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x~... Morning Glories ...~x
He always thought she was more beautiful than any flower. Always knew she meant more to him than anything.
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Disclaimer: Melisa doesn't own anything. Especially Pokemon.
An idea that just randomly came to my head the night I came back from my trip to LA. The language of flowers was always something I was interested in, so this idea just sprang out to me I suppose. I spent two hours researching the meaning of flowers, and I carefully picked out the ones I wanted! ^_^
I'm warning you, this story contains a lot of cheesiness, corniness, and fluff than my usual standards... whatever that is.
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People are just like morning glories. They begin life as a small seed, and, with care, they sprout, bursting out of the darkness for the world to see. In the night they sleep pass time inside a bud, protected by the security of their shields. The morning glories, not yet ready to bloom, rests and waits in the darkness for life to continue moving.
But a lot of times, morning glories are stuck in the darkness. And what they need is light, a dawn. And, in order to find the dawn, you need that one special person to help you find the way. And when that person comes to guide you to the sunrise, you bloom. You bloom into a beautiful morning glory of love, bathed in the warm, welcoming yet far-off light. And that love is shared with that special person.
Morning glories die quickly. They bloom in the morning, and as time passes, the rich pastel of their petals begin to fade as a life naturally and inevitably does. By the afternoon, most of the flowers die. The following morning, more morning glories bloom anew, replacing the ones that have left.
But how can you say they truly die? Because each morning glory is a life. And each life always has that one person's heart to put their life into. So they can never die. Because some part of their life is inside that special one's heart. And they'll never forget you. They'll never leave you. You'll always be with them, together... forever and ever.
And as long as that person is with you, then you'll always be a morning glory in bloom.
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Morning glories were planted.
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Kenny gave the single blue violet flower to Dawn with a large grin. The girl, Dawn, smiled and laughed cheerfully. Johanna giggled fondly at her daughter, who just turned one year-old today. She gently took the flower from Dawn's tiny, fragile hand and warmly told the young baby 'Happy Birthday.'
Keira took her own son in her arms and stood up. Kenny, who was the same age as Dawn, reached his arms out desperately, his face crestfallen. He didn't want to leave the birthday girl yet.
"Don't worry, Kenny, you'll be seeing Dawn every day." Kenny's face became happy again as if he understood just what his mother had told him (Keira liked to believe he did).
Johanna pressed the blue violet down with her delicate hands carefully, so that it would stay forever. Keira handed her long-time friend the book she just bought today. It was small and only a few inches thick, but it served its purpose. A soft, velvety cover with a brilliant forest green shade covered the book, the ten single pages inside a pale tan shade. Smooth and hard, thick enough for a flower to stay inside safely.
On the first page of the blank book, the flower was pressed flat onto the leathery paper. Below, Keira then wrote down the meaning of the blue violet. She was very proud of her son for choosing such a wonderful flower.
Yes, flowers have their own life, their own meaning. Just like all people do. Most give flowers to another without knowing what it meant. Let's say a boy was giving his first love a flower for Valentine's Day, and he gave her a yellow rose. It's a rose, right? It's perfect to show his romantic feelings. But the thing is, a yellow rose symbolizes friendship. (Of course, most people probably wouldn't be aware of that anyways.)
Johanna and Keira were both Pokemon Coordinators, and they knew that flowers and people alike had outer and inner appearances. They knew that the inner was just as imperative as the outer. Most people tend to lean on one side, perhaps one preferred the outside, others the inside. But both were equally balanced in importance.
For Dawn's birthday, Keira let Kenny choose a flower from Lake Verity. She had placed him in the middle of the field, surrounded by flowers, hoping he would pick a beautiful flower both from the inside and out. When he picked off a blue violet, Keira was delighted.
At the time, Johanna and Keira intended for that single blue violet to be the only flower inside that little green book. They didn't give any real thought about it, other than how wonderful it would be when Dawn and Kenny looked inside it when they were older. They didn't imagine how special it would be to the two future Pokemon Coordinators. How each small, individual flower would bind them together with love.
Johanna and Keira watched as Dawn and Kenny played with each other in the playpen, gurgling and giggling joyfully. They then both gazed down at the light green book happily. And they were sure. They were sure with all their hearts. Dawn and Kenny will always be true to one another.
