Prompt: "The flute-playing girl in Anville Town is a ghost. People can hear her music when they stand near her, but she's invisible to them, and it's just one of those spooky things. Until one day a girl visits who can see her.
I'd prefer Hilda or Bianca, but any girl is awesome. Something sad and sweet, please?"
Pairing: Hilda/Flute girl
URL: thread=5704204#t5704204
A/N: Of all the fills I've ever written for the kink meme, this one is the most important to me. I made a real effort to make this everything the requester wanted, and along the way I ended up investing myself in this story much more than I'd thought possible. My hope is that you find similar emotion in reading it.
The wind ghosted softly over the cobblestone bridge, caressing the face of a young girl who stood there, her eyes distant as she gazed down on the train that sat below the stone path. Her eyelids drifting shut as if she were falling asleep, the girl slowly brought the flute she held to her lips and began to play.
On weekends, many visitors arrived at Anville Town aboard a different, bigger train, and on all other days the few village residents strolled by, but no one noticed the girl. Sometimes their gazes seemed to slide right through her, and she never tried to catch their attention besides. One thing they did notice, though, was the music. Melodies, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, all clearly audible with echoes as if they came from far away; melodies that no one heard if they were listening for them. The adults told stories about the sound, the children snuck around the bridge as if they could find the source of the haunting notes by stealth, and the moment one would tell their companion, "Listen! Do you hear that?" the music would fade away.
Seasons came and went, and still the girl stood atop the bridge, playing her song. For all the crowds' roaming eyes and the patient stares of the villagers who went to the bridge every day, no one ever saw her. Her laughter was lost in the wind, and her tears made no mark on the stone underfoot.
She was so lonely.
o – o – o
Hilda stepped from the train car and breathed in deeply, tasting the clean country air. On the other trains she'd found battle and excitement, but this one had taken her somewhere quite different. Looking around at the quiet blanket of trees that cradled Anville Town, she did not regret her decision to step onboard the train.
"You look tired." She turned to see a man standing on the platform nearby. "Hitting the Battle Subway?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"This town gets a lot of Trainers who've had enough battling and just need to relax," said the gentleman. "This is a quiet place, although it does get pretty lively on weekends."
In truth, when Hilda had stumbled upon the platform for the Anivlle Town train, weary from her subway challenge, she had never even heard of the small enclave. But something had drawn her to board the train and it seemed there couldn't have been a better destination. "Do you live here?" she asked the man.
"Me?" He shook his head. "I come to look at the trains." Pointing to a stairway that bordered the platform a distance away, he went on. "There's a great view from that bridge, plus it leads to the town proper."
Hilda thanked the man and set off in the direction he indicated. The breeze picked up as she went, but as she neared the carved steps, the winds weren't the only thing she heard. The sound was indistinct at first, and she strained her ears trying to hear it. On her way up the stairs it grew clearer, louder, and finally she recognized it as music. A gentle, soothing lullaby floated through the air, light as air and obviously played on a flute. So engrossed was Hilda in the song that she almost bumped into an elderly woman at the top of the stairway.
"Oops!" She dodged her way around at the last second. "Sorry about that!"
"Never mind, dear," said the woman. "You're a Trainer, aren't you?"
For the second time Hilda gave the affirmative.
"Yes, I thought so. You look like a very strong Trainer." She peered at Hilda through her glasses. "You in fact look preoccupied; am I sidetracking you from something?"
"No," said Hilda, still admittedly a little distracted. "I just heard this music, and..."
"Flute music?"
"Do you know where it's coming from?"
"No one does, child. I heard it myself on the way here, but of course the moment I tried to listen for it, it was gone." The lady began making her way down the stairs.
"What do you mean?" Hilda furrowed her brow, trying herself to catch the elusive melody, which she'd lost hold of with her near-collision. Right away she heard it again, as if the sound had been waiting for her to look for it. "Don't you hear that?"
The woman shrugged. "My hearing isn't what it used to be, you know..."
Hilda turned to walk down the bridge, but her stride ended abruptly as she saw a girl standing several meters away, playing the flute. "Well, there you go," she muttered good-naturedly to no one. "I guess your eyesight's not so hot, either."
The girl's eyes were closed, and she swayed slowly in time with the music, her long brown hair drifting side to side. She wore a plain green dress with trim, and a bow of the same color topped her head. Hilda walked up to her, and when the girl didn't acknowledge her presence, she leaned against the railing beside her, allowed herself to relax, and just listened.
Everything seemed to become hushed for the minutes she rested there, allowing the sweet music to lull her. It had been a long day filled with endless battles, and she felt as though this was what had drawn her here, this gentle lullaby that took her exhaustion away. She stayed that way, for how long she didn't know, until the girl stopped playing.
Hilda clapped politely as she lowered her flute, but still the girl didn't open her eyes. So Hilda said, "Hey." A pause. "I didn't want to interrupt you. That was really pretty!"
The wind filled the silence.
"Hello, Earth to flute girl," said Hilda in her best mission control voice. "C'mon, I want to talk to you!"
She hadn't really been listening, although she'd heard the other girl's voice. It had been distant and out of reach as usual, but suddenly the words she heard were unusually clear, and she was very confused as she cracked open an eyelid.
She opened her eyes to find a teenage girl in a white-and-pink cap smiling at her. Hilda chuckled as a pair of bright olive irises came into view. The girl looked at her uncertainly, turning her head to try and see what the newcomer could be looking at. Is she looking at...me?
"Hi," said Hilda directly to her, and she gasped, clutching her flute reflexively. Immediately the Trainer's look switched to one of concern. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. You must have been dozing off..."
It was impossible. Impossible. She stared at the Trainer like she was the specter, the apparition... And she must have looked very frightened, because Hilda held her palms up, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not going to bother you any more. I'll leave you alone—"
"No!" she shouted, startling Hilda. No, you can't leave! Whatever this was, she couldn't let it slip away. But shouting at the stranger probably wasn't going to help. "I mean, please, stay."
Hilda regarded her silently for a moment. "Okay."
"I'm sorry about that," she said, fighting to keep her voice steady.
"That's okay," said Hilda. "What's your name?"
She didn't know what to say.
