Previously on "Say My Name":
Mako had been teaching Korra how to speak again, and very slowly she has progressed, though she has yet to say a single word. Korra asks Mako out on a date, and they agree to go out the very next day. Will it end well?
Five minutes prior to the time the couple agreed to meet for their date, Korra had asked Jinora to teach her how to say a certain word - a certain name, in fact. Jinora was happy to oblige, especially when she knew what word Korra desperately wanted to learn to say. They had been doing this for several days, though not consistently day after day. Jinora would teach her whenever she could, and Korra appreciated that this young girl would help her with this small request.
"Open your mouth wide like this," Jinora instructed, opening her mouth. "Maaaa …" and Korra mimicked her the best she could. "Good. Now say, 'Ko'. Kooooo … Good! Now say 'Mako'. Great!You're improving," the ten year-old smiled encouragingly. Korra fist-pumped the air as a sign of accomplishment.
"Your mouth is almost perfect. All that you need to learn next is the sound, and you'll be saying his name in no time."
Out of all the words she was relearning, the first word that she wanted to come out of her mouth was, "Mako". She tried to get more practice with Jinora than Mako so that she would surprise him one day, knowing that he'd be so happy once she could say his name again. She would practice every night before bed in front of a mirror, saying "Mako" over and over until it was the most natural thing in the world to say. She would try to say the sounds of his name, but it only came out as something incoherent that sounded nothing like "Mako". But she never gave up, and of all things she's ever tried to be patient with, this was the first she was ever dedicated to patiently learn.
"Do you want to do it again?" Jinora suggested. Korra nodded her head. They continued doing this for several more minutes, until Pema came by and asked with a surprised face, "Korra? You're still here? I thought you had mentioned that you were meeting Mako today." Korra jumped up with wide eyes, remembering that she was supposed to meet him at least ten minutes ago, and ran out the door in a hurry.
Mako was waiting impatiently in front of the island for his girlfriend, standing there in the Air Temple's entrance for what seemed like ten minutes. He currently had his hands in his pockets, basking in the warm sun, feeling the cool breeze that rustled his hair, his clothes, and his red scarf. He closed his eyes to take in the calm and quiet atmosphere that was a contrasting characteristic from the busy streets of the city. There were no Satomobiles or crowds of people rushing here and there; no shouts of "Hey! Watch where you're going!" or annoying honks from impatient drivers; no gangs in the area to intimidate you or threats on your life from questionable strangers; no stalkers, muggers, or robbers either. This island was a peaceful paradise, or a utopia, if you will. Today was a nice day to just relax and maybe have a picnic. The weather was just right and absolutely perfect. Korra had told him that she wanted to have a date in the city, but now, Mako was having second thoughts, and having a date here would be heavenly bliss. But then he shook the idea away when he remembered that three little airbender children would likely get in the way.
Why is she so late? he asked himself, staring up at the temple in front of him. She told me she'd be waiting outside for me at the entrance, and she's not even here. Where in the world is she?
He turned around to face the bay, blankly staring at the surface of the water. He watched boats and ferries pass by, as well as sea birds that squawked and flew above the water, looking for a possible meal to catch in the sea below them.
I've never really cared for birds, he thought to himself.
He then stared up at the clear blue sky, smiling to himself that Korra's eyes were just as bright, blue, and big as the sky above them. But this made him remember the girl, the girl who was now late and practically standing him up, and he frowned. Suddenly, he heard light steps sneaking behind him.
Without turning around, he sighed and said, "You may be unable to speak, but I can still hear you … Korra." She stopped in her tracks and froze at the mention of her name, knowing that she was caught. He spun around to face her, folding his arms, looking like an upset father who was going to scold his child because of a missed curfew. In response, she gave him a guilty look.
"You realize that you're late, right? Do you know how long I've been standing here?" Her body language and her face was trying to tell him that she was sorry, and he understood, simply accepting her apology.
"Well, you're here now." She ran up to him and he offered her his hand, which she kindly took. As they were walking down the pathway to the ferry, he asked her with much curiosity, "What were you doing anyway?" She shot him a grin that read, "Not telling you," and decided to keep it as her little secret.
"Where do you want to go?" Mako asked, smiling at his short girlfriend. She looked around, moving her head left and right, eyeing buildings, stores, and small shops and street vendors that sold things from food to cheap souvenirs. Korra and Mako were in the middle of Republic City, an area that Mako was familiar with. It was a busy area, and quite safe too to his knowledge. It was Republic City's own version of an outside shopping mall, and Mako had laughed when Korra's eyes grew big in excitement and surprise.
She finally found a booth that caught her eye, and she pulled on Mako's arm in that direction without warning.
"Whoa! Korra! Where're we going?"
She miraculously didn't run into anyone as they ran through a busy crowd, dragging Mako to a booth that sold food, mainly small snacks. The seller raised his eyebrows as the couple advanced to his booth at an alarming rate, giving them a weird look. The man at the vendor was short and rather plump with fair skin; his hair black, short, and shaggy; and exhibited slanty green eyes.