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Blue Violet
Watchfulness, faithfulness
"I'll always be true."
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Dawn's second birthday was tomorrow, and Keira was inside the house preparing her gift of a soft, stuffed Piplup plush. She thought Kenny had fallen asleep a while ago. Well, she was wrong.
Kenny had wandered off by himself off to Lake Verity after climbing out of his playpen. Being a baby, he didn't really know where he was going, so he just kept on wandering (or crawling) around aimlessly.
The chestnut-haired boy arrived to the same meadow his mother had brought him to the year before. Lake Verity was actually quite dark, since a canopy of towering trees loomed over the area and gave it a shadowy feel of enhanced mystery. But between the gaps of the trees and the little spaces where the leaves did not fill up, many of the sun's rays streamed down onto the forest. It was just like when sunlight began to penetrate a wall of dark, gray clouds after a storm. It was enchanting.
Drawn by the scent and colors of the various kinds of flowers, Kenny crawled over with curiosity taking over his interest. A pink primrose stood out, glittering in a halo of sunlight. He picked it off from the dark green blades of grass and laughed cheerfully.
Keira by now was finished wrapping the gift and found Kenny missing when she went upstairs to check up on him. She checked the whole house in a panic before running outside to search for her son hastily. She later found Kenny at Lake Verity, bathed in light and surrounded by flowers, asleep with a pale pink primrose grasped tightly in his hand.
The following day, Kenny gave the very same primrose to the ever-smiling Dawn at the party. Johanna gladly placed it inside the second page of the book, after the blue violet. Keira, again, added the meaning in her elegant handwriting.
For the whole day, Dawn and Kenny played with each other, even after the party to near midnight. (Kenny gave a pouty look to Keira when she said it was time to go, and of course, with Kenny being so cute, she couldn't resist.) When Keira picked Kenny up from the playpen the second time to return home, Dawn and Kenny began whimpering, followed by bawling. Their faces were red, as babies do when they cry, and tears seemed to just cascade continuously down their cheeks.
Keira chuckled. "You just can't be without Dawn now, can you Kenny?"
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Primrose
"I can't be without you."
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Two seeds sprouted.
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The birthday flowers were a tradition now. Keira was surprised when she woke up to his son energetically and hyper-actively jumping up and down repeatedly on her bed saying he wanted to go to Lake Verity and get Dawn flowers. It was unusual that he could remember that far back, being that the event was a year ago, and he was still very young. It was also quite shocking that Kenny wanted to even complete the task in the first place.
Keira told Kenny it wasn't necessary to keep getting flowers for Dawn, but Kenny refused. He was determined to go get flowers for the girl. So Keira obliged, giving him her consent.
Now that he was three, he was allowed to go to Lake Verity alone and choose the flowers himself. He wanted to get the most beautiful flower he could to his best friend. When he thought about Dawn smiling and laughing with the flower he would choose, Kenny became swelled with pride and determination. He loved Dawn's laugh. He adored her smile. And he definitely loved the way her deep blue eyes sparkled and twinkled.
When Kenny finally came home, he asked Keira what the flower he chose meant. She explained to him. A joyful Kenny placed the flower in a vase from his room and awaited patiently for Dawn's birthday party to start in an hour. But of course, being a three year-old, Kenny grew impatient and ran over to the next-door house after about 15 minutes.
Kenny found Dawn in the kitchen with her Piplup plush snuggled comfortably in her arms, watching Johanna add strawberries and Pachirisu-themed decorations onto a vanilla-flavored cake.
"Dawn!" Johanna and Dawn looked up and saw Kenny. The younger girl's face brightened like a candle, a glitter in her ocean eyes.
"Kenny!" Dawn cried with a smile. She jumped down from the stool she was standing on and ran over to Kenny in excitement.
"I got you a flower!" He handed Dawn his most recent prized possession. Then Keira burst in through the door panting and smiling nervously. "Kenny got too excited…" she explained.
Kenny's deep, black eyes sparkled proudly as Dawn smelled the flower with happiness.
"It's an iris," Kenny told her.
"What does it mean?"
