"Cheren! Cheren, wake up! Please… please Cheren! You have to wake up! Don't leave me here… please… Cheren…?" I sobbed, shaking the limp body that lay on the ground before me. Behind me stood Bianca, my lifelong friend. I turned to face her. "We have to do something! Get help! Call an ambulance! Something! Don't just stand there and cry!" I screamed at her. She turned and began to walk away. "Bianca! Where are you going? Don't leave me…" I trailed off, as Bianca turned the corner. I collapsed over Cheren's body, my whole body shaking with tears. "I'm sorry," I whispered, although I knew that the boy was long past being able to hear me. "I'm so, so sorry…"
I awoke, screaming, from the nightmare, sweat covering my body and seeping through my pajamas. "Kayla!" I could hear someone shouting at me from somewhere, but all I could see was the image of Cheren's body from the dream. Pictures flashed through my head; Bianca turning and walking away, Cheren's eyes staring blankly ahead… Someone was holding my hand, and whispering to me, but I couldn't make out the words. They sounded warped, twisted. I could still hear screaming, and some part of my brain was telling me it was me that was screaming. My shoulders were being shaken, and I could vaguely see a figure above me. The shape of my mother wavered in and out of my vision, and I began to think straight again. Slowly, I could begin to distinguish was my mum was saying to me. "It was just a dream, Kayla. It wasn't your fault. Just a dream," my mum repeated it over and over again, and I could see her face now, creased with worry. After a few minutes, I sat up. My mum was sat on the end of the bed, trying not to show how anxious she was. "Are you okay Kayla?" she asked. I nodded, feeling too ill to say anything. I had the same nightmare every night, and the same thing happened every morning, and I knew that my mother was worried that the cycle would never break.
I reached for the glass of water that mum always left on my bedside table, and looked down to see I had knocked it off during the night. "You were thrashing around a bit," my mum explained, seeing my confused expression. I knew that I had probably been thrashing around more than a bit, but I didn't say anything. "I made you breakfast," mum said, and pointed to my desk. There was a tray with a glass of orange juice and a plate with two chocolate croissants. I managed to give her a weak smile as thanks, but couldn't bring myself to talk, for fear that if I tried to speak, I would start to cry again. My mum brought the tray over, and set it on my lap. "Kayla, I was thinking last night about this… problem. It's really worrying me, and, well, I think we should do something," mum said, glancing at me. My eyes grew wide, and I automatically began to shake my head in defiance. Mum had tried to get me to go and see a councilor before now, and I'd point-blank refused. She had promised never to mention it again. "I know I said that I wouldn't bring it up again but… it's gotten worse. It's been nine months since Che-" mum caught herself just before she said 'Cheren'. "S-since it happened, and nothing has changed. You're still having the nightmares. I'm worried about you, Kayla. I only want the best for you, you know that," mum explained.
"I'm not going to see anyone about it," I said, my voice hollow. I sipped my orange juice, trying to appear calm, when all I could think about was going to see an old woman who said she understood, but didn't. She'd make me talk to her about it. I knew I couldn't talk to anyone. Especially not someone who I didn't know.
"I was thinking more along the lines of, well, uh… moving away?" mum said.
"W-what? Moving away from Mauville?" I asked, before taking a small bite of a croissant.
"Actually, I was thinking of moving out of Hoenn altogether. It's not like I've got anything to stay for, and plus, I think it would be good to have a fresh start," mum replied. I contemplated it for a moment. Mauville was a bustling town full of tourists. It had the Game Corner, the Gym, and the Bike Shop. It was full of memories though, playing down on the beach on Route 118, going to Verdanturf Town for a picnic… Travelling to Slateport to go shopping. "Just consider it Kayla. Please," mum said, and her voice cracked slightly. I glanced at her.
"It's not a hard choice for me to make, mum," I began, trying to figure out how to say what I wanted to, "Mauville has been my home since I was born, and I love it here. Well, I used to, anyway. But I'm never going to be able to do anything unless I can get over what's happened. I don't think I'll be able to do that here," I explained. I took a deep breath before I added, "I want to go as soon as possible. When can we leave?" The prospect of being able to stop thinking about what had happened to my best friend had taken over my mind. I knew I would never be able to forget the moment when my life had stopped being worth living, but I knew that if I moved away, I could begin to find myself again.
"Actually, I asked Aunt Louisa if we can stay in her second home in Unova. She used it as a holiday home when her children lived with her, but now she's got no use for it. She said we could stay as long as we needed to," mum replied. I reached down to eat another croissant, only to realize that I'd eaten both of them "That's the first time you've eaten a whole meal in a while," mum commented, and I smiled at her. "There's a ferry from Slateport to Castelia tomorrow, if you're completely sure you want to go," mum said, and I nodded. We didn't have much stuff to take with us, so it wouldn't take long to pack, anyway. "I think the Pokémon Contests are live on the telly in a minute. I'll leave you to get dressed, come downstairs when you're done, okay?" mum said, picking up the tray. She went downstairs, and I sighed.
