-----
Part One
The Identity of the Boy Recluse
-----
Chapter Two
When Riku Akemi turned ten, he received his first pair of professional dance shoes.
Everyone gathered at the table in the center of Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio which had been decorated with a 'Happy Birthday Riku!' banner and a few balloons here and there. His family was there: Mr. and Mrs. Akemi and a bump that was his soon-to-be baby brother or sister as well as a few neighbors: Mrs. Tilmitt and her daughter and Tidus Merrick. On that day, Riku wore a small yellow party hat along with a blue shirt and matching swimming trunks. Everybody, sporting their own yellow party hats, stood around him and cheered as he opened gift after gift.
His gifts that year were quite interesting: From Mr. Akemi, he received an old vinyl music record, one which Riku was sure he had seen in his father's 'favorites' stash; from Mrs. Akemi, a music box which contained a pair of dancers that twirled when opened, though for some reason, there was no music playing; from Mrs. Tilmitt, a maroon cardigan which was two sizes too large for him. From Selphie, Riku got a little fish bowl with two plump goldfishes which were not in any way, shape, or form affiliated with the ones that disappeared from Mr. Merlin's fish pond across the street (Selphie forcefully persuaded everyone so) and from Tidus Merrick, a blitz ball which looked suspiciously worn and had weathered initials of 'TM' scribbled in black ink.
Finally, Riku stared down at his last gift.
Wrapped in shiny yellow paper, its blue card read 'Happy Birthday My Big Brother!' Beside him, Selphie—who managed to place two party hats atop her head—and Tidus were wildly blowing their noise makers into each other's ears. Ignoring his two friends, Riku opened the box which he suspected was from none other than his mother and father (for it is impossible to have a sibling give you a gift when they have not yet been born, his young mind concluded).
As Riku lifted the stiff cardboard lid, the noise makers went quiet and a profound silence rung throughout the room. Everyone waited in anticipation for what the boy's reaction would be.
What Riku saw was more than his little eyes, heart, and mind could take.
Within the box, placed neatly side by side, was a pair of shoes. They were very simple in design, black and white curved in even patterns and etched onto buttery soft leather. Truth be told, they looked like an ordinary pair of professional dance shoes, one that could be easily bought at the local shoe boutique. Yet this did not bother the birthday boy at all, for when he slipped them on in a hurried and frenzied fashion, something amazing happened. Riku felt like a lost part—the missing key to his heart– had been suddenly found and this great, great feeling only grew larger and larger, filling up his heart, his chest, his entire being and radiated well onto the dance floor.
No words needed to be said. As the boy stood staring down at his covered feet, the wide smile plastered upon his face was enough for everyone to realize that even if it did not match all too well: Riku had fallen in love with his first pair of professional dance shoes tied by a magnificently unique set of yellow shoestrings that made it all the more special.
What happened next was this: The scratchy, mangled sound of old dance music blasted from the old-fashioned player making everyone jump in surprise. Mrs. Akemi stood by the purple gramophone, in all her pregnant splendor, smiling sheepishly as she hugged her rotund stomach. Mr. Akemi let out a hearty laugh, kneeled down and with his baritone voice, whispered into Riku's ear–"Give 'em a try, son."
As the music's upbeat melody became apparent, Riku took three steps into a more suitable portion of the dance floor and started to dance. His feet felt lighter and moved more fluidly; moving across the dance floor in elegant steps and leaps. He was dancing better than ever before! As he twirled and jumped and bounded and just flew, he felt that this was the beginning of something much more. Maybe his new shoes were magic, granting him this awesome ability so that he could save the world with dance! Or maybe, maybe, it was this satisfying emotion that all the people he held dear were right there at that moment, together and happy, which unleashed this dancing hero. Whichever it was, the first floor of Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio overflowed with hoots of laughter.
Selphie mingled with Riku, dancing in clumsy circles and her outbursts just as noisy as the music itself. Tidus watched moodily, trying to conjure up what was so great about some shoes that did not even look that cool; certainly his gift was better—before Mrs. Tilmitt dragged the blond boy with her to dance with the children. Tidus was not a very good dancer. Mr. and Mrs. Akemi stood at the sidelines watching the silly bunch while swaying at a slower pace, taking great care with the precious bump on Mrs. Akemi's stomach.
Time trickled by and soon it was time for the second half of Riku's birthday celebration. The adults went about doing their adult things—packing up the necessities: sunscreen, towels, food— as the children went to the second floor to put Riku's gifts away.
On the way up, Selphie thought she had stepped on a daddy long legs spider, brutally ending its life, which resulted in a chain of events causing Riku to almost loose his balance on the narrow strip of stairs and leaving Tidus drenched in more than half of the goldfish water. To Selphie's relief, it was just a dark stain on the step, therefore she deemed everything OK. The goldfishes, fortunately, remained unharmed during all of this and were properly restored their water, courtesy of the bathroom sink. With the gifts placed on top of Riku's (still) marine covered bed and the fish bowl positioned in a safe spot atop the bedside dresser, the children ran back down amid hearts filled with thrill. Today they would go to the beach!
The beach, the beach,
Oh wondrous beach.
Let your sands tickle our feet,
And your waters cool us from all this heat!
La la la la!
