Love Me Back
Chapter 1
Hidden Curse
I thought about why I felt this way forever, ever since I could remember really. I couldn't get her out of my head though, she was all I thought about and when I tried to put my mind on something else, her image would come back at me and push everything else out with such force that it hurt, and I would drop to my knees in pain from the throbbing of my head.
I thought of it as a curse and truly that's what it was. I didn't know what to do about it until now. 'I love my sister' I said to myself as I walked toward where she stood, practicing her waterbending beside a stream in her under garment wraps.
"Katara?" I called softly so as not to startle her. She turned to look at my as if in slow motion, first her legs turned to face me then her belly and chest and finally her head with that sun kissed tan that was so familiar it seemed like something I had seen, but never really appreciated until now.
Then she came toward me and I couldn't help but stare at the way she moved, like she glided effortlessly over the surface of the earth, not really touching it. I then felt my face contort into a kind of guilt-ridden smile as I looked and appreciated all of my sister's magnificence.
"Sokka, what is it?" I wanted to cry, she was so beautiful and ghost like in the way she moved, how her hair draped over her shoulders but she was the one person I couldn't have.
I dropped to my knees and held out my hands to her as if I were begging, "I love you Katara." I spoke weakly, struggling to take it back and wishing I hadn't said it.
"Of course you do Sokka." Katara gave me a tender smile, picked me up by my shoulders and put me on my feet. "You're my brother and-." Part of me didn't want to explain further, but the other part that loved her more than anything couldn't bear to keep her in the dark. "You don't understand." I interrupted despairingly.
"I love you more than that." She looked at m with kind eyes still; I spoke again thinking she still didn't get it. "I'm in love with you Katara." She stood up quickly and took a step back. I followed her lead and didn't look away from her face for a second, I felt like if I looked away she would fade away and never come back to grace my eyes again.
"Sokka I…" she looked panicked, as if she was a cornered gopher-rabbit looking for an escape, I could see she was searching for the right words.
"I'm your sister and…it's not right." She spoke firmly, as if she disciplining a small child.
"Please don't hate me." I reached out and tried to take her hand in mine but she withdrew it quickly and put her opposite hand over the forearm as if she was stung by something, she looked forlorn but I could make out that her head was telling her still that this whole thing was wrong.
She shook her head lightly. "No." She sounded as if she was about to cry.
"Katara please." I pleaded.
"I have to go train with Aang." She interjected and turned and ran into the mix of trees and brush back to camp, I heard her sobs, which slowly got more distant. I felt the need to say something as I heard her in the distance. "I'm sorry." I didn't know whether I was apologizing to her or to myself for the way I felt. It was ironic in a way, I was feeling guilty for feeling something more than I was supposed to, for the one person that I myself was supposed to protect.