Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Depths of memory ❯ Coming full circle ( Chapter 10 )

So here we finally are; the end of this story.

I've been so reluctant to writing this chapter, even though it has been in my mind ever since I developed the plot for this story, simply because I've loved diving into Riku's head and write down what he felt. It was my first time writing in a personal perspective and I do hope I did well.

I won't deny and say that I'm glad this project finally did come to an end and that now I can focus more on the Riku/Sora cycle that I started with 'Welcome to the wonderful world of puberty'. Yes, you read correctly, a cycle. This basically means that once I've finished the epilogue for 'Aches of the heart' that there's a new story in progress following up to it.

But that is all in a side note, I just hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did and that you'll still be happy to hear from me in the future!

 

Take care everyone, write on write on!

 

-Blackdiamond Princess!

 

10. Coming full circle

 

 

I had never wanted to believe that that day would come, even though the thought of it had always been in the back of my mind.

I was glad his day hadn't been ruined by rain, but that the sun shone brightly and beautifully on his final resting place. He would've wanted this day to be remembered as a sunny one, that's for sure. One that meant the beginning of a new life, away from the pain he had had to live with from the beginning.

My white rose fell on the pale surface of the coffin as the words of the celebrant faded into the sounds of the rolling waves in the distance, my memories of Sora smiling, dancing and laughing filling my mind, making my heart and soul feeling torn in two. My body was on auto-pilot, my inner feelings not showing on the surface. I didn't realise that I had been standing in front of Sora's grave longer than I intentionally had wanted to and it was the soft hand of my mother on my right shoulder that brought me back to a reality I felt less and less ready to face.

I sat myself on my chair again, my eyes never leaving him, a happy image of his smiling face burnt inside my head. I was crying internally, though nothing showed on my face. Somehow I simply blocked and nothing found its way out of me, not even a smile. I could only stare blankly at the people who gave me sympathising shoulder taps or encouraging words as the funeral ceremony came to its end.

It was like I had died with him and yet somehow kept walking around as a shell without content.

The last people were now descending the hill towards the Haruki residence giving out on the sea and I remained, wanting to spend more time with him, not wanting him to be alone in his new, lone home…

 

Our wedding was 4 days ago.

 

Perhaps the thing that hurt the most was the fact that he knew he was going to die but did not call for my help and kept me at a safe distance. He welcomed death and said goodbye to his life, goodbye to the pain and in a cruel sense… see you later to me.

I woke up alone that morning after our wedding, though the two of us had shared the same bed. All my tears had left me, my sadness inconsolable and my anger without end. I felt abandoned and completely lost, the immense pain of his passing one I had thought I would never surpass.

And yet the sun had come up every morning the days after and I slowly regained the hope I had forgotten about, strengthening my belief that one day we would meet again and renew the bonds of love and trust once more.

I looked around me now, watching how the sea calmly licked the shore with its waves, how the clouds tranquilly passed by and the branches of the large weeping willow standing next to Sora's grave waved in a soothing breeze.

He had chosen this place a long time ago he once told me, he had wanted to be able to look over the sea and the house he grew up in at the same time.

A sentiment of ease started to come over me then and I managed to smile a little, feeling better somehow. I sat myself down on my chair and reached into the pocket inside my black vest.

That morning, on his side of the bed, I had found a letter addressed to me in his handwriting, asking me to open it after the funeral.

I opened it now, finding a two page letter and a yellow paper with imprinted letters that I recognised as his will. I needed a steadying breath after that, suddenly feeling my eyes water up with tears.

 

Hi Riku,

I guess that now that you are reading this that I'm gone, but there was something I needed and wanted to tell you. Things I know I won't have time to tell you and won't be able to tell you to preserve your current state of happiness.

First, I need you to know that you've made me happy, so much! My life finally had meaning on the day we met. Love you have given and shown me and for that I cannot thank you enough.

I know you'll mourn me and vow to never love someone again, but this is what I need you to do. Please, don't dwell on my death, move on.

Yes, we loved each other, yes we've had to give each other up, but life for you goes on. I want you to live, baby. Find love again, live a happy life.

I know this comes over as harsh and perhaps cold-hearted, but I know that the happiness you gave me can make another one happy as well. You have the gift of lighting up people's hearts, Riku. Share it with someone, pass it on.

Second, you'll find in an annexed letter my will. I'm basically leaving everything to you and my mother. And if I could ask you for one last request; please take care of her for me, Riku. Even if she knew all of her life this was going to happen someday, she'll still need someone to work it through with. Support each other if you can and be nice to each other, I'll be watching you guys!

Tell uncle Cloud that I love him and that I'm sorry that I have to decline his job offer now… and wish Leon and Kairi all the best from me.

What else is left for me to say but that I love you? And that I always have and always will?

