Who I Am - Lightning99
Chapter 5:
The First Sign
Ash dashed up the hill towards the voice, skidding around the zig-zagging path and climbing the wooden steps two at a time. He stopped at the top, where a wide gorge cut through the mountain and, on his left side, a waterfall cascaded into a deep, rapid river.
But Ash spared the sights no more than a passing glance, looking instead at a shoddy wooden bridge connecting either side of the gorge. The wooden handrails were snapped in sections, the boards underfoot were crooked and splintered, and the rope securing it was frayed. It swayed against the gentlest breezes, yet there was more activity on it than Ash thought it could withstand.
A flock of Spearow was perched on the loose paling. Some more circled above it, surrounding a different Pokémon that cowered against the cracked boards, its cloud-like, purple and blue body quivering. A girl lay a few metres out on the bridge, too, tucked in on herself, clutching the railing. Even from where he stood, Ash could see that she was trembling even more than the Pokémon.
"I'm coming!" Ash called, darting towards the bridge as he had into the submerging Temple of the Sea. Her eyes met his, and without a single thought as to its fragile state, Ash stepped onto the bridge.
Looking down to find his footing, Ash glimpsed through the gap of a splintered plank into the river far below. Boulders shaped like spearheads poked through the current, and suddenly, the crashing of the water was all he could hear. He looked away, focusing instead on the girl.
With every step, the bridge groaned, creaked, and shook, and tiny chippings of wood plummeted into the river. The bridge itself sagged, and the faint sound of something ripping through the earth behind him made Ash's heart accelerate.
He quickened his pace, reaching the girl after a few more tentative steps. He crouched beside her, automatically scanning her for injuries. She was uninjured, but her trembling was unrelenting.
"It's ok," Ash said, noticing the tears peeking through her tightened eyelids. He softened his voice. "I've got you."
When she nodded, Ash placed his hands on the girl's shoulders, carefully guiding her to her feet. But even such a small motion jostled the bridge. The girl whimpered and fell again, strangling the wood tighter with her left hand with her right flew out, grabbing Ash's top.
Taking a moment to re-balance himself, Ash slipped his hand into hers. He took it from his top and squeezed. She looked up at him, eyes open, proving just how terrified she was,
"I'm gonna help you up, ok?" Ash said. He stood in a crouch and reached out his second hand. The bridge creaked again and sagged a little more, but he waited, and he waited until she released the bridge and took his second hand. "I've got you."
A heartbeat later, the girl crawled to her feet using Ash's forearm as her crutch. Ash waited until she balanced herself, and then he guided her forward one step. She faltered and fell, but he caught her before she could hit the boards. The bridge staggered some more, but Ash remained patient and calm, pushing the alarm of his accelerating heart and his brain telling them to move to the back of his mind. He adjusted his hold on the girl and took another step. The cliff edge was five steps away. Four steps… three… two… one.
When the girl's first food touched solid land, she fell onto her side and released a heavy trembling breath as if she had not breathed during that entire rescue. She gave a final whimper, sniffled, and spun around, her eyes pleading.
"S-Save Nebby! Please!" she said.
Ash whipped around. Back on the bridge, the Spearow flock were enclosing on the cloud-like Pokémon, swooping in and squawking, jabbing their two-pronged talons in torment.
"Stay with her, Pikachu!" Ash said, dashing onto the bridge again.
Pikachu leapt towards the girl but stopped, looking confused, when she scurried backwards.
Discarding his earlier caution, Ash ducked beneath the airborne, pecking Spearow, and covered the Pokémon with his body. He swatted at the birds with his right hand, scooped Nebby into his chest with his left, and then began to shuffle backwards on his hands and feet. Before he could make much distance, however, Nebby emitted a cry, and Ash's world turned purple and blue. Ribbons of light exploded into a sphere around him, scattering the Spearow into the air, and the bridge finally collapsed under the blast's power.
Feeling the air slam into his back, Ash hugged the Pokémon tighter to his chest and turned his back to the river, suddenly hyperaware of the sharp rock blades waiting to catch him. He hadn't expected to escape unscathed when he leapt off Lumiose Tower, but now, he was even more certain that his Arceus-gifted luck had ended. He shut his eyes, hugged the Pokémon tight, and thought what might be his last thoughts, but all that came to mind was how his friends betrayed him, how his Pokémon betrayed him, and how alone he was.