"You don't have to tell me." Hilda nodded as if to herself. "My name's Hilda. I'm from Nuvema Town, way south of here." She seemed to consider asking where are you from, but thought better of it.
"I—live here," blurted the girl. "But I don't have any friends. Will you be my friend?" It sounded childish but she didn't care.
"Sure." Hilda smiled at her again, and she felt her heart flutter; the girl—no, Hilda was looking at her. "I really, really like your flute playing. That song was beautiful."
She felt heat rising in her cheeks. "It's a lullaby," she murmured. "For the trains."
"It's lovely." Hilda stretched out a hand toward the flute. "May I?"
The girl recoiled, drawing her hand in close and taking a half step away from Hilda. Instantly she saw Hilda again look sorry, and she felt horrible for making the girl so apologetic for things that were obviously her fault. "I'm sorry," she said again to Hilda. "It's not that I don't want you to touch it, I...I just..."
"Don't worry about it," said Hilda, but she looked dismayed that the other girl seemed to shy away from her. "Listen, I've had a long day, and I think I'm going to catch the train back now. It's been nice talking to you."
"Wait!" the girl cried. "Will you come and see me tomorrow?"
Hilda blinked once, surprised. Then she said, "I'd love to."
o – o – o
The train took a jarring bump and Hilda was jolted from her sleep. Outside the window she saw untouched countryside and unfiltered sunlight, so different from the noisy vistas of Nimbasa City the train passed at the other end of its route. An announcement began: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now arriving at Anville Station. Passengers connecting to train number 27 may remain onboard; everyone else, please disembark and enjoy your day. Thank you for riding the Battle Subway aboveground rail line..."
Hilda smiled as the first signs of the station began to hurry past her window. Allowing the one other passenger to proceed first, she stood, slung her bag over her shoulder, and made her way to the front of the car. After so many rides on the Battle Subway, remaining upright in moving trains had become a specialty, and she didn't so much as stumble as the brakes did their job. Then she was down the steps and into the sunshine.
. . .
She had been waiting at the stairway since the morning light, long before the engine's lamp winked out from the distance. She watched as Hilda stepped onto the platform, but the moment the Trainer looked her way, she ducked her head back and moved further down the bridge. They'd just met. There was no reason for her to be waiting for Hilda. And whatever she did, she could not have any outbursts like last time.
She never really slept and she couldn't dream, but she was so scared this wasn't real.
Hilda came up the stairs humming a tune hardly a note off from the song she'd heard the night before, and walked over. "Hi."
"Hello." She fingered her instrument. "How are you?"
"Pretty good!" replied Hilda. "Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to skip out on you, I was just tired and I made myself think it was later than it really was. I'll make it up to you today, I promise!"
"That's okay, Hilda." Oh, saying that name felt wonderful. If only she—if she could just... "Was you trip here all right?"
"Yeah, didn't seem too long."
"How far is it to Nuvema Town?"
"What? No, I didn't take the train from there!" said Hilda, laughing. "I took it from Gear Station in Nimbasa City."
"Oh." She looked down at the large turntable below the bridge. "I thought this town's trains went all over Unova."
"They probably do. But Nimbasa's a lot closer to here, so I go from there. Nuvema..." She shook her head. "That would be way too long."
I see. Aloud, she said, "What's it like there?"
"Small," Hilda said honestly. "It's not really out of the way like here, though; there are a few bigger towns nearby. But it's in this huge forest, so not a lot of people go there... When I was a kid all I could think about was going to see a big city. It wasn't like I didn't love Nuvema—I did. I just always wanted to go places, see the world... And that's one reason I became a Trainer, I guess." She looked sheepishly at the other girl. "I'm kinda talking a lot, huh?"
"Don't stop," she heard herself saying, almost protestingly. "Please." Hilda looked questioningly at her, and she fought off a wince. This was a normal conversation. Normal. Right. "Where did you want to go?"
"Hmm." Hilda paused. "I don't know if back then I really knew. But when I started my...you know...'journey,' I wanted to go to Black City the most."
"Did you?" She looked at the other girl's steel-and-sapphire eyes, which were lost in the sky just as her mind was lost in memory. Those eyes were so bright.
"Not yet, no," the Trainer sighed, looking wistfully at the horizon as if she could see the city there. "But I'll make it there someday. I know I will."
So she wants to live in a big city. "Where else have you gone?"
"Oh, all over... But what about you?"
"Haah?" She looked up, surprised. "Me?"
"Yes, you. What do you like? What do you want to do in life? I mean, not if you don't want to tell me."
"I like..." She hesitated. "I like playing the flute."
Hilda nodded. "Were you playing earlier?"
"Oh... No." No, she had been waiting for the train to come.
"Do you take lessons or practice, or do you just play for fun?"
"I just play." She couldn't meet Hilda's gaze as she said that.
"You're really good at it." Hilda laughed as she thought of something. "My friend Cheren plays the piano, and a long time ago he tried to teach me how, and I was horrible at it. Bianca, my best friend, kept trying to make me feel better about it, but when I tried to play something with both hands, she had to cover her ears!" She shook her head, chuckling. "You've definitely got the talent I don't, though."
Of course she has a lot of friends. How could someone like her not? The girl shifted her weight. She was about to ask something else, but Hilda spoke up first. "Will you play something for me?"
That caught her off guard. Hilda wanted to hear her play? Obviously that was how she noticed her in the first place, but she hadn't known then that anyone was listening, could see and hear her... But she decided it didn't matter. She smiled at Hilda, a real, genuine smile, and nodded. Raising the silver instrument, she drew in a breath.
The melody that filled the air was soft and fell with the gentlest touch upon the ears, but it was happy. The music was as lively as the butterflies in her stomach—nervousness, really, but her mind couldn't have cared less what her body was feeling. It started sweetly, with just one bright crest, then stepped lightly back to a soothing flow before growing and warming, until in an instant the notes leapt joyfully skyward.
Hilda was enthralled. The swinging rhythm wasn't so different from the lullaby's, but the melody turned the song from a sleepy serenade into a clear, happy call. It was like the notes were sunbeams, or made you the sunbeams, or something. All she knew was that it felt like flying.
With the last echoes of the song still resonating on the metal tracks below, Hilda couldn't keep a wide grin off her face. "That was great! Thanks so much."
