Vera struggled to control her temper, trying not to scream at her sister. When will she ever gain any sense! Vera wondered, How can she be so selfish? She and her sister always seemed to be fighting, and always about the same things. In their tribes of Magicz, everybody used their powers for only good. It was the unspoken law of all the Magicz people. The Naturez used their powers to grow food for all of the communities. The Waterz used their powers to supply water, help grow the plants, and put out the occasional fire. The Lightz and the Firez worked together, each using their magic to bring power and warmth to the homes of the people. Everybody had their own jobs and rarely fought over anything. Vera, a Firez herself, thought that she and the other Firez were very lucky to have such powerful magic. She believed in helping her people and creating beauty in the world. However, her sister believed otherwise.

Many people often gave Vera disapproving looks, because they mistook her for her nearly identical twin. She and her sister both had dark-ebony hair and matching skin. The both of them were wearing their long raven hair in plaits down to their knees, and their eyes both glowed a brilliant gold. However, while Vera’s seemed to glow in the warmth of the sunlight, her twin’s smoldered like molten lava.

Her sister loved to pick fights and break rules. She was often very cruel to others and sneered at anyone who came near her. Vera, on the other hand, was liked by everyone and was the perfect twin. She was a brilliant, talented artist, with a kind heart. Vera was often seen volunteering in charities to help those in need, all while her twin was nowhere to be found. Vera thought of herself very highly, as did everyone else, because she was just that perfect. She was at her proudest when being kind and helpful to everyone.

Out of the many arguments that the sisters had, this argument was of the most importance. Hours later, Vera was still fuming about what her wretched sister had tried to do. She had hoped to put their differences aside for a common cause, but instead, as usual, her awful sister had reacted so dramatically that it escalated into a fight. The annual Magicz election was taking place the next day and she was so foolish that she thought she could get away with forcing her way onto the board of Elders by frightening the members in their community with her powerful magic. Vera had, of course, been against this and had tried to convince her before anyone could get hurt.

“Using magic to hurt others is horrible!” She had shouted, “Why would you ever want to hurt anyone? You should use your gift to help others! Then they will like you! If you were just kind to people, they would vote for you! Why not just ask them nicely?” But her stubborn sister wouldn’t listen, no matter how reasonable Vera had been. She had shouted back at Vera that people were so easily swayed, especially when threatened with their houses burning down. 

Vera slammed the door to her room, furious with her horrible sister.   How could she do this? How could she be so cruel?  She wondered. She sat down at her desk, furiously drumming her fingers against the wood and thinking angrily. She sighed. It wasn’t like her at all to be angry. She just needed to distract herself. So she took a calming breath and grabbed a bucket, walking outside to fill it in the nearby spring. 

The sun shone warmly on her, the perfect weather conditions to practice her magic, she thought calmly. This is just what I need to collect  myself.  The water in the spring was icy and cold, perfect for extinguishing her magical flames if they got out of control, although they never did. Once the bucket was full, she placed it on the ground and sat down. Holding her hands out and closing her eyes, she filled herself with warmth and life, grasping onto that familiar feeling of energy as it coursed through her body. She gasped and opened her eyes as a warmth spread through her fingers, as she summoned flames. She turned one of her palms to face her, to see that the permanent mark of the Firez on her hand was glowing. It always surprised her when the fire came to her, no matter how many times she had done it before. Molding the fire in her hands and kneading it like clay, she made it bigger and then dimmed it down until she had complete control over it. She clasped her hands together and then rolled it out, until it was a perfectly shaped cylinder of fire.

She took the fire and wandered into the forest. She often found that if she was in the woods, then she would be able to perform her magic better. She sat down on the soft mossy ground and let the smell of life waft around her, calming her anger towards her unruly sister.

Finally, she was ready for her grand finale in her trick. She was practicing this trick for school so that she could be the best student in her school, and she did not intend on messing up. Holding the fire, stretching it out until it was as long and as thick as she wanted it to be. Then, she took her long braid in both hands and wove the beautiful, glimmering fibers of the fire into her shiny hair. She smiled proudly and admired her hard work, watching as her luminous hair shimmered in the sunlight with flecks of gold. 

She looked at her final product, glowing with pride. But then her smile faded with the realization that the very tip of her hair was bare.  That can’t be right, She thought. I know that the amount of fire I used was enough. How could it not be?

She sat down and thought. But, instead of figuring out what she did wrong, she was only plagued by horrible thoughts.  I’m going to be a failure!  She thought.  Everyone is going to laugh at me in class, and I’m going to fail the test! What should I do? I need to keep my good grades!

But then she paused, inwardly scolding herself.  How can I let such a small problem bother me?  she thought. I obviously just need to practice more. Everything will turn out-

But her thoughts were interrupted by an all too familiar laugh behind her.

“Pathetic!” Laughed Vera’s sister. “You can’t even stand a little prank. Does the baby need a nap? Are you too overwhelmed?”

She sat up, seething with the realization that her sister had taken some of Vera’s fire out of her hair as a prank. Vera charged towards her sister and grabbed the fire that her sister had stolen out of her sister’s hand.

