When someone dies, their life may be over, but that does not necessarily mean that they are gone. Not yet, anyways...
One's spirit can remain stuck on Earth if they so desire, mainly because they are just not ready to move on. More often than not, they have unfinished business with the living that they must take care of first. Just "one last thing" they need to do before they can be ready to cross over to the afterlife.
Although, the problem with these restless spirits remaining on Earth is that they don't belong here anymore. Now that they are dead, they need to move on and cross over to the afterlife. They are not meant to live on this planet any longer.
Living humans can't see or hear them, but we can sometimes sense their presence. Although, if a spirit is ready to move on and is seconds away from crossing over, they can be seen. Just for that one, small moment, they can be seen by those around them.
Many humans don't believe in ghosts. They are too stubborn and just will "believe it when they see it," even though that is absolutely impossible for them.
...unless you're me.
My name is Kate, and I'm eighteen years old. I was just accepted in to Ranger School, and I recently moved to the Almia region with my father. I might be just like you, except I've known from the time that I was a little girl that I can see and talk to the dead.
"Restless spirits" is what I call them. They get stuck here often because they have unfinished business with the living. I help these ghosts cross over to the afterlife, and that is why I want to become a Pokemon Ranger: to help both Pokemon and people.
But in order to tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs.
It all started on my first day of school... The first day I met them. That is when my destiny became written in stone...
"...wow. This huge place is a school!? No way!"
A teenage girl with spiky brown hair tied up into two twintails towered a mighty five feet and two inches off the ground, staring through the black, wrought iron bars that made up the front gate to the Ranger School with her glittering blue eyes.
She had received her school uniform the previous day after moving to her new house in Chicole Village, so she already looked the part of a Ranger Student. Now, she just had to take the school's entrance exam.
Her name was Katia Lovett Hitomi, but she went by "Kate" for short. She thought her full first name was just too classy and proper for someone as wild and carefree as her. Although she looked like a normal teenage girl, she was by far the most unique person to ever walk into this place.
Kate pushed on the front gate, but it just wouldn't budge for the life of her. This thing was one tough chunk of metal!
Kate just sweatdropped. "...how am I supposed to take my exam if I can't even get in?"
"Oh, let me help you with that!"
Kate blinked owlishly as a woman in her mid-thirties suddenly appeared and opened the gate for her effortlessly.
This woman had dazzling, unforgettable brown eyes and dark, chocolate hair tied back into two twintails that were partially covered by a green and white baseball cap. She was dressed in teal-themed gym clothes, and she didn't hesitate for a single moment in smiling at Kate.
"I'm Mrs. Claire, the target clear instructor." The woman introduced herself cheerfully to the new student.
Kate smiled gently at the older woman, stepping through the front gate. "I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Kate!"
Mrs. Claire glanced down at her amusingly, playfully smiling at the girl. "Wow kiddo, I can tell you've got some serious potential within you. You're training to be a Ranger, aren't you?" She asked curiously, blinking repeatedly.
"Definitely." Kate nodded her head eagerly. "Becoming a Pokemon Ranger has been my dream since I was eight!"
Mrs. Claire couldn't be happier with her answer, as shown from the dimples indented around her bright smile. "Good! It would be such a waste for a fiery-spirit like you to not become a Ranger."
Kate just giggled quietly. "Well I'm glad that I'm not a disappointment."
Kate and Mrs. Claire shared a gentle laugh before the woman began guiding Kate up the stairs and over to a smaller building just outside the main school building. "My husband will be proctoring your entrance exam. Follow me, and I'll show you the way!"
"Okay!" Kate took off into a slight run after Mrs. Claire, laughing the whole way to the Training Gym.
Kate pushed open the door and stepped inside with Mrs. Claire, and she was puzzled as to why all of the lights were switched off.
Mrs. Claire seemed to freeze up with irritation as she narrowed her dark gaze on absolutely nothing in particular. "Oh, don't tell me you're up to one of those silly tricks again, Kaplan..."
