Sorrow's Promise

Chapter 6

"So, how come it looks like sunset out here?" I asked Riku as we exited the front gate of the mansion. "I didn't really sleep that late, did I?"

"No, it's always like that here. That's why it's called Twilight Town."

I furrowed my brow, following him across the small clearing in front of the mansion's walls and into the forest of tall pines. "Wait, what do you mean 'it's always like that'?"

"It's always sunset," Riku explained. "There are places in town where you'll be able to see it. The sun never rises higher in the sky, and it never actually sets. It hovers just above the horizon all day, every day."

My eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Whoa! That's crazy. I've never heard of anything like that, where the sun never even moves."

Riku shrugged. "It does take a while to get used to, the light never changing. You eventually just develop a kind of internal clock."

I glanced over at him. "Was that a reference to the sunset lighting, or the dark that you live in?"

"Both, I guess." His expressions were so hard to read sometimes, a product of not being able to see his eyes. His eyes...hmm. They're blue, right? Seemed like I remembered them being blue in my dreams. Hard to say if I was just making that up, though.

"You know I'm super curious about the whole blindfold thing," I ventured. "But I figure it'll be the same 'it's a long story' answer that I get about everything else."

Riku smiled a little. "I promise, if you stick around...or come back to visit, I'll explain all of this stuff to you one day. It's all just...really complicated, and some of it needs to be kept secret for now. As for the blindfold...I guess that story is a little too personal to get into quite yet."

"Okay." I felt guilty for pushing. "I won't ask anymore, I promise. You can tell me whenever you're ready...or you don't have to at all."

I studied him out of the corner of my eye as we continued to walk in silence. He was an interesting character – hard to pinpoint. Based solely on his physique, I would have said that he was a jock. Even through that coat I could tell that he was muscular. Plus, there were his ninja sword moves to consider. But the all-black outfit, the long hair, and the blindfold, coupled with his quiet demeanor and general unwillingness to converse much made me lean more towards maybe goth or emo. Or maybe he was just shy, though I had not come across very many shy, shaggy haired jocks in my life. Emo Jock? I smirked at my own train of thought. Who knows, this was a different universe after all. Maybe it was a thing.

Before long, we reached the edge of the woods, not having encountered any Heartless on our way. "Alright, this is where I leave you," Riku stated, stopping and turning to face me. "I've got somewhere else to be. I'll meet you here at...let's say five o'clock."

I gazed up at the clock tower that I could see looming over the town in the distance. "Got it. See you then."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Riku reached into the pocket of his coat, and pulled out a small, brown leather pouch. "In case you find some coffee, or want to buy anything else."

Hesitating, I glanced down at the pouch, then back up at his face. Here was yet another guy offering me money. Wasn't this how my relationship with Aiden had started going south? Not that I actually had any kind of relationship with Riku, and whatever his personality type, he didn't seem like he would care much about making friends. But if we were ever going to have any kind of friendship, I didn't want to start it out owing him money. Sticking my hand in the back pocket of my jeans, I found a couple of wadded up bills and produced them with a grin.

"I've got a few dollars," I announced, realizing after a second that Riku couldn't actually see the money in my hand. "That should buy me a cup of coffee, at least."