Ghosts and Monsters
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
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When Toph Bei Fong was five she was told that a monster had her eyes.
Lao and Poppy Bei Fong had bought their blind daughter to every notable healer and herbalist in the Earth Kingdom. Her sightless eyes had been smeared with foul smelling concoctions, she had been forced to swallow all manner of bitter herbal broths, one particular healer had decided that the reason for Toph's blindness was the evidence of it, the milky film that covered her irises and had tied to poke needles straight through her pupils while his assistants held her down. But no matter what anyone tried nothing could cure Toph's blindness or even explain it.
The Bei Fongs became desperate. Their poor little girl, she was so fragile and helpless and they were helpless. They were her parents, parents were supposed to look after their children make sure they were healthy, happy. And they couldn't do that for Toph, they couldn't make her better. No matter how much they wanted too. They had almost driven themselves to ruin trying to heal their daughter, going so far as to hire the Earth Kings official healer.
Once the efforts of the notable healers and herbalists had come to nothing The Bei Fongs moved down the medical ranks, they contacted every surgeon and bonesetter in Gaoling and the nearby country side. And once again Toph was forced to endure more obscene treatments, she was given the powder of ground up dragon bones to rub across her eyes, made to eat a disgusting mixture of armadillotiger paws and ground up stones from the stomach of a sea serpent and once she had been coated in shirshu venom so she wouldn't feel it as metal spokes fresh from the furnace could be pressed against the pressure points in her body relating to her eyes. The venom wore off in an hour and Toph had cried and screamed at the pain that spiked out from all over her body for days after the treatment.
Eventually in desperation Poppy Bei Fong began to take her daughter to see fortune-tellers. Surely those who knew of the other world and had such a great insight into the spirits of men and women could see what was wrong with her daughter. The First fortune-teller that Toph was bought to was called Aunt Wu. She lived in a large town that Toph hated, she could feel the angry earth through the soles of her silk slippers. She could feel the molten rock twisting and turning below her waiting to be released. Aunt Wu was a very reputable Fortune-teller everyone who saw her had whatever she told them come true. Aunt Wu took one look at Toph and smiled.
"Oh you're a strong one aren't you? So very talented. You are going to be great one day, the greatest Earthbender that ever lived and you're going to go on a grand adventure"
The Bei Fongs had left the town in a huff, some fortune-teller! Their daughter was most certainly not strong and she definitely wasn't an Earthbender and as for grand adventures Toph couldn't even see! The only good thing about seeing Aunt Wu was she didn't charge them!
Eventually the family ended up seeing a woman called Third Aunty. That wasn't her actual name and she wasn't anyone's Aunt. It was simply a polite way of addressing a woman who spoke to ghosts. And she did speak to Ghosts, she told Toph that when she was sitting on a stool in the middle of Third Aunties two room hut, they whispered into her ears she said scratched images into her brain with their sharp nails. Pale haired and white faced ghosts. Third Aunty was blind too, she had scratched her own eyes out so that she would no longer have to endure the ghosts that swirled around in her vision, she thought that by blinding herself they would go away, but Ghosts were smarter than her and when they could no longer make themselves seen they made themselves heard instead.
Toph was afraid of Third Aunty, her voice was frail and scratchy as she spoke of the supernatural. Toph's parents hadn't been allowed to come into the second room of Third Aunties hut with her, they were probably glad of that, the room stunk of dust and incense and there were so many strange noises coming from the walls, the clinking noise of amulets Third Aunty had hung there and the scuttling of insects and rats along the floor. To say Toph was terrified of the woman would have been an understatement. She practically screamed in terror when Third Aunty clasped her wiry hands around her shoulders.
"Now child lets see what my ghosts say about you"
She took her hands away from Toph's shoulders and placed them on her eyelids easing them shut she kept her hands across Toph's eyes and screamed.
She stumbled backwards slamming against the far wall forcing several of the trinkets she had strung from it to fall off their hooks. Lao Bei Fong burst into the room as Toph toppled off the stool she had been sitting on landing solidly on the ground, Poppy was close behind him. Lao rushed to his daughters side lifting her up as Poppy swept in and began to cradle her checking her over for injuries and dusting off her pale green robes. Toph could barely hear the angry torrent of words coming from her fathers mouth directed at the woman huddled up on the floor. But she could hear Third Aunties broken far away voice as clear as day.
"Demon...monster...your poor poor eyes...he still has them. Koh still has your eyes. The monster has your eyes!"
She shrieked pointing an accusing finger at the young girl. Toph's mother had gasped in horror and had thrown her arms around her daughter pulling her into a tight embrace. Scooping Toph away from his wife and up into his own arms Lao and Poppy Bei Fong fled from the hut leaving Third Aunty huddled up against the wall at the mercy of her ghosts.
Lao and Poppy Bei Fong never took their daughter to another healer or fortune-teller. Instead Toph was to spend the rest of her days within the sheltered walls of her families estate far away from any ghosts and monsters.
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STORY NOTES
Blindness: Today with modern science many possible causes of blindness have been uncovered but in ancient times Blindness along with any other physical disability was seen as something spiritual. In the Bible blind people seeking healing from Jesus were accused by the general public of grave unforgivable sins, in cultures that believed in reincarnation blindness could be seen as a punishment for evil in a past lifetime.
Parents: I know that Toph's relations with her parents are at best strained but I do believe they love her in their own ways and would have wanted to do anyhting they could to cure her blindness or at least find out why she was blind.
Medicine: Chinese medicine is famous for it's idealology of treating the cause not the symptoms and many of their medicines include strange ingrediants such as tiger bones and many other things that one could be forgiven for thinking came from a witches cauldron. Even today many people still swear by chinese medicine, however many of the medicines ingrediants are only available on the Black Market as the animals they come from are endangered.
Spirits: It constantly amazes me that the people of the Avatar world are so scientifically advanced and well learned as opposed to our world in a similar period of history when the Avatar world is also so infused with spirits. They're practically everywhere and yet the people don't seem at all supersticious. It seems to be the exact oppersite of our world.
Third Aunty: I read somewhere that this was a polite title to give to a woman who told fortunes and talked to spirits I don't remember where now...
Ummi/Toph: I have always loved the Koh/Toph/Ummi/Aang/Kuruk theories I first found out about them through fanfiction on this site and thought to myself 'huh that makes sense' I know a lot of people think they're rubbish but though that may be my inner Taanger (The one that gets crushed down by my not so inner Zutarian) Loves it!
Okay, okay I know I really should be working on 'Tough' and believe me I am it's just that this popped up into my head and hey I just do what the voices in my head tell me...Anyway I hope you enjoyed this
Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors you come across I'm still on the look out for a Beta reader (Come on guys there's gotta be someone here who spells better than me!) I accept critisim just please be constructive and polite.
Ari Out!