I had been sitting in my room staring at the wall when I heard a knock at the door. I slowly stood up, went to the door, and turned the knob. A man was standing in the door way, but I didn't look up to see his face. "Hey, Tahno." The man said. "You look… great." He walked into the room and sat on the bed. I shut the door and sat back down in my corner. "So Tahno, how have you been since, well, you know." I didn't have the energy to speak, so I just sighed and dropped my head a little lower, hoping he would leave me alone. "Look Tahno." The man said. "I can see you're pretty busy staring at that wall, so I'll get right to it. I have great news Tahno. You can get your bending back!" When he had said that, my head sprang up and suddenly I was filled with life again. Now that I had seen the man's face, I recognized him. He was my old team mate in the Probending Matches until Amon took our bending. "What? How?!" I yelled.
"Woah, Calm down." The man said. "The whole city is talking about how Korra defeated Amon. I wasn't there, but the people who were are saying that she learned Airbending and slammed Amon of the roof of a building and she blew him into the water and then Amon started bending the water and he tried to attack, but Korra saved everyone's lives and the-" He would've talked forever if I hadn't cut him off. "Just tell me how to get my bending back." I said.
"Oh, Right. Well, after Korra defeated Amon she went back to her home at the Southern Water Tribe and rumor has it that she learned how to give bending back!" he said. I couldn't believe it, I could see Korra and get my bending back. "Wait." I said. "Rumor has it? You mean, you have no idea what actually happened?" All of a sudden my hope turned back into sorrow and despair.
"Well, No. I don't know for sure that it's all true, but it could be!" he said. "Tahno, Come on. Don't you think it's at least worth a shot to see if it's real? I earned enough money for both of us to go to the Southern Water Tribe. Will you come, Tahno?" I still wasn't sure if any of this nonsense was true, but the thought of getting my bending back and getting to see Korra was all I could think of. "All right." I said. "I'll go, but if you better hope this 'rumor' is true."
"Great! We'll leave around noon tomorrow." He said. Then he turned around and skipped out into the hallway. I closed the door after him then turned towards my corner, but instead of going back to that small, dingy corner I sat on my bed, where the sun was shining. I couldn't believe I was going to get my bending back. Finally, I would feel useful again. I could go back into Probending and our team could reign on the top once more and… No. If there's one thing I learned from getting my bending taken away after the championship, It's that if I 'm going to win, I'm going to win fair and square. I had so many ideas running through my head, but there was one that stuck out from the rest. It was about Korra. After all I had done to her would she really give me my bending back? Or would she shun me, and refuse? I wanted my bending back so badly…. I shook the thought from my mind and lied down. "I'll deal with this tomorrow." I said to myself. Then, I fell asleep dreaming about getting my bending back and being myself again.
The next day around noon, my former partner and I got on the boat and headed towards the South Pole. "Isn't this exciting Tahno?!" he said. "I can't believe we're getting our bending!" He kept talking, but I didn't listen. I was too busy thinking about Korra. All night I head dreamt about getting my bending back, but something about those dreams felt empty. I was so happy when I got it back, but I had felt like there was a hole in my heart. I couldn't quite tell what needed to be there at the time, but I think I understand it now. I think what was missing in those dreams was Korra. Of course the idea sounded stupid at first, but after a while it just felt.. right. I kept thinking about this idea all throughout the trip to the Southern Water Tribe. When we reached the Water Tribe, my partner and I walked up to the huge gates of the White Lotus. We stood there stunned for a few seconds when one of the guards yelled down to us. "Hey, Down there! What do you need?" yelled the guard.
"We are here to see Avatar Korra and get our bending back!" my partner yelled. Everything was silent for a while, until the guard yelled:
"Alright. You can come in. Another guard will show you the way." The huge gates opened before us and we were lead through the village to a small hut. "Stay here." The guard said. We stood outside the hut for quite a while, but eventually the guard came back out. "Avatar Korra will see you now." The guard said. We both went towards the door at the same time when the guard put his arm out. "One at a time." He said. I looked at my partner and nodded my head. He went in and came back a few minutes later looking better than ever. "Tahno! She did it Tahno!" he yelled. "Your turn." The guard said as he escorted my partner to a nearby hut. I swallowed and slowly stepped into the Avatar's hut. I saw her sitting on a bench with her back to the door. I wanted to speak, but I didn't know what to say. "Okay. Who's next?" Korra said turning around. "Um, I.." was all I could muster.
"Tahno, it's you." She said. We both were silent for a few seconds, not sure what to say next. "So, You want your bending back or what?" Korra said.
"Yes, I.. um..I" I wanted to say so much more, but I just couldn't.
"Well, okay then. Let's just get this over with." She said. I was dazed at first, but I knelt down in front of Korra anyways. She took one hand and put it on my forehead, the other she put on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and felt energy rush through my body once again. I opened my eyes a second later and it was all over. I stood up, but I didn't feel any different. I looked at Korra and she nodded towards a pot of water. I looked at the pot, concentrated, and bent the water. I was so surprised and happy, I took the water and swirled it around a bit then put it back into the pot. I turned back to Korra wanting to thank her for giving it back. "Thank You. Thank you, Korra! After all I had done to you before this, for you to give me my bending back is just amazing!" I said. Korra just smiled and nodded. "Korra, I'm sorry for everything, I shouldn't have cheated and hurt you or your friends."
"It's alright Tahno."
"No. It's not alright. Look, Korra. Lately, I have been thinking. Maybe I teased you because deep down inside I actually…. Like you." I couldn't believe what I had just said and neither could Korra. She stood up then, but didn't say anything. She looked me in the eyes and smiled. That's when I knew I had said the right thing. She felt the same way. We looked into each other's eyes and smiled. Then, we kissed.