She didn't blush this time (or at least she hoped so). "Thank you."
There was a pause. "I don't mean to be rude," said Hilda carefully, "but why wouldn't you let me hold the flute last night?" She held up her hands. "And, one hundred percent, if you don't want to answer that, you don't have to. Heck, just say that's always the case."
"It's not that I didn't want you to...or don't want you to." She shifted uneasily where she stood again, her somewhat old-fashioned dress rustling. "You just can't hold it."'
"Can't?" repeated Hilda. "What do you mean?"
She didn't know how to answer, so she turned and looked out over the railing. The sun had passed the midpoint of its arc and was on its way down to the tips of the trees that would cloak its last dip below the horizon line. It was still several hours away, but to her that meant night, and that meant Hilda would leave. And...
"Hey?" That was Hilda, catching her attention. She turned, and her breath caught in her chest. The Trainer was holding her flute, actually holding it, in the palms of her hands, and was looking at her strangely. "I'm holding it."
She hadn't felt Hilda take it—she couldn't feel anything. Slowly, she extended a trembling hand and grasped the end of the flute, where Hilda's hands weren't. She could touch it. And so could Hilda. Her eyes sought the other girl's, as if she might find an answer there, but all there was was that smile.
"I don't know what I was saying." She took the flute back, shivering as she felt its resistance against Hilda's hands. Silence fell between them, and eventually Hilda turned to look out from the bridge just as she had done. Possessed by a sudden urge, she stretched out her fingertips toward Hilda's shoulder...and saw her hand slip right through. Of course. Hilda hadn't noticed, and it was up to her to break the silence. "Will you tell me more about your journey?"
"Sure." It was clear Hilda was letting the previous topic go. "I kept running into this group called Team Plasma." She shook her head disgustedly. "They were just a bunch of thugs pretending to have some big ideal they believed in. Sometimes they made these speeches where they told people to release their Pokémon for some silly reason, and at least that made it seem like they were just spreading their ideas, but they stole Pokémon, too."
She was amazed at the change that had come over Hilda. She looked fiery, fierce, and her eyes were so sharp they hurt. The Trainer went on. "Yeah, even from little kids, and people who were old or sick or hurt and couldn't do anything about it. In Castelia City, they took my friend Bianca's Munna. When that happened, I was so angry... I swore I'd stop them. And I guess I did." She sighed. "It was amazing, though, because the Gym Leaders in all the cities helped me out so much. It was just like a dream you'd have as a kid, right? Battling alongside the Gym Leaders."
A thought occurred to her as Hilda said that, and it surprised her to realize it might be true. "Hilda, are you...the League Champion?"
"No." Hilda laughed briefly at her own response, the other girl joining in. "I think my Pokémon are ready for the League, but I'm just not sure I am. That's why I've been riding the Battle Subway so much, to try and prepare myself."
"I think you're ready." She was being truthful. She couldn't imagine anything Hilda wasn'tready for... Well, maybe one thing. And that reminded her to take just a small step away.
Hilda noticed, and she saw Hilda notice, but the Trainer didn't say anything. "Thanks. Once I'm sure my Pokémon won't be harmed because of me, I'll take my shot. It—"
She was interrupted by the whistle of the train at the platform. A man at the door of one of the cars yelled "All aboard! Last train departing Anville Town today!"
"Last train?" yelped Hilda, looking at the clock on her C-Gear. "Now?" She turned, poised to sprint for the stairs, but stopped herself and again faced the girl. "Hold on... Can I just stay at your place? Sorry to ask if it's a bother."
She couldn't say yes. There was nowhere Hilda could stay; at least, there was nowhere they could both stay. She couldn't say yes. If she said no, Hilda would leave, but she couldn't say yes. She said, "Yes."
"Great!" Hilda tipped her hat to the train as it pulled away from the station. "I just didn't want to cut this short, you know, again."
Stupid, stupid, stupid.But there was no turning back now. Determined not to think about what would happen when night fell, she said, "Do you want to walk in the forest? There are some Pokémon in there." Silly, thinking it would be an attraction just because Hilda's a Trainer.
"Anything you want to do is fine with me," replied Hilda. "Lead the way!"
. . .
The sun was barely nearing the tops of the evergreens as they passed through the forest, the girl in the lead, Hilda following. She glanced back every so often to assure herself the Trainer was still there, as though she might vanish at any moment...
"So," said Hilda, taking a few longer strides to walk beside her. "Do you have any Pokémon?"
"No." How many times had she said that? She must seem so boring. "Sometimes I play with the ones I meet in this forest, if they're friendly." A lie, obviously, but it was true once.
Hilda nodded. "Yeah, I get that. When you don't move around a lot, there's really no need to capture Pokémon... Even people in cities will only catch Pokémon they've befriended in case they need to be recalled to a Poké Ball for some reason."
"Do you catch Pokémon for battling?" she asked.
"Sometimes. I thought that was how it was gonna be, but along the way I would see some Pokémon that I just really wanted to catch because they were interesting, or for the challenge. But except for the ones I have with me, I let all of my Pokémon out free in a couple different places. Most of them stick around..." She laughed. "Almost all of them. I have this Krookodile, I call him Krooks, and he..."
She loved listening to Hilda. She was so open, so completely honest and heartfelt about everything. The Trainer hid nothing at all, and the stories of her mischievous Krookodile, her shy Lilligant, made her feel as if they were connected... Even if it was a painfully one-sided connection. As they walked, Hilda rattled off a veritable laundry list of the charmingly (and not so charmingly) unique Pokémon she'd met on her travels, some that were hers, some that belonged to others, and some that were free in the wilds of Unova.
"...and that doesn't even include this one Pelipper that tried to eat my hat last week!" Hilda's eyes were lit by the prickly forest light as she rolled them exaggeratedly. "Well, some Pokémon are like that. It's fascinating to explore and find so many different kinds... After this long, I think I've seen it all! Or, at least, I better have." She glanced over at the girl. "Have you ever wanted to leave Anville Town?"
"Yes," she replied quietly. "I always hoped I'd get on a train one day..." So many trains from all over the region came through Anville Station, and she had watched them come and go day in and day out, wondering which would be the one to carry her away. Her father had always told her, One day, you'll go on the train. One day, you'll go anywhere."It wasn't about leaving this town, it was just about going somewhere...anywhere."
