The Elementals; Truth and Lies

Chapter 3: Samirah

My sleep is plagued by nightmares. It always is. I can hear the screams, the roar of gunfire, and the explosions from the missiles they were dropping on us. Everything was black. I could not remember what it all looked like, just the noise. I was so young that people say it is just bad luck that I remember anything at all.

My parents and I were on holiday in Vietnam. We didn't know about the war. No one told us. When we tried to leave, they told us that we were not allowed to.

They call me a miracle child; I was only one of the thousand survivors, me and only twenty other kids survived. I do not feel lucky. I do not feel incredibly grateful to have survived when my parents did not.

Sometimes when I close my eyes and just breathe, I can remember some random things about them. The way my mother flicked her hair when she laughed. My dad sneaking up behind me to wrap is slender strong hands around my waist and toss me into the air. When he was nervous dad would look at his watch. When mum was sad, she would do chores. Unimportant things that tell me what kind of people they were, and how much they loved me.

Sometimes I see a random image of a girl, sometimes I think she is my sister. But whoever she was, she had died with my parents. But I remember she had dull brown hair just like mine. I remember she smelt like cherry blossoms on a summer breeze. I remember a cute little monkey that went with her everywhere and it would tickle me behind the ears and play with my hair at every opportunity. Sometimes I have the absurd memory of her flying when she thought no one was looking. She is lost in the past. Just like my life.

Sometimes I sing our song. When I am scared that I am starting to forget them, or when I am scared in general. When storms and the bombs thundered above us, they would sing me a song it became our song. A song to soothe my nerves, to tell me everything was going to be okay. The song lied, but it is my reminder of them.

I sit up straight, gasping for air. I look around me, everything is just as it was last night. There are no bombs dropping on us and no screaming. It was a dream, only a dream.

Then I realise something is different. I feel movement at the end of my bed. I quickly retract my legs. I get the courage to look. And I almost passed out. There is a-a s-s-snake! H-how d-did it get in my r-r-room?

I completely lose it. I start scrambling up the headrest on my bed. Screaming at the top of my lungs. While the blue snake slowly slithers forward. My foster parents quickly run into my room to see what was wrong. They probably think it was another nightmare or something.

But when they see the snake on my bed, they started hugging each other and burst into tears. A-Are they crazy? D-do they w-w-want me to d-d-die? When the snake was only half a foot away from me. It stopped. And stared.

"Are you all, right? You sssseemed to be quite agitated in your ssssleep." I just screamed louder. Okay, I think, I have f-f-finally lost it.

My parents pulled me off the headrest. I started saying how lucky I was and how amazing this was. I just stared at the snake. It is beautiful, I will admit. But still terrifying.

"Allow me to introduccce myssself. I am Nebula, your Powermal. And you are my Elemental." I finally I pass out.

I woke up to bright lights. After a few moments, I realise where I am. A hospital. For a second, I think it was all a dream. Maybe I was in an asylum for crazies because I was hallucinating. Yea, that –

"Oh good, you're awake. I wasss ssstarting to worry." That stopped my line of thought.

Of course, out of the billions of Powermals, I could have gotten. I got a s-s-snake. Not a cute fluffy kitten, or a bunny, or even a tortoise. N-Nope a s-s-s-snake. For a second, I thought I was going to pass out again. But Nebula starts talking again.

"Oh. I almosssst forgot." She started to choke it seemed. For a second, I thought she was dying. I was so shocked I did not know what to do. Then she coughs it up. A rucksack, I have never seen in my life before. "Thisss wasss on your bed. I ate it when they sssstarted taking you to the hosssspital sssso you could have it." I slowly reach out to grab the sack. Watching her the whole time making sure it wasn't a trick. When I finally got it, I was surprised it did not stink and that it was not covered in bile or vomit.

I emptied its contents into my lap. There was a pure white, square pillow, with the air symbol stitched on one of the corners with purple thread. There was a weird backpack with no zips and no top, the earth and nature symbols stitched all over the straps. There was a glove, not an ordinary glove though. It's one of those ones that people with pet eagles wear, the fire symbol was stitched on the back and thumb in bright red. A black belt covered in a soft lining, there was the metal symbol as the buckle. But I could not find anything with the water symbol on it. Weird.

"Umm, N-N-Nebula?" She had started dozing, but when she heard me talking, she shot straight up. "Uh, w-was th-there any th-thing else? I-I c-cannot seem t-to find the w-water item." It is a wonder she could hear me at all through my trembling, meek whispering.

"I am sssssorry. But I would noticccce if ate ssssomething the ssssize of any of thesssse thingssss." I just slowly nodded seeing how foolish my question was. "W-Well w-what is all th-this f-for?" She glanced at the objects in my lap. "For the othersss I believe." I just stare at her.

"W-What others?" I breathed. She just smiled, c-can snakes d-do that?

"You'll find out ssssoon enough." Then she curls up and drifts off to sleep.

The problem is I do not want things to change. I am happy now. My foster parents have raised me since I was four, and I loved them. I loved how understanding they were; when I asked to stop going to school when I was six, they let me, and I have been home schooled ever since. It also meant I got to spend more time with them.

I wonder about my future. Obviously, things are changing. And I have a feeling I am going to be a big part of it. The future is unpredictable and a fickle thing. A breath could change a moment forever. Something is not right. I could feel the world buzzing with anticipation. Something big is coming. Are we ready for it? 

Well they do say that the prettiest eyes have cried the most.

How do you think she will go with the attention seeking Kim and the loud Hiro?

Let's find out! But first we must meet the others!

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