Water. Earth. Fire. Air.
Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A...
My mom wanted me to shop for back-to-school clothes. Like most girls, I love shopping for clothes. But back-to-school clothes? Don't even get me started! There's a dress code to follow: no spaghetti straps, shorts below the knee, closed-toe shoes, blah, blah, blah. Like most kids my age, I don't like going to school. You have a schedule. And you do it every. Single. Day. But there are some good things going back to school, like hanging out with your friends and writing. But you have a minimum of time though. And the teachers. Some are really nice, while others are.....not so nice.
But I didn't want to think of school right now. I was going to take it one day at a time. I was thinking about food. And I was hungry. Really hungry.
We went to the food section, but none of the food was really good. It had Burger King, Chinese food, Japanese food, and some weird smoothies that vegans drink.
"You've got to pick something, sweetie." my mom insisted.
"I'm not hungry!" I lied. Actually, I was starving.
That's when I smelled some delicious aroma. It made my mouth water. That's when I saw it.
The tiny shop was farther away than the others, and if I hadn't had smelled it, I would've passed on by. The sign read: Tea Leaves and Talismans. It smelled delicious, and I begged my mom to go inside. I was in my wheelchair, since I have cerebral palsy, or CP. I'll get more into that later.
"Oh look, a tea shop!" I said, pointing at the sign. Ever since I started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, Uncle Iroh had me HOOKED on tea. So it was no surprise to my mom that I wanted to go inside.
"That does sound good," my mother replied. "Sure. Why not?"
So we went inside.
"Wow......." I whispered excitedly.
It was absolutely gorgeous. Books of magic and spells were on the shelves, tea was boiling in an ornate teapot, and I was literally drooling when I saw the cakes on display.
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Not many people were in the shop, which relieved me because I have agoraphobia, a fear of crowds. There was also jewelry that was absolutely gorgeous. Necklaces, rings, diamonds; you name it! The only bad thing about it was that they didn't have candy. If Tea Leaves and Talismans had candy, they would give Honeyduke's a run for its money. Overall, my dream shop.
My mom bought me a turkey sandwich and some hot tea mixed with lemonade. It was delicious! But then, I saw it. I almost spat out my tea.
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It was a necklace. The necklace seemed to stand out from the others, and I felt like it was made just for me. It seemed to hypnotize me. The more I looked at it, the more beautiful it became. I begged my mom if I could have it. She winced at the price tag.
"Sixty dollars? Katelynn, are you crazy? No way are you getting that necklace! It's too expensive!" she told me. "You're not going to waste your money on this crap!"
"Aw gee, Mom! It's so pretty! I've never seen anything like it!" I protested.
"Pretty or not, I'm not letting you buy that thing!" my mom said firmly.
"I wouldn't buy that one if I were you," a mysterious voice said. We turned around and saw a little old lady behind the sales counter. Strange, I didn't see her when we walked in! My mom wheeled me closer toward the saleswoman. She was an Asian, and she was dressed in traditional Chinese clothes. She was about eighty or ninety years old, and she smelled like moth balls.
"Why shouldn't I buy it?" I asked her.
"That necklace is cursed," she explained in a shaky voice. "You mustn't buy it."
"Why?"
"Why? Because it's cursed, you bobble-head!" she said, slapping the back of my neck.
"OW!" I cried, rubbing the sore spot. "But how do you know?"
"This necklace has been bought many, many times," the old woman explained. "Every time someone bought it, they would be given bad luck."
"Aw, raspberries! You're just making that up." I told the saleswoman. She sighed and shook her head.
"Kids these days," she muttered. "Fine, I'll give it for half the price."
"How about that, Mom?" I asked her. "$30?" My mom smiled and nodded.
"That seems like a good price!" she said, getting out her wallet.
"You're don't know what you're getting into!" the old lady said to me as my mother bought my necklace. She handed me the necklace.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," she muttered.
My mom and I left the mall soon after. We kinda thought the "cursed necklace" was a joke the old lady made so my mom wouldn't have to spend a lot of money.
After I got home, I took the necklace out of the bag and put it on. I looked in the mirror and thought I looked beautiful
"Mom was right," I told myself, "blue really is my color!" I squeezed the icicle-shaped pendant between my fingers.
