This...this is so, so heart-wrenchingly sad. Each time I read it, I can feel its mood again as if it were the first time. It always makes me scared for her, because she just can't understand what's happening and doesn't know she's never going to journey like she wants to. The scene in the hospital when she tells Green she forgives him if he gives her first choice tomorrow in particular emphasizes this for me because she doesn't know what he's apologizing for, and makes such a tragic joke out of it... Also, his panic in Viridian City really shows that he knows Leaf can't ever leave Pallet; she's spent her childhood in Pallet waiting, and now she's stuck in the day before, really, her life would begin. The scenes with Professor Oak, Daisy, and the nurses--who don't really know how to treat her--I think kind of give the point of view of an "outsider"; they put her into context with the rest of the world, as do Green and Red growing up while she doesn't. The scene where with her line about that pretty girl in the mirror was really striking to me, because she really doesn't know who that girl is. The only thing that bothered me about this wonderful piece was her mother's absence; I think that maybe a scene showing her relationship with her mom would be important as well, since her mother lives with her daughter who can't move on... I'll end with that haunting sentence: Leaf is leaving Pallet Town tomorrow. It is used perfectly, leading into the following scene and connecting beautifully. But more than that, its absence from the start of the last scene and using it as the final sentence...it conveys to me the helplessness and hopelessness of the situation, as if this "beginning" sentence has become the beginning of the end. The addition of "after all" gives it the conclusion-feel that leaves the reader somber, and heartbroken on her behalf.
I didn't mean to leave such a long-winded review, but... Well, there you have it. Thank you so much for writing this; it has given me an entirely new view on Leaf to hold on to and to ponder. I love it so much for its tragedy!
Soft Reset
The scenes with Professor Oak, Daisy, and the nurses--who don't really know how to treat her--I think kind of give the point of view of an "outsider"; they put her into context with the rest of the world, as do Green and Red growing up while she doesn't. The scene where with her line about that pretty girl in the mirror was really striking to me, because she really doesn't know who that girl is.
The only thing that bothered me about this wonderful piece was her mother's absence; I think that maybe a scene showing her relationship with her mom would be important as well, since her mother lives with her daughter who can't move on...
I'll end with that haunting sentence: Leaf is leaving Pallet Town tomorrow. It is used perfectly, leading into the following scene and connecting beautifully. But more than that, its absence from the start of the last scene and using it as the final sentence...it conveys to me the helplessness and hopelessness of the situation, as if this "beginning" sentence has become the beginning of the end. The addition of "after all" gives it the conclusion-feel that leaves the reader somber, and heartbroken on her behalf.
I didn't mean to leave such a long-winded review, but... Well, there you have it. Thank you so much for writing this; it has given me an entirely new view on Leaf to hold on to and to ponder. I love it so much for its tragedy!