But then Ash remembered Pikachu. He remembered his mother, and he even remembered his father. And all he could do was apologise to them.
Moments before Ash hit the bottom of the gorge, a figure zapped into the air from the trees atop the cliff. It plunged into the gorge in a streak of electricity. Using what appeared to be two shields, it batted away the spectating Spearow, swooped below Ash, and caught his body as they aligned. The figure ascended again as fast as a lightning bolt, landing back on the clifftop and placing Ash beside the girl dressed in white before he even realised what had happened.
The figure flipped over Ash and the girl, twirled in the air, sparks of lightning cracking around its body, and stared straight at Ash with curious ocean-blue eyes, bounding side-to-side like a poised boxer. Ash stared back, studying the figure in awe.
It had a slim black body, arms, and large, pincer-like hands. Two yellow wooden shields with symmetrical markings of a bird's face were attached to those hands. Its lower torso was orange and had four feather-like projections, each a different size. White markings covered its chest and face, and on its head was a tall, saw-shaped orange mohawk tinted yellow at the tips that cut down the middle of its face and shaped a small beak.
Immediately, Ash knew it was the Guardian Deity of which Samson had spoken. Tapu Koko. It looked too unique to be an ordinary Pokémon.
He continued staring back for a few seconds, curious whether meeting the deity was as easy as that. Knowing his luck meeting Legendary Pokémon, he shouldn't have been surprised.
Tapu Koko bellowed a thundering cry, discharged a wave of lightning, dropped two objects into Ash's hands, and shot into the sky, disappearing as fast as it had appeared.
After a moment of silence, the girl said in a distant, awed voice, "That was Tapu Koko."
Ash shook himself out of his moment of awe, turning towards the girl.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Me? A-Are you ok?!" she countered.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ok. I've handled worse. How about you? You looked scared out on the bridge."
"Oh, of course! Yes, I'm ok. Thank you for helping me. I-I knew the bridge was unstable, but I didn't think it would collapse." Her eyes moved down to the Pokémon in Ash's arms. "Oh, Nebby, you tried using your powers again, didn't you? You know what happened the last time you did that." Nebby gave a feeble cry of protest, and the girl sighed. "I know you were trying to save me last time. Thank you, Nebby. A-And, thank you again–"
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pal–" Ash stopped himself and shivered despite the heat, his mind flashing back to only a few days ago. He suddenly didn't want to use that catchphrase anymore. "And this is my partner, Pikachu."
"Then thank you, Ash. My name is Lillie, and this is Nebby," Lillie said, and she smiled, small but bright.
Ash smiled back, and he saw her fully for the first time. She was a slim and elegant girl; her fair skin contrasted the Alolan native's tanned sheens, and her eyes were as emerald as the gleaming forestry. Her long blonde hair dangled down her back and over her forehead, stopping at her midriff, with two professional plaits over her shoulders, contouring the sides of her pretty face. Her large white sunhat slightly shaded her face when she looked down. Ash thought she was beautiful.
"This will sound weird since I just introduced it to you, but… please don't tell anybody about Nebby. It's supposed to be a secret, but Nebby keeps jumping out of my bag and causing problems."
"It's alright," Ash said, readjusting his hat that had magically stayed on his head throughout the ordeal, "I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you!" Lillie said, bowing low. She turned then to Nebby Pokémon. "Come on, Nebby, into the bag."
After whining a cry that sounded identical to a complaint from a reluctant child, Ash let Nebby free, and it bobbed towards the bag. Lillie zipped the bag back up when it was comfortably inside, leaving a gap at the end of the zip.
As she dealt with Nebby, Ash picked up the items Tapu Koko dropped.
"What're these?" Ash asked aloud, inspecting one of the items Tapu Koko had left. It was a coal-black rock, etched into which was a white boomerang-shaped ridge. Below that sat an odd hole, almost like a side-ways diamond with two rotated squares on the ends. A white Z was painted over the top of it. He brushed the incisions and engravings with his fingertips, turning it over in his palm, then looked at the second stone. That one was an electric-yellow, diamond-shaped crystal with a lightning bolt marking, like Pikachu's tail, embedded in it.
