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Narrative:

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Friday, January 21, 2011

It had been over a year since Roy's family had been cruelly taken away from him, and while most optimists will say that "time heals all wounds," such was hardly the case for the eight-year old Rattata.

While the rest of the explorers guild was off on an errand, Roy decided to take the opportunity to be a kid again. The last year of his life had consisted mostly of running from death and destruction, and he was beginning to forget what it was like to have a childhood.

He noticed a park just across the street; blissful children his age peppered the scene with smiles, laughter, and romping about without the burden of woe upon their shoulders.

"Swings? Slides? Merry-go-rounds? I miss those!" Roy thought as he made his way to the playground. After all the horror he had gone through, he couldn't wait to laugh again.

He wasted no time in clambering onto the playground equipment and interacting with all the play-things in sight. However, though it was a sensation he had missed, and welcomed immensely...it just wasn't the same. As he traversed the gradient of the slide, he couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

"I miss playing with Ricky..." He groaned, remembering his little brother. "I wish he was still here..." He wiped a tear away.

He also couldn't help but notice how all these other children had parents; how they could run to them if they got a 'boo-boo', or if they wanted to get something from the ice cream truck. That used to be his reality.

And now it was his past.

As he reached the bottom of the slide, there was no smile to be found on his face. Though he had only been playing for five minutes, he knew he would be having no fun here today. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears as he recounted the last year of his life, and how he could only see a future that will be a veritable trek through misery.

He began to amble away from the scene, not wanting the other children to see him crying. The last thing he wanted to do right now was explain to others what had happened, and relive the events that destroyed his family, and his life. He kept his face down so no one would see the tears starting to fall from his eyes.

He hid behind a tree, facing away from the playground, and toward a less-populated area of the park. He let himself begin to sob, and he hid his face behind his little paws. He couldn't bear to look back at that scene, where all those children were happy and carefree. They had siblings and parents, and a home they could return to when the day was over. He had none of that.

He felt he was listening to his past as he heard the gleeful clamor of youths playing, and it was a past he could never live again. He tried, in vain, to reclaim the pleasure of being a kid again, but was crushed by the searing and unending pain in his heart. Life couldn't possibly be the same for him anymore, and he had no choice but to resign to this fact. He had been shoved overboard into the black and tumultuous waters of loneliness and agony, and climbing back on board to his previous life was no more than a fairy tale. The best he could hope for was to try to stay afloat, and not let the tempest claim his life.

"This is so unfair..." He moaned as he continued to cry. "Why were they taken from me..."

Meanwhile, a young Tepig girl about his age, and her Lillipup friend, noticed the grieved child under the tree as they were playing.

"Hey, do you see that Rattata crying over there?" The Lillipup asked her friend.

"Yeah...hey, maybe we should ask him what's wrong?" She suggested. "Maybe no one wants to play with him."

Hearing them speak, Roy lifted up his head and noticed the two friends approaching him.

"Oh no, please don't ask me why I'm crying..." He thought, shaking his head slightly.

"Hey!" The Tepig reached him first with a big, friendly smile.

"Hi." Roy answered simply, not out of rudeness, but out of just not wanting to interact with anyone else right now. He looked up at her and the Lillipup briefly, but quickly looked back down.

"Are you okay?" She asked earnestly.

"I, uh...I...don't want to talk about it, if, uh, that's okay..." he answered, hoping she'd understand.

Naomi had no idea why he was actually in such a state of distress; she still assumed he was crying because no one wanted to play with him. She noticed how he was away from all the other children, and thought that they had all shunned him. Being a little kid herself, she knew how savage and cliquey others her age could be.

"You can play with us!" She offered, extending her hand out to him.

"Yeah, you can play with us if you want!" The Lillipup echoed.

Roy was, of course, in no mood to play, but he felt touched by their friendliness and concern. He still didn't want to divulge to them the true horror of his past, but he didn't want to turn down their invitation either. They seemed genuinely nice, and perhaps playing with them would help take his mind off his troubles, even if for just a little while.

"Okay, I'll play," he answered, standing back up on all fours again. "Thank you for asking."

"Great!" the Tepig replied enthusiastically. "Oh, and my name is Naomi by the way."

"I'm Carrie." The Lillipup introduced herself too.

"I'm Roy...it's nice to meet you." He replied, already starting to feel a little better.

"I'm glad to meet you too, Roy!" Naomi answered.

After this, the three went off by themselves to play elsewhere in the park, and without realizing it, Roy was beginning to feel happy again. The pain of his family's loss remained, but at least it felt great to play with some of his peers again.

Thus was the beginning of Roy and Naomi's lifelong friendship, and a multitude of adventures and struggles lay before them that would strengthen their care for each other. Over the years, their friendship and care would develop into something stronger.

Love.