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STORY OF A DREAMER - JOSIE
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CHAPTER THREE
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I woke up to the sound of the birds of the forest singing their usual chorus. I used to love listening to them singing. My family and me would sit there for hours listening and joining in with them when we learnt the words. Now, the noise of the birds represented danger. They may have beautiful voices, but the personality of the Pidgeot was far different. I realised I had to leave soon; as soon as they had finished singing they would emerge to search for food. At that time of day the forest wasn't a safe place to be in, most of the smaller creatures cowered away, afraid of the beasts that haunted the skies. I'd always scoffed at everyone's behaviour during that time. I couldn't see what the danger was. I could now. I was as scared as everyone else.
I shimmied down the tree, using all my strength to prevent myself plunging to my death, and sighed with relief when my feet finally touched the ground. As I stepped away from the tree my heart skipped a beat as a shadow fell above me. My immediate thought was that it was the Pidgeot, back to finish what it had started. I looked up. Fluttering above me, as if it were travelling with the breeze, was a beautiful Butterfree. As it noticed me standing there, it flew down to greet me.
"Hi," it said, landing on a leaf, not even causing it to shake.
"I thought you were a…"
"Pidgeot, I know," it smiled sympathetically. "I saw what happened to your family. I'm sorry."
"Where are you headed?" I said, changing the subject quickly. I wasn't ready to discuss what had happened, not yet.
"Everywhere and anywhere," Butterfree replied, leaving one leaf and landing gently on another. "I got fed up of being in a group. I wanted more freedom, so I set out on my own."
"Do you wanna join me?" I asked, hoping with all my heart that the answer would be yes. "I could do with the company, I wasn't keen on wandering the planet on my own."
"I'd love to," it said enthusiastically, causing a huge grin to appear on my face. I had found a companion. Butterfree didn't know it, but accepting my offer to join my on my quest was one of the best things anyone has ever done to me. It maybe because at the time I felt so alone and companionship appealed so much to me, but I never forgot her kindness.
oo00O00oo
Before we had begun to find our way out of the forest I had picked a berry from a tree and eaten it whole, a method of replenishing energy. It had also replenished my emotions as well, for the first time since I had lost my family I found myself laughing. We had come across a Doduo, who for some reason had decided to stick one of its head down a vacant Diglett's hole, and it was now stuck. The other head, a furious expression on its face, was tapping on the other one in annoyance, and could see no way of removing itself.
"Get out stupid!" it was shouting, much to Butterfree's amusement and mine. It was obvious that it was going nowhere, and yet it persisted in its complaints. As we stood there, me on the ground and Butterfree on a leaf, there was a rumbling from beneath the ground. I could feel it shaking underneath my feet, and as I looked up at my friend I realised she was struggling to remain perched. Glancing back at the squabbling Doduo I finally realised what the rumbling was. Annoyed at the blockage in their tunnel, the Diglett had retaliated and were now, as I correctly calculated, right underneath our feet.
"Quick!" Butterfree shouted to me, turning my attention away from the Doduo. "Climb up onto a branch, they're about to emerge!" I reacted immediately, and leapt onto the nearest branch I could find. It was only just strong enough to support my weight, but I managed to keep my balance as I watched as the ground cracked and over twenty Diglett showed their faces. They were all shouting in unison, and I couldn't work out exactly what they were saying, but I could see by the expressions on their faces that they were determined to remove what was obstructing their hole. And they succeeded. While we were watching, the Doduo rose into the air, carried by the Diglett it began to move across the ground as if it were on a conveyer belt. I laughed till my sides ached, as, even while being carried away to the outskirts of the forest, the infuriated head of the Doduo was still repeatedly tapping the other one. Once they had disappeared and the ground had finally stopped shaking, we finally felt it appropriate to speak.
"Nice to see a smile on your face," Butterfree commented as she left the leaf and hovered beside me, proving what I had realised before, that this was the first time I had laughed in a while.
"I'm sorry I haven't been much company," I replied solemnly, feeling guilty for the second time that day.