Ash had seen a lot of strange stones – the blue and red orbs, mega stones and their counterpart keystones, the different evolution stones – but these were different. They felt warm against his palm, a strange warmth he had felt before. He couldn't recognise where from, though.
"I'm not sure what they are," Lillie said, looking only at the black stone. "Are they yours?"
"Apparently," Ash said, pushing himself to his feet. He offered his hand to Lillie, and she took it with a grateful smile before Ash helped her to her feet. "Tapu Koko gave them to me."
"That's strange," Lillie said, patting the frills rimming her sundress, brushing brown blemishes of dusty dirt off the white fabric. "Tapu Koko is known to be curious, but Kahuna Hala said he rarely goes near people other than the Kahuna himself."
"Kahuna?" Ash asked, pocketing the stones for now.
"Yes," Lillie said. "Umm, they are important figures on each of the islands that oversee the Grand Trials and protect the islands. Oh, and the Tapu chooses them."
"Uh-huh," Ash muttered.
Despite most of those words blowing past him like a Tailwind, Alola was starting to sound more than interesting. What were the Grand Trials? Who were the Kahunas? From all the information he had, Alola seemed like a different world from anything he had experienced. An enthralling one, even.
"Lillie, were you heading to the ruins too?"
Lillie nodded. "Nebby seems to want to go there, so the Professor allowed me to come and have a look. I-If I'd known we had to cross a bridge over the gorge, I never would have come."
"You're afraid of heights, aren't you?"
"Yes, terrified! When Nebby ran onto the bridge and was attacked, I tried to help, to be a bit braver, but I couldn't do it. My legs collapsed, and I could not move."
Ash noticed her eyes quickly growing dispirited, so he smiled even wider. "You know, going out there even though you were scared shows you're brave."
Lillie's green eyes darted up to meet Ash's. "Really?!"
"Yeah! I know lots of people who wouldn't be brave enough."
"That… makes me feel better," Lillie said, smiling again. She turned towards the path Ash had run up, then back to Ash. "Umm, I know this is too much to ask, but I need to get back to Iki Town. Do you think you could walk us back in case any more Spearow attack us?"
"Yeah, of course. I need to go to Iki Town anyway to meet Samson."
"Thank you so much! It's just down Mahalo Trail."
"Lead the way!"
They descended the trail at a comfortable stroll, the birds chirping in the trees and the bushes rustling around them, all of their earlier tension dissipated into the air. The sun seemed to bake the earth in the early afternoon; Ash could almost smell the smoky whiff of it burning. Alola's weather was hot but not draining. Strangely, he felt charged with energy.
"Professor Samson Oak, you mean?" Lillie asked.
"That's the guy. I met him earlier and need to check something," Ash said. As they rounded a bend, he glanced at Lillie's bag. "That Pokémon's species name isn't Nebby, is it?"
"Oh, n-no, it's… it's just a nickname I created," Lillie said, looking away from him. "The species is known as Cosmog, the Nebula Pokémon, which is where I got the name. According to another Professor, Cosmog is a very rare Pokémon. That is why we are keeping it a secret."
"Ah, that makes sense," Ash said, and they settled into light chatter as they walked the rest of the trail.
At the bottom of the trail, Ash and Lillie ambled out from beneath the shade of two overhanging trees into Iki Town's plaza.
Iki Town was more a settlement than a real town. There were four houses in all, constructed with the bark yielded from the trees cut down to clear the land. It was divided into two levels connected via stone staircases and surrounded on all levels by wooden fences. In the centre of the uppermost plaza stood an octagonal wooden platform with white tribal-like markings around the inner edges. Opposite, a lone house overlooked the stage like an umpire's throne.
Despite her gratitude to Ash for helping her, Lillie finally let her shoulders relax now that they were back int own. She allowed herself a breath and felt all the calmer for it.
But then she thought of the incident, of how Ash had stayed calm even while plummeting down the cliffside and wondered whether her fright and nervousness were childish for her age. But even as she thought that, she couldn't deny that something about Ash was different. How he handled the situation was unusually mature; it was as if he had experienced something similar. Lillie guessed she and Ash were the same age, but he seemed a decade wiser in experience.
