The ocean stretched out far, colored soft blue colors under cloudy skies. The air smelled fresh and salty, and the weather was just right, not to chilly and not too hot.
Amy enjoyed coming out here, to swim or to just play. There was never a dull day on these rocky shores, she always could find something new, be it a fish she hadn't seen before, a piece of colorful glass from somewhere far away or a seashell that was made by the diligence of the creature that lived in it once. She often wondered out far away from the rest of her family, exploring until she got tired and then she would run back with the treasures she collected and show them off. The most awesome ones she kept on the small table next to her bed.
Once again she spent a long time watching creatures in the tide pool before she realized that the sun was already setting. She looked up to see that most of the sky has cleared and the sunset painted the world with cream colors. It took her breath away for a second, but it also planted a wish she didn't understand at first.
I wish I could share this with someone…someone important…
She brushed that thought off then, but later that night she thought more of just who she was picturing. Sure her family was there with her, but she wanted to see that sight with someone in particular…was there a person out there like that? What were they like?
In any case she was 12, so she fell asleep dreaming of the sunset and being safe, with warm feelings that reached farther than the sun, into her soul.
...
Groggy from very long sleep, Shadow was slowly waking up. He blinked and winced as his eyes were adjusting to the light. His whole body felt weak. Air around him was humid and the metal floor of the glass container was cold.
There was still some liquid in his lungs so he coughed several times before he was coherent enough to look around.
Through the glass he could see some computers and a mostly empty dark room. He also saw a shape in white coat and a lot of face fur that was only growing in one spot. Whoever that was didn't seem too threatening.
The shape pressed something outside the pod, letting in some fresh air as the glass moved to the side. There was still some liquid left on the floor, it probably was filling up the whole pod before.
The man in a lab coat was smiling; it's the first time he actually got to see his creation not behind a glass. Several times it seemed like it wasn't going to work, but the experiment was indeed a success.
'My name is Gerald. Welcome to this world, Shadow,' he extended his hand, trying to reassure the confused creature.
Shadow inched away at first, unsure if he could trust the much larger man. 'S..Shadow?' He paused in surprise, hearing himself for the first time.
'That is your name, Shadow. You shouldn't be afraid. Me, my staff and my daughter Maria are going to look after you. This is your home as well as ours.'
Shadow blinked, he still didn't quite trust this man, but he really did seem like he was there to help Shadow. His stomach growled, and seemed to be hurting a lot.
'I am hungry,' somehow a lot of the words he already knew and mentally was closer to a teenager than someone born just a few minutes ago.
The scientist chuckled. 'We have food. Come on, let me show you the rest of this station.'
Shadow followed him and got to try out his first meal – rice balls with salmon.
...
'So…there are people just like you and the doctor living down there?...on that blue thing?' Shadow was looking out from the observation window at the blue planet below. The stars were bright above it in the familiar deep darkness of space.
'Yes, they do. I heard only stories from my grandpa, but it is an amazing planet. With a blue sky rather than our ceiling that stretches on and on. It has weather….and night and day change…there are rivers and the ocean, and I would like to see it all. With you. You would like it Shadow.'
He smiled one of his small but still happy smiles. 'We will, Maria.'
...
The ocean was still the same as it used to be, and Amy enjoyed some time alone by it. She wasn't as intent on finding treasures at 17, but even just looking around at the sea life and breathing in the salty air was fun enough. Her favorite bright red dress stood out against the scenery as she hopped from one rock to the next.
Her mind was heavy with the thoughts of the blue hedgehog she knew and how cold he was to any of her advances. Perhaps it was just one sided.
When she looked around she noticed that she wandered off quite a bit and was in a remote part of the beach. Amy was about to head back when she saw something glisten in a rocky cove. She moved closer to see what it was. It still wasn't too clear so she traversed the slippery rocks next to some strong current to get to the object. A sharp edge on one of the rocks tore a slit through one of her shoes.
'Awhhh…not my shoes..' she pouted but kept going, at least she can see whatever it was to compensate for the damage.
She almost slipped again, but managed to balance herself on something cold and smooth. It was the shiny object she saw before, wedged by the waves between the rocks. It seemed to be in here for a while, since it was overgrown by small shells and sea grass.
'Huh…a container? What's it doing here..' it looked like something out of the movies, she never saw this technology in real life.
What if it's a alien…
She shook that thought off, aliens scared her. Besides…its not like anyone could be inside this…all those years…
Amy cleared off some of the goo off the container. Black letters said A.R.K. in their language, so it wasn't alien. Underneath the letters and under the glass was…someone's face?!
