Chapter 2
Memories
The memory of Misty's death haunted Ash to the bottom of his soul. It was such a vivid memory.
~0~
The day Misty died was supposed to be one of their happiest. Ash had planned something fun for Misty to do, something thoughtful, something romantic, a grand gesture of his love for her. He strolled into the Cerulean Gym. "Ash, I'm working! What is it?" Misty said. Usually she didn't like it when Ash came to see her at work. She wanted to be taken seriously as a gym leader, after all. Something about this day felt different to her. Smiling broadly, Ash had said, "Well, I wanted to save this for after you got home, but I just couldn't wait!" Ash said. Misty ran over to Ash. "Well, what is it?" She asked exctedly. "It's a surprise! You'll have to go see it outside." Ash said. The two of them rushed outside and came face to face with a blue and yellow Honda motorcycle.
"Is that… Is it for me?" Misty asked. "Sure is!" Ash laughed. "Remember back when we were kids, and I stole your bike?" Ash said. "Oh, Ash…" Misty said. "And it got destroyed?" Ash said. "You… You didn't… You remember that?" Misty stammered. "And you followed me around, swearing to make me pay? Well, here it is, Misty. This is your bike now." Ash said. Misty grabbed Ash by the body in a strong embrace, a so warm and strong it hurt a little. It hurt Ash more thinking about it afterwards.
Misty was overjoyed. "I wanna try it out now! Gimme the keys!" Misty said. She had always dreamed of having her own motorcycle, of the wild freedom one had racing across the land with the wind in her hair. Ash gingerly pulled the keys out of his pocket. Misty snatched them from his grasp with great enthusiasm and rushed toward the bike. "Wait, you should…" Ash started to say, holding a helmet in his hands. By then, the engine was already revving up, and Misty could barely hear him. "Hey, wait for me!" Ash called out. He wanted to ride with her. Misty was getting started too fast, though. The wheels were already spinning and she was already on the street. Ash laughed to himself. "Oh well. I'll just wait a moment when she returns." Little did he know at the time, she would never return.
Almost as soon as Misty had climbed on the motorcycle and sped off down the street, she went through a busy intersection and was slammed by an oncoming truck, head on. The truck was on the wrong side of the road. The driver was drunk, because of-fucking-course he was. The next few hours were all a blur to Ash. He vaguely remembered being in the ambulance as the paramedics tried CPR and dressed her wounds. No amount of CPR would save her, though. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
What pained Ash of this memory more than anything else, was when he was in the hospital's lobby getting ready to go home. He still had that motorcycle helmet in his hands at the time. He remembered looking at the inside, at the words he had written with a pink marker. He had written, "Misty! Marry me!" on the inside. There was a diamond engagement ring taped into the "I" in "Misty". When reflecting on this moment, Ash always thought, "Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I show her the helmet first? Why? Why?" He remembered blankly staring at it in the lobby, so overwhelmed with emotion that he could only express himself with a numb grimace. There was no way to express this intense sadness he felt. He hoped deep down that it had al been a horrific nightmare, but he knew well it was. He had seen Misty's mangled corpse and knew too well that it was real.
~0~
Ash snapped back to the moment. He was kneeling in the grass by Misty's gravestone. A silent tear escaped his eyes. Going to Misty's grave reminded Ash that he had to keep on trying, keep on searching for a way to meet her, to talk to her from beyond the black curtain of death. It kept him going when all seemed lost. "I can do it. One way or another, I'm going to bring you back, Misty." Ash said to himself. It was the same words he had said long ago, the first time he decided to search the world for a way to bring back the dead. He repeated it every time he came here. The first time he said them, he felt like a mad scientist or some kind of occultist. He felt crazy. Now it was simply his mantra, the words forever repeated on this mad quest.
Ash picked up Pikachu and put him on his shoulder. "Come on. We can't stay here forever." He said. With a heavy heart, they left the cemetery for the wandering streets of Cerulean City.