Chapter 1: The letter
It was a wonderful morning in Pallet Town. Mrs.
Ketchum was outside, working in the garden. Mr. Mime, as usual, ran around with
a brush in his hands to clean up everything – and everyone! – that was not
moving. Including Ash, who, during the night, had fallen out of his bed and was
now lying on the floor.
As the Pokémon brushed over his face once again, Ash
jerked up, half jumping into the air.
Breathing very fast, he stood there in the middle of
his room, staring at the smiling Pokémon.
"What do you think you're doing? Can't you just clean
up the floor? I don't need to be brushed!" Ash shouted.
Brock, who was woken by this one sided argument,
dizzily looked up, then spotted Ash and Mr. Mime.
"Oh no, not this again", he mumbled quietly and fell
back down into his bed.
The door opened and Misty walked in, obviously
overhearing the argument.
"You sure you don't need to be brushed, Ash?" Misty
asked teasingly.
But before Ash could reply, she continued.
"Actually, it's already late. Mr. Mime should have
woken you two much earlier."
Ash sighed and gave up the argument with Mr. Mime.
Even Brock finally opened his eyes and sat up.
"Hurry up, your mom and I already got the table set
for breakfast." Misty said. "Although it's almost time for lunch now."
With those words, she left the boys and went outside
to check the mailbox. As Misty and Brock had already been staying at the
Ketchum's house for some months now, their mail was delivered there directly,
instead of first to the gym they called their home, and then forwarded to their
new address.
On her way to the mailbox, she was interrupted by Mrs.
Ketchum.
"Misty-dear!" she yelled and waved at the read haired
girl. "How are Ash and Brock? Have they gotten up yet? You know, Misty-dear, I
have an excursion planned for this afternoon!"
Misty smiled back at Mrs. Ketchum.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum. Ash was woken by Mr. Mime,
just like always. And Brock couldn't sleep over that argument. I bet they'll be
ready in some minutes."
"Oh, thank you very much, Misty dear!" replied Mrs.
Ketchum with a broad, relieved smile on her face.
Misty nodded and continued on her way, smiling to
herself.
Finally, she reached the mailbox and opened it.
Inside, she found what seemed to be a mountain of letters, postcards and small
parcels.
She took them all into one arm, closed the mailbox and
went back inside. There, once arrived in the kitchen, she went through the mail
and sorted it by receiver.
Mrs. Ketchum got lots of vacation postcards and some
thin letters Misty assumed to be bills. All this was followed by a postcard for
Ash and a letter for Brock, seemingly from either Prof. Ivy, whom he had left
some months ago, or from his father and his whole bunch of sisters and
brothers.
And one single letter for her.
Misty frowned. Hopefully not one from my sisters, she
thought. I really don't need one of their bad jokes or teasing comments right
now.
She turned it around several times before she
recognized the stamp on it. Curiously, she opened the envelope, unfolded the
letter in it and read the written lines.
It was not from her sisters, neither from anybody else
she knew.
It was something more important.
Something she had always wished for before she stated
wandering around with Ash and Pikachu.
But she actually hadn't expected it.
Not now.
Not at this very moment, when she was happy with
everything just the way it was.
She folded the letter and put it back into the white
envelope.
Leaning her back against the wall, she hung her head
low and closed her eyes.
Why now? She thought. If she had received this news
two years earlier, she would've gladly taken the offer without any second
thought. But now, everything had changed.
"Hey Misty, what's up? Got any bad news? Any letter
from your sis?" Ash asked, walking in, now fully dressed and with Pikachu
sitting on his hat. As he saw the concerned look on Misty's face, his face
showed deep care.
"You alright, Misty?" he asked again.
Misty woke from her daydream and simply nodded, hiding
the letter in the back pocket of her jeans.
"Ok then." Ash shrugged and sat down at the table,
taking a donut and a cup of milk.
Misty tried to look like she always did, but she didn't
succeed. One still could see the worried look in her eyes.
Soon they were joined by Brock and Mrs. Ketchum. While
everybody was eating, they checked their mail. After Mrs. Ketchum hat read her
postcards with a smile growing at each line read, after having opened all her
bills with sighs at each one, she turned over to Misty to see that she was just
sipping her coffee, seemingly absent-minded.