"I understand. Your family died. You aren't likely to be a barrel of laughs." She smiled at me sympathetically, and suddenly I felt warm inside. My fears at being alone for a long time had been thwarted by this kind hearted Pokemon, and I knew I would be grateful to her for that for the rest of my life.
As we walked I finally found myself remembering the good times I'd had with my family, instead of reliving their death over and over again in my mind. I remembered our first birthday, the celebration we had. I remembered the few times I joined in with my brothers and sisters games. I had fun, however I always ended up being distracted by the sun, which was why they begun to call me Dreamer.
I was so deep in thought that when I looked up we were on the outskirts of the forest. Ahead of me I could see the world, more clearly than I had ever seen it before. The sun shone down, but as there was nothing to shelter it, it reflected off the ground; pure daylight. I found myself shivering, it ran from my head to my toes, and I realised, I was terrified. I'd never been over a few metres away from the clearing, and here I felt exposed, and unsafe.
"Don't worry," Butterfree reassured me. "There's nothing dangerous around here this time of day, too hot." The shivers disappeared. I trusted Butterfree, and if she told me there was no danger, then I believed her. With new confidence within me, I stepped out into the open, and immediately blinked from the light. I could understand why not many Pokemon ventured there, the hear was almost unbearable. I knew we had to find shelter fast, or we would perish. Looking around for signs of shade, I spotted a tree nearby.
"Look," I beckoned to my friend. "We can shelter under there for a while."
"Good idea," she agreed. "Lets go." And I did, I ran faster than I ever had before. Even though I had been reassured of the areas safety, I still wasn't going to take any chances. As I ran and ran, the tree got nearer and nearer until soon its branches and leaves were clear. I speeded up to clear the last short distance, and finally felt the air around me cool down. I had made it. Buttefree joined me shortly later, perching herself on top of a pink and blue flower sticking out of the ground.
"You can really run fast when you want to," she commented. She looked as exhausted as I felt.
"I couldn't stand to be in that heat any longer than I had to be," I smiled, fanning myself with a huge leaf emerging from the base of the tree.
Looking up at the tree we had chose I realised it was simple enough to climb; it's branches were thick and reached almost to the ground, giving me a walkway to navigate. The leaves gave shelter, allowing me to sit there and stay shaded. I raced to the base of the tree, giving myself enough speed to launch myself onto the lowest branch. I didn't reach the shelter. I had only gone a short distance when I realised something was caught round my neck. I pulled, assuming it to be a blade of grass or something similar. However, the more I pulled the tighter it got, and by the time I realised this and ceased pulling I could barely breathe.
"Help!" I croaked. "I… can't… breathe." Butterfree fluttered down to me almost immediately, realising I was in trouble.
"What shall I do?" Butterfree replied, her voice wavering. I could see she was shivering with fear.
"Something's… holding… it… to the… ground," I managed to say in between coughs. "Tackle… it." I watched as Butterfree floated backwards and then raced forwards, easily knocking the pole out of the ground. As it gave way, the rope loosened, allowing me to catch my breath.
"I'm sorry," Butterfree said, putting her head down. She was still shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "You just saved my life."
"I told you it was safe out here. You believed me."
"You couldn't have known, there was no way of telling that we were going to come across this." I looked at the item that had almost killed me. A Pokemon hadn't created the weapon, a human had.
"Still… I'm sorry." A tear came to her eye, and she wiped it away with her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm just thankful you were there. If you weren't," I thought sadly, "I would have died."
Silence fell among the pair of us. Butterfree was continuing to wipe tears from her eyes, but each time she did, more appeared. I lay on the floor, feeling weak and in pain, and looked up at the clouds. A moment after I closed my eyes, giving in to sleep, I was awoken again by the sound of footsteps and a shadow above me. A human shadow. I gasped loudly as a net swooped over me, capturing me in side. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape. Through the net I could see Butterfree's panicked expression. She knew there was absolutely nothing she could do.
"You beauty!" a voice exclaimed. "Now lets see how tough you really are!" The voice was hard, the voice of a bad person. I began to shake as I was carried away harshly, with no idea of where my destination was.
