My Light in the Dark
No one ever thought it would come to this. Of course the Triads were known for causing trouble throughout Republic City; but it was always relatively simple trouble. Harassment and thievery were manageable crimes, crimes that could be resolved with warnings or jail time. We never thought they would go as far as murder.
I stood in the middle of the barricaded street looking down at the body as the sirens wailed. The officers had placed a sheet over him, but a corner of his crimson scarf peeked out. I couldn't breathe. I knew the officers were milling about gathering information around me, but all I heard were muffled voices. My vision blurred as tears stung my eyes. This couldn't be real. It was all just a dream. A nightmare. I slapped my thighs, my face, trying to wake myself up. But when I finally blinked back the tears, he was still there. This was real.
One voice broke through the fog in my head, an arrogant Triad grunt that was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was all his fault. My mind filled with a rage I've never known and I snapped. I flew at him, fists flying, every element at my hands getting in every strike I could until I was pulled off of him. I collapsed to the ground sobbing. Mako was gone. Gone.
The officers helped me to my feet after the van carrying the grunt left the scene. He offered words of sympathy, but I didn't hear them. My world had crumbled. As the guard guided me around Mako's body my eyes lit on his scarf. Before the officer could catch me, I darted out and seized it and held it close. Then, I allowed myself to be led away.
The roar of the crowd was so familiar, almost calming to me. I could hear the announcer introducing the winning team of the latest pro-bending match: the Fire Ferrets. I felt awful doing this to Bolin now. But he had to know. I listened to the sound of the team entering the locker room and I took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy at all. I stepped into the doorway and Bolin's face lit up.
"Korra! We won! Fire Ferrets are sounding pretty good huh? I take it you finally came to your senses and finally decided to come back." His grin faltered when he noticed the absence of his brother. After all, we always came together. "Where's Mako?" I couldn't speak. Tears stung my eyes and I just looked down at the scarf folded in my hands.
"W-What?" Bolin stuttered and tear sparkled in his eyes. "N-No. Korra, what happened? What happened?!"
"The Triads." It was all I could manage to say before the grief racked my body again.
Bolin trembled and I could see the emotions warring on his face: grief, rage, the same emotions that coursed through me when I made the discovery. With his earth bending skill, Bolin raised bits of the floor and flung it against the wall, a physical release of his feelings. Then he collapsed in a trembling, sobbing heap. He had just lost his brother, the only family he had left. Even Pabu, Bolin's pet fire ferret shed tears that stained his red fur.
Bolin hadn't spoken since I gave him the news. He just sat silently in his room. Several times I tried to talk to him, but he just shut me out. I didn't blame him. I wasn't really in any mood to talk either, despite Tenzin and his family's consistent attempts at consoling me. My world was broken. I was broken.
The sun had set and I laid in my room in silence. The tears had finally stopped and I tried to sleep, to put Mako out of my mind. But every time I closed my eyes I saw him. I sat in the darkness with my knees drawn to my chest, staring into the corner of my room. I looked out the window to the boy's dormitory. I didn't want to be alone.
I opened the window and climbed out. It was a short walk to the boy's dorm and when I got there, I hesitated in front of Bolin's door. I took a breath and opened it and stood in his doorway. He looked up, but didn't say anything. I noticed Mako's scarf, the scarf that once belonged to their father, gripped tightly in his hands.
"I don't want to be alone right now," I said, wrapping my arms around myself.
"Neither do I," he said. He patted the spot next to him and I settled myself there. I reached out and put my hand on his, my fingers brushing the scarf.
I thought the tears were done. I thought I had none left. But as I sat there, they came again, steady and unrelenting. Bolin wrapped one arm around me and held me close to him. I felt his body trembled as he cried too. Of all the people in the world, Bolin was the only one who could ever know how I felt.
"I can't believe he's gone," Bolin whispered. The words tore me apart, but he said what I was thinking. It almost seemed that if we avoided saying it, it wouldn't be true. But there was no denying this. Mako was gone now, ripped from both of us. I clutched his shirt tightly in my fingers as I hugged him. We held Mako's scarf between us, a physical memory of him for both of us.
I was glad to have Bolin that night. Being with him didn't lessen the pain but it felt good to not be alone. That night and the following days, we leaned on one another to overcome the grief Mako's passing had left with us. During that time, Bolin had been my light in the darkness. And I know that he would say the same about me.