Summer
It was a cold day in August as I walked in a park. The whole time my eyes were focused on the ground, and never saw the rain clouds rolling in. The wind picked up, and blew my hair around my face. I stopped at the edge of the pond to watch some ducks. I smiled as two little ducks nipped at each other playfully. As I continued on, I felt cold droplets of water hit the back of my neck and head. Then I looked up to see a thunderstorm rolling in. I sighed and watched my breath fog, as I did so. I was more than an hour from my house, and had no protection. I cursed under my breath as rain fell harder, and ran out of the park.
I stopped at a cross walk, and waited for the light to change. Suddenly the cold rain wasn't hitting me anymore. I looked to either side of me, and saw a girl standing on my left side. She looked forward with no expression on her face. Then she slowly looked up at me. She cocked her head to the side, "You know you can get very sick in this weather." She said. I heard so much pain in her voice, and couldn't stop wondering why. She quickly looked away, "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked again with no expression on her face. "I'm sorry…It's just that I'm kind of shocked." I said watching her slyly look at me. I saw her smile, "You my stranger are a fool." She now said slightly laughing. "I wasn't going to stand by, and watch you freeze." She added. This time a hint of compassion in her voice. "Well I'm still going to get sick you know." I sad looking down at my wet cloths. Then she suddenly closed the umbrella, "Then let's get sick together." She said with a small smile. "I'm May-May by the way." She said now crossing the street. I didn't move, all I did was watch her. May-May stopped in the middle of the street and stared back at me.
I stepped toward her, and then lightly grabbed her hand. I pulled her with me, "I'm Zuko, if you wanted to know." I said as we walked in step now. As I turned to her I saw that she was smiling, and I felt my face get hot. "You're so warm Zuko." She whispered stopping. That's when I realized that I never let her hand go. "Yeah some fire benders have that ability, and I'm one of them." I muttered turning toward her. "Sorry that I never let go." I said pulling away. Suddenly she pulled me closer, "No it's fine Zuko." May-May said shivering. I hugged her, and warmed her instantly.
The rain fell hard around us, yet we stayed warm together. Slowly she kissed my cheek, and I felt my face turn red. I looked at her with a shocked expression, and she just smiled at me. We some how managed to walk all the way to my house. Just as I unlocked the door it stopped raining. I sighed looking up to the sky, and let her pass me by. The house was much more warmer than I expected. I started a pot of tea for us, and went to retrieve dry cloths. She stood in one spot never moving an inch. May-May held the cloths at arms length, just to keep them dry. I smiled as she walked past me, and she smiled back. She awkwardly walked toward me, and her hair dripped water onto the dry cloths. Her face was still a flushed red color. I couldn't tell if it was because she was cold or not. We sat in silence and watched rain come and go. I looked over to her to see that she was shivering, and I inched over to her. May-May looked at me with wide sad eyes, as I put an arm around her. She leaned against me as I warmed her, "Thank you, Zuko". She whispered closeing her eyes. And for some reason this felt familiar. My heart, my soul. They felt whole again. Not since my mother left have I felt this way. I smiled a soft smile as I hugged her close to my body, and let the tears fall.