The Meeting

Loud bursts of laughter could be heard coming from within the Reed household.  The giant mansion was well lit and the smell of baked goods and a delicious meal drifted in the air.

“Mae, your father and I will be leaving for quite some time. You will be in the care of your grandparents now,” said a slender woman with dark shoulder length hair. She showed off the whites of perfect teeth. “Will you be okay, darling?”

Not even the quietest sound escaped from the timid young girl.

“Honey, your mother asked you a question, you should respond,” stated the gentlemen who sat across from the woman who spoke. He rubbed his freshly shaved face as he waited for a response.

“Maybe she’s just a little hurt about the situation,” a gentle voice said. It came from a beautifully aged woman who was cutting into freshly baked apple pie. “This is a lot to take in for her age. Darren had to deal with a similar situation when he was much younger too.”

The elderly woman placed a slice of pie onto Mae’s dinner plate and kissed her on the cheek.

“Yes I did. Elena’s right, let’s talk about it later,” stated an older male with a deep yet comforting voice. He lifted his body off his chair and walked over to stand behind Mae. Gently, he ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head.  “We’ll take great care of you, Mae.”

“I’m happy…” a whisper could be heard from Mae’s lips.

“What? Speak up child,” said Mae’s father.

“I said, I am happy.  I am happy that I get to stay with grammie and grandpa,” said Mae and she played around with the pie on her plate.

“Great. I don’t think we could find better people to care for you,” Rebecca said. “Thomas, we should excuse ourselves and finish our packing.”

“You mean better people to leave me behind with,” Mae glared from across the dinner table at her mother.

“Mae, we would love to stay with you-“ Mae’s mother reached her hand out to place it on top of Mae’s but the young girl pulled away.  

Mae felt her throat tightening and her eyes swell up.  She looked down onto her lap and clenched her fists as tight as possible to stop herself from bursting into tears.

“You-you always leave. You never stay for me,” she muttered.

“Mae Reed, how dare you say such a thing,” scolded her father.

“IT’S TRUE!” Mae couldn’t contain the overwhelming amount of stress being put onto her. She dashed out of the dining room and through the front door. The maids and butlers stood stunned, unsure of what they should have done. A vulpix which lay comfortably on the couch got up to follow Mae, but returned into its position when Thomas stared at her.

“Rena, you are not allowed to follow Mae. Go lay down.”

The vulpix bowed its head down and listened to her command.

“Well now, I suppose I’ll go after her,” Rebecca sighed.

“No- I’ll find her. I know exactly where she’s going to be. For now, she’ll be fine. I’m sure Luxray saw her darting out of the house and followed her. I’ll be back in a bit,” said Elena as she quickly grabbed an umbrella and headed out into the rainy dark night.

Mae’s heavy breathing could be seen in the cold foggy weather.  She found her comfort zone within a giant Blastoise sculpture in a park near her school. She slid her body down against the cold concrete of the sculpture and let her tears trickle onto the ground. Besides the street lights, it was as black as a cave near the park.

Mae’s ears picked up an animal like sound that seemed to come from right outside the sculpture’s entrance. It made her a bit nervous and she pressed herself against the inner shell of the sculpted Blastoise.   She narrowed her eyes in order to try to identify what was outside her hiding spot. A yellow glimmer could be seen from what appeared to be a pair of eyes.

Minutes later, a luxray found its way into the Blastoise sculpture and approached the girl slowly. She eyed the scars that scattered on the body of the pokemon and then smiled happily.

“Lain! You came to find me!” She cried into the luxray’s wet dark mane and let her emotion out. His nose nuzzled into the nape of her neck. Suddenly, Lain diverted his attention towards the entrance of the sculpture.

“I knew you’d be here,” said a familiar voice.

The voice startled Mae.

“Grammie?”

“Come on out now Mae, I want to speak to you.”

“I don’t want to go home yet,” Mae said.

“Mae, please come out, I want to speak to you,” her grandmother spoke sternly.

Mae huffed and dragged herself out of sculpture. Her grandmother helped her up and Lain followed quickly behind them.

“Let’s take a short walk Mae,” Elena grinned and offered her hand out to guide Mae underneath her umbrella. She felt comforted having an adult beside her after running into the night without considering her own safety.

