" Hey, Melissa!" I said to the lady at the front desk, dragging Penny into the building with me. " This here is Penny, and she's a Veevee enthusiast, like me! And she's kinda like me when it comes to talking to strangers. Penny, this is Melissa. She runs this place."
Melissa waved at Penny warmly, and Penny waved back.
I pulled Penny's sleeve. " Come on. I'll show you to the Eevee 's."
Oops! Bu görüntü içerik kurallarımıza uymuyor. Yayımlamaya devam etmek için görüntüyü kaldırmayı ya da başka bir görüntü yüklemeyi deneyin.
As soon as I stepped into the room, all the Eevee 's swarmed to us.
" Hi, guys!" I said cheerfully, crouching down to pet them. " I brought someone I want you all to meet. Everyone, this is Penny. She's a Veevee enthusiast, like me. Penny, this is the whole pack. There's Vanilla, and there's Rocky, and Dusty, and there's Sweetie, and that one's name is Cocoa."
Penny nodded shyly and stiffly sat down.
I handed her a brush. " Here." I said. " Try it. It's very therapeutic. Silver told me to come here once a week to help with my stress."
Penny's eyes widened as an Eevee sat in her lap. " You? Stressed? You seen so confident!"
I laughed. " Confident? Oh, no. I'm nothing like that. I'm a stressed person with too much on her shoulders but has to look like she's okay or else the whole community will start to question my abilities as Champion."
Penny blinked at me, her hand slowly moving the brush through the Eevee's fur like she was afraid it might disappear. The little fox Pokémon purred softly, leaning into her touch.
"But you're the Champion," she whispered. "You beat everyone."
"Yeah," I said, letting out a dry chuckle. "And you know what came after that? Expectations. A lot of them. Now everyone thinks I have all the answers just because I have a title and a trophy."
I reached over to stroke Dusty's back. He gave a happy yap and nuzzled into my side.
Penny glanced around at the fluffy Eevee crowd. "So... these guys help?"
"More than you'd think," I said, nudging Sweetie off my leg gently as she tried to crawl into my jacket. "They don't care if I win or lose. They just want snuggles and snacks."
Penny gave a little smile, just barely. "I think I get it."
The Eevee in her lap flipped onto its back, showing its belly.
"That one's Cocoa," I reminded her with a soft smile. "He's a bit of a drama king, but he loves belly rubs."
She reached out hesitantly, and Cocoa wiggled in delight. “He’s… really soft.”
“Right?” I said, watching her start to relax, shoulders easing. “See? Therapeutic. It’s like brushing away all the noise in your head.”
Penny nodded, focusing on Cocoa. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
“Anytime,” I said, leaning back into the fluff pile. “It’s not easy, being anxious in a world that never stops moving. But we don’t have to do it alone.”
Vanilla curled up by my side, and I sighed, finally starting to feel my own tension melt away.
“Besides,” I added with a grin, “it’s a proven fact that a cuddle pile of Eevee can solve at least ninety percent of life’s problems.”
