Two months after the events that unfolded in Sinnoh, I was back to living with Nelly and her family in Fuchsia City. Holly had recovered, and had returned to her own parents overseas. It was September now, and the cold had started rolling in, bringing with it rainy days and blustery nights. But also in this month came my birthday, the 20th of September. It would be the day I became a teenager. I tried not to remind anyone, but, well, that didn't matter in the end...
*
I awoke after a night of restlessness. Even though I didn't want a fuss or anything big, the thrill of my birthday still hadn't faded. It had lessened since I was little, but pangs of excitement still lingered in the reaches of my brain.
Despite any excitement, I woke up at a fairly normal time. I opened my eyes to see the curtains in Nelly's room gently waving in the morning breeze. After that I noticed that she wasn't in my arms, and that the pillow was still warm. I stirred gradually, rubbing my eyes and yawning. “Nelly...?” I strained, sitting up. The light from outside was fairly dim, and was made into a sort of purple colour by the curtains. The dresser sat by the door, and a mirror towards the far wall. There were two beds in this, her room, but only one had been used since we had come back.
Once my eyes had adjusted, I noticed that her pyjamas were folded up on the other bed. Perhaps she had gone for breakfast downstairs? From the bedside table, something caught my eye. There, on the small wooden top was a white envelope. Written on the front was 'Toby' with a heart symbol.
“Hmm...?” I wondered, picking up the envelope between my fingers. Then I remembered what day it was, and it all clicked in to place. “Ah...” I smiled. Carefully, I ran my finger under the flap of the envelope, opening it up. I pulled the card out from inside and looked at it for a while. On the front was a picture of a cake, a heart, and the number 13. I opened it and read it aloud, in awe at the quality of the handwriting if anything else.
“To Toby: Happy Birthday Sweetheart. I hope I can make today as special as you deserve it to be. Love from Nelly.”
Several kisses followed after that, and my smile grew wider. “Aww... She didn't have to do anything...”
It was then that the door slowly opened with a gentle creaking sound. Nelly slow stepped into the room and turned the light on, causing me to blink several times. She was stood there, smiling at me, noticing the card. “Happy Birthday, Toby!” She beamed, walking over to the bed.
“Thank you.” I grinned back, getting out from under the covers to hug and kiss her.
“I wanted to give you the first present.” Nelly said, holding me by the shoulders.
“Oh, Nelly, you didn't have to-”
“Shh... Think of all the things you've done for me.”
“But... Nelly...” I blushed.
Nelly reached into her pocket and reached around. “I'm sorry it isn't wrapped, but I really want you to have this...”
She pulled out a sparkling purple jewel, supported by a silver dress chain.
“N-Nelly...! That's... That's beautiful...!” I said in awe. “I-I couldn't possibly accept that...”
“Please.” She smiled. “I wore this pendant before I met you... But then you gave me this...”
She pointed to her neck where her golden heart-shaped pendant rested.
“You mean... It's yours...?” I went red again.
“It was... But now it's yours! Happy Birthday.”
She lowered the gem into my hands and marvelled as the cool metal casing around it tickled my palms.