“How dare you!” She yelled. “You know how important this is! I need it for my test!”

“Exactly,” Her sister replied with a smirk, “It is just so fun to watch you flounder. Besides, you better get used to failure.”

“I will never fail! I am not a failure! I am not like you!”

“Oh, but you are. You will learn.”

And with that confusing note, Vera’s sister ran away towards their neighbor’s house.

“Where are you going?” Vera shouted.

“I’m going to start my career! I will soon be one of the elders!” She yelled back.

Vera grimaced and ran after her twin. This was not going to end well.

Vera finally caught up to her sister, panting hard, by the time they had both reached their neighbor’s house.

Her sister walked up to the front porch of the house and rang the bell.

“No! Please Karen, stop!” Vera shouted.

But her pleas were for naught, as her sister did not retreat from the neighbors porch.

The neighbor tentatively opened the door. As soon as the old woman saw Vera’s sister on the front step, her face blanched with fear and she tried to close the door.

This is wrong! I should be doing something, Vera thought, I should be stopping my sister, not watching dumbly.

Vera stocked up the steps leading to the door and grabbed her sister by the arm, hauling her back. The old woman opened the door again, to check what the commotion was, but slowly closed it again when she saw that the girls were still there.

“Are you happy now? You scared an old woman. Yay.” Vera said dryly.

Her sister merely continued prancing down the path to the house.

“We are more alike than you think, Vera.” She said.

“The world isn’t so bad. Maybe if you tried to help people, they would vote for you?” Vera smiled as she said it, remembering all of the beautiful things she had seen. “People can be so kind sometimes, especially when you give them a reason.”

Her sister walked on, unbothered by Vera’s words.

Vera tried to conjure up even an ounce of empathy towards her sister, trying to understand why her sister seemingly wanted to be horrible. Maybe she… feels left out of something?  She thought, scrambling to find reasons.  Maybe she thinks mom and dad favor me over her? Well, I kinda can’t blame them. After all, she has always been the devil child.

Vera sped up to walk behind her sister. 

Vera thoughtfully watched her sister’s braid swing back and forth across her back, gathering the courage to ask, “Why do you want to be on the council of elders so much?”

Her sister turned around and faced Vera.

“You know, I have problems too.” She said, “Don’t you think it is so horrible that you have no control in the world? In one second, a teacher could snatch away your good grades, or a parent could snatch away your happiness.”

“But, why would you hurt people to get what you want?” Vera asked.

“They deserve to be hurt,” Her sister said. “Do you know how many times they have turned their backs on me? Do you know how many times even mom and dad have ignored me, shunned me? They act like I am not there, like I’m invisible.”

“That is horrible!” Vera exclaimed, “Why don’t you tell mom and dad how you feel instead of hurting them? They always listen.”

“They don’t listen!” Her sister shouted, “They are just as bad as you! You are the one who has always tried to change me! Just give up already! I am myself and you can’t change that.”

She scowled at Vera and ran away, tears streaking down her face.

On the way home, Vera had to walk through the forest again. But, when she approached it, she stopped, horror-struck at what was standing before her. The forest was engulfed in flames!

What happened? She thought.

Some Waterz from the Element Protection League drove up in a truck and scowled at her.

Tired of seeing people giving her disapproving looks, she turned on her heel and ran. 

She paused midstep, contemplating. What if my sister really did set the fire?

She continued running, wiping angry tears from her eyes. Memories of the neighbors’ sneers and snide comments buzzed through her head like a cloud of wasps chasing her.

I work so hard to help people, but my sister’s cloud of hate always follows me and ruins everything! Those Waterz glared at me like I had set the fire, but it was obviously my sister.  Vera thought. Why do my sister’s faults haunt me wherever I go?

By the time she had reached home, her parents were in the kitchen, looking very tired. Vera couldn’t see her sister, but she was going to find her. That evil girl! Vera thought as she sped through all the rooms in the house. She must have set the forest on fire! She is so horrible!

“Where is my sister?” She asked her parents. “She set the woods on fire!”

Her mom gave her a strange look and said in a voice brimming with anger, “What are you talking about, Vera? We know that it was you who set the woods on fire. The neighbor told us.”

“No! You don’t understand,” She pleaded, “It was my sister! She set the woods on fire, not me! Stop blaming me for things that I would never do!”

“You don’t have a sister, Vera.” said her mom, “I don’t know what you are talking about, but stop trying to blame others for something that you did.”

“B-but” Vera said, feeling tears of anger pricking her eyes.

Her dad slammed his fist on the table.

“Go to your room!” He hollered. “You have committed a horrible crime against nature.”

Vera ran to her room and shut the door. As soon as the door was closed, she collapsed on her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. What do they mean, ‘You don’t have a sister’? She thought. My sister is their daughter! How can they forget about her and blame me for what she obviously did!

Finally, Vera sat up in bed. She calmed herself and took a deep breath. She just needed to calm down. She walked over to the mirror hanging on her door to fix her hair. She was going to plead her case with her parents.

