Author's note: Hello everyone to a brand new story I decided to create. I came upon a new idea after reading The Child of Mew series by DarkFoxKit, great story btw. This prologue will take place in our world so there will be basically no pokemon until the next chapter. I'm not sure if I'll be adhering to a schedule writing this is mainly for my entertainment so I'll be adding more when I feel like it.

Warning: This chapter is sad.

"Example" - Spoken out loud.

Example* - Telepathy.

'Example' - Thoughts.

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A nine-year-old girl wearing second-hand clothes sits on the grass pulling weeds in the garden. The sticky sweat covering her body picks up dirt and makes her itchy and unbearably uncomfortable. She currently has extensive sun burns all over her neck and arms from spending hours in the sunny 106F Californian weather.

Her parents are relaxing in the cool air conditioned house watching tv, unwilling to help with her chores.

It's not like her parents were unable to afford a gardener or maid but "why hire one when you have a child to do it for you." Was the favorite saying from her mother when it came to any chore. They lived in a wealthy neighborhood, so someone had to slave over the garden and lawn as to not embarrass themselves from their neighbors.

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"Hey, Olivia! Get your butt in here, you need to help with dinner, it's getting late!" I sighed as I heard the shrill voice of my mother over the sound of lawn mowers and sprinklers in the neighborhood.

"I only just got done with the garden!" I complained to no one but myself. If my parents heard me complain it would only cause more problems in the future. I was relieved to get out of the sun into the cool house but I just wanted to rest my aching body. I was noticing more and more frequently, random pains popping up all over my body, especially my head. Sometimes I would throw up what I just ate, happen upon random dizzy spells, or suddenly feel very confused about different things. I tried to explain away the problems to help myself feel better but the frequency of them has started to get alarming. It wasn't like I could go to my parents about it, I gave up on trying to get their affection nearly a year ago, they just didn't care.

I would always feel a burning jealousy when I saw other students at my elementary school receive hugs and kisses from their parents when they picked them up or dropped them off. My friends would tell stories about trips to the amusement park or other countries. They would always brag about new outfits, teddies or dolls that were bought for them. When they are off having the time of their lives, I will be here slaving away with an impossible amount of chores like today.

I walked into the house, taking immense pleasure from the wave of coolness washing over me as the air-conditioning worked overtime to get the house to an acceptable temperature. Before I got but a moment's respite, mother was there pointing to the kitchen impatiently. "But Mom, I need to take a shower to not get dirt on the food when I cook." I said, knowing that this type of subtle manipulation was the only way to get what I wanted. Unless what I was asking benefited mom and dad in some way they wouldn't let me.

Mother stood there for a moment with a look of disgust at the thought of dirt on her food before sighing and saying, "Fine, but make it quick, there is a drought going on and water is utterly expensive!"

Thanking whatever god was up there that she agreed, I started heading towards the bathroom down the hall. I spotted my big blob of a father in his usual spot on the couch watching whatever laugh-track comedy that was on the tv, he gave a noncommittal grunt as I passed by.

During the shower I noticed my right arm go numb. "Huh, that can't be good." I murmured. By the time I got out of the shower though it had become fully functional again, so I shrugged it off like the rest of the weird problems with my body. I toweled off, dressed, and hurried to the kitchen to start on dinner lest mother yell at me.

When I finished cooking the meatloaf, I took my meager portion and sat down to begin eating. Just before I started eating, I saw a red liquid drip onto the rim of my plate. Feeling the liquid flowing from my nose I wiped it up with my hand and glanced at it, the same red that was on the plate covered my hand. Panic seized me when I realized it was my blood and I was bleeding heavily from my nose. I tried to stem the blood by pinching my nose but it just kept flowing. I suddenly felt extremely dizzy and fell to the ground. I heard a panicked shout of "Olivia!" from my mother before my body started to shake and blackness covered my vision.