She yelped and almost slipped in shock. After initial panic passed a bunch of thoughts ran through her mind. Was this person alive? Or did she just see…
…Well all those questions would have been left unanswered if that person couldn't tell her. …But what if they are dangerous?
She could take care of herself. Maybe she could even save their life, who knows.
'Don't freak out. I am not trying to hurt you…here it goes?..!' Amy readied her Piko hammer and smashed the side of the container, making sure not to damage whoever was inside of it.
The thing hissed and smoke started coming out of it, which caused Amy to panic even more, what if all of this went wrong and she might have just killed someone. What if….
She heard coughing, then the lid of the container got tossed all of the way off as the occupant freed himself. He stood up shakily, since he hasn't moved in a while and looked around. The air was full of smells, way more than the sterile air of the space station. He heard the waves and saw the skies Maria talked about.
Then Shadow remembered what led up to him being here and he started crying. He was aware there was another person nearby but the memories hit him all at once.
Woah…I wonder what happened…
Whatever it was he looked like he needed a hug. So Amy moved over to him and wrapped her arms around the lonely stranger. He was warm and for some reason it wasn't as awkward as it should have been.
Shadow didn't protest. He stayed in her arms for a while, until the tears stopped and he could think again.
'..Um…Thank you…' he realized he didn't even know the persons name.
'Oh…no problem…you looked like you needed it. I am Amy. Sorry I almost hit you with a hammer earlier, no hard feelings right?..hahah…'
Shadow wasn't sure what she was talking about. 'Shadow…Um….could you let go of me?' Her arms were still around him.
Amy blushed, not realizing they were still hugging. 'AH! Yeah of course' She looked at him again, noting he really was pretty handsome. Usually she could figure out people right away, but not him, and that intrigued her a lot. 'Could we…maybe move to a different spot? The rocks here aren't the safest.'
Shadow nodded and helped her back to the more stable ground. His legs were still a little weak, but he was recovering fast. His jacket was all wrinkled and his quills were a mess. His eyes looked a little lost still, but his confidence was slowly coming back.
'This is…Earth, right?' asked Shadow. It had a blue sky alright, and the ocean.
Amy looked at him, but he still didn't look like an alien. 'Yes, its Earth. You from the ocean or something?'
Shadow shook his head and pointed to the sky. 'I'd rather not go into the details. Thank you for helping me.' He almost got into a running position but Amy caught that.
'Won't you get lost? You don't really know the area. And I barely got a chance to talk to you.'
'You wouldn't want to hang around me much….' He glanced back at her then tossed her a communicator he had with him. 'If you want to talk, use that. Later' With a blur he was off, vanishing before she could even blink.
Shadow….
The sunset was again in full beauty, reminding her she should probably head home. Amy looked down at the communicator, which still had Shadow's scent on it.
Will he be back? He didn't even get to see this sunset with her…
She felt he was watching it too though. Maybe that someone…someone important…was Shadow all along.
...
Amy quickly ate dinner, thanked her parents and ran to her room, jumping on her bed. Several minutes passed as she tried to calm herself down enough until her heart wasn't beating so fast and she could actually breathe. Then she took out the communicator and spent a few minutes looking at it too, until her mind stopped racing, creating all those great scenarios and romantic scenes and replaying their meeting.
You can do it, Amy
Amy closed her eyes and tapped the call button. If she heard his voice he was right there.
'Amy?'
That single world send shivers down her spine. It took her a second to compose herself.
'Yes, um…Hi Shadow, I hope I am not bothering you' Amy twirled her hair, nervously. What if he wouldn't want to talk to her anymore?'
'Hi' was it a smile in his voice she heard? 'Don't worry about it. I was just thinking. A lot had happened.'
'I see' … thinking about what? Their meeting?…Amy knew she was. 'You didn't get lost?'
'This place is unfamiliar, yes. But I can figure things out. I have to.'
'You know I can help…I grew up around here. You found a place to stay, Shadow?' Amy flinched, what if he took it the wrong way? What if she was being too forward?'
'More or less, I am on the move a lot.'
He was being brief in his speech. She didn't really know much about him, maybe that's just how he was.
'Say…Amy…I haven't properly thanked you for rescuing me. Would you like to meet somewhere?'
Did he just?!
Amy blushed, she wanted to see Shadow again.
'Ummm….there is a park not too far from here. We can have a picnic?'
'Sounds good. I'll be there.'
Her heart was still beating fast as the call ended. Amy touched the communicator, since it's the only thing she had that was his. His warmth seemed to linger on it, his voice still replayed in her ears, his mysterious eyes held so many questions but if anyone could answer them, she would have liked it to be her.
