1 My gift. My power... and my Curse

A good twenty feet beneath the water, a curious-looking girl was seemingly resting herself on the seabed. Her eyes were shut and her hands rested on the surrounding sands.

From the depths of the sea, one can barely make out the color of her hair, the fairness of her skin, and the beautiful face that she bore.

Various sea creatures swim past her while she lay unchanged, but when the girls' eyes slowly opened, fishes, turtles, and sea snakes swam away.

Amanda Fisher blew air to make the surrounding spume sizeable, creating a ball of air around her and allowing her to breathe better under the sea.

Amanda has been underwater for nearly six hours. She knew it was about time for her to get up on land. The sun was about to rise, and fishermen were about to shore from their daily catch.

She swam up to the surface of the water and after making it to the shore, she slowly walked to the beach where boulders of rocks hid her coming from afar.

The sky was still dark and to any normal human life, the icy sea breeze was chilling enough for one to catch a cold, but not for her. Not for Amanda Fisher. There was nothing too cold enough for her.

Two years back, she lived in the polar regions and she reveled being under a thick block of ice. If not for the sea lions that constantly disturbed her rest, she would have stuck around there for good, farther away from the normal human world.

It would seem to contradict that the fire element of the earth sought comfort underwater, but it was the only way to keep her growing energy under restraint. Every week, she would rest with the sea creatures, silencing her entire body and neutralizing the strength of the red crystal.

From the shores, she looked around and saw no one. Beyond boulders and trees, her eyes could see from nearly a kilometer away. Sensing no other presence, she dried herself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The moment Amanda opened them, her previously green eyes turned red, reflecting the intensity of her flames. A warm air emitted behind the rocks and before she knew it, her clothes were all dried up. Her caramel-colored hair appeared to have received a perfect blow-dry.

Looking at her palm, she let out the force behind her strength. Her eyes glowed in red. She appreciated it for a second, but her enthusiasm quickly faded and so did the red crystal that shone brightly against her hand.

Everything was dark again the second she clenched her hand. She said, "My gift. My power... and my curse."

Brushing away her inner thoughts, Amanda hurriedly walked out of the beach, heading to her house.

In an insignificant town of Trinity Bay, although blessed with untouched seas, the huge boulders and large rock formation prevented the place from being stormed by tourists. Moreover, the powerful waves along the island shores have claimed many lives.

The force was enough to petrify all the town's inhabitants from living by the coast. Many preferred to reside in the middle of the island where it was safe.

Amanda, however, chose to live closer to danger, where she could maintain life alone, separate from others.

Opening the door to her beach-shack, she checked the time and saw she had three hours before getting to work. She decided to get more sleep.

Two hours and a half later, the sound of her alarm woke her up at seven-thirty in the morning.

"Shit!" Amanda exclaimed. She hurriedly got changed and left for the restaurant.

"Amanda! You are late again!" Said Thomas Kent, Amanda's first boss and owner of the restaurant cafe.

"Sorry, Mr. Kent. I overslept," said Amanda, arriving on her bike. After chaining her ride, she promptly got inside and shaped into her uniform as well as her regular heat-resistant gloves, which covered up to her arms.

"Good morning, Amanda!" Tracy Bell, her co-work greeted.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, latecomer!" Greeted, Thomas's son, Andrew Kent.

"Good morning!"

"Amanda, if you insist on wearing that, you should consider having variations of colors," said Andrew, referring to her lengthy gloves.

She laughed and said, "It's protection against UV rays!"

They both laughed, knowing it was ridiculous. If anything, Trinity Bay implied to have the shortest summer. It was often raining and constantly visited by numerous storms.

Amanda's day went by like usual, but at noon she noticed an unfamiliar face that came inside the cafe, ordering for lunch. She would not have cared if not for his handsome face and strong arms. To her, he looked like a celebrity.

Tracy came to her and said, "Whatever is that face coming here for? Did he lose his way?" She giggled before going to the table where the good-looking man settled.

Amanda merely shook her head and turned around. She was about to take her break, so she removed one of her gloves and headed for the back. However, just as she was about to open the backdoor, the man said to Tracy, "I want her to take my order."

She turned to find the man pointing his finger at her. Tracy and Amanda stared at each other for seconds before Amanda finally came to her senses. "Sure, that's not a problem."

Instead of putting back her gloves, she put it inside her pocket. She concluded, she was merely going to take his order. There was no harm in not wearing protection for minutes.

"What will you have today, sir?" She asked while pointing her pen on the order slip.

"I will have a T-bone steak and salad on the side," said the man. "And a fresh juice… Let's see. How about apple juice?"

She nodded and noted it down. "Anything else, sir?"

His blue eyes looked into hers that she felt herself melting away. She had never seen such an intense gaze in her life, moreover, paired with a killer smile.

Despite glancing at her directly, the man was unresponsive, so she repeated herself, "Anything else you want, sir?"

"You, can you join me for lunch?" The man said with a grin on his face.

She shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but I am busy. If you don't have any other order, then kindly excuse me - "

"Wait!" The man held on to her wrist; one which no material covering her arm.

She quickly let herself go, fearful of hurting the man, but after a second she turned back to him and saw him unaffected - completely unharmed.

"Wait! I'm sorry. I just want to know your name!" He held her wrist again, and this time she did not pull back.

Without a word, she watched him closely in shock. She felt a wave of emotions as she thought, 'How could this be? How could someone be able to touch me this way? My curse... Is he the answer?'

There were six masters of the earth, representing each element and holding a colored crystal within their body. Amanda was the element of fire. Within her was the red crystal.

After many years of living with normal beings, she warded off touching others. She learned this the hard way, nearly killing an innocent after her fire went out of control.

Except for the crystal masters, it had been three years since she had felt another one's touch. A single contact often sent a burning sensation in the skin.

Amanda looked back at the man who held her hand and wondered, 'Could it be him? Could he be the blue crystal master?'