Chapter 5 – An Interrogation Scene
K', Kula, and Eyie were inside the kitchen. Eyie was seated on a stool and had her hands folded on her lap. K' and Kula were sitting on opposite chairs on each side of her. It was like an interrogation scene from a police movie.
K' and Kula stared hard at Eyie. She stared down at the floor.
Finally, K' spoke. "Now, Eyie. How on earth did you manage to have flames, as well as ice and wind powers, all at the same time?"
"And why didn't you tell us in the first place?" Kula asked her.
Eyie sighed. "I'll answer K''s question first. I don't have any idea.
"My parents told me that when I was born, I was a perfectly normal baby. Until I was five, I lived like any little kid.
"Then, one day, my cousin got to teasing me. I got mad and before I knew it, I punched him so hard, he fell down. Then I felt my hand tingling. I looked down and it was covered with these pale, blue-green flames. Well, I started screaming then, and my cousin was screaming too, in pain and fright. We made such a racket that my parents and my cousin's parents came running. They took one look at us and started yelling. I got so scared I started to cry. My uncle and aunt tried to put out the flames that were spreading across my cousin's clothes, but it took them a full hour before they could.
"By then, all of us had calmed down. My hand was no longer on fire. My mom and dad looked at it but they couldn't find a burn, not even a wound. As for my cousin, he got a small burn on his cheek and parts of his clothes got burned off. He said that he felt like his whole body was being frozen and burned at the same time. Luckily, my aunt and uncle were understanding. They knew I didn't mean to hurt their son so badly."
She paused, and then asked in a small voice, "Can I have some water?"
Kula got up and poured some water into a glass. She handed it to Eyie. "Go on."
Eyie gulped down some water, and then continued her story.
"After that incident, my parents decided to help me control my powers. They trained me how to use the flames and ice, and they also taught me how to fight. You see, my father was a freestyler of the martial arts, and my mother was the daughter of a German karate master. I was also taught how to use a samurai sword, just to continue an old family tradition.
"Then I discovered that I could manipulate the wind. It was fun to use it for playing tricks. Nobody knew my secret, though. My parents told me never to tell anyone. But my close friend Ren Akujiki knew. Other than him, only my family and I know my secret." She sighed. "And now you two, as well."
"Okay…" K' stretched the word out.
"And the reason I didn't tell you guys when you first arrived because…well…I didn't want to. I didn't feel like showing off."
Kula cocked her head to the side. "Okay. But, one last question. How come you wound up living by yourself here?"
Eyie hemmed and hawed. "I just am, is all."
K' grunted. "Fine. We'll leave it at that." He got up from his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. "Guess teaching you won't be so dull anymore."
Kula smiled. "You're right. Things are going to get interesting, no doubt about it."
Eyie looked up at them. "You're still going to teach me?"
K' nodded. "Of course. Who knows? Maybe you can join us in the next tournament."
Eyie beamed. "Really!" But then she sobered. "I – I don't think I should…"
"But why?" Kula asked her.
Eyie looked out the window. "I… I need to go to my room to think," she said softly. She got up and left the kitchen.
K' and Kula looked after her.
"I don't think I should've asked her that one," Kula murmured.
K' just shrugged.
Meanwhile, in Eyie's room…
Eyie's hands shook as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. "I can't. I just can't tell them why I wound up here," she whispered worriedly.
A fleeting image of the red fluid on her hands crossed her mind. Her eyes widened as she shook with fear and guilt for what she had done in the past.
"Oh God…" Eyie groaned as she buried her face in her hands and her body started to shake.
To be continued…