"Didn't you get anything, Misty dear?" she asked, the
almost always-present smile on her face fainting a bit.
Misty looked up, forcing a smile.
"No, Mrs. Ketchum. This is all the mail. There wasn't
anything for me." She replied.
At least nothing I wanted to get.
The whole afternoon, meaning the excursion to the
beach Mrs. Ketchum had planned, went pretty well. Once they had arrived at the
beach, Misty had been able to forget about the letter she received and just
enjoyed the wonderful weather and had fun with Ash, Brock and the Pokémon.
But in the evening, when they had had dinner and
everybody was getting ready for bed, Misty sat down in her room alone and once
again took the letter out of her pocket. Slowly, half hoping that the content
had changed, she read it over and over again, just wanting to be sure she had
gotten everything right and didn't misunderstand anything.
She didn't. No matter how often she read those words,
they just didn't change. They still made a great offer that threatened to
change everything she was now so proud of.
"Hey Misty", Brock said, opening the door to see the
girl sitting on her bed, hugging her small egg Pokémon tightly.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
Misty nodded, putting away the letter and turned
towards Brock.
"Sure", she answered, hardly pulling up the strength
to force a smile and raise her voice without sounding quivery.
Brock now fully opened the door and joined Misty.
"Misty, what's up? And now don't tell me it's nothing.
You've been behaving totally strange the whole day since breakfast."
Misty looked down for an instance, wondering if she should
tell him about the offer she got.
I just should do, she thought. So I have somebody to
give my advice. And I surely can't go to Ash.
She unfolded the letter and handed it over to Brock.
"I got it this morning. It is a letter from the
Pokémon University, the one near Seafoam Island."
At first, Brock simply stared at Misty, frowning,
unbelieving, then started to read the letter.
Dear Ms Yawa (a/n: that's Misty's last name in Japanese),
As you certainly remember, you applied for a place at
our university approximately two years ago. But due to your young age and the
high amount of applies we received over the past years, we have not been able
to accept you into our facility yet. As you have now reached the appropriate
age and have earned an impressive reputation as a Pokémon Trainer, we are now
very glad to be able to offer you a place for your studies. Hopefully, you will
take this great chance, which opens new paths for your future life and career
in Pokémon business. We all wish you the best and know that you have the best
requirements needed not only to become a Pokémon Trainer of the first grade,
but whatever you wish to accomplish.
If you should accept our offer, we would be glad to
welcome you at Seafoam Island by the end of this week.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Sycamore
Brock slowly put the letter down and looked at Misty.
"I see", he said. "This has been your dream for a very
long time, hasn't it?"
Misty nodded, sadness showing on her face.
"It has. And I really would love to go to that
University, you know, but…"
Brock obviously knew exactly what she wanted but
couldn't say.
"It's just that…", Misty continued. "I've gotten so
used to travel around with you two and our Pokémon. I just don't know if I
could make it on that University for five years without seeing you everyday or
getting lost in the woods just cuz Ash reads the map upside down again…"
At those words she smiled, remembering all the times
they had been on track for a certain destination, but had totally lost their
way and finally ended up somewhere in the exact opposite direction.
But somehow, it had always been lots of fun. And she
would never wanted to miss anything of that, though she surely had complained
about it more than necessary when they had been lost, just to start up another
fight with Ash.
"Well, Misty", Brock replied, waking her from her
daydream, "It's your choice. Nobody of us could make this decision for you. As
you know, I'd love to go on traveling around with you like we use to, and I bet
Ash thinks the same. But I also think that this is a great chance for you I for
myself would not deny. And I would never be angry if you did. So, whatever
choice you will make, you can be sure of my support."
Misty smiled thankfully, but hesitated. Actually, she
had made this decision years ago, even before she had written that appliance.
All she had to do was plug up the courage to tell everybody. But even if she
didn't want to admit it, she was afraid. She was afraid of everybody's
reaction. Especially of Ash's.
When it came to things like this, he could be really
stubborn and selfish.
But though she liked Ash, and she knew this was even
more than simple liking, a lot more, she couldn't always base her life on him,
could she?