STORY OF A DREAMER - JOSIE
=========================
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CHAPTER THREE
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I woke up to the sound of the birds of the forest singing their usual chorus. I used to love listening to them singing. My family and me would sit there for hours listening and joining in with them when we learnt the words. Now, the noise of the birds represented danger. They may have beautiful voices, but the personality of the Pidgeot was far different. I realised I had to leave soon; as soon as they had finished singing they would emerge to search for food. At that time of day the forest wasn't a safe place to be in, most of the smaller creatures cowered away, afraid of the beasts that haunted the skies. I'd always scoffed at everyone's behaviour during that time. I couldn't see what the danger was. I could now. I was as scared as everyone else.
I shimmied down the tree, using all my strength to prevent myself plunging to my death, and sighed with relief when my feet finally touched the ground. As I stepped away from the tree my heart skipped a beat as a shadow fell above me. My immediate thought was that it was the Pidgeot, back to finish what it had started. I looked up. Fluttering above me, as if it were travelling with the breeze, was a beautiful Butterfree. As it noticed me standing there, it flew down to greet me.
"Hi," it said, landing on a leaf, not even causing it to shake.
"I thought you were a…"
"Pidgeot, I know," it smiled sympathetically. "I saw what happened to your family. I'm sorry."
"Where are you headed?" I said, changing the subject quickly. I wasn't ready to discuss what had happened, not yet.
"Everywhere and anywhere," Butterfree replied, leaving one leaf and landing gently on another. "I got fed up of being in a group. I wanted more freedom, so I set out on my own."
"Do you wanna join me?" I asked, hoping with all my heart that the answer would be yes. "I could do with the company, I wasn't keen on wandering the planet on my own."
"I'd love to," it said enthusiastically, causing a huge grin to appear on my face. I had found a companion. Butterfree didn't know it, but accepting my offer to join my on my quest was one of the best things anyone has ever done to me. It maybe because at the time I felt so alone and companionship appealed so much to me, but I never forgot her kindness.
oo00O00oo
Before we had begun to find our way out of the forest I had picked a berry from a tree and eaten it whole, a method of replenishing energy. It had also replenished my emotions as well, for the first time since I had lost my family I found myself laughing. We had come across a Doduo, who for some reason had decided to stick one of its head down a vacant Diglett's hole, and it was now stuck. The other head, a furious expression on its face, was tapping on the other one in annoyance, and could see no way of removing itself.
"Get out stupid!" it was shouting, much to Butterfree's amusement and mine. It was obvious that it was going nowhere, and yet it persisted in its complaints. As we stood there, me on the ground and Butterfree on a leaf, there was a rumbling from beneath the ground. I could feel it shaking underneath my feet, and as I looked up at my friend I realised she was struggling to remain perched. Glancing back at the squabbling Doduo I finally realised what the rumbling was. Annoyed at the blockage in their tunnel, the Diglett had retaliated and were now, as I correctly calculated, right underneath our feet.
"Quick!" Butterfree shouted to me, turning my attention away from the Doduo. "Climb up onto a branch, they're about to emerge!" I reacted immediately, and leapt onto the nearest branch I could find. It was only just strong enough to support my weight, but I managed to keep my balance as I watched as the ground cracked and over twenty Diglett showed their faces. They were all shouting in unison, and I couldn't work out exactly what they were saying, but I could see by the expressions on their faces that they were determined to remove what was obstructing their hole. And they succeeded. While we were watching, the Doduo rose into the air, carried by the Diglett it began to move across the ground as if it were on a conveyer belt. I laughed till my sides ached, as, even while being carried away to the outskirts of the forest, the infuriated head of the Doduo was still repeatedly tapping the other one. Once they had disappeared and the ground had finally stopped shaking, we finally felt it appropriate to speak.
"Nice to see a smile on your face," Butterfree commented as she left the leaf and hovered beside me, proving what I had realised before, that this was the first time I had laughed in a while.
"I'm sorry I haven't been much company," I replied solemnly, feeling guilty for the second time that day.
