Author's Note: Hello~ Thank you for stopping in to read my story. This is an idea I've had on my mind for about a few months now. But I could never seem to truly get it out the way I wanted until now. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to review and critique. Feedback always makes me happy, and it gives me ways to improve my writing. With that, I hope you like this chapter. :)
Chapter One
A cold night's memory.
A bell chimes as my father and I exit the gift shop on the corner of Viridian City's small shopping strip. The store owner, a large man with red, rosy cheeks, smiles as we leave, exchanging hearty laughter and farewells with my father before the door clicks closed. The night is cold. My breath creates fog as it hits the chill in the air. But even in the cold, as I stuff my gloved hands into my coat pockets, there is a certain warmth that resonates deep within me.
My father continues to laugh for a short while after we leave. We walk along the sidewalk, beneath the city's street lights and the illuminated signs of shops that are sure to be closing soon. Up above, the stars are invisible, the sheen of man-made lights taking their place beneath the pitch black sky. But I know that when we arrive back at Pallet Town, the stars will be so clear and bright that the sky will be lit up from end to end.
"That was fun."
My father's voice seems to be fluttering, just like his laughs before. He is happy. And so am I. I nod at his words, smiling, blowing streams of hot air into the cold, as I let out a long, contended sigh.
"I hope you like your gift."
"Like it? I love it!" He grins. "I always love chocolate!"
I feel a laugh rising within me as I turn to look at his face, which is lit up almost like a child's. He grabs the one-dollar Buneary-shaped chocolate bar I bought him out of his pocket, unwraps it, and takes a large bite. Then, his mouth full of it, turns to me and grins again. I smile hesitantly.
"It was only a dollar, and I don't have that much to get you anything more...expensive. Are you sure you like it?"
"You know that doesn't matter to me, sweetheart. Anything you get me makes me happy. It's the thought that counts."
I smile again. But this time, without hesitation.
We continue walking. It's about a thirty minute walk back to Pallet Town, but it feels like half of that. My father and I talk and laugh with each other, making the time pass quickly. The kid deep down within me, even at eighteen years of age, feels like she's released every time I'm with him. It's as though all of my problems melt away. Fears and anxieties, problems at home with my mother...everything—gone. If only I could be together with him all the time. If only life were that simple.
We reach the hill, the telltale lookout that towers above all of Pallet. I look out over the small town, where yellow lights shine through kitchen windows, and smoke rises from several chimneys. The glow of the full moon is so bright that the entire town seems to be illuminated.
"Looks like we're here."
For the first time since the day began for us, my father's voice is sad. I stand beside him, watching the old-age crease beneath his eyes as he talks. Being with him so often, I hadn't noticed it much before. Or the tiny patches of gray that sprout from his hair and brows. Seeing it now, under the light of the night sky, it makes me sad, somehow. Maybe because we're about to go our separate ways.
"It was great seeing you again, Dad." I bite my lip.
"It was great seeing you too, sweetheart. And thank you for my birthday gift."
"You're welcome."
We both seem to be hesitating. And we both know why. Because once we leave the safety of our weekend visit, I will return home to an angry mother and nonchalant stepfather in an uprooted household, and my father will go back to a lonely apartment in Pewter City.
"Well, I should probably be going now. Give me a hug."
I turn to him and hug him as tightly as I possibly can. I don't know why. It just feels like I should. We've been through this many times, and each time we have the same feelings of grief about returning to our separate lives. I hope with everything in me that my father knows, just how much I love him.
I pull away, and he does the same. Then, he enlarges a pokeball and throws it. Bright white beams out from inside as his bird Pokemon fades into view. The Pidgeot coos, then turns to look over at me. I smile.
"Have a safe trip," I tell him.
My father climbs up onto Pidgeot's back, then holds up a thumbs up, grinning. "I'm always safe!"
I laugh. It's bittersweet, but somehow my father's words and carefree actions always seem to cheer me up.
I watch as the bird Pokemon lowers itself for a moment, getting a grip on the ground. My father turns to look at me, and for a moment, I see sadness in his face. But it's for a split second, because in the next moment he has that same goofy smile as before. Pidgeot rears back, and then finally, with a gust that nearly knocks me back, takes off into the air. The trees shake as the large Pokemon flies above. And slowly, it disappears into the sky.
I let out a sigh, but inside, I feel warmth building up again. Two weeks more.
I head home—I walk carefully down the slope of the hill, towards my parent's house, hopeful, faithful, for the two weeks to quickly come to a close. I didn't know. If I had known, I would have stopped him. But I didn't.
It never would have occurred to me. That I would never see my father again.