Me: Hey guys! I just thought you needed the other part of this prologue! :)

Ari: Seriously? We did one yesterday! D:

Me: Nonsense! Let the readers demand a second chapter?

Ari: See, you're not so sure yourself.

Me: Whatever. Story time, kiddies!

Ocean Waves: Prologue Part 2

The Note

Stephen took me to the fire station. It had been two days since the big fire. I don't know what or why all of this was happening. All I know is that Momma, Riku, and that Randal guy is gone. Gone forever. They said my house was "in ashes," whatever that meant. Stephen carried me to his office and put me in the big chair. He sat on his desk, looking at me. I saw the envelope in his hand.

"This note..." he flipped the envelope over and over. "I'm supposed to give it to you, right Naminé?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"But Denzel told me that Momma said that you can't open it, yet."

"Why?" Stephen looked really tired.

"She said you wouldn't understand if you read it now or anytime before you eighteenth birthday."

"B-But I'm seven-years-old! That's a long time from now!" He gave me a small smile.

"Don't worry, Naminé, years go buy quickly. Before you know it, you'll be one day away from your birthday. Your eighteenth birthday."

"And then I'll be able to open the note?"

"Yeah... Y'know, Denzel was really surprised what Randal told him, your brother and your Momma's words. Heck, I don't even know what your Momma told Randal, but Randal didn't sound like himself at all after that..."

"Oh..."

"Naminé, can I trust you to not open this note? Because I'm going to give it to you. For keeps."

"I think so..."

"This is a 'yes or no' question, Naminé. Can I trust you?"

"... Y-Yes..."

"Okay. Remember, if you read it before your eighteenth birthday, you won't be able to understand. Just remember that, will ya?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now I found you a permanent home. Ms. Oshiro will be taking care of you from now on, and she has a daughter that's your age. Do you know who Ms. Oshiro is?" he went on when I shook my head. "Ms. Oshiro is your Momma's sister-in-law. She agreed to caring after you. You're gonna meet her today."

I walked slowly to Ms. Oshiro's house. Ever since that day, Ms. Oshiro took me in and cared for me. Ms. Oshiro was really kind. She gave me everything that I needed. She fed me good food. She was so nice, but she worried about me too much. Whenever she needed to run errands, she would hire a baby-sitter to watch me. It's like she didn't trust me at all. I know I've been really quiet and depressed for all those years, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hurt myself. Tomorrow will be my eighteenth birthday. Every year since my eighth birthday, I would waste my birthday wish on Sora. Not on something that ever little girl would wish for, like a pony. But now, I would be able to read the note Momma left me all those years ago. Stephen said I wasn't supposed to open it until I was eighteen. Denzel, the guy who wrote the words from Momma's mouth, said I would never understand if I opened it then, or anytime before I turned eighteen. I was close to the community, when I heard Ms. Oshiro's children laughing and yelling. There they were. Yuna twirled around in her dress kicking up the sand while Xion watched. I remember when I first met Xion. She was just like Yuna.

"See, Xion? I'm going to be an Island Dancer like you when I grow up! Momma will be so proud, too!" Xion watched her little sister kick up more sand. She wasn't a graceful Island Dancer, but I bet she would be." Xion just smiled and sighed.

"Yes, Yuna. Your gonna be the best Island Dancer here, even better than me!." Yuna stopped her kicking and looked up at her sister with wide eyes.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course! You'll be a better dancer than me... And maybe even better than Momma." Xion said, whispering the last part.

"Wow! I'm gonna be the best!" She said, kicking up more sand. She turned around and saw me.

"Xion! Xion! Look!" Yuna said as she ran towards me. "Hi, Kaiwi! Did you like your walk?" Then I heard her gasp. "Kaiwi, why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad," I said quietly. She gasped again.

"Kaiwi! You finally talked to me!" Yuna said smiling. "Why are you so quiet for? Your voice sounds so pretty!" Xion came walking up to us.

"Yuna, you know Momma doesn't like us to be near her. She-"

"But Xion! She's talking to me! Look! Kaiwi, you're sad. See? You're crying." Her small hand touched my cheek, and then she showed me her hand. All wet.

"I-I was crying?" Yuna nodded.

"See, Xion? She has a pretty voice and she's crying."

"What were you crying for, Kairi? I wish she never asked me that.

"I-I... I don't know if you would understand..." Xion looked at me with a serious expression.

