Seeds in Vines

The air stiffened as we gathered around, waiting for our leader to arrive. Taking a glance at all the Ivysaur around me, I grunted and lifted a foot, a vine stretching out from the green bulb on my back and coiling around my foot, calming me down. There could only be one reason for this to happen. Someone was about to be sacrificed.

The shadow of a lumbering figure caused trees to wobble and bend as it slid through a narrow path, the leaves losing grip of themselves and the trunks tearing apart. His piercing gaze landed on me, the lone Bulbasaur in a circle of grass, detached from the rest of the clan and he huffed, chest almost touching the long hard roots of the grandest tree. The Venusaur must hate me a lot. What did I do to deserve such cold treatment from everyone?

"Good morning, everyone. Today, I gather the clan here for a very special occasion." As his deep voice rang through, cheers and cherubic smiles sprang into the air. "Alright, now. As you know, I am your most revered leader for ninety-years. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the day that I will die. You will lose your daily preachings, your advisor, your father in this family, and perhaps, your will to live."

At that, deafening silence split the air and everyone were but statues.

"But," he continued,"all is not lost. The blood of one can save another. Today, I have chosen the youngest and the only good-for-nothing amongst us. I am sure you'll all be glad for his sacrifice."

If happiness were a flower, I must have been a bird dropping beside it, unable to be with the flower. And if my presence was in the flower, the flower would turn from lavender to rafflesia. That was the reality.

"Yes. The only Bulbasaur, the useless, nameless one."

I never thought of myself as useless. If only they knew of my sufferings and how much I contributed to the clan, they wouldn't impose such a label on me. If they saw me cutting wood with my vines or gathering herbs, they would know. But they don't and will never know.

I felt lighter than the wind as I stepped forward, the vines tightening around my legs. I mumbled,"I'm not useless."

My voice was drowned out by the shrill screams of joy just as I shifted myself nearer to the Venusaur. His eyes seemed to cut me into pieces. Raising my voice a little, I tried again. "I am not useless! I don't want to die!"

"When the sun is high and the end is nigh, you shall die and you shan't cry." He must have heard me for him to this. Lowering his head, he asked,"Any last words? Do you need any last preachings?"

I nodded and dared myself to meet his eyes. Every bone was shivering and my blood was clotting, every muscle twitching and my bulb was closing in. If there was even a sliver of concern, I never truly saw it in his eyes.

"Well? And what do you want to know?" He prompted and I twisted my tiny neck a little.

Eyes not once peeling away from him, I whispered,"What is it like to be selfish and use others for your own advantage?"

Shaking his head, he growled and stomped his feet, the tree shaking and the leaves rustling, leaving behind the rays of sunlight on the pink flower on his back. His glare penetrated my being and left me cold and petrified.

"Loyalty runs on sacrifices. That's the first rule of our clan. Have you forgotten?" The large Pokémon presses his ugly face against mine. Sniffing me, he revealed his crooked teeth and a disgustingly long tongue, dripping wet, curling up my cheeks. "If you cannot make even one sacrifice, you aren't loyal to anyone. Not even yourself."

His weight was burdening me, pushing me toward the edge of the high roots, perhaps two or three feet from the grass. "I just don't want to die, especially for selfish creatures with the likes of you."