The Other Side

Time had no meaning in Heaven. There was no need for it, I guess. Andy and I could have been there for a few weeks – maybe even a year. I know when people say 'Heaven' they usually think a place where they can be happy for all eternity. This was not so. Heaven was entirely too boring for my liking! Everything was peaceful and no-one yelled at me for running around with Pokémon souls and ruining the flower beds. Well, since the flowers weren't actually there, they didn't actually get ruined but that was beside the point! I had given up. I just lay on a cloud all the time, staring at what was literally nothing until Grandpa Joe came to see how I was doing.

It turns out, in Heaven you can be whatever age you wanted someone to see you as. It was confusing, but I was trying to get used to it. Especially since Grandpa Joe was in his early twenties. He came and sat next to me.

"You don't like it here," he stated. I shrugged. It was Heaven: it would be wrong not to like it. There was only one alternative to it and I didn't think it would be a barrel of laughs, either. I preferred Heaven to the other place but that didn't mean I wanted to be here. Everyone seemed to love it and I was the only exception. I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't smiling – but that was back when I was alive. Now I barely recognised my reflection, the serious expression on my face not matching what I used to look like.

"Where's your friend?" I snorted.

"With Angel." Andy and Angel were always together now. I understood that Angel was what Andy had been missing out on when we were alive but the fact that he seemed to have forgotten about his best friend upset me. Did having a love interest in your life really make anything else seem irrelevant? I was happy that Andy had found someone special, of course I was. Still, I couldn't help feeling left out. I remember when I used to look at Andy the same way he looks at Angel now. How I missed the old days.

"You want to go back to your family and friends, don't you?" Grandpa Joe said with certainty. I didn't reply; I didn't have to. Grandpa Joe knew how much I wanted to leave Heaven and see everyone – alive – again. I wanted to live, breathe and be happy once more.

"I remember when I first got here. I missed everyone so much but because I had a lot of dead friends, I didn't think about missing them so much. Still, I can understand how you feel," said Grandpa Joe thoughtfully.

"At least you got to live your life: I had barely even started mine. I've never even had a boyfriend!" I complained. It was so unfair! I could have totally had a relationship with – for example – TJ Torres who thought I was beautiful, or even become a Pokémon co-ordinator or something! I was young so the possibilities were endless. Now, they've ended. Being dead totally sucked. I closed my eyes. I would never fall over and graze myself again, or get sick from eating too much – but I'd also never eat food again, or feel the wind in my hair. There was nothing glamorous about Heaven, no matter how well it was advertised. So much for being a place of paradise.

There was a pause in our conversation; I think I startled Grandpa Joe with my outburst. Not for the first time, I wondered how my family were coping with my death. Mom and Dad were probably heartbroken. It had been so long since I'd last been at home, and I regretted that immensely. Poor little Sunshine wouldn't even remember having an older sister in a few years...I sniffed and wiped my nose on the back of my hand. Thoughts like that only made me sad, and I willed myself not to think them.

"Perhaps I shouldn't be telling you this..." Grandpa Joe began, sounding hesitant. "But I overheard a group of angels talking and it looks like your friends on Earth are working to get you and Andy, was it? They're working to get you resurrected." My eyes snapped open. I sat bolt upright and stared at Grandpa Joe. Could it really be true? A new hope sparked inside of me, and I held on to it with my (after) life.

"Don't joke with me, Grandpa! Seriously? Tell me all the details!" I begged, my hands held together and shaking. Grandpa Joe chuckled at me.

"I didn't hear everything, but from what I did hear it was something about two girls looking for a plate for Arceus in return for your lives." I gasped excitedly, my smile returning after how long. Rina and Rikki were doing Arceus a favour to get mine and Andy's lives back! Ooooh, when I got back I was going to give them a hug to end all hugs! I was bursting with pleasure and squealed loudly. I kissed Grandpa Joe's cheek and then shot off in search of Andy. I couldn't wait to tell him the good news! I raced past souls who were calmer than I was, not paying them much attention. Ha! Soon, I wouldn't even be able to see them. My feet pounded on the clouds – how was that even possible? Weren't they made of water or something? – and I sprinted all the way to where I suspected Andy was.

I stopped when I saw him with Angel, sitting on their special cloud. It was special because if you looked over it, you could see Earth – and not just from a distance. If you concentrated, you could see a specific time and place of your choice. It was actually really cool but I didn't much like it because it upset me to watch life go on without me. I'd only used it once and it was a bit of a waste: everyone had been sleeping. Andy and Angel were holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes when I stumbled across them. I had two choices: ruin the moment by interrupting them or come back later and give them some privacy.

