown locks soft against my skin. I had only been walking a few moments but already I was plagued by nostalgia so bad that it made my stomach churn. This beach, this ocean, they all reminded me of him, but for some reason I didn't feel sad. I felt something else.
I felt hope.
Hadn't I said I would be here, waiting for him always? I intended to keep my word to the blue eyed boy, but not because it was something I had to do, but because it was something I wanted to do. To me, Sora was worth waiting for, if I could spend moments like the ones in my dreams with him. I would wait a lifetime and more for him. I knew somewhere in my heart that he was the one for me and distance could and would never change that. For love was a powerful thing and nothing could break it.
"I'll be here Sora, I'll be here waiting." I whispered to the wind, my fingers reaching out toward the ocean were the waves were calm, lapping at the sand's edge gently. Just don't forget about me I added silently in my head. As if in response the breeze picked up, becoming a strong wind, sending teardrops falling cascading down my cheeks and strands of brown hair flying from my face. Somewhere, though I don't know how, I thought I heard a voice. It was barely audible above the sound of the waves and the heavy wind, but all the same I heard the words.
"I'll come back to you, I promise."
Suddenly, I felt the light that I had thought I had lost. It glowed in my heart that was rapidly beating in my chest.
"I know you will Sora, I know you will."
Dreaming Of You
By: Faded Silence
He promised me.
A small smile plays upon my lips as I think about that moment, that moment that we said our good-bye. We were children then, just at the peak of fourteen years, but at that moment we were years older. It was in that darken place, beneath the world that we last saw one another. It was as if his heart had called me there or perhaps it was some mystic force that understood that at that moment he really needed me. What ever it was, it brought me to him, into the very depths of darkness known only as Kingdom Hearts. I can still see him; he was running toward me calling my name. Even now when I close my eyes I can still hear his voice, it keeps saying my name over and over, like a tape recorder frozen in time.
"Kairi!"
He was only inches apart from myself, but it seemed more like miles then inches to me. His brown hair was mattered and messed like it always was it was something I had always loved about him. I remember looking into his eyes, hues of sapphire so deep that seemed to swallow me whole, dragging me down in to the depths of him. It was a place I would not have minded going. It was in those depths of blue that I felt something, something that I had never felt in my entire life.
Love.
I felt the love, the passion that he held for me despite out young age. It was as if he had always known that he loved me and only now was I beginning to grasp the feelings and thoughts that he had held since the very first time we had met. My heart still pounds in my chest when ever I think back to the point, but with it comes a hint of sadness. The sadness of knowing that it had come too late, the realization of that love. All of this I knew, but I didn't cry, not even when he reached out and with a large gloved hand grabbed my own small, delicate hand. I could see the ring of keys that he held around his wrist, I knew the power that he possessed, but that didn't matter then. For a second it was as if he was just that boy I always known, who was my friend and comrade, who had been there through thick and thin. At that moment he was not the key bearer, his job to save the world and human kind. No, he was something else, something that was more powerful then any hero could ever be. He was himself.
He was Sora.
The smile fades from my lips, leaving behind only a frown in its place. My hand vibrates with warmth, but it is nothing more then phantom heat brought on by the images that flow through my mind like that of a never ending river. To me, Sora never needed a keyblade to be a hero; he was already one in my book. He had a heart, one that was always open to the light, a light that can never be extinguished. That was why he had been chosen to be the one, the one to fight the darkness. Even now, I can feel the light that he sheds, it burns in my heart strong and bright, burning like a flame of a star in the night sky. That day, he reached out to me and made a promise, the promise that he would come back. Come back to Destiny Islands.
That he would come back to me.
That was more then three years ago now. I'm no longer that fourteen year old girl, no longer some child that had to let go. I'm a woman of 17, older but still no wiser according to the others. They think I' am crazy, insane for waiting for him. They ask why I have faith in him, when he isn't coming back, that he can't come back. They say I' am foolish, that I should move on and forget about Sora, forget about the only person that every cared about me. They don't understand, they weren't there when I saw him that one last time, when he grabbed my hand like that and made that promise. They were there when he faded from my view, when a wall of blue made by the ocean flushed him from my gaze. None of them saw his face and those eyes, the way they looked at me, with so much love and caring. If any of them had seen what I saw that day, years ago they too would not have given up. They would all be up here with me, on this old wooden dock, looking out to the sunset and sea, hoping to catch sight of something.