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When I woke up, I was very groggy and my brain hurt enough to put tears in my eyes. Thankfully the lights were dimmed so I didn't have much trouble opening my eyes. The room I was sleeping in wasn't much to look at, bare white walls except for the occasional flower design, a window that had an excellent view of the city and a door with a little window that looked to lead out into a hallway. Occasionally I would see people move past without looking through.

There was a tv that had the show My Little Pony playing but the audio was muted, not my favorite show but it was better than my usual entertainment, none at all. Next to me was a simple wooden nightstand with a vase of colorful flowers, they were very pretty, and a get well soon card which had a simple illustration of a cute cat meowing. My bed was plain white albeit way comfier than my lumpy bed at home. I had a big fluffy blanket on top of me that made me want to snuggle deeper and fall asleep again. I seemed to not be alone in my bed, the other resident seemed to be a big soft unicorn plushie that I automatically started to cuddle against, it seemed to help with the rising confusion, fear, and pain I was currently feeling. Tubes and wires led to my arm under the blanket from a complex machine that was beeping rhythmically and a bag full of fluid.

With these details I deduced I was in a hospital room, even though I had never been in a hospital in my life and my last clinic visit was years ago. 'I guess I was ill in some way or my parents wouldn't bother with the hospital.' I thought, subconsciously letting myself hope a little that they cared for me.

After about 30 minutes of waiting with the obnoxious beeping of the machine a nurse finally came to check in on me. "Hey! You're finally awake, you were starting to worry us there." The nurse was a young woman with mid-back length blond hair, almost violet eyes, a heart shaped face, and had an angelic gentle voice. "My name is Hannah Novak, I'll be one of the nurses that will be attending to you."

I tried to say a simple "Hello" but my voice was raspy and cracked. I cut myself off and raised my hand to my throat.

"Oh you must be thirsty, I'll get some water and Dr. Lewis to clear up any confusion you must have." She said, I merely nodded and didn't try to speak again realizing how thirsty I was.

She exited and about ten minutes later a new woman came in carrying a tray with a pitcher, a glass, soup of some kind and medication bottles. This woman was older than the last one, she had wrinkles around her eyes and forehead, brown hair, and brown eyes with a bony face. She smiled at me and extended a part of my bed that became a sort of table in front of me where she put the tray. She poured a glass of water which I immediately gulped down.

While I was drinking she said, "Hello Olivia, my name is Dr. Lewis and I wanted to sort of explain the situation and hopefully clear up some confusion for you." Dr. Lewis said in a kind but professional voice. "What's the last thing you remember?"

By that time I had finished that cup and tested my voice. When I was sure I could speak I responded in a weak voice, "I remember I made dinner…" The doctor seemed a little perturbed by that sentence but I continued, "and I sat down to eat when my nose started bleeding. I fell out of my chair onto the floor after that I don't remember anything."

She nodded and said "Let me fill you in on what happened after that. You fell onto the ground and had a seizure, which means you were shaking uncontrollably. Your parents called an ambulance for you and you were sent to the local hospital." I slowly nodded my understanding. "You were stabilized and tested to see what happened and a day after you were sent here to a long term children's hospital. You have been asleep for about 5 days."

I was getting considerably more worried, seizures, comas. This did not look good. "I have been noticing random pains, numbness, headaches, dizziness. Just what's happening to me?" I asked, I felt a little liquid come to the corners of my eyes.

"If you noticed something wrong why didn't you tell your parents? They said they didn't know how this happened!" Dr. Lewis said in a slightly raised voice but there was still a hint of kindness.

In a meek voice, I explained myself, "My parents don't really like me. When I was younger and got injured they just told me to stop complaining and would punish me. I started to stop going to them whenever I had a problem and would just deal with it myself." I cuddled my unicorn closer, it really was helping. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell about my parents, I never told anyone before and Dr. Lewis seemed to get angrier the more I said.

She sighed and visibly deflated "I see, did they ever hurt you in any way?" She inquired.