As Kenny told Dawn, her face lit up even more, if possible, and she hugged him. That resulted in a very embarrassed, but happy Kenny. The blush was as red as anything can get, but regardless, he hugged Dawn back with just as much enthusiasm and love all the same.
Later, Johanna pressed the iris into the book for the third time, and Keira wrote in the meaning again. Meanwhile, Dawn and Kenny were outside playing tag, shrieking and laughing and full of joy.
When the two finally settled down, they walked over to Lake Verity and sat down in front of the glistening lake.
"Kenny, can you promise me?"
"Promise what?"
Dawn blushed a little, a tad bit embarrassed with what she was going to say. "Promise we'll always love each other no matter what?"
Kenny laughed, a huge grin spreading onto his face. "Of course!" He reached for Dawn's hand and curled his pinky around her smaller one. "Pinky Promise," he said.
Dawn smiled at Kenny. "Pinky Promise."
"Then there's no need to worry, right?" Dawn inquired.
"No need to worry!" Kenny exclaimed.
"I…" What was that word again? Kenny racked his brain. The one in that little green book, the one that Kenny's mom had told him when she explained the meaning of the iris? (He told himself to remember the word. It sounded very pretty and he believed it was special.) Oh, I remember now! Cherish... "I cherish us being friends too much to not love you, Dawn!"
"What does cherish mean?" the three year-old girl asked.
"It means that you mean more to me than anything!"
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Iris
Cherished Friendship
Promise in Love
"Your friendship means so much to me."
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Keira began teaching Kenny how to write letters and words due to Kenny's non-stop begs and pouty faces. After Dawn turned three on that day, Kenny made it clear he wanted to write the message in the light green book next time. He also insisted Keira to teach him how to use the computer for searching up the meaning of flowers.
So by the time of Dawn's fourth birthday, Kenny had learned how to use the computer to search the meaning of flowers, and form decent semi-recognizable letters. He was a smart little four year-old.
For the flower, Kenny ventured out to Lake Verity again and found a cluster of red, yellow, and white chrysanthemums close to the lake. Not able to decide on which Dawn would like better, he took one of each color and took it back home.
First he asked Keira what the flower was, then went on the Internet and found the chrysanthemum's meanings.
At the birthday party, he handed all three flowers to Dawn.
"Happy Birthday!" he laughed. When Kenny told her what each colored chrysanthemum meant, Dawn hugged him again, causing his face to flush a light shade of pink.
"Thank you…" she whispered. Kenny hugged back, not wanting to let go. "You're my bestest friend, DeeDee." Kenny had given her a nickname. Dawn pulled back from the grasp with an annoyed, but playful look on her face.
"Stop calling me that!" She laughed. Dawn gave him her 'catch-me-if-you-can' look, then ran outside as swiftly as the Pachirisu on last year's cake. Kenny wanted to go catch Dawn, but first he had to finish his mission.
Earlier, Kenny had printed out the meanings of the chrysanthemums. He took out the folded piece of paper and spread it out on Dawn's kitchen counter, flattening it in the process so that he could see it better. With a pen, he carefully copied the letters with his own still-in-training handwriting under the three chrysanthemums Johanna had pressed into beforehand.
Satisfied, Kenny put down the pen and went off in search of Dawn. He wanted another hug from his best friend.
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Chrysanthemums
Red – I love you
Yellow – Sighted Love
White – Truth
"You are a wonderful friend."
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They slept in darkness, waiting.
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"A dandelion, huh? That's going to be a bit harder to press." Johanna chuckled, then continued putting the festive blue Piplup- themed decorations up around the house. (Dawn and Kenny both loved Piplup.)
Dawn was confused, looking down at the dandelion in her hand. Kenny had told her to make a wish. "Won't this dandelion have no more of those little white things if I blow on it and make a wish? It'll be lonely." She said.
Kenny grinned. "No need to worry!" He mimicked Dawn's famous phrase. "That's why I brought another!" He took out a second dandelion from behind his back. "You and I can make a wish and let all the white fluff thingies blow away and be free! And the dandelion still won't be lonely, because it will have a best friend with it!"
"Just like us?" Dawn smiled. Kenny still loved that smile with all his heart.
"Just like us," he agreed. "Now, make a wish!"
