Fire and Water

A ribbon of flame and cinders leaping from her fingertips and toes, the fire sprite danced through the sky. Touching down on the lush green grass of spring, she shot up into the air again like a firework, leaving behind her a growing ring of flickering orange and brown. Bounding along in blissful ignorance, her burning trail of disorder grew across meadows and valleys, over mountains and through glens. Ripples of fire spread and rose, an accidental inferno made from careless celebration.

Swinging around sapling trunks like dancing poles, the sprite move through the wilderness with surprising speed. As her joy escalated, she began to propel forward even faster. Barely able to contain herself, crackling giggles burst forth with her popping tap dance of destruction. Her giggles swelled to a hysterical cackle, roaring with strength.

Suddenly, the sprite stopped mid-step. Before her, a towering tree giant had halted in his daily trek through the forest. A bucket of water fell from his stony fist, the other hand still poised with dew-soaked fingertips to nourish the young trees. Unmoved by the tongues of flame that began to lick at his feet, he surveyed the devastation. Heartbroken beyond words, a tear fell from his cheek, sizzling in the fire. As it evaporated, the small fire sprite began to fall apart and drift away on the wind.

Accountability is an inevitable part of every world.