Pokémon TMR: Buried Secrets (book 2)

Chapter 11: New Destination

I felt himself being shaken. Groaning, I opened my eyes.

"Woah, you look awful," Xera arched an eyebrow. Then she smirked. "Still not used to tribal traditions, Outsider?"

I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I registered sunlight streaming past the leather flap over the doorway. I felt tired after barely getting any sleep. That dream, no, nightmare had happened the moment I closed my eyes. Trapped in the endless darkness with the never ending screeching. Thankfully it hadn't lasted long until I awoke, but...

I shuddered.

"What?" Xera asked.

I almost told her, but I shook my head. "Nothing. Just a dream. Why'd you wake me?"

"He's back," she stood. "The Healer."

In an instant my weariness was gone. I got to my feet, looking to my left. Z was leaning against the mud wall, asleep, with Luna still appearing to be in a peaceful slumber.

"Where-?" I began to ask Xera if she knew where the Healer was exactly, but at that moment the flap at the door was held up, letting in sunlight. The woman who had substituted for the Healer came in, her strange bird Pokemon still on her shoulder. She was followed by an elderly man in a jewel-decorated skirt, a Carbink hovering in after him. I took in a quick breath. It was him. The one that I had dreamt of when I found myself in the Starlit Cavern in my dreams.

He made his way over to Luna carefully, leaning slightly on his knobby walking stick. He lowered himself to the ground, resting on his knees as he set his walking stick down. He began murmuring, leaning over Luna as his hands found her face. He opened her right eye before moving his fingers around her scalp. He stayed like that for a couple minutes before finally he withdrew them. 

"Her wounds are not serious," the old man said softly, his tone surprising me. In the dream, he had sounded more joyous, but now he seemed less so, almost somber. "But her mind, it is... damaged. She will continue to slumber until her death."

"But you can do something about that, right!?" I looked at him desperately, then to the woman. 

She shook her head, crystal earrings dancing. "Something like this is beyond our capabilities."

"Hm..." the man murmured. He grabbed his walking stick and pointed it to me, turning his head. My breath got caught in my throat. The dark eyes I had seen in my dream were now replaced by milky whites. He was blind. 

"There is someone who can help," he said to me, lowering the stick. "He has strange powers, but he can heal the body and the mind."

The woman shot him a sharp glance. "Him? They cannot. He has been-"

The old man began coughing and wheezing, cutting her off as he bent over. She quickly knelt beside him. "What's wrong, Healer?"

He continued to cough, but when the woman grabbed for a bowl sitting beside the entrance, he flashed me a toothy grin. He waved her off as she tried to give him a small, red fruit. He stood, leaning on his walking stick as he began walking towards the entrance. "Seriyll, I will speak to the Village Leaders. They will understand." He passed beneath the flap, Carbink having held it up for him before following him.

When he left, Seriyll let out an irritated sigh. I glanced at her. "Are you his apprentice?"

She nodded, crossing her arms as she glared at the flap. "He is a stubborn old man. He'll get his way, he always does."

"How does he see, erm, know where he is going?" I asked awkwardly.

"He wasn't always blind," she said. "I've heard stories about how he had explored every part of our Village and what lies around it. So much so that even when he went blind, he could still find his way around with ease. He is both our Healer and Spirit Guide, so perhaps the spirits help guide him wherever he goes."