Story Notes:
The chapters in this story are in no way connected to each other, except for the fact that they are all inspired by song lyrics from "There's a river in the valley made of melting snow", by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, formerly The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band, formerly A Silver Mt. Zion (ASMZ) and, at one point, The Silver Mountain Reveries. There will be 36 chapters, with none of them having more than 2000 words. Each will have its own topic, according to the individual titles. Each will have different characters and a different setting, in order to show just how many topics this song deals with. Speaking of which, in case you'd like to listen to it, you can find it on YouTube. I recommend this song; I've been listening to it for about three years now, and it just never gets old. There are so many things that come to my mind when listening to it, so now I'm trying to write them all down. Since the chapters are going to be really short, I think I'll be able to put a new one online every two days or so, depending on how much time I have. I know there are other projects I should be working on, but now I suddenly had this idea and I'd really like to see how it turns out. It's a bit hard to write stories that are so very short and still meaningful, but luckily they don't have to stand on their own, as they are mostly ways to interprete the song they are based on. Well, I hope I'll be able to update as often and as quickly as I am planning to, and I hope you'll enjoy reading and listening to "There's a river in the valley made of melting snow".
...singing "baruch atta adonai"...
PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Be this as it may, every species of Pokémon referred to in the following text and everything else that is a part of the Pokémon franchise is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me. The title belongs to Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band/ The Silver Mountain Reveries. No copyright infringement is intended.
IMPORTANT: According to Wikipedia, "baruch atta adonai" is Hebrew for "bless the Lord", just in case you were wondering.
Thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you never heard that there's a river in the valley made of melting snow...?
...singing "baruch atta adonai"...
"The world can be beautiful, sweetie."
This was, as it seemed, the most important thing his parents had ever taught the little Eevee. They had done their best to make sure he would always remember it. He usually heard this sentence at least once a day. Of course, his parents were right. It happened sometimes that the Eevee did not feel well, but he knew things would always get better again. As long as he just kept believing in his parents' words, everything would be alright.
He had not seen much of the world yet, but he was certain it was a beautiful place.
One day, as he was playing with some of his friends, his life changed. At first there were just a few Eevee and Rattata, running through the forest, trying to tag one another. Then, all of a sudden, there was a blinding light for just a second, and a Quilava had appeared out of nowhere. The Eevee and all his friends knew what this meant, as their parents had instructed them on what to do in such a situation. Within less than a second the group had scattered, running off into several different directions while the Quilava seemingly tried to send powerful blasts of fire after each of them at once. The little Eevee was trying to get away as fast as he could, but then he turned his head in order to see if the large fire type was following him, which made him trip over a thick root and fall to the ground. The Eevee tried to get back up on his paws again, but he was feeling dizzy and his head hurt. He blinked and then recognized the Quilava standing right in front of him, silently staring at the little Eevee. Something even bigger seemed to be right behind the fire type; however, the Eevee was unable to see anything other than a vague shadow during the small moment in which he was cowering in fear. Then, something came flying towards him. It hit the Eevee directly on the head. There was a flash of light, which immediately became followed by total darkness.
The Eevee did not know what was going on. For some reason he could not feel his body, and when he tried to move, nothing seemed to happen. The Eevee's mind just seemed to be suspended in the darkness. He almost panicked, but then he remembered his parents' words. No matter what happened, the world could always be beautiful. Things would certainly get better again.
The Eevee did not know how much time passed, as it was very difficult to be certain of anything. Then, just as surprisingly quick as all of this had happened in the first place, the darkness was taken away by another bright flash of light. There was a loud noise, as a door was closed. The Eevee blinked. He was standing in a relatively small room, which was illuminated only by the Quilava's flickering flames. The fire type was sitting right in front of him, and so the Eevee quickly stepped backwards until he bumped into a wall. He closed his eyes and retreated into his thoughts. The world can be beautiful, the world can be beautiful...
"Is this supposed to be a joke?" a relatively deep female voice spoke. "He's just a child! Why didn't you let him get away?"