I want to go on a train, daddy.
Where do you want to go?
Anywhere.
"I know I was a little tired of my hometown," said Hilda. "But I totally understand." What she didn't say was, why stay here if you didn't have any friends?
Whatever she was about to say next was cut off by a low, threatening growl emanating from among the trees. Loping forward was a feral Pokémon with a shaggy black mane and sharp fangs jutting from its lips—a Mightyena. Hilda held up a hand, giving her a scare as she almost walked into it, and said "Don't move."
The wolf Pokémon sniffed the air and padded a few more steps in their direction before stopping. "Come on, come on..." murmured Hilda. "Just keep moving..." But the Mightyena only snarled and dropped into a half-crouch. The instant she saw its intent, Hilda moved fully in front of the other girl and drew a Poké Ball from her bag. She tossed it, and the device opened, releasing a Zebstrika amid the Ball's characteristic flash of light. The tall, equine Pokémon snorted and faced down the Mightyena.
Hilda noticed the girl was backing away from her, again, but with Zebstrika between them and the wolf, she decided not to worry. When the wild Mightyena didn't back down, she commanded, "Zebstrika, use Thunderbolt."
From the jagged crest on the Pokémon's head came a crackling bolt of electricity which jumped forward and struck the ground at the Mightyena's feet. It yipped and leapt away, but dashed forward the next moment and swiped at Zebstrika in retaliation. Zebstrika avoided its claws, its dodge bringing it close to the girl.
"No, Zebstrika, not there!" shouted Hilda, but it was too late. The Mightyena attacked a second time, and when Hilda's Pokémon moved aside again, it was the defenseless girl who was in its path.
At first she wasn't going to do anything, then she realized she was supposed to move. Suddenly she was panicked and for a split second she felt as thought the wolf really would harm her if she didn't move away, but her legs didn't do their job quite right. She toppled backwards with a cry, and the bow fell from her head as she landed. The Mightyena had its claws raised; she knew it couldn't hurt it her, but in spite or perhaps because of that fact, she flinched.
"Volt Tackle!" shouted Hilda, and the next thing she knew a blazing golden blur had rammed the wild Pokémon from the side and driven it away from her. The wounded Mightyena got to its feet with a whine and hurried off into the woods.
Hilda was at her side in an instant. "Are you okay? I'm so, so sorry."
"No," she said, doing her best not to appear to scramble away from Hilda's hand before getting to her feet. "No, it's not your fault."
"Yes, it is." Hilda patted Zebstrika briefly. "You did great, Zebstrika." She returned the Pokémon to his Ball. "He never does that, and I shouldn't have even let it attack. I guess I'm really not ready, after all."
"No," she repeated. "Hilda, you're an amazing Trainer. When you said to use Thunderbolt, your Pokémon knew exactly what you wanted him to do."
"Well—thanks." Hilda shrugged. "I'll find out before long." She noticed the bow on the ground by her feet, and bent down to retrieve it.
"Hilda!"
She paused in the act of reaching for it and looked up. "What?"
"Let me get it." She knelt even as Hilda straightened, and picked up the bow to retie it in her hair. She had held on to her flute during the fall.
"It's not even dirty," observed Hilda. "Is your dress...?"
As the Trainer craned her neck to try and see around to her other side, her hands flew to her lower back and she retreated a few steps, and this time it wasn't because she was worried about being touched. This was just too much. Did she really have to look...? "It's fine, thank you."
"Okay." Hilda expelled a held breath. "It figures we run into one of the unfriendly ones."
She had to say it. "Thank you for protecting me."
"What was I supposed to do, let it eat you? You don't have to thank me for that."
"Yes, I do."
They walked back the way they had come now, as the sun was now filtering through the darkened tree tops, and only silence filled the air.
After a while, Hilda said, "Tell me about the trains."
She was hesitant, but as soon as the first words tumbled from her lips she couldn't stop. "The subway goes across all of Unova, but it doesn't surface except in a few stations. The aboveground line, though, is a big loop with stops all over. The turntable at the bridge is a hub that can put trains on one of the many tracks." She looked at Hilda. "Do you know about the train that's there now?"
Hilda shook her head no.
"It's called the Single Train. It's the oldest running train in Unova, and the people of this town built it a long time ago."
"Wow, that's so cool!"
"It's just one car that's also its own engine, like a subway car, but it can make longer trips under its own power. The subway designs are actually based on it, making them more like aboveground trains than a normal subway..." She trailed off.
There was again a lull. "So, are we going to your place?" asked Hilda finally.
She didn't say anything for a while, and when she did her words were heavy. "Hilda, I really enjoyed being with you. Today was the best day I've had in a long time. I just want you to know how much I appreciate it... I think you're wonderful, and thank you so much for everything you've talked to me about."
"All right..." The Trainer scrutinized her, and she shuddered as if she were transparent to Hilda's gaze. "And?"
"You can't stay with me tonight," she said, her voice defeated. "I have nowhere for you to stay."
"But you said..."
"I know. I just didn't want you to leave. It was selfish and horrible of me to do that, and..."
"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it."
Okay? How could it be okay? "You can't stay with me, Hilda, because—"
"I said it's fine." Hilda looked her straight in the eyes. "I can Fly back to Nimbasa. Do you hear me? It's okay."
No one, no one was this nice. She was dreaming after all.
"I don't want to hear why I can't stay with you," Hilda said emphatically. "It doesn't matter. If you don't want me to, I won't."
Oh, Hilda. "Do you want to go back to the bridge?" she said, a little too abruptly. But Hilda nodded, and they continued on their way.
. . .
Only a soft yellow glow from the streetlamps lit the town as they arrived at the bridge. There they stood for a while, gazing down upon the empty and peaceful station.
Hilda wondered about the girl. Something didn't fit right; the Trainer felt worried about something, but she couldn't put her finger on what. "I'm glad you remembered the way back. You really know your way around the forest, huh?"
"Yes." She could have led Hilda out with her eyes closed.
"I guess you go there a lot then, right?" Hilda looked closely at her. "But that Mightyena was really dangerous. Do you really go out alone, without Pokémon?"
"I do." Those eyes, she could swear they saw right through her..
