Chapter THREE: Fading Memories
"What? Where am I?!" Kairi screamed, searching the area around her frantically. The dark, heavy rain clouds were closing in. The fog was thickening, almost like it was attempting to suffocate her, and suddenly, it disappeared. "Riku? Sora? Anyone?!" she yelled. Stars began to fall, casing eerie shadows all around her. "Meteor shower?" she asked herself. Plummeting down from the sky, they slammed hard against the sand. Kairi fell to her knees and looked up.
"My daughter, how could I have lost you..." Kairi shook her head and rubbed her eyes. A figure stood in front of her, kneeling down. Suddenly, the ground shook. The sand beneath her turned to concrete, and she felt the rain pouring down on her back like a thousand needles.
"Kairi, you can't be here! Not now, go home!" she recognized that voice. She shook in fear as she tried to stand up. Riku's soft hair brushed lightly across his face as he knelt down. "This isn't our world. You have to run, and don't ever stop." he whispered. Suddenly he stood. "Now go. They're coming." he said, swinging his keyblade over his shoulder and walking down the rainy streets.
She felt the wet breeze across her face, as her world transformed once more. The ground turned to sand in her fingers. She could hear sounds echo around her. Sighing, she forced herself to stand. A cloaked figure stood in the mist. And in that instant, she knew she'd found him.
"Sora..." she said. He turned around to face her. Kairi gasped as she almost fell backwards, but braced herself on a near-by rock. His face was grim, and evil looking.
"Kairi help me. They're taking my heart, I need you!" he pleaded. She shook her head, horrified.
"I can't, I can't give you my heart." she whispered, backing away. Sora smiled solemnly.
"Naminé was right then. You're letting me fade away, out of your life, because you've forgotten everything." he mumbled, smiling sadly.
"Oh Sora, I haven't forgotten." she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"But you have... You have. And you're the only one who can save me..." suddenly, he snapped out of his depression and vanished. The background faded, and now Kairi was looking at another cloaked figure. She was standing on rain soaked concrete, cowering from the looming man before her.
"It's too late. The worlds have fallen apart. You can't piece them together like you did the last time. They're shattered, and among them are the pieces of you beloved's heart. And it's too late to save him. Sora's heart has fallen into the endless abyss of darkness, and soon enough, Riku will join him. No one can stop it. Not even the fierce and mighty King Mickey. And once again, as you were when your world as a child was destroyed, you will be alone. And that, my love, is your fate..."
Kairi stood on the beach, wondering why she was once again in the same position. After two years, her hair had grown long and silky. It followed the swift ocean breeze, and she closed her eyes as it lifted every strand from her back. She walked across the shoreline, pressing each foot firmly against the damp sand.
"Ow!" she exclaimed. She knelt down to the ground and examined the object she had stepped on. Small tears started to trace their way down her cheeks. She held a small silver ring in her delicate hand. She closed her eyes as she recalled the memory.
"Sora, come on! Riku wants us to go swimming with him!" Kairi shouted, her small voice echoing down the beach. Sora stood with his short flyaway hair blowing astray in the wind, with his small hands behind his back. Kairi finally reached him. "Watcha got?" she asked sweetly. Sora held his little hand out and revealed the small silver diamond ring.
"For you." he said, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Kairi smiled.
"It's pertiful." she giggled as she took the ring. "I know, let's bury it! And when we find it someday, that means that you... um... you gots to marry me!" she proclaimed. Sora scratched his head.
"That's silly Kairi, we're only eight. But... I promise that when we find it again, I'll marry you. Kay?" Kairi nodded as they buried the ring deep in the sand.
"Let's go swim with Riku!" she said finally. Sora smiled and took her hand. They took off running, their small feet carrying them swiftly across the beach.
Kairi's memory blurred. She smiled softly, and held the ring close to her chest. She gazed at the sunset, hoping her little hero would be shooting down from the sky. Suddenly, she collapsed to her knees and began to cry. Her teardrops hit the sand softly. She wanted to run, like Riku had told her, but where? Where could she go? She was stranded on the island and her beloved Sora was falling from her.