Chapter 2
His office was outside the school, in another garden, and it was in a beautiful lush tree with animal carvings all over. Sora felt like this was the first time he ever saw this. He never stepped foot here. Or did he? He didn't quite remember.
As he stepped inside Rafiki's office, which was a room full of paintings and hanging fruit, he sat on a comfortable cushion. Rafiki himself appeared, with paint on his hands.
"Just a minute! I'm putting the finishing touches on my masterpiece." said Rafiki.
He then stepped out of the shadows and Sora's eyes widened. Rafiki himself was not human at all. Like some of his classmates such as Kuzco, Kenai and Terk, he was a walking and talking animal. Rafiki was a mandrill with white fur on his chin that looked like a beard and his eyes were yellow, the color of bananas. His face was streaked in blue and red colors and his long fingers were covered in pain. He smiled warmly at Sora's presence.
"I've never seen you in my office before. Welcome. What is your name?" asked Rafiki.
"I'm Sora."
"Ah. Sora. Your name is very beautiful. It means to fly. Such a wonderful dream." said Rafiki as he cleaned his hands with a rag.
Sora nodded. He knew who Rafiki was. He's heard of him, but he never met him. Or did he? He didn't remember. How come meeting him for the first time was a surprise?
"You come with questions." said Rafiki, stroking his white beard like fur on his chin, like a wise old man.
"Y-yes! I'm here because I'm having nightmares." said Sora.
"Nightmares. Oh, not fun. Not fun at all. Nightmares are terrible things!" exclaimed Rafiki.
"T-they are. I came because I'm having a series of nightmares. And they are all mixed up! And they all involve either me, my friends, or people I know. Heck, I even dream of people I never met in my life!" said Sora.
"Such as?" asked Rafiki.
"Well this one time I had a nightmare where Aladar, you know the Blitzball player, had his home destroyed by a meteor shower and he escaped with his lemur family. Then I had a nightmare where one of the neighborhood kids, Bambi, had his mother shot by a hunter. Then I had this other nightmare where Mufasa, the old mayor, was killed by Scar, our current mayor!" cried Sora.
Rafiki nodded in understanding and his sat down on branch. "And what about nightmares that involve yourself?" he asked.
"Oh where do I begin! I have a lot of nightmares involving me. I lose my friends in a storm. I get hurt by shadows. I lose people I love in my nightmares. Heck, you know the teachers Mr. Goofy and Mr. Duck? They are friends of mine in those nightmares and this one nightmare, they fall into an abyss and I was helpless to save them." Sora was saying.
Rafiki didn't say a word. He massaged his old hands together and he nodded while Sora kept on saying more.
"Then this one nightmare, I was on my knees, begging to a shadow to let a friend of mine go free. It was awful." said Sora.
"How often do you get those nightmares?" asked Rafiki.
"Almost every time I go to sleep. I haven't been sleeping well as of late." said Sora.
"Another question. When did they start?" asked Rafiki.
"I don't remember. I've been having them for a long time." said Sora.
"You have a twin brother yes? Does he have nightmares like you?" asked Rafiki.
"Roxas doesn't get nightmares. He's in my nightmares and he gets hurt all the time. In one nightmare, he cries before I wake up, saying something about summer ending. It's so painful." said Sora.
Rafiki nodded, still stroking his chin. "This means something." he said, but to himself.
"Sorry?" asked Sora.
"Young man, are you certain you are the only one with nightmares such as these?" he asked.
"I don't know." replied Sora.
Rafiki once again nodded. "I wish I had an answer to this. But I don't know what is causing the nightmares. What is curious about those nightmares is that they are vaguely familiar and eerily close to one another." said Rafiki.
"Eerily? And familiar? How so?" asked Sora.
"Note the key word. "Vaguely." I am not an expert on nightmares, but sometimes, dreams or even nightmares are visions of something that perhaps happened in the past, or perhaps in another life." said Rafiki.
"You're confusing me. Another life?" asked Sora.
"There are beliefs that when a person passes away, their soul reincarnates into another life. An avatar if you will. Of course, this is unlikely, and as I just said, this is something that I may have to look into." said Rafiki.
"Do you believe in that? In being born into another life?" asked Sora.
"I have my own beliefs, but I will say this… what you are experiencing means something. And it will take some time to discover the answer." said Rafiki.
"Then what should I do?" asked Sora.
"In the meantime, all I could say to you is try to keep your mind off things. Distract yourself with different activities. Sports. Reading. Homework. I know I sound boring, but perhaps that may help your mind be at ease. However, that is no guarantee that the nightmares will stop. Come back to my office tomorrow. I may have something come up." said Rafiki.
Sora nodded and stood up from the cushions. He looked at the paintings on the wall and noticed that they all represented animals.