No.
She definitely couldn't.
She had to live her own life.
And this was the first step to start.
Misty looked up at Brock, but now a lot more self
confident than before.
She was going to go to that university.
And she had four days left to get used to it.
The night was over very soon, or at least it seemed so
to Misty. She had decided to tell everybody at breakfast. Though she somehow
still feared the reactions, she was sure about it, wasn't she?
From the kitchen, she could hear Mrs. Ketchum
preparing breakfast, and, as it seemed, Ash and Brock were already up.
Misty sighed and sat up in bed, waking Togepi at the
same time.
"Toge Priiii?" the small, sleepy Pokémon asked, gazing
up at her mommy.
Misty smiled and petted Togepi`s head.
"It's time to get up, sweetie. Today I'm gonna tell
everybody."
"Togepi?"
She smiled again, then got up and dressed in her
casual clothes. She left her room and entered the kitchen where she met the
others. It seemed that Ash and Brock hadn't had problems getting up that day.
Maybe Mr. Mime has just started cleaning their room a bit earlier today, Misty
thought smiling.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu shouted, greeting the red-haired
girl.
"Good morning, Misty", Mrs. Ketchum said. "Did you
have a good night?"
"Oh, sure, Mrs. Ketchum. Thank you." Misty replied and
took her seat at the table.
Ash greeted her between his constant yawning-inhaling
pancakes circulation.
Brock looked over at Misty a few times, obviously
waiting for her to tell everybody about her decision.
Although his eyes were still half closed cuz of
yawning, Ash noticed Brock's quick glances.
"What's up, Brock? 'S anything wrong?"
Brock shook his head and returned his attention to his
breakfast. At the end of the meal, Mrs. Ketchum just wanted to stand up to
start cleaning the dishes.
"Umm, Mrs. Ketchum, could you please stay for another
few minutes? There's something I would like to tell everybody."
"Uh, sure, Misty dear." Mrs. Ketchum replied and sat
down again. Ash looked at Misty curiously, wondering what she would tell everybody
she hadn't told him yet. He even stopped eating – and yawning – for some
minutes.
"Well… yesterday I got a letter", Misty began. "About
two years ago, I applied for being accepted into Pokémon University near
Seafoam Island. And… well… umm… yesterday I got the letter which said that they
finally do accept me."
Mrs. Ketchum's face showed pride and joy, and even
some tears could be seen sparkling in her eyes.
"Oh Misty dear! This is wonderful! It's such a great
chance for you, such honor! I hope you accept the offer?!"
Misty nodded, more confident now.
Ash's face froze. Misty was gonna leave them? Why?
And, even more important, when?
"So when will you depart?" Ash asked, his mouth dry.
Misty looked over at him, and as soon as she saw the look
on his face, she felt bad, really bad.
"Umm… they're expecting me at Seafoam Island by the
end of this week."
Mrs. Ketchum started to cry more now.
"Oh Misty dear, do you really have to leave that soon?
We will miss you so much! You have to phone me every day!"
All those tears also affected Misty and the two women
hugged while Ash was still in a daze.
Pikachu and Togepi were looking at each other,
obviously not wholly understanding what was going on.
Inside Ash's head, wheels began turning and thoughts
ran through his mind.
Chapter 2: Reactions
Ash stared at
Misty, his mind in a daze.
Going to
university? Misty? This was just unbelievable. Though Ash didn't know why, he
felt strange like he would be abandoned, left behind like a pet whose owner had
no use for it anymore.
All he knew
now was that he wanted to be alone.
Misty was
hugging his mom, and Brock was taking care of confused crying little Togepi. So
Ash simple stood up, left the kitchen and went into his room, without saying
another word.
He slammed
the door behind him and threw himself onto his bed.
Pikachu,
who had followed his trainer, jumped onto his belly and looked at him
questioningly.
"Pika Pi
Pikachu?" the small Pokémon asked, moving his long ears up and down to the
sound of his squeaky voice.
"I don't
know, Pikachu. I just wanted to get outta there. I…"
Ash was
totally confused. He just didn't know what he felt, what these feelings meant.
