Imbalance by Nsu-Yeul
Chapter Three: White
Riku had disappeared, leaving no trace but the tangled blankets. Still in the same shorts and tee, I grabbed my flip-flops and headed out the bedroom door. Heavy footfalls down the stairway drew my parents' attention from below.
"Sora!" my mom shouted from the kitchen. "You're finally awake?"
On my way into the kitchen, I glanced at a clock on the wall: nearly ten in the morning. Turning a corner, I rushed through the kitchen doorframe. My father sat at the table, nose bent toward a magazine of some kind. A cup of coffee steamed near his right hand. Toast popped up from the toaster, just in front of my mother. A stream of golden sunlight bounced off the yellow wallpaper. Everything seemed perfect, natural—as it should be. But someone was still missing.
"Have you seen…" I stopped, remembering that my parents hadn't seen Riku come in the previous night. They would want an explanation for his midnight appearance. Questions might come up that shouldn't be answered. Neither of them knew about the war against darkness, or even the near-death of the islands. I returned home and all had returned to normal. Except for Riku's parents and their unexplained disappearance.
"Seen what? I just finished a load of laundry, so maybe what you're looking for is in the dryer." My mom distractedly piled the toast on a plate before handing it to me. Riku had obviously never entered her line of sight this morning. "Butter and jam are on the table. If you want more, there are still some boiled eggs in the fridge."
"Thanks." So as not to seem suspicious, I took a seat at the table and hastily spread some jam with a butter-knife. My father asked me how I'd slept, to which I plainly lied. I needed to escape, to run out and see if Riku had made it out of my room, or if something more sinister had stolen him away.
Having defeated the darkness, one would think I'd be able to live freely. However, as the spring days grew longer, an irksome anticipation also grew somewhere deep within me. Darkness continued to exist, somewhere in the worlds. Under the sun's glow, shadows were born, extending into twisted forms. Who was I to believe that a blackened mind would never come around to harvest the darkness once again?
After all, the darkness still festered in Riku's heart.
The toast scratched my dry throat, but I didn't have time to wash it down with any water. My chair scraped against the floor as I quickly took leave from the room. My parents were unfazed, used to my unexplained goings-on.
Just to be sure that there would be no questions asked, I shouted my departure, "Going to the beach with Riku and Kairi. I'll see you two when you're back from work." The front door slammed behind me.
Sudden exposure to the sun slashed at my eyes like a paper cut on thin skin. A few seconds later, my pupils adjusted, taking in the clear blue sky, vast and cloudless like the ocean. I walked down the driveway, in case my parents could see me from a window, but once I was out of sight, my stride switched to a jog. If I could find the tracks of Riku's motorbike, then I would know whether or not he'd taken off without notice.
Maybe he hadn't wanted to wake me. Maybe he'd slipped out before my parents had risen from bed. Maybe he didn't realize how much I worried about him.
Off the road, on the sandy dirt, I discovered a motorbike track. With hope blossoming in my chest, I followed it. When the tracks turned a curve toward the cliffs, my hopes began to dwindle. Even Riku wouldn't be able to drive through that kind of terrain. Still, I continued forward, wishing only to find him.
As I reached the top of a hill, from which I could see an entrance to the cliffs, I paused to take in the surroundings. To my surprise, Riku stood only a few yards away, leaning against his motorbike as though he waited there for me often. Inwardly, I tsked myself, trying to ignore the flood of relief that filled my limbs.
With renewed vigor, I ran down the hill, while calling out to him: "Riku! Where have you been?"
Pushing himself off the bike, he greeted me with a nonchalant grin. "I've just been sitting here."
"Yeah, well, why here? You took off without notice!"
"I needed some air, and I didn't feel like explaining things to your parents."
"Well, how'd you get out?" I asked.
"The front door."
I crossed my arms, frustrated with the simplicity of it all. Riku laughed and rested a heavy hand on my shoulder. "My nightmare really got to you, huh? It's morning now. Nothing bad is gonna happen."
"Easy for you to say. You could've at least left a note!" At this point, I'd decided to joke along with Riku. Laughter always healed the jitters, after all.
"Dear Sora, I hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable," he mocked, "but I went outside. Sound good?"
"Perfect. I'll expect that next time."
