Come Home

To say I was nervous was an understatement...a understatement so massive it was almost comical. When the elemental council had decided to divide the borders and seperate the regions based upon elemental ability...it was the most heartbreaking and devestating event that had affected the land of Elemenania in recorded history.

To deal with the myriad of ego driven wars breaking out between the 4 elemental sectors, the government had done what they had thought was necessary at the time...like some sort of last ditch, desperate effort to bring peace to the Kingdom.

The worst part of it was...that despite the rebellions and uprising, it worked. By isolating elementals based off their affinity, peace had been seen through the land of Elemenania for over 400 years. This meant, that the last time I had seen my family was over 400 years ago...almost to the very day.

A week ago, the council had announced that their project had finished and that thanks to the centuries of peace, different elements were allowed to mingle again once more...the seperations between the borders had lifted and Elemenania was finally a single nation once again. This was a pretty significant time for most elementals, especially those allowed to return to their homelands and back to their loved ones. For me, it meant that I could finally leave the lands of the hotheaded and volatile Fire elementals and return back to my childhood home...a small yet cosy cottage nestled in the lush forests of the border between the Earth and Water lands. 

Once the borders had closed all those centuries ago, my Mother being the Earth elemental was allowed to stay at our home with my youngest sister who was also an Earth elemental. My twin brothers and my Father had been isolated to the Water Kingdom whilst my older sister and I were sent to the air and fire regions respectively, neither one of us had gotten our magical abilities genetically it seemed. The downside of this, was that at only 100 and 50 years old...basically teenagers in a elementals near immortal lifespan, my sister and I had been taken away from everything we knew and been forced to intergrate into a new society without our family.

I know it sounded barbaric, yet the elemental council had truly believed that they were doing the right thing in order to bring peace amongst the lands...and it had worked. The thought of seeing my family again for the first time in centuries...it had goosebumps breaking out across my toasty skin...something very rare and bordlerine unheard of for a fire elemental.

The last time I had seen my family, I had been an adolescent...they had missed basically all my developing years and now I would reacquaint myself with them as a young adult...what the dynamic between us all would be like I don't know and I wasn't sure if I was ready to find out. 

I wouldn't say that my life after the border closures had been awful, the council had been very careful in ensuring that all elementals were given the best care possible. As a young woman in the midst of my fire elemental studies, I had been given a full scholarship at the Fire Elemental training academy which included meals, board, education...and even a weekly allowance. I had made friends, albeit slowly and had even gotten into a few relationships. The fact that I had a naturally introverted personality in a whole land of extroverts...it certainly had made my formatative years difficult yet also incredibly informatative. 

Knowing this about myself, I had allowed myself to be 'adopted' by my more outgoing roomates and thus started my intergration into the fire elementals society. Years later, and I was now happily living with my partner of a century in a comfortable cabin on the edges of the active yet dormant volcanic plains that bordered the mountains between the Air and Fire lands. After my years of education and on the job training, I was now a proud member of the Elementals Emergency response department. Ie, like the fire fighters or the police in the human world...I aided in helping respond to various disasters and situations where professional aid was needed.

I had met my partner on the force actually, he was only half a century older than me which was like a blink of the eye in our lifespans...the same age gap between my older sister Natalia and I. His family had also kept me sane throughout all these years. He was one of the lucky ones you see, whilst my family had been divided up and spread across the 4 elemental regions his family hadn't been split up. In fact, his life hadn't been affected at all...not like mine. Even when the regions had been divided up, he had continued to live at home with his fire elemental parents and three siblings. 

He had enrolled in the Fire elemental academy once he had finished his degree in Fire Science and Legislation requirements. Thanks to my natural studious nature...I had been fast tracked in my studies that had resulted in me being in the same class as him despite our age difference. Having him in my life and being apart of a loving family dynamic had made me both more homesick, yet also comforted me at the same time throughout all these years. 

With him by my side, I was more than ready to see my family again after all these years. Sure I was nervous...and wasn't sure at how this reunion would go, yet I was more than ready for it.

When I had last seen them...I had been a young, incredibly shy adolescent girl unsure of her place in the world and perfectly happy to spend her days simply reading or hanging out with my family at home. Now, I was a young...still introverted yet confident women with a partner and a steady professional career. Whilst our physical location and circumstances may have changed, deep down I knew I was still the same person and I knew that they would be as well. I was ready to come home and see my family once more.