Softly, a
tear rolled down his cheek.
"Pikaaa."
Pikachu said, placing his little paw on Ash's arm, silently comforting him.
A few
seconds later, Ash burst into tears. He wasn't able to control himself anymore.
Uncontrollably,
he sobbed into his arms, hugging his small yellow Pokémon tight.
"But, Misty
dear", continued Mrs. Ketchum. "You have to phone me at least once, no, twice a
week. Or better, every day!"
Misty
smiled and tried to calm the woman, who acted like her mother since she knew
her, down.
"Sure, I
will, Mrs. Ketchum. But there's till three full days left."
Togepi had finally
stopped crying, and was now walking over this its mommy.
"Priiii!"
the small Pokémon shouted and waved its arms, indicating it wanted to be
hugged.
Misty
smiled and took the baby Pokémon into her arms, turning around to speak to Ash.
"Ash, I…"
Misty
blinked, finally realizing that Ash was gone.
She looked
around the kitchen to find him.
"Hey, Ash!"
No reply.
"I guess
he's in his room", Mrs. Ketchum suggested. "He always goes there when he's
upset or confused, our just wants to be alone."
A sad look
came to the young girl's face.
I didn't
mean to confuse him, or upset him, she thought. I just wanted to… I…
Misty had
great difficulties in holding back her tears, but she just didn't want to let
everybody know what she felt about this matter.
Brock cleared
his throat and got up from his seat.
"I'll go
and look for him. Maybe I can find out what's wrong with him."
Misty
nodded thankfully.
A real
friend, she thought.
He must be
feeling really bad now, Brock thought as he made his way to Ash's room. Though
I can also understand Misty's point of view, and God knows, she struggled a lot
with herself about taking or denying the offer.
As Brock
reached Ash's (as well as his and Misty's) room, he carefully knocked on the
door, trying to get Ash's attention.
After
having knocked four times with any reaction, he finally decided to walk in, no
matter what Ash would say.
He tried on
the door, but it was locked. Brock frowned.
Strange, he
thought, normally Ash never locks it…
"Hey Ash!
You in there?" Brock half shouted through the door.
"…yeah."
Came Ash's answer in a low voice.
"Can I come
in please?" Brock asked once again, and some seconds later, he heard a clicking
sound from the lock.
"Door's
open." Ash murmured from inside.
Brock
turned the doorknob and entered the room.
He looked
around to find Ash lying on his bed, his official Pokémon League Cap covering
the very upper part of his face. On his
tummy sat Pikachu, looking up at Brock curiously.
The older boy
went over to Misty's bed, which was now right opposite to Ash's, and slowly sat
down on it.
Hesitating,
searching for the right words to say, he just looked at his younger friend for
some moments.
"You really
hurt Misty with this, you know?" he said, trying not to sound too accusing.
"Who
cares…" Ash replied dryly, and turned around, now facing the wall, hiding his
face.
"I do, Ash.
And I think you should do, too. Actually I think you do, but don't want to
admit it."
"If that's
what you think. I guess I cannot persuade you of the opposite."
Inside,
Brock boiled with anger. Ash could be stubborn sometimes, and then he didn't
care if he hurt anybody, and mostly this anybody was Misty.
Brock made
his hands fists and struggled hard not to go berserk.
"Gosh, Ash!
How can you dare say such a thing? Do you have any idea what you're doing to
Misty? Can you understand what she is going through right now? Do you think
it's been easy for her to make this decision?"
Ash was
stunned for a moment.
Could Brock
be right? Maybe he had hurt her…
No.
Brock just
wanted to give him a bad conscience.
He didn't
know how much Misty had hurt him.
She acted
to self-centered. Had she at least thought about anybody else, at least any
second?
No, he bet
not. She was just doing what she wanted.
Without any
second thoughts.
She surely
hadn't thought about other's feelings.
About his
feelings…
Brock stood
up from the bed. He knew he couldn't talk to Ash when he was in a state like
this without being totally ignored. Ash
was stubborn and totally irrational now, Brock had already experienced this
many times. All he could do now was try to make the best of it.
"Ash, but
please, just try not to argue with Misty today, or ignore her. And please don't
be that rude, ok?" Brock tried.
