Flashback Special #1 (Her Diligence)
The tiny red butterfly caught the warm gentle breeze just in time to avoid the grasping hands of the little girl. Squealing with glee, she leapt up from where she had been kneeling in meditation, scattering the gravel filled semicircle, and chased after the elusive insect that now floated high above her – its colour contrasting heavily with the clear blue sky. Too busy looking up as she ran across the large inner garden, the girl failed to notice the ornate rock circle display in front of her, and tripped over it, falling heavily on her knees.
"Oww!" Tears began to fill up her eyes, and she started to wail loudly at the pain lancing through her knee – as she lifted up her muddied white kimono to assess the damage and saw tiny blood spots emerging through the light graze. Since it had exploded suddenly, the pain didn't seem like it was ever going to go away.
"Sheena…" The voice was old, rich with experience and wisdom, and the young girl instinctively cringed on hearing it. Despite her injury, she knew was in trouble again. Hesitantly looking up, Sheena swallowed nervously and scrubbed at her damp eyes as the elderly man crouched down beside her.
His face wore severe frown for a few moments, before his features softened and he took the young girl's leg in his wizened hands. "Does it hurt?"
Sheena sniffed and slowly nodded, watching in awe as the old man gently set her leg down, then leaned over to pluck several leaves from a nearby plant beside him.
"The pain will fade." His voice was soft as he took one of the leaves and ripped it into pieces – sprinkling them over the graze. "Listen to me. These are leaves from the Seiku plant. It is quite common, and can be found growing wild all over the country." Taking the second, he placed it over the graze and held it in place while he plucked a handful of thin, sturdy reeds from nearby.
"The Seiku plant has long been used as an anaesthetic, but it also contains properties which aid the healing process. You should remember this."
He tied the leaf in place with the reeds and rose to his feet, gesturing that Sheena should rise also. The young girl stiffly obeyed, feeling that the healing and pain-killing aspects of the plant were over-exaggerated.
"Have you advanced your studies further today, Sheena?" the elderly man asked after a few moments.
Sheena nodded vigorously until she saw a stern look cross his face, and then the nod slowly became a slow shake of the head.
"I tried, Grandpa Igaguri, I really did, but I just can't do it!" she wailed apologetically. "It's too hard."
"Sheena…" Igaguri sighed and looked across the deserted garden, located at the centre of his house, and bordered on all sides by the house walls. "Remember now what I said yesterday. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Now think, surely you must have made some progress today?"
"Well…" Sheena closed her eyes in thought and scuffed a foot across the ground. "I…almost summoned a guardian of wind…but it failed…so, so I tried following the, the ancient texts…but, um, but I couldn't get any of them to work." She paused for breath, and sighed. "I'm never gonna be…uh, going to be, good at this."
"You attempted all of the writings?" Igaguri smiled underneath his soft white beard and shook his head. "Sheena, while I admire the effort you put into your studies, you must take these things one step at a time. The greedy bird who attempts to carry too many worms cannot fly for the weight, and thus fails to escape the hungry cat."
The young girl nodded glumly, understanding the analogy. "I know…I wanna," she caught herself again, "I want to do well…but it's so hard."
"Sheena…" Chief Igaguri bent down again, resting his hands on the small girl's shoulders. "You are but six years old, and there will be many obstacles you'll face in life which you may find difficult to overcome to begin with."
Sheena looked up, realising as she ran a hand through it that her hair had fallen out of the ornamental pigtails they had been placed in. "Was there ever anything that you couldn't do Grandpa?" she asked, hastily fumbling with the unruly purple locks.
"Of course," he replied. "But, each time, I tried and tried until I overcame them. Should you ever be unsuccessful, then take comfort in the knowledge that every failure can teach us important lessons."
Sheena frowned and sucked thoughtfully on a finger. "Um...I'm not sure I get it Grandpa…but I'll try. I'll try real hard."
"I know you will, little Sheena. Already I see an immense strength and willpower flowing through you – one that shall only increase in time. Keep practising and you will become a master of your arts."
