The Elements

"Mama! Look what I can do!" I yelled running at full speed toward my beautiful mother, who sat meditating in our bright garden, eyes closed, taking in the sunlight of summer.  

I watched her as I ran, the scent of many different flowers invading my nostrils, the brightness of green as the sun lit up every blade of emerald coloured grass.  

I slowed as I got closer to her.  

Her bright brown eyes were open now, gazing intently into the sparkling blue of the big pond that was concentrated in the centre of the garden. 

"Mamma?"  

"Yes dear?" She smiled. Her smile was so pure, so genuine that it made the suns rays look like dull chalk lines on a plain sheet of scroll. 

"May I show you something I just learnt Mamma?" I enthused. 

"Of course dear," her smiled widened.  

I turned to the pond and breathed deeply, partly from the long run, but mostly for concentration. 

I stretched my hands in front of me, and made a slow upward motion with them after sweeping them together. As I did so, a string of water raised from the pond and hovered in the air.  

I brought my arms towards me while making a circular motion with my palms one over the other, as if there were an invisible ball in them. Then that string of water broke off and formed into a hovering ball of wetness.  

I looked toward mother and smiled as her mouth hung open in astonishment. 

When I turned back toward the water, a sharp pain shot across my cheek, and I released my concentration, making the ball of water fall onto the pond with a sound like dropping a stone into the deep water.

I turned towards my mother's outraged face. She had...slapped me? 

Mother never slaps me! 

What did I do wrong? 

I must have misread her astonishment for shock and anger. 

"Don't..." Mother began, "don't you EVER let me see you do something like that again!" She screamed at me, her silky black hair blowing all over her face as a wind picked up. 

"I'm sorry mamma..." I sobbed. 

"That is no way for a ten year old daughter of an Empress to behave!" She yelled reaching out to slap me again. This time as I covered my face in terror, a slab of earth shot from the ground to separated me from mamma, making her slap the rock barrier instead. I looked toward the door to see who it could be controlling the earth. 

"Nanna!" I screamed delightedly, forgetting about the ordeal that happened only seconds ago, and ran excitedly toward her.

I was engulfed into her tight embrace and I heard as the rock barrier receded back into the ground.  

"You..." My mother growled venomously, "you've been teaching my daughter this haven't you!?" 

"No May-Ling, she learnt of her own accord. I teach her nothing but to read and write to your satisfactory." 

"Mother..." She spat. 

"Kimiko," Nanna said, ignoring Mamma completely. At the sound of my name, I looked up, through the tangled blackness which was my hair. 

"Yes Nanna?" 

"Come inside darling, your break is over." She said to me, although she was returning my mothers gaze. 

She took my hand and we left the garden, well an inside garden you could call it, as it had a glass roof and was surrounded by big walls, but we it nonetheless. 

After we walked through the long winding halls, and got to my room, we sat down on our mats to resume the lesson. 

"Now what were learning before break Kimiko?" 

"About the great Empress Natsuki" I enthused. 

"Right, well done," She smiled, making the wrinkles on her face stretch. 

"And who was she?" 

"An...Empress...?"  

"And...?" 

"And..." I paused briefly for thought and my eyes widened, "she was a spirit walker!?" 

"Correct child, she walked with the spirits," 

"But that means she..." 

"Also correct, she had the powers of the elements. She was a Mover." 

"What could she move Nanna??" I asked her excitedly. 

"All the elements my dear," 

"ALL of them?" My mouth sprung open. 

"Yes all..." 

"But how did she know that she could move things Nanna? Didn't the Great Spirit remove everyone's memories and imbalance the humours?" 

"Yes, but you are forgetting the one child the Great Spirit spared.' 

"Why did it spare the child Nanna?" 

"Because that child had the purest of hearts little Kimiko." 

"But aren't all babies pure Nanna?" 

"It depends on their destiny: what they are destined to do." 

"What am I destined to do Nanna?" I asked her. 

"You have to meditate to find that out young one."