"Hello," he welcomed them. "What'll you have?"
Korra carefully looked around the booth's snacks, examining each one. She found something to her liking and pointed at it with her finger.
"The fire flakes?" Mako asked her, and she nodded her head. "Alright, we'll have two fire flakes," he told the vendor, holding up two fingers.
"Ten yuans," the man replied.
He stared at the man incredulously and half-shouted, "T-ten yuans? Wow, that's pretty expensive for a small bag of fire flakes." He glanced down at his girlfriend. "Are you sure you want this, Korra?"
"Korra? You mean, the Avatar Korra?" the man asked, to confirm that he had heard right. She gave the man a nod.
"Well, I heard about your unfortunate accident on the radio weeks ago," the man resumed with sincere sympathy. "So, you really can't talk, huh? Sorry to hear that." He paused to think for a second, and said, "How about this? You can take just take 'em - they're on the house!"
"You mean they're free?"
"That's what 'on the house' means," the man laughed. "But yes. Just this once. Don't tell anyone though," he whispered at the Avatar with a wink.
As they walked away eating their free snacks, Korra grinned up at Mako, and he smiled.
Perks of being the Avatar, they both thought.
"Korra? Korra, where are you?" Mako called anxiously, looking around for a familiar figure. Korra had let go of his hand to go watch something she believed was entertaining, and he had lost sight of her. He knew she couldn't respond or call back to him so that he could follow her voice, and he began to worry. He understood that she was a tough girl who could take care of herself, but he knew the dangers of the city. And if someone were to get his hands on her, no one would be able to hear her scream for help.
He ran through the crowds, searching here and there for a short, tan girl in a Water Tribe getup. His heart was pounding and he was losing his calm, calling her name repeatedly. "Korra? Korra, can you hear me? Where are you?" He jumped suddenly when he felt a warm hand slip into his, and he instantly turned around to see the very girl he was looking for.
He bowed his head, and sighed deeply in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Korra," and she tilted her head in confusion. "Hold onto my hand at all times, okay?" and he squeezed her hand. She didn't like being treated like a small child, but she thought it was cute how overprotective he was of her. So, she decided to mess with him a bit.
She "pretended" to get lost a few times, her hand slipping out of his, unnoticed, and she hid from his view, watching him freak out every time. The last time she did it, she laughed, and he glared at her, now aware of her little game, and said, "You're doing that on purpose." She nodded while bursting out laughing again, and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance with a slight pout on his face.
"Fine. I won't hold your hand for the rest of the day," and he jammed both his hands into his pockets, walking away from her. She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, knowing that she put him in a slightly bad mood, and went to follow him. However, it was difficult as people walked in front of her or accidentally bumped into her from every direction. She noticed that he was getting farther away from her, so she tried to pick up the pace and ease her way through the moving crowd, but he was still out of reach and she could barely see the top of his head.
Finally, she spotted Mako who wasn't that far away from where she was standing. She moved through the crowd more smoothly this time, but unfortunately still couldn't reach him. She saw him about to walk past a parked trolley that was loading and unloading passengers, attempting to cross the street. Then, she saw a speeding motorcycle heading his way.
She tried to reach Mako, pushing her way through people, not caring whether it was rude or not. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, glad that her airbending training had increased her running speed, making her run as fast as the wind. As she ran, she tried to call out his name, but, to her dismay, nothing came out. Her mind was trying to come up with something quick, her heart going a mile a minute. She only had a few seconds before everything turned into absolute chaos. She couldn't bend anything with so many people nearby and close - she couldn't risk hurting those around her. Instead, she just kept on running, hoping to get him out of the way in time.
This entire time, Mako believed that Korra was following behind him, but since she got him in a foul mood, he wasn't really focusing on anything at the moment. As he walked absentmindedly into the streets, he didn't notice the vehicle heading his way until the very last second, his eyes wide in horror when a man from the sidewalk yelled, "Watch out!"
And the whole world seemed to slow down drastically in that dreadful last second.
The motorcyclist had turned his bike slightly, trying to avoid hitting the firebender in front of him; Mako - frozen in place - was pushed violently to the side, hitting the dirt ground, hard. But not as hard as the impact Korra felt from the motorcycle.
The last thing Mako heard was a hit, and people screaming.
Mako groaned in pain as he laid there on the ground, his head spinning. His head had hit the ground pretty hard, seeing mostly blue stars at the moment, and his arm ached a bit. He got up and stood there, dazed for a few seconds, wondering what had just happened. He turned to see a trail of blood on the dirt ground, and he traced it to a surrounding crowd. As people moved here and there, he caught a glimpse of a lifeless tan hand, just laying on the ground.
