Thirteen Years in One Hundred Steps: Theme 22 – Mother Nature

She was what had brought the three children together in the first place, each child from a different background to unify as a threesome, a trio of friends bound together by love. She had taken it upon herself to become the children’s foster mother, as she had noticed the three were without a loving mother.

One never had his mother available to him.

The mother of the other boy had passed away when he was born.

The girl’s mother had willingly failed her duty as a parent, hurting her daughter to the point where she had almost died.

Mother Nature had seen these children and had sensed a painful pang from deep within her heart, feeling such deep sympathy for the three children, so sorry about their misfortune of not having a loving mother. So Mother Nature had taken it upon herself to raise the children with love and care, teaching them things about one another and their place in the world.

She had shown Aliana that she could not pass away yet, that she had much more potential than she would ever believe she had.

Mother Nature had shown Marth that he did in fact have friends to spend his childhood with, that he did have quite a few people would befriend him now and in later years.

Mother Nature had shown Mark the power of believing, that believing in a wish or dream was a powerful catalyst to motivation and determination.

She knew that the children were much more than what they believed they were, and as their mother, she wanted to show them that. She knew that Aliana would one day rise to Regiment General, and even knew that she would go beyond that to Lieutenant Master General. She knew that Marth would surpass his father to become Altea’s most successful king since his great-grandsire’s reign, and even knew that with time, his love for his future queen would attract her and lead their relationship to marriage. She knew that Mark would rise to Archsage of Altea, at a young age at that, and he would follow his commander with absolute faith and loyalty, even so much that he would have a temporary relationship with said commander, but he would not falter when she left him: he would continue to follow and serve as a best friend, a loyal and faithful unit.

She knew about their loves for one another. One’s had yet to awaken. Another’s had yet to grow. The other’s would stay dormant until a sudden rude awakening, during wish he or she would sense a love like never before.

Mother Nature had known about these things, and knowing that friends can get friends to their desired goals, had brought the three children together.

The aura and voice Marth had seen and heard five years ago was Mother Nature herself. She had actually been singing a song, a ballad about three children she would come to love dearly, a ballad that only those three children could hear, to direct Marth to the forest clearing to find Aliana.

It was Mother Nature who had asked the future to visit the dying girl to tell her about the consequences if she chose to leave now. Mother Nature had shown Aliana those gates to heaven, the purity of all and everything, and how she was connected to the future. Mother Nature was the one who had asked Marth of the future to speak with his childhood love, promising him that the Wings of Time would speed her to him. She had asked him to teach her love, to have her experience love at least once before she returned.

Mother Nature had been showing Mark the unity of the elements, teaching him that the elements were immortal, and those living by the elements were also immortal. He had yet to learn that souls were immortal, but he was on the right path: he understood the unity of the elements. In time, Nature would even show Mark how darkness and time were part of that unity, and understanding that unity would grant him powers in those fields of magic. Mother Nature would also teach him, along with the other two, the power of loving and believing, how love could bind one to another so strongly, and how belief could one’s motivation so well.

There were many lessons she had to teach the children, but she knew they would learn quickly. They would understand the importance of childhood. They would know the significance of memories. They would retain the fact that love bound them together. They would master cooperation. They would willingly help one another when help was called for. That was only a few of the lessons Mother Nature had to teach, as there were so many more lessons, but an integral part to their education was each other. They needed friends, they needed one another to get through Mother Nature’s lessons, they had to learn together.

She needed them to know that they had one another for harsh times to come. She knew about the grueling years of the future that were going to test their bonds. She wished she could prevent them, but Time worked separately from Nature. Their future and their lives would come to them as they would. She could only prepare them for it.

The children were bright kids, really. All three had recently been given “the talk,” as the boys had noticed a sudden change in their girl friend a few months after she hit her tenth birthday. She would be a storming inferno at one point, and then a few seconds later, as happy as can be.

Nature, with a smile shining on the boys, had led them to a part of their favorite black oak tree to witness, with awe, a doe giving birth to her beloved fawn. Neither boy could bear to look at first, but the doe’s cries of pain had attracted their attention too much – they had to watch.

With wide eyes, they had seen the exhausted the doe fall to the ground while her fawn, new to the world, tried to stand up on wobbling legs, often falling back to its haunches from unacquired balance. The boys had silently laughed to theirselves when the fawn clumsily toppled over, but the also cheered the little animal, and when it finally galloped around its mother with ease, they gave each other a silent high-five.

After the doe had regained her strength, mother and fawn had taken off into the woods again, leaving Mark and Marth to breathe a sigh of relief, although this was quickly stopped when the rich smell of blood and afterbirth reached their noses. They had fled to another part of the woods to escape the thick scent.

The event did its job, however, in teaching the boys the wonders of birth and life. Mark had contemplated a moment before asking, “So…girls give babies, right?”

Marth nodded in acknowledgement.

“Then…does that mean Aliana will…?”

A happy breeze had blown by the two as Mother Nature laughed, amused by the blushes on either boy’s features. Jeigan had later sat the three children down, and with a nowhere-near-fazed attitude, had told them about the meaning of Aliana’s sudden change, plus the change that would take place with the boys soon enough.

