Chapter One: Human Emotions
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Alamos Town, The Gym,
August 24th 2010,
4:23 pm.
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Sunlight poured through the opening of her windows, lighting the cream colored carpet with a glow. Wind wafted in and out of her apartment, as she breathed soundly and smelt as the wind carried the scents of something she distinctly identified as spice. The sounds of numerous people talking, laughing, shouting reached her ears. She could even hear a few pokemon battles taking place.
"Piplup jump into the air and use whirlpool!"
"Emploeon use your ice beam to block that attack!"
"Uh oh! Use peck instead piplup!"
"You too Emploeon!"
Which resulted in a loud bang, sending the acrid smell of smoke into her window. She hardly paid any attention to the scent, being intently focused on the battles that were taking place. She only paid attention to the battlers, calling their commands.
"Piplup are you okay?"
"PIPLUP!" Came the defiant call of the pokemon.
"Okay the. Piplup use bubblebeam!"
"Block it empoleon! Then charge at that piplup!"
"Piplup, bring up another whirlpool!"
"Oh wow!"
"Amazing…"
Bandita grimaced.
"Infernape! Dodge that poison jab! Dodge again and use mach punch!"
"Croagunk, dodge it and use poison jab again!"
"Infernape, block it with your mach punch! Use it again!"
"Croagunk keep using poison jab to keep that infernape at bay! Keep dodging too!"
"Infernape use flamethrower!"
"Oof! Croagunk try to hit that infernape!"
The sounds of air whistling fast came alarmingly near her window, but she held firm, determined to hear more. These pair were obviously young adults, mature enough to survive.
"Pikachu! You're up so use your thunderbolt!"
"PIKA!!" Came the answering growl as she winced slightly at the sound of static crackling noticeably, before it collided with its target.
"Torterra!"
"Huh?!"
"Don't look so surprised. My torterra has a great defense."
"…I guess."
"Now torterra, use hidden power!"
"Pikachu avoid that and use iron tail!" Bandita shifted slightly from where she sat on the carpeted floor. So the game was back on again.
A loud thud indicated that the attack had hit the torterra who moaned in pain, very loudly.
"Torterra! Are you okay?"
"Awesome job Pikachu!"
"You did it Pikachu!"
"Great job!"
Bandita grimaced. Just another bunch of young adolescents, completely oblivious to the dangerous world, too far off in their innocent minds.
Too bad they were so naïve.
And yet…
She really couldn't care less about it. They were nothing to her, just as she had nothing to do with them.
She sighed softly, her voice a mere whisper that hung in the room, eyelids closing as she deftly ran her left hand through her wavy chestnut hair.
Slowly, her eyelids opened again and she looked out of the window once more.
'It truly was beautiful.' the first thought came to Bandita Jolonya as she sat next to the wide window that led to her equally wide balcony, her cheek lightly pressed against the hard, cold glass, a different contrast to the heated room she was comfortably seated in. Her eyes, deep orbs of mahogany were lifted to meet that of a single ray of sunshine, resting upon an olive-green leaf illuminating against the darkness of the branches.
Bandita shivered. Despite the warm rays of sunshine, and the beautiful scenery with the green growing fast, no one could deny that it was unusually cold for an August.
'Except words could hold many meanings, in different ways' Bandita thought absentmindedly as her eyes travelled the length of the twisting streets.
Perhaps it could be the adorable little growlithe who had rushed forward eagerly towards what he hoped would be a warm lunch, but instead found it cold, Bandita thought, her eyes already travelling to the next scene.
It could even be the haggard man who stood unnoticed around the shadowed corner, enviously watching as a man crossed the street, his ex-girlfriend on his arm. His hand twitched towards what Bandita recognized as a sharp knife hidden in his pocket, and she knew he would presumably find that his heart was cold as he watched the two of them laughing at a joke the younger man had made.
Yet Bandita felt no need to help the youthful couple as they walked obliviously down the street, arm in arm, for the pair of officers who quietly stalked the gaunt man, were preparing to taser him, saving the young couple from harm.
The couple would never know the fear they might have felt, would never know the mishap they might have endured and died through.
They would never have known the coming of death.
Bandita quickly turned her head away so as to not watch the spectacle that would soon to take place, before shooting a glance at the sleeping absol on the other side of the room, chest rising in immaculate tempo as she breathed. Her eyes softened and she smiled as she watched her closest friend slumber peacefully, occasionally twitching in her sleep.
Turning her gaze away from the dreaming absol, an unfamiliar feeling coursed from the depths of her stomach, to the bottom of her throat causing a lump to form. 'Envy' Bandita realized. 'But why would I be envious of Corina?' She quickly dismissed the emotion.
Rising from the carpeted floor with a slight groan, she was able to survey the room properly.
Aside from the absol who was sleeping quite close to the fireplace, the fire flickering in the pen creating more ash as it burned the logs, furniture dominated most of the room; white leather chairs that were seated around an exotic rosewood table, the wood a strange splash of a red, brown with just a hint of black, an equally exotic cobalt blue vase in an unusual shape that looked ever like the opposite of an hourglass, resting atop of the table.
Another table, also made of rosewood if not as exotic and round as the first, but in a rectangular shape, rested against the opposite wall, directly next to Corina. Colourful paintings adorned each of the four walls, each of them showing either a scenery depicting nature, or a posing pokemon, simply painted with a white background.
Every aspect of the room, each wall, even the carpet was a soft creamy ginger colour that helped emphasise the many colourful objects that adorned the room, designed by her mother...before she died. Not in the literal sense, but she still died in her eyes.
Mom...