His heart completely stopped, air trapped in his throat, and he scrambled to his feet, running - running to who he hoped wasn't who he thought it was. All he could hear as he ran was his heart beating like a loud ticking clock, and muffled screams and cries from nearby witnesses. He pushed people out of the way to reach her, muttering, "No, no, no. Please be okay. Please be okay."
It was Korra … but she wasn't moving.
"K-Korra?" his voice faltered in a whisper. He dropped down on his knees beside her, and scooped her up in his shaky arms. He set her body on his knees, hugging her head close to his chest, wiping the blood from her forehead. Her body was colder than usual, and her breathing was unnaturally slow.
"Don't do this to me, Korra," Mako began to cry, trying to shake her body awake. "I'm not going to lose you again. Open your eyes, Korra. Please open your eyes." The tears began to well up in his eyes, falling on Korra's pale cheeks, and his vision became blurred. "You didn't have to save me. My life isn't worth it. You don't have to save everyone. You didn't have to save me. You didn't have to save me," and his voice became an inaudible whisper mixed with choking sobs, hugging her body closer to him.
Mako was in the hospital, pacing the waiting room back and forth, his mind going crazy, waiting to hear if Korra was going to make it or not. One of the best healers in the city were inside the operating room, as well as doctors and nurses, and were currently healing Korra. It had only been a little more than an hour, but to Mako it felt like days were going by, and his heart wouldn't stop beating from anxiety. His thoughts were filled with fear, and he recalled how cold she felt, how lifeless she was in his arms. He decided to sit back down on his chair, but he couldn't calm down. He buried his head in his hands, rubbing his head up and down in them.
"Take care of her," Lin had told him earlier that day. As he remembered this, he just wanted to pull all his hair out and scream, knowing that he was doing exactly the opposite.
His thoughts vanished and he immediately stood up when the doctor addressed him.
Mako stared at the doctor with pained and impatient restless eyes, and asked, "How's Korra? Is she going to be alright?"
The doctor sighed and nodded, saying, "Yes. She'll live, which was quite a miracle." Mako released a huge sigh of relief, his body feeling a little lighter. "She is wide awake and a bit weak at the moment, but you may see her now if you wish. Quite the tough girl, might I say," the doctor smiled.
"That's definitely Korra," Mako snickered.
"I'm currently very busy now with new patients coming in and such, so I will not accompany you. She is in the same room as the previous time," the doctor informed him. As Mako walked past him to advance to Korra's hospital room, the old man added, sounding very grave, "This time she was exceedingly lucky, however … I want you to prepare yourself for this one, son. She didn't go through it unscathed."
And in that last sentence, Mako could sense that there was a much deeper and horrible meaning, and his fears returned once again.
"Doctor, you are needed at the current time," a nurse impatiently called from behind, and the doctor sighed, saying, "Forgive me, but … I'll let you find this one out on you're own." Then, both walked away in opposite directions.
As the firebender stopped in front of Korra's door, his hand hesitated to slide the door open, and his body was a little shaky. He forced himself to breathe in deeply, then exhale, and he opened the door. He saw Korra lying on her bed, her eyes closed. But as he shut the door behind him, her eyes opened and she slowly sat up, turning to face him. He smiled as their eyes met, but she didn't return it.
He approached her bed and pulled a chair next to it, and said, "I'm glad you're alright, Korra. I," his voice faltered, "I thought I was going to lose you." He exasperated a short sigh. "But, you're fine now." He stood up to hug her, careful not to squeeze her too tight, but strangely, she didn't hug him back. When he released her from the hug, she gave him a confused look.
"You're probably really angry at me right now," his face saddened, turning his face away from hers. "I should've been with you. I shouldn't have let go of your hand, so that all of this could've been avoided. This was all my fault. I'm so, so s-sorry," he stammered, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. He gently put a hand on hers and gazed deeply into her clear blue eyes. But for some reason, he couldn't read what she was feeling, what she was thinking. She quickly took her hand from under his, recoiling from his touch, her face now completely befuddled. Why was she looking at him like that?
"What's wrong, Korra?" he inquired, not understanding what was going through her head at the moment. He then remembered that she couldn't speak, and searched around the room for something to write on and a writing utensil. He couldn't find a single piece of paper to write on, but he did find a simple pen lying around and handed it to Korra.
"Write down what you're thinking here," he instructed while pointing at his right palm with his other hand. She was reluctant at first, but she finally grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her. It tickled his hand as she wrote, and Mako couldn't see what she was writing, but she didn't take long as she only wrote a few words. He took his hand back and instantly turned to stone as he read three, dreadful words - three words he never imagined to read from her; three words he never thought she would ever say to him; three words that were worse than "I hate you".
His tears blurred the message written on his hand - the message that read:
Who are you?
A/N: Yes, I am a horrible, horrible person. Yet another cliffhanger for ya, folks. :P Everything starts off sweet and then … "BAM!", everything's turned bitter. I won't be able to update right away, so I'll leave you all in suspense. *evil laugh*
Please review and tell me what you think so far! Or favorite and/or follow it - I appreciate either one. :