Grandma's Stories

Okay, it's my turn to tell a story. This is a great tale that my grandma used to tell me. Now, it never really happened to me, but it did happen to my granny. You see, when she was younger her grandma told the legend to her, and then she passed it on to me. I'll do my best to explain it…

A very, very long time ago, way back before cars or telephones, or any of that stuff, the world was different. It was… well, full of magic. Everyone was in tune with nature, and there were groups for all the different elements, you know, like, instead of countries. So anyway, certain people in these groups, the ones who were closest to nature, could actually move their element. And of course, they had this leader to keep everything in balance called the… well, it started with an "A"…

Well, this guy (or girl) made sure everything was going good, and he could also move all four of the elements! He must have been so in tune with nature…that's probably how hippies got started… but anyway, this one time the A…Avatar! Yeah, that's it! The Avatar disappeared and the world went into, like, total chaos. So the Fire people started attacking everyone, and all this went on for 100 years, until some girl and her brother found him in an iceberg after crashing their canoe.

Anyway, he had to learn how to move all four elements and stop the King of the Fire People before a huge comet came and gave the bad guys strength. So he did all of this, even though he was just little kid. Then after the whole thing was over he flew back to the South Pole where the southern tribe of the water people lived. Oh, right, he had this big bison that could fly and was stuck in the iceberg with him.

So on their way back the bison stopped at the iceberg he was stuck in for 100 years, and he wouldn't leave. No matter how much the girl and her brother begged him the Avatar would never leave his bison, so he stayed there while his poor pet tried to get back to their life before they left the past. My granny said that's where the Avatar spent the rest of his days, but they say that bison live a very long time, and he is still there, waiting as many centuries as it takes to get back to his life in the past where his master was by his side.

And to this day, if you're feeling daring, you can pack up some food and warm clothes, (make sure to bring an extra blanket, the nights there can get pretty cold) and travel those thousands of miles to the artic waters the over to Antarctica. If you look close enough, you might even see some remains of the old Southern Water tribe, though most of it would be long gone by now.

But don't stop there, keep going. Through the blizzards, the blistering winds, and the ever intensifying cold. Trust me, it's worth it. Once you've flown over the continent you'll see a lot of glaciers that look very similar to each other. This is the part where you have to close your eyes and let some greater force lead you. If you trust in full, and are pure of heart you will be led over miles and miles of ice and water, until you get caught in a current.

Not just any current, either. This current is gentle yet strong; it leads you, but at the same time is being led by something else. It will take you through a maze of ice, until it dies down, and you know you are there. You can't exactly see it yet, but you can feel it, and if you believe in all that magic and moving, I've heard it really happens.

Out of the chilled water pops a huge glowing sphere of… well, it's hard to tell. It's a part air, a part ice, but mostly magic. It ain't any of that fairy-princess magic baloney, either. It's sad… there's a longing, and a wish. So, this sphere is open, the top has been melted through time, and if you look closely you can make out a shadow.

Now this is where you're really tested. Nothing will happen if you don't move, it's like, you know you have move, there's an itch in you. Everything is happening at once and your heart is racing, and your head is pounding and something is pulling you toward this glowing block of… whatever it is.

And this is the part where you throw caution to the wind and step out onto the block of ice. If you round the corner nice and slow, and stay quiet you might catch a glimpse of the bison. If you can see him, keep going, and if you are truly lucky you can creep up to him and lay a hand on the center of his arrow.

Granny says when this happens you see the world like never before. You see the world when it was young, and if you believed you could move the elements. Then, because he can never grant his own wish, if you are pure he will grant you whatever is your heart's greatest desire. Of course, the person's wish is always the same: for others to see the world as wonderful as it was those many years ago, before war and hate.

That's why one day I'm going to make the journey and visit the bison, but instead of wishing for another visitor, I'll wish for him and his master to go back to the world they used to known and set the bison free. And who knows, maybe in return they'll do something to change the course of time, and we'll find ourselves living in a magical place, too.

You say you don't believe, huh? Well, that's up to you, but I can't say I don't feel sorry for you. I know it sounds crazy, but haven't any of you ever thought that maybe there was magic and goodness out there, even if it's in our past.

Hmm? Oh, you want to know who my great grandma is. Well, I never actually met her, but I heard her name was Katara and everyone just called her Gran-Gran.

Note: Whew, that went through so much revision, but it's from the heart. It started out as letter "U" for Kataang Abc, then turned into a story about Appa called "Take Me Back", but eventually ended up like this. I feel so magical when I read this, and I loved writing it, although it was hard to act like I didn't know squat about the Avatar.

Reviews please!!!!