1o.
chapter ten.
the miracle

"That's a miracle," Dad mused, setting his fork aside. He rummaged through his pockets before tossing me the keys. Thankfully, I didn't stumble over my own feet trying to catch them. "Have fun, Little One." 

"Thanks, Dad," I grinned, letting Bonnie guide me out. I faintly heard Mom and Uncle Meyer discussing the change in my behavior proudly. 

A pang erupted within my chest; here I was, lying to them about taking Bonnie and Clemont shopping for city-style clothes while I was going to do the exact opposite—search for the person who felt like the countryside. 

Clemont was waiting by the car, looking over the automobile like it held the answers to all the secrets of quantum physics. It was almost comical to see him adjust his glasses with every movement he made to examine it. 

"I've never seen a car up close since Lumiose." 

"Onii-san!" Bonnie reprimanded, already opening the door and stepping in. I let Clemont climb in before getting into the driver's seat. 

We drove for about ten minutes, navigating through several U-turns before I annoyingly pulled up in front of Shake and Shack. 

"We'll check if he's there," Bonnie exclaimed, getting out. It was an agonizing five minutes before I thought to check the situation out myself. I found the siblings by the counter, talking to a brown-haired boy. By the looks of it, our mission had failed. 

We returned to the car, three milkshakes in hand and with disappointed faces. 

"What do we do?" Bonnie asked, climbing in and sipping her drink. Clemont leaned against the door, eyeing me. 

"Ritchie said he's out doing rounds and that he might not return until his shift is over." 

"Till the night?" I probed, already feeling the energy drain out of me. "Let's head home." 

"It's better that way," Clemont agreed and climbed in beside Bonnie. I shut the door, my gaze sliding up to the blue skies. The clouds were scattered about, barely there, letting the morning sun penetrate through. 

An idea struck, and I got into the car, turning around to face the lemon-haired siblings. 

"What if we make the lie come true?" 

Bonnie's face piqued with interest, while Clemont looked confused. 

"Huh?" 

I winked, feeling the dejection dissolve at the younger girl's infectious grin. "What if I take you both shopping city-style?" 

I hadn't expected to be sitting in Bonnie's room, FaceTiming Misty and Gary when I thought about repairing Ash's broken friendship. 

"Keep in touch, will you?"

"Yeah." 

Gary left the scene after his usual, "Smell ya later!" 

"Hey, Serena."

"Mhm?" 

The girl on the screen shifted slightly, then smiled. However, it seemed rather feigned. 

"I-I have heard your name from Satoshi in the few weeks we dated." 

My breath caught, fingers tightening around my phone like I was holding onto thin threads to keep myself from sinking into deep waters. 

"What did he... tell you?" I flashed her a grin, trying to add humor to my voice. "All good things, I presume?" 

The girl shook her head vigorously. 

"Obviously!" she exclaimed, as if personally offended. "He always talked about how you acted childish and wanted your rabbit plushie everywhere you went, and how you'd hold his hand while climbing the smallest of crooks." 

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I quickly cupped them, hiding them from her view. 

"So it was indeed negative things about me?!" 

Misty laughed. Once more, her short hair bobbed on her shoulders. 

"It might be interpreted as negative, but I knew the glimmer of fondness in his tone. Heck, I saw it the other day too." Her face inched closer to the screen, her words hitting me like a hurricane. "You like him, don't you, Serena?" 

I almost dropped my phone onto the bed but managed to chuckle nervously—the city-girl-style way of biting the bullet. 

"Oh my God, no way, haha." 

"Excuse my mouth," she said, though the snigger remained in place. "You'll keep in touch then?" 

"Of course," I reassured—almost too quickly. I hastened to cut the call with a quick bye. When the screen went black, I plopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

A wave of nostalgia washed over me—the light stir of the breeze from the ceiling fan, the summer air, the sound of cicadas, the covers lying around waiting to be slept on, Bunny beside my pillow. It gave a déjà vu that simply didn't exist in Goldenrod City. 

Pushing myself off the welcoming and cozy mattress, I righted my hair and left the room to join the others in the living room. 

I found my entire family, including Bonnie and Clemont, playing a board game—Monopoly. Needless to say, when my favorite pair of cousins invited me to join them, I obliged. 

During the course of the game, whenever I waited for someone else's turn, my mind kept wandering to Misty's words. 

She hadn't been wrong. I chose to accept it—but just not to everyone. It was a tough love. 

The day I met Ash was the day I lost my way back home in the woods near Pallet. A boy, no older than me, had swooped in, stooped low, examined my fright, took my hand, and graciously led me out of the trees closing in on us. 

I never wanted to come back to Pallet then, let alone leave the house the next day. 

But then things changed when he brought a whole load of consoles with him the next day. Grandfather housed him with great hospitality, and the day after that, he got us these extremely memorable plushies. 

Ever since then, every visit to this quaint little town had me eagerly looking forward to spending time with this boy—whose name seemed so hard to pronounce—with consoles, plushies, and even fake crockery sets. 

That night, I melted into the arms of the past. I was back in a pink mini frock, clutching a console. The television screen before me lit up with a message: 

Advanced to Level Five!

"You did it!" his voice chirped. 

I didn’t know how indecently my mouth hung open when I turned to the black-haired boy jumping in his seat beside me. 

"Indeed, you did, Little One." 

The corners of my lips tugged up at the sight of the aged man seated on the couch behind us like he owned the place. Handing the console to Ash’s mom, I sprang to my feet and tackled the old man in a hug. 

Another warmth tickled my arm—Ash joined in the hug. 

After a few minutes of eternity, I withdrew and felt him. His skin felt real under my palm. Almost too real to be true. 

When the corners of his hollowing eyes crinkled, I blurted out my ecstasy. 

"You're finally here, Grandfather."