Mother Nature had only sweetly laughed at the three children, as all were scarred in some way, shape, or form. So she had taught them the origin of life.

She loved her children, so much that she spoiled them daily with something new for them to witness. Each new thing she showed and gave the three children all had different meanings and lessons for them to learn and understand.

She watched each child lovingly, making sure none of them felt the sadness of their prior years in too much of a degree. If that happened, she sent the other two children to the depressed one, and that was all she had to do. The kids knew what to do almost naturally – talk. They were friends, and so, to bring their hearts together more, conversation was necessary.

She always watched over them with the love she could give. The flowers and warmth of spring, the searing heat and cool water of the summer, the colorful leaves and cooling air of the autumn, and the frigid cold and white snow of the winter were all the general gifts she gave to her children. They played in each season, enjoyed the change, and loved the world and Mother Nature for everything she had given them.

But perhaps there was one thing Mother Nature only lightly acknowledged: change. Nature herself aged very slowly, changing everyday, but hardly to the children’s eyes. The children, however, were growing, changing rapidly with the years that passed, almost too quickly for Nature to comprehend.

They were all heading in the direction of their dreams.

Mark’s timidness diminished with the years, and with it, some of his eyesight. The closer something was, the less he could see, so in compensation, he had to wear glasses to see his books and tomes. His love for Aliana also grew with the fleeting years, so much that he found himself dreaming constantly about her. His twelfth birthday came, and he was already well-trained in intermediate magic and able to somewhat wield advanced magic, including light, earth, and water. At twelve and a half, he was promoted to the Sage rank, equipped with knowledge of all the elements and they unity. Of course, he gave credits to his friends for their support, and Nature for passing on her knowledge to him. He studied war, tactics, and healing arts for his Archsage rank, so much that in the three years before catastrophe struck Altea, he would rarely see his love and his friend.

Aliana, a determined girl already, grew in her maturity level and developed an increased motivation and determination in her goals. She trained with her foster father daily, soon becoming able to utilize her ambidexterity for her fighting talents. Swordsmanship came with a bit of difficulty to her, what with using two swords brought with it a style of its own – her own style that she had to deviate herself. She was given an education next to her savior friend, and understood the material, but refused to do anything that tested her knowledge, often sleeping in class, dreaming about her angel (which she denied ever doing, but it was obvious that her heart was shifting in that general direction) only to be rudely awakened with a textbook to her head. Nature could see her foster daughter growing as well, and though her height was an issue of hilarity with her friends – she always remained a head shorter than her prince – she found that her looks, conditioned by Nature’s wild edibles and forest habitat, had her guy-friends in awe, Mark especially. Nature watched as she grew more as a young lady and more favorable with the castle personnel, wondering how the coming calamity would change the blossoming child.

Marth was also conditioned over the years through constant training with not only Jeigan, but also his father, a harsh man when it came down to physical strength. The young prince did not allow his determination to falter, though, and actually made it grow with each verbal pain his father struck with. His agility increased, as well as his build, and before he knew it, the children in the city – all who had hurt him with verbal persecution before – suddenly loved him, apologizing to him about the wrongs they had done him in the past. He graciously forgave them all, even the gang leader – although he still hated the prince for when he had humiliated the whole gang – who had wrongfully hurt his friend. His heart went out to Aliana, and whenever he could, he spent his time with her, talking to her amiably, but with a friend’s respect. Nature smiled upon the young prince as his leadership increased, along with his maturity. He smoothly applied the lessons Nature had taught him, allowing him to develop a respectable reputation. That reputation, coupled with the fact that his swordfighting skills were becoming more enhanced, made his father look upon his son one day, remarking how he resembled the late Anri, Marth’s great-grandsire, so well. Nature and Marth had never been happier than that day.

Nature now looked to Time, who solemnly told her that one would soon be separated from the other two. Each would learn nothing about theirselves if the separation did not take place, especially the one who would be isolated.

The final pieces of their lives had to be put in place, Time had told Nature. She had to let her children go.

That was when Mother Nature felt mortality. The three years prior to the catastrophe were years of sadness for Nature. Her springs were all accompanied with much rain, the rain being her tears. Her summers reflected her anger, causing them to become more intensely hot. Her autumns were her bouts of calmness, and became so ever still. Her winters were even colder, the snow thicker, in response to the sadness she emanated.

Time could not slow down for Nature though. It had to keep moving, or else the children would never achieve their goals. Nature had to leave her children now as they became more disciplined, stronger, and mature.

The final pieces had to be put in place, no sooner and no later.

Mother Nature had to leave her children now. She sang a lullaby to the children, the last lullaby she would ever sing for them, a serenade accompanied by the nightingale, singing sadly of her departure and of the lives they were to lead.

A nightingale to each child’s window, singing the serenade of life to them, lulling them to sleep. The bird would then alight on each child’s pillow to lightly peck their cheek as if giving a kiss, then fluttered away through their windows. So Nature gave her children a farewell kiss.

The spring that graced Aliana’s birthday was an especially rainy one.

Mother Nature, spilling her tears everywhere, left her children, now young adults, on the day of Aliana’s thirteenth birthday, handing them to the care of Time.

Yet still, Nature would love and watch over her children for years after that.