"Is it something you'll get over." No. Not in a lifetime.

"It's okay, I'll be fine." She frowned.

"Okay..."

"Yuna! Xion! Kairi! Dinner!" I heard Ms. Oshiro yell from the front yard. Yuna jumped up and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Kaiwi! It's time to go eat!" She tugged on my arm.

"I'm sorry, Yuna, but your mother doesn't trust me with silverware." Yuna looked mad.

"I don't care what Momma says about you! You're my sister and you're gonna eat dinner with us!" Yuna yelled, all pent up from frustration.

"S-Sister?"

"Come on, Yuna. Let's go eat," Xion said. She took Yuna's hand and walked away. Then she turned around. "What are you standing there for? You have to eat, too, y'know." Yuna looked up at Xion with wide eyes and a smile. I started to walk towards them. Yuna grabbed my hand, and the three of us walked into the house.

"Did you have fun playing outside?" Ms. Oshiro was setting the table.

"We did Momma!" Yuna said. "Kaiwi is gonna eat dinner with us today." Yuna tugged on the hem of my shirt.

"Really? Kairi is eating dinner with us?"

"Yes, Momma. Remember, she is your niece after all." Xion smiled at me.

"Why yes... Okay, you can eat dinner with us Kairi."

"Yay! Come with me, Kaiwi! Sit next to me!" Yuna tugged on the hem of my shirt harder, so I let her drag me to one side of the table. Ms. Oshiro put an extra plate in front of me, and this time, she actually put real silverware next to it. It looks like she can trust me just a little bit. We were in the middle of dinner when Ms. Oshiro spoke up.

"So, Kairi, do you want anything for your birthday? It is tomorrow, y'know." I gave her a small smile.

"Anything is fine with me, Auntie. You already done so much for me... I don't want to be a burden to you."

"Nonsense, deary. You can ask for anything you like." That's when I realized that I never wanted anything more than seeing the loved ones that I lost. Every birthday, I would visit Momma and Riku at the Perished Isle Cemetary. I never asked for a cell phone or an Ipod Touch, but Ms. Oshiro insisted that I should keep them from the previous birthdays.

"It's okay. Besides, my Momma is giving me a present this year."

"Kaiwi, you have a Momma? If you have a Momma, then why is she not with you?" I heard my fork clatter onto the table, bounce off, and hit the floor with another clatter. Ms. Oshiro looked at Yuna with wide eyes. Xion and Yuna looked more confused.

"E-Excuse me please. I need to go for a walk, if you don't mind?" I got out of my seat from the dinner table, grabbed my bag, and walked out of the door. I put my hand in my pocket and took out the envelope and the Wayfinder my Momma gave me. I ran across the sand of the beach, past the sitting spot, past the bent palm tree where me and Riku sat, and past the dock Poppa built before he died. I found the cave where Sora hid in one of our games of hide-n'-seek. I saw the familiar drawings that we drew on the cave's wall. It was us, our faces smiling. What I did notice was Sora giving me a paopu fruit. I never saw that before. He must've drawn it before he came to my house when he ran away from his momma and poppa. I couldn' help but feel terrible. I promised him I woudn't cry. I collapsed on my knees, picked up a nearby rock, and started carving the wall. When I was done, I leaned against the wall next to it. I looked at my watch. It was 9:18 pm.

"Sora! Where are you, Sora!" I looked everywhere, and I still coulldn't find him. Then I saw footprints in the sand, so I followed it. It led to a big dark cave. I'm afraid of the dark...

"Sora...?" I could hear my echo in the cave.

"Aw~! You finally found me, Kairi!" I heard Sora's echo. "Come in the cave, Kairi! I wanna show you something!"

"B-But I'm scared!" Then I saw Sora come out of the dark cave.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said. He took my hand and led me into the cave.

"W-What did you want to show me, Sora?"

"Look, you see that?" He pointed to a wooden door. "I tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. It's locked."

"Oh." I looked at the walls around the cave.

"Hey, Kairi! You wanna draw?"

"Eh?"

"In Twilight Town I always drawed on the town walls surrounding it."

"What will we draw with?" He looked around the cave then picked something up from the ground.

"With these!" He said, holding up two rocks.

"Okay! I know what we can draw!"

"What?"

"I can draw you, and you can draw me!"

"Okay, we can do that." I frowned.

"You don't wanna draw that, do you?" His eyes went wide.

