An old lady sat at the window of her house in a part of the Earth Kingdom, in the village of Makapu, looking out at the volcano in the distance. She was married, but her husband (who was well-known throughout the entire village for his big ears) had passed on several years before. She had a couple of children, but they had all migrated to other parts of the Avatarverse to start new lives and returned once a week to see her.
Though she already had a family, had a new crush every week, used to be part of the Air Acolytes and was living a blissful, pleasant life after her retirement, Meng had never stopped thinking about that boy she had met all those years ago. After all, he had been her first crush. It had been love at first sight, for her, of course. She had been so disappointed when she discovered it wasn't her whom he was in love with, it was that Water Tribe girl who had seemed so obsessed with Aunt Wu, whom Meng missed as much as she missed Aang. Her name was Katara, if she was not mistaken. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but Meng was terribly jealous her.
Meng didn't stop stalking Aang either. She heard all about where he went after he left the village after saving it from a volcano eruption, how he travelled to the Northern Water Tribe with his two friends and learnt waterbending and stopped a Fire Nation attack, how he was hunted down by the Fire Nation princess, how he befriended that wealthy Bei Fong girl from Gaoling who went on to teach him earthbending, how he was involved in a battle in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se, and later was rumoured to be dead.
Meng had been so sad when she received that news and she didn't sleep for several nights and was always crying. Aunt Wu would often apprehend her for putting on such a sober expression when serving the customers and she predicted that the Avatar would be alright. Meng, however, refused to believe it, as the whole world very well believed the Avatar was dead, killed by lightning expelled by the Fire Nation princess herself. After about a fortnight, Meng finally got some proper sleep, and things returned to normal, only she wasn't as enthusiastic as she had been before. But soon afterwards, it was speculated that the Avatar survived and she later heard all about the failed invasion. Meng was frustrated as she wished she could join the group and help them with all those battles, but she knew very well she couldn't bend or even fight. However, she was ecstatic to hear that Aang lived and she began to have her fantasises once more, which grew even more after hearing how he defeated the Firelord.
She heard next about the Harmony Restoration Movement and desperately wanted to travel to the Fire Nation colonies just to have a glimpse of the Avatar, of her one true love. She had saved up bit by bit, and just as the war ended, she had enough and travelled there. Hearing that the Avatar was spotted frequently in the Jasmine Dragon, she headed there and had tea every day till she felt she could puke until one day, all that waiting paid off when she met the Avatar himself.
He entered the Jasmine Dragon, looking perfectly gorgeous in his saffron robes and staff but Meng scowled at the sight of the pretty Water Tribe girl who followed him in. She raised her eyebrows as the Bei Fong girl walked in after them, followed by the Water Tribe boy. They were followed by Firelord Zuko himself.
"Hello, uncle!" Firelord Zuko called to the old man who ran the shop, whose name was Iroh. Meng had seen him and Zuko once before, when they came to the village on a beast which was called a Shih Tzu or something; Aunt Wu had told them about their visit.
"Came to get some tea?" beamed the old man. "Would you like to try some Oolong?"
As Iroh hurried away to prepare the tea, Meng had walked to their table, a little shyly.
"Hi, Aang," she had greeted the Avatar.
The airbender and his friends turned to look at Meng, except the Bei Fong girl, who stared straight ahead.
"Oh, hi!" Aang replied. "Um... you look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"
Meng's large smiled faded into a rather disappointed frown. "I'm Meng," she said. "Aunt Wu's assistant. Don't you remember me?"
"Aunt Wu? Oh, not that woman again!" groaned the Water Tribe boy.
"Meng!" exclaimed the Water Tribe girl. "It's great to see you again!"
"Oh, you! The one who... stalked me?" the Avatar chuckled. Firelord Zuko raised an eyebrow.
"I guess," Meng giggled.
"Who are you? Who's Aunt Wu?" asked the Bei Fong girl. Meng looked at her curiously, wondering why their voices sounded so familiar. "And why do you sound so familiar?" The Bei Fong girl pointed at Meng without actually looking at her. "You sound like... me."
The Water Tribe boy burst into laughter. "Oh, Toph, you're hilarious! Anyway, Aunt Wu is this crappy old woman who thinks she can predict the future..." As the Water Tribe rambled on to the Bei Fong heiress, Meng turned back to Aang.
"It's really nice to see you again, Aang. Really nice," she said, putting a lot of emphasis on the last two words."
"Uh, it's nice to see you, too," Aang said, smiling sheepishly. "Are you still working with Aunt Wu?"
Meng nodded.
"You know, Meng, you could join the Avatar Aang Fan Club, if you want," said the Bei Fong heiress whose name was probably Toph. (Because I can feel your accelerated heartbeat, Toph thought, but didn't think it was necessary.).
"The Avatar Aang Fan Club?" Meng asked, looking positively delighted. Aang smiled and nodded.
"Yes, but they have been renamed the Air Acolytes," he said.
Meng instantly found out about these acolytes and went on to learn some of the airbenders' culture and fighting styles and became one of the acolytes. She had desperately wanted to go and live on Air Temple Island when it was created, but that changed when she met this big-eared earthbender in the newly transformed Yu Dao, who was totally head over heels. Looks like Aang could be fortune teller himself, for he had said Meng would meet a guy who was going to completely fall for her. And Aunt Wu had predicted he would have big ears! However, they got married and she left Republic City for Makapu, where she studied from Aunt Wu, who passed on many years later, and she took over the fortune telling business.
She could never get the Avatar out of her mind no matter how much she tried and was silently agitated when she heard about his marriage to the Water Tribe girl and his three kids.
The old lady sighed, feeling nostalgic. She was almost eighty. It had been many years since the Avatar's death. This time, it had been for real. The Avatar was dead and Meng had cried her eyes out. When her husband had asked her, she had told him that the Avatar had been an old friend of hers and she would miss him very much.
She heard about the new Avatar, Korra, from the Southern Tribe of course. But her health was deteriorating. Whatever greatness the Water Tribe Avatar was going to accomplish, whether she could rival Aang or not, Meng would never know.
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Please review.