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He made his way down to the lakeside. Far, far away, from the harbor on the other side of the water, he could see the festival lights being dimmed as the lanterns were lit in their place. In his hands was a paper lantern of his own, with the weight of its wax candle within feather-light and barely noticeable.
If he closed his eyes, he could pretend it was two years ago, where he was a mercenary for hire, drifting from place to place and going where the wind took him, so long as it didn’t lead him back to the Organization that raised him. It was a life where he was beholden to no one save himself, a life where he lived by the blade and a life where he expected to die by the blade.
Quite the dismal existence, he realized upon reflection, but he had made peace with that if it meant he could stay free.
No, not free… As long as he could keep running. Running from the Organization, running from the void that was his past. So long as he didn’t have to confront it, it was enough.
It was enough for him to live the illusion of freedom. Until he met her.
Opening his eyes again, Roxas saw the lake was already alight with the glow of lanterns on water and sky. The Festival of Lights was a tradition that went back for a long, long time. So long that no one city, each with years upon years of their own stories and traditions, could agree with another on where this celebration originated and what it had been meant to honor.
He knew now, though. The Festival of Lights was meant to honor and remember the sacrifices of the children who died in the Keyblade War, each lantern representing a lost heart and that even now, when their story has become a fairytale, there was someone who cared.
Here in the present, Roxas knelt down, gently placing his lantern at the water’s edge and used a spell to light the candle in its center. Against the darkness of his surroundings, the flame glowed like a light of hope.
Such a small thing, but even the smallest light shines bright in the deepest darkness.
A small light indeed, but it was real and in the end, it had saved them all. The Keyblade War was the tragedy upon which their world was built and when the foundation of their reality was so frail, so fragile, it was only a matter of time before it frayed to pieces and came crashing down in a maelstrom of despair and regret.
It was only because of her that it had not. She sacrificed herself to set things right and bring peace to the souls of those poor children, reminding them of the light that still existed within them, that once, so long ago, they had wanted nothing more than to protect this world and all who lived within it.
Naminé.
His heart ached when he thought of her and not a day passed when he didn’t think of her. A young woman walking into a tavern in search of someone who could take her to Radiant Garden so she could solve the mystery of the Book of Prophecies left behind to her by her caretaker. He had accepted her offer, believing it would be simply another job, escorting a noble’s spoiled ward to a location where he was heading towards anyway and getting paid for it, but somehow, it had spiraled into an adventure that was far larger than himself.
Somewhere, somehow, during that adventure, he stopped caring about the pay. Here was another who had questions about her past and an enigmatic caretaker she was not sure if she could trust. Instead of running from the answers, she chased it. In chasing it, she’d inspired him to look back and find his own.
“We will meet again,” she promised as she faded away, for she had never been a real person, but a simulacrum born from the wishes of those who perished in the Keyblade War. When those who dreamed of her existence were released from their suffering and allowed to return to Kingdom Hearts at last, she had no choice but to go with them. “So long as you remember me.”
It’s been a little over a year now and so far it was a promise that had yet to be fulfilled, but the Festival of Lights was a time for fairy stories, so Roxas held his close, murmuring a prayer as was the custom for this town before gently pushing the lantern from the shoreline and letting it float away.
Not quite ready to return to town, Roxas sat down on the gravel, content to simply watch the lanterns for a little while longer. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, but it could not have been all that long before he heard the sound of footsteps on rocks and the rustling of greenery.
Instinct made him turn around and rising to one knee in the process, ready to spring into action at any moment, but the person who stepped out of the bushes was—
It was dark, yes, but not so dark that he could not recognize the young woman who just joined him at the lakeside.
“Naminé?”
She tilted her head with an all-too familiar expression of confusion in her features. “That is my name, yes, but… I’m afraid I don’t know you.”
Roxas cursed whatever higher powers thought it would be funny to play with him like this. Nevertheless, the feeling of seeing her again outweighed the fact that she did not recognize him in return, so he instead opted to smile a smile that was not forced at all, “Ah, I… It’s alright. I…” Oh no, now he’s gone and made things awkward. “I’m Roxas. It’s nice to meet you.”
Still confused, Naminé seemed to have decided not to comment on his behavior, simply choosing to join him and knelt down by the waterside, paying no mind to the fact that the edge of her skirt touched the water’s surface. He did not leave, not yet, but shuffled back slightly, to give her more space. This sight was painfully familiar, he thought as he watched her light the candle—with a match instead of magic like she did the first time—and set her lantern sail.
And maybe, it was this sense of deja vu that led him to ask, “What did you wish for?”
She turned her head back to look at him, brushing her bangs to the side as she did so, before answering. “I didn’t wish for anything.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“It was something I felt I had to do,” she explained, with a shrug. “I think... I made a promise to someone that I would. I don’t know who, but... it was a boy, I think.”
Yes, you did. And that boy was me.
There could not possibly be a crueler way for them to meet again. Roxas forced himself to laugh. “Funny,” he admitted, “Because I promised someone I would light a lantern for her too.”
“Really?” Naminé asked curiously, “Who?”
“A friend. She changed my life in more ways than I can say.” I met my brothers. The family Xemnas claimed to have abandoned me. Though he and Sora lost Ventus not long after, it had given him a sense of identity. An anchor, knowing where he had come from and who he was. An anchor that kept him grounded as he grieved for her, and an anchor that helped him start anew when he was ready to move forward. “I… never told her though,” he admitted. “A part of me always wondered if she thought everything I did was for my own selfish reasons.”
There was a long pause as the weight of his words settled between them. Roxas wondered if he’d said too much. After all… as far as she knew, he was a complete stranger.
Finally, she said, “I’m sure she knew how you felt. Even if you never said anything out loud.”
“Still, I wish I could thank her properly. She deserved that much from me at least.” He sighed. “In the meantime, all I can do is remember her.”
“Memories are powerful things,” Naminé said with a nod of understanding, for a moment sounding so much like the Naminé he knew, before smiling and adding cheekily, “Says the girl with none.”
He laughed. “That’s the nice thing about memories. You can always make new ones.”
“That much is true,” she replied, nodding towards the lanterns that were floating away. “My earliest one was walking around town, not knowing where I am or who I was. But I know who I am now and… that’s good enough for me.”
Was it? Perhaps it was out of line for him to ask, but he had to know. “Do you ever wonder though? Who you used to be.”
Another pause as she considered his question. In the distance, the first firework was launched into the sky and became a multi-colored starburst that illuminated the night sky.
“Sometimes,” she answered softly. “Sometimes I want to know. Sometimes I don’t. I like what my life is now and I fear… what may happen if I found out what it once was.”
As painful as it was for him to hear—and it was painful—it was an answer he needed to hear. “I see…” he said, trying not to let his true feelings show. Let this be just another happy memory for her, a happy new memory for her new life.
So he did what was possibly the most difficult thing he had ever had to do: He walked away. This was not the same as when he was running—from the truth, from the secrets, from the Organization. This was… a release, somehow. A promise had been fulfilled and what came after… It was his choice.
And his choice was to allow her to be happy without interference.
“Thank you for your company,” Roxas said with a slight bow. “Have a good evening.”
She remained by the lakeside a while longer. Half her thoughts were of the view of the city from here. Perhaps, when she had the time, she ought to try to bring a canvas and paint here, to capture the visage in daylight.
The other half of her thoughts?
“Roxas…”
The name felt very familiar on her tongue. As though she had spoken it well before this night.
From where have I met you before?