Her Smile

The first time I saw it, I had to admit I was shocked. Her face had been so dull and lifeless for the first months I met her, so to see it was amazing. Her eyes lighting up and seeing her lips turned up in a smile, then to hear her voice, so soft and sweet... It was like a miracle that Arceus himself had sent from the heavens. All those months, I'd been so worried that she would remain dead and lifeless for the rest of her life. After losing her family in that fire, it seemed she had lost everything. But after managing to get her to play with a Pachirisu, she'd giggled and smiled like there was no tomorrow. She just fell over with shrill laughter as the Pokemon tickled her and I joined in. It was so great to see her be lively. Her smiles were frequent as we played together, often exploring the area around Pueltown. We even sneaked to the Peril Cliffs once, but didn't get far since one of the Area Rangers saw us. But she laughed and giggled all about it as the Ranger escorted us home, looking up at him with wide, envious eyes. But it all changed after we entered the Academy. Her smiles disappeared and we stopped playing. She withdrew into her studies and focused on becoming the best Ranger she could. It was such a startling transition for her to go from the smiling, giggling girl to a hardened adult so swiftly even though she was still a kid. We played together sometimes still, but her heart wasn't into it like it had been before. Her second most memorable smile came, though, when we graduated. She returned to the girl I had once known: happy and bubbly, excited for anything that would be thrown her way. It was short-lived, however, as I didn't see her again for about a year afterward. I was sent to Fiore while she was still in Almia. She was so different when I came back. She was scarred from numerous encounters and the air around her was hard. She was completely grown up. She was only twelve, but she had already been through so much. The smiles were few and far between after I returned to Almia. We were sent on missions together almost all the time, but she rarely smiled. I'd do what I could for her with Jaden, my Eevee, and get her to smile sometimes, but it was always halfhearted at best. After the events of her becoming a Top Ranger, the smiles became non existent. I just wanted to see her lively again like when we had been kids. But it seemed that being a Ranger had changed her irreversibly. Especially after the events of Oblivia. She hasn't smiled in six months, at least not that I've seen. What if I told her? Would telling her my feelings bring the smiles back? Or would they just make her retreat further away? I don't know what to do. It doesn't help that she's stationed permanently in Oblivia now... Maybe the people there will bring the smiles back...