True Perfection

Chapter 16 Memories

Nieala's P.O.V.
This. Sucked. It was flu season in Ninjago. Everyone in the monastery had gotten sick and gotten over it in the the same week. Except me. I had thought I was immune so I helped Sensei Wu take care of everyone. Now I was the only one being ordered to stay in bed. Plus I'm now learning that once you unlock your True Potential your powers act up when you're sick. So every time I sneeze or cough I levitate! And to add insult to injury I'm stuck in bed on the anniversary of the day my mom dyed. Every year since that day I would go to the park and sit on the edge of the playground. It was my way of honoring my mother. I tried to sneak out earlier but Lloyd caught me in the hall and begged me to go back to bed. Now I was all alone in my room with nothing to but think. I eventually dosed off lost in my memories.
It's like it was yesterday. I still remember every detail. My mother had taken me to the park and had run around the playground with me. We had spent the whole day there together. Just the two of us. We had been on our way home when my life headed down hill. We were crossing the street when a car came barreling down the street. My mother picked me up with her powers and landed me on the sidewalk just as the car sent her flying. The rest was a blur. Paramedics and police arrived and took me and my mom to the hospital. The doctor spoke to my dad in the hall. As for me I refused to let go of my mother's hand. No one blamed me. She died within the hour. My dad didn't want a big funeral. Just us at her grave. He had hugged me close and told me we would be ok. It would be ok...

I woke up with a scream. I was in a cold sweat and shaking from head to toe. Although I could blame that on the fever. Lloyd rushed in with Nya on his heels. Then came Cole and Zane armed with a fork and a spatula. They must have come from the kitchen. And finally Kai and Jay came crashing in tangled in video game controller wires. Everyone was yelling questions. 'What happened?' 'Why had I screamed?' 'Where should they punch?' "Mom." I said almost in a whisper. They all stopped. I'd never even mentioned my mother since the day we'd met. "What about your mom?" Cole asked. I stared straight ahead as if I was entranced. "Fourteen years ago. Fourteen years ago she died. She died using her powers to save me." Tears were streaming down my cheeks now. Lloyd was holding my hand. Cole's hand was on shoulder. Nya had sat down on the edge of my bed. Everyone else gathered around the foot of my bed. They were all there for me. "Every year I would go to that playground. When I was little I would hang from the jungle gym till my whole body went numb. As I got older I would sit and watch the little kids and their families enjoy themselves. I would stay there till it got dark trying to remember everything I could about her." I said quietly. It felt good to talk about it for once. It better having friends who were willing to listen. Everyone sat quietly with me till dinner. For the first time in years my heart didn't ache. I still missed my mom. But now I had a new kind of love that would keep me strong.