The poster read, “These times are hard. Are you struggling to cope? Do you need extra support? Join us every Tuesday for an hour at 6pm. Location: the YMCA, Dagny Way”.

Fire looked at it contemplatively before burning it to a crisp. He was doing overtime at a bonfire night in the home of some rich crypto bro in the mountains of Colorado. Someone had flicked the poster into the fire after rummaging through their purse and realized they didn't need it anymore.

Being an element was a very stressful job. But this year had been especially hard. At that very moment, there were raging, widespread, and unmanageable fires in both Colorado and California. Everyone online was watching videos of cars covered in falling ashes. The fire departments in both states were stretched thin. There was talk of sending the National Guard to both states to help people displaced from their homes.

Fire hated that he was called WILD. He wasn’t. Some idiot tosses a cigarette butt nonchalantly on a windy day and before you know it over 10,000 acres of land gets dissipated but he gets the blame?

No one ever mentions how his existence took humans out of caves. How without him the human race would not be where it is today. People in their homes nonchalantly make delicious meals without so much as a word of gratitude. The only time people ever talk about him is to blame him for homes and forests getting burned down after a camper forgets to extinguish their campfires properly.

As he walks in on his first day at the YMCA, Wind is right behind him.

“ Hey! How are you?!” asks Fire, his voice tinged with some surprise.

“ Same as you men”, replies Wind. Fire thinks Wund sounds defeated but he ignores it. After all, he feels more will be revealed soon enough during the support group sessions, if Wind sticks around. Wind was always here today, gone tomorrow. He went wherever the weather dictated, so he was not very dependable. Fire was almost certain he would not see him again for a while.

“Ha!” was all fire says in response.

They both have their cloaks on. It was the rule of the elemental world. They could not participate in the human world without the cloaks of visibility. They manifested in human form but they had nondescript appearances. One of those faces you see and forget.

As they both walk in towards the reception area, a man in a wheelchair is behind the desk.

“Hello, please scan your membership cards before you go in.” he says while simultaneously pushing forward a small scanning machine on the desk in front of him. He has on a blue shirt with the words STAFF written in white on the left upper side.

“We’re not members,” Fire says to him, with a hint of irritation and shame.

“We are here for the support group that meets at 6pm” Fire continued.

“Oh in that case you can just go back to the gym. You can’t miss it. It’s down the corridor all the way to the back” the YMCA staff explains.

“Thank you” Fire and Wind say simultaneously.

They both walk in silence towards the gym. The corridor is not very wide so they have to walk one behind the other to allow others going towards the front desk or several parts of the YMCA to pass by.

“Oh there it is!” Wind chimes, pointing towards a double door with a sign to the left that says simply, GYMNASIUM. Wind pushes the door slightly and it opens up. Looking into the room there are a few people seated in a circle, making what sounds like introductions. Several seats are still open and both elements walk towards the circle and pick a seat each, unwittingly seating next to each other.

Everyone in the circle take a pause, waiting for them to settle in.

“Welcome, I’m Abby. I will be facilitating our conversations in this group” a very tall looking woman with the bulk of a linebacker introduces herself.

“Hi Abby” both elements turn towards her and greet her in unison.

“In the event I am unable to attend, my colleague Erica over there will step in” Abby says as she gestures towards another woman seated on the opposite side of the circle. Erica gives a little wave to the group.

“Before you came in, we were going around and doing informal introductions. Since it is now 6:05pm, I think we can start.” Abby states, turning her head one way and then the other way to ensure she makes eye contact with everyone in the group.

As she is talking, Fire is mentally counting the number of people in the circle. One, two, three……..twelve. If he excludes the two facilitators, there are twelve people here tonight, struggling. His reverie was cut short when the double doors swung open forcefully and everyone turn towards it causing Abby to stop mid-sentence.

In walks two other people, whom Fire recognize immediately as Earth and Water. They both have their human cloaks on but the elements immediately recognize each other no matter what form they take.

“Sorry we are late” Water says, darting her eyes along the circle of people to find any empty seat she can place herself. Earth doesn’t say anything and is already seated. Fire is surprised Earth is here too. She is the most grounded of them all. Nothing ever seems to phase her.

She’s probably here to support Water, Fire thinks to himself.

Water eventually finds a seat, two people over from Earth and looks towards Earth like they are oceans apart.

“Welcome, I’m Abby…..” Abby was giving her whole speech again as Fire mouths “hi” to both Earth and Water. They are all on friendly terms, the elements. They have to be because it is impossible to do their jobs without influence or assistance from each other. This particular year, Water has been very important to Fire. In fact, they have become even closer than ever before due to the wildfires in California and Colorado.

“Who wants to go first?” Abby asks the group. The words have barely come out of her mouth before Water interjects.

“I’d like to, if no one else minds” she says, looking from one face to another, her eyes pleading silently.

No one objects so she continues.

“I am so exhausted. I have been working a lot of overtime this year due to the fires. I work in Disaster management.” She quickly adds as background information to answer the quizzical looks on everyone’s face. “This year has been incredibly hard. We cannot seem to control the fires. I need a break but it is all hands on deck right now until everything is under control again”. She is silently crying and someone reach’s over and holds her hands. A young lady of about Twenty-Five with auburn hair and incredibly red lips. Her face is entirely covered in light freckles which makes her look impossibly beautiful. Her hands feel warm and soft, which gives Water a sense of comfort she has not felt for a while.

“We hear you and we support you” Abby says. “Who wants to go next?”

Fire raises his hands. He does it in a way that makes it seem like he isn’t quite sure of his decision. But Abby points at him anyway, so he has the floor.

“I’m being blamed for a lot of damages at work but it is not really my fault. Someone used my processes but did not follow the necessary precautions and now things have gotten out of hand. It is soul crushing and I’m not sure I can handle any more of it. I wish I could quit but that is not even an option at this point.” His voice trails off towards the end. There is momentary silence. It is as though Abby isn’t sure he is done and did not want him to feel rushed. After the silence is just a teensy bit awkward, she eventually says, “We hear you and we support you”.

This continues for a while until everyone who wants to speak has done so. Earth and Wind say nothing. They just listen. Earth has her head tilted to one side as each person speaks, her face expressionless.

By 7:15pm when no one else wants to say anything, Abby says, “Thank you everyone for coming. This was our first meet up and I’m so stoked about the turnout. What would everyone like? Do you just want a space to vent out some steam or would you like advice as well? Some practical ways to handle whatever it is that you’re currently struggling with?”

“I just want to vent”. A youthful looking man says. Fire thinks he can’t be more than 22 years old.

“Everyone in my life somehow seek me out for advice and venting and I realize I have no one else who actually listens to me”.

“I’d like some practical advice or coping strategies” Wind finally speaks up.

“Alright, we will keep that in mind for future meet ups” Abby says. “See you all next week”. She concludes as everyone stands up and start to trail out.