Statera: The Balance of Yin and Yang

Unexpected news

I spread the newspaper on the table, not sure what I was looking for, but reading it all the same. Elora plopped into the seat opposite me, and was almost immediately served a portion of glutinous rice dumplings by one of the helpers. She smiled and thanked him.

"What's going on in the world today?" She said. She didn't like reading. Over the past few weeks, I had become her news reporter, summarizing random articles.

"Hmm... The Communion decided to pull funding for Yin research a couple of days back, so Yin energy development isn't going to happen for awhile." Elora pursed her lips. It didn't bode well for Yin Congregants at all.

I drummed my fingers against my temple, thinking about what else I had read. "Oh the current Head of the Healing Ward is stepping down to enjoy his retirement."

"Healer Eir? Ma always mentioned how great he was. Did they explain why he's quitting?" Elora questioned, her brows furrowing.

I shrugged.

"Ma always said that you would never be able to get Healer Eir out of his ward. He loved the job," She said, her eyes distant. "Who is his replacement?"

I flipped the pages back to the announcement and skimmed through it. "We are pleased to announce our new Head of Healing, Madam Lavender...Young?"

Wait a minute... Young? Why hadn't I noticed that the replacement had the same last name as Elora?

I looked up to see Elora's eyes widen, her mouth hanging slightly open. She grabbed the paper from me, her eyes scanning the lines rapidly.

"Mom?! What? They didn't tell me anything!" She exclaimed, setting the paper down. I grimaced and felt sorry for Elora. It seemed that her parents really hardly bothered to keep in touch after all.

On the other hand... my parents – or rather my mother, with a few random illegible scribbles by my father – had kept up continued correspondence, even when I was slow to reply. A small bit of guilt crept up. I really should reply them more often, they were paying the Congregate fees after all.

I patted Elora on her shoulder awkwardly, unsure what to say. "They were probably quite busy...? I'm sure they wanted to let you know." But I knew that was not true. Her parents simply were not good at communicating with her, and she with them.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, they'll do what they want. I'll just mind my own business."

She looked thoughtful.

"Mom's never been the best. I mean... yeah she's decent... but to be the Head of Healing?" She shook her head. "Something's going on."

She considered something, cocking her head. Then she trained her eyes on me, and spoke in a hushed whisper.

"You know, are you sure about doing Yin and Mind specialties? All these announcements recently... they don't sound good."

I interlaced my fingers in front of my lips and frowned, unsure what to say in response. I was sure of my choices.

"I'm sorry, what am I even saying? I'm supposed to support you. We can't let all these Yang crazies get to you," she said determinedly. "We shouldn't let other people stop you from your dreams."

I smiled at her comments about Yang congregants, when she herself was likely to be one. But at the same time, I felt the tell-tale prick of tears at the corners of my eyes. Raising my head, I forced them not to spill out. It was a nice thing to say, but Elora had her own life, and she couldn't be there to be my pillar all the time.

"You okay?" Elora asked, laying a hand on mine.

I laughed, a self-mocking laughter. Here was Elora, having just heard that her mother was Head of Healing through the newspaper, and she was worried about me?