Chapter 1
An Unexpected Encounter
To think I would meet him here in all places. He's a troubled soul with a good heart wandering the streets of the fire nation capital. His eyes were a lovely bronze, and hair an unusually red-brown. A smile crossed his lips as my shoulder brushed against his in the crowed market place, and I could feel the blood rush to my face. I didn't even know him and already I felt embarrassed. Why? I could not configure the reason.
"Oh I'm sorry." I whispered shyly as he gazed down at me with his beautiful bronze eyes. "I've just had a lot on my mind." I didn't know why I was apologizing either; I knocked into a person every day. The boy's gaze still stared down upon me.
"Hey it's not a problem." The boy laughed. "I am a klutz also, it is no big deal."
I breathed a sigh of relief and gazed over to the palace in which stood in the center of the capital. Just moments ago our new Fire Lord, Zuko, had declared the war over and that he and Avatar Aang would try to restore peace throughout the world. I couldn't feel relieved though, because I didn't feel happy. I always imagined that when the war ended my family would be reunited. We never were.
"So what's your name?" The boy asked, the grin remaining across his face. I looked closely into his eyes, and saw his true emotion, lost and alone, not full of glee like his face showed.
"My name is Layla." I blushed again. I didn't really know why either, maybe I was still embarrassed from bumping into him before.
The boy chuckled. I was unsure if he was laughing at me or with me. Yet then again, my face probably did look like I just gobbled down a bag of fire flakes. This only caused my face to turn into an even deep crimson red.
"It's nice to meet you Layla. My name is Ren." His smile still flashed across his face.
I couldn't help but smile back, it was almost contagious. "It's great the war is over." I exclaimed.
Ren's smile automatically disappeared, like I had said the wrong thing. His eyes seemed lost in a mysterious whirl pool of ideas and no longer in the place where he stood. The people around us moved without care. No one seemed to notice Ren's lost expression but me. How could that be? Why did I care? I had only just met this boy a moment ago. Seconds, maybe minutes passed by before Ren's voice chimed in, not as buoyant as the last time he spoke. "Not all of us are happy yet though. Not everyone was brought back together."
I glanced at him, fully understanding what he had said. As much as I tried to remain happy, not everyone I knew returned to my life. In fact I hadn't had a clue where any of them were. I was alone.
"I understand what you are going through." I whispered. "I have yet to be reunited with my family. I wish they knew where they were."
Ren glanced at me, surprised that I understood. His bronze eyes stared at me without blinking or moving. It was as if I was the only thing in front of him, everyone else around us a moving mass of nothing. I gazed back, observing him quietly. He was average height, and had a deep tanned skin. His red-brown hair was not combed in the tradition fire nation attire, but was cut unevenly as it fell an inch above his eyebrows. I knew that he wasn't observing me, a short fire nation girl with curly brown hair. He was thinking, I could tell by the way his eyes seemed to stare off into the unknown.
"You understand?" His voice sounded faint.
"Yes, I do understand." I continued to gaze at him.
"No one I have met yet understands. Almost everyone is well happy. Or at least that is how it seems."
"I try to stay happy, but it is hard. Now that some many people are coming home I am expecting my father or mother to show up. They haven't." If I was alone I would've sobbed, yet I couldn't in front of him or he may think I was weak.
"I'm looking for my brother and father. My mother died a couple years back." He seemed lost again.
"I'm sorry." I whispered.
"Don't be. I should have protected her. I mean I am the one in my family who can fire bend." A smile of remorse slipped across his face for a brief second.
"Yeah that is the same with me. Except that my father can fire bend too." I rubbed my hands together. "I miss them dearly. I've been alone for three years now, wandering like one of the air nomads, alone."
"Same."
There was a silence between the two of us for a long moment. I was unsure what to say or do. I stared down at my feet and twiddled my thumbs back and forth. "Well, I guess I should be going." I whispered quietly.
I began to walk away, when Ren's voice chimed in behind me. "Wait."
I turned, curiosity taking over. "What?"
"I was wondering, if you want to, I don't care, if well um…" He stuttered. "I was wondering if you would like to join me."
I raised my eyebrow in confusion. Was he asking me out, or something else?
"I mean for dinner." I noticed a few beads of sweat on his forehead. "I can cook up some really good soup over the fire on the beach. It isn't too hard. Besides you look hungry."
I actually did feel sort of hungry, and plus this would give me more time to spend with Ren. "Sure, I would like that." I smiled.
He flashed his brilliant smile back, causing the blood to rush up my face once again. I continued to question one thing, was this love? Or was I just so happy to have found a friend that I was mistaking it for such? I was unsure, yet didn't care. Together we walked out of the plaza and away from the celebration. Why celebrate happiness when we had yet to find it? There was no point at all.