Cosmic Forces
By jalpari
With the defeat of Unalaq and Vaatu, harmonic convergence was behind them, and the spirit portals were left open by Avatar Korra, Tenzin had returned to Air Temple island with a new found peace. The echoing voices that had been nagging him had disappeared. No matter what the future held, he was content for now, at peace with his realization. I am Tenzin.
And soon enough, this peace and balance was rewarded by the cosmic forces. No one could understand how, but Bumi had suddenly become an airbender. Baffling as it was, their doubts had been shattered when Mako and Lin showed up the next day at the island with similar news.
"Invisible spirit monster attack?" Lin grumbled on seeing Bumi dance around, arms flailing in the air.
"Lin! You won't believe this! Bumi just started airbending."
"I'm afraid he's not the only one."
Lin stated in a low voice as she stood in front of him in the courtyard, hands on her hips.
Mako went on to explain how they had found a new air bender in the city. The whole time Tenzin's gaze was resting on Lin, his eyes getting wider with disbelief with each word. She could see his shock mingled with excitement and hope. Understandable, since this could mean the return of the Air Nomads. His dreams were finally coming true.
"You mean there's another one? Where is he now?"
His eyes didn't leave Lin. It almost seemed like there was more to this news than the obvious. His wonder contained hints of something more. His tone seemed loaded with emotions that went beyond disbelief and joy. She brushed it off as nothing. She had managed to put her recent misgivings about them in the last few months behind her. It had been a strange feeling, finally reconnecting with her old friend. It was a new step for them, a different equation. But that was it.
Tenzin sat alone, watching the sun set. The sky was painted with strokes of yellow, orange, and red. It was as if the cosmic forces had joined his heart in celebrating the return of the air nomads.
"It's like a dream, dad", he whispered into the fading sky. "After a hundred and seventy years...new airbenders."
Just like that, without his doing, air benders were once more a part of the world. Life seemed funny to him. All his efforts, choices, and decisions had been for the fulfillment of his perceived destiny, for his dedication to his self imposed sense of duty, as a result of his misunderstanding of his responsibilities towards rebuilding the air nation.
It wouldn't have mattered to us if you weren't an air bender. Your father would have loved you just as much.
The words of his mother rang in his ears. He couldn't be sure how true they were but he accepted them. He looked back and realized he had never been asked to bring air benders back into this world. HIs father had been satisfied seeing the new ways in which airbending survived in the modern world - acolytes coming from all over the world to preserve their culture and way of life; people living in the old air temples, making them their home, nurturing the bisons and other life, carrying on the traditions of flying the free skies.
"What's wrong, dad?" Jinora's gentle voice asked as his children surrounded him all at once.
"I just wish dad was here to see this", he said in a calm voice tinged with sadness.
"Maybe…soon…there will be enough air benders to fill the temples again…"
His eyes filled to the brim as he felt a load lifting off his shoulder.
He spotted Korra meditating. He grinned to himself. It must be really bad if she had to meditate. He could see her uncertainty. So much responsibility on someone so young. He understood how that felt. He had been in her place, for decades. But now, he also understood that what makes the burden heavy was one's own perspective.
"Korra, change can be good or bad depending on your point of view", he offered when she expressed her confusion, self doubt, and stress. "You can't make everyone happy. But you can make some people very happy. Like me."
He looked at her with genuine gratitude.
"What you did on harmonic convergence brought back the air nation. What you did restored balance and that makes for a great Avatar."
If only I could tell you how it restored my balance.
"True wisdom begins when we accept things the way they are."
I accept. My mistakes. My misgivings. My truth. My past, present…and future.
Tenzin and Korra had found a new mission - to search the world for new airbenders. Their travels hadn't gone as expected, but he did not give up hope. The last thing he expected to happen, though, was Lin standing at their doorstep one morning.
"Lin? What are you doing here?"
He no longer questioned the tiny rise in his heartbeat every time he saw her or heard her name or thought of her. He would always have a soft corner for Lin. He had accepted that.
