Spelunking Through Dreams pt. 3
The River
Ooooooookay! I was writing the third chapter and it seemed to be getting a bit long, so I split it up. The godd thing about that is that I'm already about halfway done with the next chapter! :) The bad thing is that this one now has a cliffhanger ending...O.O;
Thanks to all reviewers!
And I don't own poke'mon, yadda yadda yadda.
Misty's POV (again)
We'd been walking for a few hours and I'd managed to calm my thoughts. They were still bugging me, but at least now I could maintain my composure. I'd been forced to walk at the back of the group because my face wouldn't stop flushing. Just in case, I stayed about even with Brock while Ash led a few feet ahead.
It was a nice day; a little on the hot side, but with plenty of cool breezes and a few clouds for shade now and then. Still, we were starting to feel the strain of walking for several hours. Even Ash looked like his usually boundless energy was stretched a little thin. I thought of all the times when it seemed like he could keep walking forever while Brock and I were about to collapse. Still, he'd always stop when we really needed a rest, and he'd wait until we were fully recovered. It was nice to know that he cared about us.
'About me.'
Gah! Where did that come from?! Just when I'd gotten my thoughts under control, too! Quick, I've gotta distract myself before it totally unbalances me like before…
I realized that I could hear a river up ahead. Looking up ahead, I could see the river bank and a nice little clearing beside it. Yeah, that'll do…
"Hey guys," I said, "Maybe we could take a break by that river." Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework…
"But," Ash replied, "If we stop we might not get to the next town until tomorrow." Typical.
"Aw, c'mon Ash," Brock chimed in, "We won't lose that much time. Besides, it's almost lunchtime."
At the mention of food, Ash's stomach let out a loud grumble. Heh, so predictable. When it came to knowing how Ash's mind worked, Brock had it down. "Well, I guess we could stop for a while," Ash said, scratching his head sheepishly. Looking at him like that, I felt my thoughts trying to break loose again. Why was that?! Ash always scratches his head like that when his stomach growls… So why was it affecting me like this?! Maybe I should relax by the river for a little bit and sort out my mind.
We came to the clearing and I walked past where Ash and Brock were setting up lunch. Ash called to me "Hey, where ya going, Misty? Aren't you gonna eat?" He sounded concerned. I
decided to reply without looking back; I wasn't sure that I could keep my face from betraying my thoughts.
"I'm not all that hungry, so I'm just going to rest by the river." I said.
"Oh, okay." He sounded disappointed. Why? Oh well, I could puzzle that out later. Right now, I had to clear my head.
Brock piped up "Be careful. Rivers can be dangerous, you know."
"I know, I know," I assured him. I don't know why he was concerned. I am one of the Cerulean sisters; it's not like I don't know how to swim.
Sitting down by the river, I watched as the water gently flowed by me. The sparkle of the noonday sun on the water and the soft sound of the river combined and it wasn't long before I had achieved my goal of relaxing. Closing my eyes, I started to hear sounds that I hadn't previously been aware of: Pidgey and Spearow calls, the wind rustling through tree leaves and the tall grass, stuff like that. I found that I had completely forgotten whatever thoughts had been bothering me.
After a few more minutes of just enjoying the sounds with my eyes closed, I felt something change. I know that's vague, but I don't know how else to describe it. I opened my eyes to try and discover what the change was and was surprised to see Ash sitting right in front of me. More than that, looking right at me. And he had this grin; not his usual, reassuring, goofy grin, this one seemed… Sweet. Ehh?! Those thoughts were back, but something was different. I didn't feel like freaking out over that thought, I was just… Staring. At Ash.
"Misty, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Ash. You can ask me anything." Why did I say that? I didn't even think that! It's like I've lost all control of my actions. But, for some reason, I don't care…
"Can I kiss you?"
Okay, I know for a fact that I should freak out in some way right now, but for the life of me I just didn't want to. I just wanted to stay in this moment. "Yes," I heard myself say. He closed his eyes and started leaning towards me. I did likewise.
After I closed my eyes, though, I felt that change again. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something had changed. Opening my eyes, I saw that Ash wasn't there. A split second of confusion was all it took before I realized: I had been dreaming! I had no time to dwell on this fact or the implications thereof, though, because I also realized something else: In my dream, I had leaned forward to kiss Ash. In real life, I was pitching forward into a river. A river which I quickly discovered was deeper and much faster than I had previously thought.