Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Memories

Chapter 6: Half-Truths

"Sophia? Are you in there?" a female voice jolted me from sleep.

I swam through the haze that clogged my brain. The film that clouded my thoughts slowly dissipated as I rubbed my eyes and took a sip of water from the nearly empty bottle on my bedside table. Eventually, I came to enough to figure out it was my mother's voice that had stirred me.

"Yeah, mom," I responded. My words came out slurred, a side effect of how groggy I felt.

I heard a gasp from the other side of my door. "Are you alright? You sound sick."

"I'm fine, I just..." I trailed off after almost revealing too much about the nature of my ailment. My head screamed with a pain comparable to last night's. A simple half-truth would do nicely. "I just have a really bad headache."

"Let me come in," my mom said. The door rattled not a second later. "Sophia, I need to check on you. Your father wants to talk to you after you disappeared last tenth."

That statement made my blood run cold. Father never dove too deep into my adventures that took place on tenths-our society's equivalent of a "day"-that I spent at school or at the library. My gaze spun from the door to my window; it would be all too easy to slip out again. Realizing that it wouldn't be smart to upset my father two tenths of a single cycle in a row, I rose to my feet to lock in my decision. I obliged and unlocked the door after clearing away the pillows from last night. I put on my best sick face.

"Aw, you poor thing," my mother pouted as she did a once over of me with her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered with overly dramatic flair. Her braided strands fell around her thin face as she cocked her head to the side. "That's okay, I can take care of you. Your father will understand when he sees you like this."

"Mom, I'm fine," I whined. It was the truth, but I wanted to ride this lie out as long as I could. "Can I just go to school? I promise I'll talk to Dad later."

She gasped, "No! You need to stay home and recover. I bet it was those disgusting children there that gave you this illness. This is why we don't want you going to school. Plus, they fill your head with dangerous thoughts of the world and the Before."

Holding back a laugh, I thought to myself, I do that pretty well on my own.

My mother continued without leaving a pause for me, "We also need your help around here. You're weak, and farm work would help you become stronger. It wouldn't encourage wimpy behavior like sitting behind a desk would." I frowned at her jab at me. It annoyed me that I couldn't say anything in response; she spoke the truth and it irked me.

Despite the hunger and malnourishment, my mother was a strong woman. Her muscles showed through her thin, dark skin. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, she would take on any man in the village in a fight; most surrendered before she threw the first punch. In another world, in another time, she could have been a trainer like we learned about in class. Instead, she was stuck here in this world with me and the rest of the poor souls that humanity had left. She made the most of her talents by marrying the heir to the only ranch in town.

"Rest while I make breakfast," she commanded. "If you're feeling better in a couple of hours, I'll let you come outside with me and feed the Miltank. I remember how much you loved them as a kid."

She chuckled as she turned to leave the room. "You would even pretend to talk to them when they mooed at you. It was really sweet." Her face fell to a frown as she recalled my childhood. "Whatever happened to that eager girl, full of life and always willing to help?"

After placing that rhetorical question over my head, she went downstairs.

With my newly bought freedom, my thoughts drifted to the strange dream I had. My mind was sharp enough now to realize that the dream had taken place over mere moments. I blacked out, eavesdropped on something that I could still hear clearly in my mind, and then woke up.