Kai stood on the train platform. A train flew by, and with it came a leaf of paper. It clung to his shoulder before dislodging and blowing forward. A young woman followed, chasing the wayward paper past Kai. She caught it, and tucked it back into the folder she was holding. She stood only a few feet away from him. Another train whipped past, pulling one of Kai's papers away and sending it right into the woman's face. Kai gasped, and quickly pulled the sheet away. The woman blinked, looking up to Kai, and then glancing down at the paper. She broke into a smile, giving a little snort. Kai quickly looked down at his suit. Had he spilled something during breakfast? No. His gaze fell to the paper, and he held it closer to get a better look. He chuckled upon seeing the lipstick stain there. But when he glanced back up to the woman, she was already boarding the train. The doors slid shut behind her, and as the train pulled away, the two people shared one, last, fleeting glance. Kai was left standing alone. The paper fluttered in the wind.
Kai sat at his desk, staring at the paper. She seemed nice. He wished he could have said something to her. A stack of papers landed on his desk, disrupting his thoughts. Kai examined the papers, and then his boss, who walked back towards his office. A warm breeze swept through Kai's open window, carrying the paper away. Kai scrambled to grab it, catching hold just before it flew out on the air current. With a sigh of relief, he pulled it back in, glancing out the window as he did so. He dropped the paper, pressing both hands to the glass. He couldn't believe it. Just across the street, the woman sat down in an office, talking with someone obscured by walls. Kai broke into a smile, and pulled the window open as far as it would go. He waved, trying to get her attention. Someone cleared their throat. Kai turned to see his boss leaning out the door of his office, fixing him with a no-nonsense stare. Kai sat back down, and thought a moment. He reached for the paper with the lipstick stain, and stopped. No, it was too valuable. Grabbing one of the papers from the stack his boss had brought, he began to fold. In less than a minute, he had a perfect paper airplane. Kai looked it over, and then standing up, carefully airbent a puff of wind, sending the plane out the window. It sailed out, but fell short after a few feet. Kai's heart dropped as he watched the plane spiral into the street.
He grabbed another piece of paper. He folded. This time, his airbending was close, but the plane's nose hit the side of the building and dropped. Another paper. Another plane. Kai turned around and his boss grabbed his shoulder, slamming the window closed and stiffly walking back to his office. Kai waited until the door closed. Then he folded.
This one sailed into the window, but not the right window. A man Kai recognized as Bolin picked up the airplane that lay on his desk and turned to look up at Kai with a big smile. Kai grimaced and shook his head. Bolin's face dropped, and he crumpled the airplane, tossing it to the floor. Kai folded, and sent another plane flying with his airbending. This time, a flock of Sparrowkeets knocked it off course in midair. Was the universe just against him getting this girl's attention? Kai folded another, then another, and another. None of them made it, hitting ledges or sailing into garbage cans. This was followed by a few minutes of head-banging.
He folded and folded, his airbending becoming increasingly rushed and unsteady, and failing each time. Kai reached for another piece of paper, and the empty wire basket clattered to the floor. Everyone was staring at him. Across the aisle, Mako pulled his stack of paper closer, perhaps thinking Kai would come over and take it. Kai leaned out the window. She was standing. A breeze blew the stained paper closer to the window, and Kai held it down. He scanned the paper. Would he risk it? He didn't have much of a choice. He folded, creasing the paper crisply.
He stood at the window and let out a breath, but just as he was about to propel the plane toward the woman, the wind yanked it from his hands and dragged it away. Kai scrambled for it, but he couldn't reach it. She was at the door, leaving the office. In Kai's office, the boss' door clicked open. Everyone turned away and went back to work. Kai looked down at the street. She was just emerging from the building. He could make it.
Kai pivoted, and ran straight into his boss, who held another stack of papers and promptly dropped it on his desk. Kai sank into his chair, feeling quite hopeless. But as his boss walked away, determination rose in Kai. He sprinted from the room, leaving sheets of paper in his wake.
Barreling out the door, he strained for a glimpse of her. He dodged through traffic, leaving a few screeching cars behind him. She was nowhere in sight. Kai ran his hands through his hair, breathing hard. His eyes fell on a blue mailbox. On top lay the lipstick-stained airplane, almost taunting him. Anger building, he snatched it off the mailbox and threw it violently into the air. Then he stalked away.
The plane glided through the air and over the rooftops, soon coming to rest in a narrow alleyway, where it sank to the ground amongst all the other planes Kai had airbent toward the young woman. Everything was still. Then the plane twitched. It rolled over. And it began to slink forward. It rose into the air, bobbing in a spiral, pulling the other planes up with it. A tornado of planes began, whipping and whirling in a tight spiral just as Kai walked past, hands deep in his pockets, a scowl painted on his face. They followed him, bobbing in sync after their creator. The lipstick-stained plane caught up first, attaching itself to Kai's leg. He looked down, and ripped it off. It came right back, bringing with it a few more. Kai shook them off, but they stuck to him like darts, until every plane clung to Kai. They began to drag him through the street, bouncing him toward an unknown destination. Once they reached the sidewalk, the lipstick-stained airplane broke away from Kai, and rode the air current through the streets, past a magazine stand and came to rest in a flower stand's bouquet- right next to the young woman, who was called Jinora. She glanced at it and did a double-take, squinting at the plane. It rose into the air, and Jinora chased after it.
Kai was still being bounced through streets, and as Jinora ran up a staircase after the plane, Kai was being pulled up a staircase. Jinora pursued the airplane onto a train car, and Kai's paper entourage yanked him through the open doors of a departing train. He sat bitterly, trying to get up, but was always pulled back down by the planes. He crossed his arms, waiting for the planes to determine a stop.
Jinora held the plane as her train slowed. She slipped off, and gently tossing it in her hands, wondered what this all meant. Could it really be the same piece of paper from this morning? Under her feet, a wave of airplanes scattered across the depot. A smile broke onto her face as she turned. There he was, completely covered in airplanes. Kai broke free, and the two strangers met again.