"N-No! That's not what I meant! I do wanna draw you!" I smiled.

"Okay! Let's draw!"

I looked at the door next to me. Maybe I can try to open it, but he did say it was locked. I got up and went up to the door. I tried turning the knob and pushing it, but it wouldn't move. I tried pulling it, but it still wouldn't budge. I quickly gave up and leaned against the door. I looked at my watch again. 11:11 pm. Make a wish, Kairi. Of course, I wished for Sora to come back to the Island. He was the only family I had, besides Ms. Oshiro, Yuna, and Xion.

I felt sleepy. I guess a little nap wouldn't hurt.

Just come back for me...

Eveything went black.

"Momma! Nami took my Wayfinder!" Momma looked at me and smiled.

"Kairi, let your sister hold it. She likes your Wayfinder."

"But Momma! It's mine! Why don't you make her one?"

"I did make her one. She said her Wayfinder wasn't pretty enough."

"Nami! Give it back! It's mine!" I saw a girl with blond hair and big blue eyes wearing a white dress.

"But I like your Wayfinder, Kaiwi. Mine is pink and your's is white. I like white."

"Well, I like pink."

"Aqua, what are they fighting about this time." Poppa kissed Momma on the cheek. Yuck.

"Their Wayfinders. What do you think we should do, Terra?" Poppa looked at each of us and smiled.

"Why don't you switch Wayfinders?"

"Here, Kaiwi! You can have mine!"

"Okay! And you can have mine, too!"

I woke up. I was still in the cave, and I could see it was lightly dim. I looked at my watch, 5:06 am.

"Who is Naminé?" I took out my Wayfinder. It was pink and it faded into white at the tips. I turned it over.

My phone rang in the semi-darkness. It was Xion.

"Hello?"

"Kairi, where were you? You had all of us worried!" Xion sounded relieved immensely.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry... I just needed to calm down."

"Calm down? Were you angry?"

"N-No! Just a bit sad..."

"Sad enough to walk out on us during dinner?"

"Well, I-"

"You know, Yuna cried the whole night because she thought you ran away and that it was her fault."

"It wasn't her fault. Is she awake?"

"No, we put her to sleep an hour ago."

"You guys were awake the whole time?"

"Of course. We were worried that something might have happened to you."

"Sorry for making you worry..."

"It's okay. As long as you're fine, I'm fine."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm not fine! I was never fine from the beginning, Xion!"

"Eh? Kairi, what are you-?" I told her everything. About Sora and the promises we made, about the fire, how I lost Momma and Riku, the note. Everything.

"Kairi... This is what you're sad about? This whole time... this was the cause?"

"Y-Yeah... all of it..."

"K-Kairi, don't cry, please. D-Don't cry!" We both cried for God knows how long.

"K-Kairi, I'm s-so sorry!" Xion sputtered. "I sh-should've never asked!"

"N-No, it's okay, Xi-Xion. You were just trying to be there for me, and and and I kept pushing you away..."

"S-So, do you like this Sora guy?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"W-What? No! He's my childhood friend... Actually, I don't know anymore..."

"Well, come home. Me and Yuna and Momma want you to come back."

Come back for me...

"O-Okay..."

"See you when you come home?"

"Y-Yeah. I'll see you there."

My head hurt from all the crying. I actually felt better. I had all of this bottled up inside of me, and I had no one to talk about my problems, but I realized they were right in front of me the whole time. I wish I had realized sooner... I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the cave. The sky was a blue-gray, and the air around me felt calm.

Just one last stop...

I came up to a small, white picket fence that ran across a hill near the market place. I opened the gate. Walking along the stone path, I went higher and higher up the hill. I passed many white stones along the way, with names of some people I used to know and many of people I've never met in my life. I finally saw it. The white stones huddled together.

Aqua Rodelle~ Born: March 12, 1969. Died: November 1, 2001. Goodbye, gentle Way-maker...

Riku Rodelle~ Born: August 26, 1989. Died: November 1, 2001.

There were signatures signed by his teammates on his Blitzball team.

Randal Thompson~ Born: January 5, 1939. Died: November 1, 2001. Goodbye, Randy, a brave noble fireman...

I sat down by the three stones.

