A/N: I wrote this by the end of book 1, when we didn't know how Link got her scars or that she had a sister and her mother was alive...
She closed her eyes, wanting to shut the world down. Her pain was so intense she was unable to feel anything else.
She opened her eyes and saw her reflection in the mirror. She reached out her right hand and gently caressed her scars.
Her mother and her had fought side to side when she got injured. It had been her first day as a member of the Metalbending
Police Force, and Toph had been very proud of her.
"Lin, this is what the Force is about" Her mother had said, hugging her tight "it's about giving up on yourself for other's
safety. You are my brave soldier girl".
She had rarely considered herself more important than others, that was true. Her mother had raised her up well.
Lin remembered those times when she had been scared or angry... her mother would silently sit by her side and play with
her hair until Lin spoke.
"My parents never understood me... they didn't accept who I was" Toph had confessed one time when Lin got mad at her,
"So I will always try to make you feel loved and I will be willing to let you shine on your own".
A sad smiled crossed Lin's face. "Oh, I did feel loved, mom... You never left me".
She wan't ashamed to say she always slept with her mother. They would cuddle up together, protecting each other
since Lin's father died.
"But now..." Lin whispered "now I actually am alone..."
She closed her eyes again, trying to fight her tears. She walked out of the bathroom and into her mother's room.
Everything was exactly the way Toph had left it; Lin hadn't had the strenght to clean it up. The bed was still unmade
and clothes were all around the bedroom. She lied down on the bed and covered herself, reaching for a picture Toph
had set over the night table. She saw both of them, when Lin was a little child. Her mother was holding her up with pride
and her smile showed how much she loved the girl.
Lin had never known why her mother had kept the picture if she couldn't see it... Well, she had never understood
why she had kept all her childhood drawings either. Toph would always smile & hug Lin, telling her she had done a fantastic job.
Lin smiled. She finally understood Toph had loved her so much that everything she did was perfect and marvelous for her.
And the picture?
Toph knew that, even though she couln't see it, she and her daughter were together.
A tear fell down Lin's cheek, as she felt her heart get warm.
Even though she couldn't see, feel... or hear her, her mother would always be by her side, and she would never be alone.