Seasons Within Box Set

by Lele Iturrioz

  “Shush!” He squeezed his hands gesturing to shut up. “The leg that took the step goes in front. Rotate and hands to the side.”

  Gaia moved her left leg in front and placed her hands on her waist. “Like this, is fine?”

  “It would be, if your posture wasn’t so terrible.” Edan kicked Gaia’s left foot with his until it moved to the position he wanted. “The stronger your foundation is, the stronger you are.” He placed himself behind her and pulled her body against his. He centered her waist with his hands and pushed her lower back straight with the palm of his hand.

  Gaia’s body couldn’t help but react to his touch… and she hated it. She shivered; goosebumps crawled through her lower back to the nape of her neck.

  Edan took a few steps back and opened his arms. Her back felt cold at the absence of his body pressing against it. “Lift your arm, point your palm at my chest, and hit me.”

  She lifted her hand and concentrated on hitting him with a ball of fire, but nothing happened. “I can’t do it.”

  “Trust me, you won’t harm me,” he assured her with undeniable confidence.

  “Charming… but what I meant is that I don’t know how to make the fire appear.”

  Edan lowered his arms. He stared at her with one eyebrow higher, hoping she was kidding. “You already did it.”

  “Once,” she said.

  Edan crossed his arms. “Then do it again,” he commanded as if it was the easiest thing to do.

  “How?”

  “Think!” he yelled with impatience.

  Gaia closed her eyes and tried to recall any clue she could find to solve this problem, but her thoughts were blank. “No, nothing. Maybe if you-”

  “Shut up and concentrate on your releasing day,” he interrupted her. “Remember what happened and tell me what you need to wield?”

  Still with her eyes closed, Gaia took a deep breath and tried to recall everything that happened that day; her sense of freedom, her ability to expand her conscience, her shining marks, her necklace…the thought of losing her mother’s necklace made Gaia flinch. She then remembered how everything started after that. “I need to be angry,” she said and opened her eyes.

  “Absolutely wrong,” he said rubbing his forehead. “You need to feel. Your emotions are more connected to your capabilities than you think.”

  Gaia laughed hard. “Seriously?” she asked and tried to breathe. “That’s the trick? Feeling?”

  “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No, it’s just, how can you wield fire when you are the most emotionless person ever?” she asked still out of breath.

  “Because I’m that good. Now stop being a smartass and try to hit me.” He walked back and assumed his previous position with his arms open.

  Gaia attempted to feel, but it was harder than she thought. Besides the thousands of feelings she had right now, she couldn’t grasp onto one strong enough to fuel the fire. “It’s not working.”

  “This is a joke.” Edan gave up and lowered his hands. “I can’t believe you are Mother Nature. Do you know how many people gave their lives for you?” he snapped at her.

  The comment made Gaia want to vomit. She was a kid when that happened, but no matter when or how, all that blood was still on her. She knew it. She had relived it every night for twelve years. “I didn’t ask them to,” she said, trying to convince herself.

  “Of course you didn’t. You have no idea what it is to have any type of responsibility,” he continued and walked closer to her. “Spoiled brat.”

  Gaia took a step back. She felt as if the air was being sucked away. “Shut up.”

  “Or what?” he said and one of his lips corners lifted on a smug smile. “You’ll throw another rock at me?”

  “I’m serious,” Gaia said, her hands beginning to shake. Her eyes felt heavy and her chest burnt.

  “So am I,” he said. “I can’t believe I signed up for this nonsense. What would your family say now?”

  “I said, SHUT UP!” Gaia’s body was instantly covered in an aura of flames. The fire was bright red. It felt alive and powerful. Full of anger and energy, Gaia opened her palms and the flames expanded from her body in a 360-degree wave throwing Edan against a tree.

  Edan laughed, only this time it sounded authentic. “That’s what I’m talking about!” He clapped excited.

  Gaia’s anger vanished in seconds. She ran towards Edan who was still smiling on the snow. “Are you insane?!” Gaia bent down to check for wounds. Her anger was replaced by a sense of protectiveness. “I could have killed you.”

