“Kagura! Kagura! My dear sister!” Lephiane broke into a run and then stopped abruptly. “What’s wrong, sis? Why is everyone retreating?”


“It’s the … the smoke!” stammered Kagura.


“Oh this? No, don’t be afraid, dear sisters” assured Lephiane, “This gift will free us from eternal perish. It will provide us with the magical powers to live forever!”


“How?” demanded Kagura, “All we have ever got from these gifts is destruction and pain.”


“I will teach you how to use it! I have met wizards all over the land of the Infinite People. I know why they are called the Infinite People!”


Kagura frowned but did not retreat any further. Lephiane was now within a few hands from her. Kagura mustered up her courage and met her sister. As they held hands, as she felt her sister’s fingers curl around her palm, Kagura felt something she hadn’t ever before. It was as if she was slowly thawing.


“What’s happening to me, Lephy?” she asked.


“This is the gift I bring” smiled Lephiane, “We will never pass away cold and frozen. We can survive the long white days and nights. The Infinite People keep this gift everywhere. Their homes, pathways, mountains. They even carry it with them over water. Their nights are not black anymore. They can keep away all creatures with this gift. That is how they have survived for many many eons.”


“How does the gift help them do that?” demanded Kagura, not convinced.


“It keeps them less frozen, or warm, they said. They offered it to me when receiving me. A warm welcome, they exclaimed. I was as fearful as I sense you are now, sister. Then, I began enjoying the fruits of this gifts, and there are countless! Do you know that we can keep this gift going forever? You can share it and it grows. Oh Kagura! We can finally see in the black nights. We can drive all the demons away that frighten the little ones of the tribe!”


“Does this … this gift have a name?”


“Fire!” said Lephiane and Kagura knew:


The tribe would never be the same again.