Heather sat in the corner of her room, hearing the fire crackle. Around her, near her, behind her, in front of her…
Inside her.
The purple walls of her rooms seemed to envelop her, consume her, as her breathing hitched.
She hugged herself tighter. She couldn’t be, right? No, there was no way. No way. No way. She was a fire elemental, right? Of course right. Her dad is a fire elemental, her mom was (at least she assumes she was), her whole family was, for as long as she could trace.
So why hadn’t she developed some fire-related power yet? Why? All the other kids had. She had to as well.
She thought back to her mom.
Something inside her heart stung like a fresh wound. Her mom had disappeared right after she was born, run off to somewhere. Her dad couldn’t join her yet, but he always promised Heather that it was soon. They’d be rejoined soon.
Heather had a question burning inside. Literally.
She pulled herself up, pulling open her window and sliding out and onto the ground outside.
In the Fire Side, everything was red. Or brown. Fire crackled at her feet as she softly tread over burned ground. She had to get there.
Get to the middle.
She was silent when she finally got there, looking up at the almost-impenetrable glass that separated the designated areas for each element. She stared right at the water zone.
She wished she could step right through and escape.
A drop of water escaped her fingertips, sizzling and steaming on the burning ground.
She was a public danger.
She was a water elemental. Everything in her life started to softly click together.
She was a water elemental. She was a water elemental. She was a water elemental.
She was a child.
She was lost, confused, and a scared-for-her-own-safety child.
And most importantly, if she got caught as a water elemental, she could die.
Heather wasn’t really scared though.
She was excited.