The Life of Livana Garmadon

August 11th, 2023

"Hold on!" I shouted, lifting up a hand. Nya jumped, looking startled. I gazed over at her and then shook my head, "No, you're not fooling me. I'm making this move." I jumped my piece over on the chessboard and then took Nya's king bot. Nya groaned, burying her face in her hands, as I smiled and leaned back, crossing my arms.

"Why are you so good at bot chess?" Nya smirked, "You're almost as good as Zane."

"Oh no, never. I could never beat Zane." I shook my head but my smile was still on my face. "How many checkbots was that, by the way?"

"30." Nya said, putting the chess pieces in a bag and tucking them away. "You're a literal genius, Liv. How do you do this?"

"I'm just that good at chess, I guess." I said, shrugging one shoulder.

Nya raised an eyebrow and snorted, "Uh, yeah, apparently."

Then, Cole came over and then rolled his shoulders, sitting down on the monastery steps with a sigh, gazing down at the clouds beneath us. We walked over to him and I sat down next to him, nudging his shoulder with mine.

"Hey, brother." I said, "What's up? You seem like you're in a thoughtful mood today."

Cole looked over at me and then looked back, shaking his head. "I'm just... kind of missing Vania again, I guess."

"If only Shintaro and Ninjago were closer together, huh?" Nya said, leaning against the monastery gates. "Does Vania have a phone that you can contact her through?"

"No..." Cole shook his head, "Shintaro doesn't use phones, which... sucks. I just really miss her today specifically and it sucks. Really bad."

"I'm sorry." I frowned and then asked, "Is there any other way you two can contact each other... besides, you know, through phones or physical visits?"

"There's the option of mail, right? Hopefully Shintaro allows mail to come in?" Nya suggested and Cole nodded.

"I mean, mail is an option." Cole sighed, "But it's going to take a long time for the mail to get here. I mean, have you seen the steps that the mailman has to take in order to get up to the monastery? It's ridiculous."

"Well, you can always try sending a heartfelt letter to Vania." I suggested, "Maybe that will even make you feel better, who knows?"

"Do you think... that you two can help me write the letter?" Cole asked, "You know, since I have messy handwriting and all that?"

I snorted, "Sure. Why not? Nya, you wanna help?"

Nya looked down at her watch and then shook her head, "Sorry, but I can't. I agreed to meet Skylar at the junkyard for some scrap collecting. We're planning on making something, so... Sorry again, guys, but I have to go."

"Okay, no worries. Have fun!" I called after Nya, who had run off. She waved to us without looking back and then soon disappeared down the steps of the monastery. I turned to Cole and then said, "Should we go to your room then?"

"Sure." Cole nodded and then nudged his head in the direction of his room, "After you."

"Oh, such a gentleman." I smirked, shaking my head with a laugh as I walked into Cole's room. I then leaned against the doorframe while Cole sat down at his desk, sitting criss-cross applesauce on his spinny chair while he spun a pencil he snagged from his desk between his fingers.

"I don't know what to write, other than I love you." Cole admitted bluntly, spinning around in a circle on the chair. "Those are very powerful words, but... that can't just be it in a letter, can it?"

"Uh, no. I'm no love expert, but even I know that." I took the pencil from Cole and then grabbed a sheet of paper from a stack in the corner of his room. "Maybe describe how much you miss her, after you start with your salutations, of course."