To catch sight of him.
I have been coming here ever since that day he left. In part it is because of tradition, one I have since I began my life on this island, but there are other reasons as well. When we were young we used to all sit up here Riku, Sora and myself, all of us looking out there at the sea. The beautiful, deep sea with its soft foamy waves and cool waters, I close my eyes. I can feel the breeze on my face, the way it blows my hair and tickles my cheeks. My heart takes comfort in this small thing, this little bit of comfort provided by the sea. Sora loved the sea, as he did this island and as he did me. It pains me to think that he will never be here again, never get to see this sunset or the ocean with the cool sea breeze. That he will never get to see me.
Suddenly, I feel so alone.
The light that once filled my heart, giving me hope in the future and in him fades. What if he is truly gone or worse what if he is dead? My whole body feels weak with worry and I collapse to the dock, my knees falling upon the chipped wooden boards. He used to sit here, in this very spot with me and watch the sea. He used to talk about how he wanted to see the world and all it had to offer, to find new places and explore them. Nothing could ever tie Sora down; he was to strong with free will and a spirit for adventure that would never die. Not even I could ever stop him and strangely I had never wanted to. I guess I always believed he would be back here and then he would stay with me, after he was done with all his adventures, but I was wrong.
He isn't coming back to me.
The sudden realization brings tears to my eyes; they tumble down my cheeks and neck, draining into my shirt. The act makes me utter a gasp for crying is something I rarely do, I can barely remember the last time I let this much emotion show. It was in the cave, where we used to draw together. On one slab of rock he had added to a sketch of him and me, a small arm now reached out and handed me the star-shaped fruit. That fruit meant that our destines were intertwined, it was that symbol that had given hope for his return. I added to the picture then, drawing my own arm handing him the fruit as well, only at the moment did I break down and cry. The chalk fell from my hand sobs wracking my body. The cries echoed through the empty cave, a cave already filled with echoes made so long ago. Whenever I had needed courage I was only to think of that drawing for my faith to be restored, but this time it failed to work. If anything it made me feel worse, knowing that I would never be able to share my feelings with him, that he would never get to know how much I loved him.
"Kairi..."
That voice, I know that voice, it is a sound that has be resonating in my head ever since he left, calling my name over and over again. I look up, my purple hues widening and a gasp escapes past my pursed lips. Could it really be? No, it is impossible, he is gone, there is no way he can come back, the worlds are separated, but yet it looks like him. The boy that stood before me was no more then fourteen years old. He had spiky brown hair and eyes the colors of sapphire. They were eyes that I knew to well, eyes that had haunted my dreams and my deepest thoughts. They were Sora's eyes and they were looking at me.
"Kairi, are you ok? Here let me help you up. Did you fall?" A huge, silver- gloved hand reached down and grabbed my own, plucking me up from the dock. If it hadn't been for his hand, I probably would have collapsed again, but somehow I managed to stand and look him straight into the face. A face that I had waited to see for several years and only now got to really see for what it was.
"So-So-Sora... is that really you?" A shaking hand reaches out and gently touches his cheek, his skin smooth and warm beneath my fingertips. He blinked at me, his brows knitted in confusion at my question.
"Of course it's me, who else would it be? Kairi are you alright, you don't look too good." I could have only imagined what my face must have looked like at that moment for I had suddenly realized that my hands were not my own, but rather they were smaller, almost like the hands of a girl, a teenage girl. My purple hues looked down and for the second time that day I felt as if was going to faint. My body had changed, the plaid skirt with the white blouse was gone, leaving only a purple skirt and a thin strapped top in its' place. How could this have happened? I had thrown out that outfit years ago, having grown to tall for it, but yet here it was once more on my body and what about my hands? Could it possibly be that I had gone back in time? If I had would it necessarily be a bad thing? The more I pondered the situation, the more it didn't seem like it. If Sora was here, how bad could it be? This might be the chance to change things, to make a new start and this time I would not be alone.
I would have Sora by my side.
