This is the tale of a lonely prisoner in a isolated prison cell. How he got there? No one knows. Until now. I don't own Avatar, blah blah blah, Mike and Brian have all rights, blah blah blah, you've heard a disclaimer before. You know the drill.
No windows. No doors. Only darkness and the subtle sound of my icy breath hitting the wall. No blankets. No one around to hear my screams. Utter isolation for just a year has made me nearly insane. Why did I have to come here? I don't deserve to be in a Fire Nation prison! At the sentencing, they decided the Boiling Rock (whatever that is) was too good for me! So they sent me somewhere even worse.
Veracuse Prison. It's so top secret, I bet you haven't even heard of it. It is the worst, most heavily guarded Fire Nation prison in the world. Veracuse is a small island north west of the fire nation capital. The story behind Veracuse is long and terrible, but I'll summarize.
Veracuse was the name of a famous Fire Nation general. When he was informed that a little water tribe island was causing some trouble, he left right away. The soldiers under his command were off fighting the air nomads. He tried to find some soldiers, but could only find some rejected recruits obsessed to fight. He made a rag tag team and set off for the island.
They fought hard and tried their best but they were outnumbered. In honor of Veracuse and his soldiers his real troop made the island into a prison. Because that's the nicest thing to do for your general.
It isn't in the slightest pleasant here. One meal a day, shoved through a tiny slot in the wall while I sleep so I would stay islolated. I know there are other prisoners here, going through the same thing, but that doesn't help ease the loneliness. How could the Fire Nation be so cruel?
Where I lived I might have been put in a normal jail. You would have a cellmate and two meals a day. It would be fairly warm and you would have a bed to sleep on.
Here I'm basically living in an iron box with no way out. They told me at sentencing," It's not that bad. You'll have more time to think. Maybe going to Veracuse will teach you and your produce selling friends to stay out of the Fire Nation's way! Ha ha ha!" Yeah, they were really nice to me. It has been one year and I'm losing it! The war is over but I doubt fire lord Zuko knows about Veracuse! I'll never get out of here.
Maybe I should tell you how I got into this mess. It all started thirteen months ago.
It was a sunny day in Ba Sing Se. Peasants were browsing the shops from antiques to Zsungi Horns. I pushed my cart along the trampled dirt road, occasionally stopping to rest or call to the crowd," Cabbages for sale! The best in town!" Getting to Ba Sing Se with my cabbages had been… rough.
At first I went to the docks near my home. A bald monk and two water tribe peasants caused my cart to be destroyed! I went to Omashu, hoping to get a start on my business. Right at the gate the guards earth bended my cabbages off the bridge! Those were only some of the incidents that occurred on my long journey. I was finally at Ba Sing Se.
As I looked around, I saw dirty people wearing brown clothes. Refuges were everywhere. So I didn't notice two teenage boys sneaking up to the cart. Now the Fire Nation controlled the great city, I discovered that shortly after I arrived. There were always little rebellions, but never anything major. There were three fire nation guards about ten feet away from me. While I was talking to a potential customer, the teens grabbed cabbages and threw them at the guards, screaming," The fire nation will never win!!!" Then they ducked behind the cart, and all the guards saw was my cabbage cart and me.
I saw the soldiers yelling," Hey you!" and " Let's get him!" as they walked closer, so I knew what to do. By then, the boys were gone and I had to run. My flimsy sandals slapped the hard ground as I fled. Every few seconds I'd turn my head back while running, and now the guards were running too. They looked mad… really mad. You're probably thinking that's why I'm here. You couldn't be more wrong. That's just how it started.
Since I had been pushing my cart through the streets for a couple weeks, I knew my way around. I slipped in and out of alleyways, popping through stores, and blending in with the crowd. Because I had to abandon my cart, which had my money, food, and belongings, I had to steal food.
I would just nonchalantly walk by a grocery store and snatch a loaf of bread, as quick as lightning. Water was more difficult. It's hard to just walk by a store and grab a jug of water. First, they would notice. Second, you can't run with water or it will spill. I would cause little distractions like knock a baby's doll out of its hands, it would cry, then I would grab a jug and leave.
That just got me into even more trouble. I had " harassed" fire nation soldiers and stolen from three shops. A day of running and stealing made me feel stressed and tired, so I went back to my house. But it turned out my troubles were far from over.
As soon as I went back to my cabbage cart the next day, the same soldiers that had chased me, the same merchants I stole from, and a few more soldiers. A merchant said," That's the man!" Another said," He stole from me!" The last one said," Yeah! He has to pay!"
The soldiers chased me to the upper ring but they still didn't stop! I didn't know my way around the upper ring at all. I followed the roads, and I saw fancy houses and universities. I ran all the way to the palace!
It was amazing. Besides the fire nation banners, the enormous building was stunning. I snuck in a servant entrance and found myself on a balcony, next to a man with a bow and arrow. He only had one arrow, and he was staring intently at the throne area.
I looked and saw rows of Di Li agents, but on the throne was a pale girl. Her hair was up in a green ribbon with two strands of hair hanging down on either side of her head, and she wore a kind of earth kingdom armor. She sat with one leg over the other, inspecting the agents with and evil grin. I didn't know if she was going to kill them or have them kill someone else. Her eyes were like topaz, her hair as black as coal.
The man next to me was very different. He had shaggy brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was tan and grimy with no shoes. He didn't have much clothes on him, only brown rags.
He lined up a shot toward the girl. He didn't even notice me. I grabbed his arm and whispered," What are you doing? Are you crazy?!"
He broke out of my grasp and replied," It's crazy not to do this. You wouldn't know…" he turned away from me. " She is horrible. She… must die." I sensed that he was a little messed up and that something bad was about to happen. I left him alone but I didn't want to. He set up the bow again, and released his grip on the arrow. It went whizzing through the air. It struck the wood right next to the girl's head. I turned to tell the strange man who shot the arrow he was insane, but nothing was there except the bow. It was just me. Alone.
He didn't even stay to see if she died. He left so he could fight another day, but I didn't. I was just standing there in shock, wondering what would happen. I started backing into the doorway while guards pointed at me. Before I ran, I glanced at the throne and saw the girl glaring at me, then… she laughed.
I ran, seeing soldiers on both sides of me coming closer. Who was that girl? I still don't know today. You can guess the rest. Now I'm here.
That's my story. Now- what? I must be hearing things now, I heard the almost invisible door being unlatched, unlocked. Uh, that blinding light! What's going on?
Who's that? It looks like a young man wearing a dark red robe with gold lining. A hood is over his head, but I can see shaggy black hair and pale skin.
" You tried to kill my sister, and that's why you are here. Right?" He has a serious look, and the same golden eyes of the girl I saw a year ago.
" You wouldn't believe me if I answered you." I'm not looking at him, but I heard him chuckle.
" You don't know what I have seen. But if you really did try to kill her, I don't blame you. She's in jail now, just like you. It's funny how these things work."
" What? Who are you, I need answers!" More laughing.
" You'll get plenty. I'm Fire Lord Zuko. You're free." His hand gestured to the door for a few seconds.
Free. Finally free. There are so many things I will do! I'll travel the world, selling cabbages! I'll see my family again. I just met the Fire Lord! Soon, the Earth King, then the Northern Water Tribe chief, then maybe, just maybe, I will see the avatar like I did a year ago!
Yay! The cabbage man gets a happy ending after a year of sorrow! I'm so happy... happy endings rule!
- KK Kataang