She could tell the girl was uncomfortable, but Hilda couldn't stop herself. "Well, I don't want you going out there by yourself. Not that far in, anyway." That was sounding silly; her giving orders to someone who'd probably been exploring the woods since she was a child. But she forged ahead. "Please. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Hilda..." Her heart ached. "Please, don't worry about me."
"What are you talking about?" said Hilda with a frown. "I'm allowed to worry about you. I do worry about you." She averted her eyes as she said that. "I mean, not that I don't think you can take care of yourself. I really don't mean it that way..."
"That's okay." She sighed inwardly. How sweet a feeling, to have someone who cared about you! "I'll only go when you come with me, okay?" She smiled a small smile. "I go a lot, so you'll have to come back often."
"Fair enough," laughed Hilda, still looking out west of the station. After a moment, she finally turned back to the girl and said, "I had a lot of fun today. Next time, you've got to show me all around the town."
"Next time? You mean..."
"No, no, I mean tomorrow."
"Okay. Yes, I'd like that."
"Great!" Hilda drew another Poké Ball from her pack. "I'd better get going. So, good night, and see you tomorrow!"
"Good night." Those words reminded her of a time so long ago, when she had lain in a warm bed and her parents had tucked her in and said, good night...
o – o – o
Hilda had been worried she would be hurt.
One day she had stood atop the side of the bridge, closed her eyes, and let gravity pull her into the wind's waiting embrace.
Another she had sat on the tracks and waited until she heard the whistle, and once again dared hope the train would take her somewhere, anywhere.
Once she had slipped into somebody's home and tried again and again to lift a sharp kitchen knife, crying with frustration as both handle and blade slid through her but did not leave a mark.
Just as she landed from her fall with nothing but butterflies in her stomach. Just as she had watched the train continue on its way. Just as the Mightyena's claws would have caught nothing but air.
But Hilda was worried about her. Hilda would be angry if she knew she had jumped off the bridge. Hilda saw her...
And the flute. She couldn't imagine how it was possible, and she could not touch the Trainer herself, yet she had held the instrument. That scared her, too, and for an instant she had even wondered if Hilda was like her. But she had been talking to other people, and she rode the train, and she had Pokémon, and she was just too...alive.
The Trainer wouldn't come and visit her every day forever, she knew. Since Hilda would have to come all the way to Anville Town each time, and she would realize that her supposed friend never came to see her, and soon the visits would dwindle and eventually they would disappear. But until that day, she had to make the most out of every moment they spent together.
She would give Hilda the most perfect day she could give. She deserved it, with all her talent and her beauty and her kind yet fiery spirit.
Oh, Hilda. I think I'm falling in love with you.
. . .
The night wore on.
A silhouette against the starry sky, she lifted the flute and started to play. As the music rose up, her surroundings vanished,
. . .
Hilda awoke to the notes tiptoeing softly around her. She sat up with a start and peered into the darkness of the hotel room, but at first saw nothing.
No one was there. But the melody was, and she was there with it. Hilda saw her, her form slowly fading into visibility. Like a ghost.
With the song surrounding her in the pitch dark, Hilda experienced the oddest moment of sadness. Her first thought was to call out the girl's name, but she couldn't. She didn't know what name to call. Still the girl played on, and her music bundled Hilda in sound and warmed her bare arms.
Hilda thought if only she knew the girl's name, things would be all right. Those notes were comfort, reassurance, and even though a tiny part of her mind must have known she was dreaming, she felt as though she must reciprocate somehow.
For a moment she thought she should get out of bed and go to her, but then she remembered how the girl always backed away from her touch. Still, she longed to just reach out and brush the hem of that dress, for it looked deceptively close, to get her attention and say...something. Anything.
She didn't know what to do.
So she started humming along.
. . .
She heard it immediately. A second voice, a little throaty to the flute's airy sound, matching its notes in a lower register. Unison. Or was it harmony?
She opened her eyes, and instantly her playing stopped as she took in the dark room. How did I get here?Frightened, she looked side to side, her gaze frantic and unfixed until she saw the bed, and lying in it—
"Hilda?" she gasped, and as soon as she had said it, she stood on the bridge and stars winked at her from above once again.
. . .
Hilda rubbed the sleep from her eyes as sunlight struggled against the room's heavy curtains. It was morning.
o – o – o
Seen from above, the train was a steel arrow slicing through Unova's countryside, but looking out her window Hilda rather thought the landscape was obligingly allowing the transport to pass. The subway's aboveground trains had run long enough to become acquainted with the land, to the point where herds of not even the brightest Pokémon (Tauros came to mind) knew to expect a locomotive at certain times. The more she learned about the trains, the more she liked them, and her Pokémon—especially the current Flyer—seemed to share that sentiment.
The atmosphere was so different from the Battle Subway's. Hundreds of rides on the clattery underground cars, always starting and stopping, perpetually shaky and built of cold metal, had worn her down to exhaustion more than the battles had. She'd poured her soul into the challenge for weeks, but none of the victories she earned seemed good enough. It came down time and time again to a mistake that didn't affect the match's outcome, but that was enough to make her start again.
There was no doubt about it, Hilda loved battling. Every challenge on the subway was exhilarating, but afterwards she'd been allowing them to cause her too much stress. She needed to clear her head, and going to Anville Town had done that for her. If she hadn't boarded that train, it was starting to feel like she never would have made it to the League. Now she simply felt more relaxed.
And she had met the girl. Whom she was now apparently dreaming about.
She kept asking Hilda to come back, stay, talk with her, but she retreated from physical contact and didn't say anything about herself... What did that mean? Hilda wished she was better at this sort of thing. The more she thought, the less sense it made. Argh. I don't understand her.
She wanted to understand, but she didn't want to pressure the other girl with anything. Hilda thought if she ran her big mouth and asked any big personal questions, the girl would probably avoid her altogether, and she couldn't let that happen. It seemed best just to go forward as they had been, and hope someday she could hold the girl's hand without her pulling away...
This time she heard the music before the train had even reached Anville Station. The notes called to her across the distance, if that was possible, welcoming her back.
She found the girl waiting for her (it was just obvious) on the bridge, and she greeted her with a smile. After some light words were exchanged, she said, "I had a dream about you last night."