"Hmm…" Dawn thought for a few moments. "I'm not sure what to wish for. I'm happy just to be here with you. What do you wish for, Kenny?"
Kenny gave her a big smile, blew on his dandelion, and answered without hesitation. "I wish to always be with you."
"Then I wish the same thing!" Dawn blew on the dandelion, and the two watched the white fluff swirl away into the vast, blue sky, together with the wind.
"I wish that me and Kenny will always be together forever!"
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Dandelion
Faithfulness, happiness
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Kenny struggled to climb the ladder leading up to Dawn's window. He was aware that Dawn's mom was still asleep, and he didn't want to wake her up. Kenny stroked the petals of the flower he picked early in the morning at Lake Verity (while Keira was still sleeping and unaware). He was careful not to crush the little pink carnation in the pocket of his pants.
Kenny pushed the glass window open and scrambled in quickly. He wasn't too thrilled with the idea of falling. If his mom found out about this, he would likely to be a dead six year-old. And then I'll never get to give Dawn more flowers! Kenny thought with a grin.
Dawn was still asleep with the Piplup plush hugged tightly in her arms, which was what Kenny expected since it was still so early. The chestnut-haired boy took a few moments watching his best friend breathe in and out peacefully, a calm look upon her face, before he grabbed the chair from her desk. He tiptoed over to Dawn's bed silently and put the chair beside Dawn's sleeping figure.
Sitting down, he placed his elbows on the bed and hands cupping his cheeks. He was content with watching Dawn sleeping so peacefully.
She started stirring, and Kenny froze, thinking that he was too loud. But he was waiting for her to wake up anyways, so he stayed still and waited patiently.
Dawn sat up slowly in the bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. The Piplup plush lay against the pillow, staring at Kenny as if to say 'Huh?' Kenny had to stifle a laugh at her bed-head, since he rarely saw her look messy. She always wanted to look pretty, though he'll never know why. Kenny always believed she was the prettiest person in the world.
Dawn turned her head and finally saw Kenny. He gave her a sheepish grin, and Dawn's eyes widened with shock.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Her eyes continued to grow larger, allowing Kenny to see deeply into her navy-colored orbs. He couldn't tear his own onyx eyes away from them.
Kenny finally took the pink carnation out of his pocket and held it out to Dawn. "Happy Sixth Birthday!" Energy and happiness was clearly evident in his voice.
Dawn slowly took it from Kenny's hands. She stroked the soft petals, wondering how it felt, then proceeded by lifting it slowly under her nose to smell the carnatoin's sweet scent.
"You could've waited until I woke up, you know."
"I know," Kenny's smile grew bigger, "But I didn't want to."
A confused Dawn tilted her head to the side. "Why?" she asked.
"Because," Kenny stated with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "You're always on my mind."
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Pink Carnation
"Always on my mind."
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That one special person in their lives…
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Kenny gazed at Dawn fondly, who was sitting beside him on the bench. The party was over and since it was such a beautiful day out, full of sunny warmth and light breezes, they went out to Dawn's porch to watch the sunset. Her deep, sapphire eyes shimmered in the golden rays, outlined by the orange sun's radiance, her face given a shining, heavenly glow.
Though the sunset was beautiful, with the sky brushed with warm shades of reds, oranges, and yellows, Kenny preferred the dawn much more. There was something about the dusk that made you feel as if you're going to sleep forever. As if time has stopped and eternity was here. As if the end has passed and there was only nothingness left beyond it.
The dawn was different. Dawns are new beginnings. They're hope. They remind you when you're sad that there's a tomorrow, there's a future. There's another day to live for. There's the person you love to be with.
Even though he didn't see the sunrise very often, Dawn, his best friend, the one he cared about most in the world, was his own dawn every single day. And that was all Kenny really needed. (Though he has thought about really watching the sun rise with Dawn sometime.) As long as she was with him, every moment was a dawn.
The seven-year old girl sighed contently as she leaned her head on Kenny's shoulder. He blushed a little and his heart's beat increased, but he didn't move. He didn't want to.
Neither of them said anything. They were both comfortable in the peaceful silence. It was soothing even, and almost lured Dawn into sleep until Kenny spoke.
"I'll never tell."
