In Merlin's opinion, Kairi and Lea's training was going very well. It would take time for them to become decent fighters, of course, but one good thing about the place where he had sent them was that time did not exist and could practice as much as they needed without any pressure. Furthermore, they had strong hearts…, that made everything easier. He returned to Radiant Garden with the peacefulness of he who knows everything is going the way it should, even if progress seems slow, first to retrieve some useful book for his apprentices and then off to see Yen Sid and inform him and be informed himself.

But perhaps he had been too confident, because, as soon as he appeared in a cloud of smoke, Yuffie, Leon, Aerith and Cid were pouncing on him, all talking to him at the same time.

"Stop! Stop! What's all this madness about?" They made him shout.

"It's your book, Merlin! It's doing weird things!" Cid clarified things to him.

"What do you mean weird things?" Merlin asked. "What has happened?"

"Go and see it for yourself." Yuffie took him to his house, to the corner where the lectern was.

Merlin was still a few meters away from it when he clearly perceived it. 'Oooh…', he muttered, his thick eyebrows furrowing. He then took the book in his hands and examined it from all angles, leafed through it.

"How long has this been happening?" He asked.

"For a few days now." Leon replied.

"Has something happened?"

"Not that we know of."

"Yeah, no news, nor bad nor good." Yuffie said.

"What is it, Merlin?" Aerith asked, looking at the wizard with concern.

"Hmm…This book is calling…"

"Calling?" Yuffie asked.

"Calling who?" Cid frowned.

"I don't know, but it must be someone who has got a great power over it…" Merlin passed the pages once again, finding no imperfections, nothing out of place in the illustrations or the text. Pooh and his Hundred Acre Wood friends seemed to be still living a placid life. The small signature, Christopher Robin, appeared in front of him and he stared at it for some seconds, before closing the cover and studying it for longer. Sora, sitting alongside Pooh…

"Sora took care of a problem recently, but…It seems the inhabitants of this book are in trouble again…If there is someone who can figure out what is happening, that's him…"


Sora didn't take his eyes off the new guest at Mysterious Tower. He knew that Fauna and Merryweather had given him a headache about his clothes suiting him better in red or blue, and rewarded him for his stoic patience before Flora helped them see that he looked perfect just the way he was in the beginning with a nice dinner full of treats. Though heartless, he was still a child and couldn't resist the meat pies, soups, mashed potatoes, eggs and bacon, salads and, mostly, the desserts, hogging the honey cupcakes. Fauna said she had sprinkled them with a little magic. True or not, it sure helped the boy seem a little less gloomy. And when he went to bed early, he came to watch him sleep.

One does not get feasts or a good night's sleep in the realm of darkness…

He had roamed in there for years, all alone…Though he was slowly recovering, the fairies told Sora in private that he would need to be patient. It was very likely that he would sleep for many hours, even days. 'You will see: once he gets a good rest and eats well, he will feel so much better and start to open up', they had said.

But if he was lacking a heart, it seemed improbable that he would get to behave like normal children did…

He was a normal boy once…

He had a mother…

"Where did all this mud come from?! And look at yourself! Oh, your new trousers! All right, you're taking a bath right now, mister! And you're getting no dessert today!"

And a father...

"… / Had wheezles / And sneezles, / They bundled him / Into / His bed. / They gave him what goes / With a cold in the nose, / And some more for a cold / In the head…"

And he had friends…

"Happy Windsday! Let's go get the kites!"

(Who…?)

Many good friends…

"Look at the bug I found!"

"Good morning. Me? Miserable..., but that's nothing new, how do you do?"

"I've collected tons of haycorns, do you want some?"

(I can't see their faces…)

…And he had to go to school…

There...it all happened there...In that small, oppressing space...

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"CHILDREN, GET UNDER YOUR DESKS!"

"MOMMY!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Sora saw him toss and turn, whine. He felt the impulse to step into the room and soothe him. Until…

The wind, shaking the leaves, making them whistle…It is warm and pleasant…The afternoon is falling, and the crickets start to sing lazily…There is no hurry, no anxiety…He is standing on a wooden bridge—below, a soft stream murmurs. Several sticks flow down no less peacefully. And he feels...everything is all right...

There was no need to intervene. The boy's expression softened and he turned for the last time, to keep on sleeping, now without a worry. Sora sighed softly and went to bed himself.

I really hope I can help him…

As he got into bed (Donald and Goofy were already engaging in a snoring competition), he wondered what would Xehanort want a child for. But most of all…why did he send him to him so he would help him?

He fell asleep thinking that he understood nothing.


"There! I baked you some more honey pancakes for your journey, since you liked them so much." Flora handed a package to the boy the morning after, when they were about to depart.

"Thank you, ma'am." He replied. And it looked like those cupcakes would be in his stomach in very little time.

"It was our pleasure."

"Good luck, child." Merryweather said.

"You'll see how everything will turn out fine. Bright days await you!" Fauna said.