I'll never forget you and I hold you to your promise! I'll be waiting!

 

Your Sora.

 

Ps: I hope we can catch a sunset on the Sea breeze Cliff sometime!

 

I broke down in tears, not able to hold them back any longer. I cried like I hadn't cried in years, holding on to the letter like it was my lifeguard in the sea of tears and sorrow I was almost drowning in.

And then… then I felt something warm fall on my face and spreading over my entire body. Something comforting and reassuring at the same time. My watered eyes looked up to the horizon and they immediately overflowed once more.

 

…I hope we can catch a sunset on the Sea breeze Cliff sometime!

There it was, the most beautiful of sunsets, colouring the skies in a plethora of luminescent colours. It felt like I was witnessing a miracle I had never seen something so wonderful and yet so mundane at the same time. I stood and walked over to the edge of the cliff, finding it in my heart to laugh though my eyes never stopped shedding tears.

"Thank you Sora." I whispered. I had come to understand everything fully now and in a way it made part of my sadness go away.

As I watched the dying sun steadily sink into the never-ending sea I felt connected with him. I can't explain, but staring at the sun like that, it gave me a feeling of solace.

I took the rose I had laid on the coffin still standing next to the empty grave and held it out to the sea with a smile. It didn't belong on his remains; it belonged with him, out there in the infinite infinity. "Tomorrow is another day."

I threw the rose away and watched the wind carry it to the sea where it landed on its surface and drifted away gently with the current.

 

 

Destiny Islands, autumn 2056

 

Wednesday evening, 7.50 pm

 

He stared at the fascinated gazes of the young adolescents listening to him and smiled gently.

"Do you still love him, grandpa?" A girl with blonde hair and sea green eyes whispered, her eyes puffy and red from the tears she had shed while listening to the story.

A soft smile crept on the aged features of the old man, his eyes glistening with cherished memories as he looked at the blue ring on his left ring finger. He closed them and nodded silently. "I've always have and I always will…" He said, opening his tired eyes to look at the children gathered around his comfortable chair. "He was the love of my life." His eyes then fell on one of his grandchildren and he beckoned him closer. "So you see, Edan, if you truly love this guy, don't let anyone make you think otherwise. You might regret it for the rest of your life not knowing what you missed."

The boy with the clear grey eyes and dark brown hair gave him a thankful smile. "Do you think he's still waiting for you, grandpa Riku?"

"I am sure he is, son. My heart tells me he is." Riku hoarsely whispered with a smile. "I have been granted a long life, one filled with joys and pains, but in the end I regret nothing. I was able to meet your grandmother thanks to him and she and I truly loved each other and we got blessed with many beautiful children and even more beautiful grandchildren. My sorrow after his death had been so grant that I couldn't have done all the things I have done if he hadn't helped me. I owe him the life I've lived."

"Do you think that grandma is waiting for you as well?" Another boy resting with his arms on the left arm of the chair whispered, his great brown eyes looking at his grandfather questioningly.

Riku nodded. "I'll be seeing her too very soon, Hayden; I'm looking forward to it."

"Don't talk like that grandpa…" The blonde haired girl whimpered on the verge of tears again. "You're the best; you can't leave!"

"Oh, my sweet child, everyone has to go some time… It's the way life goes…" Riku chuckled.

"Grandpa, who was the old man?" Hayden then asked. "The man who kept telling you to watch out?"

Riku sat back at that and intertwined his fingers on his stomach, a knowing smile on his face. "It was me."

All three youngsters frowned, visibly intrigued by this new piece information.

"You see, I think I was trying to warn myself for the upcoming trials that would change my vision on life."

"How did you figure out it was you grandpa?" Edan whispered questioningly.

"That day I buried Sora."

"Did you see him again?" The girl asked.

Riku shook his head. "I've never seen him again. And I figured out why on the day I married your grandmother."

They all scooted closer to listen.

"The old man kept saying that I was to accept my fate, right?"

They all nodded.

"If I had continued to wallow in my sorrow, I would've never moved on and eventually killed myself… and started the cycle of mine's and Sora's unhappiness all over again. You see, Soryan killed himself, therefore breaking the ties he had with his fate. His fate was unfinished. Think of it as… karma."

"His leukaemia…" Edan whispered.

Riku nodded. "He learned to accept his fate and to live with his disease. I guess he had been granted only the time to meet and fall in love with me before departing from this world again. But in the short time we've loved each other and especially in the last letter he left me, I have learnt to accept my fate as well, even if it meant a life without him. In a way, he saved both our souls and guaranteed us a happy next life.

The day I married your grandmother was one of the happiest days of my life, the second most happy after Sora had gone away thirteen years before that day. I understood that if I had given up, I would've never met the wonderful woman your grandmother was and broken the promise I had made Sora."

