The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

child of the Samjogo clan, descendant of the Three-Legged Crow Goddess, for your divine blessing.”

The Samjogo clan chants their motto, Leadership and Wisdom, while the four other elders take turns touching Mira’s forehead with their activated gifted marks. Then Mr. Pyo steps toward the Gi cauldron and declares, “Mago Halmi, let your will be known!”

The congregation goes silent, and for a moment, nothing happens. Immediately, my heart starts to race and my palms get sweaty. A deep rumble emanates from the cauldron, and I count to ten under my breath as Mina’s first element is revealed.

“Her dominant element is water!” Mr. Pyo announces first, as a swirling tornado of liquid materializes above the cauldron. “The symbol of abundance and grace. How fitting for a seer.” Everyone cheers in approval.

The water tornado disappears, giving way to a glowing seed that grows into a tree in front of our eyes. “Her subdominant is wood,” Mr. Pyo calls out. “The symbol of compassion and growth.”

The cheering continues as the third element reveals itself—a pyramid of solid bronze, shimmering as if it had been dipped in glitter. “Followed by metal. The symbol of strength and power.” Mr. Pyo beams almost as bright as the pyramid.

Finally, a blazing bonfire appears in the pyramid’s place, levitating above the cauldron with its hungry flames. “And finally, fire. The symbol of transformation and will. Mago Halmi has spoken!”

My eyes lock on to the fire. I want to look away, but I can’t.

“And so, Mira’s Gi will be forged with earth—the element she does not possess,” Mr. Pyo concludes. “The symbol of fertility and life, and the key to unlocking her perfect elemental balance. May Mago Halmi bless her future as a seeing witch.”

As the fire dissipates, a small glass charm of soft earth appears above the cauldron’s mouth. It looks just like Hattie’s Gi. The cylinder hovers expectantly in the air until Mr. Pyo carefully takes it in both hands and passes it to Mira’s parents.

I clutch my chest, and Hattie takes my hand and squeezes it hard. She knows exactly what I’m thinking about right now.

My parents, being the progressive people they are, persuaded the elders to give me a Gi ceremony when I turned one hundred days old. And I’m sure they meant well. It must have been a landmark occasion for the LA-based clans to see a saram get blessed. Too bad it didn’t go according to plan….

The story goes that when the Gi cauldron was asked for my elemental balance, it sat silent and idle for an impossibly long time. Eventually, it spluttered and wheezed as if it had swallowed a fireball. Then it delivered its final answer.

First element: fire.

Second element: fire.

Third element: still fire.

Fourth element: Yup, you guessed it. Fire.

Then, instead of forging my Gi, the cauldron caught on fire. Literally. The entire thing lit up like the Christmas tree at the Grove.

The thing is, no one ever gets two of the same elements, let alone four. That’s just not how it works. So the council considered the mishap proof that the saram shouldn’t be part of the community, and I was deemed a fiery freak of nature. Sigh. As you can imagine, that was the beginning of the end for me.

“Who cares about Gi ceremonies when we have a magic-sharing spell to cast?” Hattie whispers in my ear. “Forget about back then. We have the future to look forward to.”

I bite my lip. “But what if sharing means you’ll lose your power? And remember, Eomma said it was dangerous.”

“Sometimes you gotta burn your fingers to enjoy the s’more.”

But it’s different for me, I think. I love Hattie with all my heart, but she doesn’t understand that things aren’t as simple for me as they are for her. One false step and the council could ban me from temple altogether. Or, Mago forbid, what if they decided to wipe my memory with a strong dose of Memoryhaze potion? There’s a reason I keep my head down and my mouth shut. It’s safer this way.

Then again, seeing Mira get her Gi, and knowing Hattie’s going to be initiated soon, it makes me wonder…. If I don’t take this chance now, will another ever come again? Will I live the rest of my life regretting the one opportunity I had to fulfill my potential?

It’s probably a result of my burnt nerves, but after a moment, I give in to Hattie’s enthusiasm. As the sweet taste of hope returns to my mouth, I whisper back, “Guess we have to figure out how to open Eomma’s safe, then.”

Hattie’s eyes light up so bright, I can see my reflection in them. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said in years.”

We both sit there pondering the mechanics of enchanted safes, when Mr. Hong, the Miru elder, begins making the community announcements. The first piece of news is that the date for the gifted library’s grand reopening will be announced soon. The library has been closed for over ten years, so it will be a massive celebration for all clans around the world.

The second announcement is about an upcoming Saturday School trip to the traveling carnival. Saturday School is where kids go after temple service to learn more about the gifted clans and the Godrealm and stuff. Kind of like school for witches, but only once a week. As for the carnival, it’s one of the highlights in the annual gifted calendar.

Suddenly I have an idea. “Isn’t Professor Ryu teaching Saturday School today?” I whisper to Hattie.

She ponders for a second and then slaps me on the arm. “I like how you think!”

Professor Ryu is one of those super-liberal, ditch-the-lesson-plans-and-let-the-students-direct-the-learning type of teachers, and she claims there is no such thing as a bad question. She’s also from the Tokki clan, and Kindness and Heart isn’t their motto for nothing. She’s one of the nicest people we know and probably our best way of finding out how to break the safe’s enchantment.

“And for the final piece of community news,” Mr. Hong