A man Lillie recognised ran towards them as they stepped further into view, his expression tender and concerned. His outfit, on the other hand, was an alarming assortment. He wore a white lab coat, a baggy pair of grey jogger shorts that stopped at his calves, green shoes, and a white cap with a rainbow on it. The aspect of his outfit that would be deemed improper in most regions was his lack of a t-shirt, meaning that his muscled, six-packed torso was visible beyond his lab coat. But in Alola, some women sauntered the streets wearing bikinis, and some men strolled in shorts alone. Alola's culture wasn't shy of the skin or timid to show it.
"Lillie! Are you alright?! I heard an Explosion level crash! Did something happen?" the man called out, stopping just in front of them, his head darting over Lillie like a scanner, then Ash. He was handsome, with black hair pulled back in a bun, a trim beard on his chin, and deep brown eyes.
"Nebby and I are alright, Professor. On our way to the ruins, some Spearow attacked Nebby. The bridge collapsed, but Ash saved us," Lillie said, gesturing to Ash, who awkwardly flicked his hand up.
"Ah, I get it! Glad you're ok, yeah!" the man said, grinning. He turned to Ash. "I gotta thank you then, cousin! The name's Kukui, and I'm a Pokémon Professor here in Alola. Thanks for savin' my assistant. I'd be a mess without her, y'know."
"I-I'm only learning at the moment. There's so much I don't know," Lillie whispered, feeling her cheeks becoming pink. She could not believe the Professor acclaimed her knowledge like that, and to a stranger no less. She found herself wondering what Ash would think.
"You'd be a great special attacker with that modesty," Kukui said. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Ash! You don't seem like you're from around here. Did you come to Alola from abroad? On holiday maybe?"
"Ah, yeah, something like that. I came from Kanto," Ash replied, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Woah, Kanto? Awesome! I went to Kanto to take on the Gym Leaders, yeah, but I couldn't beat 'em all at the time. They're pretty strong. 'Specially that Rock guy, Flint. Phew, good times!" Kukui shook his head, a fond smile gracing his lips.
"Alright, Lillie, since you're already acquainted, and he's new here, why don't ya help Ash find his way around for a few days? Get him used to the sights, the culture. It's a lot different than Kanto out here, yeah."
"Me?" Lillie asked, widening her eyes.
"Yeah, why not?"
"I umm… I don't know that much…"
"You've lived here all your life, yeah. You got this."
Lillie wanted to protest again, but she decided against it. He wouldn't believe her lack of knowledge, even if she tried to tell him. She turned, instead, to Ash and said, "I-If you'll let me."
"Sure. I'd lo – like the help."
"You'll have to give him a run-down of the region sometime! For now, we've got a festival to help set up," Kukui said to Lillie and folded his arms across his rugged chest.
"O-Ok. Come and find me whenever you have time," Lillie said, feeling a sudden jump in her chest. It wasn't often people asked for such help.
"Ya hear that, assistant? It's all down to you!"
"P-Please don't put pressure on me!"
For the first time Lillie had heard, Ash laughed, and she joined in, too, despite that added pressure. As that laughter stopped, a murmuring started in the distance.
"The Kahuna is back!"
Over by the steps, a stout man stomped into the plaza, a floral-print yellow jacket loose on his shoulders, his stocky build protruding from his t-shirt. He walked towards the three of them, each step of his powerful thighs and sandaled feet thumped against the dusty earth. His face was stern, with squinted eyes and brows tilted inwards. He had a white moustache and his white hair tied up in a bun. A Tauros trotted at his side, compliant to his rein.
"Have I missed something? I was out searching the forest, stopping this rampaging Tauros, when I heard a loud crash. For some reason, I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about," The Kahuna said.
"Oh, umm, yes, Kahuna Hala. Nebby was attacked on our way to the Ruins of Conflict. Ash here helped protect it, but the bridge collapsed as a result. I thought both of them would fall to the bottom of the ravine, but Tapu Koko swooped in to save them," Lillie explained.
"Woo!" Kukui exclaimed, placing his hands on his hips. "That's something you don't hear every day!"
"Ho, is that so?" Hala said, his attention switched on Ash. "Tapu Koko is a fickle creature, yet he saved you… It is rare for anybody to see Tapu Koko. Interesting. I'm glad we got the chance to meet today. I am Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island."
