There are dark clouds that roll in from the west. This is the sure sign that a storm is coming. The mother gently urges her children inside. Before she walks inside she takes a look over the horizon. There is no sign of her husband. The waves of the ocean continue to lash out against the sand and the storm is growing in strength. Sadly the woman enters the house. It is not only the sky that seems to be grey, but she feels grey as well. This was not always so. Once this woman was the happiest woman alive. Life and light seemed to radiate from her being as she walked through town and with friends. Now she rarely even set foot out of the house.
Later that evening her brother came over to the house to bring some food and some water for his sister and her children. There is a war going on that many thought was over. Something strange happened that spawned a new branch on this horror this devastation that manipulated every ounce of hope, every ounce of joy, and every ounce of love that people had. Perhaps these things were never there, but they all knew that this woman possessed those qualities. At least she used to.
The woman's brother is named Sokka. He loved his sister since she is the only living relative that he has left. Their friendship grew deep over the past decade ever since that day they met the boy. The boy who is now a young man. This boy who ended the war. Or so many thought. Time and time again the pain and devastation ravages the human heart and the human spirit, but we all find a way to bounce back. A way to fix things, but this time seemed different. The light and peace and hope that once encompassed the world is now gone and faded into the past.
This woman asks her brother if he heard any news and he has not heard anything in the past five days. Sokka and his sister's husband were both together and fighting together. Many victories they had. Then one day the Fire Nation unleashed a surprise attack. Things soared and people were injured and some killed. The sky was lit up not with the sun or bending or with lights. No, the sky was lit up with explosions and fire and lightning. Sokka was injured in such a battle and had to return home to heal.
When Sokka left his sister's husband gave him a message to take back. He said that he would return no matter what it takes. Everyday the only thing that gives him peace and hope is knowing that she is alive and well and waiting. Waiting for him to return. There is so much pain and suffering that his eyes has seen that he is not sure if he can find light in the world anymore. She gives him hope. The message was delivered as promised and she waits. So many people she has come to know and has become friends with over the past decade are now away. She does not know if they are dead or alive. Perhaps no news is good news.
The woman does not know what she would do if she found out that. She cannot even think it. For the word of such a thing would hammer in her skull like an endless nagging sensation. What would she do then? Her children love their father and so does she. Each sunset brings the realization that things are worse than words can ever reveal. The next morning the sun does not rise. The storm lingers over the land. There is a light rain that is just enough to mock the people. She sits alone. In the afternoon she musters up just enough energy to walk outside. There is a figure walking over to the house.
This man has a grim look on his face. She expects the worse. The man tells her that her husband and his crew did not contact at all over the past 24 hours. She accepts the message and sulks away into the house.
Another day has come and gone. Yet the storm still lingers on. The storm hangs over the land pressing the people farther and farther into darkness. There is a sense of hopelessness. Another two days pass and there is still no word of anything. The woman walks outside the following morning in the storm that still will not release its grip. She kneels down and just starts crying. She wonders if there is any point in going on. So many people that she knew are now gone.
The woman looks up and there she sees another figure. She cannot make out who it is, because her vision is veiled by her tears. She looks once again and there is no one there. She looks back at the ground and cries some more. Someone touches her shoulder. She does not know what to think. She stands up and turns around. There is a single beam of sun breaking through the storm's lethal grip. She focuses her vision on the person and a silence falls over the land. For there are times in life when something happens that takes us all by surprise. There are times when we think there is no point in living and then something happens.
The young man wipes the tears from the woman's eyes brushing her hair loopies. A weak smile emerges on the woman's face. The two of them embrace feeling a sense of joy a sense of peace and a sense of hope. The sun shines over the land and there is a rainbow that springs up. The woman removes the young man's gloves to reveal the blue arrow tattoo those he posses. He promises that this war is finally over. There is peace within all of the nations. Perhaps more important is peace is restored in the human heart.