Snippet #2545695

I am running. Running and feeling free, the wind in my hair, pulling at my braid, my loose shorts and flowing tank top moving with me. I climb up a tree, my clothes lose enough that my movement is not restricted, but tight enough not to catch on any branches. Grinning I look down as I see my friends are still looking for me, as I'm the only one who has yet to be found. Lanie, a blonde girl with big brown eyes, stands there listening. She is the only other elemental in my group. I close my eyes and get closer to the tree, hoping that her wind abilities can't tell her where I am. I slowly move around the thick tree and climb down on the other side before they see me. I'm by the river and dive in, breathing in relief the moment I'm under. I beg the river to flow over me like it normally would, and it agrees, though sluggishly. I close my eyes as let my senses become part of the river, feeling wonderful and free, the way I can never truly be. Suddenly I feel dirt being kicked into river. My eyes snap open. "shit." I curse. My friends are smart, I'll give them that.

It was probably Tony (Anthony Grass, don't laugh, that's his real name). He's always coming up with crazy solutions like that. I grit my teeth and try to ask the river to brush the dirt aside and not let it settle on me. I concentrate really hard, but the river is like me, it hates to be restrained, and I lose control. The dirt settles on my figure and I feel three pairs of hands reach down to grab me. I am wretched up so suddenly, it takes a moment for my lungs to realize they are supposed to inhale air, not water. When I can breath again, I cough twice and say "fuck you" in a dry, scratchy voice.

I look up into the brown face of Kari, who is laughing at me. She grins crookedly and says "Honestly, it's not our fault that you have lung confusion. Anyway, nice job. You held it for a WHOLE MINUTE this time!" I scowl at her and she laughs. I hate that I still am not that good at controlling my powers. I mean..I'm the 2nd best in our age group, but that's not saying much.

"Hey!" I say, "Least my senses could tell why you guys were based on the dirt. Lanie, couldn't sense me when I was hugging a tree."
Lanie laughs. Tony, who is always defensive of Lanie says, "Yes, the poor tree must have been groaning under your weight. It's pained cries probably confused her." I laugh with all my friends.

After laying around a joking for a while we walked my into the village, and I feel myself lose my carefree feeling as the weight of being inside my home, where my Mother can affect everything I do settles on me. Of course my friends see, but they just keep joking with me, knowing I'm always this way. I can't control this. I always feel oppressed. Water can be molded into any shape, yes, but it escapes the moment the mold is gone. It likes to be free. The Village is my mold, and the moment I leave it, I'm free.

I know that my mother must feel the same way. Mum's an air elemental, she knows what it's like to want to be completely free, I know she does. I see how her smiles are wider, her eyes less tired when she is outside of the village. Yet she keeps forcing me to come back, she keeps forcing me into a mold of who she wants as a daughter, and I know I can't take it much longer. Eventually I'll explode, but in the meantime I feel like I'm slowly dying.