Part 1 || Island of Spirits

 

There is a flame spirit in my house. 

You can never, ever underestimate them, albeit a small one like mine. They can summon multiple storms if powerful enough, destroy plants and grow trees so towering to block the sky; they are capable of using the wind to blow you off a cliff, and, as you just saw, burn down a whole house while still looking completely innocent.

Really, they’re horrifyingly dangerous creatures.

  I’d been abandoned in this damp and misty—yet cosy—forest, surrounded by the clear, blue, and vast sea. With no way home—and yes, I have tried—I had decided to make myself at home here. 

But of course fate had other plans, and almost ridiculously, I had stumbled (woke up? I can’t be sure) into a forest inhabited by ancient nature based spirits, ranging from weak water spirits to wind creatures that could create a cyclone.

For 31 days, I’ve survived.

 31 days full of avoiding haughty, irritating spirits with young and rebellious personalities. 31 days of finding a perfect spot to build a welcoming home—just for myself. 

I sighed, staring at the sight before me. “Where did you come from?” I moaned tiredly. Today has been… frustrating, to say the least. If you’d call ‘constantly hiding from spirits while finding food’ frustrating, I guess.

The unfortunate (or fortunate?) crimson-eyed spirit that was currently wavering in front of me had a soft maroon glow around it, complete with a totally adorable halo.

Except what it was doing at present wasn’t cute or adorable at all, and I stood in mild annoyance as a spirit burnt down my house for the, what, 3rd time that day? I hadn’t even fixed up my little garden that I’d been tending to for only 2 weeks, which a storm spirit had broken through earlier this morning, almost specifically choosing to cut through the fragile little lettuce sprouts only. That had been a bore. 

My nose wrinkled at the smell of burning wood. I distastefully snatched a bucket and went to find water to put out the fire.

 

Part 2 || A hybrid on the beach 

 

The firm metal bucket clinked against my leg in sync as I made my way down to the beach.  A faint smell of seawater hit me next. 

Then I saw the coastline.

It was a typical ocean view, with soft sand and foamy seawater, and chunks of driftwood stranded on the beach. 

Except when I looked again, that… certainly wasn’t a chunk of log.

A small elemental spirit was laid flat on the ground, unconscious.

‘…What? Am I going blind, or what?’

Broken, pitiful spirits, especially elemental ones, aren’t even supposed to exist. Based on my studies of them in my free time, Elemental spirits may be rather heartless to other species, but they usually take care of each other.

Why was it there? 

More importantly, what should I do about it?

As a rather curious person, I cautiously approached the creature.

Its rather watery skin revealed what element type it was.

I spot Water type Elemental Spirits rather often whenever I hunt for food in the forest.

But… based on my knowledge, what I was seeing wasn’t common at all.

This Water Spirit had Grey WIngs.

Grey wings belong to Air Spirits, so you should get why I was surprised.

I gently nudged the spirit, and it wavered. Actually wavered.

My eyes widened with realisation. It was dying—and fast.

Without hesitation, I hoisted the fading spirit up, slung it over my shoulder, and hastily filled the bucket with seawater.

 

Three minutes later, I was quietly dumping water over the fire repeatedly. I gently scooped the flame spirit from the ruins of my house, and left it near another of its kind. I’d left the weakened… hybrid… spirit resting on my bed, despite the fact it could well wreck it. Oh well; I could always fix it up. 

When I finished cleaning up my shack and clearing away the debris, I felt the weight of a stare on me.

I slowly turned around, meeting a pair of wide eyes. 

“You wake up remarkably fast for an animal.” I murmured. It blinked. “You do know I’m not gonna hurt you or anything, yeah?”

Maybe it was ridiculous, talking with a creature that couldn’t possibly respond, but no one could say anything like that after they saw it blink… almost in understanding.

“Great.” I noted. “Am I hallucinating? Because surely, you can’t understand me, right…?”

‘And now I’m conversing with a strange creature,’ I thought to myself in annoyance. ‘An interesting day, indeed.’

Either way, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth covering me like a cloak. A feeling that made me happy. Like a shield or a blanket.

I really hoped I hadn’t made a mistake by keeping it here.

 

A thought popped into my head. “You need a name.” I said without thinking. Do I need to give it one, or does it choose one for itself? How would I know what to call it? Is it even an ‘it’? 

I shook my head slightly, and held the spirit up at around  eye level. 

“What do you want to be called?” I questioned.

‘And now I’m asking a creature what it wants to be called, even though it can’t talk. Great job, Azure. Real good wisdom right there.’

I thought for a moment, mostly to chide myself for having rash thoughts and actions. 

The creature of air and water looked at me blankly, and curled up on my bed, still staring at me incredulously.

Only then did I take notice of her appearance. 

“You, my friend, are in desperate need of a bath.” I declared, and scooped up the spirit. “We’ll decide what your name is later.”

 

After a short trip to a nearby lake, I attempted to give it a suitable name to call. 

Now that she was clean and not covered with sand and algae, I could clearly see the resemblance of both air and water spirits in her. 

Its flowing tail resembled the waves crashing on the shoreline, its movements almost gentle and airy, and smelled faintly of petrichor— for obvious reasons.

But not to mention how enchanting her silver-tinted wings were. 

They were kind of like… mist. 

“Should I call you Mist?” I murmured half-heartedly, mostly to myself.

I got a curious look in response. And then more curling up on my bed.

“I guess that’s a yes?” I questioned warily, eyebrows raised. 

No response. 

“Well then, Mist it is.”

Mist wrinkled her little nose and yawned.

A burst of happiness sprouted in my heart.

And maybe, I thought. 

Maybe my time on this magical island wouldn’t be so bad if I spent it with someone else.

 

Writer – Chichi He

Editor – Leo Zhong

Artist – Rachel Feng

Support – Rohini Ghorui 

– May 2026 –