Although I had never seen snow in this world, winters were pretty cold. As soon as I felt the dry, strong wind- I believe my mother called it Borras or something- hitting my skin, I knew it was time to up my clothing. We didn’t have much to protect ourselves from the freezing air, though, despite a couple of rough cloaks and and some big, warm, comfy socks. For these reasons the hearth of the house became our greatest ally during the cold winters.

Metis always kept its flames going, no matter how hot it was outside, which I always considered I strange choice. However, every time I looked at the fire, a warm feeling made its way inside my very core, and I quickly forgot about my mother’s questionable behaviour.

During the coldest days of the year, we even slept by it, and those were the BEST nights of sleep I managed to have. The only downside of the hearth was that we always had to provide wood to keep the flames going, since my mother’s powers, apparently, didn’t affect fire in the slightest.

That’s pretty sad, I’d always wanted to become a fire-type mage.

Summer, on the other hand, was just PERFECT. The air was humid, but not sticky, and the warmth of the sun gently caressed my body, without overheating it. The best thing about it, however, was getting the chance to go for a swim in the river.

In my previous life, of course, I had never gotten a chance to swim, so I hadn’t really understood how beautiful it was until I tried it for the first time. I had never felt so free. With my body light as a feather, watching as the water gently embraced me, I felt like a modern Icarus soaring fresh blue skies, surrounded by lots of colourful clouds- rocks, fragments of corals coming from the sea and kelp- the only limit being the banks on my right and left side.

If I’ll ever get asked what the opposite of my previous life is like, I’ll definitely say swimming.  

This was summer, the season I thought I was born in.

I would lie if I said I wasn’t excited for my upcoming birthday. Back in my old world, I never really celebrated it; having hardly survived another year didn’t seem a good enough occasion to throw a party. Metis, however, LOVED celebrating birthdays: last year, she had used her powers to bend a couple of trees and formed the sentence “happy birthday ladybug!”, while the year before she allowed me to swim in the nameless stream for the first time.

Nameless river isn’t really a good way to address that stream… I got it! I’ll just have to find it a name. Hmm, I’ll think about a good one. I’m sure Metis will gladly accept it.

As the blazing sun grew hotter and hotter, the day of my first swim of the year rapidly came around.

“Mum, can I go for a swim in the Caelum?”

“In the wha- ah, yes, the river. You may go, ladybug, but be careful! I’ll be there in 5 more minutes, so don’t even think of doing something reckless!” she said, her worried expression in conflict with the playful tone of her voice.

She always speaks like that, now that I think of it. The only time her voice had not been cheerful was…

No good thinking about that. Now she’s better, that’s the only thing that matters.

As soon as I reached the Caelum- I had chosen that name because it meant paradise in Latin- I started looking out for a good place from where I could dive in the water. Once I found a big enough rock by the left bank of the river, I dedicated heart a spirit to one of the most noble arts ever created: the Cannonball. My objective was to hit a tree a few feet away from the riverbank with the water splashing from my powerful dives. Unfortunately, I was once again limited by my child-like-body.

Can’t I grow a little faster? I’d like to be at least a ten-year-old…

I laughed at the stupid thought; there had been a time when even walking on my own two foot seemed impossible, yet here I was now, complaining like an actual child because I couldn’t make a big enough splash.

When Metis arrived, I was forbidden from attempting other Cannonballs- of course- but we had a lot of fun together.

In this merry atmosphere the first day of summer of the year passed without me even realizing it.