Ash shrugged.
"If that's
what you want." He simply replied.
Brock
sighed. He wasn't really content with this "consensus", but he knew that it was
even more than he had expected from Ash.
He only
hoped Ash would do what he should.
Misty leant
her head back against the tree and closed her eyes.
This is so
weird, she thought. It's much too complicated.
How could I
ever be happy without hurting anybody else?
This time,
I hurt Ash, didn't I?
But if he is
hurt just because I move, doesn't that mean he cares for me? Maybe he doesn't
really hate me…
Misty
shoved that thought away.
If he only
knew what I feel… I would really like to stay, but I also know that this is a
great opportunity for me, and I have to take it.
Misty
sighed, opened her eyes and looked up at the clear blue sky.
This was
just the opposite if her own mind. Inside of her, it was a dark, sad tone of
gray with no ray of sunlight to shine through the thick clouds.
Life had
become complicated, especially lately. Everything had changed: her habits, her
temper, even her relationship to Ash, well, more exactly, her feelings for him.
They had
become stronger.
She thought
it was mainly because all of them got older and, as everybody knows, feelings
change when one grows up. Often, she wished she could turn back time and change
things, but then, when she thought about it again, she suddenly realized that
somehow everything was good the way it was. On the whole, it had giver her a
happy, content life full of new friends and lots of adventures she wouldn't
miss for anything in the world.
Should this
really have an end now?
All her
travels with Ash, Brock and their Pokémon?
But she
would soon begin a completely new life, full of interesting work with Pokémon,
training, research, new friends, new places…
All this
didn't mean she wouldn't be able to stay in contact with her present friends.
Though she didn't think she would be able to meet them. But they could talk on
the vid-phone and write tons of letters!
And after
five years, if her graduate degrees were good enough, she would be acknowledged
member of the Pokémon Research and Trainer Elite, with a status like the Top
Four. She would have reached anything she ever wanted.
All she had
to do now was persuade Ash that what she did was not that bad at all, and that
she did not do it to hurt him, but simply for her own good and future.
She had to
do that. Not just for him, but also for her own good conscience.
Suddenly,
she heard steps from behind her.
She turned
around and looked at the person.
Talk of the
devil, and there he comes.
As Ash
spotted her, his face hardened even more. He stroke Pikachu's head, seemingly
wanting to ignore her.
"Misty", he
simply said and nodded.
"Ash!"
Misty half shouted and lifted Togepi from the ground to take it in her arms.
Ash stopped
and looked at her.
"What?" he
asked, his voice just the same emotionless tone as before.
Misty
hesitated, looking down at the ground to plug up the courage she desperately
needed right now.
"I just
want to tell you that I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you or something."
An apology,
Ash thought. Just what I expected. She just wants to do this for her own good.
I bet she doesn't really mean what she says.
"Yeah,
whatever", he said.
The small
yellow Pokémon on his hat seemed confused. It moved his long cute ears and
blinked with it's puppy eyes.
"Pika Pi?
Pika Pikachu Piii?" (What's up? Why are you two behaving so strange lately?)
Even Togepi
blinked, not understanding why her mommy was so sad, and why daddy was talking
so strange.
"I gotta go
now. I wanna train my Pokémon." Ash said and turned back around. While Pikachu
turned to take a look at Misty, who seemed deeply hurt by Ash's ignorance, his
trainer headed off in director for the beach without even glancing back to see
Misty cry.
Mrs.
Ketchum held back the curtain of the window to watch the scene. She dearly
wished that Ash would forgive Misty, and that he would understand her reasons. But
as it seemed, he behaved like the thickhead he always was and just ignored her
apology. She really needed to talk to him when he got back from his Pokémon
training at the beach (although she knew this was only a lame excuse for not
having to be around Misty).
From the
first time she had seen Ash and Misty together, she was convinced that, one
day, the two of them would confess their feelings and become a couple.
A dreamy
look appeared on her face.
Maybe they will marry and have kids
and move in this house and…
Mrs. Ketchum
smiled and shook her head.
She knew
very well that Ash couldn't stick to his present kind of behavior, sooner or
later he would forgive Misty. He just couldn't be mad at her really.
