They were always there for ice cream. The same time every day, about an hour before closing. There were three of them, in black cloaks, always smiling and laughing.
"Yo, three sea salt ice creams." Ah there they were, right on schedule. She pulled out the neon blue ice cream bar, handing it to the man and he gave her a wave before heading over to his friends. The girl smiled. The boy waved to her as well. She gave them a smile and wave back, and the three of them were off.
This time, the younger boy was alone. It was an odd sight to see him without his two friends. She approached him, watching as he gave an apprehensive wave. Without his two friends, he was unsure of what to do now that he was here. He did still come for the ice cream, but she decided to check on him as well, just in case. "Is everything alright, dear?"
The boy looked at her, shaking his head. "Xion ran away, and Axel..." Those must've been the names of the other two he was always with. "Never mind, it's not important."
"Well dear, I promise things will work out between the two of you. Best friends always find a way to make it work in the end." She handed him the light blue ice cream pop. When he went to grab the munny to pay for it she held out her hand. "No need to pay me today. Hopefully it's a sign that your luck will turn around."
The smile he gave her definitely made the loss of money from the ice cream sale worth it.
For a while, things had been going well. The trio had started returning shortly after her conversation with the boy, all smiles and laughs and enjoying the ice cream much like they had many days ago. But today things were different. The man, Axel, she presumed, had shown up, but only for one ice cream. Odd. "Only one?"
"Considering Roxas and Xion ran away, not like I have anybody else to buy for." Axel rubbed his hand through his hair, handing her the money. He went to take his seat but she stopped him from doing so.
"You may want to keep an eye on them, this isn't the first time at least one of them has left." She raised an eye brow, but he just sighed.
"Yeah, I know. But don't worry, don't think it'll be a problem for too much longer. Doubt they'll even be allowed back." Axel let out a bitter laugh. "If you see one of them, just make sure they stay safe." When he left, it seemed like he had a lot more he wanted to say.
The next time he came by, she'd make sure to ask him.
Three days later, the other two had come back. Roxas and Xion, the younger two members of the trio had come, and Xion, who kept her hood up during their brief interaction, had bought the ice cream. The old woman wanted to ask more, but the girl had kept her lips sealed. Unfortunate really, she was starting to get concerned for those children. Had they accidentally ended up in some form of cult?
"Dear, are you sure you don't want to tell me what's going on?" She asked. The girl shook her head.
"No, I'm alright. Thank you, for everything." With that Xion ran up to the clocktower. She couldn't help shake the finality of that thanks. She was just being silly. People didn't normally just go away at that age and those kids loved her ice cream.
She started packing up her stand for the day when she heard somebody cry out and looked up for herself. She nearly let out a startled cry herself. Roxas was fighting something huge up there. Something terrifying. Was Xion alright if he was alone? What had happened. She quickly left the cart alone before racing up the clocktower as fast as her old bones could carry her. She had to see what this monster was in front of the clocktower, she had to make sure those kids were alright. But as she ran, the oddest thing began to occur. She was starting to forget why she was running.
She knew it had something to do with Roxas and...and...it was slipping away. Her memory was bad, it had been growing bad in her old age, but she still couldn't believe how little she remembered of something that only happened moments ago with her favorite customers.
By the time she reached the top, Roxas was gone. And she wasn't entirely convinced that seeing him had been anything more than a dream either.
About a week had passed since she'd last seen Axel and Roxas, and she was beginning to get concerned. Where were they? They always came for ice cream an hour before her cart closed, and suddenly that changed. Something had to have happened to them, but she didn't know what. Her concern was only slightly releaved when right before closing, Axel arrived with a young blonde girl. "Two sea salt ice creams, please."
She went to get the ice creams, but stopped as she realized the question that was in her mind. "Where's Roxas?"
Axel seemed surprised that she remembered his friend, but shook his head. "Like I said last time I saw you, I didn't think he'd be coming back. He..."
"Roxas went back to where he belonged." The girl standing behind Axel had spoken up, her voice taking on a melocholic tone. Had she known Roxas as well?
Something told her that comment wasn't as nice as it sounded, so she left off on a polite comment. "I hope you'll have a chance to see each other again. If he does return, tell him I'll have an ice cream bar ready for him a-" She stopped herself. Who else was she supposed to have ice cream for?
"Thanks, I'm hoping so too." Axel gave her a thumbs up before leading the young girl away.
That was the last time she had seen Axel as well.
It had been two years since she'd last seen the kids. Despite the fact that they never showed up, she'd kept them in her thoughts. They had been her most loyal customers, and their sudden disappearance was both a disappointment and a heart break. She'd always worried something had happened to them, but a part of her hoped that they were safe.
She started to pack up her cart, another day of steady business gone by, when she heard a voice. "Yo." She glanced up, looking at a familiar red haired man, with two kids behind him. "We're not too late, are we?"
The old woman shook her head. "You're just in time." She smiled, pulling out three sea salt ice cream bars. "And don't worry about paying, dearie, these were made just for you."