"He fell, and I was told to catch him," a slightly rough and tired male voice replied. "You know I can't act against a direct order." There was a deep sigh.
"He seems to be afraid of you," the female voice remarked. "I'll try to talk to him." The Eevee shivered. He knew the others were talking about him. His eyes shot open as he felt a nose touch his cheek. The Eevee let out a frightened yelp as he was looking right at a Ninetales' face.
"Don't worry," she spoke calmly, "I won't hurt you, and neither will he." The Eevee saw the Quilava standing behind her. He immediately tried to push himself further against the wall.
"You're completely safe," the Ninetales continued. "Try to calm down. Everything's alright." The Eevee kept looking around. All he could see in the unstable light were the door, the walls, a few blankets and some pillows on the floor. The Ninetales seemed to be correct. It did not appear like he was in danger.
"Where... Where's mommy and daddy?" he asked lowly. The Ninetales kept looking at him for a moment, apparently feeling sorry for him. She then turned around to face the Quilava.
"Look what you've done now!" she barked angrily. "How can you cause such a tragedy?" The Quilava shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault!" he insisted. "What was I supposed to do?" The Ninetales grunted lowly.
"Tearing apart families, separating children from their parents..." she mumbled to herself. "All the awful things we have to put up with here..." The female breathed deeply and turned her head back towards the Eevee. "You... You won't be able to be with your parents for a while," she spoke softly. "But don't worry," she added quickly, as she saw a shiver in the Eevee's eyes. "We'll be here for you. We're your friends." The Eevee slowly shook his head.
"The world can be beautiful," he whispered. "Things will get better..."
A bit of time passed, and the Eevee slowly lost his fear of the Quilava. The fire type apparently had no intention of hurting him and kept apologizing for having chased him before, even though he always made sure to add that it had not been his fault. The Eevee was still feeling lonely, but he firmly believed this would pass sooner or later.
Suddenly the door opened and light flooded the room. The Eevee quickly hid behind the Ninetales and closed his eyes. He heard the sounds of something being placed on the floor, and then the door was closed again.
"Don't be afraid," the Ninetales said, "we're just getting something to eat." The Eevee opened his eyes and looked up. There were six bowls standing on the ground. Three of them were filled with water, the other three seemed to have a brownish substance in them, which seemed to contain, among other things, meat.
"Eat up," the Quilava spoke in a reassuring tone. "It's not bad." The Eevee stepped up to one of the bowls and carefully took a bite. It tasted a bit strange, but he swallowed it.
The three Pokémon ate without talking. After they were finished, they all felt a little tired, and so they decided to go to sleep. The Eevee was reluctant at first, but then lay down on the pillows together with the Quilava and the Ninetales, who curled up around him. The child closed his eyes and finally felt himself calm down. Tomorrow, the world would certainly be beautiful again.
The next morning came, but it was impossible to notice, as the room had no windows. The three Pokémon awoke and waited for their breakfast. It did not take long until the door opened, and six new bowls were placed on the ground. As the Eevee slowly approached, a hand came down and held him in place. He shrieked in surprise and tried to struggle against the tight grip, but he felt all the energy leaving his body as something hot was pressed against his side. He could not remain standing, and so he fell over on his side. His entire body felt hot. He closed his eyes. The Eevee's fur seemed to grow rapidly and his entire body became bigger as well. Things were happening that he could not understand, so he just tried to hang on until they were over. He was scared, but he knew the world was going to be beautiful again sooner or later.
Very slowly, he rose to his big, shaking paws and opened his eyes. He felt different than before.
"You're a Flareon," the Quilava remarked. "It seems our trainer likes fire types the most."
"Well, but apparently we're not likable enough to be allowed to just have our freedom," the Ninetales added lowly. The Flareon did not say anything. He slowly walked towards his food and began to eat, wondering if his parents would recognize him now. They certainly would. As soon as he was with them again, everything would be alright.
