Author's Note: Okay, I'm feeling emotional right now, so everybody near me might want to back away a couple of steps... I can't believe this is it- I'm actually posting the last chapter. I never finished writing a book in my life, so this is pretty darn big. I'm so happy I got a chance to post it today- a snow day was called for tomorrow so there is no school! -happy dance- Even though there is no snow yet... oh well, not my problem. I had two tests tomorrow that I did NOT want to take, anyway. I already studied my brain until it exploded, so I guess I'm okay. Anyway, back to the topic, I tried to make this the longest chapter yet, and succeeded! ^^ This is two and a half pages long, guys! Two and a half pages of finale goodness! After this day, the episode, "The Awakening" airs. There is so much I want to say about this and I'm afraid I'm going to forget. Then I won't be able to mention it again next chapter, because there won't be one! :( Anyway, enjoy the conclusion of the epic tale of "Dear Diary"! :)
Dear Diary,
Today it has been exactly three weeks. Exactly three weeks ago, we were still at Ba Sing Se, unaware of the events that would transpire. A lot has happened in all that time. We were all forced to come to terms with ourselves and our strength when we were tested with almost losing a friend. In the end we were able to overcome and that has given us the hope and the will-power we now possess. The Fire-Nation may have an elite army, but they still can't figure out why we can still continue fighting vigorously. It's because we have something that they don't. We have something well worth fighting for and that is our friends. As long as we still have hope and determination, we will continue fighting relentlessly until we overcome. It's two nations plus the Avatar against one, the odds are against them. They have no pity, no remorse, and no heart but they have a little too much pride. This is what gives us the lead against them, and that's what keeps us fighting when all seems lost. Once Aang gets better enough to fight again, and all the nations learn of his revival, our strength will return tenfold and we will be unstoppable against the Fire Nation. We can do this; we can win.
Aang will have to wake up soon. I feel it when I come into his room, and I can tell that he is much better just by looking at him. He reacts when I touch him, and I know he is close to surfacing. In a matter of time, he will be with us again. All we can do is sit and wait patiently for the time to come. Trust me on this; it's harder than it looks. If someone tells you to sit and wait for a while, you would think it to be an easy task, right? Well, sitting around for three weeks just waiting on fate to bring him back is… to say the least, exasperating. True, at the beginning it was scary to think Aang's heart might just stop at any second and we would lose him. I found myself constantly heading to his room, for my own consolation and for his safety. Now that I know that he will finally awaken, and soon, I'm growing impatient and restless. I fear I am slowly forgetting my memories with him and who he was altogether. I need to remember and find myself again. It is strange; I have grown strong without him and can function on my own now, yet at the same time there is that feeling for him that I need him to be there. Does any of this even make sense? No, it really doesn't, so how come I am feeling it? Isn't it impossible to feel two completely contradictory feelings at the same time? It only vaguely makes sense to me now; I guess that I need him here with me now more than I thought. I just want to hear his voice, see his eyes shining, and feel his hand grasping mine, not the other way around. Right now his hands are so limp and lifeless, they are cold, and I know they do not belong to the Aang I once knew. I need to feel his conscious presence around me. Yet, at the same time, if he were to die at this very moment, I would have the strength to pick myself up and move on… after getting over the initial shock. Okay, I am making no sense now. Aang, without meaning to, takes all of my beliefs and standards and defies them to the point that I do not know how to respond to my own feelings anymore.
Alright, I thought this diary would help sort out my troubles, but now I am even more confused than when I started it. Is this what love is? I get more questions than answers and I feel too many emotions at once, and everything I was once so sure of suddenly crumbles to my feet. But, it some strange way, it still feels good. Even though the world is spinning a little too fast for me now, and I'm not too sure what I believe in, and even though Aang is making everything so much more confusing, when I see him it's like everything falls back into place. He answers my questions… or at least makes me forget about them long enough to enjoy being in the moment. But, even though he makes me feel good, I can't let my feelings get the best of me… at least not yet. There is too much that can, and will, go wrong if we are together now. Aang has a destiny to face and I don't want to lose him again to it. It would hurt too much to get him back and be happy together for a while just to have our dreams torn down. I've built up barriers around myself in these three weeks that I'm not willing to break down until the war is over and Aang is finally safe. Then we can be together. I know that this might hurt him (Because I'm pretty sure that the feeling is mutual.) but it must be done. I just pray to the spirits that nothing will happen to him before I get a chance to make my confession. To think that he might go his whole life not knowing how I feel and then die suddenly wishing he knew is an awful thought. All I can do is leave it to fate. But how can a feeling so strong not prove a purpose in the world? Surely the spirits didn't let us feel this way towards one another if their only objective was to tear down our hopes. Destiny will decide whether we will be together to not, but honestly I don't want that to be our only hope. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of girl, and I will protect Aang by any means necessary. Anyone who tries to hurt him will pay. I just can't risk losing him too soon.