As long as
she was his mother – which meant forever – it would not be later, but sooner,
very soon.
Misty sunk
back against the tree and hid her face in her hands, crying silently.
What had
she done? Had she hurt him that much, so that he couldn't forgiver her? Would
he ever be able to forgive her?
She really
didn't want him to be mad at her for the rest of her life! But she just didn't
know what she could do without making him upset even more.
And again
she came to that question: Why did life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't
it be easy?
After about
half an hour of walking – and some running in between – through the forest, he
reached the beach.
It was a
wonderful sight in the bright daylight. The clear blue sky invited people to
pay a visit to this beautiful place and lots of people did come.
Ash found
himself in a small, empty lagoon he had often played in as a toddler. He put
out his Pokéballs and, one by one, released his Pokémon to let them enjoy the
warm water and fresh air.
All his
Pokémon had very soon found something to do. They either played with other wild
Pokémon or jumped into the water to go for a swim.
Only
Pikachu stayed at Ash's side. It wouldn't leave its trainer.
Never.
And
especially not when he was in this kind of mood.
Ash had sat
down in the sand and just stared out on the great wide open of the ocean.
He sighed
and petted Pikachu's head.
"Pika Pi."
Said the small Pokémon and placed a paw on Ash's knee to comfort him.
"Oh
Pikachu. Why does this all have to be so complicated? Why does she want to go?
Have I done something wrong? It must be like that, cuz if I hadn't, she'd never
be that cruel to me. How can she do something like that?"
Ash hung
his head low and a few silent tears ran down his cheeks.
"I wish I could
apologize to her, I really do, but every time I try to, those thoughts come to
my mind. And then I'm mean to her again. I don't want to hurt her. I know I
hurt her, too often actually. But I don't wanna! How can I be so stupid to do
the same idiotic mistake all over again? What's wrong with me? Why can't I just
forgive her?"
Tears were
flowing steadily now, falling down onto the warm white sand to leave small, wet
salty spots.
"Pika Pi
Pikachu."
Humans are
really complicated, Pikachu thought. It's not life that's complicated. But I
think they'll never realize…
The sun set
slowly, the beautiful tone of red driven banished from the sky to let the moon
start its reign. It was now about 9:30 pm and still there was no sign of Ash.
Sure, it was not unusual for him to stay out late, but tonight, Misty had a
really bad feeling. The only thing she could do no was wait for him and meet
him when he'd return. But that would only upset him more, Misty realized.
She sighed
and got up from the bench. She tool Togepi into her arms and smiled. The small
Pokémon was already sleeping, it wasn't used to stay up this late.
Misty gave
her a small kiss on the forehead and slowly started walking back to the house.
Please, she
thought. Please let him feel better now. Please let him not be mad at me
anymore. Please let him forgive me.
At about
10:30 pm, Ash finally arrived at home and silently entered the house. As he was
about to go into their sleeping room, he saw his mother coming towards him from
the kitchen.
"You're late,
Ash", she said, deep concern showing in her eyes.
Ash lowered
his head and put his hands in his pockets.
"I know,
mom. I'm sorry, but I just needed some time off."
Mrs.
Ketchum smiled and nodded.
"I know,
Ash. But please, just try to be a bit more understanding in front of Misty."
Ash nodded
and smiled softly.
"I'll try,
mom. I promise."
With these
words, he turned around and walked into their bedroom. He quickly changed and
slid under the covers of his bed with Pikachu lying right next to him on the pillow.
Misty and
Brock seemed to be asleep already, as well as their Pokémon.
But Ash
didn't have that pleasure. He lay in his bed and simply stared at the ceiling,
senseless bits and pieces of memory flying though his head.
Then,
suddenly, he heard a sound from the direction of Misty's bed. Curiously, he
turned his head to the side, trying to make no noise, to get a glance at Misty.
She was
crying, he suddenly realized.
Ash was
stunned. At that very instance, he got a really bad conscience. She surely was
crying because of him, he knew that.
Ash wanted
to get out of bed and walk over to her, comfort her, apologize to her. He'd do
anything if she just stopped crying. He couldn't stand seeing her cry.