"Nice to meet you, sir. Since you're the Kahuna, if I may, do you know anything about these?" Ash brandished the two stones he received from the deity, and, seeing the second for the first time, Lillie recognised it immediately. She parted her lips to speak, but Hala did so first.
"Could it be?!" he exclaimed. "Tapu Koko rescued you at the bridge – isn't that what I heard, Ash?"
"Yeah. I guess I'm lucky it was nearby."
"So, he even deigned to give you a sparkling stone and a Z-crystal, hmm? Interesting. Allow me to borrow these stones for now. Fret not! I'll return them to you tomorrow," Hala said. Ash handed him the stones, which he quickly pocketed.
"Anyhow, that doesn't interrupt our plans tonight! We must begin preparations for the ceremony immediately! We have to be ready by dusk, haha!" Hala said, his voice authoritative. Lillie could see why he was chosen for the position of Kahuna.
Noticing Ash's Pikachu, Hala grinned. "I see you have a Pokémon, Ash. You are a trainer, correct?" Ash nodded. "In that case, how would you like to start our festival tonight by battling my grandson, Hau? He is getting his first Pokémon today, so it'll be a good challenge for his first battle. I would like to see why Tapu Koko seems to have taken an interest in you."
Ash widened his eyes, shuffling his stance a little. "Are you sure? I, uh, I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Oh, it'll be fine. Don't you worry, my boy!"
"If you say so…"
"Pew, pew!"
Lillie flinched.
"Ah! Nebby! When did you get out again?!"
The people surrounding them, excluding Ash, who Lillie knew, was not accustomed to Nebby's sporadic wandering, fell into jovial laughter. Lillie sighed. Taking care of Nebby was a hassle. But she was happy at that moment. Things were starting to look up for her.
The afternoon burned away under the sun as the people of Iki Town set up for the festival. As she waited for the refreshments to arrive, Lillie watched the people moseying and fiddling from the shade of a nearby tree, her eyes twinkling with joy. The pre-festive atmosphere was already bustling; people laughed and joked, working in harmony. She couldn't help admiring the collective effort, feeling the camaraderie in her heart.
"Whaddya doing, man?! Line up the torches evenly distanced, like a Mirror Move!" Kukui frivolously ordered a helper labouring to beautify Iki Town, his smirk a sly invitation for banter.
"Ah, my bad, boss!" the man countered, stabbing the three-legged torch into the soft earth. Leaning his builder body against the small frame, he quipped back, "Wear a shirt, why don't ya?!"
Kukui laughed, "Hah! Good work, yeah! This'll be an awesome festival!"
"You know it!"
The back-and-forth between Kukui and his friend brought an even wider smile to Lillie's lips. She had only learned about it recently, but that was a perfect example of how friendliness was the Alolan people's universal trait. Most of them could walk the street and name every one of their passers-by and their ancestors, what type of person they were, and even anticipate their activities that day. Even the evilest minds were tight with their dodgy, conspiring circles to degrees that other regions weren't. It was how people lived and thrived in Alola, the staple of their relationships and companionships. It was for that reason that Lillie knew the festival would be enjoyable.
For Lillie, though, her anticipation was deeper than the usual degree, even if that degree was deep already. This Festival of Honouring was the first public event she would attend since she was six years old. It was also the first event she was attending with her new friends, a memory she knew she would treasure. Watching the sunset sink behind the horizon like a fireball immersed in the sea, transfiguring the sky a warm colour comparable only to the fireplace in her childhood home, with her friends by her side, was one of her most anticipated desires.
The battles were her only worry. Seeing the Pokémon she studied daily getting hurt unnerved her, but it was the world's biggest sport, something she was newly keen to witness.
"The food and drinks have arrived!" a vibrant feminine voice called from the steps. Two teens entered the plaza balancing plastic cups, bowls, packets of food and bottles of drinks on trays between them. Lillie leapt to her feet and skipped to meet them at some tables alongside the wooden fencing.
"Mallow, Kiawe! Alola! You made it!" Lillie greeted.
"Alola, Lillie! You sound eager!" Mallow, an alluring girl with long green hair tied in twin tails and tanned, sun-kissed skin, said with a wide smile. She slid the items she was carrying onto a tabletop and straightened up, standing a few inches taller than Lillie, whose fairer skin, like snow, seemed to glisten beside her.
