In the darkness of the night, she waits on her front porch amidst the crisp, cool air. The darkness does not bother her; she has been living in it her whole life. She hears the tiny pitter-patter of footsteps beside her. It is her daughter. Her only pride and joy. She cannot see her, but she knows that she is there. She can feel it in the ground. After all, she is Toph Beifong.
As her daughter plops herself beside her mother, Toph exhales and starts another night of waiting for her beloved husband, Sokka.
Six months earlier.
"Hey chief! Hey Linny!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Hey there meathead! Can you grab Lin for a second? She sure is getting heavy."
"Well, she is over a year old. Hey Toph, can we talk for a second?
"What do you think we're doing right now?"
"Touché. But really, we do need to talk. I need to ask your permission for something?
"You're asking for my permission now? You've gone soft, dear."
"Hey, come on. I'm putting my pride aside here," he smiled. "Ok, here we go. Aang and Zuko need help dispelling the rebellious people gathering around the Zuko's palace and threatening to claim both the throne and his life!"
"I know you're not just laying the facts on me. It seems like you're telling me that you want to head over to the Fire Nation and leave your infant daughter for who-knows-how-long to risk your butt?
"When you put it that way it doesn't sound right."
"Sokka I know that they're our friends and it would be selfish of me to stop you from going. However, you, Aang, and Zuko against a mass of unknown enemies? I see so much risk."
"We won't be alone. We have the Kyoshi warriors, Zuko's other royal guards, and some help from the water tribes to help us."
"I'm coming with you."
"No, Toph please. You have to stay here with Lin. It would not be fair for her to be left to another person's care."
If there is anything in the world Toph hated the most, it's telling her what she can and cannot do. She spent most of her childhood suffocated by her parents' control and she will not let that happen again.
"I know you hate me telling you this, but I don't want you to get hurt. Before you hurt me, let me tell you this: I promise that I will come back before Lin's second birthday in perfect condition!"
Present day
That is the end of that. Once Sokka decided what he wanted to do, he will do it, but that did not stop Toph from giving him a mighty blow to the shoulder before he left.
He did send letters whenever he could, and a servant would read them to Toph. He even sent some mementos for little Lin. But his last letter was a month ago. Since then, Toph waits each night by the porch just to see if she can sense his clumsy footsteps coming towards the gate; but each night there were none. It has been a common sight for passersby to see a middle-aged woman whose porcelain-coloured skin shines underneath the moonlight sipping tea and pace back and forth as well as an infant whose babbles ad cries can be heard miles away. Her servants are worried about the possibility of her sinking into depression or contracting some illness. Of course, no one would confront her with those concerns unless they want to lose their teeth.
At night, she always asks herself whether she made the right choice of letting Sokka go to that stupid Fire Nation Peace whatever-you-call-it event. Is it too much to ask for him to stay? He has a newborn daughter to look after! Plus, if her pride will let her admit, she needs him too. Is that too selfish to ask? Perhaps she thought about all the hard work they've put in just to liberate the world from the Hundred Years' War crumbling apart and that was why she let him go even though she was fighting back tears. He did say he will come back. He has never broken any promises.
She reflects upon the days where she spends most of her time composing letters (by means of dictation) to all her friends like Aang, King Bumi, or anyone she knows to ask about Sokka. Except, no one seems to know much about him; which is weird because they were supposed to be working together. Hope is running out.
The wind suddenly rushes in with vigour as Toph heads inside with Lin. She shivered as the cold gust of air enveloped her. The atmosphere suddenly changed though she could not quite put her finger on it. Toph then hears a familiar voice call her name. It is that husky voice that she fell in love with. He came back! She is so happy that she actually cried. Lin sits on the floor staring at her mother's hysteria and begins to giggle.
"I'm back. I promised I'll come back. So here I am!" Sokka said.
"What took you so long, dummy?"
"Rebels fought harder than expected, blah blah, you know that sort of thing."
"How come Aang didn't know where you were?"
"I snuck out of the palace to help with an ambush attack. I didn't tell anyone, so they won't get worried."
"Well, at least you're back… It took you long enough! We should head back inside or Lin could get sick."
"Yeah, you're right. I'll give her the present later then."
She carries Lin and they walk back inside. However, Toph hears no footsteps other than her own.
"Snoozles are you coming in or not?". No one answered.
She stomped her foot on the ground to sense vibrations. She found nothing.
"Sokka where are you?" No one answered.
Again, no one answers. Hope is lost.