Ash rocked in the swing on that playground as he watched the life around him go by.
Children were running around, exchanging animated conversations and playing tag, climbing onto and sliding down the slide. On the streets, cars passed by, emitting constant noise sounds. In the treetops, Pidgey's newborn puppies chirped, frightened that they had left the comfort of their eggs and entered that strange world.
For a moment he wished he were a child again. His only concern would be not being late for school and leaving in time to watch his favorite TV series, Patrol Voltorb. He'd wake up early and run into the living room, along with his bowl of cereal that he'd left in the fridge the day before. He sat cross-legged on the couch as he watched a young version of Surge, the gym leader from Vermilion City, punch some criminals in the face, only wearing a military uniform.
But he was no longer a little child. He knew that when he decided to be a Pokemon trainer he would be leaving his comfort zone and entering a unknown territory. Many trainers ended up tragically losing their lives as they went on their journey. For that reason, that lifestyle usually made parents fearful for their children.
A little boy walked towards the swing beside him.
"Can I sit here?," he asked innocently.
He wore a school uniform and carried a lunch box with him. His hair was long and had a strong red color.
"Yes...," Ash replied.
The boy began to rock hard. He would go up, then go down, and then go even higher as he propelled the swing with his hands and feets.
Ash went back to staring at the nothing, with those melancholy thoughts.
The boy suddenly stopped.
He opened his lunchbox and pulled out a sandwich.
Ash looked at his lunch. He felt his belly rumble, reminding him that he hadn't eaten decently in days.
"Do you want it?," the boy reached out and handed it over.
Ash, however, did not accept.
"No, but thanks for offering me."
He went back to devouring his sandwich. "Why are you sad?," he asked with his mouth full.
"Who says I'm sad?", snapped Ash, even though he knew he wasn't looking the best.
The boy looked at him as he chewed. "I don't need to be a psychic to guess this, just look at your face," he said.
Ash looked at his feet
"Someone I knew left me," he replied.
"Died? Is that what you mean?"
He filled him with questions. Ash, however, wasn't uncomfortable . It was almost as if in those short minutes they had known each other they had created an instant connection. An almost familiar feeling.
Ash just nodded.
"Well, I guess I can help you because I've already dealt with it. When I was younger..."
Ash guessed that the boy must be, at the most, seven years old, so that line made him laugh inwardly.
"It was my fifth birthday. At my house, my father gave me a Growlithe as a present for me. 'You'll have to take good care of him, as if he were part of your family,' my father had said after hand him to me. I called him Tony."
He took a juice box from his lunch box and inserted a straw into it. The suction sound began to be emitted.
"I was always playing with him, from one side to the other. We played catch, run, catch the ball. He had a really fluffy fur, so I always combed it with a pokemon comb my mom bought. One day, when we were playing with the ball in the backyard, I kicked it so hard that it stopped far from the house. I ended up being stupid and opened the house gate, allowing Tony to leave."
The redhead looked at his fingers.
"It wasn't his fault, you know, Tony just wanted to get the ball like I taught him. The truck's horn wasn't fast enough, and the rest you can imagine."
"I'm sorry," said Ash.
"You don't need to, it's been a while, I'm over it. At first I had nightmares remembering the scene, the grunt of pain that Tony gave before the truck's wheels crushed his body. I didn't feel like doing anything else and kept crying. That's when my father said: 'son, Tony is now resting, I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy to know that his friend is not well. He may have disappeared from our world but he will always live here', then he played on my heart and I cried."
Ash was touched by the boy's story.
He pointed to Ash's chest.
"I don't know who you lost, but he will always live in here, until the day you meet again in the other world where the Pokemons and humans will end up after they die. That's what my father said and he's very wise and intelligent, after all, it's no wonder he's a gym leader," he said. And he added: "Although he hardly ever stops at home." He laughed.
Ash smiled.
A girl came running towards where the two were. She stopped in front of the boy: "Silver, the break is over, the teacher is calling us."
The boy got up, grabbed his lunch box and said goodbye to Ash: "Bye."
Before he left, Ash said, "Thank you."
He turned away.
"Why?"
"I hadn't been able to smile for a while... But after our conversation I felt something that was missing again."
The courage to never give up.
The darkened world that had been formed began to be painted in vibrant colors.
The boy just smiled broadly.
"Okay then! Um... Bye."
So he left with the girl, running through the park, in a hurry to get back to his school.
Ash got up from the swing.
He looked up at the bright sun in the sky and imagined that Gary was watching him from above.
I need to apologize to Nurse Joy, he thought. He had been a complete asshole to someone who was just trying to help him. He wouldn't be clear-minded until he got her forgiveness.
Then he headed with his hands in the pockets of his shorts back to the pokemon center.