"C'moon Ash, cheer up now. Forget Lucario for a moment, and just focus on this moment," Serena said as they walked the path to the Gym again. Ash was still a little upset about Lucario's disappearance and Serena didn't really like it. "Lucario has reasons and I'm sure he will tell you them someday"
Ash sighed. "I know. But it still annoys me that he can't tell them to me before he goes somewhere," he said, kicking the pebble on the ground. It bounced along the path and Ash stared at it a little grumpily.
Serena gave him an understanding look, but then said briskly, "I know it, but don't think about it now." Then she grinned and took Ash's hand. "Come on! Let's see if we can find the path Astra told us about!"
"Okayyy!" exclaimed Ash as Serena pulled him along and they went hand in hand to run along the path to the Gym.
They arrived at the Gym, but did not enter in this time. Instead, they stopped in front of it and Serena dug a map drawn by Astra from her pocket. She straightened it smoother and then looked alternately at it and the Gym in front of her.
"Let's see... so the path should leave just around the corner from the Gym," she muttered, trying to figure out the lines Astra had drawn on the map. It was a little challenging, but Serena still thought she understood most of them. "Well, we probably have examine them. Take you right side and I'll take the left."
"Okay," Ash said and went to see if there was a path from the right side of the Gym. Serena looked at his back for a moment until she turned her gaze away and went to look to the left.
She examined all the bushes and mushroom backgrounds nearby, but found nothing like the path. Slightly disappointed, she crumpled the map back in her pocket and shouted at Ash, "Is there anything?"
"Not really... no, wait, there's something here!" there was an answer and Serena's heart jumped with excitement. She ran quickly to Ash and saw him looking behind a big mushroom.
"Look, the path leaves behind this mushroom," he said, pointing to a small, trodden path as Serena stepped beside him. Serena looked and the first thing that came to her mind was that the path was really well hidden.
"Yeah, it does," she said, and enthusiasm shone through her words. She glanced at Ash and this glanced at her. Then, as by mutual agreement, both grinned. You didn't have to be a Psychic to know what both were thinking at the moment.
"I feel like now would be a good time for a little adventure," Ash said with a wide smile and Serena grinned at him.
"Yeah, for a romantic adventure," she said, pressed a small kiss to Ash's cheek, and then took this from his hand. Ash smiled at her and then they set out to walk the path hand in hand.
They set out to walk along a path that meandered along a dense forest. Next to it grew the shimmering mushrooms that grew everywhere in Ballonlea, and the dense bush from which they occasionally heard a small rustle. However, they did not pay more attention to it, as it was very dim in the forest and they had to be careful not to lose the path.
"How did Astra know there was such a path here?" Serena suddenly thought aloud as they had walked some distance along the path. Because the path was very narrow, they had to walk in a row, so Serena, who was walking behind Ash, saw from behind how he shrugged.
"I dunno, maybe she found it while drawing those mushrooms," he said, glancing Serena over his shoulder. He saw her nodding.
"Yeah, you're probably right," she said and smiled at Ash. This smiled back at her and then they continued their journey, again in silence.
They walked a little further again, coming deeper and deeper into the woods. They occasionally heard the voices of some Pokemon from the surrounding forest, but otherwise it was quiet. Little by little, Serena began to wonder when they might come to that creek. Astra had talked about the short trip, so shouldn't they have arrived already? Or was the "short trip" different for Astra than for Serena?
Just as Serena was telling her thoughts to Ash, this one stopped abruptly and suggested Serena also stopped. "Ash, what.." Serena began, but Ash silenced her by putting his finger in front of his mouth and saying, "Shh... listen."
Serena obeyed. She listened to her surroundings and tried to locate the sound Ash had heard. At first, she heard nothing, but then...
"Just as if water was flowing near there," she said at last and Ash turned to look at her with a smile.
"Yep, I think we found the creek Astra was talking about," he said with a grin and then set off along the bush to find the creek.
Serena watched him walk and said, "Ash, is that a good idea?" However, Ash just grinned at her and said, "Of course it is, don't worry!" He moved one bush aside again to see if there was a creek behind it.
Just as Serena was telling him something else, Ash seemed to falter and fall through the bushes. Then there was an exclamation and immediately followed by a splash.
