Man in the Mirror

Chapter 2: Smile

"What could I possibly write, Pikachu? There's so much I could say," Ash sighed as they entered Pallet Town after returning from a walk. He had little experience putting words on paper but had to try. He needed to if he wanted to contact his old friend.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu let out a deep breath. The mouse was equally stumped.

Ash stared at the clouds, "I guess I could congratulate her on getting so far." However, he felt he could do better than that. This is getting harder than I thought, the trainer believed.

"Alright, you're gonna have to go ahead without us, May," the shadow of a raven-haired boy looked at her. He spoke with an urgent tone while she was still stunned by the announcement.

"Huh?" May looked at him with surprise.

"Don't worry, I can take care of Max. The three of us can catch the ferry tomorrow and be there to root for you. The contest starts tomorrow; if you are not there tonight, you won't be able to compete," the stranger said as May lowered her head with sadness.

"Yeah, but..." the girl felt unsure over the shadowy figure's remarks.

She felt him place his hands on her shoulders, "This has been your dream. Pacifidlog is the last contest and your last chance to get into the Grand Festival, right?"

"Yeah," the brunette said with uncertainty.

"Then you really ought to go for it," the mysterious person told her.

May sadly raised her head and looked at him, "I want to...but I'm not going to."

"But why not? There isn't gonna be another Grand Festival for a whole another year!" the boy said with a mix of confusion and surprise.

"And believe me, I want to be there more than anything, but still...there are some things that are more important than what I want," she admitted with defeat.

For a moment, the two stood there as May recalled why she refused to go. Simultaneously, May's consciousness tried to identify this person who insisted she go, but his face remained a shadow. She tried to make out what appeared to be the silhouette of a Pikachu on the figure's shoulder.

The coordinator looked at him with a soft grin and spoke softly, "I have to honor that vow that I made to her, even if it means missing out on my ribbon and this Grand Festival." She made two fists and smiled proudly, "I'll start working on next year's festival and get even stronger," but then she lowered her head again and said softly, "Of course, it'll be hard to start over again, but..."

"Wow, May," the figure said with amazement.

Abruptly, the sound of the boat's horn went off as it departed. They focused their eyes on the ship leaving for Pacifidlog. As it left her behind, her eyes got watery. She was fighting to hold back the tears, but before she knew it, she was weeping.

"May, I..." the figure said to her, but as soon as he saw her cry, the girl quickly wiped away her tears.

She smiled and replied to him, "Thank you, A-," but an earsplitting ring went off before she could finish her sentence. She fell on her knees and began to shout as the ringing hurt her eardrums. May glimpsed at the figure in front of her. She noticed he seemed oblivious to the ringing. May tried to speak and endure the pain, but the sound was too loud to handle. Then she cracked.

"Stop!" she abruptly yelled. The frazzled brunette sat up on her bed while gasping for air.

As it turns out, the ringing was her video phone. May instantly jumped out of her bed to pick it up. "Hello!" May said anxiously, still recovering from her dream.