"Good luck, Risa," Chef whispered, hugging me. I hugged him back, trying not to show I was afraid. He slipped something into my coat pocket, and patted my back. I might not have been crying, but Chef's eyes glittered slightly. "Please, if you can't do anything else, find a way to survive. Okay?" I could only find the heart to give a weak little nod.
I tossed my bag into the boat, wondering if this was truly happening. It was. I slowly climbed in after it, giving a few last glances, pleading to let me stay. In return I received a few glances of pity, but most of the people who I'd come to know despised me now. Where do you go when you're banished from the place where you go when you're banished from wherever you originally came from, I wondered. With a jerk, a small water bender created wave carried me about fifty feet away from the island, past the point where a stray wave might carry me in. Chef's face was just a speck now, a speck that I tried to pry last second memories from. I wasn't prepared to lose the years I'd spent with him. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fading island. My home. There were no 'good' fire benders in the eyes of the island. It was early morning, and the milky sky was beginning to brighten as the sun rose, dragging a new day behind it. Something about the new day sparked a new hope in me. After all, I'd always wanted to see the world beyond the sea.
About an hour later, the island had disappeared forever. I knew for a fact that I'd never see it again. I could never go back, and people there would live and die. Without me, life would go on. Time wouldn't stop just because I was sent away. People would wake up, and desperately try to work for money, which would be used to buy whatever food was caught for the day. No one would give me a second thought, because they'd be too busy surviving themselves. The only one who might give me a second thought would be Chef. And when he did, it would be a small thought, in respect for my years of helping him. He'd have bigger things to worry about, besides what happened to me. I almost hoped that he'd never give me a second thought. At least it would be easier for him that way.
Remembering Chef, the only person I'd ever really cared for there, I remembered him slipping something into my pocked before I'd left the island. I reached into my pocked, and found a pouch made from a piece of material, with something inside of it. I opened it up, and peeked inside. There was a tiny piece of fish, hardly the size of my fist. It wouldn't be a full meal, but it would be food, and that's what mattered. Chef hadn't been so insensitive as to send me away without anything to eat. Except I wouldn't eat it, not just yet. I decided to save it until I was so hungry I couldn't take it anymore. I wrapped up the piece of fish again, and returned it to my pocket. My last little piece of Chef. It was only fair to make it last.
I moaned, falling to my back and squinting up into the sky. This was going to be a long ride. A very long ride. All around me was nothing but water and ice. I had a bad feeling that I'd be drifting for too long to see the rest of the world.
That night was cold. Really, really, freeze-your-blood kind of cold. My fingers, without gloves, were numb, and I knew that making a fire on a wooden boat would just end in disaster. Even a small one, that could fit in my palm, wouldn't be enough. I had already tried it, just to warm my hands, and it hadn't worked. What good was having power over fire if you couldn't even keep yourself warm? I tried to pull my coat tighter around me, but my body was no longer producing sufficient heat to be trapped in its furs. Everything was completely silent, no living creature was well enough adapted to be out this late at night in the middle of a half-frozen ocean. The only sounds I could hear was the eerie, creaking sound of the water licking at the tiny wooden boat, and the soft, shaking sound of my breath. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds that warned of snow, leaving me in what was almost complete darkness. The whole experience was nearly enough to make me break down and fall apart. But instead, I kept on looking up at the few stars that were peeking through the clouds, and praying that somehow someone would find me soon. Despite how unlikely it was, I still had hope.
It was late, and I figured I'd been on the boat for about sixteen hours or so. Maybe more- I hadn't been able to sleep, eat, or do anything to draw myself out of boredom. And suffice it to say that you don't want to know how I've been 'disposing of waste,' either. For the past few hours I'd been off in a fantasy or memory of some sort, trying to distract myself and pass the time. It had worked, too, for a while. But now I was back in the grim depths of reality, realizing that if nobody found me soon, I was doomed. And that was enough to keep anyone awake. I dug through the little backpack of necessities I'd been provided with, and pulled out a coarse blanket, which I wrapped around myself. I found it to be useless, as it was just as cold as I was. But it was something, and I thought maybe, eventually, my body might warm it up. After all, there was nothing more I could do right now than hope. I found that by imagining that things would happen, it made getting through reality much easier.
The boat suddenly smacked against a piece of ice, and I jerked upwards, a small fire in my hand to check for damage. There was luckily no damage, and I looked over the edge of the boat, to see the relatively small piece of ice that had collided with me. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth. If I sank, I was done for. I could swim, definitely. But it would only be a matter of time before hypothermia overtook me. For now, I was safe. For now. I let the fire die, and let myself fall back down to the bottom of the boat, head resting on the wooden planks. A stiff neck was the least of my worries, though. I closed my eyes, trying to catch at least a small wink of sleep. I found myself way too keyed up, though, and my eyes flickered open again. I groaned, upset that I couldn't get to sleep. I wasn't tired, but it would at least kill time. I could dream, and be somewhere off of the boat. For a little while, I might have some peace.
I don't know when I fell asleep, but I must have, because when I woke up, the sun was high in the sky, and a sharp wind was blowing. Snow had covered me and the boat at some point in the night. I brushed myself off, and stared around me, hungry for a sign of land, or a boat, or something. But there was nothing, and my heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
I was going to be out here for a long, long time.