A Monster Took My Cookies
By OnyxDragon93
"Hey Riku, my Mom baked me some cookies and I forgot where I put them!" Four-year-old Sora cried disappointedly. "Help me!"
"Oohhh…well, I did see you this morning holding a bag of them," His best friend, Riku, said. "Maybe you put it down somewhere while we were playing."
Sora scratched his head. "But where? I've looked for it in the beachfront, but they're gone! It's the only place I went to a while ago."
Riku gasped. "Oh no, Sora…"
"Huh?" The little brunette asked. "Why, what could've happened?"
"Have you heard of the monster in Destiny Islands that loves taking the kids' stuff?"
"So…you mean the monster took my cookies? No way!"
Riku nodded. "Let's check it out!"
"Wh-what? Wait, Riku. You know you can always bake another batch, he-he. Right?" Sora said nervously. "Besides, it's almost lunch, so…"
"Nah. Are you scared?" Riku sneered.
Sora's blue eyes widened. "Um, of course not! I can meet that monster anytime!" Then, he gulped.
"Okay, then! We'll find that monster and your cookies. Grab your sword, Sora. And we're going on a monster hunt." The silver-haired boy raised his toy sword with pride. "C'mon!"
Sora hesitantly grabbed his sword. "R-riku, what if we get lost?"
"Don't worry; just stay close."
"But what if—?" The tentative Sora was cut as Riku started to drag him along.
And so they started their journey to retrieve the cookies.
While walking, Sora stomped twice on the footprints he left on the shores. He made sure that if in case they get lost, someone could find them by following their tracks. He clutched his wooden sword tight, breathing in heavily as Riku showed him the cave where the monster resided.
"It looks…dark," the brunette said, teeth chattering nervously.
"Yeah, but it adds to the adventure, doesn't it?" the silver boy asked eagerly. "Let's go in now."
"Why don't you go first? Eehh…I need a little more time."
"Oh, come on, enough with that." Riku rolled his eyes. Then, the friends ran into the cave.
The entrance of the cave was now too far behind from them. Both of the little boys knew they couldn't just run away in case the monster finds them, so they stayed close to one other as much as possible. The trail became darker every second, and Sora started shivering again.
"I told you we should have brought a candle!" Sora pouted. "I almost c-can't even s-see my own hand! The m-monster may grab me from the c-corner!"
"Hmmm, yeah…but we're brave. We can go through this cave without light."
"Eeeekkk!" They heard a teensy voice coming from the inner area of the cavern. It echoed through the place, followed by faint barking sounds.
"Th-the monster!" Sora took a step backward.
"No, someone must be in trouble!" Riku ran towards the sound.
"Wait for me!"
The sound became louder as they ran further in. But because it was very dark, they couldn't tell who or what was making it. They hoped, though, that it wouldn't jump on them from behind and eat them.
"Where are we now?" Sora asked.
"I don't know. I can't see a thing…," Riku replied.
They continued walking…
…and walking…
…and walking…
Until…
"Eeeekk! Aaahh!"
"There it is again!" Riku called. "And now I can hear it clearly."
"Hey, yeah!" Sora cried.
The boys scanned the area by walking…step by step. They held their swords tight.
Suddenly…
"OUCH! Riku, why did you step on me?"
"What are you talking about? I don't think I'm even near you!"
"Oh. Okay…"
"Hey, ouch! Sora, I told you! It's not me!"
"It's not me, either!"
They heard a chuckle from behind them.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Riku and Sora screamed in surprise.
A small ray that came from a flashlight lit up the place.
"Boo!" a little girl with short, red hair stood beside them. She looked about the same age as them.
"Whoa. Who are you?" Sora asked, eyes glinting.
"He-he, I'm Kairi," she introduced herself. "And you?"
"Umm, I'm Sora."
"And my name's Riku."
"Nice to meet you!" The little boys said together.
"What are you doing here?" The silver-haired asked.
Kairi smiled. "I was looking for something," she said, biting on a cookie and holding her flashlight up. A small paper bag hung from her wrist. "Want some?" she offered the boys.
"Are those…my cookies?" Sora stared in awe.
"Oh! Really? Well, my dog just found them lying around the beach this morning…I'm sorry, I should've asked you first…sorry." She blushed.
"It's fine…at least we know there is no monster." The brunette's face lit up.
"We're still not sure. Kairi, have you seen a monster around here?" Riku asked.
"Hmmm…I've heard of the monster! Does it live here? I actually just followed my dog here, and now I couldn't find her." Kairi sighed. "Now the flashlight keeps turning on and off. The battery's going to be dead soon…"
"We'll help you find your dog!" Sora said.
"Yeah! Don't worry. If the monster attacks us, we could defend you!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Oh, thank you so much!" Kairi was overjoyed.
After a few minutes, they found Kairi's dog and started finding their way out of the cave.
"So far, so good…," Riku whispered.
"No monster yet…," Sora replied.
The redhead's flashlight was already flickering.
Suddenly, they heard a louder, deeper howling sound.
The three children eyed each other. "RUN!" And so they did.
They sat along the beachfront, laughing together, while Sora was mumbling about what they did. "And, and then…Riku walked in and 'BAM!' we thought that was the monster! We tried to go back but it was already so dark, and then…"
"Hey Sora!" Kairi called. "I'm sorry for taking the cookies. Here you go." Kairi handed the bag to Sora.
"Huh? Oh, it's completely fine, Kairi!" Sora smiled.
"In fact, if you hadn't, we wouldn't have met you, right?" Riku said. "And now we have a new friend!"
"I'm your friend now? Awww, thank you! I'm still new here…I haven't met anyone yet. You see, my father is the mayor and he—"
"You're the mayor's daughter? You mean, you're from another town? Tell us about it!" The boys gasped.
Then, they all continued laughing as the sun shone on them from the noon sky. They laid on the warm sand, while taking in the fresh sea air. Kairi's dog huddled between the three of them and barked happily, licking Riku and Sora on their cheeks.
It was the moment when a mutual dream was born within their hearts.