  “Darling, please,” he smirked as if he was untouchable, something that Gaia agreed with from time to time.

  Gaia brushed away the snow that had fallen from the tree into Edan’s hair. “Why did you do it?” she asked.

  “When you get angry, you lose any little control to the point that your body reacts by instinct. That’s why the fire comes out when you lose it.” Edan sat down and placed his hands on Gaia’s cheeks.

  “Close your eyes,” he said.

  Gaia felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She wanted to run away, but his hands on her face, his body leaning against her and his sweet aroma was making her feel dizzy. “For what?” She swallowed down her nerves.

  Edan softly smacked both of her cheeks at the same time. “Just close your bloody eyes and lift your palms.” Gaia did what he ordered and he lowered his hands. “Aside from anger, tell me what you felt before the fire came out.”

  “I felt… hungry,” she said.

  “That’s good, that’s the need you felt to use your powers. What else?”

  Gaia swung her head slowly trying to relive everything that happened before the flames. “I felt my skin vibrating, as if my body was weightless.”

  Edan placed his palms under her hands. Gaia moved them away from his touch, but he took them back and placed them in the same position. “And then?”

  Her chest fluttered and she remembered. “My chest began to feel warm.”

  “That’s where the fire comes from.” Edan placed his two main fingers on a spot a few inches below her throat. “Center of your chest.” He moved his hand away and stood up. “You need to learn how to control that center without having to get angry. Remember, you are not trying to control fire, you are trying to control yourself in order to wield the fire.” Edan walked back to his position in the middle of the training grounds. “Assume position,” he said and Gaia stood up.

  For the next several hours, Gaia and Edan trained. Fail after fail, Edan pushed Gaia to create a faster, bigger and stronger fire. Training and trying, failing and falling, they kept at it until before sundown. Gaia felt how her strength faded, the problem wasn’t getting the fire out of her, but keeping it alive and strong for longer than a few seconds.

  Gaia pushed her hands forward and flames flew towards Edan. He evaded the hit by swinging his shoulder to the opposite side. The ball consumed itself before hitting a tree.

  Gaia lifted her shaky hands again and tried to keep a strong position. “You can stop now. It’s getting dark and we should go back to the camp,” Edan said and walked away.

  Gaia followed, her body aching more with each step. “Slow down!” Gaia bent and hugged her sore ribcage. Her head pounded and her hands burned. “It hurts,” she said while fighting for breath.

  Edan stopped and went to her. “Where?” he asked with concern and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

  Gaia looked up and saw his glistening eyes searching for any wounds. “Are you... worried about me?” she asked. Edan’s face turned white.

  He snatched his hand away and rubbed the back of his neck. “Where does it hurt?” he asked with a harsher voice.

  “Everywhere.”

  Edan stared at Gaia. “Take your clothes off,” he said.

  Gaia looked at her hands thinking perhaps her body was on fire. She could feel the heat, the rapid palpitations on her chest and the vibration in her body, but her skin wasn�
��t on fire. Her fingers shook even more than before. “Wow!” she clapped trying to cover her nerves. In all her eighteen years she’d never been naked in front of a man and she’d never been asked to strip in such a direct way. “Does that work on Terra girls? Because on Earth you would need to do better.”

  “Please...” he scoffed with such discontent that Gaia felt her chest clench. “I’m not… courting you,” he said as if he was afraid of the word. “I need you to take your clothes off so I can relax your muscles with heat.” He lit his hands on fire to prove his point.

  “Don’t want to,” she teased to avoid showing Edan that despite his ‘twisted and hateful personality,’ he’d managed to hurt her feelings. Am I so terrible for him to react that way?

  “Just take them off!” He corrected his posture and smirked, “Or is it that you’re not wearing underwear?”

  “Of course I’m wearing underwear!”

  “Then there’s no problem. Take your clothes off and sit down,” said Edan and he stood next to a big rock.