"Do you remember where you come from?" asked Sora.
Rafiki smiled and nodded. "I know I came from a beautiful place. Unfortunately, there is something that is keeping me from…." Rafiki stopped. He stood thinking and looked at Sora with a smile.
"This is funny. I don't remember where I'm from. Or rather, I don't remember how I got to work here…." Rafiki stopped again and then he started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" asked Sora, who couldn't help but laugh himself.
"It's so silly. You just made me realize that I have a lot of work to do!" he said excitedly.
…
Sora went back to the dorms, knowing that Rafiki was going to look into whatever was affecting him. Something was not right at all. If Rafiki realized that there was something off, then surely he might find the answer. He was wise and very open to learning new possibilities.
Sora sat down and looked at his gummi phone. He had a text message from Riku.
"How r u?"
Sora replied. "Back home. U?"
"At the gym. Roxas is with me."
Sora replied back with a couple of emoji's and he suddenly felt sleepy. He didn't want to sleep, but somehow he felt like he needed to close his eyes. And he did. And he drifted off to sleep.
"Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!" cried Sora.
"It's no use. That girl has lost her heart. She couldn't wake up." said a voice. No. Two voices. Riku was sitting on top of a ledge, wearing black armor. But this wasn't Riku.
"You. You're not Riku." said Sora.
"The keyhole will not be completed, so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps." said the imposter, as he floated down to the ground.
"A princess? Kairi is a princess?" cried Sora.
"Yes, and without her power, the keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakens." said the imposter.
"Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!" cried Sora.
The imposter snaps his fingers and Sora's heart started to hurt.
"Sora!" cried Donald Duck, who was standing next to him.
"Don't you see yet you child! Kairi's heart rests within you! It has been there all along!" cried the imposter.
"Kairi is inside my heart?" cried Sora.
"I know all that there is to know. For it is I, Ansem, the seeker of Darkness!"
Donald Duck got his wand out and started to scream curses at Ansem. He said words that were not to be said at all and he ran to attack.
"Ansem" then hit Donald hard against the ground and he kept on walking towards Sora.
"Now, I shall release you now princess. Complete the keyhole with your power. OPEN THE DAMN DOOR! LEAD ME INTO EVERLASTING DARKNESS!" he cried.
Sora quickly looked up as soon as he heard his name called out by Kairi. "SORA!"
He quickly defended himself with a key shaped sword, against the black blade of Ansem.
"Forget it. There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!" he cried.
…
"Sora? Wake up!" cried Roxas.
Sora opened his eyes and he was drenched in sweat. He was sweating all over and the couch was even wet. Roxas was by his side, with fear written all over his face.
"Roxas? What happened?" asked Sora.
"I came in and I saw your body shaking! It looked like you were having a seizure! And you were sweating and mumbling words!" said Roxas.
"I-I had a nightmare," said Sora.
"Another one?" asked Roxas.
"Yes." replied Sora, blinking his eyes and wiping off the sweat from his forehead.
Roxas stood up, and started to bite his nails. Sora looked up to see him in that position and observed him.
"Roxas?" he asked.
"I've been keeping this a secret for too long. I need to tell you too." he said.
"What?"
"Sora, I've also been having nightmares." said Roxas.
"You too?" asked Sora, standing up from the couch. He was surprised to hear Roxas admit it.
"I've recently started to have them, and they happen way too often. I didn't want to say anything. I thought they would pass, but they are getting intense. And when you said you had them, I just couldn't keep it a secret any longer." said Roxas.
"What are your nightmares about?" asked Sora.
"You are going to think I'm crazy. I have dreams where I'm living in a town called Twilight Town. And the others are there. Hayner, Pence, Olette and a blonde girl I never met before, yet she's so familiar. Anyway, in those dreams, they instantly become nightmares. In fact, I get nightmares within the dreams themselves! I go to sleep right, and then I get nightmares based on you! You're with Mr. Duck and Mr. Goofy and you visit people, solving their issues. But when I "wake" up in those dreams, things happen around me. White creatures appear and everyone stays frozen for a while. Then, Axel would come out wearing a black hood, and he says weird things and the dreams just get weirder and weirder." Roxas was saying.
"You sleep in your dreams and get nightmares there? This is so messed up." said Sora.
"I know! What is up with this?" cried Roxas.
"Did you speak to Rafiki?" asked Sora.
"No. I thought the dreams would pass, but they keep getting worse." said Roxas.
"Then you should go see Rafiki and tell him. I peaked his interest with my nightmares. Maybe what's happening to you is also happening to others, like me perhaps." said Sora.
"Do you think Rafiki would find an answer?" asked Roxas.
"Only one way to find out. Come with me." said Sora.
The boys headed straight for Rafiki's tree, and they knocked on the wooden door, which was decorated with animal carvings like the tree itself.
