19th March 2011

At least Éclair was useful for something. She had led me to something far greater than any ordinary Elemental. She made my job so much easier. I should personally thank Nathaniel’s intern and the other SJC kids for making it easier too.

After two months of gathering data and observing the emotional patterns of this boy, I finally managed to obtain a better overview of his profile.

Yes. It’s that dark-skinned Japanese boy who interfered with my plans to get hold of that Messenger. He possesses enough energy to power the entirety of Southeast Asia and Taiwan alone. That is just him at his ‘neutral’ moods, and I must say, for somebody with lots of friends and with a loving family if the audio recording is anything to go by, that is very surprising. A shock, even.

Then, on 13th March, just a few days after the tsunami, his energy levels had peaked. The recordings told me everything I needed to know.

What are you, Minori Amami? What kind of creature must you be to produce even greater amounts of magic than an Elemental?

What was even stranger about this boy was that whenever he sang, the tracker picked up even stronger levels of energy. I have yet to study the effects of his singing on the environment as I don’t have the proper technology to do so. Hopefully Wei-hsien can devise something for me.

I no longer need Éclair. I need Minori. He is a greater prize than any other Elemental.

Dearest Ah-ma

How are you? I hope you’re doing well. I felt the need to write to you instead of talking to you over the phone because what I’m about to tell you is something that neither of us ever expected.

It’s no longer just Keng-swee sharing my world anymore. Just last month, I was invited to a small birthday celebration with his friends, who are now my friends. There’s someone my age learning Mandarin from me. And best of all? There’s someone I can speak Tai-gi with! Her accent is strange, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I even have a Japanese tutor now!

Every Tuesday and Thursday after Japanese class, I’ll meet them at Bishan Library where we’ll study together. I’ll help Sit-huat go through his math homework while he marks my Japanese assignments. Then, I’ll teach Lok-man Mandarin with Keng-swee. Bee-tze? Her English is really good, so she helps me with my GP.

Ah-ma, can you believe it? After getting out of that detention centre, I thought I would walk the rest of the path here on my own. Had Ma-cho heard my prayers? Or did karma feel the need to balance the losses that I suffered? Maybe none of those matter anymore. For the first time since I landed here, aside from the time Keng-swee opened his doors to me, I feel special.

I’ve attached a photograph of the five of us during Bee-tze’s birthday celebration. It was just us at the café I’m working at, but just seeing Bee smiling over a single candle on a small cupcake really meant the world to me. Perhaps it was the first time I had seen true happiness in a while. And now, I’m feeling it for real miles away from Ko-hiong and the rest of you.

I miss you dearly, and hope that the CLL learning trip this year will be to Tai-oan. That way, after it ends, I can hop on the HSR and be home again. Love you lots!

-Iok-kia