  Gaia saw the rock and refused to lay down, she kept walking instead. “It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

  “So bloody stubborn!” Edan threw Gaia like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder.

  “Put me down!!” she begged. He ignored her and laid her on the rock.

  “You move and I swear I’ll knock you down.”

  Gaia stayed motionless while Edan warmed up his palms. Once hot enough, he placed them on Gaia’s arm over the clothes. “Just try to relax,” he rubbed Gaia’s arm and she snatched it away.

  “Agh,” she yelped, “that was not relaxing at all.”

  “Don’t be such a baby.” Edan took back her arm and continued with his routine. “It only hurts at the beginning.”

  Edan massaged Gaia’s back and she relaxed. Once calmed, the feeling was incredible. Her muscles stretched and shivered with pleasure, her skin felt alive, and the pain dissipated. Gaia bit her lower lip trying to suppress any type of sound from coming out of her mouth. “I guess it’s somehow tolerable,” she said, hoping to sound casual.

  “I could’ve worked better without the clothes,” Edan said without realizing the effect he was having on Gaia.

  “Not a chance.” She closed her eyes trying to concentrate on anything else. Even though her suit was fireproof, she felt like her skin was burning everywhere he touched. “You know, I love how the dome looks when it’s snowing outside.”

  “You mean when the snowflakes melt midway in the sky?”

  “Yes.” She looked at the sky and saw the snow falling. “How does the dome work?”

  “We have crystal daggers forged in the four elements. With them, we make symbols that help us control our surroundings, whether it be to camouflage or to change the weather or anything else we might require.” He moved his hands lower and Gaia bit her lip.

  “How long do they last?”

  “They last two days; but I think with you here, it’s different.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s been more than two days and they are stronger than before. It’s like you keep them alive all the time.”

  “Oh…” she looked once more at the snowing sky and closed her eyes. “Donovan told me no one can see what’s inside of the dome from the outside but what happens if they walk through it?”

  Edan pressed his fingers against her arm and moved them in circles. “They won’t reach the dome. Willow made an earth rune that changes the trees around the dome so anyone who comes too close gets lost and never reaches us.” He moved his fingers slowly on to her shoulder sending chills down her spine. “Besides, Donovan gave instructions to the animals to scare away any humans they find walking close to us.”

  “Smart,” she whispered almost dozing off.

  After what, for Gaia, seemed not enough time, Edan finished relaxing her muscles and they both returned back to the camp. Not knowing if it was the unusual contact with Edan’s hands or the nervous silence they shared on their way back, Gaia’s heart pounded like crazy the entire time.

  Finally arriving at the table, Gaia felt Edan relax and they both parted ways. The table was almost full. There were all types of food that resembled a renaissance wedding reception. The meat still had the deer’s figure and was hanging from two spears. At first, it looked unpleasant to Gaia but the smell was intoxicating. The sweet and sour mix with herbs and the honey smell that came from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table made Gaia feel like it was Thanksgiving. The veggies and fruits looked a lot like the ones she’d grown up eating, only these had brighter colors and bigger sizes, pure and untouched by the chemicals and hormones humans put on their crops.

  There was an open space between Willow and Synthia, one next to Priyam and Donovan, and one on the left corner where Hunter was missing.

  Priyam took a large piece of meat and passed it to Donovan but Veter snatched it on the way with one big bite. “Veter! I cut that for Donovan,” Priyam yelped.

  “No need. He’s a vegetarian,” Veter said with his mouth still full.

  “You are?” Gaia asked and sat down between Donovan and Priyam.

  “Since I was seven. It’s weird eating something that speaks to you,” Donovan said.

  Priyam choked once she got a look at Gaia. “Nice clothes, Trinity! How’s life in the Matrix?” Gaia looked down.

  Damn it! With all of her thoughts on Edan, she’d forgotten that she was still wearing that horrible thing.

  “Did you steal that from Synthia’s closet?” said Priyam continuing with her teasing.

