Impossibility Is In The Eye Of The Beholder ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "I'm glad the rain cleared up before we came out! I wouldn't want anything to spoil this, right, Naru-chan?" The eager and cheerful Elena looked around her slowly to soak in everything that she possibly could from the experience. This was her first time at a Japanese festival. And to be here with her good friend Narumi, it was something she doubted that she would forget. As soon as Elena and Narumi had gotten home, they went about setting up her room for her. There really wasn't much to do except change the sheets of her bed and unpack. But once that was all sorted out they focused on the festival. Narumi would have taken Elena out for some fast food to talk things over on, but one hell of a rainstorm was pouring down before they had the chance. This sort of put a dampener of their plans for the festival at the time. So they stayed in to eat and watched the rain-clouds for activity. The rain eventually died down, but the grim clouds remained as they were. Though Narumi couldn't understand how, Elena had predicted that more showers would be coming. But not until much later on in the night. The Japanese girl was a little sceptical about that at first. But then she remembered that Elena had accurately predicted rainfall the last time she was visiting Japan. She gave standard reasons for it. Her homeland of Kenya still had great ties to agriculture and the farming industry. Many people there still lived off the land. Thus they needed rainfall to occur for their crops to be harvested later on. The people of Elena's 'tribe' had grown the ability to read clouds and weather. Knowing if it would rain or not. Narumi accepted that much; but got the feeling that there was more to it than that. She felt that rather than having a home-grown intuition about the weather, Elena had a special connection to the world and to the very flow of life. Since Narumi trusted Elena's judgement about the rain, she still made preparations for the festival in town. There was one little kimono that she had been saving for the event. A silky crimson one that had been put aside about two weeks ago. The colour suited her (according to Elena) so Narumi was more than happy to were it for their night out. Just as Elena had promised, she brought her sky blue (with white prints) kimono with her from her last trip. It was still in perfect condition. Elena was not the type to let something that precious wither with age. Then a few hours later, they left for the festival itself. That was where they were right now. Dressed up Japanese-style, a joyful Elena stood astride Narumi, gazing at all the pretty sights the bustling carnival had to offer. There were dozens upon dozens of stalls, rides, games and food stands. Men, women and children all buzzed around each other to either watch or to take part. Some young men took on the playful games in the hopes of winning a prize for their spouses. Others had their palms read or destinies 'foretold' at the fortune teller's. But no matter where you looked, you were bound to see people having fun. It made Elena extremely happy to see so many people enjoying themselves. She was not a capricious woman... but her mood tended to vary depending on the mood of those around her. She was sad when she was surrounded by sadness and happy when enveloped in happiness. Furthermore she had grown to be far more preferable to the latter rather than the former. "Yeah," Narumi said with a smile, "This is great. I wouldn't have wanted the rain to spoil it. So what do you want do to first?" Elena placed a finger to her lips and thought about that for a second. What did she want to do first? There were so many rides and stalls and stuff... that she was spoilt for choice. But what she did like the look of was one of those ring toss games. They had them back home but Elena had always liked them. Plus they had ever so cute little stuffed pandas as prizes for getting a certain score. "How about that Ring Toss?" Elena suggested, "Is that okay, Naru-chan?" The shorter girl nodded. "Sure it is!" 'Nuff said. The African girl grabbed the Japanese girl by the wrist and sprinted for the game. At this point in time there was already someone at the stall. A older man of about forty, bald at the crown of his head, hoping to win a stuffed panda for his little girl of about eight years. He threw all five of the rings he had bought but not a single one of them landed on target. The man sighed with disappointment and gave a sheepish glance to his daughter. "Sorry, Kitten." He offered. The girl threw a long glance at one of those stuffed pandas but said nothing regarding it. But of course Elena could see straight through that quietness of the child and know the truth. She was desperate for one of those prizes. Before she and her father left, Elena walked away from Narumi and over to the little girl, crouching down to look at her at eye-level. "What's your name, little one?" Elena asked curiously. Though this girl was rather shy, she seemed to have no qualms about opening up to Elena. Which was something that caught her father by surprise. "...My name? ...I-it's Aiko." "Well then, Aiko," Elena stood back up and took out a few slips of yen from a built-in compartment of her sky bluish kimono, "would you like me to win you a cute little panda?" Aiko smiled at the tall girl brightly, but the Father shook his head. "You shouldn't waste your money like that, my dear. That game is impossible." Elena shook her head in denial of that. "Nothing is impossible, sir." And Narumi just watched on as her friend walked up to the stall owner and bought ten rings. It took five straight shots to win a prize. So she had to be going for more that one of them. Well, two, actually. Assuming she landed every ring. Once the stall owner handed the foreigner ten of those plastic red rings, she began tossing them on the ten plastic cones at the back of the stall. Narumi, Aiko, and Aiko's Father all watched with surprise as Elena began racking up a chain of successful hits. Each ring she tossed was done with expect skill but with calm passion, an expression of Elena as both a woman and as a fighter. Then before anyone even knew it, Elena scored all ten of the shots. Narumi and Aiko's Father both stared with astonishment. Whilst little Aiko and Elena just couldn't stop smiling. The stall owner chuckled and handed the ashen-haired teenager just what she had won. Two of the pandas. Elena nodded in thanks and took both. Then she turned around and crouched before Aiko again. Elena presented the girl with the stuffed animal. "I believe you wanted this?" "Thank you!" Expressed little Aiko, her soft cheeks adorned with a little blush. Aiko's father nodded his thanks too, and Elena nodded back. It was her pleasure. The father and the daughter then went off to explore more of the festival, while Aiko waved to the kind stranger whom had won her toy for her. Elena waved back and giggled. She loved kids. They were so often very innocent and pure. People tended to lose that purity when they grew up. They had to do so if they were to keep up with the harsh realities of life. Elena was one of the few people who hadn't lost her child-like innocence. It was probably the reason that younger ones warmed to her so effortlessly. It was probably one of the reason that Narumi was so drawn to her in the way that she was. Elena skipped back over to Narumi and pressed the remaining panda into her friend's small but grateful hands. "Would you like this, Naru-chan?" "Yeah, but..." Narumi couldn't help but ask, "How did you do that? That guy couldn't get all the rings. How did you do that, Elena?" The taller woman smiled. "It was nothing special. It's just a matter of quick reflexes and a strong throwing arm. My training in Capoeira probably has something to do with it. Though it focuses mainly on leg strength." Narumi blinked. "...Capoeira...?" "It's my martial arts style," Elena said, her smiling falling a bit, "It was essentially created by slaves centuries ago. Their hands were constantly shackled so they had to train using only their legs. And they both disguised and enhanced the style by mixing it with their great dance skills. It was the one thing my kin had as protection back in those days." "That's so sad..." Said the shorter girl. But then Elena regained her smile. "I know. But I don't want to look back at those times with sorrow. You just have to see what good comes out of any situation now. My fighting style was born out of desperation and sadness. But it can be used to spread and promote harmony and understanding between people. That's what fighting should always be about." Although Narumi didn't quite see it that way, she was far too charmed by Elena's kindness to really think of it. She just pulled another smile and locked arms with her tall friend, to move on to new stalls and sights around the festival. "C'mon. Lets go."
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