You are head over heels, girl.
But she wasn't worried, just happy. Was it what real love felt like?
Did he feel the same way?
...
The air crackled as energy dissipated around Shadow. He managed to already acquire one of the Chaos emeralds, which let him travel as far as he wished.
The park was bright with summer colors. It had stone pathways, flowers, tall trees and a small stream winding through. Birds chirped in the branches. The park was mostly empty, with only a few people wondering around.
He waved at Amy who was setting up a picnic blanket next to the stream under a tree. He had to do some research on what a picnic actually was, since there were no such things up at the station. It was customary to bring food, so he handed her a basket with food he picked up at the store. Since he didn't have much money he helped with some of the store chores to get it.
'Are fruits okay?' asked Shadow, he looked pretty lost.
Amy nodded and smiled 'Of course, we have plenty of food. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, Shadow.'
Shadow nodded and sat down on the blanket next to Amy. They talked for a while about each other, well mostly Amy did, Shadow just pitched in a few one word responses every once in a while. Time here seemed to slow down a bit, since there were no clocks or something fast paced around, just steady flow of water in the stream, rustle of leaves from the wind and warm rays of the sun.
'Since you didn't seem like you are accustomed to life here yet I thought being here would help, since it is not crowded like a café or some other place would be. Plus I like it' Amy was eating an apple Shadow brought while he was working on a tangerine.
'Thank you, it is a nice place.' Shadow felt calmer for the first time in a while, this was fun. 'What's that?' he held up a whole pineapple. 'And how do you eat it?'
'Mmm it's a pineapple…I am actually not sure. It was always premade when we got it.'
Shadow frowned, trying to figure it out. 'How does it taste?'
'It's pretty good.'
'Hmm..' The top green part came off. 'Its not any better now is it?...'
Amy laughed. 'Nah…besides it might not be ripe enough yet, so it wouldn't taste good for a little while.'
Shadow kept looking at it, he really wanted to try this pineapple, it seemed interesting.
'Then how about you let me hold on to it and once its ripe we can share it?' Amy didn't want this to be their only meeting, every single moment spent with Shadow was a treasure, even if he seemed aloof right now.
'Sure. I look forward to it.'
...
It has been about a week and a half since the picnic date. Amy has been staring down that pineapple but only now it got to the point where it was edible. Her dad helped her with preparing it so now it was sitting in a bowl in the fridge waiting for Shadow to come.
The doorbell announced that he indeed was there. Amy did her makeup and wore one of her favorite rose necklaces, along with her usual red dress. Shadow probably wouldn't even notice the makeup was there, but she wanted to look nice for him.
'Hi Shadow!' Amy hugged him since she missed him, even though they haven't officially been dating yet. Not only did he not protest but he hugged her back. Amy felt safe and warm in his arms, which reminded her of that feeling she dreamt about so long ago.
Amy had to release him even though she didn't want to. 'This is my friend Shadow I talked about,' she introduced him to her dad.
The men exchanged brief words until the courtesy was satisfied. Amy led Shadow up to her room, as he carried the bowl of pineapple and some soda.
The room was very pink, but it suited Amy pretty well. Shadow spotted her hammer next to the dresser and remembered the ringing in his ears from that thing when he was still inside the container. A lot of photos of her and her friends were on the walls and the windows looked out at the garden in the backyard.
She had a small TV next to her bed and a DVD was playing a menu on it. Amy sat down on her bed and invited Shadow to sit next to her and he did.
He is being pretty timid. I guess he hasn't been to a lot of friend's rooms before…
'Relax, you don't have to be so formal, its just a room not a museum. You aren't going to break it just by looking at it,' Amy chuckled but blushed from seeing Shadow blush in embarrassment. It was subtle, but pretty cute.
'Alright,' Shadow nodded and lowered his guard a little.
They watched several of Amy's favorite movies, that weren't as girly as one might think. They ate snacks and chatted about what was happening in the movie until Amy was too into it and she shushed Shadow so she could watch.
About halfway through one of the movies, Shadow felt Amy's eyes on him and a second later he felt her lips touch his. He flinched, surprised and unsure how to proceed, but he tried kissing her back anyway.
Amy blinked, blushing heavily. 'I…I love you, Shadow. I am sorry… couldn't wait any longer.' Her heart was racing from just how good that felt and from anxiety about what he would say back.
Shadow looked at her, already smiling. 'I love you too, Amy. I have been since I saw you, but I wanted to know you felt it too.'
Amy covered her mouth and squeaked from too many emotions, then hugged him close and nuzzled into his neck. 'I am so happy'
'As am I' smiled Shadow, holding her close.