I winced at a memory that I had buried. She must have seen the wince because she adorned a sad and pitying look. I started to get anxious, 'Maybe this wasn't a good idea.' I thought to myself. "It wasn't bad! Just a slap from my mother or a belt spanking from my dad if I didn't finish all of the house chores for that day." I said extremely defensively. I don't know why I was defending my parents, I knew it was wrong of them but I just couldn't help it.

"Ok, ok." Dr. Lewis raised her hands in a motion to pacify me. "Thank you for telling me, that's extremely brave of you!" She smiled at me while writing something down but I couldn't help but regret that the conversation went in this direction.

"But what's happening to me?" I asked a bit impatiently. Today had not been that great of a day and I just wanted to sleep. I was already getting exhausted even though I was asleep for days.

"Before I get into the heavy details you should eat your soup before it goes cold. It's chicken noodle." Dr. Lewis said. My stomach decided it was a good time to speak out as it grumbled. I took a spoonful, it wasn't bad.

"Now I usually don't like to tell the whole truth to children as it's usually the parents job to worry about it but you seem particularly mature for your age. You… have brain cancer." She said in a sad voice.

I had heard about cancer, it was always the boogeyman of illnesses. There were multiple classmates that had one relative of theirs die of cancer but it was always older people so I didn't think I would ever get it. I started crying silently, I didn't want to die. I always thought I would make a loving family and die only when I was over 100. Dr. Lewis reached out her hand and I grabbed it gratefully.

"The tumor is rather big and it's in a spot we can't get to easily, so surgery is a last case scenario. It's by far still able to be dealt with though. We have had worse off patients that have lived through their cancer. Your parents and I have already discussed your options and I personally believe that chemotherapy is your best option. It will help shrink the tumor so we can remove it easier." I just nodded along, it was hard to think. "You will be staying here for a while until we can be sure the chemo is working and we can tone down your treatment. There will be side effects of course but we'll deal with them as they come." She rubbed my back comfortingly, it helped pull me from my thoughts a little. "You better get some rest. The first batch of chemo is tomorrow. Is there anything you need?"

I nodded, "First, can you get this beeping to stop?" She chuckled and pressed what must've been a mute button because it stopped. "And can I have the first book of Eragon or if you don't have that, any fantasy book?"

"I know for a fact that we have that but I'll see if it's available, it's rather popular. We have a full library for bookworms like you." She smiled comfortingly to me. "If you ever need anything press this button or you can walk down the hall to the desk, ok?" I nodded and she left, leaving me to fall asleep once again.

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Many months passed and I could tell I wasn't getting any better. The chemo took hours and was boring but at least I could read during it. Their tests to see if it was getting any better all resulted in the doctors sporting sad expressions while telling me to have hope.

The symptoms of chemo sucked quite a bit. The hair loss was one of the first signs, I loved my hair so losing it was like a punch in the gut. It was one of the things that made my cancer feel truly real to me. I felt pathetic for crying so much over it while they consoled me, it was only a tiny thing. They said it was a normal reaction. Then there were the bathroom problems, vomiting, nausea, and loss of appetite. The amount of time it took them to convince me to eat only for it to come back up, that also made me want to cry. I felt so damn weak all the time, a small cold was equivalent to a week of suffering. All of this was in addition to the symptoms of my brain cancer of course. The amount of times they had to snap me out of staring into space or had to remind me where I was or what I was doing. Sometimes dark thoughts leaked into my mind like if it was even worth it. I started to spend more time in bed then out of it, sleeping most days away.

It wasn't all bad though. The nurse I met, Hannah, spent a lot of time talking to me. She was who I would have imagined my mother to be if I had a mother that loved me. She read to me when I was hurting, hugged me when I needed it and listened to my complaints without any of her own. Hannah of course was the one to also administer morphine and god knows I loved her for that.

I mainly spent my time doing what I enjoyed, not doing chores. I read what I wanted, watched what I wanted, I even made friends with other children at the hospital. The movie nights and other community events were fun.

