Written on May 17, 2011. I found this while scrolling through my iPod notes.
Blink
Many things can happen in the amount of time it takes the average person to blink. You could miss the delicate timing of a blooming lotus flower—which opens in under a second. Someone can make a crucial decision that can affect the fate of the world in that amount of time. A person can die in the blink of an eye. There's no known way to stop time or to reverse it. You can try, but it's impossible to stop blinking altogether. It doesn't take an hour for lightning to strike. It is quick, precise, and deadly. If you blink, it's all over.
I learned that the hard way.
They stood there, on opposite ends of the court. He had tripped her from her feet, throwing her to the far end of the field. I peered out from my hiding place to see the force of Zuko's kick send Azula bouncing and skidding to a stop. For a moment, she didn't move from her position on the ground. Did Zuko win? I ran out to meet him, but something told me that it wasn't over. Azula began to stir. I heard a low growl as she pulled herself up. Her back was arched awkwardly into an angular shape, giving the appearance of a hump. Her arms hung limply to her sides. She snarled; although she didn't show it, I was sure that she did not expect Zuko to break her form.
"What gives, Azula? No lightning? What's wrong? Afraid I'll redirect it?" Zuko taunted her.
She screamed in rage, "I'll show you lightning!" With precise fingers, she began to draw the lightning from the air. I watched as the blue stream extended wildly in the air. Zuko calmly proceeded to a position where he could redirect lightning. He was not afraid of the extreme power contained in the lightning. I, however, was mesmerized by the sheer energy of it. The bright flashes stung my eyes. How the siblings could bear it, I do not know. But I blinked.
Big mistake.
Next thing I knew, she had shot the lightning. Only… the lightning was aimed for me! The blue-white was headed for me! I was frozen in place, held by both fear and wonder. This was going to be my end. But what about Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Suki? They were off fighting the Firelord. I was never going to see them again. I wouldn't even be able to say goodbye. Tears threatened to fill my eyes; I blinked to push them away.
When my eyes reopened, Zuko was in front of me. "No!" he screamed. He acted as a shield to protect me from Azula's wrath. I watched dumbly as he fell to the ground, the lightning consuming his entire body. Why didn't he redirect it? Why did he take what was meant for me? Anyone else would have watched helplessly as I died. But this person was one with an indiscriminate compassion to help people. Zuko and I were still strangers to each other, yet he still risked his own life to save mine. His people are responsible for my mother's death—and I hated him for that. I acted as if he was the one who personally did it! Despite all that I put him through on a daily basis, he still saved me. What am I anyways? Only a girl from the Southern Water Tribe. On the other hand, he's the prince of the Fire Nation. After Aang takes care of the Firelord, he's the one who would take the title. Why would he want to save me? Why did he try so hard to win my trust? I truly realized at that moment that Zuko had genuinely changed for the better. In the past two weeks that he's been with our gang, he's become one of us.
Too bad it took me so long to blink.