Sora walked through Traverse Town's central plaza, gazing around at the strange people and creatures that rushed around him with business of
their own.
"Excuse me!" a little voice squeaked below him, the boy then looked down to find himself staring down into the eyes of a tiny little creature with a short pudgy body complete with
tiny wings and a tiny red curl that extended friom the creature's head.
"Sorry" Sora managed to stutter, moving aside to allow the tiny little creature to pass.
"I cannot wait to tell Riku and --" Sora began to whisper to himself, when he suddenly recalled the disappearance of his two friends.
"I gotta ask around for them, if I made it here then they must have. Although Kairi.....no! Kairi must be here, Riku as well" the boy tried to reassure himself, but in the back of his mind he
had heavy doubts that he would fins his friends upon the strange new world.
"Hello, I am not from around here. Have you seen a girl with short red hair, and a boy with her, he has these light blue eyes and shoulder length blue hair?" Sora asked a passing
man, but the man only shook his head sadly and moved on.
Sora then noticed that everyone held the same expression of sadness frozen upon their features. As the boy asked more passing individuals they only gave him the
same sad shake of their head before moving off like ghosts through the crowd.
"Quite depressing, don't you agree?" a voice spoke suddenly behind the boy, causing him to jump a few feet in surprise.
"Oh am I sorry, I did not mean to frighten you" the voice continued, Sora then whirled around to face the speaker and found a short balding fellow dressed in a crisp
suit complete with a gold rimmed monocle that the mysterious man had tucked into one of the creases that lined his face.
"Uh, who are you?" Sora asked the man, who suddenly burst into a round of apology.
"Oh, how rude of me! I am Mayor Harn, but you may just call me by my first name, Fizwilliam" the Mayor said with the friendly grin of a regular Politician, offering one white gloved
hand toward the boy.
"Um, Sora. And what were you saying was depressing?" Sora said with a uncomfortable smile, shaking Fizwilliam's hand with awkwardness.
"Well met Sora, and I was talking about the lost souls who fall into this fair town. Their worlds lost to the darkness and the foul creatures whom serve it" the Mayor said with a sudden
unmistakable bitterness in his voice.
"So these people lost their world to the shadows too?" Sora said with the fires of hope burning once again within him.
"Indeed, but I believe you meant to say Heartless, for I have never heard of any shadows taking over the worlds" the Mayor answered with his blithe cheery voice returned.
"Shadows, Heartless. You can call them whatever you like Mr. Mayor --" Sora began quickly, but the Mayor promptly interupted.
"Please, call me Fizwilliam" the Mayor said with a wink.
"Fizwilliam..." the boy began awkwardly, to which the Mayor inclined his head politely "My home, my Island was swallowed by the creatures and my friends along with it. Could
they have arrived here too?, Didn't say that people who have lost their world to darkness arrive here?" Sora asked the man, but his heart sank as a frown came over the wise face
of the Mayor.
"Well, its possible. However the people who arrive here have traveled as refugees from their worlds. In other words they escaped doom at the hands of those awful Heartless"
the Mayor explained to the boy, whose eyes slowly fell downcast.
"So you are saying that my friends are probably dead, or Riku anyway. Kairi could be anywhere with that jerk in the robe" Sora said with bitterness, turning to leave.
"Now I never said that, its just.... many have lost friends and family that now dwell here in Traverse Town. I myself lost a daughter in my escape from a world that had been taken by the
Heartless, she was the only family I had left after my wife passed" the Mayor said, his eyes suddenly filling with tears.
"I am sorry. Those creatures the ones you call the Heartless, they seem to be capable only of taking everything dear to one's heart" Sora said with solacing words to the man, meanwhile
the Mayor had drawn a spotted hankerchief from his coatpocket and was using it to dab at his watering eyes.
"Its fine, its only the dreaded beasts I hold a hate toward. Anyhow I won't bother you anymore, but if I may I would suggest you go search the other districts, for there is a possibilty that
one of your friends landed there in Traverse" the Mayor said, gesturing up the stairs leading further off into town.
"Thanks, Fizwilliam. I hope you find your daughter" Sora said with gratitude toward the man, who returned the favor. The two then went speperate ways, both hoping to reunite with the
ones they loved.