Prologue

Aboard a small boat,the flaming outline of a Fire couple,a man and a woman,illuminatedthe area around them. They excitedly awaited the view of the shores of their new country.They traveled with only a few possessions from Fire Land,the home they’d left behind.A Blue Flame contained by a lantern was the most precious item of all. The Flame represented their Fire Land traditions and heritage.

The man gently placed a hand on his wife’s round belly,anticipating the baby that would soon arrive.He leaned in to talk to it.

As the boat headed toward shore,the man looked into the distance.Element City lay ahead—skyscrapers topped with windmills, buildings covered with trees,and high-speed waterways.From every direction,balloons, blimps,and boats made their way toward the city’s shore.

For the citizens of Element City,it was a typical day.There were all kinds of people here—they were called Elements.Water Elements in varying shades of blue sloshedalong sidewalks.Earth Elements covered in grass, leaves,and branched also filled the sidewalks. Air Elements shaped like colorful clouds drifted past or blew by overhead.

As the boat neared land,the man gently turned his wife to face the shoreline,showing the baby-to-be where they were headed.

He smiled just as the boat reached land. The couple stepped off the boat,relievedto be back on dry,solid ground.

Another boat docked nearby,filled with so many leafy Earth Elements that the ship’s deck looked like a forest had sprouted on it. The passengers filed out through its gates.

A submarine emerged,too,and water flowed out into a puddle.Suddenly,Water Elements began to take shape from the puddle, gathering their luggage.

“I believe this is yours,”said one Water passenger,holding out a briefcase.

“Thanks!”said another,taking the case.“Have a wetter day!”

Overhead,a blimp landed on a perch.A gust of air shot out of a portal,and Air Elements formed from the cloud.As they disembarked,the blimp deflated.Then more passengers boarded,and it puffedback up.

The Fire couple followed the crowd of Earth,Water,and Air Elements into the immigration hall.They paused to admire a mural that depicted three Elements—Earth,Air,and Water—coming together to form Element City.

Fire was not among them.

The Fire couple waited in the long line of immigrants making their way through the hall.The other Elements stepped away from the Fire couple’s flaming forms.Water Elements feared being boiled,while Earth Elements worried their leaves and branches would go up in flames if they got too close.

At last the Fire couple reached the front of the line.

“Next,”called the immigration official.

The Fire couple hurried forward.

“Name?”asked the official.

The man responded in Firish,the language of Fire Land,his words sizzlingwith excitement.“ Útrí dàr ì Bùrdì ,”he said.

“ Fâsh ì Síddèr ,”the woman said.

The official didn’t understand Firish.He though for a moment and got an idea.“You know what?Let’s just go with Bernie and...Cinder,”said the immigration official,pressing his branch nose onto an ink pad and stamping a document.“Welcome to Element City!”

The Fire couple,now known as Bernie and Cinder Lumen,hurried out the doors into the bustling city.As they walked,they gazed at the canals,waterfalls,and giant plants that formed the city’s infrastructure.It looked so different from Fire Land.They were a long way from home.

“Hot logs!”called a vendor.“Hot logs for sale!”

Bernie turned to see Water Elements gliding about on waterslides.Other Elements rode paddle-boats along the canals that ran between the city blocks lined with skyscrapers.Bernie walked right over a tiny Earth Element.Bernie lifted his leg,but her leaf hair caught on fire.A tiny Earth man walking behind her tried to extinguishit without success.A water person passing by dousedthem with water from his hand.The Earth woman’s hair fire went out and the Earth man sprouted new growth.

Bernie and Cinder continued walking down the busy street.Distracted by the sights,Bernie walked right through an Air Element.

“Hey!Watch it,Sparky!”cried the Air Element.His legs were separated from his body. They kicked over Bernie and Cinder’s suitcase and walked off,rejoining the upper body.

Before Bernie could apologize,a Wetro train zoomed overhead on an elevated track. As the train crossed a bridge,Bernie got an idea.

A few minutes later,he stood beside Cinder inside a crowded train car.The other passengers shrank back and stared.

The narrow train car was not designed for Fire Elements.

When the train lurched,a Water guy stumbled,splashing water onto Cinder.Bernie gasped.Water would damage her flames!As her doused flames sizzled,Bernie quickly fed her some wood from their luggage.Then he glared at the Water guy.

“What?”the guy said with a shrug.

“Hmm,”Bernie grumbled.“Water.”This was going to be a long ride.

Bernie and Cinder exited the Wetro station in an Earth neighborhood.When they saw a FOR RENT sign in the window of an upscale brownstone building,they hurried toward the door.The owner,an old-growth Earth Element,opened the door and his eyes widened.

Cinder gave him a hopeful smile and waved hello.But when her flames set the owner’s dry,leafy hair on fire,he quickly closed the door.

At another building,Cinder pushed a buzzer,which instantly caught fire.She blew it out before the owner,a Water Element,opened the door.But when the owner saw the Fire couple—and the smolderingdoorbell—he slammed the door shut.

One after another,homeowners turned them away.With each slam of the door,Bernie and Cinder grew more discouraged.But they kept walking.

When they reach a run-down neighborhood,they sat down to rest.Dejected and tired,they were about to give up.That was when Bernie spotted a shabbybuilding with a FOR SALE sign in front.Hope flickeredin his chest.

Inside the old structure,Bernie’s mind raced,full of ideas for their new home.He would turn the first floor into a shop,a shrineto Fire Land where they would sell snacks and souvenirs inspired by their homeland.

Plink! Water dripped from a pipe above, barely missing Cinder’s flames.

Bernie didn’t notice.He paced so excitedly that his feet burned through the floor, and he fell into the basement.“I’m okay!”he holleredup through the splinters.When Cinder saw his thumbs-up,she smiled with relief.

They placed their Blue Flame lantern in the hearth.

Bernie and Cinder were home.

One evening,it began to rain outside.But inside,their new home felt cozy,warm,and full of love.

That night,Cinder gave birth to their baby.

The tiny Fire baby lit up the room.

“ Íkì ss ûr ,”Cinder murmured.“It’s a girl.”

“ Bê ss ksòrìf ,”said Bernie.“She’s so perfect.”He reached into the Blue Flame lantern and scoopedup some flamed to gently pour over the baby’s head.She cooed...and then sneezed.

Bernie laughed.He held Ember up so she could see the world around her.“Welcome, my Ember,to your new life,”he said.

In the years that followed,Bernie and Cinder adjusted to living in Element City.While they learned a new language and new ways of doing things,Bernie also taught Ember the values and customs of their homeland.

When Bernie carefully poured the Blue Flame into a cauldron,Ember’s eyes blazed with interest.“Our Blue Flame holds all our traditions and gives us the strength to burn bright,”he explained.

Ember watched as the Flame shot up inside the cauldron.

“Do I burn as bright?”Bernie asked,flexing his muscles and striking one silly pose after another.

Ember giggled.While her father pushed the cauldron against the wall,she rode on it and cheered him on.

Slowly but surely as Ember grew,the shop began to take shape.Bernie added shelving and repaired the walls.He was eager for the time when his store would be ready.

Soon Ember started helping Bernie with his daily tasks.One day,they made a sign for the front door.Bernie wrote FIREPLACE in large letters on the sign.Then Ember burned a flame design into it with her finger.When it was finished,Bernie climbed a ladder and hung the sign above the shop’s entrance.

He climbed down the ladder and stood beside Ember,admiring their work.“This shop is the dream of our family,”he said.“And someday it will all be yours.”

Ember’s eyes widened.From that moment on, this was what she would strive for,to be a good daughter and to take over the shop—her father’s dream.