“Mae, your mother and father would love to stay if they could, you know that right?” asked Elena.

The girl nodded but her facial expressions spoke differently. Elena stopped walked and bent down to speak to Mae eye to eye. She pressed her finger onto Mae’s chest near her heart.

“They’ll always be right here. They love you more than anything, but they have their own dreams Mae; and they know your grandfather and I will take good care of you. Their situation is difficult for you to understand now as you are very young, but maybe one day you’ll understand it a bit better.”

Mae let out a short sigh.

“But they leave all the time.”

“Honey, they regret missing your important events and birthdays, but it’s hard to make those up to you, so they just live life day to day trying to make you happy during the times they see you. You cannot be mad at them. I’m sure one day when you’re older, you’ll be traveling a lot and you wouldn’t want someone you loved to be mad at you for this would you?”

Mae shook her head and hugged her grandmother. The elderly woman looked pleased and hugged her grandchild.

“Even when your family is not physically with you, we still support you because we love you. Please tell me you understand this.”

“I understand Grammie,” said the young girl shyly.  Elena stood up and turned around to guide them home.

The raindrops that pattered against the umbrella top got louder and louder. Mae knew their one on one conversation would end soon.

“Grammie?”

“Yes love?”

“Next week at school, we have to talk in front of class about what we want to be when we grow up. I’m scared.”

“Why are you scared sweetie?”

“All the other kids want to famous Pokemon trainers and gym leaders. They all want to be known for battling and I…” her voice trailed off.

“Go on honey.”

“I don’t know what I want. I don’t want to always battle. I saw some kids battle with their Pokemon until their Pokemon were really, really hurt. It didn’t look like fun for anyone when I saw them like that.”

Elena looked over to Lain who followed beside them. She shook her head at all the scars on this body and looked down to speak to Mae as they continued walking.

“Mae, not all trainers are like that. Many of them know when to stop pushing their Pokemon to where they are in a lot of pain. Why don’t you just say in front of class you’re unsure of your future?”

“They’ll make fun.”

“Mae, look at me.”

The petite girl looked up at her grandmother.

“You’re part of the Reed family. We are strong, proud and honest people. You just tell the truth. If you’re made fun of, just know you were the better person for not lying about yourself just to be like the others.”

Mae forced a smile.

“Okay Grammie, thank you.”

Mae hugged her grandmother’s waist and cried softly into it.

“There –there Mae—“

Mae felt the muscles of her grandmother’s body tense when a horrible cough came from Elena’s chest that brought her to her knees. The umbrella touched the ground and exposed both of them to the hard rain.

“Grammie?”

Mae was shocked. She knew her grandmother was sick but she never saw her fall to her knees from it. Elena covered her mouth and hid her face away from Mae’s view. She wiped her mouth off quickly and purposely slid her hand into a puddle in order to make sure Mae didn’t see the bits of splattered blood that came from the cough.

“GRAMMIE, let me run to go get help!!” Mae stood above her grandmother with tears forming in her eye.

“Mae,” Elena cleared her throat after coughing for a couple more minutes, “could you please help me up sweetie?”

“We should get you help, I’m not strong enough to help you up.”

“Yes you are, now come on darling,” urged Mae’s grandmother.

Mae swallowed the lump that was caught in her throat and tucked her head underneath her Grandmother’s arm to help her up. Elena used all her weight to push off the ground to hide her weakness from her only grandchild.  Luxray rubbed his body against Elena’s legs to show comfort.

“Thank you sweeties, I should be fine now.”

Mae nervously walked aside her grandmother. She worried about her condition.

“Grandma, are you going to be okay? You’ve been coughing really hard lately and I-I-“

“Mae, remember, I said we’re strong people, I’ll be okay, come along now, let’s head home. We both need some rest.”

“Grammie?”

Elena turned around to see what Mae had to say next and was surprised when Mae hugged her close .

“I love you Grammie, and I don’t want you to be sick like this.”

“It’s okay Mae. I love you too, now let’s head home.”

Mae bobbed her head in agreement and held her grandmother’s hand to help her home. Luxray strode puddles next them until they reached the mansion.