I thought back to when everything was perfect. Bianca, Cheren and I would go to the Gym, where Wattson, the Gym Leader, ran a school for kids who wanted to be Trainers. Even though he was an Electric Type Gym Leader, he gave us lots of different types to battle with. Cheren was amazingly clever when it came to battling, so he could always beat Bianca and I. I smiled as I thought of the battles we'd had in the little grey room in the back of the Gym. After lessons, we'd play for hours and hours together, and then we'd go back to eat dinner. We always ate at each other's houses, and our parents used to come along as well. That was before Team Aqua came to Mauville. They ruined everything. They tried to convince everyone that the world would be better with more sea and less land. They destroyed anyone, or anything, that got in their way. One day we were playing at the beach, my mum was watching over us, when there was a huge tidal wave. Bianca saw it first, and she screamed and ran. I heard her, and ran after her, calling for Cheren to run as well. He was further down the beach, and had buried himself in the sand. The only thing that wasn't buried was his head. He was screaming for help, but no one could do anything but watch, horrified, as the wave crashed over his struggling body. I shuddered as I remembered his terrified shriek as the wave smashed on top of his body. It took a few minutes before we could see Cheren again, and I sprinted towards him, desperately hoping that he was okay. Bianca followed me. I knew as soon as I saw his limp body that he was not going to make it. "It was them," he whispered, his voice weak and barely audible. "Team Aqua."
Bianca and I hadn't spoken since that dreadful day almost nine months ago. Bianca and her family had moved away quickly, and, although they had promised to keep in touch, had never contacted me or my mum as well. Cheren's funeral took place a few days before his family left for Kanto, hosted by Wattson. The whole town came to pay their respects. I didn't go to Cheren's funeral. It was too painful. Thinking back, I knew that I probably should have gone. I just couldn't bring myself to stand with a bunch of people who didn't even know Cheren, and were pretending to care for that one day. After the funeral, their lives would go back to normal. But mine wouldn't. Which is why I didn't go. Cheren's mum had originally kept in contact with mum, but as time went on, the emails became less frequent. We hadn't heard from them in a month.
"Kayla! Are you okay?" I heard my mum call from downstairs. Her voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I hurriedly got out of bed. I changed into a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, and then rushed downstairs to the sound of the starting credits of Pokémon Contests Live. "There you are. I was getting worried," mum said, looking relieved. I nodded, sitting on the old couch next to her. "It looks like it's going to be a good one today," mum commented as the pictures of the contestants and their Pokémon flashed up on the screen of our old TV.
We spent the next couple of hours watching the different ranks of the Pokémon Contests. Mum was right – it had been a really good episode. There had been some unexpected victories too, which made it all the more exciting. The contests were one thing I'd miss when we moved away. There was a contest hall in Verdanturf and one in Slateport too. Sometimes, for a treat, mum would have taken me, Bianca and Cheren to see the contests. It was always a great day out.
After lunch, we started packing. Mum had booked us tickets for the ferry from Slateport to Castelia on the computer. The ferry left early in the morning, so we were going to stay over in Slateport for the night. I packed up a little suitcase full of my clothes, along with my most prized possessions; pictures of Cheren, Bianca and I, the shells we had collected over the years on the beach, a picture of Wattson stood proudly with his whole class of wannabe Trainers, and a photo of mum and I outside the Slateport contest hall.
"Taxi's here!" mum called. I zipped my suitcase shut, looking around my room for the last time. None of the furniture was ours; it had been included in the deal when we first rented out the house, so we weren't taking it with us.
"Goodbye," I whispered to the room, and then rushed downstairs. Mum was waiting in the doorway, her suitcase being loaded into the boot of the taxi by an old man wearing a pinstripe suit. He took my suitcase from me before gesturing for us to get in the car. As we pulled away, I gazed out of the window at the city I had once loved, but had come to hate after Cheren's death. It didn't seem like home anymore now that he and Bianca was gone.
"Wave goodbye, Kayla," mum said, but I just kept staring out of the window.
It didn't take long to get to Slateport. We were staying in the Aquarium Hotel, which was an extension of the original aquarium that was Slateport's main tourist attraction, along with the contest hall. Inside, there was a large fountain, with a stream of water coming out of the mouth of a Gyrados. Around the Gyrados were smaller stone Magikarps, each spraying a water out of their mouths. The counters all around us were shiny, and there was a seating area overlooking the sea.
"This is amazing," I said. Mum smiled as we dragged our suitcases over to the check-in desk. She gave our names, and the woman behind gave us our keys. We were in Room 380, which was on the top floor. We would be able to see the whole of Slateport! We headed for the lifts, and mum pressed the up button. In a matter of seconds, the doors opened and we stepped into the lift.
"Top floor…" mum muttered to herself, looking for the right button. She pressed one saying 'Floor 13 – Rooms 350-400 and the Spa'. The lift doors closed slowly, and we began to move upward. I was excited now, and had a huge grin on my face. "This is the first time I've seen your properly smile in ages, Kayla," mum said, leaning against the side of the lift. I shrugged, still smiling. We were quiet for a few minutes and the lift came to a halt, the doors opening.
We stepped out into a carpeted hallway, the soft yellow lights illuminating the room numbers. Mum led me down the hall, checking the numbers, until we got to Room 380. The door was red, with a gilt handle. Mum took the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. We went inside, both of us looking around in amazement. The carpets were a cream colour, and the walls were pale yellow. There were two large single beds, each with red and gold duvets and a red pillow. There was an average sized television on the wall, with a desk and a mirror under it. Off to one side was a bathroom, with a shower, toilet and sink, and three small bottles of shampoo. But, what really took us both by surprise was the view.
The whole of the back wall was a window, with thick curtains bordering it, tied to the wall. The view was amazing, looking across the beach. The umbrellas looked like beautiful, colourful flowers dotting the shore, and the sea was glittering like a thousand tiny diamonds. Boats sailed across the horizon, the brilliant orange of the sun reflecting off of their sails.
"Wow," I exclaimed. Mum grinned.
"Let's make the most of this amazing hotel, Kayla," mum said. I nodded.