"God, it feels good to be home…" I let out a large sigh of relief as I shoved my keys into the doorknob of my apartment, a small pizza box held in one hand and my day's paperwork in my right. I twisted the wrist that was holding the pizza box, hearing the savory pie inside scooting to the side and then pressing against the inside of the box as I got the knob turned fully and kicked the door open.
I dropped the keys into the small basket by the door I had set up for them so I wouldn't have to go searching for them each morning, and fumbled over to my kitchen table, narrowly avoiding slipping on a rogue piece of paper that had fallen to the floor sometime during the day, probably knocked over by the overhead fan I had forgotten to turn off. I let the paperwork all fall to the table, catching a few loose pieces of printer paper as they tried to stray away, then quickly moved over to the wall and flicked the fan off. I didn't want to have to go searching for everything again once I decided it was time to work on it.
Holding the pizza box firmly in my right hand, I lifted the lid with my left and took in the aroma of freshly made pizza, a treat I seldom got for myself. Tidus had called me to come over and see everyone on my way home from work, and even gave us each a small pizza from the store he'd opened up a little over a year ago. Selphie and Wakka had both shown up as well, Selphie scrambling to get out of her fancy business clothes and Wakka wiping himself down with a towel, exhausted from his blitzball team's workout that day. It was nice to see the gang again, especially not at my place. Wakka had shown up once earlier in the week and stayed for dinner, and Selphie liked to stop by every now and then. Grocery day was a long way off, and I knew my cupboard was empty, so I was especially grateful for the pizza tonight.
I looked through my near-empty refrigerator, grumbling once again about not having any food or drink as I grabbed up a recycled bottle of water. The food in my hand, I headed into the living room, kicking off my heels and dropping the pizza box down onto the table I had set up in front of my couch. I quickly unbuttoned my jacket and threw it back towards the kitchen, watching it hit the chair I was aiming for, but slide to the right and fall onto the ground.
"Whatever," I grumbled to myself as I collapsed onto my couch, pulling a rogue blanket that hung awkwardly on the top of the sofa over my legs and grabbing for a slice of pizza. I ate it in a few bites and drank down some water as I found my remote behind my head and turned on the television.
"The Besaid Auroch's won a stunning victory today over the Zanarkand Abes, a su—"
"Damn sports," I mumbled as my eyes started to get heavy. I began flicking through the channels as my eyelids bounced up and down, the weight of the past week threatening to keep my eyelids sealed forever.
"A light at the end of the tunnel…"
"Oh, your grandma's story, right?"
"That's right. We were together."
"You know what's funny? I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along. Finally, we're together, Kairi. Now, it's time to get Riku back."
"You think it'll ever be the same again between us? Riku's lost his…"
"When I turned into a heartless, you saved me, remember? I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things – my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me. But then, I heard a voice – your voice. You brought me back."
"I didn't want to just forget about you, . I couldn't."
"That's it! Our hearts are connected. And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that's what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I guess it's more than just a fairy tale."
"Well, let's go."
"You can't go."
"Why not?"
"Because its way to dangerous."
"Come on, . We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone."
"Kairi, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?"
"I can't help?"
"You'd kind of be in my way."
"Hehehe, Ok. You Win. Take This. It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me."
"Don't worry. I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."
I slowly opened my eyes to the low hum of my television, which was playing an old romance movie. I realized suddenly that the room was darker and slowly inched myself up to look over the top of the couch and out the patio window. It was pitch black outside aside from the low glow given off by the moon. I relaxed back down into a laying position and fought to get a hold of the remnants of the dream I had just had. I remembered that I was in some kind of underground cavern, and giving a lucky charm I had no clue I'd ever owned to a boy that I couldn't remember.
I stood up slowly, wrapping myself up in the blanket I had been using and headed snatched up the half eaten pizza box. Walking lazily to the kitchen, I threw it into the fridge, mumbling about lunch the next day. Pulling the blanket up tighter around my shoulders I walked over to the patio, sliding the door open and stepping out into the frigid night air.
It was always cold at night on Destiny Island. I knew this well as I snuggled into my favorite patio chair and gazed out to the sea. I would often come out on nights like this and just stargaze, letting the sound of the rolling waves relax my brain and ease me into a deep sleep in an attempt to get rested up before my next day of work at the legal office. Tonight was different though. I was still struggling to recall anything about the dream. It seemed so real, almost as if it had happened to me once before. But try as I might, I couldn't recall the whole thing, or even the boy's name.
I found it particularly odd that when I was having the dream, whenever I would have spoken the boy's name, my mouth moved but no words came out, as if something had chosen to completely eradicate the name from my head. It was so annoying to have a face but no name, as if a smiling jester behind a mask was goading me on in a useless goose chase.
I sighed and stared at the moon's reflection in the water, watching the moving waves ruin its image again and again as ripples tore it to shreds, then let it rebuild itself. I shifted my gaze up next and looked at the crescent shaped moon, merely days away from being full.
"God's thumbnail," I chuckled to myself as I thought about it. It was something the boy whose name I couldn't remember had told me, I was sure about it. Something that had happened when we were little children. The fact I couldn't remember the name of someone who now seemed so large a piece of my life was tearing me apart inside.
As I fought with my brain, desperately searching for some semblance of a word that would put face to name, a slow steady crunching sound came drifting up over the sound of the slowly crashing waves. I looked down the beach and saw a beautiful young woman who looked roughly my age walking down the beach in my direction. The moon reflected off of her perfectly pale skin as she moved along slowly, apparently as lost in though as I was. Something about her seemed familiar, but I knew for a fact that I had never met the girl before in my life. She gave off the aura of a long lost relative, someone I knew but had only ever seen in photographs.
As I watched the blonde haired beauty move along the beach, she suddenly stopped and jerked herself around, staring behind her as if she expected someone to come running up at her from behind, grabbing her in a warm embrace. Finding no one, she paused for a moment, apparently confused. She looked out towards the sea next, and before long up towards my apartment complex. She scanned the area for what seemed an eternity until she found my little hiding place and our eyes locked.
A sudden sensation of nostalgia and nausea swept over me as I stared into the girl's eyes, and it seemed like I stared at her for ages before finally giving in to the urge of my stomach and made my way slowly back inside. Once the door shut behind me, I dropped the blanket I had been wearing and rushed towards my one tiny bathroom. Lifting up the seat, I pulled my hair back behind my head and let the vomit that had been building up in my throat fall freely into the porcelain device.
I choked and gagged as more burning liquid poured from my mouth, the water from the toilet splashing up against my face. I felt some of my make-up run as I finally lifted myself from my kneeling position, struggling over to the sink and grabbing a hand towel to wipe my face off. My hand drifted to the glass sitting near the edge of the sink, but in my disoriented state, I merely ran my hand alongside it, knocking the glass to the floor. Before it ever touched the ground though I knew it. I knew his name.
"His name…is Sora."
