A Mother's Poison
Chapter One
This was the first time I had experienced the salty air usually associated with the ocean. From where I lived, way back in Lilycove City, the sea smelt like rotting garbage and spilled oil. This was one of the reasons my father Kane, brother Cecil, and I decided to move. So we packed up our belongings, sold our apartment, and found a room on a grungy transport ship that would take us to the continent of Obero. That's where my grandmother, Professor Khan, lived. We were going to stay at her laboratory/home until we found our own place to stay.
"Jun, come away from the edge of the ship. One of the crew just told me that we might be passing through some rough seas and its best that we get into our rooms," my father yelled from a doorway that was only a few feet away.
My poor Dad. He had aged tremendously these last ten years. His brown hair was speckled with spots of gray, and the hair on the top of his head had thinned. His one brilliant green eyes were dimmed and foggy, and now were hidden by those glasses that you only saw on people almost twenty years his senior. His once fit and athletic form was now hidden behind a good thirty pounds of extra weight. The only thing that had remained unchanged were his shining white teeth. For the rare times he smiled, his teeth shimmered with the same brilliance they had when I was younger.
"Alright Dad. I'll come in in a minute. I just want to spend a minute more in this air. You know, just in case the air in Obero smells as rancid as it did in Lilycove," I said, turning away from him and looking back at the ocean. He let out a slight chuckle, smacked the side of ship, and walked back inside. It always made me feel better hearing my father laugh.
You see, like I said, my father was once a tremendously handsome man. In the few conversations I had had with my grandmother she told me he was the Golden Child of Lilycove. Incredibly attractive, unbelievably intelligent, and a natural when it came to dealing with Pokemon.
That's how he landed my mother. From those same conversations, my grandmother told me my mother was the female equivalent of my father. My parents were one and two in their class. I don't remember who was first and who was second, but I guess that doesn't really matter. The two often competed with each other, whether it was in the classroom or on the battlefield. Through these competitions, it seems my parents slowly fell in love with each other.
Of course it didn't hurt that the two of them were both incredibly attractive. They were the definition of the "Perfect Couple."
Eventually my father proposed to my mother when they found out she was pregnant. Eight months later, only a few days before my mother was due, my parents married.
I was born several days later in the Lilycove Hospital, healthy and happy. My mother, on the other hand, grew quite ill during my birth, and stayed in the hospital for an extended visit. She experienced severe fevers, convulsions of great pain, blurred vision, and extended periods of when she lost her speech. Thankfully, she recovered, and the three of us returned home after a few weeks.
Then, when I turned two years old, my parents told me that I was going to have a baby brother or sister very soon. It didn't really phase me at the time. So when my brother Cecil came home several months later, it didn't really affect me. This was probably because my mother and Cecil spent a great deal of time in her bedroom. My mother had gotten sick once again during the birth and it appeared my brother was very sick as well. So my father and I spent a great amount of time together while the doctors and nurses took care of my mom and brother.
Thankfully, after two months or so, both Cecil and my mother were healthy. So, for the first time, I met my brother. From that day on, I felt an unusual connection to him. It seemed as we almost shared a brain to tell you the truth.
Time progressed and our family matured like any other family. But when I was four years old, something changed in my mother. I thought she was getting sick again, so of course I expected the doctors and nurses to return. But they didn't. My mother just spent day after day in her room, barely speaking to dad, brother, or I. My father too started to change. He smiled less often, and just sat on the porch, staring out at the sea for hours on end. But at four years old, I had other things on my mind. My brother and I had discovered Pokemon and our obsession had begun. We spent the majority of our days at the Contest Center downtown, watching the various species of Pokemon performing tricks and battling. When we weren't there, we spent time playing with my father's Hariyama and my mother's Chatot, who would wake Cecil and I every morning to go out and explore with her.
But one morning, Chatot didn't wake me up. Instead, it was the sobs of my father. I jumped out of my bed and ran downstairs. I ran to my father and attempted to gain his attention. But he acted as he didn't hear me. He just buried his head in his arms and sobbed.
Laying on the floor next to him was a piece of paper. I had just begun learning to read, so I picked it up. The only words I could make out at the time were "I'm... leaving... sorry... I... you... care... always... me..."
"Daddy, what does this letter say?" I asked, but all I got was a loud sob in response. So I folded up the letter and put it in the pocket. It seemed to make my Dad sad, so I wanted to hide it so he couldn't see it anymore.
So from that day onward, I never saw my mother again. She just became a shadow in my memories. I began to forget what she looked like, having to rely on a picture to remember what color her hair was.
Returning from my memories, I reached into my pocket. From it I pulled a picture of my mother and the letter she had left my father. I unfolded the picture and looked at it. In many ways, I resembled my mother. I shared the same silky blond hair as my mother. My bangs even grew in the same way as her hair did. My eyes were the same crystalline blue hue as hers. My father says they even refract the sunlight my mother's eyes. Unlike my father, I was no delicate flower like she was. I had gained my father's athletic, powerful body. I also inherited his naturally tanned skin, and his embarrassingly large feet. I never wore sandals. It killed me that my feet were so big.