It did not take long for the human to come back into the room. There was a flash of light, and the Flareon found himself surrounded by darkness again. He firmly believed that he was being taken home now. And indeed, as he came back into the world he could feel the sun shining down upon him. He was standing on a meadow, with the forest beginning just a few steps away. The Flareon started running, but immediately felt something pull him back, and there was darkness all around him once more. Then, just a second later, he was standing on the meadow again. Before he could start another attempt, he heard a familiar voice.
"It's no use, you can't get away." The Ninetales was sitting just a short distance away. The Quilava was right next to her.
"We're going to fight now," he said. The Flareon blinked in surprise.
"Why?" he asked. The Quilava raised his gaze a little.
"Our trainer wants us to," he replied. The Flareon could tell by the shadow on the ground that the human was standing right behind him. He closed his eyes for a moment. This would be over soon...
During their fight, both the Ninetales and the Quilava kept telling him how to evade their attacks, so the Flareon did not get burnt too much. A few hours went by, and finally there was the familiar darkness again. Now he could rest.
Together with the other Pokémon, he was released into the small room. They ate something and then went to sleep, cuddled closely together. The Flareon was hoping for the world to be beautiful again soon. He was not sure for how much longer he could wait.
The days went by, and nothing changed. He ate, slept, fought against his friends or against other Pokémon. After a while, the memory of his parents suddenly seemed strangely unfamiliar to him. Still, he awoke every day with the hope of things going to be better. He hardly even remembered how beauty felt, but he knew it had existed, and he still believed it would return.
One day, as the darkness vanished, he found himself standing in the middle of a group of young Pokémon. Just like he had learned it, the Flareon began breathing fire in several directions. The young ones scattered, and he spotted a relatively slow Growlithe. The Flareon jumped in front of it, watched as it cowered in fear and then saw the flash of light that took it away. Then, there was darkness again.
"Another child!" The Ninetales exclaimed angrily. "Are you out of your mind? Don't you remember how you felt when you were brought here?" The Flareon looked at her for a long time without saying anything. He was feeling tormented by his own thoughts and then came to a sudden realization. He went over to the little Growlithe's side. The newcomer stared up at him, seemingly too scared to move.
"Little one," the Flareon spoke in a heavy tone, "listen well, for I know the truth." In spite of still being frightened, the small fire type raised its ears.
"The world will never be beautiful again," the Flareon said lowly. He looked to the ground.
"I... I'm so very sorry..."
(1996 words)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter End Notes:So much for this chapter. Even though there is an unmistakably religious component in the title, I've decided to leave every kind of organized belief system out of this short story. Instead, I tried to be a little more abstract and focus on the act of believing itself. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. As usual, if there's anything you'd like to say, please write a review or send an email to [email protected] . The next chapter will be called "...and the river never made it to the lake...", I should be ready to upload it on Thursday.
Please be free...
-- Lion vom Silberwal
IMPORTANT: According to Wikipedia, "baruch atta adonai" is Hebrew for "bless the Lord", just in case you were wondering.
Thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
...singing "baruch atta adonai"...
"The world can be beautiful, sweetie."
This was, as it seemed, the most important thing his parents had ever taught the little Eevee. They had done their best to make sure he would always remember it. He usually heard this sentence at least once a day. Of course, his parents were right. It happened sometimes that the Eevee did not feel well, but he knew things would always get better again. As long as he just kept believing in his parents' words, everything would be alright.
He had not seen much of the world yet, but he was certain it was a beautiful place.
One day, as he was playing with some of his friends, his life changed. At first there were just a few Eevee and Rattata, running through the forest, trying to tag one another. Then, all of a sudden, there was a blinding light for just a second, and a Quilava had appeared out of nowhere. The Eevee and all his friends knew what this meant, as their parents had instructed them on what to do in such a situation. Within less than a second the group had scattered, running off into several different directions while the Quilava seemingly tried to send powerful blasts of fire after each of them at once. The little Eevee was trying to get away as fast as he could, but then he turned his head in order to see if the large fire type was following him, which made him trip over a thick root and fall to the ground. The Eevee tried to get back up on his paws again, but he was feeling dizzy and his head hurt. He blinked and then recognized the Quilava standing right in front of him, silently staring at the little Eevee. Something even bigger seemed to be right behind the fire type; however, the Eevee was unable to see anything other than a vague shadow during the small moment in which he was cowering in fear. Then, something came flying towards him. It hit the Eevee directly on the head. There was a flash of light, which immediately became followed by total darkness.
