I went to the hospital to see how Serena was doing, but by my arrival, everyone was freaking out saying that she went missing. I snapped at a few nurses for being reckless before catching myself and hurried off somewhere I could possibly find her.
"How am I going to find her at a huge place like this?!" I screamed at myself, not knowing where to even start "Come on, Calem... think!" I groaned, pulling my hair
"Voir..." I jumped when Gardevoir met me at the park
"Gardevoir!" I hurried over to her facing the fountain in the middle of the park before turning to me "Quick! Where's Serena?!" She didn't say anything "You have to tell me! She's in danger! You know this!" She pointed at me "Me? Am I a an endangerment to her?" I guessed. She looked a bit annoyed and shook her head "I know where she's at?" I guessed again, earning a nod "You haven't given me any good leads, Gardevoir. You've only gave me a handful of images"
Gardevoir used her other hand to show me something I didn't see her having. I reached out to take the card stock and turned it around to see Serena and myself as kids!
"I didn't know we took pictures together" I rubbed my head "for someone who had a brilliant mind, I can't believe I hardly remembered my childhood" I crossed my arms "the brain is a complex organ and memory is a multifaceted process that involves various regions and systems working together. While a genius mind that can learn quickly and adapt to the information my excel in the in acquiring and processing knowledge, memories are stored in different parts of the brain compared to a part that learns-" I looked at Gardevoir staring deeply into my eyes, like she was saying to focus "I got ahead of myself..."
I looked back at the picture, recalling the area we took the picture at "That looks like..." I looked back at Gardevoir nodding and turned around to disappear "Gardevoir!" I looked around for her "Why would you leave?! Take me to Serena-!" I accidentally almost stepped on something from the spot she disappeared from. It was a shoe box
"What's this?" I sighed, upset that Gardevoir left without taking me with her, and opened the lid, seeing dozens of letters inside that were sent back to the sender, addressed to my home address "huh?"
I bit my lips, whether to prioritize reading some of the letters when I have Serena to think about. If Gardevoir left these to me, I should at least see what was sent but never received.
These letters dated back to 15 years ago, around the time Serena moved to Hoenn when she was 5 and I was 6. It was the typical little girl letters talking about her day and how nice Hoenn was. The letters stopped 3 years later and she started writing again 2 years after being gone. She didn't explain why she was gone for so long, but it was clear in the letters how different she was.
She still had me in mind and wanted to send letters, even if they were sent back because nobody was ever home. My parents were strict when it came to protection of our safety, so they didn't allow mail to come to the address. Only a P.O. Box was used. Any mail sent to the house was immediately sent back without notice from us if we weren't expecting them.
When Serena started sending letters again, even if she knew they were never seen, almost like a diary without secrets, she was more bubbly and talked about the most random things. Some of the letters even had tear stains on the paper, not matching the energy on the letter
I frowned at all the letters, sad that I never got any of it. If I were to have gotten at least some, I would know she was out there thinking of me. I would had wondered why she stopped sending the letters for 2 years before mysteriously coming back.
It was painful to read these. I didn't want to spend too much time reading all the letters that were about a month apart for the last 15 years or so, but I found the most recent letter from a few months ago before she arrived to Kalos
"Hello, Calem. If you're reading this, that means I'm already on the way from the Hoenn region to come home to the house my parents left me a long time ago. It remains where we last left it, so I'm sure it's super dusty! I always wonder if you're still living at that house. Probably not, but sending letters always makes me feel like somehow or someday you'll read every one. I'm done my business here in Hoenn, burying my parents for their graves, so I'll be coming to Kalos very soon—"
"Somehow she made it sound so cheerful" I frowned
"— there will be a chance I might not see you at the house I often visited you at in Vaniville Town. You could had moved for all I know, but I'll never stop sending these letters. If you're not home, this will be the last letter until I find you again. I can't wait to see you, even if you may not remember me. I know we were so young, but I miss you. — love Serena"
"She said I miss you in every letter she sent, but..." I accidentally almost crushing the letter "It feels like this will be the last one I'll hear" I put everything back in the shoe box and followed the stupid amount of information in my head to lead me to where I may find Serena; in Vaniville Town at our favorite spot we always spent together at.
Some traffic prevented me from heading there faster, but I took the advice from Rin telling me I have till the end of the day, but that didn't make me feel any better.
My crippling anxiety could not settle down the longer I am without Serena by my side. By the time I arrived to Vaniville Town, it was around sunset, just like in the vision Gardevoir showed me a long time ago.
My beautiful Serena stared out at the vast landscape while on the edge of a cliff. The sun highlighted her outline as her shadow was facing me, giving her a halo effect.
She heard my heavy breaths, slowly turning to me, showing me the face that can't compare to the beauty of what's behind her. She was wearing the clothes Shauna left her at the hospital, her face was blank and her eyes seemed lifeless.
"S-Serena..." I cried, finally able to talk "Please..."
"Calem... How did you know I was here?" She looked back at the sunset "Beautiful, isn't it? The one thing that stays beautiful even when it's looking upon tragedies all the time"
"Come here" I told her, opening my arms so she could step away from the cliff
"You know, I thought I had life figured out" she said "I stopped using my abilities after being rescued, and because I stopped, they're not as strong. You never used them, yet your levitation is wonderful. I'm not saying I'm jealous or anything, but sometimes I feel like I'm cursed" cursed...? "I can't shake away the demons haunting my head. All those people I've hurt, seen kill themselves... I thought I could get better on my own, but you have no idea how hard it is to hide those memories" she looked down "Instead of handling it like a mature adult, I ended up insulting Lysandre to the point of breakage. This caused him to take his life at the end" I flinched
"No, no that wasn't your fault!"
