The Power of Four

Chapter 11 - Aspen

A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed down on her tail. I felt bad for her. But I couldn't help but stare down at her tail. It was fascinating and not to mention, weird.

"I feel so bad for running out," Raine whispered, using that tiny voice that made it hard to hear.

"I hope that you know that it's okay." I muttered, staring down at a particularly interesting part of my flats.

"But it's not!" Raine wailed, "I ran out on Ash on her trial day! She must think I did it on purpose. She probably thinks I'm crazy"

"You?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Raine gave me a look and I sat down with her, trying to ignore the river water seeping into the corner of my dress.

"I hate fire," Raine repeated, fiddling with her still-aqua hair.

"Raine, don't say that. Ash... Ash has it hard, okay? She is fire and her personality... it's not entirely her fault. Entirely." I meant it as a joke, but I was glad that Ash wasn't around. Not that I hated Ash, but I don't want another argument.

"What? I don't hate Ash. I just... have a complicated relationship with fire." Raine confessed, tugging on her hair harder.

"I know you don't hate Ash. And I know you're scared. But we should go easy on Ms. Fire. I think that she needs some time... to herself." Okay, the water was bothering me. I sat down on a boulder, curling my feet away from the soaking sediments.

"This isn't about Ash," Raine stated bluntly, looking across the river.

"Then, what is it about?" I asked, thinking about my own family. Petal and Swamp. They were always there. There must have been a Father, and a Mother at some time. But where were they? I... It was so ironic that I had to remember.

Raine looked down, another tear falling from her eyes. "Well, you know how I used to live with my dad?" Her lip quivered as the sentence left her mouth.

"Yes, I do." I answered softly.

"It wasn't always that way. I was raised with both my father and my mother. Well. Until I was eight. Starting when I was seven, my mother always seemed distracted, and she always left the house. She started to kind of ignore me. On my eighth birthday, I woke up excited to hang out with her, since she promised she would take me to the pool. I woke up to flames. FLAMES. My house was on fire. Burning. Hot. FIRE. The smoke that floated up to my bed was suffocating. The flames danced up and down my bed, scorching and destroying everything in sight. The heat made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I fumbled out of bed as I made a run for the door. As I opened the door, I screamed in agony as I felt a burning hot pain on my arm. I could just feel it sizzling. I was sure I was going to die. I passed out after trying to reach the exit. I woke up in my dad's arms. I felt my arm burning."

She rolled up her sleeve, showing me the burn mark she received from that day. It was long, and I could see where some places were still black. Leaping lily pads... ouch.

"As I was hugging my dad and crying, I saw my mom slip out of the exit with what looked like a lighter in hand. She shot me a small smile and a grimace as she spotted my charred arm. Then, she slipped away into the woods. No one saw her but me. She did it, Aspen! It was her! She tried to kill me!"

I felt a loss for words. I couldn't say anything. I wanted to tell Raine that it was her mother that did it, and fire was only a weapon. Helpless, unable to do something. But at the same time, Raine is suffering! I couldn't disagree with her. I didn't want another argument!

She whimpered, "I know. It's no excuse. I shouldn't have run away from Ash. I was just so scared, all the memories were coming back. I wish I didn't have memories of that day."