"Mr. Rafiki? Are you there?" asked Sora aloud. No answer and the boys started to fidget.
"Maybe he's out for lunch?" asked Roxas.
"Unlikely. The guy's got fruits in there." said Sora.
Just then, one of their classmates appeared before them.
"You guys looking for Mr. Rafiki? He's in the library looking over stuff." said Chicken Little.
"At the library? Good! Let's catch up with him." said Sora.
The boys quickly ran back to the building and went into the library. The librarian, Ms. Belle, pointed where Rafiki was. He was surrounded by piles of books, and each of them had something to do with sleep and dreams.
"Sora and Roxas. I had a feeling I was going to see you twice in one day." cackled Rafiki.
"You got a minute?" asked Roxas.
"I do. And let me guess. You also have nightmares." said Rafiki with a toothy grin.
"Y-yes! How did you know?" asked Roxas.
"Sora is with you and you are his twin brother. I had what you call, a hunch. And as you boys can see, no matter how deep I look into this, I still haven't got a clear answer to your dilemma. This is making my head itch with one question after another. For some reason, I actually enjoy this! I love a good mystery!" said Rafiki, clapping both his hands excitedly like a little kid opening presents on Christmas morning.
"Then what can we do?" asked Roxas gloomily. Sora patted his back.
"As I told Sora, try to get some rest and get your mind off things while I continue this curious quest for answers. Try Hakuna Matata." said Rafiki.
"Hakuna Matata." said Roxas, rolling his eyes and turning back.
"Roxas wait." said Sora.
"You heard the monkey. Hakuna Matata. There's nothing we can do right now." said Roxas.
"But he's looking into this! Look at him. He's working really hard to help us. He'll find something out. I'm sure he will." said Sora.
"Eureka! I got something!" cried Rafiki.
"That was quick." said Sora, surprised. Roxas shoved Sora aside and ran towards Rafiki.
"What did you find?" asked Roxas with urgency in his voice.
"A lead. Not an answer, but a lead. And perhaps this is something you and Sora will have to look into. I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do on this point." said Rafiki, rather disappointed.
The boys listened intently.
"This book I'm holding right here is the lead." said Rafiki, holding what appeared to be a plain book in a white cover.
"A book?" asked Roxas.
"Yes. And it is a work of fiction." said Rafiki with a smile.
Sora was beginning to think Rafiki lost his marbles. "So, you want us to read this book, which is clearly just a regular book with a made up story with made up characters. And how is this going to help us?" asked Sora.
"Not about the contents of the book. It's about who wrote it." said Rafiki.
He opened the first page to show them the name of the author.
Namine.
Roxas's eyes widened. "Namine." he whispered.
"Who?" asked Sora.
"Namine. I know her!" cried Roxas.
"You do? Is she a classmate?" asked Sora.
"No! She appeared in my dreams! She's the blonde girl!" cried Roxas.
Sora gasped and Roxas grabbed the book off Rafiki's hands. "You're a genius!" cried Roxas.
"So, I assume you want us to find Namine?" asked Sora.
Rafiki nodded. "This book you have was the only one Namine ever wrote. In fact, I met her a long time ago! She loved to talk about dreams and science fiction and all that. When she wrote this book, it won a few awards for it's complexity and thought provoking themes of sleep. In fact, the title of this book is Birth By Sleep. If anyone should know the answer to your problems and one who is deep into the study of dreams, it's going to be her." said Rafiki.
"Good! Where can we find her?" asked Roxas excitedly.
Rafiki's smile turned into a frown and he stroked his beard. "This is the part where I get to "bum" you both out. Namine hasn't been seen or heard for quite some time."
"What?" asked Sora.
"What do you mean?" asked Roxas, feeling crestfallen.
"After her book was published, she simply vanished. In fact, no one knows what happened to her. But I can say this. She's about your age. And knowing her, I know she's still here in this school." said Rafiki.
"No way." said Roxas.
"How come there hasn't been a missing person's report on her?" asked Sora.
"There was. Don't you remember the assembly a few months ago?" asked Rafiki.
Sora was about to answer, but he then realized he didn't remember any assembly. In fact, most of her memories were a blur. He shook his head and Rafiki nodded in understanding.
"Don't give up boys. Namine is still here. And I know she will help you. You just need to search high and low for her here in Oblivion." said Rafiki.
Sora's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
"Oblivion. The name of our school? Goodness, you really do need to sleep more often. I blame the nightmares. You poor boys really do need to take it easy." said Rafiki.
"Oblivion." said Sora to himself silently. A name so vaguely familiar. Why was it so familiar? This didn't make any sense.
"Sora, snap out of it. We need to find Namine and fast, before the dreams intensify." said Roxas.
"Right. Yeah." replied Sora.