"I understand. Your family died. You aren't likely to be a barrel of laughs." She smiled at me sympathetically, and suddenly I felt warm inside. My fears at being alone for a long time had been thwarted by this kind hearted Pokemon, and I knew I would be grateful to her for that for the rest of my life.
As we walked I finally found myself remembering the good times I'd had with my family, instead of reliving their death over and over again in my mind. I remembered our first birthday, the celebration we had. I remembered the few times I joined in with my brothers and sisters games. I had fun, however I always ended up being distracted by the sun, which was why they begun to call me Dreamer.
I was so deep in thought that when I looked up we were on the outskirts of the forest. Ahead of me I could see the world, more clearly than I had ever seen it before. The sun shone down, but as there was nothing to shelter it, it reflected off the ground; pure daylight. I found myself shivering, it ran from my head to my toes, and I realised, I was terrified. I'd never been over a few metres away from the clearing, and here I felt exposed, and unsafe.
"Don't worry," Butterfree reassured me. "There's nothing dangerous around here this time of day, too hot." The shivers disappeared. I trusted Butterfree, and if she told me there was no danger, then I believed her. With new confidence within me, I stepped out into the open, and immediately blinked from the light. I could understand why not many Pokemon ventured there, the hear was almost unbearable. I knew we had to find shelter fast, or we would perish. Looking around for signs of shade, I spotted a tree nearby.
"Look," I beckoned to my friend. "We can shelter under there for a while."
"Good idea," she agreed. "Lets go." And I did, I ran faster than I ever had before. Even though I had been reassured of the areas safety, I still wasn't going to take any chances. As I ran and ran, the tree got nearer and nearer until soon its branches and leaves were clear. I speeded up to clear the last short distance, and finally felt the air around me cool down. I had made it. Buttefree joined me shortly later, perching herself on top of a pink and blue flower sticking out of the ground.
"You can really run fast when you want to," she commented. She looked as exhausted as I felt.
"I couldn't stand to be in that heat any longer than I had to be," I smiled, fanning myself with a huge leaf emerging from the base of the tree.
Looking up at the tree we had chose I realised it was simple enough to climb; it's branches were thick and reached almost to the ground, giving me a walkway to navigate. The leaves gave shelter, allowing me to sit there and stay shaded. I raced to the base of the tree, giving myself enough speed to launch myself onto the lowest branch. I didn't reach the shelter. I had only gone a short distance when I realised something was caught round my neck. I pulled, assuming it to be a blade of grass or something similar. However, the more I pulled the tighter it got, and by the time I realised this and ceased pulling I could barely breathe.
"Help!" I croaked. "I… can't… breathe." Butterfree fluttered down to me almost immediately, realising I was in trouble.
"What shall I do?" Butterfree replied, her voice wavering. I could see she was shivering with fear.
"Something's… holding… it… to the… ground," I managed to say in between coughs. "Tackle… it." I watched as Butterfree floated backwards and then raced forwards, easily knocking the pole out of the ground. As it gave way, the rope loosened, allowing me to catch my breath.
"I'm sorry," Butterfree said, putting her head down. She was still shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "You just saved my life."
"I told you it was safe out here. You believed me."
"You couldn't have known, there was no way of telling that we were going to come across this." I looked at the item that had almost killed me. A Pokemon hadn't created the weapon, a human had.
"Still… I'm sorry." A tear came to her eye, and she wiped it away with her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm just thankful you were there. If you weren't," I thought sadly, "I would have died."
Silence fell among the pair of us. Butterfree was continuing to wipe tears from her eyes, but each time she did, more appeared. I lay on the floor, feeling weak and in pain, and looked up at the clouds. A moment after I closed my eyes, giving in to sleep, I was awoken again by the sound of footsteps and a shadow above me. A human shadow. I gasped loudly as a net swooped over me, capturing me in side. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape. Through the net I could see Butterfree's panicked expression. She knew there was absolutely nothing she could do.
"You beauty!" a voice exclaimed. "Now lets see how tough you really are!" The voice was hard, the voice of a bad person. I began to shake as I was carried away harshly, with no idea of where my destination was.