"Then rest well. Should I help you ask Gus for leave?"
Sandy comforted Emily while asking.
"I already asked—Gus said he'll bring me food at noon." Emily said muffled.
Worried that Emily couldn't take care of herself, Gus had specifically reminded Emily about this yesterday. He would make her something warm and bring it to her house at noon. As for the evening, Emily only needed to heat it up in the pot. If she really didn't have the strength, Gus would also find time to help her wash the dishes and such.
"I see."
Looks like she didn't go hungry yesterday.
Thinking this, Sandy helped Emily back to her room. "Then rest well today. I'll stay here with you. Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet—no appetite."
"I see. Then rest a while first. I'll see what I can make. You should eat something at least."
Saying this, after settling Emily in bed, Sandy glanced at the Squawkabilly standing on the rack nearby, then went to the living room and lit the fireplace.
As soon as the fire started burning, the cold atmosphere in the house lightened considerably. Sandy then went to the kitchen, looked at the empty refrigerator, and couldn't help but sigh.
"And she was worried about Haley not being able to take care of herself—"
Emily herself wasn't much better off.
Thinking this, Sandy closed the refrigerator with a wry smile, tucked Emily's blanket in for her, greeted her, and went out.
Because she had been to the Community Center once before when buying Poké Balls, Sandy knew where to buy ingredients and such at a better price.
The winter air, besides a faint scent of pine needles, had a crisp, clear quality.
Sandy took a deep breath, watching the falling snowflakes as she walked to the Community Center entrance.
Just as she reached the door, she noticed that girl named Joy. She was wearing a thick hat and using a long pole to knock the heavy snow off the roof.
The snow had been extremely thick these past two days. Worried that the already somewhat dilapidated roof might collapse, Joy had been specially making time these past few days to clear the snow from the roof.
As the pole knocked at the edge of the eaves, the snow slid down along the slope of the roof.
After hastily dodging aside, Joy finally noticed Sandy standing not far away.
"Ah, hello." Joy smiled at Sandy, then asked: "I think I've seen you before—didn't you come to buy Poké Balls? What do you need today?"
"Buying some ingredients," Sandy said, explaining the situation.
"Ah—Emily's sick? No wonder." Joy said, walking a few steps into the house: "Speaking of which, Haley called today. But because it was so early, she asked me to tell Emily a bit later."
"I see." Sandy smiled: "Emily misses her terribly too. Even though they argued every day when living together, and sometimes even fought."
Joy smiled upon hearing this and took out a few bottles of Moomoo Milk from nearby: "This works very well for sick people."
Sandy accepted it and picked some vegetables as well. "So fresh. Are these also from the farm? They must be expensive in winter."
Joy shook her head: "Mm—still reasonably cheap, actually. I'm not too clear about the prices here, but these were specially grown by Ron in the greenhouse to make things convenient for everyone in Pelican Town, so they're quite a bit cheaper than market price."
"I see." Sandy finished picking her vegetables and couldn't help but say with some emotion: "That's wonderful. I even want to move to Pelican Town—although it's not winter in the desert, vegetables and such are quite expensive."
In comparison, even taking the 500g bus from the desert every day to buy groceries would be cheaper than buying directly from traveling merchants.
"Come by often in the future." Joy thought for a moment and added: "I remember that Nacli goes to the desert every day, right? If you ask Ron, maybe Nacli can help bring some over for you every day."
Joy completely didn't consider whether Ron would refuse this matter.
After all, Ron had never refused anyone's requests.
"That would be too much trouble for him." Sandy smiled, paid, said goodbye to Joy, and walked halfway before remembering Emily's matter. So she turned back and said to Joy: "If Haley asks these next two days, please don't tell her Emily is sick. She can't come back for a while anyway, and knowing would just make her anxious."
This was somewhat presumptuous, but she felt that if Emily knew about this, she would choose the same way.
Thinking this, Sandy went straight back to Emily's house.
She simply made breakfast and carried the tray into the room, helping Emily up from bed.
"Eat something." Sandy said, placing a pillow behind Emily's back to support her. "Right, Joy just said Haley called today. She said they've already left Lumiose City and are heading to Coumarine City—also said Ron got a badge and made a few friends or something."
Sandy couldn't quite remember the place names clearly. She recalled for a moment and spoke haltingly.
Emily paused. She sipped the warm milk in small mouthfuls, only responding after a while: "I see—"
"She also asked about your situation. I asked Joy to tell her everything is fine with you." Sandy continued.
"Mm."
Emily responded muffled: "Anyway, knowing wouldn't help her—it's good if she's happy in Kalos. She must really like it there. She used to fuss about moving to Zuzu City."
Now she has gone to a place even more developed than Zuzu City.
"She should be happy." Sandy said, reaching out to smooth Emily's hair on her face: "Business has been slow in the desert these past few days. Why don't I just come stay with you for a few days?"
"—Mm." Emily responded, handing the tray to Sandy, then slowly lay back down on the bed.
"Rest well. I'll call you at lunchtime."
Sandy reached out and rubbed Emily's hair, then took the tray to the kitchen.
After washing the dishes clean, Sandy dried her hands and turned to look out the window.
There was a thick layer of condensation on the window. After wiping it away with her palm, she looked outside.
Everything was covered in silver, and even that babbling brook had frozen over with a thick layer of ice.
Willy was by the river at this moment, chiseling a hole in the ice layer. He then cast his fishing rod into the hole with a sharp motion and sat down beside Krabby.
He was probably saying something, as puffs of white breath kept rising from him. Then, Krabby excitedly waved its pincers.
Sandy rubbed her cold hands and couldn't help but think—winter truly is a season that easily makes one feel lonely.
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