Her olive eyes widened. "You did?"
"Yeah." Hilda nodded. "You were there in my hotel room, playing your flute. I think I was saying something to you... You know how in dreams, it's sort of like you're watching yourself do things, even though you're you?"
"I guess so," she said quietly.
"I know, I'm not making sense," Hilda laughed. "But it was like that. I don't remember what we were talking about. Then all of a sudden you noticed something, or, I don't know, whatever, and then you disappeared." She shrugged. "Then I woke up."
Last night...? "I...had a dream about you, too."
Hilda's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
She nodded. "You were...humming."
"Humming?" The Trainer pursed her lips but didn't say anything further.
"In the dream, I didn't know where I was, then I heard you. And as soon as I saw you, I knew where I was. It was like I found my way back." The words rushed from her lips as though she couldn't hold them inside her any longer. "You were humming what I was playing, too. That helped." Her inner voice screamed, It wasn't a dream! But maybe it was.
"That's pretty neat," said Hilda slowly. "What are the odds, right...?" She appeared to shake herself. "So, aren't you gonna show me the town?"
Suddenly she was nervous. It had been a long time since she had gone into the town itself, and she wondered what memories might be lying in wait there. And besides, what if someone saw Hilda talking to thin air? If someone questioned the Trainer, she'd have to run, and leave Hilda behind to probably be called crazy... But there wouldn't be anyone out at this time of day, and she had to stop being like this. If she worried, then Hilda would worry about her. She had to keep her promise.
To Hilda she said, "There isn't all that much to see, but I hope we can find something interesting." Even if it's only another train, she thought. "Just let me know if you want to do something else, okay?"
"I'll leave it to you," said Hilda with a nod and a smile. "Shall we go?" She held out a hand.
No no no no. Fighting to keep her eyes off the Trainer's hand, she began, "Hil—" Her voice seemed to lose itself. Stop it. Please, stop. "Yes," she said mechanically. "Let's go." She turned, away from Hilda and her outstretched hand, away from her momentary crestfallen expression before she put up another smile, and it just hurt too much to look at her another second.
Hilda didn't let her put any distance between them. "So," she said as once again she moved to walk alongside her, "have people left here to become Trainers?"
"Not many," she replied. "Most people leave to get jobs in Castelia City, or somewhere else."
"You said trains here go all over Unova, right? So it's kind of a big jumping-off point."
"Yes, it is. And it means that on weekends, when it's very busy here, people from across the region come by train. There isn't a city on the continent that's not near a rail station."
"Nuvema Town isn't," said Hilda with a laugh. "The nearest one is near Accumula Town, I think."
It made sense, she supposed, since of all the railway maps she had pored over, none had shown Nuvema Town on them. Just another reminder of how completely disconnected she and Hilda were... "What are you going to do after you become the Champion? Do you think you'll keep traveling even after you get to Black City?"
"After?" repeated Hilda, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, more like if. And I don't know." She puffed out her cheeks and let the air escape. "My friends seemed to really know what they're going to do with their lives, you know? Bianca, she was nervous about it when we first left, but now she's figured out what she wants. I wish I could do that."
"I think you'll know after you've done it," she said. "Winning in the League, I mean. Once you get there, you'll see what to do next." And I know you'll get there.
"I hope so." Hilda smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for saying that. It means a lot to me, not feeling so alone this challenge thing."
Alone? "But—what about your friends?"
"Bianca went back to Nuvema," said Hilda. "And Cheren is away studying. We've kind of said our good-byes for now, since we're all supposed to have our own 'thing' that we're doing. The idea was once we were settled, or whatever, we'd start seeing each other like normal again. I don't know." She adjusted the brim of her hat. "I'm definitely talking too much again. The point is, I'm the only one who got sidetracked. Everyone else I met on my journey just had this clear idea of where they were headed, and, well... I ended up feeling a little lonely, I guess." A pause. "Only a little."
She'd slowly felt hope growing inside her, wonderful fluttery wings in her chest, but it fell just as quickly. Sidetracked, Hilda had said. She hadn't meant Anville Town, but in the end that's what it was. Still, if she could make Hilda feel less alone—in whatever twisted way that worked—that was all that mattered. "I know anyone you meet would want to be friends, Hilda," she said. "You can't be alone."
"Eheh, I'm not as charming as all that." Hilda shrugged. "Anyway, what makes you think you're not enough for me to feel...not alone?"
You have no idea. She didn't respond.
Five seconds later, she glanced up and saw Hilda was still looking at her. "You are," the Trainer said. "Okay?"
For once she felt warm enough inside to smile back. "Okay." They walked without speaking for a minute, then she said, "I don't want you to come here every day"—such a lie—"because you feel like you have to. As soon as you think you're ready for your challenge, you should do that." You aren't tied to anything here...not to me.
Hilda nodded slowly. "You're right. I think if I can just get there, things will work out."
It felt good to have that said. Above all, she didn't want Hilda to feel like she was stuck coming to Anville Town and couldn't pursue her dream. If that dream came at the expense of her own happiness, fine. "I'm going to hear about you someday, Hilda," she said with a smile. "People everywhere are going to know you."
"Yikes." Hilda laughed. "I guess if I become the Champion, they probably will, huh? I never really thought about that before."
They had reached the town itself, and now walked among the scattered houses. "They're probably setting up the market for the weekend," she told Hilda. "Do you want to see it?"
"Sure!" Hilda licked her lips. "I'm a little hungry; do you think they'll be selling anything?"
"Probably." She turned to lead them in a new direction, and her stride faltered for a moment as she realized what part of town they were in.
Hilda looked at her. "What is it?"
"Nothing," she said, shaking herself. Think about the present, think about now— She smiled again. "Let's go."
The market was currently little more than rows of empty stalls, but several had merchandise on display and a few people bustled about, setting things up. Together they strolled down the middle, glancing around and making jokes. Soon they started guessing what each stall was going to sell, with Hilda laughing very hard at her suggestion that a particularly dirty one sold Grimer; this led to their conception of Grimer-on-a-stick, soon to be the latest fast-food craze... And so it went.
At length Hilda pointed out a fruit cart nearly finished with preparation. "That looks delicious."
"Go ahead," she said with a nod. "Just ask him; he'll sell you something."