The Fire-Nation ships have been passing by quite frequently. I think they are becoming suspicious as to why we are heading in the opposite direction as them. People have been calling for us to turn around, but we pretend we can't hear. Dad and Bato are working on an alibi to convince any ships that may stop to question us. We don't want to risk it, and it's a high possibility. They don't want to endanger the children, either, so they gave us a spot we can hide in if the chance comes. We must duck down on the staircase leading down to Aang's room. Therefore, we can stay hidden if nothing happens, but if a fight ensues we will be able to guard the Avatar. We also made a plan to hide Appa and Momo which includes a team effort between Pipsqueak and The Duke.
Toph is pretty adept at Metal-bending now; even more so since she has been training more often lately, with the risk of running into a Fire-Nation ship and all. I've tried my hand at practicing water-bending the ocean below us as well. Everywhere we look for miles is an abundance of water, so if we are discovered, I don't think we'll have much of a problem. Also, while Pipsqueak and The Duke were exploring the ship the other day, they spotted a supply of large rocks used for the catapults on the ship. This gives us another big advantage we can use with Toph. Of course it's a lot more helpful that we have an earth-bender on board who can hurtle them ten times faster than it would take to load any old catapult.
It seems that we're starting to get the hang of life in a Fire-Nation ship. Of course we're getting close to the Fire-Nation border, so we won't be needing it much longer. It made a handy camouflage while it lasted, though. Everyone seems to have perfected their Fire-Nation soldier impersonations, too. Of course, when you're on a ship with the same people day after day, with the gloomy concept of a dying boy on board that just so happens to be the savior of the world, you tend to think of outrageous ways to brighten up the mood. At night, for the past few weeks, we have been gathering around at dinner and we would make a hilarious spectacle of impersonating high-maintenance soldiers. It was a handy way to pass the time and it released a lot of anger I held for the Fire-Nation. (Of course, I imitated Azula and Zuko, earning an uproar of laughter- more so by Toph and Sokka, who actually knew them, than anyone else.)
Does it make sense to say that these weeks have gone by so slow and yet so fast at the same time? It seems living them has taken an eternity, waiting for Aang to finally wake up and be well again. But looking back it seemed to be no time at all. I'm so glad we were able to make it through the rough patches of this whole ordeal and come out to see the bright side of the situation. Soon we'll finally be able to have Aang back and I will never again take him for granted. I will always be appreciative of Aang for now on. I guess we all needed a little wake up call. Sure, I always thought fondly of Aang, but this has made me really appreciate all he has to offer. The adage, "You don't know what you have until it's gone," is very true, and I can understand it firsthand. When Aang left, I really understood how much he means to me, and now I can finally get him back. I'm getting a second chance with him, and I do not tend to take it lightly. I will take advantage of this privilege, I promise myself.
Well, I suppose this is all I have to say. I'll keep updating until the end, and then I'll review my diary. That is why I started this, so that if Aang ever survived, I'd be able to see the process and appreciate my work at healing, and if he didn't survive, then I would have an account of his last weeks of life. Now that I know what lies ahead, I can prepare myself for the future. The near future looks bright, but I know that the distant horizons are dark and gloomy. However, I know that with our gang back together, a foursome once again, we will have the power of teamwork and trust on our side to break through the shadows and into a shining bliss for all the nations.
-Katara
Author's Note: That's it. It's over, guys. I will now be continuing with a new fan fiction which will probably be very unnoticed since Avatar is over and nobody cares much anymore. I don't care, though, I'm writing it anyway! So, judging by the poll I put up (and thanks to everyone who voted!) it seems that the next fan fiction I'll be working on is the unnamed fic about love transcending death. I have a picture up on deviantART for it, and if you want to see it and a full summary, go to my profile (link found on my fan fiction profile) and go to my gallery. Search the keyword "Pursuing Aang", that is my makeshift name for it. I will probably be putting up another poll asking people which name they prefer for the story. You can go to my profile to find that later on. Umm... I'm trying to think of everything... Oh, yeah... I wanted to give a respectful conclusion to this story, but still maintain the fact that Katara is unaware of when the exact time is of when Aang woke up. I hope I didn't mess it up. ^^; So, I really hope you all enjoyed it! I tried to use extra big words in this to show my vast vocabulary at the end! XD I'm fond of big words, because I'm more of a novelist myself. I've never actually written a novel, obviously, since this is the first book I've ever finished, but I hope to publish one someday! That is on my list of things to do along with "Become a famous animator". That's number one. However, my cousin and I wrote a short story for English class at Halloween, but we are thinking of getting it published. The theme was a one-paged Halloween story, but what can you write on one page? We ended up writing a horror story that was eight pages long, condensed. We are going to expand it and try to publish it, so if you ever see a book titled "Mystery of Whitman Manor", buy it. XD Yeah, so that's it.
THE END.