In Your Hands:

A 2-Part Tragedy by SmashHit007

Part one

Brendan Carlton sank to his knees and broke down crying, having just witnessed his wife, May, die in childbirth. And she was only twenty-two. He looked at the hospital bed where she lay, eyes closed, her stomach cut open; one of the surgeons screwed up when giving her a c-section, and slashed one of her major veins by mistake. Blood streamed from the wound and stained the bed. Her last words still echoed in his mind. "Remember me". After that, her eyes closed and she passed away. She didn't look heavenly; she looked anything but that. And to make matters worse, Brendan had a new baby son to care for; William Brendan Carlton, seven pounds, fourteen ounces, was born right after May's death. Brendan didn't understand how he could care for William without May, and realized he would have to put him up for adoption. But would may want that? The question was the only other thing on Brendan's mind besides the fact that his wife was dead. Brendan turned to see that baby William was being wheeled out in a cradle into the newborn care room. Brendan would stay with his newborn son in the hospital until it was time to take him home; he had ultimately decided to keep him.

Part two

Brendan sat on the couch in the living room of his home, the television on. But Brendan wasn't looking at the television. He was looking through his photo album, at pictures of him and May. He looked at the picture they had taken in a photo booth in Slateport City, along with their pokémon, Combusken, when he was only fourteen. May was leaning on Brendan's shoulder.

He turned to the next page, where there was a newspaper clipping that read "Brendan Carlton Crowned Hoenn Champion," and had a large picture of Brendan and May sharing their first kiss at the top of the Pokémon League Champion Tower.

On the next page was Brendan and May's wedding portrait, the two of them embracing and sharing a long kiss. Brendan shed a tear as he looked at the picture. As he flipped the page one more time there was a picture of May with the baby in her belly. This was the last picture Brendan took of her before she passed away. Suddenly Brendan knew what he must do. He walked to the nearby closet, opened he door, and pressed the combination to open the small safe there. The safe clicked, and opened wide. Brendan pulled out what was inside; a Colt 45 pistol. He loaded the gun with a cartridge of seven bullets, and walked out of the closet, gun raised to his head. As he took the safety off, he looked at the baby cradle in the other room where William was sleeping. He grinned as he pulled the trigger.

As Brendan lay on the floor, eyes wide open, blood pouring from the bullet he put in his head, baby William cried loudly, now an orphan.

Epilogue

"Have you found the cause of death, Lieutenant McCall?" Officer Jenny turned to her fellow officer as they both stood over the young man's body.

"Suicide. The man was apparently twenty-two at the time of his death, and, as you can see, he's still clutching the pistol."

They stared down at the man's body, eyes wide open, and a grin on his face.

"Why would this young man commit suicide, just after becoming a father?" Jenny asked McCall.

"Well, his wife just recently passed away from childbirth."

"So that means this child is an orphan."

"Exactly. We need to take him to the orphanage."

In the other room, Growlithe, the police squad's main pokémon, gently licked baby William's face, Who giggled and waved his arms. "I just hope he doesn't grow up to be psychologically scarred…" Jenny frowned. "Did you find any other important evidence?"

"We found the man's journal, and his last entry." McCall showed the black notebook to Jenny.
"Well, let's see it."

Entry 84, December 18, 2013.

William Brendan Birch Carlton was born this morning at precisely 10:34 A.M. I guess I should've been overjoyed about this, but the only woman who I could really share this joy with, and she could understand it, would be my wife, May. Her spirit lives on in William, but her beauty, her blue eyes, brown hair, and smooth skin are forever gone. William, this is for you to remember me by. So you can remember me for who I was, not what I did. So long…

-Brendan Norman Carlton, your father.

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new,

And the reason is you.

End.