Dramatic Melody
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Dear Purrloin,
How are you?
I really miss you.
I keep asking Mom when you’ll come back and when I can pet you again.
But she always tells me the same thing:
“I don’t know.”
Then I feel sad, and Mom feels sad, and Dad feels sad, too.
And Hugh gets mad. Very, very mad.
I still remember the day you went away. I was playing with you and Hugh in the living room with a paper bag, your favorite paper bag. You were very happy, and I was very happy, and Hugh was even happier than both of us! And then...
And then…
They arrived…
And you were gone.
Whenever I feel sad or mad or bad about missing you, Dad tells me to try writing a letter to you. He says that writing letters to someone will make you miss that someone less.
I tell him that writing a letter is hard and that he can do it better, and that you won’t be able to read it. So I never write one.
But Dad says that no one can write a better letter to you than I can. And he says that just writing the letter, even if I don’t send it to you and even if you won’t read it, will cheer me up.
And he told me that you’ll be happy because you’ll know that I’m thinking about you.
I want to be happy, and I know you want to be happy, too.
So here goes.
Do you remember the first time we met?
Grandpa visited me that day and gave me a Poké Ball. I told Mom and Dad that I really wanted my own Pokémon, so I was very excited. I never told you about this, but Hugh had to teach me how to use your Poké Ball that day! I was so scared of breaking it.
When you came out of the Poké Ball, I thought you were the cutest Pokémon I’ve ever seen. Grandpa said you were the cutest out of all the Purrloin in the day care center, too! And when I heard you meow for the first time, it made me very, very happy.
That happened a long, long time ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Do you remember that day too, Purrloin?
Purrloin is such a cute name. Hugh told me that many trainers nickname their favorite Pokémon, but I wanted you to keep the name Purrloin.
Do you know why? Because it’s already the best name for you! I love hearing your soft purrs when I pet you or when I watch you sleep. And your name shows that!
Oh, I never told you about that, did I? Sometimes I watch you sleep because it makes me happy. You look so calm that I feel calm, too. You don’t even have to do anything but sleep to make me smile!
But you do a lot of things that make me smile.
Whenever you rub your body past my leg, it makes me smile.
Whenever you go to my bed and wish me good night, it makes me smile.
Whenever you eat your dinner with me, it makes me smile.
Whenever I see you, it makes me smile.
I hope you still remember all of that, Purrloin.
Hugh told me that when he's old enough to go on his journey, he'll find you and bring me back home. He promised me that when he beats the gym leaders and grows stronger, he’ll get you back from those mean thieves.
And when you return, that will give me the biggest smile of all.
Promise me you’ll come back, okay? Just like Hugh promised me he’ll get you back. I have your favorite paper bag waiting for you, too!
But until then, I’ll keep writing letters to you, and I’ll keep sharing happy memories so we can both smile.
I miss you, Purrloin.
See you soon.
Love,
Hazel
How are you?
I really miss you.
I keep asking Mom when you’ll come back and when I can pet you again.
But she always tells me the same thing:
“I don’t know.”
Then I feel sad, and Mom feels sad, and Dad feels sad, too.
And Hugh gets mad. Very, very mad.
I still remember the day you went away. I was playing with you and Hugh in the living room with a paper bag, your favorite paper bag. You were very happy, and I was very happy, and Hugh was even happier than both of us! And then...
And then…
They arrived…
And you were gone.
Whenever I feel sad or mad or bad about missing you, Dad tells me to try writing a letter to you. He says that writing letters to someone will make you miss that someone less.
I tell him that writing a letter is hard and that he can do it better, and that you won’t be able to read it. So I never write one.
But Dad says that no one can write a better letter to you than I can. And he says that just writing the letter, even if I don’t send it to you and even if you won’t read it, will cheer me up.
And he told me that you’ll be happy because you’ll know that I’m thinking about you.
I want to be happy, and I know you want to be happy, too.
So here goes.
Do you remember the first time we met?
Grandpa visited me that day and gave me a Poké Ball. I told Mom and Dad that I really wanted my own Pokémon, so I was very excited. I never told you about this, but Hugh had to teach me how to use your Poké Ball that day! I was so scared of breaking it.
When you came out of the Poké Ball, I thought you were the cutest Pokémon I’ve ever seen. Grandpa said you were the cutest out of all the Purrloin in the day care center, too! And when I heard you meow for the first time, it made me very, very happy.
That happened a long, long time ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Do you remember that day too, Purrloin?
Purrloin is such a cute name. Hugh told me that many trainers nickname their favorite Pokémon, but I wanted you to keep the name Purrloin.
Do you know why? Because it’s already the best name for you! I love hearing your soft purrs when I pet you or when I watch you sleep. And your name shows that!
Oh, I never told you about that, did I? Sometimes I watch you sleep because it makes me happy. You look so calm that I feel calm, too. You don’t even have to do anything but sleep to make me smile!
But you do a lot of things that make me smile.
Whenever you rub your body past my leg, it makes me smile.
Whenever you go to my bed and wish me good night, it makes me smile.
Whenever you eat your dinner with me, it makes me smile.
Whenever I see you, it makes me smile.
I hope you still remember all of that, Purrloin.
Hugh told me that when he's old enough to go on his journey, he'll find you and bring me back home. He promised me that when he beats the gym leaders and grows stronger, he’ll get you back from those mean thieves.
And when you return, that will give me the biggest smile of all.
Promise me you’ll come back, okay? Just like Hugh promised me he’ll get you back. I have your favorite paper bag waiting for you, too!
But until then, I’ll keep writing letters to you, and I’ll keep sharing happy memories so we can both smile.
I miss you, Purrloin.
See you soon.
Love,
Hazel
This is based on an old piece I wrote for college, and for some reason I felt like revisiting it and reworking it into this one-shot. That piece, in turn, was based on my favorite children’s book of all time, Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog. I’m still amazed by how that book handles such heavy themes in a way that makes it reachable to children, and I tried my hand in doing that both with the old piece and this one-shot.
“Dear Purrloin,” (yes, the comma is part of the title) is based on the (unnamed) younger sister of the rival character (whose default name is Hugh) in Black 2 and White 2. As Hugh himself reminds us quite a number of times in the game, his journey is fueled by seeking revenge on Team Plasma, who stole his sister’s Purrloin five years before the events of the game. Since we already hear Hugh’s thoughts on the matter, I wanted to explore how his younger sister reacted to the event, seeing as the Pokémon stolen was hers.
I hope I got that child-like voice down, since imo it’s the most difficult element about writing something aimed for children. Comments and criticism on the matter and on anything else are more than appreciated!
Thank you for reading “Dear Purrloin,”.
“Dear Purrloin,” (yes, the comma is part of the title) is based on the (unnamed) younger sister of the rival character (whose default name is Hugh) in Black 2 and White 2. As Hugh himself reminds us quite a number of times in the game, his journey is fueled by seeking revenge on Team Plasma, who stole his sister’s Purrloin five years before the events of the game. Since we already hear Hugh’s thoughts on the matter, I wanted to explore how his younger sister reacted to the event, seeing as the Pokémon stolen was hers.
I hope I got that child-like voice down, since imo it’s the most difficult element about writing something aimed for children. Comments and criticism on the matter and on anything else are more than appreciated!
Thank you for reading “Dear Purrloin,”.
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