"It was!" She turned to frown at me "I told him to kill himself!" She cupped her face "It wasn't immediate, but it eventually got to him... I killed him after I said I would never use that ability again" she sobbed "It hurts so much to know how disgusting of a person I am to easily manipulate someone to off themselves... I don't deserve to live"
"That was his choice! He wanted to destroy this world to meet his unrealistic expectations! He knew he couldn't do it at the end... That decision alone was enough to make his choice to stay under the rubble!" She took a step back "Serena!"
"I know you're trying to make me feel better, Calem... but this is too much. Even if Lysandre didn't stay, these feelings remain in my heart. Do you have any idea what I've been through?"
"I might not have, but you're not alone when you say you've witness someone losing their life. I watched my parents being taken from me"
"That's right... that was the reason why you joined Team Flare" she sighed "but I'm not as strong as you are" she opened her arms to her side "I can't continue to pretend I'm okay, knowing I'm a monster who will never be forgiven"
"If you jump, I'm coming after you!" She looked surprised before losing her step and drop backwards down the cliff. I didn't hesitate to run and jump after her, taking her body into my arms and held her head to protect
"Calem!" She cried "No! What have you done!? I'm supposed to—"
"No you're not! I can't imagine my life without you! Things will get better! I promise you! Please believe in me! Please show me the demons you've hid so well from me! I want to do the same!" She grasped on the back of my shirt and hugged me closely
"I'm not worth it... but I thought it would be better if I..."
"There's still hope, my love. Please say you'll stay by my side!" She quickly nodded
"Yes! I will!" I dug in my pocket to take out one of my Pokémon to catch our fall and ended up taking out the master ball
"Please! Come out, Xerneas!" I begged, hoping it will finally come out.
I was almost blinded by a bright light forming underneath us and caught us mid fall. The large blue majestic legendary Pokémon finally revealed itself by saving our lives.
"You..." Serena gasped at what happened "Calem..." she frowned at me smiling at her
"I'm not letting you go again..." I held her close "I love you with all my heart. You've healed me so many times, now it's my turn. Please let me in this time" she nodded and started sobbing so much to the point where she passed out.
I got off Xerneas above the cliff and pressed my forehead onto its snout "Thank you for saving us. I'm sorry for taking advantage of you before. Go along and rest. I don't have to right to keep you in that capsule. You're free" it nodded and started jumped into the forest, disappearing into the mist.
"Gardevoir" I called, watching her appear as I said her name "Let's go home" she nodded and teleported us back to my house so I can rest her on my bed before calling everyone to let them know I found her and that she was okay.
Shauna came over with Rin a few hours later when hearing the news to see Serena still asleep "She sure is sleeping a lot..." Shauna frowned "I mean, I know she sleeps a lot when we have sleep overs during our journey, but this is different"
"I believe you" Rin said " People with depression often experience changes in their sleep patterns, which can manifest in different ways. The relationship between depression and sleep can be complex and may vary from person to person. For Serena, it may be easier to avoid life and the thoughts that roam in her head"
"Depression can lead to both physical and mental exhaustion Well, it's not just a matter of being tired. The overall experience of fatigue and lack of energy can contribute to spending more time in bed. It's important to know that while sleep disturbances are common in depression not everyone with depression will experience them in the same way" She turned to me "I'm sure from your experiences that your sleeping pattern is different?" I slowly nodded, leaning on the wall with my arms crossed
"I hardly sleep" I admit
"Looks that way" Shauna joked
"People with depression, indeed experience a lack of motivation or will to sleep. This is a result of a complex interplay between depressive symptoms in the body's natural sleep wake cycle. We can have weekly conferences in therapy to help you feel better about yourself" So she's a therapist "Remember, just because you've been healed does not mean your brain has got over those episodes. I'll be happy to book you an appointment as well" I sighed
"If that's necessary, I don't see why not. I'm more concerned over Serena"
"Yes. When it comes to patients like her, it requires a different approach. People with psychic abilities need a different type of help compared to regular people"
"Hey" Shauna pouted "I don't know that much about psychic abilities, but I really care about Serena. If there is anything I can do to help her too, please let me know"
"Of course" Rin smiled "The one thing that's a great healing process is to have support from loved ones. As soon as Serena wakes up, greet her warmly before I can get the chance to officially meet her" we agreed and waited for Serena to wake, which was an hour later when we chose to spend the time in the kitchen to eat and talk about depression much further, and saw Serena standing at the door way, watching us with a shocked look on her face
"Serena!" Shauna hurried to hug her. Serena held her close and tight, like a child holding her plushie
"Shauna... I'm sorry" I went over to see how she was doing "Calem..." she held my cheek with a relieved look on her teary face
"Hey there" I took her hand to kiss "Did you sleep well?" Rin's chair thudded on the floor, alarming Serena and look over at Rin walking up to her
"Serena..." Serena gasped and let go of Shauna to cup her mouth "You look like you've seen better days" she chuckled
"Rin?" I looked at them confused
"You know each other?" Serena slowly nodded "Rin was a undercover Team Flare and working as my admin"
"I see..."
"You never told me you knew each other" I told Rin
"Forgive me for not being honest, but Serena is my niece"