"Kissing The Stars"
Kissing The Stars
by Laura Kamida
Rated G

My name is Misty... Misty Waterflower. It's been a very long time since I was a young Pokémon trainer, travelling the world with Ash Ketchum and Brock Flint... Those were the good days... -- Not to say that these days are bad... I just get lonely sometimes without them...

I'm 81 years old now... I've lived a very full life: Learning, laughing, and loving. I grew up to be a young woman with great Pokémon and talent, some said, that would rival that of the Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum... but that wasn't for me. I had other priorities on my mind. I concentrated my energies on opening a Pokémon hospital in Cerulean City, my home town. My daughter Blossom, with her beautiful black hair like her father and intense blue eyes like her mother, runs it now. She's very good at it. My son, Junior, runs the gym. He has a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his lips always... just like his daddy.

And I got married... to the love of my life. You can probably guess who that is... Ash Ketchum. There are a lot of people who said that we would never last... People would say that no one's first love ever lasts, but we must have been a special instance... It certainly was a special relationship... God, I miss him so much.

**chuckles** And now look at me! I'm an old lady... My once-vibrant red hair... my trademark, actually, in a group of beautiful Sensational Sisters... is now gray. Soft wrinkles cover my skin and sometimes I can hardly recognize myself in the mirror. But whenever I feel that I am not myself, I just look at my eyes and realize that although I have learned some things... none of them easy... I am still the same girl that I was a long time ago.

But times are hard now. I like to be independent, but sometimes I need help from my children... which I hate. And also, I miss human companionship. I miss my friends. I never imagined that I would outlive everyone that I used to know. My parents, my sisters, Brock, and Ash... they all left me too long ago, and they're all stars up in the heavens waiting for me. But... I suppose someone had to be the last of us to survive...

I can remember...

... the long black dress that I was wearing, the sweet, overpowering scent of the happy flowers as I cried bitterly, and the surrendering smile on his face as I stood over him, taking his wedding band from his hand. I paused for a minute, staring at it... and I realized that just because he had died did not mean that he did not still love me. It was a hard lesson to learn, and it took him dying to realize how much I truly, I mean truly loved him. So I slipped the ring back on his finger and closed the lid on his smiling face. I haven't seen him since... but I know I will again very soon. Love like that doesn't just die with the body. It lives on forever, deep within the heart and soul of a person.

That doesn't mean I wasn't heartbroken... oh yes, I was... I cried for days and days... it was the hardest time of my life... But one day I realized that no matter how hard I cried I couldn't bring him back to earth... so I stopped. And that's the way it was with all of them. First Mother... Then Mrs. Ketchum... Then Father... Then Daisy... Then Lily... Then Brock... and lastly, Violet.

Look what today is... No, I'm alright. **smiles wistfully** I don't get sad on our anniversary anymore... It's not that I don't miss him... I miss him terribly, every day of my life... But it's because I know that my Ash is up there with all the other stars to light my way in the twilight of my life...

Ash, love, if you can hear me, I want you to know that everything is fine here. I'm alright. I love you, Ash, and I miss you, but I'm making it. Junior and Blossom, they help me a lot... and I keep your picture with me always. I know that I'll be with you soon Ash. Just wait for me by the waterfall like I somehow, someway, was waiting for you that day 70 years ago... I still remember that day, Ash, and I hope you do too. I'll never forget it, and I'll never forget you, no matter what happens to me, I'll always love you, and even if I have to wait forever to be with you, I will kiss the stars every day knowing that you're up there. Just like the true stars never die, true love lives always.

I love you Ash...

I'm coming...