No one could fault Sora, Donald, or Goofy for taking a break from their arduous journey to relax on the soft white sands on the shores of Destiny Islands. Everything about the beach there would have made ideal fodder for a postcard. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, their fruits dancing along with their rhythm. Waves lapped up parts of the sand before retreating back into the clear blue shallows. Sea birds chirped and flapped and winged their way around the sky, sometimes landing on a tree, sometimes resting on the old wooden dock, and sometimes disappearing into the sun. The air smelled salty and fresh, revitalizing the travelers and taking their minds off of their struggle with the Heartless. The sea itself provided an endless pulse of rustling water, sitting back behind the rest of the scenery as if to cradle the landscape and rock it to sleep.
The sand was the comfortable variety, not the rocky, pebbly stuff that wedges itself into the backs of beachgoers. The sun shone down bright and warm like a blanket on top of the rest of the experience.
Sora nearly forgot that he even had a world to save until an impertinent cloud swam its way through the sky until it blocked out the sunlight.
"Hey, that's not nice," he said to the cloud.
Sora's question enticed Goofy to interrupt his nap under one of the coconut trees to respond. "What's not nice, Sora?"
"That cloud!" Sora said. "It's blocking my view of the sun."
Donald, face down on the sand, did not bother looking up before he grumbled at Sora. "You shouldn't be looking directly at the sun, anyway. It's bad for your eyes."
"Moderation is overrated," said Sora. "This is vacation!"
"You'll regret that when you go blind," said Donald. "Do yourself a favor and look somewhere else."
"I can't help it," said Sora. "I like the sun. When was the last time I got to sit back and enjoy it?"
Donald lifted his head. "If you go blind, you won't be able to help Kairi."
Sora couldn't protest. "You're right," he said. "I don't even know where she is, and I'm lying on a beach, being careless."
Goofy rolled over. "I think you killed the mood, Donald."
"Well, it's true!" said Donald. "We do have responsibilities."
"But if we don't ever stop to rest," said Goofy, "we won't be as fit to carry out those responsibilities, will we? Then we'll be even less help. The best thing we can do now is relax and recover. Once we're all feeling fine and dandy, we can head off to explore new worlds. Grown-ups get the weekend off when they go to work, so we should get a day off, too."
Sora laughed, but his laugh trailed off and disappeared before he finished. "I suppose you're right, Goofy. We don't have any choice. Kairi will have to wait."
"There you go, Sora," said Goofy. "Good attitude."
No one said anything else. Sora curled up and tried hard to fall asleep. The cloud finally unblocked the sun, but Sora didn't feel any difference.