"What did you promise him?" The blonde girl asked.

"To be happy, even without him." Riku answered, raising a hand to touch her pretty face. "To live and accept my fate. It was what my conscious had been telling me all along once I had found the connection between my dreams and my life. The tragedy of Soryan and Ryuu's story was that they both had too little faith in their love, no matter how deeply they loved each other. If Soryan had kept his faith in it, he wouldn't have killed himself. Ryuu too was at fault though; even though his initial fears had gone and he permitted his body and heart to love Soryan fully, a bit of doubt still remained. A doubt that got the better of him when he got interrogated after having been approached by his brother who told him he had seen him in bed with the future king. Only the slight suggestion of Soryan's lack of interest in him because of his royal status was enough to have his believe in him weaken. After having confessed of his deeds with the prince, he was sentenced to death, condemning the both of them and their future lives."

A silence settled in the large living room, only the sound of the rolling waves on the beach played in the back ground.

"My children… I hope you have taken a valuable lesson out of this old man's story." He said resting his smile on each of them. "Even if you feel like live is being unfair to you, never give up. Stand back on your feet and keep going on. You'll get what your heart desires most eventually." He then started to stand up, the three adolescents gathering around his rising form and helping him out of his chair.

"Thank you, Erykah…" He whispered as the girl gave him his walking cane.

"Where are you going grandpa?" Edan asked, following him to the back door and the veranda.

"Oh, to the beach to think a little." Riku said, looking at his left hand that rested on top of his right on at the end of the can. He smiled at the ring before looking up at his granddaughter again. "I'll be back in twenty minutes." And with that he left through the glass door, descending the steps giving onto the beach.

His feet retraced the steps he and Sora had made over 50 years ago the night before their wedding all the way to the small dock where they had made love under the stars. There he turned to his right and took the steps leading up Sea breeze Cliff.

The sun was starting to set by the time he arrived on top of the hill and he halted in front of the two gravestones standing there.

"I'm coming, Sora. My time here has come to an end. Look at me now; I'm all old and wrinkled." He whispered, looking at the left gravestone, smiling. "I hope I haven't made you too lonely up there? I'm sure your mother took good care of you."

A small wind blew through the naked branches of the tree, the purplish-red colour of the gathering clouds announcing a thunderous evening.

Down the hill, in the beach house, the three youngsters watched with worried eyes how the skies quickly turned grey and the sea troubled.

Yet, come morning, the only thing that would be left over from the tumultuous night would be a white rose, washing onto the shore.

 

 

Democratic Republic of Glymera, summer 2181

 

Monday afternoon, 1.36 pm

 

The many children of the Crescent Moon day-care came out running of the building and onto the court, all more than happy to be in the warm sun that was shining brightly up in the sky between the three silver skyscrapers of the Glymera Bank of Commerce.

Little feet hesitantly approached the blond haired boy sitting on one of the many benches of the courtyard, eating his snack all alone while the other kids were running around and playing all kinds of games and having fun.

"Uhm… My name is Soren, what is yours?"

The blond boy lifted his head up to the honey brown haired boy in front of him and then lowered his eyes sadly. "My mother told me not to talk to children I don't know."

"And if we become friends, would you talk to me then?" Soren lisped, his bright blue eyes smiling at the other boy. "I don't like seeing you alone."

The other boy looked down at his feet still with a sad look on his face. "The other kids won't play with me."

"I'll play with you! I want to be your friend." The blue eyed boy said cheerfully.

"Really?" He said with a hopeful look on his pale features, his green eyes lighting up with happiness.

"Yes, here." Soren held out a portable hologram game. "Let's play together."

"Ok. My name is Riven." Riven said, taking the game out of Soren's hands. "You're blue, I'm green."

"Hey, that's cheating, Riven, I wanted to be green!" Soren protested attempting to take the game back, but failing as the blond boy held it up to prevent him from laying a hand on it.

"Will you be my friend for ever?" Riven asked him softly, still holding the game up.

"Yes! Give it back already!" Soren jumped and took the device out of the other boy's hand. "I'm green!"

"Okay, okay…" Riven sat himself next to the brunette and watched how the image of a green car was projected out of the game and in front of them, ready to start his race, before it was the blue car's turn.

"Ow, you won!" Soren whined as the final scores came up. "Oh man, now the score is 1 to nothing."

"Come on, Soren, don't give up, let's try again." Riven whispered, placing an arm around the brunette's shoulders. "Maybe you'll beat me this time."

"Really?"

The blond nodded. "Just try."

Soren gave him a determined nod and a smile.

 

Thirteen years would pass before any of them would realise that on that day, it was the beginning of a new story, the start of their shared destiny and the commencement of a new chance granted to the both of them once more.

 

 

-The end-