At Halloween the nurses all provided costumes and we went around with our friends to get candy throughout the hall. I dressed as Saphira from Eragon, or as close as I could with a store bought dragon costume. It was the first bit of candy I had in so long, it almost tasted too sweet. On Thanksgiving we feasted while staff dressed as turkeys or pilgrims. Christmas was beautiful with the decorations, there were several trees all ordamented up each with a shining star on top. We all got presents we enjoyed, I got a new plushie, books and a new hat to cover my now bald head. I made a christmas card for Hannah in arts and crafts telling how much I loved her which made her tear up. My old friends from school came by with get-well gifts. It was nice but they couldn't stay and had to wear masks to not get me sick.

The hospital also hired tutors for children who had to stay for long periods of time. So for about 5 hours every week I got to give my brain a workout. My tutor was a nice and a rather patient dude. He gave me a lot of homework to do on subjects I was bad at, which was excused if I was feeling too down that week. I still tried my hardest to complete my homework because honestly it kept my mind off of uncomfortable subjects.

My mind seemed to decide it was high time that I should have an imaginary friend. I think all the trauma was getting to me. My 'friend' took the form of a small floating pink cat with blue eyes and an extremely long tail. It surprised me quite a bit the first time it appeared but I grew to like its company. I decided it was a she and named her Sakura, after the beautiful trees her fur reminded me of. She let me pet her and snuggle with her. She felt real but whenever someone came into the room she was gone, just vanished into nothingness.

My parents tried to make it look like they cared by coming by sometimes, but they were always quiet and awkward. I would always have to hide my laughter as Dr. Lewis would make faces at them behind their back. When they left I didn't have to hold back and we laughed together. It was better than any therapy ever was to make me feel better. While Dr. Lewis didn't involve child services because she knew it would upset me, she loved to make her displeasure at my parents known.

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Now I suspected I was in my death bed, a little more than half a year later. I have been thinking how this would go down for a while, kind of hard not to. Maybe I would die in a car chase, the bad guys chasing me down in a SUV and shooting smgs at me like in one of those action movies, not likely but possible. Maybe I would go in my sleep, nice and peaceful like. I certainly didn't imagine my organs failing, or how painful it would be. I had already told the nurses that I suspected that today would be the day, I don't know how I just did. I felt exhausted, but I felt like when I next went to sleep that would be it, so I resisted sleep for as long as I could.

The prospect of death was profound to my nine-year-old brain. I would have been ten in a few weeks, almost a decade, an achievement the doctors thought I would live through. I have never been one to believe in a higher power but even though I was expecting non-existence when my life faded, maybe I would be pleasantly surprised and arrive in some sort of heaven. If the afterlife did exist I hope I don't arrive in hell that would be well… hell. I may sound nonchalant about death but I am absolutely terrified. You'd think that one essay you have to face is bad, it isn't anything compared to this. At least I don't have to face it alone.

The multiple other kids I befriended came to say goodbye and how much they would miss me, some crying. It sounds kind of cruel but in a way I found it comforting that someone would miss me, like proof I mattered to someone. When there was no one else to say goodbye to, the nurses that attended to me and Dr. Lewis along with my parents stayed with me. Hannah held one of my hands and my mom held the other. I would rather Dr. Lewis held that hand but I didn't want to start an argument. Hannah was whispering assurances in my ear, like I was loved or she was happy to meet me. My Mom was crying silently, my Dad was stoney faced. I wondered what made them sad, that they might need to find a new gardener or maybe just maybe they regretted what they did to me. Was it wrong of me to hope for the second option, that I wanted them to feel bad and maybe be my parents for my last moments. My insides were burning but I had handled pain enough times in the last few months to not let it show. No one needed to know how much pain I was in for my last moments on their conscience.

As I was closing my eyes for some much needed rest, I spotted my imaginary pink cat friend, Sakura, floating near the ceiling in the corner of the room where no one else but I could see her. She seemed to be balling her eyes out silently. I wondered, if she was all in my mind, would she join me for my journey into the unknown. That thought alone made my passing just a bit more bearable.

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