‘So what am I supposed to do now?’

Since you were already doing it earlier, how about you keep learning energy control? Life suggested. We’ve put most of the energy into your Life Talent, and you can show this to your family and friends if you like. If you can learn a few tricks before then, I’m sure they’ll be extra impressed.

Oh yeah, go get those…alright alright, I’ll leave. The purple orb floated away, as the green orb shined a little more in brightness, presumably doing an orb form of a glare.

‘Can I beat Pauley if I learn fast?’ Amara asked the green orb.

In a fight?

‘Yeah!’

…sure. Isn’t his Talent just a toolbox though?

‘I’ll beat him!’ Amara is fixated on the idea.’He said that’s the only way I can make him make a teapot for me!’

Why would you want…never mind, let’s focus. Life began to teach. The core idea behind energy control is knowing it’s always a part of you, just like a limb or organ, so starting with control is like learning how to crawl or walk…

...

Amara didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up to the noise of something scraping on her bedroom window. Half groggy and half terrified, she got off her bed and went to investigate the sound, and came face-to-face with Pauley waving a long broomstick, one floor below her.

“What are you doing?!”

Pauley smacked the broomstick on the side of the house, until Amara got the hint and opened her window.

“My ma said you’re gonna need this!”

A full plastic bag came flying into the room, and narrowly missed Amara’s head as she ducked down. The bag hit the ground with a dull thud, and what appeared to be an apple rolled out.

“Aight, bye!” Pauley then dashed out of the yard with skilled fluidity.

As soon as he charged out of sight, Amara’s bedroom door was knocked on, and the mayor walked in after a brief pause.

“Gramps?” Amara was sure she looked strange, standing by an open window with scruffy hair and a mystery bag laying by her feet. “I can explain—”

“What did you do this time.” The mayor didn’t even bother to phrase his sentence like a question.

Amara then described everything that had happened since her waking up, making sure to put as much blame on Pauley as possible. The mayor walked over and picked up the bag as he listened halfheartedly, then his expression changed to one that was usually shown at a table of paperwork.

“Aight, get ready for the day n’ get downstairs for food. There’s somethin’ serious we gotta do today.”

The mayor then left with the bag without another word. Amara was puzzled, but she obeyed the mayor’s words and got ready for breakfast.

At the kitchen table downstairs, multiple plates were already stacked with steaming food, even more than what Amara expected from the usual. A curvy woman in her late fifties was still hustling in the kitchen, wiping her brow with a towel as she set down one more full plate. The mayor sat at the table, his cutlery untouched, as he stared at nothing with a big frown.

“Gran, what’s with these foods?” Amara asked loudly, trying to be heard over the busy sounds of the kitchen.

“Ask ye Gramps!”

“Come ‘ere.” The mayor came back to his senses and patted at the seat by his side. Amara sat down, feeling uneasy at the sudden formality of everything. She couldn’t recall anything that she had done recently, except for the mess that was her Talent awakening, and maybe accidentally stepping into the concrete by the street down east, or trying to convince the younger kids in the neighborhood that mud was a healthy nutrient source…

The dread only grew as she watched her Gran also sitting down at the table with a solemn expression. Nobody was touching the breakfast, and Amara was getting certain that she would be grounded until she became an adult.

“Amara.”

The girl shuddered: “Yes?”

“There is somethin’ that me n’ your Gran need to tell you.”

“…oh.” At least she’s getting the reason. Or reasons.

“You’re adopted.”

“What?” Amara’s expectations were wrecked.

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“It’s shocking, I know, but we reckon that you’re old enough—”

“I knew.”

The mayor was now the one to be taken aback.

“I saw y’all got white hairs n’ I don’t, so I knew it for a while now.” Amara explained her thought process honestly. “‘Cause everybody else’s got the same hair colors as their family.”

There was a long, awkward pause where the only thing moving in the air was the steam from the food.

“So, these extra food’s gonna be for your ma.” The mayor’s wife finally spoke. “Me n’ Pauley’s parents cleaned her up a bit yesterday, so she’s gon look better for ya to meet.”

“My ma? She’s here?!” Amara jumped out of her seat excitedly. “I’m meetin’ her?”

“Yes and no. We can pack the food up and go now, if ya want.” The mayor’s frown didn’t leave his face.

Amara immediately dashed off to grab some boxes.

Now, now, I wouldn’t be so happy if I were you. Destruction’s voice suddenly sprung up in her head.

‘Why?’ Amara thought back a response, while her actions barely skipped a beat.

Well…if she had an easy time with you, we’d probably not be with you right now. Life said vaguely. Just brace yourself.

Amara knew enough to have a slight idea about what happened to her mom now.

The food was packed up quickly, and the family set off for the hill just outside of town. Amara had been there a handful of times, but the path she took with her grandparents was different than what she’d been following before.

The mayor had brought along the bag Pauley threw into the house, and he was staring down at it nearly all the way to their destination, not speaking to either his wife or Amara.

The mayor’s wife, who was more widely known as the town’s head nurse, was more attentive to the child they brought along for the trip. She called for Amara to stay close to the adults every now and then, but she didn’t look much more cheerful than the mayor.

Just as Amara was starting to lose her energy, the mayor paused before a small stone slab by the side of the dirt road they were following, and said: “We’re here.”

“…this is her?” Amara pointed at the slab in mild disbelief.

“She…passed, not much longer after she had you.” The nurse said as she began to set out the food they’d brought in front of the slab.

“I was the one who found her, right at this spot.” The mayor finally spoke.

‘Is she dead?’ Amara thought incredulously.