"And trust me: if you ever get tired of yellow, blue is your best choice."

"Don't start that again, Merryweather! It is red, clearly!"

As the fairies kept distracting the boy, Donald took his friends aside.

"Listen, today, during breakfast, I've been thinking...We can't take the boy with us!"

"But we've still got to help him. Master Yen Sid said it." Goofy said.

"Yeah, I know, but Sora must get back in shape to stop Xehanort before he tries something and needs no distractions."

Sora glanced at the child, who was still caught in Fauna and Merryweather's argument. Distraction seemed like a pretty harsh term…

"There must be something we can do!"

It was then when his Gummiphone rang. He picked up and it turned out to be Merlin, who was holding it upside down.

"Sora! How are you-?"

"Like this, old man." Cid grabbed the phone and placed it back in his hands in the correct way. Merlin shook his whiskers, his pride offended.

"Ahem, I need you to come to Radiant Garden as soon as you can."

"Has something happened?"

"Perhaps. It is Pooh's book. It is acting strangely lately."

"Strangely how?" Sora was afraid to ask.

"I think it is calling for help."

Calling for help?

If Pooh was in danger, Sora was ready to drop everything and go fast. "I'm on my way!"

"Thank you, Sora."

The teenager looked at his partners with a slight frown.

"It might be important…If Merlin's concerned…it must be."

"Could it be related to…?" Goofy suggested.

"Who knows?"

He really hoped not. The Hundred Acre Wood had always been a peaceful place, the only place where he could relax and just play around and enjoy the company of friendly fellows. He really hoped Xehanort and his goons hadn't messed with his friend.

"Alright, we're leaving!" He announced to the boy, who was quick to follow.


Sora was glad the boy found a reconstructed wonderful city. His first impression of Radiant Garden was an endless maze of rubble called Hollow Bastion. Now there were people, laughter and conversations filled the air after decades of silence, and one could walk safely without fearing for their lives.

"I need to do something. You, Donald and Goofy wait in here." Sora told the boy.

"Okay…"

"Here! Try this!" Donald offered him a sea-salt ice cream.

The three of them sat at the balcony to eat it. '…It's…salty and…sweet?', Sora heard the boy mutter, not seeming displeased at all before making his way to Merlin's house.

"Ah! You're here! I didn't expect you to come so quickly!" The old magician greeted him.

"Anything for Pooh." Sora replied.

How is Kairi doing?, he was dying to ask, but in the end he didn't.

"So…what's the matter?"

Merlin pointed at the book, resting on its corner. "Perhaps you can find out. I have found no trace of evil magic on it but we can't be sure. It is calling insistingly, but we don't know why. Maybe the inhabitants could give us a hint."

Nodding, Sora closed his eyes and plunged inside the book.

And the room gave way to an open space. Under his feet was a carpet of flowers. However, the skies were not blue, as they usually were; the day was cloudy and a chilly breeze blew.

Aside from it, everything seemed well in the Hundred Acre Wood, but…was it, really?

He walked around, looking for someone to ask, when he found them. Piglet had given up on the matter, but not Pooh. He was still in his Corner, putting the fluff inside his head to work. 'Think, think, think…', he repeated like a mantra, like breathing.

"Hey, Pooh."

The teddy bear rose his eyes at him and a smile grew on his face.

"Hello, Sora! Nice to see you!"

"Same here. Is everything alright around here?" Sora asked, sitting by his side.

"Oh, yes. It's a lovely day, isn't it? Rabbit's harvesting and Piglet's collecting haycorns."

"So…Nothing's wrong?"

"Mmmm…No."

"I thought you guys needed help."

"Well…Now that you mention it…We could perhaps use an itsy bitsy little help. You've always known exactly what to do."

"I knew it. So, what is it?"

"Can you help me find something I've lost?"

"Sure! What have you lost?"

Pooh shook his head with chagrin. "Oh, bother, I can't remember…"

Silly old bear…, Sora couldn't help smirking. "Okay. Uhm…Is it a book?"

"No."

"A toy?"

"Nuh-huh."

"Honey?"

"Haha! No! I know exactly where it is! Inside my tum, where it is safe!"

"A friend?"

Pooh rose his eyes at him at that. "Yes! That's it! A friend!"

"Piglet? Owl? Eeyore?"

"No, everyone is here."

"So…who did you lose?"

"Now that's the tricky part…I don't think there's anybody else…, but I have this itching in my heart…" Pooh pointed at his tummy and Sora gently took his finger and placed it on the right place, "…that there is someone else…I thought of you, Sora…But you're here and the itching doesn't go away…"

"Gee, Pooh, I don't know what to say. You got me there. I've got no idea of who it might be."

Pooh let out a small sigh.

"It's all right."

But it was not all right. Sora knew it, and Pooh knew too. It almost seemed like the Hundred Acre Wood itself knew as well.


Note: the poem mentioned in this chapter is Sneezles, by Pooh's creator, A. A. Milne