Pokémon belongs to Games Freak

Title: Voices in the Shadow

Notes: (1) This is a ficcional work, elements of the original work can be altered for better compatibility with this story.

(2) English is not my first language.

(3) Warning: violence, black magic

(4) This story is participating in "Esquadrão da Escrita" Halloween Challenge.

I hope you enjoy!

The sun went down quickly, covering the forest with the shadows of the night. The temperature dropped and the wind blew mercilessly over the tall grass, bringing the whispers. Voices that sighed from the trees, constant, like a prayer. One voice and then several of them, chanting the words in the same rhythmic and alliterated way. And when the first rays of the sun came up, through the treetops that covered the sky and bathing the twisted logs, the whispers ceased.

It had been that way for the last six nights and when the voices started, the Cubones took shelter in their burrows. A request for a witch, old Marowak explained to the youth Cubone group.

To Koyuki, the little Cubone, the whispers were terrifying, and like the others, he had hidden. But paying attention to them, the voices sounded familiar. And when he tried to tell that to old Marowak, he was ignored, like always was.

The whispers were marked in his memories, repeating Kyouki's name incessantly, a name that little Cubone knew was his own. Whispers he should follow. So that night, the seventh night, he didn't hide like the others, but followed the sounds through the forest.

He wandered to a clearing and hid in the grass. There was an oily, toasty smell. A hardened white river, solidified paraffin in the middle of the foliage. The burning flames of the candles overshadowed the glow of the moonlight. There were three women in the clearing.

One of them stood out, she was tall and dark skin, her eyes were white, and she was completely dressed in black. She displayed various props made of bones. What set her apart was the way she prayer. Her voice sounded like many, and even if the other women followed her, her voice was never eclipsed. She was the owner of the familiar whispers.

"This is witch night, make your wish," said the woman in yellow. The other, in simple clothes, clasped her hands and closed her eyes.

A request to the witch, and Koyuki thought of his mother.

Koyuki was smaller than any Cubone, paler, thinner and grayer than any other Cubone, but like all other Cubone, he had no mother. He didn't remember her, didn't know her name, or carried her skull like the other Cubones did. But he knew she had died, like all Marowak moms, like a curse.

It was a difficult year, alone in the woods, learning for yourself. The other Cubones didn't like him and didn't accept him in the group. Old Marowak didn't care about his fate. Having her mother back, even for a moment, would be the happiest moment of Kyouki's life.

He wished and waited, waited for the witch to come for his request.

The night wore on, the candles went out and the wind grew more violent and cold. The whispers continued; Hana was one of the few words Koyuki could understand, even if he didn't know its meaning.

A man appeared in the clearing, dragging a cloth bag. The black woman took two objects out of the bag. The first was a small Cubone, newborn, who was squealing. A bone knife was aimed at the tiny chest.

"I'm not sure about that," said the woman in plain clothes.

"It's not something you can go back now, a Halloween ritual can't be undone," the woman in yellow replied.

The black woman continued the whispers, in a mixture of prayer and song. Ignoring the fears, she crossed the Pokémon's chest, bathing in the blood.

Kyouki was motionless. The familiar voices drew him into that scene. Why?

The other object was Marowak, a female, motionless as if she was dead. With the bone knife, the head was cut at the mouth, separating the skull. Blood trickled over the grass. The woman spent a long time in prayer while cleaning head, removing the organs and scraping the skin until only the bones remained.

The man gathered the Pokémon's bodies and candles and stuffed them back into the bag. Gone before Koyuki could notice.

The woman tied a rope on the skull and handed over to the woman.

"Wear it as an amulet for your wish." The woman in yellow tugged at her shirt and showed off her necklace made from a Marowak's skull.

"Will that really help?"

"Even married to another woman, my Kyouki came back to me. I'm sure the ritual will bring your beloved Hana back into your arms," she confirmed confidently.

You are my mother; the words came up by his beside from the Cubone in the grass.

It was a Cubone smaller than any Cubone, just like Koyuki; pale, thin and gray, just like Koyuki. He didn't have a skull on his head, just like Koyuki. But like all other Cubone, he had no mother.

My name is Hana! Little Cubone said with conviction.

The sun rose over the horizon and the whispers stopped.

Thank you for reading.

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