"Well done, village!" Oda, our new village chief, shouted. "You won against Metrolia! You are strong, valiant, and courageous. They may have injured our people and destroyed our homes, but you know what they did not destroy? Our will. We fought back against those treacherous fiends and won!" People cheered again. "In two days' time, we will celebrate our victory! First, let us rebuild and heal the wounded. In no time, our village will become stronger than before!" Even though she was young, Oda stood tall, her eyes shining with determination. Her every word rang out through the village, sparking a glimmer of hope even in the middle of the ashes. Everyone knew Oda's story. She'd had a traumatic childhood, losing both her parents. She was taken in by Chief Elder Ma'fora, who was rarely present in the East Village, always out helping other realms across Orionis. As such, she'd become one of the village's collective children, like me, Kaya, and Tola. She'd grown up into the extraordinary leader and fighter that she was today with the help of her gravitation abilities. "Are you sure you guys are okay? You don't need to see a healer?" Kenji asked us. We shook our heads. "I guess for now we can help get our village back together," I suggested. We left the center and started toward the edge of the village first. Our houses were mainly built of natural materials like wood, leaves, and stone, so finding replacement material wasn't hard. We stopped at a house that was almost completely destroyed. Kenji told Kaya, Chima, and Tola to stay and repair what they could from the rubble. Meanwhile, he and I would go get more wood and leaves. He led the way into the forest. "Hey, Kenji," I said, "do you think we'll ever be able to stop Metrolia for good?" He answered without turning around or stopping. "Of course we will. They don't stand a chance against us mages, as you saw today. If you are brave enough to stand up to them now, imagine what you'll do in a few years. You're gonna be way stronger than me." I hoped that was true. As I watched Kenji head deeper into the jungle, that idea lingered like the scent of smoke in the air. My muscles still ached from the battle, but the passion within me surged more intensely than ever. "When?" I asked. "When what? When will you get stronger? Well, who knows? You'll probably mature faster than me, so—" "No. I mean, when will we stop Metrolia?" I interrupted. He stood there for a second then turned to me. "It depends. If we—" A small leaf fell onto his nose, interrupting him yet again. It made him look like a fish. I doubled over in hysterics, laughing harder than I could remember in days. I pointed to his nose, my hand trembling with amusement, my voice catching between breathless giggles. "Fish face! You look like a fish!" The sound of my own laughter echoed through the trees. I didn't know why it made me laugh as much as it did, but if only for a moment, making fun of my brother made me forget about Metrolia. His face flushed with embarrassment as he swiped the leaf from his nose. "Ha, very funny," he said. I felt his palm on my head, and he kneeled down in front of me. "Now say it to my face, shrimp." A shy grin broke through his pretended annoyance. "You mean say it to your . . . fish face?" I got out from under his grip and started running away, laughing again. "Hey, get back here!" He laughed as well. I ran several yards deeper into the jungle until something caught my eye. Something was writhing on the ground. I stopped to examine it closer. "What's up?" Kenji said as he caught up to me. I bent down. "It's a baby bird. Looks like it's dying." Kenji's expression softened. "I know it's sad, but that's how life works. Everything has its time, and sometimes there's nothing we can do. We have more urgent things to focus on right now." I watched as the tiny bird's wings fluttered weakly against the ground. Its soft, ruffled feathers were a dull, faded brown, barely holding onto life as its body shuddered. The gentle rise and fall of its chest slowed with each passing second. The silence around us felt suffocating, broken only by the rustle of leaves under the soft breeze. I blinked back tears, but they fell anyway. Why was I so upset? It was only a bird, and I couldn't change anything. But maybe that was why it hurt so much—because I couldn't help it. I couldn't do anything. Not for the bird. Not for the village. Not for my friends. Not even for myself. "Kofi, let's get some wood," Kenji said. "Remember why we came out here in the first place?" I nodded, but the ache in my chest didn't go away. As we walked away, I glanced back at the bird, which was motionless on the ground. I couldn't stop the tears. We filled up the logsnake Kenji had brought with wood and big leaves then returned to the village. There, we met up with Tola, Kaya, and Chima, who were still hard at work. Tola turned to us. "Hey, they're back!" She looked at me with a concerned expression. "Uh, Kofi, what's wrong?" Apparently, she could tell I was crying. I looked up at my brother, who gave me a look then started unloading the materials we gathered from the logsnake. He unwound its dark green body from around his chest and began removing wood from its mouth. "A bird was dying. I…watched it die," I said, trying extremely hard to prevent more tears. "It's not your fault, Kofi," Kaya said. Chima squealed reassuringly, and Tola agreed as well. "It is though. If I had known what to do, it'd still be alive." "Kofi, it's not on you. It's Metrolia's fault. That bird probably got hurt in the battle. If they hadn't attacked us—" Tola started, her eyes hardening. She was right. It was Metrolia's fault—destroying everything, even the wildlife. "Metrolia!" My frustration grew. "I need to get stronger already!" All the anger I'd been holding inside came gushing out. Kenji raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you channel that energy into handing me some wood from the logsnake?" He