Elm Pt.1

Aurelia ran as fast as she could through the thick brush. If she didn’t slow she could get to the edge of the protected region and take her final leap to freedom - as well as her first step towards her revolution. Her ears were ringing in the same way the sun has a buzz about it on the hottest days. It was the elders doing, a weak attempt at emotional distraction. Physically it felt like she was running against the winds of a hurricane and none of it mattered. None of it was real. They couldn’t stop her from what she had her mind set to do, they could only disillusion her but her mind had never been more clear. Even the God’s have free will. She let out a thunderous laugh at the irony of it all.

All she wanted was to make them see. Nearing the edge of the protected land she leapt with one swift movement across the deep endless chasm that separated Elm from the rest of the world. Landing light as a feather, finally free, she allowed herself a quick glance backwards..

It truly was beautiful, Elm, trees that were wider than her toe to head and disappeared for miles into the sky with deep green vines cloaking them as if to protect their perfect existence. Untouched, even the dirt seemed to shine in its natural glory. The water from the waterfall, as tall as the trees, poured fresh and clear as glass.

Gathering at the foot of the fall was another being, not unlike Aurelia, beautiful and unafraid. He was staring straight at her with a look of knowing approval. They stared, locked into that moment and then it was over. He drifted away, off to enjoy the peace that comes with the land. It all was truly a sight to behold. Auerlia would remember it fondly. She took a mental picture and locked it in. When she returned, she’d hoped it would remain peaceful for the sake of moments like these alone but she understood the gravity of the hopes she harbored.

Her brow, furrowed from the part of her that felt the anguish of leaving home, quickly settled and raised to allow her upturned mouth to smirk in the knowing that she was ready.

“Bye for now.” She whispered and ran towards the future.

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Long before any recorded time you can find in your own ancient history there lived a protected realm of Gods. A society self named a modern day translation of “Elm”. The Elms were tasked to keep the world and all who inhabit it in a certain balance. Balance, in its most literal form, means an even distribution of weight. This did not mean that balance wasn’t sometimes painful, once in a while unjust or from time to time disastrous. For every yin there had to be a yang, for every life a death, for every victory a loss. The elders held themselves to one rule; they may not interfere with free will.

Meaning, if there was death there was nothing they could do but create life in its wake. That’s what I was told from the moment the Gods created me. They really hammered it in. Fix, heal, no free will. Like they were some other worldly cheerleaders for all things neutral in the mortal world. It wasn’t until I had been fulfilling my duties for over a century that I realized how dead wrong they were.

I fulfilled my purpose, I sat for endless amounts of time, watching. I restored the order of things as was expected of me but I was boiling over. Every single day. I watched heinous crimes, unjust punishments, abuse, poverty, war. These humans were greedy and far more interested in material possessions and monetary wealth than any gods favor.

I was having another off day the day that it happened. Feeling things I shouldn’t be as a being in my position. My stomach was twisted, longing with empathy and on fire with rage when I saw.

There was a woman in trouble, bleeding in the street, her shirt slowly being saturated from a wound the size of a quarter that a cowardly criminal had placed there. He didn’t know she only had $20 and a pack of gum in her purse. Didn’t know she had three children at home who waited all day to be out of school just to run into the comfort of one of her most perfect hugs while they danced in the living room to their favorite songs. He didn’t know that sometimes, late at night, she watched those children sleep and thanked us for the balance created to bring them to her.

And he didn’t see the fear in her paling face now.

I had seen many innocent humans die in my time here. I knew what was coming and I knew there was nothing I could do. I could create some unrelated life somewhere else to restore our way of things but it didn’t feel like any sort of justice. Tonight, there would be children whose worlds were shattered and that ripple of events would lead to things we can only assume but the Elm are taught to worry about the here and now, you cannot balance the unknown.

I felt something in me rip. A physical breaking apart of my heart and mind in one moment. It was pain in every sense of the word. I slowly rose to my feet and walked one foot in front of the other as far as I could go to the only place I could be alone.

Behind the waterfalls it was as if life didn’t exist. There was no noise there, no shouting, crying, bloodshed. Only me and the glistening rocks from the backsplash. Sitting down, I closed my wet eyes and focused on my inner light. Taking a deep breath I watched it grow, slowly, until it was no longer an internal portion of me but all of me, surrounding me with a bright white glow. Ignoring the slight dizziness I felt, I continued. I allowed myself to focus only on the man, the one that had taken away so much from so many over $20. I saw his face, his gun, I was so close I could feel the wall of warmth that was his body standing right in front of me. I felt his greed, the lack of remorse in his bones where it should have been.

The moment I reached out his face flinched in confusion and I almost lost focus letting out a small giggle. When I lifted his hand and placed it on his gun, his eyes glistened with the same fear of the innocent woman he had just taken from the earth. Inhaling I felt him trying to scream, trying to fight but I was a God after all, his fate was sealed. I felt the gun against his head as if it was my own, the barrel still had a hint of warmth from being fired the first time.

“An eye for an eye.” I spoke aloud and there was recognition in his face just before it went still and slack as I pulled the trigger. For a moment I allowed the light to let me feel him bleed. As if his pain was my own punishment for not interfering sooner because if I had maybe that lovely woman would be home dancing with her children and getting dinner out of the oven. Finally I returned to myself, eyes darting open and mind returning to the hum of the waterfall. There was a peace holding me tight and I knew what I had to do.

“All Gods have a purpose, Aurelia.”

I could do more than protect an order or balance the scales. I could and I would save these people from the evil Elm had allowed for too long.

And so, I started to run. Fueled with the knowledge that I didn’t need this “protected” place of the Gods. Why would I stay here when there was so much to be done elsewhere? All I needed was free will and a few tricks.

Little did I know, the moment my feet left the shining soil of Elm I had planted a seed in my own world and more would come, many more.

It was time to begin.