The Eevee did not know what was going on. For some reason he could not feel his body, and when he tried to move, nothing seemed to happen. The Eevee's mind just seemed to be suspended in the darkness. He almost panicked, but then he remembered his parents' words. No matter what happened, the world could always be beautiful. Things would certainly get better again.
The Eevee did not know how much time passed, as it was very difficult to be certain of anything. Then, just as surprisingly quick as all of this had happened in the first place, the darkness was taken away by another bright flash of light. There was a loud noise, as a door was closed. The Eevee blinked. He was standing in a relatively small room, which was illuminated only by the Quilava's flickering flames. The fire type was sitting right in front of him, and so the Eevee quickly stepped backwards until he bumped into a wall. He closed his eyes and retreated into his thoughts. The world can be beautiful, the world can be beautiful...
"Is this supposed to be a joke?" a relatively deep female voice spoke. "He's just a child! Why didn't you let him get away?"
"He fell, and I was told to catch him," a slightly rough and tired male voice replied. "You know I can't act against a direct order." There was a deep sigh.
"He seems to be afraid of you," the female voice remarked. "I'll try to talk to him." The Eevee shivered. He knew the others were talking about him. His eyes shot open as he felt a nose touch his cheek. The Eevee let out a frightened yelp as he was looking right at a Ninetales' face.
"Don't worry," she spoke calmly, "I won't hurt you, and neither will he." The Eevee saw the Quilava standing behind her. He immediately tried to push himself further against the wall.
"You're completely safe," the Ninetales continued. "Try to calm down. Everything's alright." The Eevee kept looking around. All he could see in the unstable light were the door, the walls, a few blankets and some pillows on the floor. The Ninetales seemed to be correct. It did not appear like he was in danger.
"Where... Where's mommy and daddy?" he asked lowly. The Ninetales kept looking at him for a moment, apparently feeling sorry for him. She then turned around to face the Quilava.
"Look what you've done now!" she barked angrily. "How can you cause such a tragedy?" The Quilava shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault!" he insisted. "What was I supposed to do?" The Ninetales grunted lowly.
"Tearing apart families, separating children from their parents..." she mumbled to herself. "All the awful things we have to put up with here..." The female breathed deeply and turned her head back towards the Eevee. "You... You won't be able to be with your parents for a while," she spoke softly. "But don't worry," she added quickly, as she saw a shiver in the Eevee's eyes. "We'll be here for you. We're your friends." The Eevee slowly shook his head.
"The world can be beautiful," he whispered. "Things will get better..."
A bit of time passed, and the Eevee slowly lost his fear of the Quilava. The fire type apparently had no intention of hurting him and kept apologizing for having chased him before, even though he always made sure to add that it had not been his fault. The Eevee was still feeling lonely, but he firmly believed this would pass sooner or later.
Suddenly the door opened and light flooded the room. The Eevee quickly hid behind the Ninetales and closed his eyes. He heard the sounds of something being placed on the floor, and then the door was closed again.
"Don't be afraid," the Ninetales said, "we're just getting something to eat." The Eevee opened his eyes and looked up. There were six bowls standing on the ground. Three of them were filled with water, the other three seemed to have a brownish substance in them, which seemed to contain, among other things, meat.
"Eat up," the Quilava spoke in a reassuring tone. "It's not bad." The Eevee stepped up to one of the bowls and carefully took a bite. It tasted a bit strange, but he swallowed it.
The three Pokémon ate without talking. After they were finished, they all felt a little tired, and so they decided to go to sleep. The Eevee was reluctant at first, but then lay down on the pillows together with the Quilava and the Ninetales, who curled up around him. The child closed his eyes and finally felt himself calm down. Tomorrow, the world would certainly be beautiful again.