Then, a large rain drop splattered on my face, awakening me from my trance. Oh yeah. They said it was going to rain. I better get inside. So I folded up the picture and pushed it back into my pocket along with the letter. I turned and walked inside, and entered the small space they called our room.
The room was dank, cramped, and smelled strangely of moldy cheese. There were two beds, nestled tightly into one half of the room. So that left one bed for my Dad and the other for my brother and I.
I sat on my bed and listened to the rain outside beginning to fall harder. Cecil was under the covers, presumably sleeping. My Father was laying on his back, reading one of his many books. In these last ten years he had given up on exercise, instead opting to spend his time reading.
We had been traveling for three days and my father said we should be arriving in Obero tonight. I couldn't wait to get off of the ship. I am not one to sit still for too long. These last three days had been complete torture. On top of that, I had been stuck in the same outfit for the entire trip. The rest of my wardrobe had been placed below deck with the rest of our luggage. I was wearing a plain green tee shirt, khaki short shorts, and white tennis shoes without socks. I looked out the door again and saw the rain had stopped.
So much for horrendous storm... Then I saw something that made me really excited. I leaped off the edge of my bed and ran outside, while nearly slipping on the wet deck in the process, and grabbed the edge of the ship. Only a few miles away, I saw land for the first time in almost three days. I like out a little squeal of joy and ran back inside. I jumped on my brother, who let out a grunt of pain, and began to squeal uncontrollably. I was so excited I couldn't muster words.
"Jun, relax. And get off of your brother," my father said, putting his book face down on the bed. So I quickly rolled off of my brother, who pulled the sheet off of his head. My brother appeared to be an exact clone of my father. His hair was the same chestnut color as my dad and his eyes shone with same emerald hue as my father's eyes once did. Like me, his skin was also naturally tan, but it was much darker than either my father and I due to the fact that Cecil spent the majority of his time outside. For his sixteenth birthday, all he asked for was a kayak so he could venture further out into the ocean to explore the small islands that were scattered outside of the bay. He thrived outdoors. "Now, what got you all excited Jun?"
"I see land!" I said. My brother laughed and sat up on the edge of the bed. He turned his head to the doorway and strained his eyes to take a glance at what was outside.
"Yeah. She's right. That means we get to get off this ship soon." Cecil said, rubbing his right eyes with his hand. "Better get ready to get off."
So, the three of us began to gather our various belongings that had been scattered across our room. I didn't know what I was more excited for. Whether it was getting off this ship and showering or seeing my grandmother. It had been seven years since I last saw her and she was a great woman. She was considered one of the greatest Pokemon experts in the world, ranking alongside Professor Rowan and Professor Oak.
I quickly packed my one bag and once again ran outside. The land I spotted earlier was more visible now. I saw a small port forming, along with a bustling city behind it. My whole body was electrified with my excitement.
Soon, the crew of the ship were out, beginning preparations for docking. Ropes were unwound, bridges were prepared, and orders were barked.
Finally, after another excruciating fifteen minutes, we finally found ourselves docking in the port city of Endelbar. The captain gathered all of the passengers together, and checked our tickets once again, checking for any stowaways. Then, the bridge was lowered and we began to descend down to solid ground. We found ourselves walking behind an angry mother with her several children who had obviously been cooped up on the ship for way too long.
We exited the ship with our bags in tow, and looked around us. Honestly, this was the first time I had ever left Lilycove, so being in this city was an overwhelming experience. Then, out of the blue, a familiar voice rang.
"KANE! CECIL! JUN! COME HERE!" I turned my head, and spotted my dear old grandmother. She was well into her sixties, but her appearance was that of a forty five year old. She wore an ankle-length lab coat with a pink shirt underneath, and pink slip-on shoes. Her hair was the same chestnut color as my father and brother, pulled back into a tight bun. Small, circular glasses graced her wrinkle-free face, nested neatly on the bridge of her nose.
I ran forward and embraced her in a deep hug. After giving a quick hug to my father and brother, she said "Well, well my dears, let's be on our way. My car is over here." So we followed her to her car, and placed our bags in the open trunk of her dinky little car. We forced our way into the car, my brother and I squeezing into the backseat. "Grandma, I am so happy to see you!" I said, looking at her through the rear view mirror.
She smiled, and looked back at me through the mirror. "Yes my dear. I am as well."
The car was silent for a while until Professor Khan broke the silence, "I think Obero will do you kids good. I see big things in your future."
(I apologize for the dryness. I am terrible at opening chapters. And the length, I'll admit, is a bit long. But I hope your interest isn't lost. I promise more in the future.)