Chapter Twenty-Five

During the course of the day, Nucamma had to leave. The other natives already came back to the village and were in their caves. Some were trying to mend cracks so that it didn't get worse. Atohmma took her pony back to the stables and she went to check on the old lady by the lake to see if all was well with her. The old lady's cave didn't seem to have been affected much, maybe because it resided near to the water body itself. She was resting after the long night but she made time to wake for Atohmma. Atohmma went over to the lakeside, sat there and stared at the water. She looked at her own reflection. She extended her wings and she was amazed at what she saw. She remembered what the Shaman said to her and wondered about the other possible changes that would have affected her body. She didn't seem to feel strange, but he did not know that she was already affected by changes. Her wings were larger. She failed to mention this to him then and there, but she didn't think it was a big deal. She needed it when that happened to her. She walked along the side of the lake and thought to herself, that there must have been a reason she was the only one with such a balance of elements. She also pondered on the fact that the Shaman alerted her to her changes and that she needed to revisit the western mountain. Atohmma wondered saying to herself, "Could it be? Am I..." She dismissed the thought and she sat there, watching the surrounding mountains, twiddling her toes, picking the leaves from a nearby plant, as she indulged in taking deep breaths of cold, fresh, foggy air.

The moment of meditation was good for Atohmma. She had some stuff to do at home, so she headed back. To Atohmma's amazement, she realized, that the cracks in the street were mended. She didn't know how, but it seemed like there was none. She called out to Venomma to show her, "did someone mend these cracks?" she asked her. "Not that I know of," said Venomma. Atohmma walked along, noticing that none of the cracks she saw forming was there. She checked her cave and the possible cracks also disappeared. "Some really strange stuff takes place in this realm." she mused to herself, shaking her head. Venomma said, "Atohmma, there was something I was longing to talk to you about, do you have a few minutes?" "Sure," said Atohmma as she stood next to her. "I know it may not be any of my business, but that day when the intruder visited, is there anything that may be of concern to us, that he might have mentioned to you?" "No, it wasn't really, well, actually, he had a task for me and it's not that I didn't want to tell anyone about it, I just thought it was not necessary and of any concern to the village or the natives. What I mean is that it had nothing to do with anyone nor was it a threat of any kind to cause worry. I believe he asked me to do something and I just went ahead and did it. I don't think it's a secret, all I had to do was go to the western mountain to place a bowl of water on a rock, at a certain time of course. That's all it was." "Oh, I see, that really wasn't much of anything. I hope you didn't mind me asking," said Venomma. "Not at all, ask me anything, anytime," replied Atohmma. "Okay, I better get going so you can get back to your chores," Venomma said as she turned slowly to go. Atohmma, unbothered, went back to her cave.

As Venomma strolled away, she wondered about the reason a stranger would have come from wherever, specifically to find Atohmma and ask her, no one else, just her, to place a bowl on a rock. It was very fishy to Venomma. She just couldn't find a reasonable or logical explanation for it. She considered it very suspicious and a mystery because there were many other strange, and unexplainable reasons, Atohmma was the 'go to' in the village. Venomma's mind went back to her blanket being found by Atohmma, their wings they had use of during the daytime when it flooded, and at midnight on Atohmma's birthday, elements were at war. She couldn't help herself from thinking that Atohmma, must have been very special and she presumed at that point, that Atohmma must have been the 'chosen one'. Venomma decided to keep a closer eye on Atohmma. "I would definitely be observing her a little more closely from now on," Venomma whispered to herself.

While inside, Atohmma took note that she had to go to the mountain that night. She also reviewed her calendar to mark her days and moons. She took up her journal and opened it. She opened a page that had a drawing of a well. She couldn't remember having ever drawn anything else, besides emotional faces, at least not anything like a well. She read to see why a well was illustrated. She had a dream one night, it seemed, like it was all she remembered when she awoke. According to what she read, it was her only memory from the dream. Atohmma browsed through and realized that she had some strange dreams but they were actually things that may have already happened in different ways. She wondered if they were premonitions, and although she knew she had some type of powers, she never thought having premonitions or dreams of events that take place, was actually a power to possess. She closed the journal, then she remembered Venomma's blanket, she tried to link finding it, with what she wished to happen to her that day, according to the journal. She remembered wishing they had used their wings during the monsoon, and it happened. Atohmma began to recognize a pattern. She was determined to observe herself. She concluded that maybe she had the power to wish things into being. She then recalled the day Windsong spoke to her. She was convinced that she wished the unicorn would speak that day. Whether she came to know she had the power of wishes or not, she decided to be careful of what she wished for, as of that moment. She felt it was important to do as a precaution.