Shaking her head to clear her mind of depressing thoughts, she grabbed her silver parka from the nearest leather chair, and with a last wistful look back, she departed from the room.
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Once outside, Bandita breathed in the cold air sharply, shivering as she tightened her jacket around herself before walking along the smooth pavements. Her leather boots clicked as she followed the path, only giving a fleeting smile to those who saw her. She hurried, avoiding the colorful stalls that were displayed, ignoring the shouts of welcome the shopkeepers gave her.
'Uugh…I hate people who notice me…leave me alone, go badger somebody else!' she thought annoyed as a particularly irritating shopkeeper kept walking with her, yelling something very loudly in her ear. Bandita paid no attention and pushing past her limit, she growled and shoved him out of the way of her path, easily maneuvering around him when he fell to the ground. Many stares and angered shouts followed her trail, but she didn't care. She only wanted to get away.
She paused for a moment, looking at the Space-Time Towers in the nearby distance. She smiled wistfully to herself, remembering for a moment, the good times she had with Tonio. A frown marred her soft features as she thought of Alberto, refusing to call him by his title, who she disliked for his overly large ego and snobbish attitude of which she found detestable.
'I'll find time to visit Tonio soon.' she vowed to herself. 'Ah Tonio, he's probably stressing himself out, wondering where I am now. Then again, that's what I admire about him. He actually feels empathy, has real emotions that don't have to be faked. He's so caring towards others. I know what Alice sees in him.' she thought, walking slowly. 'I hope they get together soon…'
The Space-Time Towers were beautiful, as usual. The spiraling designs around their bodies were very notable, and its purple color often praised of. It was the pride and joy of Alamos Town, including their gardens, whose colorful flowers could be found everywhere.
She continued to stare at the towers before pulling herself together and she walked around the corner. 'Tonio…I'll see you soon. I promise. 'She thought sadly, though she repressed the emotion from her face.
After turning yet another corner, she finally reached her destination. Walking determinedly towards the flower stall, she paused to gather her breath before speaking. "Excuse me. I'd like to buy some flowers." she said, catching the attention of the shopkeeper as he turned away from a leaving customer to pause in her direction. "Same as usual then?" he questioned her, his voice gruff though his pale blue eyes were kind as they looked at her. "Yes please." she answered stiffly gathering her wallet from the small handbag she carried.
"That'll be 12.95 poke." he stated holding the bunch of flowers, inclined in her direction. She nodded and the exchange took place quickly.
"Thank you." she said briefly, making her way out of the street quickly.
"Absol."
Bandita turned around sharply to come face to face with Corina, whose crimson red eyes bore into her own. "Absol."
"Corina did you follow me here?" asked Bandita surprised.
"Absol. Ab-Absol." replied Corina, her tone getting a little harsher. "Absol-sol Absol!"
Bandita flinched at her accusing tone, and let her gaze fall to the ground, unable to meet the burning gaze of Corina. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know I would do it today." she hesitated trying to find the right words. "I didn't want to disturb you."
"Absol." Corina's tone became gentle and Bandita found the courage to look up. "Absol-sol."
Bandita looked relieved. "Thank you Corina, for understanding. We should probably go now." she added as an afterthought. "Absol" she agreed.
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Bandita paused at the metal gate uncertainly. Corina tilted her head questioningly at her. "Absol?"
Bandita snapped out of her reverie. "It's nothing Corina. Just...thinking a little."
Corina sighed sadly. "Absol." she said in understanding of Bandita's grief. She inclined her head. "Absol!"
"Okay, I'm coming. Don't be so hasty." Bandita muttered, put out by her friend's impatience. She steeled herself before walking inside, Corina by her side.
She walked among the pillars of stone. She winded her way through them quickly, not wanting to look at the names. Flowers wafted in the slight breeze, as a few stray leaves drifted to the ground.
And she stopped in front of a pillar of stone, of about medium height to Bandita's waist, to Corina's sharp horn atop of her head.
"Here we are Corina…" Bandita trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. "Sol. Absol." encouraged Corina, urging Bandita to speak.
She coughed lightly before turning back to the grave. "Well…it's been a while…we're both sorry we couldn't come here sooner." she cleared her throat again. "But…we did want to come…honestly. We still… love you. And we all miss you. So much." her voice thick, she knelt down to place the flowers on top of their grave. "There. Lilies. They're your favorite Zeke, even if you didn't want to admit it. It was stupid Zeke. You didn't want to admit it because you thought they were girly." she paused. "Zeke, You smoked pot, but I can't give that to you, not anymore. It was a bad habit and you're not able to continue doing that anyway. At least you can appreciate the flowers." she laughed weakly for a few seconds. "Sorry."
She stood there for a moment, just looking at his grave.
"You know, even now I wish you'd come back to us. It's so hard without you here."She held back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Mum wanted to come too. It's just…it's hard for mum too. I hate seeing her like this. It's broken her down, literally." she hesitated."I guess it's bye for now…we…really…love you…I…wish you didn't leave us…""Absol…" sighed Corina sadly, also looking at the names engraved on the moss covered grave. "Goodbye."
Bandita paused for a moment. "Corina…we should go." she said weakly, her voice thick with tears that were ready to fall. Corina nodded mournfully, following as they made their way out.
Corina took one last look at the grave. If only he hadn't died…Bandita wouldn't be as broken as she was now…
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Zeke Stephen Jolonya,
Born 2nd April 1990, Died 8th November 2009.
Beloved brother and son.
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That was a bit…sad. But the next few chapters will be better and less emotional.
A very special thanks to RedHerring1290 for his encouraging words which helped me write this fic.
Read his fic 'the Republic'. It's good, trust me.
Please review, it'll be much appreciated.