Amour - In the midst of chaos

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ash

Location : Santalune Forest, Kalos

There she was—the piece of my heart.

Serena.

Her ocean-blue eyes locked onto mine, and everything else around me seemed to disappear. I could barely hear the voices of my friends; they were a distant blur, lost in the moment that stood still between us. The only thing that mattered was that she was here.

"Serenaaa!" Bonnie's high-pitched voice shattered the trance, and pulling herself away from the hug, she rushed toward Serena. She screamed joyfully, "You came!"

Serena bent down, catching Bonnie in a warm hug, and I could see the small smile tugging at her lips. "Of course I came," she said softly, her voice like music in the breeze.

But I couldn’t move.

I stood there, frozen. It had been six years since I last saw her, six years of silence between us.

Yet here she was, standing a few feet away from me, as if all that time hadn’t passed.

The sun peeked through the trees, casting a soft golden glow around her—just like that day we had met in this same Santalune Forest under the same Kalos sky all those years ago.

Why do you think I chose Santalune forest and not the Luminous city Serena?

It's because of you baby.

I met you in the Santalune Forest for the first time after years.

This. This same forest is the place where you returned my handkerchief. This is the place where I reunited with my straw hat girl.

This is the real reason Serena.

I wanted to meet you again at the same place where we first found each other. I want us to find each other at the same place again Rene. That's why I did this.

The girls—Misty, Dawn, May, Iris— who were hugging me, parted from me and were now talking amongst themselves. Some recognizing Serena from their past adventures.

"Huh?" Misty was surprised to see a beautiful girl near them.

"Who is she? Did she travel with Ash too?" Iris questioned.

"Oh! I know her! I once competed with her." May remembered suddenly.

"Yeahh! Me too!" Dawn cheered. The girls around me shared stories, surprised to see her here, but their voices blended into a muffled background hum. My attention was locked entirely on her.

Serena.

What was I supposed to say?

..

Serena

There he was.

Ash.

The one person I thought I had finally moved on from, standing only a few steps away. The warmth in his brown eyes, the one that had always pulled me in like gravity, was still there. The intensity of his gaze—it was just like I remembered.

But I told myself I wouldn’t be fooled again.

Yet here I was.

His one message and like a moth to the flame I came.

Why am I so stupid? Why am I making the same mistake again and again?

Yesterday night when he called me, I didn't answer his call.