Good morning! For today's theme, I had a special set of rules (I was free to pick whichever fic I wanted for that), and that was writing in the first person of the present. I don't do much of first person, BUT THE PRESENT, oh boy, that's my nemesis. Anytime I took a break from writing then went back to it, my verbs would automatically switch back to the past. Present is hard, yall.
End of KH3 spoilers!
I can feel Aqua's hand in mine. It is small, oh so small. I can tell she is nervous by the light squeezing of her fingers, but her face shows nothing but determination. I admire her so much. I don't think I would be able to be so brave after living what she had to live. Ven, on the other hand (both literally and figuratively), tightens his grip a little more every second. He looks uneasy, terrified. He doesn't want to be here. He fears that if he looks away for a second, we'll be gone. I smile at him.
"You don't have to do this, Ven. You can go back home if you'd like. It's okay."
He shakes his head. "I'm staying with you. I can do this."
"We'll keep you safe. I won't let anything happen." Aqua's voice is cold, as she looks around. I can hear the warmth and love in her words, but they are wrapped by something sharp. She despises this place and wishes she was somewhere else.
I can tell so much about them, but what can they tell about me? Can they feel my every muscle being tense, ready to fight? Can they hear my heart beating faster everytime darkness creeps closer? Can they see that I keep on trying to have a look at my reflection in every puddle, making sure there's no silver in my hair, no gold in my eyes? I wonder if they can tell I'm probably even more scared than either of them, because I am not afraid of this place, but of myself. Running away will not fix this.
"Let's get moving," Aqua says, and I am once again in awe at how sure she sounds. How adult she is. How broken she was.
"Are you fine, Aqua?" Ven knows how to ask what I'm too afraid to. I gently squeeze his hand. Thank you, my fingers are saying. I wonder if he understands, but he squeezes back. "With being here, I mean. I know you'd rather not be here again…"
"It's alright," she says, then, another time, louder "it's alright. I swear." She turns her face to me, guessing I'm sharing Ven's worries, and somehow I can see in her eyes that she's telling the truth. "This time I know we can get out. And this time, I've got you both with me. I am not afraid. Not anymore."
Look at how brave my girl has become. She who was such a crybaby, she who used to smile to hide her pain, she now looks dead serious because she is at peace. I wonder if I'll ever be that strong. If I'll ever be able to accept my past as a fact, and not as an open wound.
"Besides," she adds with a smile that I feel is sincere, "there are some lovely places here. I came to understand that Darkness wasn't just a cold and scary place. Let me show you around! There's this lovely town just down the street. And there are some remnants of the Dwarves Wood that you will love! It's full of shimmering jewels and the sky is full of stars. I suggest we end our journey by stopping by the shores. The water is way too cold for a swim, but it still looks gorgeous!"
"Wow there, slow down," I say, chuckling at her enthusiasm, surprised she actually holds nice memories of the place. A bit jealous, too, though I won't admit it out loud. "Remember we're here to look for clues. So-ra," I say exaggerating my enunciation. "We are looking for hints about So-ra."
"Oh, stop being so grumpy, Terra," Ven teases me. "Aqua wants to give us a tour. Any place with you guys feels like holidays, so let's turn this place into a happy place!" I notice he still doesn't let go of my hand. He's still afraid. So am I. So is she. But they're right. The scariest place in the world doesn't feel that scary with them by my side. We all have our own demons to fight, but this time, we can fight them together.
"Alright, alright, let's have this picnic or whatever your plans are, I don't care…"
"Ah, let's take a picture together! Kairi taught me about that feature on the Gummi phone!"
"A pic-wow!" Ven jumps on my back as Aqua draws closer to me, her phone in hand, and they are both grinning at the screen. I sigh before smiling too. This search for clues in Nightmareland somehow is turning into a sweet holiday camp, and I'm not quite sure how. But as long as Ven is grinning by my side, and Aqua is holding my hand, I know that this place cannot be so bad.
I do believe that the three of them together are unstoppable (as long as they finally communicate, I hope they've learnt to do that by now). I was surprised they would return to the Realm of Darkness and I don't know if they'll find anything there, but if that's an excuse for another game with them, I'M IN
I know the worlds Aqua mentions are probably long gone back to their original places, but I did love very much the Dwarves woodlands section on 0.2! I just wanted to share my/her love of this place with Terra and Ven, heheh
Tomorrow will be about "You forgot your shadow".