The next morning came, but it was impossible to notice, as the room had no windows. The three Pokémon awoke and waited for their breakfast. It did not take long until the door opened, and six new bowls were placed on the ground. As the Eevee slowly approached, a hand came down and held him in place. He shrieked in surprise and tried to struggle against the tight grip, but he felt all the energy leaving his body as something hot was pressed against his side. He could not remain standing, and so he fell over on his side. His entire body felt hot. He closed his eyes. The Eevee's fur seemed to grow rapidly and his entire body became bigger as well. Things were happening that he could not understand, so he just tried to hang on until they were over. He was scared, but he knew the world was going to be beautiful again sooner or later.
Very slowly, he rose to his big, shaking paws and opened his eyes. He felt different than before.
"You're a Flareon," the Quilava remarked. "It seems our trainer likes fire types the most."
"Well, but apparently we're not likable enough to be allowed to just have our freedom," the Ninetales added lowly. The Flareon did not say anything. He slowly walked towards his food and began to eat, wondering if his parents would recognize him now. They certainly would. As soon as he was with them again, everything would be alright.
It did not take long for the human to come back into the room. There was a flash of light, and the Flareon found himself surrounded by darkness again. He firmly believed that he was being taken home now. And indeed, as he came back into the world he could feel the sun shining down upon him. He was standing on a meadow, with the forest beginning just a few steps away. The Flareon started running, but immediately felt something pull him back, and there was darkness all around him once more. Then, just a second later, he was standing on the meadow again. Before he could start another attempt, he heard a familiar voice.
"It's no use, you can't get away." The Ninetales was sitting just a short distance away. The Quilava was right next to her.
"We're going to fight now," he said. The Flareon blinked in surprise.
"Why?" he asked. The Quilava raised his gaze a little.
"Our trainer wants us to," he replied. The Flareon could tell by the shadow on the ground that the human was standing right behind him. He closed his eyes for a moment. This would be over soon...
During their fight, both the Ninetales and the Quilava kept telling him how to evade their attacks, so the Flareon did not get burnt too much. A few hours went by, and finally there was the familiar darkness again. Now he could rest.
Together with the other Pokémon, he was released into the small room. They ate something and then went to sleep, cuddled closely together. The Flareon was hoping for the world to be beautiful again soon. He was not sure for how much longer he could wait.
The days went by, and nothing changed. He ate, slept, fought against his friends or against other Pokémon. After a while, the memory of his parents suddenly seemed strangely unfamiliar to him. Still, he awoke every day with the hope of things going to be better. He hardly even remembered how beauty felt, but he knew it had existed, and he still believed it would return.
One day, as the darkness vanished, he found himself standing in the middle of a group of young Pokémon. Just like he had learned it, the Flareon began breathing fire in several directions. The young ones scattered, and he spotted a relatively slow Growlithe. The Flareon jumped in front of it, watched as it cowered in fear and then saw the flash of light that took it away. Then, there was darkness again.
"Another child!" The Ninetales exclaimed angrily. "Are you out of your mind? Don't you remember how you felt when you were brought here?" The Flareon looked at her for a long time without saying anything. He was feeling tormented by his own thoughts and then came to a sudden realization. He went over to the little Growlithe's side. The newcomer stared up at him, seemingly too scared to move.
"Little one," the Flareon spoke in a heavy tone, "listen well, for I know the truth." In spite of still being frightened, the small fire type raised its ears.
"The world will never be beautiful again," the Flareon said lowly. He looked to the ground.
"I... I'm so very sorry..."
(1996 words)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter End Notes:So much for this chapter. Even though there is an unmistakably religious component in the title, I've decided to leave every kind of organized belief system out of this short story. Instead, I tried to be a little more abstract and focus on the act of believing itself. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. As usual, if there's anything you'd like to say, please write a review or send an email to [email protected] . The next chapter will be called "...and the river never made it to the lake...", I should be ready to upload it on Thursday.
Please be free...
-- Lion vom Silberwal