"We need to get Korra out of here immediately." She stormed in. "Her life is in danger. I just got word from Lord Zuko and Tonraq. Zaheer and the others have escaped."
"How is that possible?"
"Because Zaheer is an air bender now."
"No…", Tenzin gasped, his breath caught in his throat. His mind whirled in chaos as he tried to process this information.
Upon Korra's insistence, however, they had agreed to first help the imprisoned airbenders escape Ba Sing Se after which, Lin would take Korra to safety. As they rounded the new benders, Tenzin had given them a choice, and much to his happiness, they had chosen to go to the temple and begin training in the ways of Air Nomads.
Everyone began preparing for their journeys. Tenzin was taking the new airbenders to the temple. Lin was going to escort Korra to a place of safety. After saying his goodbyes to Korra, Tenzin glanced over his shoulder at Lin. She stood by the other airship, lost in her thoughts, with a grim expression on her face.
"Lin...what's on your mind?" he called out as he walked over to her.
"I'm worried, Tenzin. For Korra."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. She had learnt to not question the tiny rise in her heartbeat every time she saw him or heard his name or thought of him. She would always have a soft corner for Tenzin. She had accepted that.
Much to her exasperation, Lin now found herself in the city of Zaofu, a place she had managed to avoid for decades...a person she had managed to avoid for thirty years. Eventually though, she had been forced to step out of the airship, face her half sister Suyin, and spend time with her family.
It had been rough. All her pent up rage was now bubbling just under the surface, and finally spurted out on hearing the plaintive words of her niece, Opal. All she wanted was to be away from them, she had gotten to used to their absence. It had been easier that way. Out of sight, out of mind. But Korra's words had felt like a slap in her face, throwing her into the reality she had turned her back on.
"You're always going to be a bitter lonely woman."
She couldn't help but think if Korra was right. Had this become her safe space? Was this the way she had chosen to protect herself? The more she thought, the more she realized that within the hollowness inside her, the only thing left was a sense of betrayal. That was all she had left. All she had chosen to keep.
Acknowledging this fault had caused a growing pain, clutching at her chest. Her body had somehow become weaker in the blink of an eye. Her realization of the role she had played in her own misery had done what no criminal or heartbreak could - filled her with regret.
The rest had been a blur - the acupuncture, the shockwave old memories sent through her core, the desperate rage that forced her to confront Suyin, the defeat that engulfed her mind and body. She could only remember one thing clearly.
No wonder tenzin left you all those years ago.
Before she knew it, she was falling down an endless tunnel of darkness filled with echoes of her past. Voices she had once loved calling out to her, begging her, screaming at her, disappointing her, blaming her, laughing, crying, and then there was silence.
It had been sixteen hours since she had collapsed, at least that's what she had heard Mako say. She sat up on the bed feeling relaxed. Her body felt lighter than it had in decades. Up until now, even though she would take off her heavy metal uniform every night, the weight never lifted off her shoulder. But today, it had.
She stepped out, barely noticing everyone's reaction to her, or that she was smiling. As she sat drinking the refreshing drink the chef had prepared for her, she felt herself relish food for the first time in forever as well. From the corner of her eye she noticed Opal enter the room and retreat immediately on seeing her. She called out with an apologetic voice, ashamed at her previous outburst on the poor girl.
As the green eyed girl sat in front of her, she felt a pull in her heart. A good kind of pull. Much to her surprise and delight, she identified what it was she felt - a sense of family. She felt a mild attachment forming, a warmth spreading across her chest, as she felt love for the girl and her wellbeing. Without skipping a beat, she assured Opal that what mattered the most and what led to true happiness, was following one's heart.
As they departed Zaofu, Lin looked back fondly. Her heart was full of gratitude and peace. She knew deep inside that she had closed a long dreary chapter in her life and was stepping into a new one. A gradual acceptance was seeping into her soul. She could see the errors her stubbornness had led to. She saw her mistake. All her mistakes.
I accept. My mistakes. My misgivings. My truth. My past, present…and future.