"Morning, Riku, Momma. Hello Randal... Hey Momma, you know why I'm here? Well, it's my birthday. I'm eighteen now..." I smiled. "Hey Riku, maybe this year, Sora will come and see you guys. I bet that would make you happy... Oh, and Randal, Stephen and Denzel are gonna visit you tomorrow, so I just wanted to tell you." I took out the envelope. "I'm gonna read it, Momma. I'll get to see what you wanted to tell me. And then, maybe you and Riku will finally be at peace, now." I opened the envelope slowly. There it was, the note.

My sweet Kairi,

"You never called me Kairi..."

I know you must think of what you see in this world in a whole different way, now that I'm not here to wipe your tears away, or kiss your booboos, or sing you a lullaby when you wake up from a bad dream. You must think there's no out there in this world for you. That you'll be stuck in the darkness. I want to tell you that you're wrong, Kairi. There is still hope for you. I know you must think I was a wonderful mother, but you don't know how many times I hid secrets from you, and told you lies to cover them up.

"Lies? But you never lied to me, Momma..."

I lied about your father. He did not die during a storm at sea, he left me and took your sister. Naminé is your sister. I only called you Naminé because you looked so much like her. I missed her, more than you can ever imagine, but that doesn't mean I ever stopped loving you as Kairi. You both were my ocean. You still are my ocean, Kairi. You have to find Poppa and Naminé. He lives on the other side of the Island.

"B-But that's where the rich people live!"

You have to find them for me. Tell them I love them very much. Tell them that Riku loves them very much, too. And tell Terra that "it's still a Key moment." He'll understand what it means. And don't forget that I love you as much as I love Riku, Naminé and Poppa. I love all of you with all my heart. Farewell, my sweet Kairi. ~Aqua

"M-Momma..." She kept all of this from me for so long. Why? There was a second note in the envelope. I pulled it out.

Hey Kai, things are gonna be tough, aren't they? I know your gonna be sad, but I don't think the Tickle Monster can help with your sadness. I'm sorry that I broke my promises. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to say that I love you one last time. Don't let the people at your school push you around. Be strong for me. Tell them to shut up. They don't know all the of the things that you're going through. Just hold on. Oh, and if Sora's with you, tell him I said hey and goodbye. ~Riku

"Momma... Riku... I love you, too." I got up. That's it. I was fed up of being sad. I've been hiding for too long. Instead of hoping and wishing, I was moping around. That's enough for eighteen years, right? I ran down the hill towards the gate. Closing the gate gently, I began to run to Ms. Oshiro's house. I could see people walking slowly out of their houses yawning and stretching. Ms. Oshiro and Xion were sitting on the porch, waiting for me. When I saw Xion, I felt like calling her. The self-promise I made at the cemetary kicked into action as I listened to my feeling.

"Xion!" Her head snapped up and she saw me.

"Kairi!" She shot out of her sitting position and ran towards me. I thought it would be one of those happy reunion moments like in the sad, but touching movies, but God had planned otherwise. Instead of our bodies colliding into an embrace, our foreheads connected, sending us to the ground.

"Ugh... Ouch." My head was pounding from the collision, but I didn't care. I was happy to see Xion.

"K-Kairi... You can get off of me n-now." Xion attempted breathlessly.

"Oops. Sorry..." I got off of her and we both laughed from the epic failure of that reunion.

"For someone who barely eats, you way like a ton!" I laughed.

"Well I was told that I'm big-boned." She smiled.

"We have to get ready for school. So come on!" She grabbed my wrist and started dragging me into the house.

"Morning, Auntie!" Ms. Oshiro jumped from my yelling.

"Oh! Morning, deary... You scared me half-to death!"

"Naminé, you scared me half-to death. Don't do that ever again, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I'll try not to next time, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Kairi, I'm gonna bring you to my room and I'm gonna give you a makeover and everything! Oh, no one's gonna recognize you when I'm done with you!" I sweat dropped.

"Is that supposed to be a good or bad thing...?"

"Good, silly! Now, come on!" She dragged me upstairs, never to be seen again... Just kidding!

Kairi Rodelle~ Born: February 13, 1994. Died: February 13, 2011. Reborn: February 13, 2011.

Me: Oh em gee wilicurs! lol jk. The story is gonna turn out to be a nice one :)

Ari: Yup! :)

Me: Reviews. I need them to get a heart. Let Grace have a heart of her own. With a donation of just 1 review per hour, I'll be closer to obtaining a heart. Have a heart of your own, and donate a review. :)

Me/Ari: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Bye! ;D