"Sora, you have no idea how long I have wait to tell this to you. Sora? Sora?" The blue eyed boy had turned away from me, his ocean colored orbs gazing out to sea and the breath taking sunset that had begun to unfold around us. His chocolate locks fell around his face, an expression of content upon his features, but I couldn't help feeling that there was a hint of sadness there as well. I didn't understand how could he be sad? We were together again, he had finally come home to me, isn't that what he always wanted? To be with me? I raised a shaking hand, placing it gently on his shoulder, the white material of his shirt ruff beneath my fingertips. He seemed so distant all of a sudden, physically he was here, but mentally I knew that he was millions of miles away, floating about in some land with his comrades, Donald and Goofy. It was a place I could never go no matter how much I wanted to, for Sora would never let me.
"Kairi, you were always with me, even in the darkest moments of my life. I could feel you there, giving me strength, helping to keep the light burning bright in my heart. Without you, I would never have been able to fight the darkness the way I did and close Kingdom Hearts." He turned to look at me, his brilliant sapphire hues gazing into my own violet ones, a look of love visible in their depths. So, he really did love me as I had thought? My fingers slid from his shoulder, coming to rest by my side, the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. It hadn't been my imagination thinking that he loved me, it was what he truly felt, but would he admit it?
"I want you to know that I will always be with you and when you feel like giving up think back to this moment and know, without a doubt that I will return to you. For my heart lies here within you and nothing, not even distance can change that, nothing." Sora, had taken my fallen hand and grasp it in his own and suddenly I was hit with a feeling of deja vu, like we had been here once before. Like before, I knew what was coming next and I didn't want it to be true, could he really be leaving again? My heart sank to my feet and knees felt weak, as if in any moment they would collapse beneath me. No, he wouldn't leave me, he couldn't leave me like this, not again, not after so long of being apart. Didn't he see what he was doing to me? Hurting me, killing me even as he finished speaking those words? Obviously not because his face remained the same, an expression of regret evident in his eyes, but the hurt there didn't comfort me. If anything it only caused me more pain, to realize that he wasn't lying and he wasn't joking. The guy of my dreams was leaving me once more and I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop him.
It was his destiny.
His hands were so warm and the feeling spread through my arms to the rest of my body, right down to my white sneakers. The fingers were tightly woven around my own delicate ones, squeezing them comfortingly all the while his blue eyes were looking into my own, silently reassuring me. Strangely, there were no tears and no words, just silence, perfect, absolute silence. Both of us were lost in each other, in a world that we had created ourselves. A place where there was no fighting and no long good-byes, there was only us and at this moment that was all that mattered.
Just being together now.
Slowly, he began to back away, his fingers slipping from my own and I fought to hold on to them. I wasn't ready to let go, not yet, not ever, but it was too late. I could see it in his eyes, those ocean hues that had always captivated me, that nothing could ever change this. He had to go, to save the world from the ever-coming darkness, to do what he always did, to protect them. To protect me and I couldn't convince him other wise. His fingers had pulled from my grasp, leaving only coldness to once again fall over me and he had turned, making his way along the beach. I watched his solitary figure, a small red dot among the yellow sand and green groves of trees. I wanted to run to him, grab him in my arms and hug him, but I couldn't do it. What if he pushed me away? The thought almost brought tears to my eyes, but I stood tall and bit my lip. I wouldn't think such stupid things; Sora would never do that to me. What I saw in his eyes was not a lie and if I didn't go now, I may never have another chance to prove my love to him.
It was now or never.
"Sora! Sora, wait!" I yelled, my feet picking up speed till I was running full out. I was running faster then I had ever run in my entire life and my eyes were on the prize that was still steps ahead. Please wait, I thought franticly, my long legs eating up the ground with ever step. Sweat dripped from my forehead and face, trailing down my neck. The clothes that I was wearing clung to my skin, locks of brown swaying gently against my cheeks now flushed a ruby color. Suddenly, my foot caught on a rock and I fell to the ground, my knees sinking into the soft sand. In a second I was back on my feet though, running at a full pace, both my shoes abandoned in my rush. The sand burned underneath my feet and I couldn't help but wince with every step, but it didn't matter to me. All that mattered was getting to Sora.
