Yes, yes, yes! I've managed to finish another story! This is based off an idea I had a long time ago, that just took me a while to get down on paper. I switched between listening to "Sadness and Sorrow" and "Sakura's Theme" from Naruto while writing it, if you actually care at all.
Disclaimer: I disclaim owning Avatar. Because I don't.
At her funeral, he was silent as death. Person after person came by him in a line, telling him how sorry they were, how she had been such an amazing person, how her memory would carry on forever. Some of them he knew all too well, some he had never seen before in his life. Some of them had much to say to him, some had barely anything at all. Some of their words were sincere and from the heart, while some were just empty lies. But Aang had no reply for any of them.
The line of solemn people who came by to sympathize felt as though they were giving their prayers to a statue. Aang stood completely still, with a grave expression and downcast eyes. Those who saw couldn't help but worry about the Avatar. None had ever seen him so shaken up. And yet, all around him there was laughter and amusement. People were joking and having a good time as though they were at a party, and not a funeral. Only a few were genuinely concerned for the Avatar's well-being. These were his true friends.
Among them were Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh, who stood in a corner, watching him in concern. At first they had tried to comfort him, but it had soon become apparent that he really didn't need that. It seemed harsh, but Aang needed some time alone, to contemplate what had happened. A terrible tragedy had struck, and it had left Aang confused and distressed. Though, it was clear that there were very few others who realized this. His friends watched as so many strangers tried to comfort him with their meaningless words of false sorrow. For many weeks afterward, they saw torrents of letters and gifts make their way to him, reminding him painfully of his dearly departed wife, and the life he could never have with her.
They married when they were both seventeen, and they had one of the happiest marriages anyone could ever remember. There were very few people who thought that anything could happen to ruin it. For, though they had their share of fights and struggles, there was no denying that the two were hopelessly in love. But then, two years after they married, just after they had made the decision to have a child, it happened, and practically the entire world was shocked.
Knowing that Azula was still alive, and seeking revenge was astounding on its own, but the fact that she was still strong enough to take on both the Avatar and his wife, the strongest earthbender of all time, and still escape was truly mind-blowing. Toph had died in Aang's arms, covered with burns that were just too severe for even her to endure.
It had sent Aang into unending sorrow, and no one could help him, no matter what they did. It was scary, for him and others, knowing that Azula was still out there somewhere. The three nations were all working together to try to find her. But Aang wasn't. His loss was too great. He didn't even consider revenge. All he wanted to do was to grieve the loss of his wife.
Almost two months after her death, he left quite suddenly on Appa. After that, he disappeared without a trace. The only thing he left behind was a note, saying that he was taking "a spiritual journey." The people who loved him couldn't help but worry, but they didn't look for him. He didn't want them to, so they all decided it would be best to just let it be.
Aang flew aimlessly around the world several times, trying his best to stay away from any places with people, before he could decide where he wanted to go. Aang had never really liked being alone. It seemed so quiet and empty, yet he couldn't return. He felt like there was something he had to do, somewhere he had to go. He just wasn't sure where. All he knew was that he didn't want to think about her, and he definitely didn't want to talk about her. But she haunted his dreams each night, and followed his thoughts when he was awake. There was nothing he could do about it.
Eventually, he realized that mourning her death and avoiding everyone and everything that reminded him of her wasn't what he needed to be doing. He would have to confront her death, and go to a place that he had never wanted to return to. He flew towards the Earth Kingdom, and once he was there, he headed straight to a large swamp near Gaoling. The same swamp where he had first seen her, in a vision, all those years before. She ran from him, then stopped and waited. But as soon as Aang got close to her, she laughed at him and ran some more.
Aang hopped off Appa, and slowly began to wade through the tall overgrowth of trees. They blocked out most of the sunlight from above, keeping the swamp in perpetual twilight. His feet seemed to move on their own through the murky water and the fog, towards the one certain place where his heart was leading him. The scenery he passed was strangely familiar, even after so much time has passed, though the swamp seemed to be bursting with even more plants and animals than before. He was constantly pushing vines out of his way, though he did so very carefully. Every time he touched on, it filled him with the strange sensation of the whole swamp being alive.
A few minutes later, Aang stopped. He had reached his destination. To most people, it would seem like he was just standing in another random spot in the vast swamp. But not to Aang. To him, that spot was different. It held a special place in his heart. It was the same place where he had first laid eyes on her, such a long time before. He wasn't entirely sure why he had come to that place. He wasn't sure what exactly he expected to find. Maybe just a place to meditate. He pulled himself up onto a very large stump and sat down cross-legged. Then, he closed his eyes and tried to clear all of the thoughts from his mind. But it proved to be impossible.
The swamp was far from quiet. The sounds of the animals that made the swamp their home echoed loudly all around him, breaking Aang's concentration every time he got a hold of it. Which was hard enough on its own, with Aang's mind overflowing with memories and grief. Gradually, the tears began to flow. He slowly opened his clouded gray eyes and let them fall. He had locked all of his emotions away for months, and let them to grow more and more painful. He hadn't even cried once since her death. Instead, he had allowed himself to fall into silence and depression, hurting himself and scaring everyone who cared about him. But then and there, he finally broke down and let it all go.
He lost all sense of time and space as he buried his face in his arms and cried his heart out. His seemingly endless tears had to lighten eventually though, and they did, leaving him feeling strangely empty inside. He kept his face turned downward though, tracing over the many rings in the stump with his eyes, until he heard a voice above him, humming softly. He slowly raised his head and looked directly into Toph's blind eyes. She smiled at him, and continued to hum. Aang couldn't seem to move or speak, or do anything except for stare. He looked over her with shining eyes, trying to take in the image before him. After staring in awe for a minute or two, he tentatively reached a hand out to her. She laughed at him and disappeared. She wasn't real.
Aang felt like crying again, but his heart was all out of tears. He knew that he needed to face the truth, which he had been trying his best to avoid. He just wished it wasn't so painful. Toph was dead. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back. It was a depressing thought, but admitting it to himself seemed to lift a very heavy weight off his chest, and he felt relieved. The words the old man had said to him so long ago, at the heart of that very swamp, rang through his ears.
"The swamp gives us visions of people we lost, people we loved…Time is an illusion."
He had thought he had it all figured out back then. He had been so naïve. It seemed a lot clearer to him right then, though. If you just added the two thoughts together, you would get the answer.
"The swamp gives us visions of people we will lose, people we will love."
Aang sighed. The tragedy that had befallen him and his wife had been predetermined seven years before. It was destined to be. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to handle this. It wasn't like he was just going to go on with his life as though Toph had never even existed. But he didn't want to be the solemn and silent Avatar that he had been recently, either. It just wasn't who he was. If Toph was watching him from the Spirit World, he wanted her to see him as the same person he was before, if not a little more mature.
Aang looked around. He suddenly felt quite lonely. It was about time he returned to the people he loved who were still alive. He knew they were worried about him. So he left the swamp behind, and he didn't plan on returning. He knew that it would be a while before he would be able to smile again, and that he would never be as carefree as before. But he would still try. He would live on, and try his hardest, for the love he lost.
Oh...poor, poor Aang...Why are my stories often so tragic? And why do I love it?
If you love tragic romances too, or even if you don't, review!