Floating around the room, Renee tried to kill time the best she could by looking at each piece of decoration displayed in the dining room. Her eyes locked upon the statue of a lucario, which had never been moved by anyone from its spot. With the light coming from the light bulb, the misdreavus managed to see a few cracks in the statue, which lead her to believe that the object might had been there for quite some time.
“Could you stop staring at this statue?”
Turning back, she saw Nathan looking at her in an insistent manner, as if her behavior was irking him. Once she stopped gazing at the lucario, the man continued eating the food he had on his plate, which was a mix of berries from different origins. The more time went on, the more she began to be worried. She had thought that Matthew would show up soon, but it seemed like he decided not to.
“I'm sorry for my wrong-doings, master,” Renee apologized. “It was a horrible thing for me to do, especially on your birthday.”
Despite her sincere excuse, the man continued eating his meal, ignoring her entirely. She was certain that Matt's absence was a really big hit on his morale.
“Should I go look for Matthew?” she asked.
“No, it's all fine. He'll come when he sees fit.”
There's no way he's okay with this. Master wouldn't show that things like this really hit close to home for him. I really feel bad for him. His son is only ten years old, and he's already cutting ties with his father. Speaking of parents, I've never seen Matt's mother. Master told me she went away after Matt was born. I really wonder where she could be at that moment. Should I ask master about it? No, it would certainly be impolite. He already has so much on his shoulders. Maybe I should get him to think about different things.
“Master, what is a pokémon?” she inquired, trying her best to change the topic.
He stopped eating, and looked at her for a few seconds before replying, “Why do you ask?”
“Well… I would like to know why there's such a distinction between humans and pokémon. What is the difference?”
“You see, the fact that you're asking this question shows that we're different. I know we're different, and I don't need anybody to tell such an obvious thing. Could we stop this pointless conversation?”
“Sorry, master.”
The man resumed eating his meal with Renee. She felt unsatisfied with Nathan's answer, but she didn't want to continue on, as she guessed that it would lead nowhere. A few minutes of waiting later, they both heard knocking coming from the door besides them. Renee's eyes filled with joy, thinking that it would have to be Matthew. His presence would probably make things for the better, and she had been waiting for him for a while. The man stood up and went to the door. Once he opened the door, Renee found out that it wasn't Matthew; it was a stranger and an infernape. The stranger, who held a present in his hands, smiled once he saw Nathan.
“How is it going, my old friend?” the man asked.
“I'm alright,” he said, staring at him. “Sorry to ask, but who are you exactly?”
“Oh, don't be sorry. I was the one who assumed you would remember me. We were friends in school, and you really were my best friend. After we finished school, I had to travel to the other continent with my parents, and I became a pokémon trainer. What did you become, after all of these years?”
“I stayed here and worked as an electrician for the city. So yeah, why are you here for?”
“It's your birthday, isn't it? I had to came here for work, and I thought it would be great if I could pay my old friend a visit.”
“I can understand that we were friends in the past, but now, it's different. If someone happened to see you talking to me-”
“It wouldn't change a thing,” he interrupted Nathan. “Nobody here even knows my name, and I'll fly back to the old continent in less than a week.”
“I'm sorry, but as you might already know, our family motto is there for a reason,” he said. “The monster never rests, Allen. I love the attention you're giving me, but I really don't deserve it.”
“Alright then,” the stranger decided, giving up. “Anyway, I wanted to give you this for your birthday, and I'm sure you'll like it. As I've told you when we were kids, you don't deserve such a life. Nobody deserves such a life. Farewell, Nathan.”
He gave Nathan his present and walked away with his pokémon. Once he was a few meters away, he glanced back with sadness at what his old friend had become. Nonetheless, he went on his way. Renee wanted to ask some more questions to this man, but Nathan closed the door before she could do so, and she then thought that he would find it improper for her to do such a thing. Walking back to the table, he put the present on the table and unwrapped it. All he found was a simple book which had no title on the front. After staring at it for a while, he went towards his chair and continued eating, disregarding the book.
“What is it, master?” she asked.
“My head isn't in the clouds, Renee. This man really doesn't know me. However, I know someone who might like this book.”
He paused for a second to eat a berry, leaving the misdreavus to wonder what he meant by that.
“Go into Matt's room and tell him I've got something for him,” he ordered her. “I'm sure this book will please him.”
Renee nodded and went on her way, going through the ceiling. She ended up in the hallway, and floating to the other side, she ended up in front of Matt's bedroom. She closed her eyes and went through the door, entering his room. Once she opened her eyes, she noticed that it hadn't changed in the slightest. The bedroom was still as sober as it could get in terms of decoration, and the only thing providing light to the place was a lamp on his bedside table. Scanning the whole room, she noticed rather quickly that the room was empty. She also noticed that his window was open, which lead her to believe that he had left the house by going through it. Looking around the bed, she wondered if she should tell the truth about Matt's disappearance, as she had no reason to believe that he would leave the house for nefarious purposes.
