Toph sat, Hawky perched onto her shoulder and a letter in her hands. "What does it say? What does the letter say? Read Sokka! Read! Come on! Did my parents accept me? Do they understand? Do they understand why I had to leave? Do they know I love them? Do they love me?." Since the moment Sokka announced Hawky's return, Toph had been jumpy with excitement and anxiety. "What if they didn't accept me? What if they didn't even get the letter or were too mad with what it said that they just sent Hawky back with the original letter that I gave?" she squirmed in her seat before getting up and hucking a few rocks at a tree.
Sokka, read the letter to himself over and over. He could not believe what he read: a short non-personal letter that did not answer any of Toph's questions directly. Finally, after much screaming and begging, he spoke. "It says…" he began then paused. He took a deep breathe. "It says:
Dear Daughter Toph,
When you come home, your presence will be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Mother and Father."
"That's it?" Toph said, her voice fragile.
"I am so sorry." Katara, who was sitting to her left, tried to comfort her from disappointment.
"Why?" Toph asked, pushing tears away with her palms.
"Because your letter didn't answer any of your questions. It was short letter that didn't mean much," Sokka said bluntly, subsequently receiving a splash from his sister.
"How could you say that?" Katara said. "Obviously Toph you have the right to be disappointed…but at least you have us? It doesn't matter about your parents. Don't think about them."
"You guys are wrong, the letter is nothing to be sad about." Aang stated. He'd been quiet this whole time and his statement startled everyone.
"What?" they said in unison.
"Short letters are good." Aang explained, "It means that your parents took a lot of time to think about what to write. If they wrote a long letter, that would mean that they just put all there thoughts down. This shows that they really edited it down, which shows time and effort."
"Ok…" Toph said, not quite seeing where this was going.
"And if you look deeper into the letter. All your questions are answered." Aang continued.
"What do you mean?" Sokka asked puzzled.
"Toph, as an earthbender, you have taught me to face everything head on but you must understand that in other bending, such as my airbending, it is important to look at things with different angles. Look at the letter again, but instead of looking at what is says look at what it doesn't. This will answer your questions."
"When you come home, your presence will be much appreciated," Sokka repeated.
Toph thought hard. "I still don't understand. It still doesn't answer my questions."
"Just think about it. You know that your parent's love and miss you because they want you back. You know that they also have figured out and accepted why you left because they never ordered you to come back. They simply said that when you do choose to come back, they will be happy."
" I think Twinkle Toes is right," Toph replied. "They did answer my questions, even if it didn't seem so at first. They do accept me because if they did not, they probably wouldn't have sent the letter at all and they wouln't want me back. Never in the letter did they tell me that they are disappointed. And my parents, if they wanted to say that they were disappointed, they would go out and say it."
"Do you want to send them another letter?" Katara asked Toph.
"No." She said, "I think that if I don't send a letter they will understand that I am happy with their reply and have continued to move on with what I love to do: travel with you guys."
The gaang then got together in a big group hug.