[attr="class","postbody"]
the next time she enters the dreamscape, the king gifts the residents with a gift. [break][break]
a
memory.[break][break]
julie frowns at that.[break][break]
in her travels, she has made many of those. some more treasured than the last, but she knows even without opening the journal what awaits her is something from childhood (because the ones that stay the most, the ones that impact the most, are in youth, where the world is bright and new and... and...? [break][break]
for the solettes, was it ever like that?)[break][break]
the world unfolds like a picture book, julie playing the role of
perfect princess. she isn't happy about it. she never was. but when she looks up and sees a
lilligant in the distance, the frown becomes one of
heartache. [break][break]
she was beautiful. even as a child, julie recalls thinking as such.[break][break]
the pokemon her mother "treasured" above all else was the one julie loved most of all.[break][break]
they were alike, julie thought. they were both pink! they did their best to make the madam of the solette family happy. in julie's mind, young and clinging to the stars, they were similar. they were each other.[break][break]
she felt a connection with this pokemon that no one else could ever comprehend.[break][break]
she didn't realize how much she missed lilligant until the memory unfolds and all actions become controlled by the little girl with hopes tucked into the corners of her heart.[break][break]
"your flower... it's wilting," her tiny voice says, a small hand gesturing to the flora upon the lilligant's head.
"... do you want some water?" the lilligant tilts her head at the young girl, and the julie inside, all knowing, thinks:
if only just water could help. [break][break]
lilligant, however, is cognizant of her concern and pats julie's head. she hums gently, shaking her head, julie watching the way the dried leaves tremble with the action. [break][break]
"wait...! don't move too much... mother will be upset if your petals crack..." she purses her lips, fidgeting with the cuffs of her dress.
"... i'd be sad too." she gazes up at the lilligant, beautiful, tired, wilting away, and feels the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. even the adult julie feels heartbroken. [break][break]
the lilligant standing before her was a mere decoration. its differing palette made her
rare.[break][break]
and yet here she was, wilting away in the corners of the garden, forgotten.[break][break]
i could have been you, julie thinks.
i didn't want to be just something to be used.[break][break]
child julie, with all her wishes, gently took hold of the lilligant's petals and closed her eyes. she
prayed. [break][break]
(but julie knows how this ends. her mother's lilligant loses her charm, once the flower completely wilts. even now, she isn't sure what happened to her. had she wilted all alone? had she been sold off, despite the "deformity?" she doesn't know. she doesn't
want to know. [break][break]
i could have been you.[break][break]
in the same breath, she thinks:
you could have been me.[break][break]
had she been more rebellious as a child, lilligant would have run free. her flower would have recovered, julie is sure. because she herself is blossoming in ways she never thought was possible. they were each other's mirror, a reflection of possibilities. [break][break]
she regrets being a "good girl."[break][break]
and maybe the regrets hear her.[break][break]
when she opens her eyes the next day, something compels her to look at her PC.[break][break]
lilligant awaits her, ready for the journey ahead).[break][break]
[break][break]
⟡ — ⟡ — ⟡[break][break]
scenario: four[break]
notes: anyone else not get jealous over the pink little guy your mom loved more than you and instead saw yourself in it? honestly, same for julieroonie.