"You'll never tell what?" Dawn murmured, her eyes half closed and her mind drifting off into a dream. She was eager to escape reality in the warmth of the sunset, asleep on Kenny's shoulder. It was too comforting for her heart to do anything else.
But Dawn's wishes were denied when Kenny moved his body around to face Dawn. All of sudden, Dawn found Kenny's arms wrapped around her tightly in a hug. Dawn was wrong about her heart not wanting to do anything else. This was so much more alluring. Her heart transferred into a sleepy daze, encouraging her to enter her dreams.
Dawn and Kenny had given each other many hugs in the past before. But this one contained so much more warmth and love than all the others. The both of them could feel their hearts beating in rhythm as one, coated with a soothing honey-sweetness. It felt so... different.
Dawn's heart was almost there, to her dreams. Her eyelids began to shield her sapphire orbs gradually, her mind closing off from reality. What she heard from Kenny next sounded like a far-off memory, a scattered dream.
"I'll never tell," Kenny whispered into Dawn's ear. "How much I love you."
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Daisy
Simplicity, purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty
"I'll never tell."
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Dawn found that the thing she most looked forward to for her birthday were the flowers from Kenny. She cherished (she remembered that word from when they were three and now used it quite often) each and every flower. And she couldn't help but look over all the flowers and meanings from the little light green book over and over again. She would look in it for comfort when she was sad or lonely, or just because she simply wished to. When she just wanted to smile and feel truly happy from the bottom of your heart.
"Be back for the party in time you two!" Keira yelled whilst still stirring the cake batter with a wooden spoon. Johanna, besides her at the kitchen counter preparing the ingredients, shook her head and gave an amused half-smile. "They're really growing up, aren't they?"
Keira gave a hearty laugh. "They sure are. Pretty soon, they'll be Top Coordinators before we know it." Johanna nodded her head in agreement. She was fully confident from her heart that the two would become top-coordinators. She had faith in them.
"Where are they going anyways?" Johanna asked. Dawn and Kenny had rushed out in excitement when it was still so early in the morning. Which, of course, left the her and Keira to the cake-baking. "Lake Verity?"
"Yup."
"Flowers?"
"What else?"
The two mothers laughed in merriment.
At Lake Verity, Dawn and Kenny were among the field of flowers. Dawn was just taking in the soothing fragrance for relaxation and gazing at all the different kinds of flowers, while Kenny was looking for Dawn's eigth birthday flower. He had been researching the meaning of flowers quite a lot on the Internet lately, so he could recognize many of the more basic and common flowers easily.
The brunette's eyes wandered over to see what hais best friend was doing for a moment. Dawn's eyes were closed with a sense of tranquility on her serene face. A golden ray of light shone on her like a spotlight as a breeze gently swayed her silky navy hair around, brushing her face. It all made her look like angel. She is an angel. She's my angel. Kenny couldn't help but let out a smile.
He wanted to tell Dawn how much she brightened up his day every moment she was around him, how much light she put into his life. She was a second sun to him. But at the same time, she was also a second moon. All the times when he was sad, she would be there to lift him out of the darkness and into light.
He loved her, so much more than just a best friend. He loved her with all his heart. And if only he knew if she loved him just as much as he did with her.
He continued his quest, but had quite a hard time with picking the perfect flower. Scanning the field, his eyes landed on a yellow daffodil in the middle of the meadow, the color of the golden ray that had shined upon Dawn earlier. He made his way over to the little daffodil, careful not to step on the other delicate flowers swaying gently in the breeze.
It was a very beautiful flower, one both inside and out. Kenny loved it. Dawn finished looking at the flowers and walked over. Kenny reached his hand out to give Dawn the daffodil, and she accepted it.
"A daffodil…" Dawn murmured. "It's so bright and cheerful, just like the sun."
"Yeah," Kenny agreed. "It is." He wanted to say that so was she.
The raven-haired girl looked up and gazed at the sun rays streaming down all over Lake Verity. "The sun is really shining today, isn't it?" She giggled. The sun had always made her heart feel lighter and lifted her worries.
"It doesn't matter that much to me."
"How come?" Dawn's eyes shimmered in the light.
"Because…" His eyes softened. "The sun always shines when I'm with you, Dawn."