"Ash!" Serena exclaimed and hurried to see where Ash had fallen. She waded through the bushes, which she now found to be various ferns, until they suddenly ran out. And there was a vision before Serena, which caused her to put her hand in front of her mouth and giggle.
Ash sat in the middle of a small creek on a small, flat rock and looked a little grumpy. The creek was shallow, if either of them had stood there, it would have reached them only at the ankles. Its water was very clear and Serena saw that its bottom was full of small, smooth stones similar to the one on which Ash was sitting. The water glistened in the light of the mushrooms on the adjacent beach and joyfully burbled forward, ignoring Ash, who was sitting sour in the middle of its rock.
"Don't say that," he said as Serena opened, giggling her mouth. He didn't want to see Serena's smug look when she said she was right again. "I didn't mean to," Serena said with a smile and held out her hand. "Here, let me help you up from there"
Ash grabbed Serena's outstretched hand and Serena pulled him back to the beach. His shoes were wet, but his pants hadn't gotten very wet. However, Ash didn't care about his wet shoes at that very moment, but looked again, grinning at Serena.
"Well, the creek was found," he said, watching that joyfully flowing water. "Let's follow it and find those wisterias"
"Yeah," Serena said, taking Ash in hand again. "Come on, let's go," she said and so they set out to walk along the creek and see if they could find the wisterias mentioned by Astra.
They walked along the creek and followed that shimmering stream. It stayed very straight, and didn't make big turns to anything. But the environment of the creek, instead, began to change.
As they moved forward, smaller trees with purple and bluish flowers began to appear alongside the large trees that grew in the forests of Ballonlea. Serena identified them as lilacs and wisterias that grew more and more closely around them. And then suddenly, they stopped and Serena breathed a delight.
They had stopped in front of the most beautiful formation Serena had ever seen. It resembled a tunnel whose walls had been formed by the trunks of wisterias. Its roof was curved and consisted of hundreds of branches intertwined. Thousands and thousands of small, purple flowers grew in all of them, and they all spread a sweet scent around them.
Serena looked at the mouth of this tunnel with her mouth open in delight and breathed, "It's so beautiful!" She had never seen anything like it and the sight silenced her completely.
Ash looked at her and smiled a little. "Yeah, that's right," he said and grabbed Serena's hand. "Come on, let's go. I want to see where this tunnel leads."
They set out to walk along a path under the wisterias that was purple from all the petals that had fallen into it. They muffled their steps so that they walked completely silently. The flowers hanging from the ceiling above them spread a sweet scent around them and Serena felt as if she had walked in a cloud of perfume.
"How is this tunnel formed here?" Serena thought aloud after a while. "This looks like someone deliberately grow wisterias into such a formation."
"Maybe that's just the way it is," Ash replied, and Serena looked at him a little surprised. "Maybe someone really has grown this tunnel here on purpose, to please others or something."
"Yeah, it can be," said Serena, and then they continued their journey in the tunnel again.
They heard the burble of water next to them and knew that the creek continued to flow next to the tunnel. However, they did not see it, for the wisterias formed a wall so thick on their sides that nothing could be seen through it.
As they walked hand in hand along that petal-covered path, Serena happened to glance at Ash, who was walking beside her. He didn't notice her gaze as he watched the flowers growing just above them, but Serena smiled nonetheless. She suddenly realized how lucky she was to have someone like Ash her boyfriend. The thought caused a warm feeling in her chest and she squeezed Ash's hand even happier.
They walked some more distance until they finally arrived at the end of the tunnel. It ended up in hanging vines of wisteria flowers in a veiled formation. They stopped in front of it and looked at each other.
"Well, we'll probably have to go through it," said Ash and Serena nodded.
"Yeah," she said and then Ash stepped through the flowering veil and pulled Serena after him.
As Serena stepped to the other side of the wisteria veil, she gasped again. In front of her, a very beautiful sight opened up again. She stepped a little closer and at the same time let go of Ash's hand.
Directly in front of them grew the largest wisteria Serena had ever seen. It grew on a small island in the middle of a small, clear-water pond. The creek they followed stream directly into the pond and they saw purple petals floating on the surface of the pond. Around the pond grew those large, shimmering mushrooms, all of which shone in different shades of purple.
