Chapter One

There was a boy standing among the forget-me-nots.

There was a girl standing among the farewell-to-springs.

Sun shone on one,

Shadow shrouded the other.

Words slipped from mouths,

"We will meet again."

A promise born upon butterfly wings,

Lost in the labyrinth in the sky.

The afternoon heat was getting to Willow's head. It was the last period of the day. If she could only reach the cedar tree before her five minutes were up, she would get to skip chores.

"C'mon Willow! Just a few more feet!"

Her friends cheered her on from the sidelines.

That's easier said than done she grumbled and forced her feet to inch steadily across the sun-baked ground. An eternity passed by before the cool shade of the tree graced her tired body.

Panting, Willow collapsed onto the grass.

"Did I make it?"

The PE teacher strolled over, a grimace pasted onto his grizzled face.

"Sorry Willow. You missed by ten seconds. Try harder next time."

A moan escaped from Willow as she covered her face with her hands. The teacher took pity on her and assigned her the duty of watering the garden.

"Don't we have a gardening committee in charge of doing that?"

"They all went home early. It's summer break after all. Some teachers are a bit latent. Be grateful, at least you're not going to be cleaning the hallways."

"I'll help!"

A perky girl bounced over, her pigtails swaying in rhythm.

The teacher sighed and smiled, "there's no stopping you Marie when you've made up your mind. I'm sure Willow wouldn't mind."

Willow was still face-down on the ground, but she clenched her teeth when she heard. Marie wasn't exactly her friend. She hung around her like a dreary cloud. An overly perky dreary cloud. Willow found her annoying, but she tolerated her since she knew all too well what Marie did to people who disliked her.

People tended to go missing for several days before they were found unconscious with a farfetch'd-shaped tattoo stamped across their face.

She shuddered as she felt Marie's gaze stick to her.

"Well, we better get started then if we want to make it home before midnight! Willow! Let's go!"

Sighing, Willow reluctantly detached herself from the cool grass and obediently followed her.

Bellossom danced in the sunshine, agitating the shroomish that rested in the shadows. Wailmer pail in hand, Willow began watering the bellflowers that grew along the granite wall that separated the boarding school from the rest of Slateport city. Marie was busying herself with the daises on the opposite end of the garden. She watched as a bellossom came up to her and gently touched Marie's auburn hair. It was promptly scolded when Marie became distracted and let the water in her pail spill out onto the ground.

Willow walked over and offered her her pail.

"Ah, you're done already?"

"Yeah, I didn't have as many plants on my side."

Marie smiled, "Thanks for your offer, but I'll go refill mine. It'll shatter my pride if I take yours. People would think I was lazy."

Once she disappeared, Willow examined the daisies. The gardening committee had been complaining that there was a strain of poppies invading the garden. Everyone had treated as a joke since poppies weren't an invasive species of plant.

Willow could see the strewn about corpses of the bright red flowers lying under the daisies. She was sure they weren't there before. But then again, she never seemed to notice these small details. Cautiously, Willow picked up a poppy. The vibrant red dazzled her eyes. They looked like graceful flames among the plain white of the daisies.

Flames,

Smoke,

Screams.

Willow snapped out of her daze and noticed her fingers were trembling. She flung the flower as far as she could, scattering the petals all over the garden.

I don't want to remember.

Some things are better left buried.

When Marie came back, Willow had already cleaned up the mess she made with the help of the bellossom and shroomish.

"You can go already if you're done. I can finish up pretty quickly by myself."

Willow forced a smile and replied, "Thanks. Have a good summer."

Marie smiled back and tugged at a lock of Willow's hair.

"You too! Now go already. I bet you're just dying to go home."

Willow waved and sped out of the garden. Her family was probably impatient for her to arrive home. Her mother was defiantly not the patient type. She passed by the unlucky guys who were stuck cleaning the hallways and exchanged greeting with them.

"Oh, by the way, there's a Pokémon competition being held in Johto over the summer. There's already a lot of really good trainers going."

Intrigued, Willow asked for more information and was promptly handed a flyer.

"We knew you'd want to go, so we had some flyers ready. I heard Marie is going too."

"Wow! Thanks a lot. Are you guys going too? It'd be pretty tough competition if you are."

They all grinned.

""Course!"

Willow glanced at a nearby clock and swore silently. She was going to be late for the ship if she didn't go now!

"Seeya!"

Dashing through the hallways, Willow smiled.

This is going to be a good summer after all.

Unknown to her, a shape detached itself from the nearby wall and quietly followed.