Tales of Amour.

Moving on.

Our way back to Lumiose City was a silent one. The air of uneasiness dawned. Even Bonnie wasn't her cheerful self.

After the rush of finding and meeting the girl on stage and realizing it wasn't Serena, everybody's morale was down. Clemont and Korrina tried to break the ice but to no avail. In the end, we just made our silent way to the station waiting for our train back to Lumiose.

"I'm sorry guys," I said, the guilt of ruining Clemont's and Korrina first Valentine weighed on me. " I hope you can forgive me for ruining today for you. It was stupid of me to think we'd find her or even expect her to agree to meet us".

Unsure of what to say Clemont just nodded. Clemont realizes how difficult it must have been on me and dismissing my guilt by words like " it's fine and don't worry about it" will only make it worse.

We reached Lumiose city almost in the middle of the night and even though at these late hours, the city was lively. The streets were as bright as day and the people were still strolling the station and nearby market. The scent of macaroons was still fresh and warm as they were in the afternoon.

I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was still 11:38 pm. " Looks like you guys still got some time", I smiled towards Clemont and Korrina. " Please guys, have fun okay? I know things didn't work out today but we all knew that it was already a tall order to find her in the first place. So instead of ruining the day entirely, I guess I'll try to look past it. Today was a cocktail of emotions but I never had so much fun before. So, Thank you. Thank you very much. It means a lot to me".

"Come on Ash, we are friends here! and today was more fun than watching a movie or going on a coffee date like this dum-dum would have planned", Korrina replied elbowing Clemont.

"Yeah, I think finding a friend's L-O-V-E-R with my lover was rather a fun activity than anything I'd have planned", Clemont said, earning a punch from me in the gut.

"F-R-I-E-N-D". I said punching Clemont in his gut playfully. " Friend, not Lover".

Korrina and Bonnie giggled watching our friendly banter. Though we parted ways soon after. Bonnie and I went to a few souvenir shops while we left Clemont and Korrina to spend at least the last few minutes of Valentine's together.

The entire day played in my mind like a broken record I realized I was too caught up in the quest to find Serena that I didn't pay much attention to the beauty of different towns and cities. Vanville was indeed a fancied version of Kalos but it was much more than that. The scenic beauty of the town in between the mountain was mesmerizing. I made a mental note to visit Vanville again sometime in the future. Not in pursuit of anyone, but to enjoy the thrill of visiting new places and meeting new people.

Bonnie pulled me into one of the souvenir shops. " I wanna gift Korrina something," she said innocently walking ahead of me with her arms crossed behind her thin frame. Bonnie was many things and In our small time together I saw many sides of her personality but her shy side caught me off guard. It wasn't Bonnie-like in the slightest. 

" You're adorable" I chuckled watching her trying hard to hide her gentle side.

"Well Of course I am," she said with a proud grin on her face. " Lumiose City will be half dull if I wasn't this adorable". 

Yeah.....maybe I spoke too soon.

"Anyways, do you have anything in mind for a present?" I asked walking the aisle of the store.

"Nothing in partic-" she stopped mid-sentence as she made a beeline to the jewelry corner of the store. She picked an emerald hairpin with floral leaves and golden lace on it. Unable to reach the height to which the hairpin was kept, she looked at me intently as she gestured for me to kneel and lift her up.

" You sure you want this?".

"LOVE at first sight" she squealed with a delighted face, the kind a kid would make only after getting their favorite toy which they only looked through dreamy eyes through the display. Instead, it was a hairpin in Bonnie's case.  As childlike as she may be her taste in things is more refined than usual kids of her age, or perhaps maybe she's just like a cat who like shiny things.

She held the hairpin high across the bulb. Maybe she was checking if it was shiny enough to blind Korrina for bringing such a glamorous gift? The artificial light from the bulb dispersed into multiple shades of green casting a greenish shadow everywhere it touched. The bright flecks of green glimmered in what I can only describe as a glorious dance of shades, from mossy green to deep forest green, from mint green to pine-ish green. One could only imagine how it would look in actual sunlight. Though it was safe to say that Bonnie's affection point from Korrina is going to top all the charts.

After our checkout and emptying a decent chunk of money from our pockets, we made our way to the station. It was almost midnight and we planned to meet at the station.

It was time to say goodbye to Korrina. Clemont and Korrina must have made most of this half an hour of solo time because it was evident from the smell of Clemont and a few funny marks around the nape of his neck that they were onto some funny business. I smirked at Clemont which immediately earned a startled and embarrassed response out of him, Bonnie however was too small to reach at Clemont's height to notice anything.

" Here, this is for you" Bonnie held out her hand which held the carefully wrapped box to Korrina. " Open it".

Korrina carefully unwrapped the box meticulously with clear anticipation and excitement on her face. Her narrow eyes which were fixed on the box widened in surprise as she finally got a glimpse of what was inside. Overwhelmed with what to say, Korrina just stood there motionless staring at Bonnie. " Bonnie... I .... It's..."

However, before she could complete Bonnie hugged her tightly. " Thanks for being a keeper Korrina, you're the best thing that could have happened to him".

Clemont stood beside me as we watched this heartwarming moment, but he had other fears in his mind. " So, how long do you think I have got in this world?".

"It's been a privilege flying with you, my dear friend", I replied.

After a hearty chuckle, Korrina gave me a small handshake which soon turned into a friendly hug. She whispered, " You'll be fine, okay".

We bid our farewells and boarded our trains to the Kanto region.

Bonnie and Clemont were too tired and passed out the moment the train left for the station. Insomnia was cruel. After an emotional wreck of a day, I saw time slip by and dove deeper into the memories I'd come to forget. 

Night changes people. The ride on the train makes it worse.  The silent atmosphere creates a perfect recipe for disaster when you've tried to be so strong and then the moment of vulnerability strikes. From twelve to five, time passed in the blink of an eye, and every fiber of my being tried to accumulate the strength to convince me to move on.

Moving on.

Two words, eight syllables, weeks of memories, and a lifetime of pain.

In the five hours of constant mental brawl and every possible reasoning, the first hour passed imagining all the possibilities of future chances.

The next hour and thirty minutes were spent deeply in love, living the moments in imagination. The next hour came like the first drop of cold water, denial seeped through.

The next thirty minutes were spent in anger, self-victimizing. The next forty minutes were spent bargaining ideas of unlikely possibilities.

Depression shadowed for the next fifteen minutes. Those were the darkest fifteen minutes of the entire journey complimented only by the darkest minutes before sunrise.

Acceptance.

The final five minutes were the most painful and emotionally exhausting. It was the moment of acceptance.

Moving on.

Two words, eight syllables, and one night changed the entire story of my pursuit of her.