"Aren't you coming?" said Hilda quizzically, seeing she wasn't following.
"I'm not hungry." She hoped that was a reasonable excuse.
Hilda shrugged and went to the fruit seller, who was indeed ready to part with his produce if money was available. She bought a large one-fifth watermelon and dug in on her way back, slurping contentedly. "Sure you don't want some?" she asked, offering the unbitten side of the melon.
"No, thank you," she replied. They had reached the end of the line of stands, so she said, "I have something else to show you."
"You're in charge," said Hilda with a grin, and they set off again.
. . .
It was another train after all, but Hilda didn't mind one bit.
The girl showed her the way down to the turntable where the Single Train rested, and they clambered onboard the open car. From there she pointed to the tunnels that led away and told Hilda where each one went. Every time she did, Hilda would nod in recognition and tell her something she'd seen or done in that city. She had a story from every last place in Unova she knew, and they enthralled her to hear.
They stayed on the train for a while, talking and laughing about Hilda's adventures, or some of the stranger people who came to Anville Town on the weekends, about anything, nothing, and everything.
Hilda made the mistake of letting her eyelids droop, and sitting on the comfortable seat wrapped in the warm breeze, she found herself nodding off midsentence. She didn't want to sleep, though, she wanted to stay awake and talk with...
When she saw Hilda's eyes beginning to close, she sat beside her and began to play the sweet, slow notes of a lullaby. If Hilda wanted to rest, she would help her rest. She played until she was sure Hilda was asleep, then she set the flute down and watched the other girl's slumbering face as the sun dipped the horizon in orange.
A few hours later, when Hilda awoke, she moved one seat over.
Hilda rubbed her eyes. "Oh wow, I slept? What time is it?"
"It's almost evening," she said.
"What!" Hilda was incredulous. "That's one heck of a long nap..." She looked at the girl mock-suspiciously. "Were you playing your flute?"
"Maybe," she retorted, unable to keep a straight face.
"Knew it." Hilda gazed at the soon-to-be sunset. "That felt great. I don't think I've ever been comfortable enough to nap for that long. I was just so warm...and..." She rolled her eyes. "...fuzzy. Okay, no more babbling. Now I owe you, don't I? I'll get here an hour earlier tomorrow for a start."
"The day's not over yet," she said, standing. "There's one more thing we're going to do today."
"What?"
"It's a surprise."
. . .
Dusk fell even as they approached the town. "You must be really patient. If it were me, I would have freaked and tried to wake you up," joked Hilda. "But you whip out — whoa, what's with all the people?"
Indeed, the village was bustling with activity. The market was packed and people stood all around, chatting, eating, even battling. Hilda glanced at her for an explanation, and she said with gleam in her eye, "Sometimes people come here on Friday, too. It usually means less people on the weekend, but on days like this they always do something special."
"Like what?"
"It's a surprise!"
"Okay, okay. Where are we going to find this surprise of yours?"
"Right here." And with that, she sat down and lay back on the soft grass. Hilda followed suit more hesitantly.
They stayed that way in silence for a time. Out of the corner of her eye Hilda could see the girl's hand resting next to her, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to take it in her own. She reached down, determined to entwine their fingers, but as she grasped for the hand she felt nothing but the slick blades of grass.
She was confused. Where was the skin beneath her touch? She turned her head and saw the girl looking at her with wide, terrified eyes. She had moved her hand to her chest, but—
Just then, the town's lamps and lights were all extinguished. Moments later, a streak of light shot into the sky and exploded in a shower of rainbow sparks with a tremendous boom.
"Wow!" exclaimed Hilda. "That's so—" She was interrupted by another series of blasts; these spat golden streamers that fizzed as they descended. "Loud," she finished with a laugh.
That wasn't the half of it. More illuminated rockets raced skyward, whistling and bursting into brilliant arrays of dots that burst themselves, creating dozens of star patterns. Again and again the pyrotechnics went off, their dazzling displays making Hilda gasp with excitement as much as their thunderous sounds jarred her ribcage. The finale was spectacular, with fountains of fiery red, deep blue, and blazing gold bright as lightning, until finally the show was over.
Hilda was grinning hugely. "That was so cool! I've never really seen fireworks, just from really far away — oh, that was amazing! Thank you so much for this, just everything today... Thank you."
"I'm glad you had fun, Hilda." She meant it from the bottom of her heart.
"I'm feeling so much better now, you have no idea," Hilda enthused. "I'm not worried about the League anymore. You helped me move past that."
They headed back towards the bridge and the station. "I think I know why I'm seeing you in my dreams, you know," said Hilda with just a hint of shyness. "I — what's wrong?"
She had stopped walking and was staring at one of the houses, her body tensed and rigid. They had passed it before, but in the light she had not recognized it.
Looking at it now, her head was full of images seen in flashes: a darkened room, a knife, her desperate tears and the most horrible desire she had ever experienced. The worst night of her life. No. Not life.
She took one stumbling step away from the house, as if that would help. No, no, no, no. Why now? Hilda was asking what was the matter, reaching out for her; if she stretched a little further then she would touch her and this all would end in the worst way possible.
She couldn't say "nothing" to this one. She was too shaken to think straight. Hilda was so close. So close...
Hilda watched the girl shudder, and for the first time she felt scared. Scared for her. Scared herself. Was this something she truly couldn't help? But she had to try, and so she reached for the girl's shoulder.
"Hilda..."
She said it almost too quietly to hear, but Hilda stopped.
"Don't think about this. Don't think about me." Her eyes were shut, but glistening tears slid down her cheeks.
"Why—" The Trainer felt like crying, too. "Why won't you talk to me? Why..."
"Why won't I let you touch me?" If she opened her eyes and saw Hilda now, her soul would tear in two.
"Yes." Hilda forced down the choked feeling in her chest. "You're not...you know...crazy, so... so why won't you?"
"Don't think about this," she repeated. "Not ever again. If you remember this place, remember the trains, the market, the fireworks. Remember me when I was happy. Don't think about me like this. Please."
"I—"
"You'll do that for me, won't you, Hilda?" She clenched her hands at the neck of her tearstained dress. "Promise me." She had to hear Hilda say it.
"I...I will." Hilda felt off balance and surreal. How had they gotten here? How had they come to this? "I promise."