"Kairi? What are you doing?" He asked as I ran up, halting in such a manner that I sent droves of sand flying everywhere, landing on the tops of Sora's yellow sneakers. My hands fell to my knees for support and I gasped for air, my lungs burning worse then soles of my feet. He stared at me in confusion, drilling a hole into the top of my head, as I fought for my breath. A million thoughts ran through my head and it seemed like an eternity until I was finally able to stand straight, my eyes meeting his own.
"I want you to know I will never give up on you, I have faith in you Sora. I' am always with you, in your heart." I said gently, my voice shaking with nerves. I reached out and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his black vest. For a second, his body was tense with shock, but then I felt his arms curl themselves around my waist and hug me tightly to him. We both knew that we would not see one another for a long time and maybe forever, though neither one of us wanted to admit it.
"I have to go Kairi, but we will see each other again, I know it." He whispered in my ear, pulling away gently and then he did something I didn't think he could do. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek. His lips were soft on my skin and I felt a warm blush creep across my face, my body was suddenly vibrant with warmth. A warmth that I had never known, but some how loved all the same. I knew I would see him again, we would be together. I just had to have faith that he would come back to me, someday, someway.
"Good-bye Sora, I'll be waiting for you, right here, always." I said, my purple hues watched as he slowly backed up and then he began to fade, like he was nothing more then a mirage. His eyes continued to stare at me, never leaving my own until the very last moment when they disappeared along with the rest of him. To where I don't know, for suddenly the rest of the world was fading to. The trees with there leaves of green, the ocean, the sunset, all of it became nothing more then white. It was as if it had never been there in the first place.
That it had all been a dream.
My eyes opened, the world slowly coming into focus. The shapes of a wooden desk with a chair became visible as well as the sound of birds and most of all the waves crashing into the sandy shoreline. I groaned and sat up, my bones cracking with the movement. What had happened? In short images, almost like a slide show, the events of the previous night returned Sora's departure, the hug and finally the kiss on the cheek. With all these thoughts came a strange feeling of sadness and desire of which I could never have thought possible, I had wanted to see him so bad, but now wished I hadn't. If anything the dream had made his absence harder to bear and the memories more painful.
"I wish I hadn't dreamt of you at all." I muttered under my breath as I stood up from my nest of blankets, stretching my arms above my head causing more cracking noises to fill the air. With much reluctance I bent down, my hands moving to pull the light purple sheet and dark purple comforter up around the pillow, pulling it tight to smooth the wrinkles. It was something I did daily, the fixing of my bed then going down to a breakfast where a dish of fruit would await me, then a calming walk along the beach. Today I decided to skip the breakfast for my appetite seemed to have faded just as the dream had and go for the walk along the beach instead.
"It's so beautiful, the ocean." I said out lout to no one, my arms coming up to wrap themselves around me as if to reassure me that this was not a dream, but reality. A reality I didn't like, but all the same my reality. A sea breeze blew gently from the south, blowing my hair about my face, the dark brown locks soft against my skin. I had only been walking a few moments but already I was plagued by nostalgia so bad that it made my stomach churn. This beach, this ocean, they all reminded me of him, but for some reason I didn't feel sad. I felt something else.
I felt hope.
Hadn't I said I would be here, waiting for him always? I intended to keep my word to the blue eyed boy, but not because it was something I had to do, but because it was something I wanted to do. To me, Sora was worth waiting for, if I could spend moments like the ones in my dreams with him. I would wait a lifetime and more for him. I knew somewhere in my heart that he was the one for me and distance could and would never change that. For love was a powerful thing and nothing could break it.
"I'll be here Sora, I'll be here waiting." I whispered to the wind, my fingers reaching out toward the ocean were the waves were calm, lapping at the sand's edge gently. Just don't forget about me I added silently in my head. As if in response the breeze picked up, becoming a strong wind, sending teardrops falling cascading down my cheeks and strands of brown hair flying from my face. Somewhere, though I don't know how, I thought I heard a voice. It was barely audible above the sound of the waves and the heavy wind, but all the same I heard the words.
"I'll come back to you, I promise."
Suddenly, I felt the light that I had thought I had lost. It glowed in my heart that was rapidly beating in my chest.
"I know you will Sora, I know you will."