  “Please, like that would fit me,” whined Synthia while Edan sat down next to her and Willow. “I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that.”

  “As if your outfit is any better,” Priyam poked back and Donovan choked on his food.

  Veter laughed and hit Donovan on the back. Donovan stopped choking and joined Veter.

  “Mine has class,” snapped Synthia.

  “Yours has a fish net,” Priyam pointed out.

  Gaia noticed a blue silk scarf Shui lent Cynthia to cover her scar. “You don’t need to hide it from us. That seems uncomfortable.”

  “Also, that Theta mark is as close as you’ll get to your dream sorority,” Priyam said between chews.

  Gaia glared at Priyam in complete disapproval and Synthia was about to argue back when Hunter jumped from one of the trees on top of the table to his seat, splashing some water onto Willow, Edan and Synthia.

  “Argh! This is, like, so annoying,” Synthia stood up and cried. “It’s so messy and wild and disgusting. Why do we have to live like homeless people?” she turned to Gaia. “And why does she have to be near me?”

  “Is it too late to change our minds?” Priyam asked. “You know, leaving her behind and let her meet her destiny?”

  “No, it’s not,” said Edan before taking a bright red apple to his mouth.

  “Yes!” Gaia slammed the table with her hand. “Yes, it is. We made our choice and she is staying.”

  Synthia stood up and stormed away from the table.

  “I’ll check on her,” said Shui, who got up and followed Synthia. Willow took a glass made out of a precious stone and served wine to Edan. The glass shined with different colors until the wine reached the top.

  Edan took the glass of wine and drank it. “Thank you,” he said smiling. Gaia felt a stinging sensation in the pit of her stomach. Why does he never smile like that when he’s with me? she asked herself, not understanding why something so trivial bothered her so much.

  Remaining quiet, Gaia and Edan exchanged awkward looks. Gaia was still in pain and still shaken up by the muscle relaxing session he gave her. As for him, he was his usual pretentious self.

  “How was your first class?” asked Donovan, trying to cut the silence hanging in the air like a dense fog. Edan and Gaia remained quiet.

  “That bad?” he said hitting the nail on the head.

  Gaia nodded, bad couldn’t even begin to describe how painful and stressful it was.
“Tough luck you got fire first,” Veter said eating half of his bread loaf in one bite.

  “What do you mean ‘tough luck’?” asked Gaia frowning unsure. “Isn’t that how it goes?”

  “No, for every reincarnation it’s different. Depending on the person, the elements express themselves in a certain order,” explained Donovan while passing the warm sourdough bread to Hunter. “It usually starts with water, since it’s calm and pure. You are the first reincarnation to have fire first.”

  Gaia knew that being different and doing things your own way was usually a good thing, but something told her this wasn’t the case. “Then why did I get fire?”

  “Probably because it’s the most unstable element,” Edan said and took another sip of Willow’s homemade wine, smirking at his own comment.

  Gaia smiled instead of yelling at him. “Fire is the only element you have, what does that say about you?”

  “That I’m composed and completely in control,” replied Edan with a wide smile.

  And to think he was so nice back on the massaging rock…Wanting to use her hands in any way that could leave him unconscious, Gaia ripped off a piece of bread. “Let me get this straight, for me it means that I’m unstable and messy but for you it means you have control?”

  “Correct,” he said with a smug attitude and took another sip of the wine. “I’m glad there are things you do understand.”

  That’s it!... “Ha!” Gaia forced out a mocking laugh, and leaned towards Edan across the table. “There’s nothing about you that I understand.”

  Edan slammed the wine cup against the table and mimicked Gaia. “Likewise,” he said leaning closer to her, taunting her, making her angrier.

  Donovan moved slowly towards Priyam and whispered in her ear, “Are they always like that?”

  “I hope so. I find them really entertaining,” she whispered back.

  “I didn’t know we would get such a difficult bratty reincarnation of Mother Nature,” Edan said. He placed his hands over the table and leaned even closer.