She gasped half a sob at that. "Then it's time for you to go."
Hilda was on board the train and in her seat by the time she felt hot tears pricking at her eyelids.
She only opened her eyes when the train was moving off toward the starry horizon. She saw it rushing away from her, and she shook so much her tears fell from their tracks and splashed around her feet. She opened her mouth and screamed.
o – o – o
Things were like before.
She stood alone on the bridge and played her flute. All the melodies were sad now.
Things were like before, but worse.
It hurt so much.
She hoped maybe she would lose her mind. That would help. That would make her memories go away.
Losing a lifetime hadn't hurt as much as this.
Often she was crying too much to play. Soon she stopped altogether.
At one point she realized it had been two days, two days ago that she had lain beside Hilda and watched the sky light up with fireworks, and that thought broke her.
No one noticed her music had stopped echoing around the bridge.
o – o – o
It was Sunday, but the village was empty. Many people had visited Friday night and the day after, but today all was quiet. It was a rare weekend day when no one came by train. No one came at all.
Her eyes were closed when she heard the approaching footsteps. It hardly registered that someone was out and moving around—everyone had seemed to be home—and she did not pay attention. It didn't matter, because no one had come to the town that day.
"Hello, Earth to flute girl."
Her eyelids flew open as a roller coaster drop dragged her heart into her midriff.
"I was thinking about everything, and I don't really get it all, but I know I couldn't deal with never coming back. I really wanted to see you again, so...here I am."
She was lost in drinking up Hilda's appearance.
"I guess you didn't want me to come back, huh? But I had to. I don't know how to make things work, but I have to try. I need to."
What had she just said? Didn't want her to come back? A half-laugh, half-sob was all she could manage at that.
Hilda gazed at her, her words a little unsure. "I couldn't stop thinking about you. I kept trying to figure it out, but I don't think I need to. I just need to be with you. Then the reasons don't matter." She shook her head. "But I should stop. I—"
"Hilda," she said, fighting back tears, "don't ever stop talking to me. Ever."
"Oh. So...you're not mad?"
All she could do was shake her head.
"I don't know, I just thought you might be mad at me, because that night you were...or, you said..." She trailed off.
There was nowhere to go from here, she realized. If the Trainer meant what she said, about wanting to be with her—Oh, Hilda—then they were headed down a very wrong path.
"Hilda," she said, her voice steady but for the slightest waver, "take my hand."
Hilda blinked in surprise.
"Take it," she said, extending her arm, gazing deep into Hilda's eyes. Eyes sharp as day.
Hilda regarded her in silence for a moment, then turned to face the railing.
"Hilda, take my hand," she repeated, insistently. "This is it. This is why we can't be together."
"Together?" echoed Hilda softly.
"Friends," she said, feeling the wind knocked out of her. So she doesn't even want that. "Why you can't keep coming here." She felt almost frustrated. Was Hilda going to make her say it? "Hilda, please!"
Hilda absently twisted a lock of her own hair, still looking away. "I beat the League."
"I — What?" That caught her off guard.
"I'm the Champion," said Hilda. "I did it." She couldn't help a small smile. "I woke up the morning after...you know, feeling like I had nowhere to go. But then I thought about everything you said, and I realized it was now or never, and I just went." The Trainer—no, Champion—shrugged. "My Pokémon came through for me. I knew they would. But when I was battling Alder, do you know what I thought?"
She almost shivered when Hilda at last turned her steel-gem eyes on her. "What?"
"I thought about you. Right there, battling the Champion, with nothing else in my head. And I realized something." Her gaze didn't leave the girl's face now. "I don't have to 'get' you. I don't have to figure things out. I know I want to be with you, together, not just friends, and that's enough for me."
"Hilda," she said, almost whispered, in a quiet voice that belied her shattered heart, "I want to be with you, too, more than anything. But I can't."
"I'll take you anywhere in the world," said Hilda fiercely.
"I can't leave."
"I'll stay here forever."
"No, you won't," she said, and her voice broke. "But I will."
Hilda shook her head. "It can't be this way. I won't leave you here to be lonely ever again. Not ever again."
"You have to."
Hilda sounded almost defiant. "Why?"
"This is why," she said a second time, the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. Again, she held out her hand.
Without hesitation, Hilda reached forward and circled her fingers around the end of the flute the girl offered her. "Remember this, Hilda," said the girl, pulling slightly at her end of the instrument so she could feel the wonderful sensation of Hilda resisting her tug, that beautiful physical tether. "I'll remember it for eternity. I will remember you for eternity."
This was it. This time, when Hilda left, she would not cry. This good-bye was the only way it could be. She took a step forward, moving her hand up the cool metal of the flute and closer to Hilda's. "I'm going to leave after this. You'll understand."
"I won't let you." Hilda stepped once forward as well, so mere centimeters separated their skin.
"Then hold onto me, Hilda," she breathed, her heart hammering, seconds away from the end of it all. "Hold on to me and never let go." She shut her eyes tight against reality. "I love you."
Even as she moved, so did Hilda, and as their hands met, so did their lips.
They fell into each other, for the moment she felt the touch of Hilda's mouth on her mouth and Hilda's fingers on hers, her legs gave way. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing and kissing Hilda again and again, holding her tight as if to meld their bodies.
"I won't let go," whispered Hilda, arms clutching with desperate relief the slight frame beneath the green dress. "Ever." She stroked the girl's hair, elated to at last feel contact with her. "I love you."
I don't have to get it. I don't have to figure it out. There was nothing to figure. Hilda was an angel, that was all, an angel and a girl and a Champion, and "Oh, Hilda, I'll love you forever."
. . .
That day the flute music that rang throughout Anville Town was joyous as a hundred sunrises.
In the weeks afterward, the people of the village were to again hear notes floating through the air around the bridge. No one paid attention to the way the girl, the Trainer in the pink-and-white hat, who sometimes was there on the bridge, would smile and bob her head even after they'd lost hold of the song.
She was there, and she wasn't. Some days a train came and took her, them, somewhere. Nimbasa City. Nuvema Town. Black City. Anywhere.
That which slides through leaving no mark is forgotten, and that which holds tightly and never lets go is remembered.
So remain the notes of Hilda and Melody.