“Actually, I have to go to buy something at the city and I thought… would you like to come with me? If you don’t have anything else to do, of course”, proposed Lillie naturally.

“Oh! Well, I… sure, that sounds good”, answered Selene with a mix of pleasure and surprise.

Both girls began walking through the dirt road that led to the city. The sun was still high, being quite a hot day, but it was a nice weather to spend the day outside. The shade of the trees were helpful at refreshing, a gently wind blowing from inside the forest, calming down the heat. Nobody said anything for a few meters, and that made Selene worry. However, no matter how much she wanted to begin a conversation, every time she looked at Lillie, the word “princess” came back to her mind and she got nervous again. Of course she bought Lana’s joke! Lillie was cute and elegant. She really seemed to have the delicate aura of a princess. Selene contemplated her long mane and her beautiful eyes, then noticing her hands and her… fidgeting fingers? Taking a closer look, the girl saw how Lillie’s mouth was trembling a bit. That’s when she realized that Lillie was nervous as well. Selene wanted to say anything to calm her down, but then, Lillie noticed that her friend was looking at her, making both of them nervous.

“Sorry! Is there any problem?”, asked Lillie. “I’m sorry for not talking…”

“No, please! It’s my fault! Just… Lana told me before that you were a princess and... I got nervous”, explained Selene feeling ashamed and placing her hand on her forehead. However, Lillie giggled.

“That’s Lana for you! She’s quite a joker, you’ll get used to that”, explained Lillie. “But I can’t blame you, you saw the limo before. I’m not a princess, but my mother is the CEO of the Aether Foundation. It’s an organization that helps Pokémon that can no longer live in the wild. I won’t deny my family is rich, although that’s not something I care about.”

“That makes sense”, thought Selene for herself. During that day, she felt Lillie was just one more kid in the class and everybody treated her like an equal. She felt relieved, having no reasons to be nervous around her. Then, she remembered something Lana said during that day, making her ask Lillie:

“So… what Lana said about you not touching Pokémon, that was a joke as well?”, asked Selene casually, but seeing Lillie’s sad reaction, she understood her wrongdoing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry. It’s true that I can’t touch Pokémon”, answered Lillie with a sad tone. “I like Pokémon, just… I get scared when one is too close and I can’t touch them.”

Seeing that it was a hard topic, Selene decided not to ask anymore. She couldn’t blame her friend, she also found it difficult at first to talk about her amnesia. Instead, she smiled and exclaimed:

“It’s okay! Let’s not get down! We’re gonna have fun buying… whatever you needed to buy!”

Realizing her own awkwardness, Selene blushed and hid her face with her hands. However, she heard a laugh, and through the gaps of her fingers, she saw Lillie laughing happily. That laugh was so beautiful that made Selene laugh as well, feeling all her nervousness fly away. Laughing together, the two girls kept walking up to downtown. After strolling through some streets, they arrived to a stationery shop, since Lillie wanted to buy a new pencil case. They spent a while in the store, comparing different designs and trying to find one that fitted Lillie’s style. It was a hard choice with so many options, but they finally found one, a white long case with a snowflake icon on it. Lillie payed for it and both girls sat down on a bench outside the store, waiting for the limo to appear. The sun was beginning to set down, turning the sky slightly orange. They were in silence, but it was a comfortable one, they knew they were happy that way. Still, Selene began the conversation again by saying:

“Thank you for bringing me here. I had fun today at the school with you all, but this was fun as well!”

“Oh, you’re welcome!”, exclaimed Lillie. “I just thought we could spend some time together.”

“Why?”, asked Selene, confused at Lillie’s words. “Why did you invite me? I don’t mean anything weird, just that we just met and…”

Contrary to Selene’s expectations, Lillie giggled, knowing her friend didn’t mean anything strange.

“Well, somehow, you reminded me of my first day at the school”, explained Lillie as her eyelids dropped. “I was nervous, but everybody was nice to me and I wanted to do the same for someone new. Also… I know it’s not the same, your situation is much worse, but I feel we are not that different.”

With those last words, the blonde girl’s expression turned sadder. Selene stared at Lillie with confusion and awe. She couldn’t understand what her friend was trying to say, and still, her eyes reflected all her honesty and sadness. She knew Lillie wouldn’t lie about something like this. Selene didn’t say anything, just kept looking at Lillie and placed her hand on Lillie’s, in an attempt to tell Lillie she was ready to listen. Noticing her friend’s hand, Lillie blushed a bit and smiled gently.

“I told you before I can’t touch Pokémon, but there was a time I could do it, when I was a child. I remember playing with lots of Pokémon and having fun together. I was so happy”, said Lillie.

“That sounds great”, said Selene.

“Yes, it was”, answered back Lillie. “But one day, I just couldn’t… and I can’t remember why. I’m confident something must have happened, but that memory is just gone. I know it’s not the same as losing all your memories, but I know what I feel about mine: frustration and confusion. “

When she heard her new friend’s words, Selene opened her eyes widely.

“Frustration and… confusion”, repeated Selene with a low voice, feeling her heart beating slightly faster.

“That’s right. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder what happened, and not getting any answer is hard. It must be even harder for you”, said Lillie. However, the girl felt her friend’s problem was much bigger and got nervous. “I… I don’t mean to downplay your problem, just… I don’t know, I guess I’m trying to say… I’m here for you! Me and everybody else. If you ever need to talk about this with anybody, I’m here.”

It was hard for Lillie to find the words to express her feelings. She wanted to cheer up her new friend, that she wouldn’t feel lonely because of her problem. What she didn’t expect was seeing Selene’s face covered with a flow of tears going down her cheeks. Lillie got nervous, believing she said something wrong, until Selene surrounded her with her arms, unable to say anything, short sobs coming out from her mouth. But deep inside, she was happy. Happy for meeting kids that were so nice, but especially, for meeting someone that could understand her, even if it was just a little. Lillie hugged her back and smiled. They didn’t need any words: they could feel each other’s gratitude and happiness.

A few minutes later, the limo appeared in front of them. Lillie was getting ready to ride on it, but Selene didn’t want her to leave just like that, so she interrupted her.

“Lillie!”, exclaimed Selene, making Lillie turn around. Selene was still nervous and fidgeting, but after a few seconds, she smiled and said: “See you tomorrow at school!”

Lillie smiled back at her, and with gentle eyes, she said: “See you tomorrow”, before riding on the limo and leaving down the street. Selene found herself alone in the city, but somehow, she didn’t feel lonely. That day was full of emotions, but she felt happy for meeting such interesting kids. Smiling, she turned around and began walking back to Professor Kukui’s house, thinking out loud:

“Today was fun… I wonder what we’ll do tomorrow at class.”