The smile that Kenny loved so much became apparent on his best friend's face. "I'm glad," She whispered silently. She quickly ran over to Kenny and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and pulled away just as swiftly. Heat crept up to Kenny's cheeks and he felt himself blush. Dawn was also blushing, a pale pink painted onto her cheeks.
Kenny wrapped his arms around Dawn's petite form for a hug. A faint blush was still visible.
"You're the only one..." Kenny buried his face into Dawn's long, silky blue hair. She smelled like the crisp, fresh air from a new dawn. "You're the only one I want to be with forever."
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Daffodil
Unrequited love
"The sun always shines when I am with you."
"You're the only one."
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Led them to dawn…
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Dawn wasn't very thrilled for her ninth birthday. The night before, she had overheard her mom talking on the phone with Kenny's mom. Dawn couldn't sleep (she was excited for her flower from Kenny), and decided to go downstairs and bake some poffins for Glameow. And that's when she heard her mother sitting on the couch from the living room chatting with Kenny's mom.
Dawn's heart sunk as she listened in on the conversation. They were talking about Kenny's journey starting on his tenth birthday. He turned ten six months before her. She sighed. Six months without seeing Kenny. Dawn didn't want that.
The soon-to-be nine year-old lumbered back to her room with sagging shoulders. She felt her throat burn up and some hot tears sting her eyes bitterly. She didn't want to go a day, not even a moment, without him.
And so, Dawn could not sleep that night. Her seemingly never-ending tears kept her company. She found comfort from looking at the stars and moon twinkling outside her window in the black night sky, then reading and gazing at the flower book over and over again. She came across the daffodil, the latest flower in the green book, and was beffudled for about the millionth time that year by the meaning below of 'Unrequited love.' What did it mean?
Before Dawn had any more time to ponder over the puzzling words, she heard a knock on the window. Looking at her brown Starly alarm clock beside her, Dawn was appalled to see that it was only four in the morning.
"Dawn, open up…!" She could hear Kenny's voice behind the glass. She walked over and pushed the window open. Kenny carefully stepped into her room, releasing a relieved sigh. It was kind of like déjà vu from her sixth birthday, with the pink carnation. (Except this time she was actually awake... but she was still surprised of course.)
"What are you doing here at four in the morning?" Dawn asked curiously. She didn't really want to see anyone at the moment, especially Kenny. (Well, maybe a little... okay a lot, but still, she was still trying to get over Kenny's leaving soon.) She hoped her cheeks weren't stained with trails of tears. She didn't want to worry him.
Ignoring Dawn, Kenny gave a sheepish smile, "Happy Birthday, DeeDee!" Dawn shook her head in frustration. "Really, what are you doing here?"
"Well, what are you still doing up?" Kenny countered. Dawn looked at him like he was crazy. Who's the one climbing up a ladder to someone's room in the middle of the night?
"I should be asking you that!"
Kenny shrugged nonchalantly and grabbed her hand. "We're going to Lake Verity," he simply replied.
"Why? It's not even morning yet!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Exactly." Kenny grabbed her hand and outside the house as quietly as they could, and all the way to Lake Verity. Dawn would question him frequently, but Kenny stayed quiet and just smirked knowingly to himself.
At Lake Verity, they took a seat beside the lake. The flower field was just behind them, omitting a sweet fragrance into the air. The whole forest was dark now, since the moon and stars were already gone from the night sky, faded into oblivion. The grass was sprinkled with crystal droplets of dew, and all was silent except for the soft breathing that escaped from them. It felt magical, like the whole world was alive. And really, it is.
"Did you know it's always darkest before dawn?" Kenny asked, breaking Dawn out of the enchanting, magical trance. Dawn shook her head. Kenny smiled. "I like to think that from the darkness, there's always that little light, that ray of hope, for people to believe in. The dawn is that light, it comes out of the darkness and brings light to people." Kenny's eyes looked out at Lake Verity, lost in deep thought. Dawn had never thought of the sunrise that way before.
"Is that what we're here for? Are we seeing the dawn?" she asked. Kenny nodded slowly, his eyes still cast over at Lake Verity, still lost in his thoughts. A comfortable silence fell between them.
"You're going to go in a few months…" Dawn started quietly. She could feel her heart sinking dreadfully slow.
"I know."
