I am really sorry this took so long to post. I'll try to be better at posting on time in the future.
I end up telling Verity stories for a couple of hours. She's a good listener. She asks the occasional clarifying question, but it never feels like she's interrupting. I get so enthralled with my own stories, I lose track of time. When I look out of the window, I see the sun setting.
"Wow, the sun's setting already," I say.
"Oh yeah. So... um... Are you interested in going to the festival tonight?" Verity asks.
"Sure, I don't see why not," I say. It's for friends as well as couples, so I'm sure it won't we awkward.
"Great, we can go together." She smiles.
The town is full with pokemon, many of which I'm positive I've never seen before. Pretty much everyone seems to be in a two-pokemon pairing, though there are a few larger groups as well.
"So Cyria said you don't have any family around here. Where are you from?" Verity asks.
"I don't know. I woke up on the beach with amnesia a few weeks ago. As far as I know, I haven't lived anywhere but the guild," I say.
"So you've never been to the Festival of the Moon before?" She asks.
"No. This would be my first," I reply. She giggles.
"Then we've got to make this really special. C'mon, I'll show you around." The first place she leads me to is a yellow booth with a crystal ball. Behind the booth is a kadabra. "I come here every year. Hey Kalico you have that paper done yet?"
"Almost," the kadabra replies.
"You don't even have a paragraph done, do you?" Verity asks.
"I have the introduction paragraph almost done," Kalico replies.
"Dude, you're screwed," Verity says.
"It is possible that I am in a bad situation, yes. But anyway, you must be here for a fortune, not to talk about class. Who's this? Is he a friend?" Kalico asks.
"This is Jiro. He and I are hanging out today," Verity says.
"Oh, 'hanging out', or hanging out?"
"Kalico, you're one of my best friends, trust me, you would know if I were going on a date tonight."
"Fair enough. Anyway, let me see what I can see in your futures." Kalico gently touches one finger to the crystal ball and closes his eyes. "I see... Hm... Yes. I see you two, together. You're smiling. And then... Oh! It looks like that was meant to be a surprise. I'm sorry, that's all I saw. I know it isn't much, but it's happy news, at least."
"Well thank you for trying," I say.
"Of course, it was my pleasure," Kalico replies. "I hope you two have a nice night."
"Same to you, buddy." Verity says. She leads me away from the booth. "He's a friend from Candor, he's in my Psychology three class. His fortunes are often vague, but this is a new level of vague, even for him. Still, it's always nice to visit a friend."
"True. And I guess vague happiness is better than detailed sadness," I say. Verity laughs. I wonder how accurate his fortunes are usually. Can he really see into the future? Somehow I doubt it, but I guess it's not impossible.
"I suppose you have a point. Now let's see if we can find anything that makes more sense than Kilico..." We walk past several musicians, and one story teller who must have just set up. There are also paper lanterns floating up into the sky. I didn't notice them before, but there are tons. They look amazing. Though to be fair, if they symbolize something, I'm missing it.
And then I see them, little hearts doodled onto each one. They must have something to do with love. Like this festival... I walked right into a festival which is basically just for couples, didn't I? Most pokemon around look like they're with a romantic partner, they're close to one another, there's a good amount of kissing around. Yeah, this is pretty much just couples. Well, whatever, I can still have a fun time with a friend.
"Here we are," Verity says. We stop at a hot air balloon tied to a peg in the ground. "Do you want to ride it? It's really fun to see the festival from up in the air." And the lanterns, too, I imagine.
"Yeah that sounds cool."
"Alright then, let's do it."
She walks into the basket of the balloon, and I follow her.
"So we can just take it?" I ask.
"Yeah, of course, that's what it's here for. It's tied to the peg, so it's not going anywhere," Verity says. I close the entrance to the basket.
"So do you know how to fly this thing? 'Cause I don't."
"Oh don't worry, it's easy. I can handle it, no problem. And it's not like I have to move it any direction but up and down." She pulls a cord, and a fire ignites above us, lifting us above the ground. It only takes a minute for us to reach the end of the rope.
The festival looks beautiful from far away, and the paper lanterns dotting the sky make everything even better. It looks unreal, like a painting. The light blurs with the darker colors of the festival. This is incredible. We're both silent for a few minutes, we stand next to each other, taking in the view.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She says.
"Yeah. I can see why you do this every year."
"It's more fun with two, though. One feels lonely, two feels just right, three would probably be too many."
"So it's a balloon built for two, then," I say. She laughs.
"I suppose so. So I take it you're good with heights, then, if you let me bring you this far up."
"Yeah, I like views more than I fear being up high. And it's not like I'm going to fall, as long as I'm careful, so what's to fear?"
"So you're the fearless type then? I suppose you need to be."
"I'm not sure. I must be afraid of something, pretty much everyone is. But as to what, I have no idea."
"Do you ever wish you could fly? Odd question, I know. Just looking out at the sky made me think. Wouldn't it be cool to fly?"
"Like to have my own wings and fly? I suppose, but the ground isn't all that bad either."
"Fair point. And speaking of that, we should probably return to the ground, I imagine someone else will probably want to use this."
"Yeah, I suppose that is likely, yes." Verity slowly takes the balloon down to the ground once again. We get out of the balloon and continue to walk around.
Verity and I stop to listen to several musicians, watch a fire-breathing lucario (who was obviously a fake), several booths with various pieces of art, and a few various other things.
After a while, I notice that the number of pokemon there has halved.
"Where's everyone disappearing to?" I ask.
"Probably home. I guess it's pretty late. I should probably be heading home," Verity says.
"Oh. Okay," I say. I was hoping we could do some more things, but I suppose the end was inevitable. She can't stay forever. Nothing lasts forever.
"I had fun tonight. We should do this again sometime."
"Yeah, I had fun to."
"Well, I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah." But even though she said she was leaving, she doesn't walk away. She gets closer to me. And she kisses my cheek. And I know I've been surprise kissed before, but this one is different. Her lips feel warm, like a ray of sunlight on a hot day. But her lips feel soft, like a cloud and yet somehow firm. This is the first pleasant surprise kiss. My face feels hot, I must be blushing. She winks at me and walks away. Just like that.
I never though I'd be left speechless, especially by something I should have seen coming. But here I am...