It hurt
him.
It hurt him
deep in his heart.
He would
change the whole world if that made her stop crying.
In a
sudden, crashing wave, realization swept over him.
What had he
done? He would have loved to curse over himself, but he bit his tongue.
I got to apologize
to her tomorrow morning, that's for sure, he thought. I hope she'll forgive me.
Please,
God…
Chapter 3: Departure
The next
day, Ash was the first one who woke. He looked down on his chest to see Pikachu
snoring soundly. Misty and Brock were still asleep. So Ash quietly got up,
trying not to wake anybody else. He changed into his regular jeans and black
t-shirt, and went outside, alone.
The sun had
just risen to banish the moon from his nightly reign and began to fill the sky
with the most incredible shades of red Ash had ever seen.
But still,
even this mighty view could not satisfy him. Ash felt uneasy, and, strongest of
all, guilty.
He cursed
himself for the things he had done to Misty the day before.
How come he
could be so dense sometimes?
He had to
smile at this thought. Usually, it was Misty who called him dense, and this was
always followed by a long and senseless argument. And mostly none of them
really won, because they were always interrupted by Brock, who must be sick of
all the arguing by now.
But still
he seemed to tolerate it as Ash and Misty tolerated his drooling over beautiful
girls – or actually all girls.
Ash sighed
and sat down in the slightly wet grass.
How am I ever gonna apologize for my
darn stupid behavior, he
thought.
Sure, it is easy to say "I'm sorry", but
what if she doesn't accept that? Yes, I could tell her about my feelings, but
I'm not quite sure if that would really improve the situation. Maybe it would
just make everything worse. Maybe she would reject me…
With another
deep sigh, Ash sat down on the grass and stared at the sky.
Wonderful,
warm rays of orange light invaded the sky and drove away the clouds that had
predominated before.
That simple
natural beauty seemed to literally stab his heart.
He had to
think of the way the ancient Egyptians had explained the sunrise: Apophis, a
god, serpent-shaped demon, who reigned the sky at night, was attacked by Ra,
the sun god, and the demons blood spread over the sky to color it in all shades
of red.
Simple,
maybe even naïve, but fascinating, he thought.
But none of
those thoughts could really drive Misty out of his mind. She was still there.
Always in the center of his attention.
He couldn't
even imagine it another way. It had always been like that since she had fished
him out of the water on the first day of his Pokémon journey and had shown such
deep care for Pikachu – though he at first thought she was asking if "he" was
ok.
As time had
passed, she had become a truly good friend, and most loyal. Although they were almost
always arguing, none of these fights had been real, not from his point of view.
He had just been arguing about senseless stuff, things he didn't really care
about. Just to prevent she noticed his interest towards her.
But
nevertheless, he regarded her as his best friend – beside Pikachu, for sure –
and wouldn't want to miss their friendship for anything in the world.
He had to
say sorry, as soon as he could talk to her in private. He had to explain his
reaction to her, though he couldn't really explain it to himself either.
I just can't risk our friendship. No
matter how humiliating it might turn out to say sorry, I simply have to. Even
though she won't be around me anymore, I wanna stay her friend. And then, for
sure, we will meet again.
Someday…
Misty woke
up from an uneasy sleep. Nightmares had troubled her that night, nightmares for
being left alone, of being hated and abandoned.
She wiped
the sweat from her forehead and slowly sat up in bed.
After a
short glance at her clock, which showed 6:30am, she slowly sunk back at her
pillow. Togepi still slept soundly at Misty's side, but the girl wasn't able to
fall asleep again. On the one hand she had had enough sleep, more than she
sometimes got when they were traveling around, and on the other hand she was
afraid that, if she fell asleep again, the dreams might return. And this
thought was definitely no pleasing one.
With a sigh
she got up and noticed that Ash was not in his bed anymore.
Misty
frowned. It surely wasn't normal for Ash to stand up that early. He could sleep
through the eruption of a volcano and would be very pleased about the extra
warmth he'd get w/ the lava.
Millions of
thoughts rushed through Misty's mind, and she finally decided to go look for
him, no matter if he was still mad at her or not.
