It was now winter in Unova, and the air was crisp and icy. The young brunette had been sitting on the wooden bench in her petite town for over an hour, clad in thick, heat-retaining clothing fit for the temperature. She shivered lightly, involuntarily, as she was lost in her thoughts of years passed. Soon enough, a Pidove nesting in a nearby pine called, rousing the girl from her thoughts. Her head having snapped in the direction of the small bird, she noticed its feathers ruffled, its body fluffed to twice its size in an attempt to insulate itself. Moments later, its mate sailed from its previous location in response to its partner's call, and took its place beside the other Pidove; offering each other's own warmth to aid in fighting the frostbitten air. The girl frowned, and hoped for a fleeting moment that her own other half was waiting for her now inside her own home. With a heavy sigh, Hilda rose from her spot on the bench, disgruntled with heavy thoughts and empty hopes. She rubbed her palms, straightened herself, and began the short walk back to her home.
Closing the door behind her, Hilda greeted her mother, who was now preparing a savory-smelling supper – of whom who was almost too absorbed in the preparation to have returned the hello – before making her way up the flight of stairs that led to her bedroom. Shutting her bedroom door, she untied her boots and stripped her wintertime clothing; she hung them on wooden pegs and set the black-and-pink boots beside her door. Lying down on her bed, Hilda sighed and rolled over to gaze out of her window. The sky remained a drab gray, though the now-setting sun painted the clouds a burning red-orange. It was beautiful, she thought, and as if on cue, her conscious seemed to resonate, I wonder if N is watching the sunset now. I wonder if he is seeing the same sky I am seeing. Closing her eyes, Hilda believed that the green-haired boy was lying with her now, observing the sky with her, taking in the brilliant reds and oranges and watching the dying, radiant sun fall to the horizon. She imagined his warmth pressed against her back, and his pale arms curled around her stomach; she could almost smell his masculine scent, that of sandalwood and the earth.
Biting her lip, she battled the tears that threatened to seep from between her eyelids and soak her eyelashes. She was tired of letting her emotions get the best of her, and on the occasion she wished she had never encountered the boy. Sometimes she relented and believed it was fated to happen, that no matter what, she could have never prevented the encounter; that N could have heard her Pokémon's voices regardless of the occasion. Though, this thought never soothed her; she would always feel some sort of incompletion and resent towards no one until she would be able to be graced by his presence again. She did not know how long that would take, but she resided in the thought that she would always wait. She would wait patiently for his return, even if she was old and frail she would still manage to dream of his ever-youthful face each evening for the remainder of her life. And this was all that made her eager for the next day, and every day to come; because that was a new day with another possibility of seeing her fated, contrasting hero.
A small smile spreading on her lips, she flooded her mind with old memories and old images that soothed her soul and suppressed the tears and the discouraging thoughts for now. Feeling drowsiness ebb at her mind and the icy air graze against her skin, she nestled beneath the blankets of her bed and drifted into another early slumber for yet another day in a row. She knew her mother would awaken her once supper was ready, but she could wait. She could wait for anything.