The festival square was alive with colour. Five children showed off their gifts. Kael looked down at his plain brown shoes.
Bright colours swirled from one girl's hands. Music floated from another's whistle. Flowers bloomed beneath a third child's feet. "Show us yours, Kael!" someone called. Kael scuffed his toe against the cobblestone.
The children danced and laughed together. Kael wandered toward the edge of the enchanted forest. The shadows there gleamed like crushed gems.
Kael whispered to a silver-barked tree. Only wind chimes answered from somewhere above.
A loud CRACK echoed through the square. The old wooden bridge over the waterfall had splintered. The children's gifts could not mend it.
Kael stepped onto the broken planks. He hummed a low note, and the wood shivered. Slowly, it knit itself back together.
Kael hummed again. A cracked teapot on a nearby table fused whole with a soft pop. He grinned wide. The other children clapped until their palms stung.
Kael had always wondered what his gift was. Now he knew.