Water trickled in through tight cracks in the walls, dripping in the darkness. My hearing acuity has always been amazing, but it seemed amplified in this place. Every drop was like a melody, and the smell of fresh spring water made my mouth water with thirst. As I stood in awe, Ella gathered up a small pile of twigs from the remnants of a large bird's nest with a hum.
"Come sit with me, Maren. I need to show you some things." Ella called me to her pile of twigs as she sat opposite of me, the two of us facing each other with the pile between us. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees as she spoke.
"The wind, actually air, is an element. There are two true elements, which are earth and air." Earth and air? I've seen plenty of movies, this isn't right.
"What about water and fire?" I interrupted.
Ella smiled; "Like I said, there are two true elements."
Ella raised her left hand to her face, palm upward and flat as if she were holding something for me to see. I squinted as she pointed her right index finger into her left palm and began drawing invisible circles. A small burst of wind swirled around us then was drawn into Ella's palm, somehow visible before my eyes like tiny threads with their own will. I watched in awe as she brought her palm to her mouth, tipping it downward toward the ground. She then took a breath and blew gently into the small, spiraling wind storm she held. Sparks began to mix and tumble as she lowered her hand to the pile of twigs before us. With another larger breath, she blew the swirling sparks into the pile of twigs as it simultaneously ignited into flames and engulfed them.
* She just turned air into fire before my eyes! *
Her gaze met mine as I realized that my mouth was agape with amazement and I had been holding my breath.
"You see, the air can ignite anything, so long as there is enough energy to create a spark. Fire is not an element." Ella smirked, knowing she just proved a point to me. I was still stunned. What can I even say to follow something so magical?! I could only listen as she continued.
"Fire only exists because electricity in the air became great enough to ignite it. I just controlled the air. I gathered the energy and set it ablaze. Easy, but not to be confused with oxygen. These types of fires do not need oxygen to burn."
Oh, Ella was so proud of herself in this moment, and so was I. She had been hiding this gift from me for my entire life! Her tiny body, so delicate, carried the ability to make fire!
* No wonder mom and dad always asked her to start the fireplaces…*
"Like lightning?" I asked.
"Just like lightning, love." She answered with a huge, proud grin.
"Earth is similar, since its energy. It's not simply dirt, like many believe, but charged with warm, magnetic energy. Earth is much like air, it's useful in commanding things with its gravitational force and energy." She then took her right palm and placed it on the cave floor. After a moment, I could feel vibrations rising from where we were sitting, pulsating towards Ella's hand. With a groan, the cave floor began to rise up beneath her hand into a small stalagmite. The vibrations suddenly stopped as Ella looked at me with a smile again. Her demonstration was all I needed to understand what she meant. Earth has its own gravitational pull, poles, and magnetic field. It made sense, and I was in awe.
"What about water?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Water exists because of the air and the earth. It is collective energy that rains down from the sky when it becomes too heavy for the air to hold any longer. It moves in rivers and oceans because of the earth's gravitational force. Man has harnessed the powers of wind and earth for hundreds of years, with water and wind mills. So can we. You see, to command water and fire, you need to first command earth and air."
"Fascinating! I can't believe you have had these abilities all along, and I never knew!" My admiration for Ella just grew to an otherworldly level.
"Well, I've practiced them but I haven't mastered them. Still I was sent here to mentor you because of the aptitude I showed at a young age. I'm still learning as well. My favorite though, is manipulating water," Ella cheesed.
She raised both her hands and closed her eyes to focus. With a hum, another small flurry of wind encircled us. I watched in pure joy, as Ella summoned the water from the cracks of the cave. Droplets levitated towards her from every corner of the darkness. The droplets merged together in mid air, into small streams, which then flowed into a small undulating puddle, hovering just above her cupped hands. The light of the fire made each droplet appear to glisten and sparkle, I could do nothing but watch in amazement.
She opened her eyes, focusing intently on mine and mouthed "Watch this."
With a strong breath, she blew the puddle back into a thousand droplets, each shot upward and then remained suspended above our heads as if frozen in time. Ella's hands now also raised above her head, she suddenly dropped them to her knees. Every droplet rained downward at once, some tickling my face. The fire hissed as it sizzled out and we were left in the darkness, with the only light radiating from the entrance as the sun set.
"Wow, just wow! Ella, this is magical!" I could hardly contain my excitement. "Do you think I can do this?"