Kate rose an immensely confused eyebrow in the darkness. "...who?"
Someone flicked the light switch, suddenly flashing the room with the luminous bright lighting. Kate winced tremendously as her poor eyes were forced to adjust from the darkness in an instant.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that a man dressed similarly to Mrs. Claire stood ten feet in front of her.
"Here." Mrs. Claire's husband tossed a green School Styler to Kate, which she caught instantly. "This is your Styler for the rest of the year, so treat it with care. Are you prepared to take your entrance exam?"
Kate fumbled with the Styler to get it equipped to her wrist, and it took all of her strength to keep her knees from buckling. "Uh-umm... I honestly have no idea what I'm doing."
The man shook his head to himself before leveling his sad, distant gaze with the girl. "My name is Mr. Kaplan, and I am the capture instructor here at the Ranger School. In order to be accepted, you must pass an entrance exam." He cracked his knuckles with a serious demeanor, only unnerving Kate even more. "You must capture and befriend this Pikachu here using only what you know." Mr. Kaplan pointed to a small, electric-mouse Pokemon that sat on the floor next to his feet. "Are you ready to begin?"
Kate nervously glanced over at Mrs. Claire, only to receive a warm smile in return. "Don't worry, kiddo. You'll do great, I promise!"
Suddenly beginning to swell with confidence thanks to Mrs. Claire's faith in her, Kate switched on her Styler and extended her capture line, preparing herself for a capture. "I'm ready."
Mr. Kaplan pulled his whistle to his lips before staring ahead onto the battlefield seriously. "On your mark... Get set... GO!"
Kate whirled the luminous blue capture line around that Pikachu so fast that she hardly had enough time to register what she was doing. It just came to her so naturally, as if she was just born to do this. It was like she was meant to be a Ranger... And it was all over in three seconds.
Mrs. Claire clapped her hands furiously, whistling her cheers. "Woohoo! You did great, kiddo! I knew you'd rock that exam!"
Kate glanced back at Mrs. Claire with a nervous smile before staring ahead at Mr. Kaplan once more.
"Heh heh... Well done, young one." Mr. Kaplan chuckled darkly to himself, tilting the brim of his hat up slowly and revealing his rather sharp facial features to Kate. "That was quite the impressive capture. With skill like that, you would make a great addition to our secret army and help us achieve world domination... Muhahah..." Mr. Kaplan seemed to be off in his own little world, chuckling to himself creepily.
A nervous bead of sweat just dropped down Kate's forehead as she stared ahead in shock. "...what?"
Mrs. Claire slapped her forehead and slowly dragged her hand down her face. "Ugh... Not this nonsense again. Kaplan, would you cut that out!? Your scaring the poor kid!"
The gym doors were simultaneously slammed open as a woman's figure stormed through them. Her auburn hair dusted at her shoulders, contrasting with her light green blouse and white pencil skirt. The woman angrily stomped over to Kaplan, walking right through Mrs. Claire and causing her image to suddenly glitch and disappear. Kate hurriedly stepped aside as the angry woman walked right up to Mr. Kaplan and smacked him upside the head.
"Mr. Kaplan!" She bitterly snapped out his name, losing her temper. "How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with my students!?"
Mr. Kaplan clutched his throbbing head as he cringed at the woman's every word. "OW! I'm sorry, Ms. April! I just couldn't help myself!"
Mrs. Claire reappeared next to Kate as she watched Ms. April quarrel with her husband. "I'm sorry about him. He was only joking. Making jokes and messing with others is just his way of coping."
Kate nodded her head. "I understand. Besides...we all handle things in our own ways."
The two girls redirected their attention back over to Ms. April and Mr. Kaplan, who were still in an argument of some sort.
Ms. April was clearly still fuming mad, but she held her tongue and bottled that anger as she turned to introduce herself to Kate. "My name is Ms. April, and I'm your classes teacher. I'm terribly sorry for how that was messing with you earlier." She flashed an angry glare behind her at the ridiculous man, who recoiled as if he had been stabbed from her insult.
