Finding Red

21

Silver shook his head. "Just leave me alone about it."

She sighed. "You know, I have a theory that perhaps you're not so bad after all, under that uncaring exterior."

"You really have no idea who I am," said Silver, "or what I've been through. You just walk around like some happy-go-lucky little girl who has no idea how fortunate she is."

"Then educate me," Crystal dared.

Silver scoffed. "I'd just be wasting my time. If you can't put two and two together now, you never will."

"I really don't get it," she replied. "You were so kind when I first met you. And yet you act like you are now."

He shook his head. "It was before I realized who you were."

"What?" Crystal asked.

However, Silver chose not to respond. He continued to walk in silence and Crystal fell into a pattern, realizing that even if she continued to pester him, he would stay silent. She still didn't understand what possessed all of them to treat her as if she were an enemy, but there was no helping it. She would have to find out when she met him again, because as Ethan had made it clear, there was some form of destiny that bound them all.

As she continued walking Crystal made sure not to upset any Metapod that were hidden amongst the grass. She kept looking at Red, wondering what the trainer was thinking. She wondered if he was still angry with her, and if he really thought that she didn't trust him. The thought that he could think that was horrifying. But those memories were her own sense of personal horror, just as Red had mistakes unknown in his past. Crystal wondered once again what he possibly could have done.

Red had always been such a dedicated and focused trainer. She didn't understand how someone so passionate and in love with what he did could do something atrocious enough that he would need to beg for forgiveness. However, that was what the contract wanted him to do. She wondered what his role in everything was. Just as Ethan had begun to answer more of her questions, she found herself faced with the new ones. She was sure that it was him who tied their destinies together, but she wasn't sure of how.

Soon, the white mist of the forest began to fade into darker shades of grey, until the light around them was a navy blue. The forest became more difficult to see, pathways shaded with the color of charcoal, the moon's light coming down in glassy shards between the foliage. Dusk was to come soon, and they would have to stop. Crystal could barely see the path ahead of her much less the way out.

As expected, Ethan stopped. "There's a lake a little ways away from here. We'll make camp there and leave the forest at first light."

"Sounds fine to me," commented the Kimono Girl.

Silver nodded at the expression, and Crystal watched as the trainers followed Ethan to set up camp for the night. The lake they ended up camping by was spacious, the light of the moon reflected across the glassy surface. She could tell by its curves that it was waxing to be full any day now. A gust blew by her and she shivered. They needed a fire for the night.

Instead of setting up a tent and camp like the other trainers, Crystal ventured off into the woods to look for firewood. She was cold, beaten down from the events of the day. The mist seemed to hold tight and frigid against her skin, leaving her in a kind of exhausted shellshock from the effect the environment had on her. In truth, even though she had been journeying for some time. It felt as if this were the longest Crystal had traveled while crossing the routes.

All she could think about while venturing into those dark woods, was how much she wanted to be home. She missed the smell of the cider Elm's wife would always make for her and her mother. She missed the feel of her sheets and the soft smile of her mother. Crystal missed the warm heat and watching her favorite sitcoms. She missed the blowing grasses and warm fall colors of the trees. She missed not being on the road, not worrying about making campfires, and not having responsibilities and worries. Crystal missed not being on her own.