But the most beautiful of all was that big wisteria. It spread its branches around the island and thousands of sweetly fragrant, purple flowers hung from each branch. If they had stood under the tree, it would have looked as if the sky had been purple.
Serena stared at that marvelous tree and its thousands of flowers. She stepped right on the edge of that little pond and stared up. She saw very close to one of those many flowering branches, and if she had reached out, she would have reached to touch it.
"How has a place like this not getting more attention? It would deserve it," Serena said as she heard Ash walking next to her. They stood side by side in it looking at the wisteria and Serena felt unfair that not everyone knew about the existence of such a wonderful place.
"Yeah, you're right," Ash said, looking at the wisteria and its flowering canopies. Then his gaze shifted to Serena standing next to him and he grinned. "Come on, let's take a closer look!"
They took off their shoes and socks and waded into the pond. Its water was very shallow, it only reached them to the ankles, and at the bottom was a soft sandy bottom. The surface could not be distinguished because so many purple flowers and petals floated in it. The water in the pond was cool, but it didn't bother them. The trip was not long and the air was also warm.
They reached that small "island" where the wisteria grew. They stared at its thick and slightly twisted trunk for a moment until Ash stepped up to it. He pressed his hand to the trunk and seemed to close his eyes.
Serena looked at him a little confused for a moment, but then realized what he was doing. She walked over to Ash and said quietly, "You feel its Aura, don't you?"
"Yeah," Ash replied, his eyes still closed and his hand stuck in the trunk of the tree. Then he finally removed his hand from the trunk and opened his eyes.
"This tree is really old, I can feel it from its Aura," he said, without looking away from the tree. "It's been here a long, long time before us and we can only guess what it has seen."
"Certainly things we can only imagine," Serena said, looking at the tree as well. Ash nodded to her but said nothing, and for a moment they just stood there and looked reverently at the wisteria that had certainly grown in it for hundreds of years.
Eventually, Serena shifted her gaze away from the tree and back into its surroundings. She stared at it for a moment until suddenly she noticed something interesting. She glanced at Ash, who still seemed to be staring at the tree, and then a mischievous grin spread across her face.
She sneaked quietly away from Ash and to the thing she noticed. She lingered with it for a moment until she sneaked behind Ash and said in a loud voice, "Hey Ash, I have something for you!"
"Huh?" said Ash startled and turned around. He didn't know that Serena had been waiting for just that, because when he had turned around, he saw Serena throwing something purple in her arms and his vision was covered with purple flowers and petals.
"What the...," he began as purple wisteria flowers and petals rained on him. He heard Serena giggle loudly beside him and say happily, "Surprise!" And when the flowers had finally fallen to the ground, he saw his girlfriend standing in front of him with her hand in front of her mouth and a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes.
"You little..." he began, also smiling playfully, scooping a pile of purple petals from the ground. Then he looked at Serena and grinned.
Serena realized what his grin meant and said, "Oh, no." But Ash just grinned even wider and said, "Oh yes!" And then he rushed towards Serena, the petals raised above his head.
Serena screamed and laughed and ran away. She circled the other side of the tree and Ash followed with a laugh. They played some sort of tag around the tree, laughing and dodging the others, until Serena stumbled on one of the roots of the wisteria and fell to the ground.
She turned on her back and saw a violet rain of petals hovering over her. When they had landed completely on the ground, she saw a grinning Ash standing in front of her and shaking his hands from the rest of the petals.
"It was revenge," he said, smirking as Serena shook the petals out of her hair. She raised her eyebrows at Ash and then a mischievous smile reappeared on her lips.
"Take revenge on this, too," she said, getting up a little more. Then she pressed her lips against Ash's lips and, pulling his shirt, pulled him down to the ground.
Ash felt Serena's soft lips dance on his own until Serena pulled away to get oxygen. Their gazes met and blue eyes met auburn ones. Ash saw Serena's mouth turn into a smile and felt Serena's fingers intertwine with his fingers. He squeezed them tenderly and felt his heart pound as he got to be close to that girl he loved.
"I love you," he whispered and pressed his forehead against Serena's forehead. Serena smiled at him and whispered back, "And I love you." And then she pressed her lips against Ash's lips again and nothing could disturb their sweet moment.
"How would it feel if the sky would really be purple?" Serena thought as she lay beside Ash. She had reached out her hand to the air and it was only inches away from one of the flowers hanging from them. "What would it look like?"
