Timeline of Errors

Part 21 - The Next Step

After a long silent ride, Salamence landed on a town and we got off his back.

Tall ionic columns stood in the front entrance of the city build on top of white marbles. Torches of different colours were put in the sides of the road, acting as street lights. In the distance, we could see houses and small shops sat on different heights with white marble staircases leading up to them. On the far end was a hill where a small church stood at the very top of it.

"I'll be resting around the woods if you need me," Antonio said suddenly, "see you around... whenever,"

I turned around, only to find him walking away without saying another word.

I guess I'll give him some time alone... though I'm kind of worried, I thought.

Maybe I can get him something?

With that thought, I walked into the city and encountered the all-too-familiar alley full of small stalls. However, late at night as it was, the seating area was quite deserted and half of the merchants have already left or were packing up.

Hmm... what should I get? Gyros? Souvlakis? I thought and walked around, I mean, those are the specialties around here... oh, those pastries might be good too. Hmm...

As I walked down the alley, I spotted a metal wagon which looked a bit unlike the other hawker stands. Big alphabets stickers were pasted on the wagon, forming a short list of bread and cake sold in the stall. Seems like it was a bakery. By the metal wagon was a thin old man with eyes as thin as lines, smiling to everyone who passed by. People just kept coming one by one, queueing in front of the wagon. I watched the customers stepped out of the line one by one with a paper bag and a smile on their faces.

Oh, right. This bakery...

~~~

I took careful steps into the wilderness with a bag of bread in hand. The grass rustled underneath my feet, the cold evening breeze blasted my coat and skirt away. Relying only on a small flashlight, I looked around the prairie to check for any signs of camps.

Hmm... seems like he's not camping around here... I thought.

"What is it?" a familiar voice rang out from above.

!!!

I took a step back and quickly looked up. The very same person I was looking for was sitting on the edge of a huge contraption which looked like a yellow overcast Cherrim. The machine was hovering about two meters above the ground, and the young man's legs were dangling on the air.

"Val?" he asked.

"Ah, sorry... you... surprised me," I said, regaining my composure.

"What do you need?" he asked.

"I got you something," I said and held out the paper bag to him, "some food,"

"For... me?" he asked, his eyes widened slightly.

I nodded and looked up. One look and I know that I wouldn't be able to reach him without jumping up or without Golbat's help. I was just about to grab Golbat's Pokeball when I noticed a fair hand with long fingers held out towards me.

"You wanna go up?" he asked.

"Just for a bit, I guess," I said and took his hand.

I placed my hand on top of his, feeling his soft palm brushing mine. Then his long fingers intertwined themselves with mine. With one pull, I managed to put one foot up to the flying contraption. I lifted my other foot and flunked down next to him.