“Why don’t you got bed darling? I’m fine now. I’ll speak to your parents about how you feel. Not sure if it will do much though, but it’s always important to communicate. Why don’t you sleep? I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Elena kissed her granddaughter on the forehead and motioned for her to go inside. Once Mae was out of site she went to find the other adults to speak to them.

‘Looks like it’s getting worse…’ Elena whispered to herself.

“Mae, time to wake up honey.”

Mae’s mother gently helped Mae up and immediately started to comb Mae’s hair.

“Your father and I have a gift for you before we leave. Could you meet us in the yard?”

Mae rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms wide. She yawned loudly as the the morning sun shined brightly on her face.

“Hmm? Should I change?”

“Yes, just into something comfortable. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Rebecca left the room and closed the door behind her.  Mae dragged herself out of bed and into her walk in closet. She decided to forgive her parents for having to leave for such a long time and treated them with the respect they deserved.

I should be respectful to them, that’s what grammie and grandpa want and that’s the right way to treat them.. Respectfully!

Slowly, Mae dressed herself in a simple white tank top and jeans. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and walked out to the yard where her mother and grandparents were.

“Where’s dad?” Mae asked. The sun was still too bright for her newly awakened eyes. She squinted her lids closely in order to get a better view of everyone.

“Your father will be here soon,” said her grandfather.  He picked up his granddaughter and placed her on his shoulders. “Your parents have a surprise for you, do you see it?”

Mae tried to look around to see what he was speaking of.

“I don’t see anything…”

“Look for your dad, sweetie,” said Mae’s mother, “try to shield your eyes from the sun. It’s a bit early but we couldn’t wait.”

Mae scanned the horizon and in the far distance Mae could see her dad struggling with something but she couldn’t quite make out what it was.

“Darling, can you bring him closer?” called out Rebecca to her husband.

“I’m trying, he’s being stubborn!!” he replied back. Mae could tell he was pulling something by what seemed to be a rein. In excitement, she covered her grandfather’s eyes.

“Mae, I’m going to let you down now. Looks like you dad needs some help – and I can’t quite see right now.”

“Oh!” Mae blushed and giggled innocently, “Sorry grandpa, you can let me down!”

The moment her little feet touched the ground, Mae jetted off towards her father.  The closer she got to him, the wider her smile got. Finally, within seconds, she stood a few feet from her father.

“We got you something! We hope you like it!” her dad grinned and pulled the rein towards him.

Flames could be seen appearing from behind the tree which covered her surprise.  Mae slowly walked around to take a better peek at her gift.

Her mouth dropped wide open. She started to clap happily and jump for joy.

“A RAPIDASH? He’s so big and handsome -- he’s mine?”

“Yes dear, but why don’t you wait until your grandfather gets over here so we can calm him down a bit, he’s a bit-“

“Hi. I’m Mae. I’m going to take really good care of you!”

Mae walked up to the large pokemon without fear. She smiled and waved with her hand.

“I have a fire pokemon in the house. Her name is Rena, she’s a vulpix. I think you two will like each other!”

Mae stepped closer and closer to the pokemon. Her father pulled on the rein when she got too close. The rapidash shook its head showing its uneasy feeling towards the new estate.

“Mae, be careful,” said her grandmother. The rest of the family caught up to Mae and stood nearby to watch her become introduced to her new pokemon. “Rebecca, are you sure this was a good idea?”

“Of course! I know she’ll take great care of him and he will also be a great addition to her pokemon team. Can you imagine her as a gym leader now with a beautiful rapidash like this?,” Mae’s mother responded.

Mae turned around when she heard them speak. She glanced at her grandmother who knew how she felt. She nodded to let Mae know it shouldn’t bother her. The young girl let out a sigh and gave her attention back to the rapidash that was growing impatient.

“I want to be your friend, I’m not mean.  I will take really good care of you and we can share lots of memories together!”

The adults smiled at Mae’s innocence.

The rapidash slowly walked towards Mae and neighed. She raised her arm to try and pet him, but it still startled him.

“Maybe we should try again later,” said Mae’s father.

“No! I want him to be comfortable and happy starting now! Just wait one minute okay?” Mae ran off towards the house.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to make someone feel comfortable – leave them alone,” chuckled Thomas to his own sarcastic joke.  He relaxed his grip on the rein after rapidash started to calm down on his own.  