"I…I'm just glad you are here."
"We wouldn't miss it! I can't wait for everyone to try some new recipes from Aina Café!"
"Of course, we came. Melemele's festival is far superior to the others. I'd have liked to stop by Wela Volcano on the way, though, to pay my respects," Kiawe answered. He was a sturdily built boy with dark-wood skin and dark brown hair shaped like fire. Three tufts of red hair, also shaped like fire, were ruffled over his forehead and ears. He wore a medallion looped around his neck, something tribal, connected to two pieces of cloth that rested on his shoulders.
Kiawe heaved his boxes onto a table and wiped his forehead free of sweat. "That's all of it."
"Thanks for the help, Kiawe," Mallow said cheerily, dusting her hands together.
"No problem. I'll be back in a moment."
As Kiawe wandered away, greeting Professor Kukui and Hala over by the overlooking house – an action Lillie knew he did out of respect – Lillie joined Mallow. She helped unpack the boxes, neatly arranging the snacks across the wooden tables. The delicacies ranged from magost berry crisps to honey-slathered buns and from fizzy drinks to sitrus berry juice.
"All of this looks amazing, Mallow!" Lillie said, personally knowing the blissful stupor Mallow's exotic concoctions instilled.
"Aww, thanks, Lillie!" Mallow said, and she beamed at Lillie. "I've added a bunch of different recipes I came up with myself, so I'm a little nervous about what people will think of them."
"I am sure they will love them. You don't have to worry," Lillie said with a smile as she arranged three rows of cups neatly. "I'm looking forward to this."
"I can tell, yeah. You're practically glowing! You'd think something big happened." Mallow gasped, then. She stopped unpacking and grasped Lillie's hands, her grass eyes sparkling with nervous fervour. "Talking about something big happening, guess what happened earlier?!"
Lillie asked what, and Mallow sighed passion.
"I saw the most handsome boy ever! I wish you'd seen him! He came into Aina Café with Professor Oak and a Pikachu!"
Before Lillie could match Ash and Pikachu searching for Samson Oak to the flattering description, two short teens, a boy and a girl approached the pair from the rear. The girl was petite with ocean-blue hair cropped to her shoulders, held from obstructing her blue eyes by a net-styled bandana, and the boy was plump and baby-faced. His ginger hair was left unbrushed, and he had a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Mallow, Lillie, Alola," the girl said.
"Lana, Sophocles, Alola! Ooooh! Come and try my new recipes! I need your opinions before anyone else!" Mallow jumped towards Lana, grabbing her shoulders to steer her food-wards.
"We haven't been here five seconds, and you're already jittery?" Lana muttered.
"Don't you know, Lana? She only acts like a child when it's something serious. And she takes her food very seriously," Kiawe said, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
At first, Lillie had found Kiawe's and Kukui's bare-chested attire alarming. But she had grown nonchalant to it to the point of normalcy, not that she had the confidence to show her own skin in public, unlike Mallow, who wore a pinky-red cropped top beneath her light-teal overalls.
Among the group, Lillie had quickly learned that Mallow was scatter-brained, worrisome, but daringly confident. Kiawe could be as serious as the Kalos War or burning with a white-hot determination only a volcanic eruption could generate. Lana was quiet but secretly as passionate as Kiawe, and Sophocles was a whizz of all things technological, a rare area Lillie rarely read around. Of all their traits, Lillie wished she was like Mallow. She wished she had more confidence.
"Oh, be quiet, Kiawe! You're just way too serious for our age!" Mallow huffed, twirling around like a cheerleader.
"No, I'm mature," Kiawe corrected with a stern expression.
"Yet you're a baby around your sister, and pray to Wela Volcano in your spare time. Mature, alright," Lana deadpanned, shaking her head. Lillie laughed with the rest of her friends, hers a modest giggle hoping she wouldn't damage Kiawe's bountiful, Pyroar's pride.
"Come on, Sophocles, back me up here," Kiawe said, only for the small boy to flinch away, dismissively swinging his hands in front of him like he was washing a Blastoise's shell.
"D-Don't look at me," he said, and the group laughed again, something Lillie found herself doing much more often since meeting them. Things were changing for her for the better. For that, she was eternally thankful.