"Did you know that fireflies are fairies that disquise themselves when you catch them?" Lin said as she walked towards her mother, her wide eyes glued to her clasped hands to insure that her little glowing captive didn't escape.
Toph grinned in amusement. "No, Linny, I didn't know that."
"It's true" Lin said, nodding proudly. "Hold out your hands"
Toph obeyed, and soon she felt the tiny legs of the creature moving hastily across her skin
"What do they look like?"
Lin stared at the firefly for a minute and thought.
"They look like- They look squirmy. They also look interesting, and different. Maybe the other bugs make fun of them."
"Do you think so, Kiddo?"
Lin thought again.
"No, the other bugs are nice."
"Good" Toph smiled. "What about when they're flying? What do they look like then?"
Lin giggled. "That's easy, Mommy. They look like stars. They're pretty."
Lin loved being her mother's eyes. She'd been doing it since the day she could talk, trying her best to describe things in a way that she could understand.
For example, the color orange looks like an orange tastes, the sky looks like how it feels when you take a deep breath of fresh air in spring, the sun looks like how it feels when your eyes are on fire because 'you're not supposed to look at the sun Mommy!'
"Mommy? Can you hold him for one more minute? I'm gonna get a jar."
"Sounds good, Linny. But first, a kiss?"
Toph bent over and Lin stood on her toes, planting a kiss on her mother's cheek. A second later her tiny feet zoomed towards their house. Toph sunk to the ground, keeping a hand over the bug to keep him from flying away, and watched her daughter through the ground as she searched for a jar.
She was very grateful for her little pair of eyes, but there was one thing that Lin could never describe to her, and that was Lin herself.
Since her childhood, there had not once been a day when Toph wished she could see, until the day Lin was born. Everyone told her how beautiful she was, but the minute they layed her baby in her amrs she wanted to see it for herself.
But is was OK, really. Over the years she had learned that this 'beauty' thing people always talked about wasn't only something you could see. Like cuddles at the end of the day and Lin's slobbery baby kisses or how her hand could only fit around a couple of Toph's fingers or her enthusiasm for fireflies and fairies and stars. These things were beautiful.
And so, Toph had decided that her daughter was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Prettier then flowers and blue skies and long uncomfortable dresses.
Even prettier than all the stars.