“While she’s gone, I wanted to let you know, I collapsed yesterday,” Elena spoke calmly about the matter. The others’ reactions were expected.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Are you okay?” Rebecca was worrisome.

“It’s been like this for a couple of years now, but you’ve never collapsed. Was it when you were with Mae?” questioned Darren. He stood closely near his wife and held her by the shoulder.

“Yes, but I don’t want her to worry about me even more. She’s so young, and I know if she knew this is getting worse then it would interfere with schooling and just her everyday life. For now we just have to avoid speaking about it when she’s nearby.”

Elena walked up the rapidash and stood face to face with him.

“You’re strong. Our family is strong too; but our strength grows through experience and age. Mae is young and she has a lot to go through for being as young as she is. You may not know me, and I don’t know you too well either, but you must protect her and be there for her. She will give you all her heart because that’s the type of girl she is. Please take care of her.”

The rapidash stood still, he seemed to be unmoved by her words.

“I’m back!!!” Mae called out through her heavy panting. “Rapidash, I got you something!”

The rapidash looked down upon the small figure before him. Mae held her hands out revealing two bright green apples.

“These are granny smith apples which we grow here. They’re my favorite, it’s kind of tart but sweet at the same time. I got you two because I know one won’t be enough for you since you’re so big and strong!”

“She may need more than two,” whispered Darren to his wife.

“Oh shush dad,” said Rebecca.

The rapidash lowered his head to take a closer look at the apples. He investigated them with his nose, opened his mouth, and took both from her hands. Everyone stood quietly while he chewed.

“Hey, Mr. Rapidash? You chew really loud,” stated Mae. The others laughed at her comment. “That must mean you really like it! I get in trouble when I chomp down on food like you do, but I think it doesn’t matter for you because you’re a pokemon!”

Mae’s face was the perfect depiction of happiness.

“Here’s anoth-“ Mae was about to hand the rapidash another apple, but he interrupted the act by licking her face. She laughed and started to pet his head. She lowered her hand above his mane slowly. She felt heat radiate from it and backed away.

“Mae?” her father was curious onto why she took a step back.

“I read, if a ponyta or a rapidash doesn’t trust you, they can burn you and I’m scared.”

“That’s true Mae, but I think he trusts you now,” reassured Mae’s mother.

Mae turned her back on the rapidash and hid in her grandmother’s arms.  The adults understood Mae’s concern, but didn’t want to push her. As Mae peeked over her shoulder, the rapidash neighed near her ear. Elena felt Mae squeeze her arms around her waist harder.

“Mae, please turn around and face rapidash,” said Elena. She took her hands and pulled Mae’s arms away from her to turn her around. “Now give me your hand.”

Rapidash stood curiously in front of Mae. He neighed and bowed his head. Slowly Elena guided Mae’s hand into his head. Mae was hesitant at first but trusted her grandmother’s judgment. Once her hands ran through his warm mane once, her fear left her and courage took over. She kissed his forehead and looked into his flame red eyes.

“Grammie always gives me the courage to overcome my fears. I’m glad you like me,” she spoke to the rapidash kindly as she put her head against his. “I have a name in mind for you. I’ve always imagined having a rapidash so I thought of some names. If you were a girl I would have wanted to name you Dawn, but since you’re a boy, I want to name you Brawn – because it rhymes and makes you sound strong like you are! What do you think?”

The rapidash raised his head and shook his rein aggressively.

“WHOA,” Mae’s father said as he was knocked off his feet onto the ground. He rubbed his bottom and recovered. “BE CAREFUL GUYS HE-“

“He looks quite happy,” Rebecca said as she winked towards her husband.

The rapidash stood tall and firm in front of Mae. Her eyes sparkled as she admired his beauty. 

“Yep, Brawn is the perfect name for you,” Mae said. She held him by the rein and stood with her head held up high.

“I am Mae Reed and I have the most beautiful rapidash in the world and I bet he’s the fastest out there too! This is such a cool present! I’m going to use him to travel and go on adventures!!”

The adults grinned at the sweet naive girl.

 For that moment, the world stood still with no problems or concerns. For that moment, she was the happiest girl in the world. 

For that moment, Mae Reed's childhood life was perfect.