Great diagnosis. Destruction heard her thinking.

Now is NOT the time! Life hissed.

The mayor handed Amara a small container and a spoon: “Sit n’ have a bite, if you’re up to listenin’.”

Amara sat down instinctively, her eyes fixated on the stone slab. It was smooth, a little shinier than everything else surrounding it, presumably because of the cleaning mentioned earlier by the nurse. There was no writing carved into the stone, but there was no mistaking it as anything other than a headstone.

“Me n’ your Uncle Kai from three streets away were out here for some wood, ‘bout…six years ago now.” The mayor began to speak. “Just about to bring down the first tree when there’s a scream. Sounded like someone was hurtin’, and it wasn’t anyone from town. Your Uncle Kai’s got faster feet, n’ he blasted straight up the slope behind us. Haven’t ever heard him sound so afraid before n’ since, screechin’ there was a bloody woman swellin’ like nobody else, lookin all bruised of all things…”

He gulped, clearly reliving the moment again through his own words. “Knew ‘twas gonna be a big deal, so I stayed here n’ sent Kai back for help. She didn’t look good at all, n’ I tried all that stuff your Gran’d told me, but she kept sayin’ she’s hurtin’ all over, so I just let her be ‘til your Gran got here.”

“You alright, kid?” The nurse asked. “You’ve not been blinkin’ for a whole minute.”

“Hm? Yeah, yeah.” Amara didn’t quite know how she felt at the moment, so she just scooped a spoonful of food and chewed it. It was lukewarm and tasted like paper, very much unlike her Gran’s usual cooking.

“Right. So I was yelled here with a cart, your Auntie Ashley n’ a few tools, and soon as I saw your ma I knew she’s gonna give birth. I wasn’t gonna let nobody be goin’ through the hassle in dirt, so I had your Gramps load her on the cart—surprised he made it through, ya know how bad he does with blood.”

The mayor nodded weakly and looked away.

“And…none of you knew who she was? Where she came from?” Amara blankly shoved another mouthful of food into her mouth.

“No idea. She landed right in town all tattered, barely even had time to say what got her all beat up before she started havin’ you.” The nurse shrugged dejectedly. “By the looks of her, you’re her firstborn, ‘cause she had it real rough, but I s’pose all the bruisin’ got to her too. It was definitely the worst birth I ever had, both of you were almost gone at some point, but you were an extra tough nut.”

“I could hear ya kickin’ n’ cryin’ across the main road.” The mayor added.

“Really?” Amara asked.

“Healthier than a horse, you were. Your ma though…she probably knew what was coming, ‘cause she kept asking for someone to care for ya. And I figured since I helped get ya to the world, I might as well help some more, cuz we wouldn’t be starved out by an extra mouth anyway.”

Amara sheepishly shoved more food into her mouth.

“This is all a lot to take in, but me n’ your Gran figured you ought to know anyways, and your ma should know that you’re done gettin’ your Talent now. I’m sure she’d have been more happy than you ‘bout it.”

Amara swallowed. “I dunno how to feel, Gran.”

“That’s normal, hon.” The nurse reached over and patted Amara on her shoulder. “You only just knew her. There ain’t no time for you to get used to her, and you can’t love a stranger right away, that’s all.”

What I can tell you though, is that if we didn’t manage to find you on time, you probably would’ve been here with her for a while now. Life quietly added. I remember seeking out an individual with extremely strong emotions, so I could say that your mother cared.

It was an one or the other situation, and I think you can guess who we decided to stick with.

Amara felt like she had a giant tangled bundle of strings as her brain, and there was only an unrelated matter that she could grasp: ‘Could anyone else hear you two talk?’

No, unless you are willing to lend some vocal cords.

“We got all the time in the world though,” The nurse continued speaking like she really didn’t hear anything or anyone strange. “And we can stay here much as ya want today. The whole reason why we talked this much was to get you to know her, least from what we remember anyway. It ain’t no anniversary for anyone, but you just crossed a good important bit of life by getting a Talent, and me n’ your Gramps think this is a good enough time for y’all to meet. Oh, she’s also left some stuff for you too, I have ‘em along, if you wanna see.”

Amara’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“‘Course she did, whose ma wouldn’t?” The nurse took out a handbag. It was mostly made of white cloth, but embroidered with blue threads the same color as what Amara’s eyes used to be. The embroidery patterns were prettier and more complicated than what anyone in the town could make, but the handbag itself looked quite worn, making the designs a little difficult to be properly recognized.

The nurse first took out three jewelry boxes, each containing a full set of matching earrings, bracelets, necklaces and anklets. Amara didn’t know what materials these decorative items are made of, but she could confidently say that those things are prettier than any jewelry she’s ever seen before in her not-so-long life.

“These’re a bit too big for you now, but they’re gonna look great when you’re older. Even if you don’t wanna keep ‘em, they’ll sure fetch a good sum on the market.”

“I’ll keep ‘em!”

The nurse then took out a metal button pin showing a design that appeared to be a flying bird. “This probably shows where your ma’s from, looks like a crest from some big clan, but nobody knows who. Wherever they are, they’re definitely a rich bunch.”

Amara shrugged; she doesn’t really have a sense for the importance of currency yet, and to her no family is better than her grandparents.

The nurse finally took out the last object in the handbag: a palm-sized transparent gem, with a smooth surface and rounded edges, as well as a small hole carved out near the top, presumably for ease of stringing through threads and hanging onto other objects.

Before Amara could say anything, the mayor exclaimed in shock upon seeing this gem: “You had it in that bag for all these years?!”