"I'm going to miss you."
"I know."
Kenny grasped Dawn's hand. It was warm. When his hand left, Dawn felt a jolt of disappointment. Replaced in her palm instead was a forget-me-not flower. A beautiful shade of midnight blue.
"I'll come back for your tenth birthday. I gotta give you your tenth birthday flower you know. And maybe we can travel together too!"
Dawn's heart lifted back up, a tingly feeling crossing it. "Thank you." Kenny smiled. Dawn was going to miss that smile.
Beyond the trees, the sun rose. First, a light, then a whole flash of white burst out into the sky. The darkness turned into pale purples, whites, and blues. It was like Lake Verity was finally waking up from a long, deep sleep. A tingly sensation surged through their bodies, and their hearts soared.
As the two watched the sky being washed with light, Kenny turned his head to Dawn. "Promise to always remember me, okay?"
"I promise."
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Forget-me-not
True love, memories
"Remember me forever."
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For those next six months Kenny was still in Twinleaf Town, Dawn and Kenny watched the dawn together every morning. Kenny would climb up the ladder at about four in the morning, knock on Dawn's window, and off they go to Lake Verity. He could've just knocked on the door with Dawn waiting at the living room, but what was the fun of that? He was going to do it Kenny style. The traditional way.
Every moment the two of them shared together, they treasured and cherished. Whether it was with Kenny calling Dawn 'DeeDee' to annoy her until she wanted to just scream and have a Pachirisu shock him, or when they were giving each other a loving hug. As long as they were together, they didn't need anything else.
When Kenny set out on his journey on his tenth birthday, Dawn hugged him for the longest time, reluctant to let him go. When the others weren't watching, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then another long hug. And then he was gone.
They had agreed and promised to meet at Lake Verity to watch the dawn together on Dawn's tenth birthday. She found herself wanting time to skip forward so it would just hurry up and arrive already. Every day felt so very lonely and empty without Kenny to be there with her. Much to Dawn's surprise, she even stared to miss him calling her 'DeeDee.' It was a good thing Dawn had Keira and Johanna and her Piplup plush to be with her everyday, or else she wouldn't know just what to do.
And for the remainder of those six months before her tenth birthday, she watched the dawn alone, though it wasn't even near close to the way it made her feel when Kenny watched it together with her.
As for Kenny, he thought of Dawn every night. (Not that he didn't before, of course.) He woke up the same time as when he met up with Dawn to watch the sunrise. He watched it and thought of her every second, before setting off with his partner Prinplup to the next contest. Kenny would talk with Prinplup all the time, usually telling him about Dawn and the flowers.
Prinplup knew that his friend loved this girl named Dawn. Kenny's eyes always softened when he talked about her, his smile would grow larger, and his voice became full of happiness. He was informed of Kenny's plan when he got back to Twinleaf Town. He couldn't wait to meet Dawn, and more importantly, for Kenny to tell her. Of course, that didn't stop Prinplup from constantly teasing Kenny about Dawn and chuckling from the various blushes he received in return.
Kenny just could not get Dawn out of his mind. Her face, her voice, still lingering in his heart. He wanted to see her. No, not only that. He wanted to hug her and be with her. And love her.
Dawn sighed. Her birthday was today, but what was the point? It wasn't the same. Kenny wasn't here with her. And that made all the difference. Dawn wasn't the type to give up or lose hope. She always looked at the best in everything and kept her head held high. But she was worried. She was worried that perhaps he wouldn't make it in time. She had doubts at first that Kenny would forget and not even remember to come at all. And then she realized what a fool she was for thinking such a thing. She had faith in Kenny, she believed in him. She knew with all her heart he would keep their promise.
Dawn stayed awake in bed, staring out at the clear, night sky. Every once in a while, she would hear Johanna's voice downstairs, and another voice as well, but quieter. Mom must be talking to Keira, preparing for the party. The house fell completely silent at three o' clock, and Dawn assumed her mother had finally fallen asleep. When it was four an hour later, Dawn changed out of her light pink silk pajamas and stepped out of her room.
Johanna was still awake downstairs, sitting down on the couch looking at pictures of her and Kenny in a photo album. When she looked up to see Dawn, Johanna smiled and closed the album gently. She told her daughter to bring the light green flower book along with her before setting out, directing Dawn to look at the last page when she arrived at Lake Verity.