"OH MY GOSH ANDY YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT?" I shrieked, plonking myself in between the two boys. Andy blushed violently and Angel coughed pointedly. I ignored Angel and beamed at my best friend.

"Rina and Rikki are trying to get us reservatered!" Andy stared at me blankly.

"Reser...vatered? What's that?" he asked, confused. Angel sighed heavily.

"I think she means 'resurrected'."

"Yeah! That! Isn't that great? We can get our lives back!" I was bubbling with ecstasy. I'd been dreaming of being alive ever since I'd stepped through the gates of Heaven and now finally it was going to come true. Nothing could beat this feeling. My smile stretched across my face as I awaited Andy's joyful response. His eyes darted quickly to Angel and then back to me.

"Uh, we-well I'm not re-really s-sure I want to go b-back..." I threw my head back and laughed. Andy was so funny! He really knew how to make a joke. I laughed long and loud, calming down after a few minutes. I sighed happily, wiping a tear from my eye.

"Ti-Tizzy, I'm n-not joking. I w-want to stay he-here in Heaven..." I blinked at him.

"Why?" I asked, not understanding what Andy was saying. How could he like being dead so much that he wanted to stay that way?

"It was your time to go. Andy has accepted that, and you should too. I'll pull some strings and get the older angels to make sure those two girls don't succeed..." Angel said. I shot him a dark look.

"Don't even try it! I won't accept that there's no chance of me watching my baby sister grow up! I want Rina and Rikki to resurrect us so I can hug them again, and be happy with them and have fun! I don't like being dead; I miss Tubby and cake!" I wailed. Angel looked at me pityingly.

"Could you give us a moment?" Andy asked Angel. Angel nodded and after squeezing Andy's hand, left us in peace. Andy shuffled closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I had a sudden flashback of the times my shoulder had been touched recently. When I caught Teddiursa for Sunshine, and Mom and Dad had both placed their hands on my shoulders, proud of me. Saying goodbye to my friends in Team Elemental and Selene had blown me a kiss while Saul patted my shoulder. Soon after, a tearful kid tapped my shoulder and asked to use the phone. After I had released Pipin, Andy had rested his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. He'd also done the same thing when he informed me that we were dead.

I shrugged Andy's hand off me and he exhaled forlornly.

"I'm sorry I don't feel the same as you about what Rina and Rikki are doing for us. I just...I think I have something special with Angel. I never met anyone like him when I was alive, and I'm not going to give him up easily." I felt let down and slightly betrayed. I stared Andy straight in the eyes and gave him a long, hard look.

"Andy. You and I have been through a lot together in a short amount of time. We became best friends and I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about you. That's why I want you to be happy that we might be brought back to life." Andy shook his head slowly, and it felt like something was yanking my heart.

"I'll be happy for you...But I don't want Rina and Rikki to take me away from Angel." Andy was beginning to really bug me now. It was always Angel this, and Angel that. Did he forget who I was?

"Just listen to yourself! You knew me long before Angel came along, and I'll always be here for you. I thought you were supposed to put your friends before...Well." I cleared my throat, not quite comfortable with calling Angel Andy's 'boyfriend'. It was too weird. Andy looked at me sadly, now understanding how I felt. I decided to carry on.

"Besides, how much do you really know about Angel? Sure he's an angel but that doesn't mean he's right for you! You can't tie yourself to one person at this age...And I don't like him that much," I admitted. Angel might be good-looking but he wasn't good to the core. He hadn't bothered to be nice to me, for one. As Andy's best friend, I thought it was only logical that Angel would want to be my friend too. Clearly Angel didn't care. As long as he had Andy, why would he bother with me? Andy closed his eyes, thinking. He took a few deep breaths: I guess he was trying to control his thoughts or something. When he opened his eyes again, I knew everything was going to be okay.

"I don't get the chance to say this often, but you're right Tizzy. You mean more to me than Angel. If Rina and Rikki succeed, I'll gladly go with you." He smiled and, unable to contain myself, I threw my self at him in possibly my biggest hug yet. Oooh Andy! I totally loved the little guy. When Andy choked that he couldn't breathe, I withdrew from him but kept a firm grip on his arm. I announced that we would watch Rina and Rikki's progress from the cloud and we leaned over. An image quickly manifested and I saw our friends searching through tall grass for something. Movement off to my left caught my eye and when I looked up, I saw Grandpa Joe smiling happily at me. I waved to him and he walked off. My gaze returned to Rina and Rikki.

"C'mon! You can do it!" I encouraged them.

Note: Ah, I hope Rina and Rikki do it! I didn't really like Tizzy being all mopey, so I'm glad she's all perky again!