I was having some doubts, after all, the only thing I could do was hear the wind whispering. That doesn't amount to near as much as Ella just demonstrated to me, and I was certain she was holding back.
"Maren, you're destined to be an elemental. You were born with these abilities, just like you were born a spirit talker. It's up to you to develop your gifts as they manifest themselves to you. You're a skilled spirit talker now with years of practice under your belt thanks to an amazing mentor, and now you can master the elements." She spoke with such certainty that I was almost convinced.
"How can you be so sure? How do you know these things? How many people can do this?" I had more questions than answers at this point, and I wasn't sure what game she was playing at.
*Ella wouldn't lie to me, but this seemed far fetched, even for a spirit talker.*
"Maren, you're very special. Many humans, and mysticals, are gifted elementals and fewer elementals are also spirit talkers. It's incredibly rare that an elemental is able to master both air and earth, and manipulate fire and water." She paused, knowing that I had more questions but my mind was racing with too many to organize.
"How am I so special? How do you know these things? What are mysticals?" There was so much to absorb, I didn't even know where to begin.
"Slow down, Maren. The answers will come, I promise." Ella flashed another radiant smile. "Mysticals are exactly what you think they are, you've read books your entire life, let your imagination do the explaining. As for you- you're discovering more about yourself every day and soon, you'll have all the answers. Just know that everyone around you has been by your side for your benefit. We are all here to nurture and protect you. Your gifts are still developing, no one knows for sure what they all are or when they will reveal themselves but we have had more than speculation to guide us for years now."
More than a speculation? I chewed on this for a moment, grasping for what she meant. As if she read my mind, she continued.
"When you were only days old, a group of elder mysticals and a very powerful witch went to your parents with a vision. The witch claimed to know your future. She saw that you would possess and master many gifts, making you incredibly powerful. She said that you would be blessed- the earth would adore you and you would forever be in the universe's favor, but evil would seek you out and try to corrupt you so they can use you for their own agenda." Ella swallowed hard, then continued. "The elders and the witch offered to take you from your parents and hide you in a secret place where evil could never touch you. For three days, your parents kept them waiting while they deliberated. Your mother wept the entire time knowing that she would eventually have to let you go." A tear rolled down each of Ella's cheeks. "You know the rest of the story, Maren." Ella reached her hands out to mine with a solemn expression.
I knew enough prior to this to put the pieces together in this moment… my parents were warned, and so I was brought here, but it seems as though I had the order of events wrong until now. An intense feeling of guilt washed over me as I realized that my parents whisked me away to protect me and have been in constant jeopardy because of me, always worrying about someone trying to take me for their own sinister plans.
* All of these years in the forest with my makeshift family, feeling alone despite all the people around me, being the outcast in school, never fitting in… it was all to protect me. Every person in my household is apparently keeping secrets from me my whole life, yet there to protect me. Each of them must know more about me than I do myself. I have more questions now.*
"How many gifts will I have?" I asked.
"We don't know. The witch predicted many gifts but we have no way of being certain…" she trailed off, avoiding a real answer.
"What gifts did she predict then, if you wont tell me how many?" I wasn't giving up so easily and Ella was too kindhearted to withstand the pressure.
"Seven." I knew she'd crack!
"Seven?" I had already done the math in my head: Alma, Ella, and all the others that I have had by my side for years, not including my parents- six in total. It almost makes sense…
"I have six mentors then, that means the witch was wrong about my gifts?"
"No, Maren. Let me explain: You're correct about your mentors, there are six of us in total. Each of us has been with you, waiting for the day that each gift manifests so that we can teach you how to master them. But the witch knew of a seventh gift, one that no one has ever received in the past, which is why you only have six mentors. If the witch is correct, you'll possess and master more gifts than anyone on this planet, to include one that must be so special- the likes of which have never been seen before."
This was an overwhelming amount of information to process.
* Alma is a spirit talker, Ella is apparently an elemental, what about the other four? If I can find out, then I will know what my other gifts are… my thoughts were interrupted. *
"I know what you're thinking, Maren. You can't ask them. You're not supposed to know what your gifts are until they reveal themselves. There is a certain law about magic and gifts, Maren. They shouldn't be forced or fought, they can founder if they are. In time, you'll know everything that you need to. Now you'll understand why you're so special, and why we need to keep everything quiet. Our family- your mentors- we are the only ones that can know, for your safety and protection. You are our master and the whole of our existence is to protect and nurture you until you come into your own destiny"