I'm Home

A woman sits alone at a table in an empty house.

"All boys leave home eventually." She mutters to herself, staring at the untouched tea in front of her.

The woman sits staring at the wall for several long minutes.

"Please come home," She whispers to the empty house. "Come home."

The next day when the woman goes to check her mailbox there is a Pokemon already in front of it. It moves aside to let the woman through.

"No news is good news…" She says to the empty mailbox. "Please come home."

After she goes back inside the Pokemon looks at the mailbox again. And then it follows the woman into the house.

"Hi!" The woman says slowly. "Red's been away. He hasn't called either, so I have no idea where he is or what he's been doing. They say no news is good news but I do worry about him."

The Pokemon is very close to her, looking her in the eye, but she ignores it.

"Please come home," She says to herself.

Bobbing up and down, the Pokemon tries to get her attention.

But this time she just stares blankly through it.

The Pokemon leaves the house and floats down the path to a small brick building. There is an old man standing out front. The Pokemon floats over to the man.

The man is surprised by the Pokemon.

"A Glalie here in Kanto? How strange!"

The Pokemon floats closer to him and he is able to get a better look.

"This is amazing…" The man trails off slowly.

"If only he would come home to see this…" The man mutters to himself before stepping back into the lab. "Please come home."

The Glalie bobs up and down in frustration. It only wishes that it could speak.

"Come home?" The woman asks the Glalie as it floats back into her house.

The mute Pokemon bobs up and down, as if nodding. But the woman only stares past it.

Another day passes like this. The Glalie does all it can to get her attention but all she will ever say is "Come home."

On the third day the Pokemon disappears upstairs for a while and then does everything in its power to nudge the woman upstairs too.

"That's my son's room," she tells him, using different words for a change. "He will be coming home soon."

So the Glalie gives up with the woman and it goes to stand outside the house. Two more days pass this way until the Glalie finally sees who it has been waiting for.

"You look familiar," says the teenager, regarding the Glalie with his green eyes.

The Glalie floats backward toward the house door and is able to lure him inside.

"Hi!" The woman inside exclaims to them. "Red's been away. He hasn't called either, so I have no idea where he is or what he's been doing. They say no news is good news but I do worry about him."

"Yes," The teenager agrees. "No news can only leave you with one definite answer."

He follows the Glalie upstairs and looks down at the floor. He should be surprised by what is there but he is not, the result of having his eyes opened years ago.

"I guess we're even now," He says to the Pokemon.

The Pokemon bobs up once.

"I accept your apology. If it helps at all, I'm sorry too"

The Pokemon stares solemnly at him as he leaves and then turns back to stare at the floor.

It hopes that the woman will see the message carved into the floor someday.
Just two words.

I'm home.