After Dawn left the house, Johanna giggled delightedly and opened the photo album again, gazing at a picture of Dawn and Kenny sitting together at Lake Verity, watching the sunrise. (Johanna and Keira had one day followed them to take some pictures unknowingly to the two.) It was angled so that their faces were shown, bathed in the dawn's light, the two of them side by side smiling. Kenny should be there by now, she mused. It was so nice to see Kenny again. He hasn't changed a bit. She then walked out of the house to Keira's to talk and giggle over about what would happen soon. She loved her daughter so very much, and was glad that Dawn and Kenny had each other.
Dawn huddled her knees against her chin as she gazed at the calming crystal waters of Lake Veirty. The darkness was completely black, and she was lonely. Did you know it's always darkest before dawn? Kenny's voice echoed.
The 10 year-old sat in the same place she did the first time she was there with Kenny to see the sunrise. The air today felt the most enchanting and magical, just like that day. Dawn felt a pang of sadness cross her heart. She missed him so terribly.
Her hands stroked the velvety green cover for several moments before she flipped the book open to the last page. She was a bit anxious and in a daze, so she didn't really expect anything important there. She thought that perhaps her mom just had added something to it, maybe decorations.
Unexpectedly, there was something there. Something much more than just decorations. It was the tenth flower. A heavenly blue morning glory pressed onto the tan-colored page, glowing with a gentle light in the midst of the darkness.
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Morning Glory
Affection, gratitude, love in vain
"I love you."
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"Love…" Dawn whispered.
"Did you know that the morning glory blooms in the morning, then dies by the afternoon? Then more bloom again the next morning." The sapphire-eyed girl snapped her head around and felt her heart beat abnormally. Kenny gazed into the ocean-blue orbs he missed so much. He wanted to go over to the girl he loved and hug her kiss her. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to love her and be with her forever.
He always thought she was more beautiful than any flower. Always knew she meant more to him than anything.
"I chose that flower for a lot of reasons you know," he said quietly. Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but Kenny took hold of her hand, silencing her. She gazed into his eyes, the intensity and love swirling in them making her mind feel light and misty. She squeezed his hand tightly, not wanting to speak. Not being able to.
"I chose it because they were the same pretty color as your eyes.
"I chose it because I really missed you.
"I chose it because I'm glad you're here with me.
"I chose it because you're my dawn of light every moment.
"I chose it because I don't know if my love for you is returned, but as long are you're here in my life, it doesn't matter.
"And even though morning glories die quickly and bloom anew, you're always going to be in my heart. You're always going to be here with me, no matter what. So you'll never ever die, because I'll always be with you, and you'll always be with me.
"And…" Kenny stopped, and pulled Dawn into the warm embrace they both were longing for. "I chose it because I love you."
And then he kissed her. He kissed her with all his heart, and all the love he had. And as a small light began to engulf them, he felt Dawn kiss back too. He could smell the flowery fragrance mixed with a hint of blue violets from her hair, taste the scent of the dawn's fresh air from her soft lips.
And when they pulled away, Kenny hugged her again, never wanting to let her go. She hugged him back, tears of life gathering at the corner of her eyes, a joyous smile upon her loving face.
Dawn whispered, "I love you, too." The dawn arose.
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Morning glories bloomed.
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This was the corniest, cheesiest, and fluffiest thing I have ever written. And it took a very long time too (on my standards), lots of editing and changing around… XD But I had lots of fun writing it, and I'm glad I did write it. And I actually was going to upload this as soon as possible, but I decided to wait until Kenny Day. Cause well, that makes sense since this is a Penguinshipping fic.
And so I dedicate this oneshot to Wen, one of my bestest friends!
I wanted to use moonflower in the story too, but I couldn't find the meaning for moonflowers. Oh wells... we've got our morning glories! Morning glories are so wonderful.
I hope that everyone who has read this story liked and/or loved it, and enjoyed it to the fullest. And I hope with all my heart that you'll review and send your love to Dawn and Kenny. 8)
And Wen, I hope you're happy, cause I've read over this thing like ten times! XD
Happy Kenny Day! 8D
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