Welcome fellow Avatar lovers, to introduce myself to this site you can refer to me as Sassy. To cut the dramatics, this story has been floating around my head for quite some time. I've never been confident enough to commit to my ideas but this has far been one of my favorite projects to work on.

Comments are well recieved and if any of you have any suggestions or constructive criticism I would be more than happy to read and discuss it with you.

I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I did writing it. It will be a journey from start to finish so love to all of you and without further ado… LETS GET THIS POPPING!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of it's characters. Only my OC's.

Luna Dupre had never believed in spirits. In fact, she couldn't consider herself a believer of any higher power, even though there were times that she wished that there was something bigger than herself out there. However, with all the crime and corruption that she witnessed in the state of Louisiana, Luna doubted that any all-righteous God would allow his human creations to have such a tainted demeanor.

Her mother was an avid participant in the local baptist church around the block from their small suburban home, in a seedy area of New Orleans. Luna had never understood the concept of church, it had seemed like one big effort to escape the inevitable everlasting nothingness of death. However, she couldn't help but admit that whenever her mother spoke about God and fate, her dark skin seemed to glow and the bags under her eyes would brighten. It didn't matter if her mother had to work a double shift at the local grocery store, instead of complaining, she would look at Luna with love in her eyes and say something among the lines of, "fate has something big in store for us my cheri mwen." Among the many sacrifices Antonia Dupre made, her lifeline was her faith and her daughter. It was for this reason that Luna never vocalized her doubts.

No Luna certainly didn't believe in the spirits that her mother praised. Until she was called out of class one day to hear the news, that her mother had been one of three victims to be fatally shot and killed in a drive-by shooting over drug dealing territories.

It was an inexplainable feeling. Almost as if her very soul was set on fire and shredded to pieces. Luna understood that this feeling was unearthly. A connection that was forged from the time she had emerged from her mother's womb into the harsh, unforgiving world. And it had suddenly been ripped out from under her leaving her breathless. The identity that she had forged among her sixteen years of life had suddenly left her as she watched the casket get lowered to the ground. Luna couldn't cry, sleep well, or stomach any food. The denial was eating at her, her mother wasn't gone, she couldn't be! Nothing would take Antonia down, not even a bullet. Yet, as the crowd slowly disapated, she was left standing at the tombstone that clearly stated that this was the resting place of her mother:

Antonia Marie Dupre

1972-2018

She stared numbly at the granite, freshly dug up dirt, and bouquet of lilies that rested against the tombstone. Hands dropped numbly at the side of her black dress as she wrestled with her emotions. 'Why can't I feel anything?' she thought to herself. The cold feeling overtook her body as the feeling of hopelessness washed over her.

The dark thoughts were suddenly halted as a hand slipped into her own. She tensed as, aside from the stiff hug's from family and friends at the funeral, Luna couldn't remember having any physical contact since the day that her mother sent her off to school with a kiss on the cheek, not knowing the tragedy that was to come. Luna's green orbs peered up into her Aunt Adele's own brown one's that shined down with unshed tears. Watching as a watery smile spread across her lips as her aunt glanced down to look at the tombstone where her dear sister laid. "It's time for us to go Luna, we have a flight to catch in the morning." Luna nodded numbly as her aunt gently tugged her hand towards the direction of the parking lot.

The walk across the grass was harder than Luna ever would've thought. Like a foal on shakey legs, she found herself struggling to walk away from everything she once knew. Dancing around the kitchen to Diana Ross as her mother would make dinner, how she would burst out in unconstrained laughter while watching Judge Judy give her sassy final verdict, or her undeniable radiance as Luna watched from her place in the choir as her mother lifted her hand's up to something that wasn't quite tangiable but equally miraculous.

Those memories were just memories now, there would be no do-overs or second chances to bask in her mother's love. The further she walked from her mother's resting place, the farther the coldness would spread. Luna looked over her shoulder as her foot landed on the concrete to see just a speck of grey in the distance.

She didn't believe in spirits before but now, she prayed to every power above that there was a place for her mother's beautiful soul to rest. That Antonia wasn't lost to the darkness. This feeling was undescribable but deep down Luna understood. Her mother, the greatest treasure in her life, was gone, and in a way, so was Luna.