Kate only could sweatdrop when she realized Ms. April was addressing Mr. Kaplan as "that." "Er... Well, I'm Kate. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She shook Kate's hand. "I'm changing the schedule today to act as a study hall period so you won't have to jump right into a lesson." Ms. April completely changed her mood as she smiled at Kate. "I want to make sure your transition to school life here is a breeze."
"Thank you." Kate grinned gratefully. "That was very considerate of you."
"Think nothing of it." Ms. April politely dismissed her, then glared over at Mr. Kaplan. "We can go ahead and introduce you to your new classmates as soon as that apologizes to you."
Kate sweatdropped again as she watched Mr. Kaplan's ego get visibly stabbed once more from being referred to as "that" for the second time that day. "I said I was sorry, Ms. April! Honestly!" He whined like a child, completely losing his fake "serious personality" that he had been displaying earlier.
Ms. April just huffed as she pulled Kate away and towards the gym doors. "I'm truly sorry about him. He's been acting even more like a child ever since his wife died."
Kate was about to follow Ms. April out the door when Mrs. Claire suddenly appeared next to her. "Oh, wait! Please, before you go... Can you tell my husband something for me?"
Mr. Kaplan quirked an eyebrow in confusion as he watched what appeared to be the new student talking to herself at the door before standing up straight as she approached him.
Kate innocently smiled his way as she delivered Mrs. Claire's message. "Mr. Kaplan? Your wife Claire doesn't want you to be sad anymore, because she is very happy now. And even though she can't be with you anymore, she will always be watching over you."
Mr. Kaplan was so stunned by his new pupil's words than an involuntary tear had dropped from his eye. He had not mentioned his late wife to this girl once, so how did she know about her? And by name...?
"Oh, and one more thing." Kate paused at the door, relaying the final part of the message. "She wants to know if you remember that promise you made to her when you were kids."
Mr. Kaplan blinked at Kate repeatedly. "...How could I forget that promise? I promised her that I would always love her..." He stared down at the floor distantly. "It was the most important promise I ever made..."
Kate smiled sadly at him. "Good, you remember. She's really happy you do, even though you two were just seven years old at the time." She smiled brighter than the sun as she looked at the sight of Mrs. Claire at peace. "She wants you to know that she will always love you too."
Mr. Kaplan's eyes widened in shock as he stood there completely stunned. How did she know about that promise...? Only he and Claire knew about it...
Mr. Kaplan suddenly felt a slight warmth on his shoulder, as if his beloved was placing her hand there to lend him her support. His sadness melted away at her ghostly touch, and he couldn't help but smile at Kate when she finished relaying his dearly-departed wife's message.
Mrs. Claire blinked back tears as she parted from her husband, smiling the whole way over to a bright, beautifully welcoming light that seemed to come from the open gym doors. "Good-bye, my love." She smiled at Kaplan one last time as she walked past Kate and disappeared into the light.
Mr. Kaplan couldn't stop the tears that began to well up in his eyes when he heard his long-deceased wife's voice force itself into the back of his mind. He hadn't heard that sweet voice in so long...
"You must now live out the rest of your life without me. And not just for you, but for the both of us."
"I want you to be happy... I'm safe and in a better place now, so there is no need to be sad."
"And I truly hope that you find love again someday."
Mr. Kaplan felt his wife's presence dissapear as a light gust of wind blew through the gym, and he gently smiled and waved to Kate as she walked out the door. "Enjoy your school life."
;-; okay, that was seriously sad and I cried a little writing this... And that was just the first chapter! ;O; and it wasn't even the saddest back story of them all... Ugh. I'm going to hate myself for writing all of this emotional mush XD I just know it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, or the TV series Ghost Whisperer which I borrowed concepts for in order to write this book.
Claimer: I own any OCs and any changes to the plot.
I hope you a like my new story, no matter how sad it will be ^-^
Read, review, and enjoy!