Suddenly, she heard a loud noise coming from behind her. Turning back, she found Matt collapsed on the ground near the window. He was holding a large, white item in his hand that Renee wasn't able to identify. When he stood up, he noticed her and his eyes widened in surprise. He took a step back, terrified by her presence in his room.
“What is it, Matt?” she wondered.
He remained there, staring at her for a few seconds before answering, “It-it's nothing. You've… You've seen nothing, I tell you.”
“Is something wrong, Matt? Why were you outside? Is Nathan aware of this?”
“There's nothing wrong, Renee. You don't have to worry about this, and Nathan shouldn't worry about this.”
“What do you mean, Matthew? Why would you have something to hide?”
“What I do in my spare time is none of your business, and none of Nate's business either.”
“Why are you telling it's none of his business? He's your father, Matt!”
“He doesn't need to know everything about my life. He doesn't need to know what I'm doing in my spare time, and no, I'm not committing crime out there, so there's nothing to worry about.”
“Then, why aren't you telling me what you're doing out there?”
He looked down to the ground, “Would you be able to keep a secret from Nathan?”
He must be doing something horrible. Should I tell him so? I have an idea. If I find out that it's something that's really worrisome, I'll tell Nathan about it, but if it happens to be unimportant, I won't tell anyone about it. I should be able to keep a secret, right?
“I will,” she said solemnly.
“For the past few month, I've been going leaving the house to paint,” he explained, pointing at the canvas he held in his hand with a finger.
When she looked upon the painting Matt had made, her jaw dropped. It portrayed a forest with such detail she couldn't believe he was the one who painted it.
“Actually, I've been going outside of the city to paint,” he continued, “and as you know, nobody should be able to leave the city. But I've managed to find a path by which I can leave the city. Don't tell Nate about this, please. I have no idea how he would react to that.”
“I will,” she said, still gazing at the canvas in front of her. After a while, Renee remembered what she went there for, and she looked at Matt once more. “Nathan is waiting for you downstairs. I think he's got something for you, and I'm sure you'll love it.”
“Could you tell me what that is?” he inquired, smiling at her.
“You'll see that once you go there and wish you father a happy birthday!” she exclaimed, glad to see that everything had been sorted out.
“I'm really sorry,” he apologized suddenly. “I thought his birthday was tomorrow, which is why I went there. Alright, let's go. I don't want him to wait any longer!”
The youngster quickly slipped the canvas below his bed and hurried outside of his bedroom, ready to be there, alongside with his father.
I totally forgot something. Maybe I should ask him before we go downstairs.
“Wait, Matt!”
He turned around before leaving his bedroom, “What's wrong?”
“Matt, do you know what a pokémon is? Like, what's the big difference between you and me?”
The smile on his face faded away, and he looked at her, trying to come up with an answer that would satisfy her. After a while, his eyes lowered and with all of the seriousness he could muster, he said, “I don't know.”
“I guess we could try to come up with an answer to that,” she suggested. “How about that?”
“That could be a good idea,” he replied with the same sincere tone.
They both went on their way downstairs, taking their time to do so. Renee noticed that her question affected Matt in a way she wouldn't have expected, but she decided that it visibly had something to do with the content of the question.
Maybe he feels like he must be able to answer that question, she wondered. In a way, that is probably the case. Master told me that the difference was supposed to be obvious, but Matt seems to be as oblivious as me in that regard.
As she arrived downstairs, Renee noticed that Nathan had gone away. The empty plate and the book had remained at the same place. Matt walked up to the book out of curiosity and grabbed it. He lifted the cover and looked at the first page.
“The Modern Warden,” he read out loud. “Essay on the relation between humans and pokémon. Published in 263.”
“That sounds like an old book,” she commented. “Aren't we in 463? Wait, this book is 200 years old!”
“Renee, do you think I can bring it up in my room? It seems to be the thing you were talking about.”
“Yes, this is what I was talking about. I don't think he wants it, so you might as well bring it up in your room.”
He closed the book and walked up to the stairs, “I'll do just that. Luckily, this book might answer our question, Renee. Could you call me when dad comes back? I really wanted to wish him a happy birthday.”
“Yes I will, Matthew,” she said, smiling at him.
As Matt was climbing up the stairs, Renee took a look at the lucario, who was still at the same place as before. To this day, they had never explained to her why this statue was there for, and Nathan would change the subject every time she would try to bring that up.
Ever since my master found me in the forest and brought me here, I've always wondered why the humans live in big, underground cities while the pokémon live in the wild. They both seem to be able to think and communicate, but it seems like the humans would rather enslave pokémon than treat them as equals. One day, I'll find out why there's such a difference between the humans and the pokémon, and then, I might be able to understand if this should really be a pokémon's fate.
And there's something about Matthew's whole story that doesn't add up. I'm pretty sure master wouldn't care if he knew about all of what I know. It's not like he killed someone or robbed a store. There must be something he's hiding from me. But what would that be? I really have no idea.