"Okay." He chuckled then threw one leg over the motorbike. "I have a few things to settle at home first—a few chores and phone calls. After that, I'll meet you and Kairi at the beach. Which one are we going to?"
"Since it's Kairi, my best bet is Turtle Egg Beach."
"See you there," he said, swinging a leg over the bike. With a quick nod in my direction, he turned the key in the ignition, walked the motorbike toward the road, and jetted away. His silhouette became a black speck on the morning's horizon before disappearing altogether.
White sand cascaded down the shore of Turtle Egg Beach, like a bolt of silk had been rolled out before the waves. The ocean sparkled an almost-translucent blue in the afternoon sun. My swim shorts brushed against my knees as I ran through this welcoming expanse toward Kairi and Riku. They had already arrived and spread a towel beneath a beach umbrella. Kairi waved excitedly, her knees facing each other in a cute pigeon-toed style. Riku had on a wet suit. His aqua surfboard rested beside the towel.
When I finally reached them, Kairi shouted, "You're always the last one to arrive!"
"I'm on time, aren't I? You said noon in the email."
"I know," she laughed. "Still, you're always last."
"He can't help it," said Riku, a cocky smile hanging on his lips like a crooked crescent moon. "It's his way of making an impression."
"Well, it works then."
I playfully pushed Riku with the palm of my hand. "That had better be a good impression!"
He didn't answer but his smile remained intact. There was a time, not so long ago, when I thought I'd never see that smile again. Riku turned his attention toward the ocean. A sea breeze caught his hair, which fluttered like white feathers freed from a bird's wing. His lips upturned, his body at ease—I would do just about anything to guard this part of Riku, no matter the cost.
"How about a race?" exclaimed Kairi, breaking the tranquil atmosphere. Riku's arms and legs tensed, already kneeling into a runner's stance. "From here to the tide pools. I want to see if I can find any starfish."
"It's not much of a competition," Riku said in a self-assured tone, "but I'm all in."
"Just you wait and see," I challenged. Taking my place beside him, I bent my knees slightly, ready for Kairi to initiate the race. With a decisive slice of her hand in the air, we took off. Kairi quickly fell behind us, her laughter drifting through the air—bells on the wind.
Determined to win, I decided to match Riku's pace instead of trying to overtake him immediately. Whenever I tried to gain the advantage in the beginning, I would always tire out right near the finish line; then, he'd pass me without even casting a sideways glance in my direction. This time would be different. Neck-and-neck, we tossed ourselves onward.
The sun beat down on us dramatically, as though doing its best to slow us down with the heat. In the distance, I could make out the old lifeguard tower. Abandoned long ago, the iron structure's creaking traveled to us even though we were still several yards away. Covered in rust, the old tower couldn't so much as gleam in the overwhelming sunlight.
Knowing that we'd reached the halfway point, I figured now would be the time to speed up. I might be able to maintain my lead all the way to the tide pools, and Riku wouldn't be expecting me to change my pace at this point. Thrusting my legs forward with little abandon, I quickly passed him. To my surprise, Riku didn't alter his speed in the slightest. Before I could ponder his lack of ambition, or possible underhanded strategy, something from the lifeguard tower caught my eye.
A bright glinting reflected from beneath the bungalow—odd since usually the underbelly of the tower cooled the sand with its shadow. As I neared the tower, the flashing intensified. Despite my growing lead in the race, I slowed to a stop. An increasing uneasiness rattled against my chest.
The glinting didn't seem to have any origin, bursting out in bits and pieces from various parts of the sand. Even stranger, the shadow that the tower always cast in the midday sun was absent. Blinding hot sand surrounded me on all sides. The white flashes of light seemed to have overcome all darkness. My eyes squinted against the imbalance.
Leaning forward, I placed a hand against the sand. Snakes of pain jolted up my arm, like invisible lightning. A cry escaped my lips as I fell backward. My head made hard contact with one of the tower's iron poles before I slumped to the ground. I could no longer tell if the glinting lights were from the sand or from the pain, which hadn't left my limbs.
I felt arms around my shoulders. "Sora!" came Riku's panicked voice, but I couldn't make him out. Only white light filled my vision—no contrast. White, as the sand I could no longer see.
White, as blank eyes rolled backwards in their sockets.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this cliffhanger. Let me know what you think or if you notice any grammatical/spelling errors.