grinned. "You guys keep working too—you're doing great. Let's get this village back on its feet. The sooner we do, the sooner we can celebrate...and train." The logsnake looked eager to have the rest of our supplies removed from its stomach, so I quickly emptied it. The five of us continued repairing homes and buildings for the rest of the day, but I couldn't get the bird out of my mind. *** Kaya screamed early the next morning, waking Chima, Tola, and me. "Sorry, guys," he mumbled, his face flushed with embarrassment. "It's okay," Tola said softly, wiping her eyes as she sat up. "Did you have the nightmare again?" I asked. "Yeah." Kaya's voice cracked slightly as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I don't know why it keeps happening. It's the same thing. I'm drowning...and I can't breathe. It feels so real." Chima hugged Kaya's neck. For the past few months, Kaya had been having the same nightmare over and over. We'd asked the elders and villagers if they knew the cause, but the answer was always the same, "It's a sign of you growing up. Everyone grows differently." Kaya didn't find it comforting anymore, and honestly it didn't do much to make his fear go away. Since we were already up, we decided continued to repair and clean up the village for a few hours. One of the elders called us over to help him clean up his home's interior because it had gotten roughed up during the invasion. Kenji told us we should go while he continued with other bigger repairs that needed attention. When we arrived, there wasn't much to clean up. Tola surmised that he might've wanted some company, because we saw his wife being taken into the healing center hours earlier. I didn't want to bring it up in hopes that we could help him take his mind off of her for a bit. After a few minutes of cleaning, we looked around the house to make sure we hadn't missed anything. "Is there anything else, Elder Yumar?" I asked. He surveyed the house as if hoping to find something. It was a small but cozy home, and the warmth of the fireplace radiated throughout. The smell of fresh fruit from his many plants filled the air. "Wow, you kids clean up fast, huh? Reminds me of Dohdra's cleaning . . ." He drifted into a melancholic murmur, his eyes beginning to water. "Um, is your wife okay, Elder? Did she get sick?" Kaya asked. Chima, Tola, and I all simultaneously looked at him with wide eyes, trying to silently convey the message, "Why did you ask him?" "It was awkward, sorry! I didn't know what else to say!" Kaya whispered to us. Yumar's muttering stopped. He stared at something on the ceiling behind us. I turned to see what it was, as did the others, but there was nothing there. He wiped his eyes. "She fainted. I don't know how or why. It's never happened before. We've been together for over thirty years, and I can't remember a single time when she got sick. One minute we were having a conversation, and the next minute she fell to the floor and needed the healers. At first, I froze. You know, at our age, if something like that happens, you always expect the worst." "So she wasn't sick but fainted and fell over?" Tola said. She took two steps, grabbed her chin in deep thought, then looked at me. "Do you think that has to do with the baby bird you saw yesterday, Kofi? You said it was on the ground, right?" "Yes, it was on the ground. It looked like it was in pain before it died." Tola looked at Elder Yumar. "Elder, did your wife look like she was in pain after she fell?" "No, she simply fell over and went unconscious." We stayed in the house for a few more minutes, trying to understand this new predicament. "I appreciate your concern and your help," said Yumar as we prepared to leave. "You all are such kind souls. Feel free to stay and pick a fruit if you would like, but don't feel forced. You can leave at any time. I was going to make some—" Suddenly, a large thump rang out as Yumar collapsed, his body jerking before crumpling to the wooden floor with a sickening dullness. "Elder!" I rushed over to him, my heart pounding. He lay twisted on the floor, one arm sprawled out beneath him while his head rested at an odd angle. His chest rose and fell faintly— he was still breathing. "Let's go get help!" Tola yelled. They ran out the door, screaming for assistance. Some villagers immediately came in and asked us what happened. It wasn't a long story. He appeared to simply drop in place. They rushed him to the healing center, while I met my friends outside the house. "What if we weren't there? What if he hadn't called us to help him?" Kaya asked, anxious. "I don't know. First the bird, now this? Tola, you may be right about the two things being connected. What did Metrolia do?" Tola smirked. "That is the question, isn't it? I'm this close to figuring it out." "What happened? You guys alright?" Kenji said, running over to us. We explained the situation. "So first his wife and now him? I also saw Notuo bringing her newborn to the healers on my way here. Something isn't adding up. This is all so weird. Let's go home for the night." As we headed home, I kept trying to think of what Metrolia could have done to cause this. When we got there, Chief Oda and Chief Elder Ma'fora were waiting. They said they were looking for Kenji. "It's important. Come with us," Chief Oda said to my brother. I'd never seen her so serious. Kenji glanced back at us. "You guys stay here. I should be back soon, I hope." I watched them leave then followed the others into the house. I sat down with them but after a few minutes stood back up and went to the kitchen to grab some apples. Standing in the doorway, I let my thoughts run. My friends were staring at me in confusion. "So are you guys coming or not?" I mumbled through the apple still lodged in my mouth, trying to mask my nervousness. Though still confused, they smiled at each other and followed me out. "I know where they went. This way," I said, leading them into the jungle.