Element

✭ Chapter 41

I sigh loudly. It’s not like anyone will hear me anyways. I’m again scouring the library for probably the fifth time this week, and it’s only Friday. I’ve pretty much searched through the whole library except for the farthest, back-most shelf that I’m currently sleuthing, to find a book that at least gives me the Air element’s name. I shake my head, pulling out a few books from the shelves so I can study them later. I spot a book near the bottom, called Of the Water Element, which looks like it could hold some information. I bend down to pull it out, but all my books topple from my arms.

Groaning loudly, I start gathering the books into my arms again. The book that I saw has fallen partially underneath the bookcase, and in an attempt to wedge it out with my foot, I bluntly kick it even father underneath the shelf. Shaking my head slightly, I set down my books, get on my hands and knees, and reach under the case. My hands encase something, but as I pull it out, I see it isn’t the book. It’s a slim leather bound journal, encased with dust. It looks nearly centuries old.

I brush the caked up dust off the cover, sneezing a couple times in the process.

Journal. The title reads.

I debate opening it, because it is someone’s private property. But I figure that whoever owns it must have left a long time ago for it to be this covered in dust, so I crack it open. In the top corner, written in a pretty yet sloppy cursive, is the name Cacillia Net. It’s dated from about 300 years back, which would explain the cracked, brittle pages. Wow. Am I holding a piece of forgotten history in my hands? I gently flip to the next page, in which I find an introduction dated 10 years after the Final Battle.

Hello reader, my name is Cacillia Net. I am probably long dead by now, but I am glad you’ve found my journal.

I was one of the Five. The Air element. And you’ve probably been frustrated you couldn’t find much information on me. I wanted it that way. Unlike my fellow friends from the Five, I didn’t want to soak up all the fame and glory. I tried to keep records of myself limited and vague, and I never went in for interviews. I wanted my story to be pure, to be told by me. And so I hid this journal, under the bookshelf of the one farthest back. I knew no one would go searching there for a journal.

To further avoid much attention, I have legally changed my name. I will now live forever more under the alias of Calida Benting.

My breath catches in my throat. Benting? Ms. Benting, my flying teacher? How could that happen? I breathe deeply again and keep reading.

What is in this journal you’ve found? An account of my fourth year of schooling, some of the War, and the Final Battle. I’ll tell you of all my days- good, great, and bad, the battles, life in general during wartime. I hope it is useful to its finder, because I now proclaim you the new owner of this journal.

I quickly snap the journal shut, and grab the other book from underneath the shelf.Suddenly, a face appears from behind a nearby bookshelf. It’s Kader.

“Oh. Hey Ramaya.” He’s recently gotten a haircut, so his previously medium length hair is now stylishly short.

“Hi Kader.” I stand up awkwardly and try to hide the thin journal. I just feel it’s not something everyone should know about.

“Let me get those for you.” He leans over, and grabs the pile of books I let fall earlier. “Where are you sitting?” I motion him towards the small table I’ve always sat at. He sets down the books, and sets his eyes on the dark sky.

“Thanks.” I say quietly.

“No problem.” He glances in my direction.

I sit down, and open Of the Water Element, which is a biography of the Water element from the  five, but told from first-person. The water element from the five was only a sixth-year. I smile slightly. His description of himself reminds me of Payson.