All of a sudden, her reflection moved without her. It started messing up its hair! Vera touched her own hair, and felt that it was now sticking up in all directions. She watched as the reflection in the glass opened its mouth and spoke.

“Why are you ignoring me?” it said.

Vera stayed silent. That is my sister’s voice! She thought.

Vera’s reflection continued talking.

“Stop ignoring me! That is all you have ever done!” her sister said. “Why do you ignore me? Why? I just want to be free!”

“What do you mean, ‘free’?” Vera said, “You are already free.”

“No! I am not!” She shouted, shaking the mirror. “I am trapped inside you! Let me out, let me breathe. I want to live, I want to be loved! You say I am free, but yet you gave me no name. How can I be free without an identity?”

“You are not trapped inside me.” Vera said, becoming confused. “Of course you have a name, it’s…”

She trailed off, suddenly unable to remember her sister’s name.

“How do you not understand?” Her sister said. “I am you! Why do you think that mom and dad blamed you for the fire? You set it!”

“No! I did not set the fire!” Vera shouted, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

“You just don’t remember, Vera. Don’t you remember? Please, try!” Her sister pleaded.

Vera sat down and thought. What had she done in the forest?

A foggy memory lifted up. She pulled it up from the deepest corner of her memory and realized that she did accidentally set the fire. She had grabbed the fire from her sister’s hand and accidentally dropped it on the ground when she had started running.

“But… Why would I do that? I don’t do things like that. I am not clumsy” Vera said.

“Because I am you. You say you didn’t drop the fire, but you did. You just imagine that it was me. Why do you think that mom and dad don’t even hesitate to blame you for everything?” Her sister said.

“B-but” Vera stopped, not so sure now. “How could I have done that?”

She paused. She remembered every time that mom and dad had blamed her for something bad happening. Come to think of it, her sister was never punished.

Her eyes widened with the realization. She felt hot tears pricking her eyes and rolling down her face again.

“I committed a crime against the Naturez! I hurt people!” She sobbed.

“It was a mistake, Vera,” Her sister said in a soothing voice. “Besides, it did not do much damage. The water benders put it out. Look out the window.”

Vera obeyed, her jaw dropping as she saw the forest outside her window. The fire was completely out and only some of the trees were still black from burning. She could see the remaining Waterz, the blue tear drop shaped marks on their arms glistening under the light of the moon. When she looked closer, she could also see some Naturez walking among the trees. Every time they touched a tree, the green leaf shaped marks on their foreheads would glow and the tree would seem to grow in fast forward, branches sprouting out and damaged bark regrowing.

The sight cleared her mind.

She remembered now. She remembered failing tests. She remembered being mean to the neighbors. She was her sister!

But, how could she be so good and so bad?

Vera’s sister paused and took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

As if reading her mind, her sister said, “My physical form does not exist. You invented me so that you could blame anyone but yourself for the bad things you have done. You are the only person that mom and dad see when they look at us. But, in your mind, we are separate. The truth is, I am all of your fears and doubts. I am every greedy desire you have ever had. I am the mean, horrible side of you that you have alway ignored.”

“But, I don’t want to be ignored anymore.” Vera was surprised to hear it coming out of her own mouth.

Then, she felt it. She felt the want, the need to be loved. She felt her sister’s desire to be part of her, to be accepted, not to be a hated splinter stuck in Vera’s skin. She felt the want to have a name, an identity.

“But then that means that I have failed before.” Vera said, “I have done horrible things.”

The reality crushed her. What would she be, if not good?

“That is okay.” Her sister said.

“But it is not!” Vera shouted. “It is wrong to get bad grades! It is wrong to want to have power that you don’t deserve!”

“It is not wrong to have bad grades. It is not wrong to ask for help.” Her sister said. “It was wrong of us to want to hurt people, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to have just a little bit of control in this world.”

“But it is wrong to be a failure. It is wrong to have bad grades!” Vera insisted.

“It is not. You are more than your grades, Vera. No matter what, I will still love you for who you are. It is okay to not be perfect.”

Vera started sobbing. Every hope she had ever had, and every doubt, was in those tears. Every desire and every moment of stress was rolling down her face during those minutes of letting go.

Finally, Vera managed to collect herself. She sat up.

She smiled at her sister, for what seemed like the first time, and her sister smiled back. Her sister reached through the mirror and hugged Vera. When Vera finally let go, her sister was gone. But, Vera could now feel a spark inside her. It was her sister. A bittersweet feeling filled Vera. She had never realized how much she had loved her sister before, and she knew she would miss her sister. But, she felt as if she was complete now.

“‘No matter what, I will still love you for who you are. It is okay to not be perfect.’” Vera repeated.

She realized that those words were what she had needed her whole life. She needed someone there to tell her that it was okay to not be perfect. But now, she realized that she had most needed it from herself. She had always needed to forgive herself. She was still going to be kind to others and try her best at everything, but now she realized that it was okay if she didn’t always succeed.

It was there when she forgave herself that Vera and the nameless sister were truly reunited as one.