Zutara—The Dream
Pt. One—The Dream
The dream, like most dreams, was jumbled, and not everything made sense. Katara found herself in a room full of people sitting in front of her on steps, like some kind of open theatre, but everything was solid gray. She couldn't make out their faces, but somehow she knew they were all people she'd met throughout her life. She also knew, through the logic only possible in dreams, that she had to choose one of them. It was a tough decision, life- changing, but for some reason when she spoke the name, she couldn't hear what she had said. The audience clearly understood, however, and everyone moved out of the theatre. Katara turned and walked into a beautiful room, decorated like a stonework mosaic, bits of gold and jewels sticking out among stone and earth. In the middle of the room stood a tree with small holes bored into it, a beautifully wrought chest of wood and gold at its base. Suddenly the rest of the gang was there, and she immediately knelt at the base of the tree. Zuko put his hand to one of the holes and bended fire into it. Toph bent earth into hers, Aang air into his, and somehow Sokka bent water into his.
"Now to open the chest and reveal your greatest wish, you must describe your home."
Said a voice that belonged to no one, and Katara though of her water-tribe home. She thought of her mother and father, playing outside in the snow, the tapestries and furs on the snow-hut walls. When she opened her mouth, however, no sound came out. Instead what she said was.
"I can't." And then everyone was gone.
"You will have to return when you find your home, Katara."
Katara headed for the exit and found Zuko waiting for her, holding the cloth covering the doorway aside for her.
"Sorry I missed the choosing, Katara. Who'd you pick, anyway?" He asked as they stepped inside a little gray dome, having to stoop low to fit inside.
"Well, I chose this boy named Zuko." Katara replied, watching his face change into an expression of great surprise. "He's handsome, and kind, and funny…" Katara paused to wipe tears away from her face.
Why am I crying?
"He's a wonderful and loyal friend, and he's almost never let me down…" Tears wee streaming down her cheeks now.
Why can I not stop crying?
"Don't cry, Katara. There's still time. Just find your home!" Nobody's voice cried and Katara jolted awake, tears still running down her face. She looked around, breathing heavily. She was in Ba Sing Se, the great earth bender city, in a nice hotel, visiting Sokka and Suki, to help the move into their new home together. She looked carefully around the dimly lit surroundings; everything was illuminated by the dim glow of the red and orange lanterns strung up outside to attract customers. She got up and drew the curtains closed, then sat on the bed, and thought about Zuko.
xXx
It had been several years since Zuko had taken the place of Fire Lord, and while Katara used to visit quite often, the two of them hadn't seen each other personally in years. They sent each other letters every holiday season with updates and news, but never actually got together. As far as Katara knew, he could be married with kids by now. He'd been dating that rave-haired girl for so long when they'd last spoken…
What was her name? M…Mai…Mai was her name…
Katara sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily, yawning. She laid back down on the bed, pulling the covers up over her shoulders and curling up, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them.
What a strange dream…