The children sang their silly song (made up during the ride to the seaside) as they ventured through the treacherous troughs of sandcastles and the plastic bins of potato salad and, we must not forget, the hills and valleys of sun burnt bodies. The peak of summer drew in such large crowds that finding a spot among the mass of beach goers served as a challenge. After a good ten minute walk from the parking lot, the group stumbled underneath the decent shade of palm tree, not too far off from the shore. Like a moth to a flame, Riku, Selphie and Tidus took off towards the enticing ocean at lightning speed (or as fast as their little feet could carry them, though to their young minds it was the same).
They played together, making sure to allot a portion for sand activities and then swimming in the refreshing waters to cool off. It was when the trio was amusing themselves with building the best sandcastle ever that Riku looked up to check if his parents noticed their splendid creation. To his dismay, they were nowhere in sight.
Curious, Riku excused himself from his friends. He walked over to Mrs. Tilmitt to ask where his mother and father had gone and found himself walking back to the parking lot. There he saw his father helping his mother, who with great difficulty, was trying to get into their aged station wagon. He ran, his bare feet clapping against speckled grains of sand and hot asphalt, and called out to them.
"What's the problem, son?"
"Dear, we're going to get you your cake."
Riku shook his head yes before he replied, "Will you be back soon?"
Mr. Akemi gave Riku a pat on the head before walking around to the driver's side, "We'll try. Your mother here wants to buy you one from across town…Tell her you don't really need one from all the way there, ha-ha-ha."
"Now, now," Mrs. Akemi interjected as she rolled down her window, "the cakes there are absolutely exquisite. Riku dear, please be careful. Make sure Mrs. Tilmitt knows where you and your friends are at all times. We'll be back before you know it."
"OK Mum."
"Aw," she sighed dreamily. Mrs. Akemi reached a delicate hand towards her son, beckoning him to come closer, "My son has grown up so fast! Does this mean hugs are no longer necessary?"
"Of course not, Mum!"
Riku gave his mother a hug, as awkward and uncomfortable as it was doing such through a car window, but it was well worth it. His mother's embraces always made him happy.
On his way back, Riku could see his two friends busying themselves with the sand. Tidus was very preoccupied with fortifying their castle walls and did not notice the mischievous Selphie behind him. In one swift swoop, the back of Tidus' blond head became acquainted with Mr. Sandy Ball. And then his back. And then his chest, once he had turned around. There was a scramble between the two and Riku could not wait to join in their sand ball fight. His pace became quicker, maybe he should go for a surprise attack, he thought.
As he weaved through a small crowd, a ghastly screech brought forth panicked shouts and cries which caught the whole beach's attention. Everyone hurried in packs towards the source of the commotion, not more than half a mile away from the seaside lot. Riku did too. He passed people who clutched their hearts and covered their mouths, whispering 'Oh God, oh God, what's happened? Are they alive? What should we do?' Others rushed forward hoping their helping hand would save a life.
It was a difficult task, but Riku with his small, gangly frame, was able to catch a glimpse of the scene by squeezing between two plump women's fat and foul smelling sun screen caked legs (very unpleasant as it sounds). His small eyes saw a scruffy man gesturing violently to a large truck toppled over a pile of mess and off to the side, a disconnected car bumper with the Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio sticker.
Local news reports headlined it as:
FREAK ACCIDENT AT THE BEACH
Two Dead: Buried Alive While Driving
Though vulgar, very much inappropriate and numerically incorrect, there was really no other way to explain what happened that day. Riku Akemi, at age ten, lost his father, his mother, and his soon-to-be baby brother or sister in a very unfortunate accident.
Mrs. Tilmitt was kind enough to tend to his care until things settled down and important legal matters were taken care of. Riku found himself rooted to the entrance to his room that very night. He was advised to take what important belongings he needed; it could very well be the last time he entered his home for a long while.
He shuffled across his bedroom, not even bothering to turn on a light and crawled atop his bed still littered with gifts. Before he became aware of what he was doing, the top of a box was opened and in his arms, he clutched his yellow stringed shoes. He held them tightly against his chest, wishing that the awful feeling in his chest would vanish; looking for any inclination that his shoes were somehow magical and would grant him one wish; maybe everything was just a dream. He felt so tired and empty. Poor Riku collapsed onto his bed, hugging the shoes tightly—so tight that his tears gushed from his eyes, no longer being able to withhold them. They wouldn't stop, no, not until Riku's eyes were dry and red and itchy, making the little boy look miserable.
Lying on his bed for quite some time, feeling things that no ten year old child should have to feel, Riku noticed the fish bowl illuminated by the bay window light. One gold fish was swimming circles around the other. Around and around it went. The other floated motionlessly. It was dead.
Riku Akemi began tearing up again.
Why, he wondered, why was he left alone?
-----
A/N: Yes, I am that evil to have his parents, his sibling AND his gold fish killed at one go. Wahahaha! No, seriously. This was very heart wrenching and painful for me to write. I've developed a fond spot for these characters. I do hope this depressive chapter doesn't deter anyone from reading this anymore! That would be bad. I wouldn't be surprised, though, my friend said she wanted to strangle me for what I've done to little Riku. I swear, this story is happy…ish. And thank you all for the reviews! My heart goes out to youuuu ;D