"I think it would be cool," Ash said with his hands under his head and turned his gaze to Serena. They had moved from the under of the tree to one of those big mushrooms and now lay on top of it side by side. Wisteria quietly dropped petals on them and its many flowers swayed softly with the invisible air currents.
"I knew you'd say that," Serena said with a laugh and Ash grinned. He then turned his gaze back up and seemed to be looking at the wisteria flowers growing above him.
He was silent for a moment until he said, "I wonder... what are Gou, Chloe, and Astra doing right now?" He blew away one of the petals hovering near his nose and then turned to look at Serena again.
Serena rolled to her side and shrugged. "Who knows? Astra said she wanted to draw something, so maybe Chloe and Gou will help her with that."
Ash thought about it for a moment until he nodded and said, "Yeah, you're probably right." He felt Serena roll back next to him on her back and then they just stared at the wisteria flowers above them for a moment.
Suddenly Serena got up to sit and Ash turned his gaze in surprise at her. "Serena, what now?" he asked and Serena turned to look at him. There was a look on her face that said she had come up with something and that "something" was very awesome.
"Come on, I got a great idea!" she said and dragged Ash up. She grabbed him by the hand and quickly slid off the top of the mushroom back to the ground. Ash followed, a little confused, and asked, "Serena, what have you come up with?" He watched as Serena quickly took her shoes off her feet and waded into the shallow pond surrounding the tree.
"Initials," she said, wading to the tree. She brushed its bark with her hand and then turned to look at Ash again. "We forgot our initials at that previous tree, so why not do them now?"
Ash realized what she meant and quickly waded to Serena and the tree. "True, a good idea," he said as he approached his girlfriend and wisteria and Serena beamed.
But then her smile froze a little. "But we have nothing to do them," she said, annoyed and looked at the thick trunk of the wisteria. "We can't just scrach that trunk with our fingers"
Ash realized she was right and he looked at Serena's annoyed face. He hate to see Serena sad and he also wanted to carve their initials on the trunk of that big wisteria. And then suddenly he came up with a solution.
"Aura, we can use Aura," he said and Serena looked up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, but Ash just grinned.
"Watch," he said, pressing his right hand close to the trunk of the wisteria. He closed his eyes and seemed to focus. He directed Aura into his hand and from there still into wisteria.
His hand began to glow blue and he heard Serena gasping beside him. Then he focused and thought in his mind the letters he wanted to carve into the wood. His hand glowed bright blue for a moment until he felt Aura return to his body. He waited a moment and then opened his eyes to look if he had done anything.
His mouth turned to a smile when he noticed that the letters A + S had appeared on the tree, which were inside a pretty heart. He turned to look at Serena, who now smiled broadly, and began, "Well, they're not the finest, but..."
However, his sentence was abruptly interrupted as Serena had pressed her lips to his lips. "They're awesome," she whispered as she withdrew from the kiss and Ash smiled broadly at her.
"I love this place," Serena said as they sat at the base of the wisteria after a while with their hands intertwined. Her head rested against Ash's shoulder and Ash gently stroked her hair. "It's so beautiful and peaceful here. Downright magical."
"Yeah," Ash said, carrying his hand among Serena's soft hair. His own head rested on Serena's head and he smelled the sweet floral scent from in Serena's hair. "It's really magical. Like you."
After the last sentence, Serena looked up and looked at Ash with a smile. "Thanks Ash, you're magical too," she said, chuckling and Ash noticed a pink blush on her cheeks. For Ash, it always made Serena really cute and he gave a gentle kiss to the girl's forehead.
They sat in it for another moment until Serena glanced somewhere in the direction of the sky and said, "Is it already evening? It's a little hard to say here"
"I don't know, but maybe we should go back, though," Ash replied and stood up. He helped Serena up as well and then they set out to wade across that small pond to the opposite shore.
Once they had reached the other side of the pond, they walked hand in hand to that wisteria tunnel. After reaching it, Serena turned one last time to watch the wisteria growing on the island. As she did so, she smiled a little sadly.
"Well, let's go then," she finally said and disappeared through the wisteria veil into the tunnel. Ash followed her, also glancing once more at the big wisteria, and then they set out to walk back toward Pokemon Center.