"Really Grandpa?" The little girl squealed in delight, jumping up and down excitedly. "You really think so?"
"Of course, but only if you work hard at your studies…and stop neglecting them in favour of chasing butterflies!"
Caught out. Sheena looked down at her feet, feeling her face burn with a combination of embarrassment and humiliation. She surmised that she must have looked pitiful, for Chief Igaguri placed a hand on her shoulder again. "Try not to worry too much."
"…Yeah, I know."
Igaguri took the young girl's hand and began walking back towards the small semicircle of gravel, where she had been studying earlier. "Come Sheena; let me tell you a secret."
"A secret?" Sheena looked up eagerly at the Chief, her features revealing the enormous childish appetite for such unknown delights.
"Yes…when I was learning to summon guardian spirits, I never managed to do it until I was twelve."
"Twelve!" The little girl's voice echoed loudly throughout the empty garden. "Wow Grandpa, that's like…um, ages."
"Yes…it did take a while…" Igaguri paused for a few moments in recollection, and then nodded. "But that was because I never worked as hard as I could have."
The young girl curled a strand of hair around one finger, looking at where her cards and texts had been scattered by her pursuit of the butterfly. "Sooo…if I work real hard, do you think I can do it before I'm twelve?"
"Of course you can!" agreed the Chief, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Keep trying – your hard work will pay off."
"Okay Grandpa, I'll try again…and I'll keep trying till I summon a guardian." With an excitement fuelled by reassurance, Sheena ran off to the semicircle and dropped heavily to her knees, forgetting the earlier injury, and picked up her cards again. The Chief watched her poring over the texts for a few seconds before smiling and returning back inside the house. She'd get it right, it was just a matter of time.
"Okaay…" Sheena adjusted her kimono and hair and set the texts on the floor beside her, taking a deep breath. She had only been sitting there for a few seconds before the butterfly returned – its crimson wings catching the bright sunlight, causing them to glitter like tiny rubies. Sheena looked yearningly after the insect for a few moments, before softly shaking her head.
"Sorry, Mr Butterfly…I can't play right now…I've got to get this right."
The insect hovered in the air for a few more moments before settling down on a tall flower nearby. Cheered by its apparent understanding, the young girl took a card, holding in out in front of her as she closed her eyes in concentration.
"Um…um, Guardian of Wind…hear my…uh, hear my…" she paused and peeked out the corner of her eye at the texts. "Ah…Guardian of Wind, hear my request and grant unto me a…an embodiment of thy power…"
She dropped the card to the ground as her shouted request filled the garden. She could do this – Grandpa said so.
"Card of Wind, reveal thy untapped power to me!"
A strange static energy filled the air – crackling wildly against the gentle warm breeze. The young girl felt her clothing and loose hair carried up by the unknown, ethereal power and gasped as probing forks of blue energy launched itself from her fingertips into the falling card.
The card stuck the gravel, and Sheena squeaked in surprise as it exploded into a cloud of sparks and smoke - a strange swirling air surrounding the area, and whipping the smoke into a tall funnel. The young girl stepped back nervously, grabbing one of the texts and scanning it quickly. Had she got it wrong again?
A few moments passed, and the swirling smoke thinned and gave way to reveal a tall, spindly creature – grey in colour and without any discernible facial features, hovering in the air before her. A vast circular motif, bedecked with the various runic symbols of air, emerged from the creature's shoulders, forming a bizarre semicircle over its expressionless face. The vast whirlwind continued to shimmer around the lower half of its body, whipping up the leaves from nearby plants.
Sheena gazed in wonder at the creature, partly awed, partly terrified, until it's thickly ethereal voice echoed softly in her head.
"I am the Guardian of Wind. What is thy bidding?"
I did it. Sheena felt herself flush happily as she looked up the Guardian, feeling the breath catch in her throat. I really, really did it!
"Grandpa!" she cried excitedly, spinning round on the spot and dashing back towards the house. "Grandpa, I did it! I did it! And way before twelve too!"
The Guardian of Wind hesitated for a moment, before following the young girl inside – its surrounding whirlwind tearing loudly at the furnishings within.