Chapter 38: Cleanse

For two weeks the refugees walked from sunup to sundown every day, making steady progress towards Ba Sing Se. They stopped only to eat and occasionally to gather more food or supplies. At night when they slept around their smothered fire, Smellerbee would sometimes run her hands over her ribs and hips and legs. She could tell she was losing weight from their relentless pace. She felt like she was disappearing.

That was what they were doing, after all. That's what she'd been trying to do since the Fire Nation arrived on her doorstep. Fade into the background so Chang wouldn't notice her at home; vanish into the forest to keep herself free; run away to a tiny village where no one would bother them. And now their final stop – because she knew full well that after Ba Sing Se, there would be no where left to run – the massive city where they could try to be just three more anonymous faces in the crowd.

Most of their days of walking had been filled with silence, as they often moved in a single file line, barely even speaking when they sat to eat because they were too tired and there was too little to say. Smellerbee didn't care if they had to slip away from one home in search of another, but she would not let them slip away from each other.

So one morning after breakfast, Smellerbee announced, "We need to take a break."

"What?" Jet asked, looking up at her from the little stream where he was filling his canteen.

"We're exhausted and filthy and the last town we stopped at barely let us in because we looked like we'd crawled out of a dirt pile. Let's find a good river and just spend the day there and keep walking tomorrow."

Jet looked at Longshot, whose expression clearly said: She does have a point.

Jet looked reluctant to stop, but Smellerbee could also see the idea of a rest was tempting. He looked at the little stream and then back at Smellerbee.

"How about this – we follow this stream in the direction we're going already, and if we find a good spot, we'll stop."

"Deal," Smellerbee said, standing and pulling her pack on her back with renewed enthusiasm. She'd been expecting to have to put up more of a fight. "Let's go."

:–:–:–:

The stream grew into a fully-fledged river before long, and they were able to keep it in sight while walking on the main road for about an hour. Then it curved away and down a hill. Smellerbee insisted on following it, and was glad she did.

It turned out that the hill was actually a small cliff and the water fell from it to a little pool twenty feet below.

"I don't know about you guys," Smellerbee said. "But I say we stop here."

"Good find, Smellerbee," Jet said quietly, surveying the area. Longshot nodded his agreement.

The three clambered down the hill beside the waterfall and deposited their belongings in the grass by the pool. The boys removed their shirts and pants and were left in their undershorts. Smellerbee did the same, leaving on her own undershorts and an undershirt. She laughed to think how scandalous might look to the inner-ring citizens of Ba Sing Se.

Jet and Longshot stood by the edge of the pool, apparently waiting for Smellerbee. She stood between them and looked down. The water was clear and lovely and very deep. She reached out and took Longshot's hand with her right and Jet's with her left.

"Together?" she said, smiling at them. They nodded. "Three . . . two . . ."

The boys pulled their hands away and pushed her in.

She shrieked with surprise and laughter and hit the cold water. When she sprang back up she swam to the edge and reached for the boys' ankles, and they jumped and darted to get away from her. When she couldn't catch them she said, "At least help me up." Longshot reached out to take her hand and she yanked him in with her. He came up and spat a mouthful of water in her face. Then the two of them turned to face Jet, standing on the shore, laughing at the proceedings.

They had not laughed for a long time, not really, and now that they could, everything seemed hilarious.

"Your turn," Smellerbee said.

Jet cocked his head slightly and grinned. Then, without a word, he ran and leapt over them, diving gracefully into the water.

: –:–:–:

They spent nearly two hours playing and splashing in the pool, jumping in, seeing who could pull up the biggest rock from the bottom, becoming human water fountains, and taking turns grabbing at each other's legs and pulling each other under.

When they grew tired, they found a sandy stretch near the edge of the water and used the sand to scrub any of the remaining dirt from their skin. It was the first time since they'd left Ms. Zhu's that Smellerbee felt truly clean. She even dunked her head under and used the sand to scrub her scalp. It felt strange but pleasant. She thought fleetingly of the spa that Ling and Maylin wanted to open and hoped they would add this to the regimen. The boys tried it as well, and then they all stood under the waterfall together to rinse themselves off. Then they climbed out of the water at last and lay on the soft grass, staring up at the clouds in the sky, describing the shapes they saw in the clouds.

It was such a strange, incongruous brush with perfection, but Smellerbee found that the thought did not make her sad. This was their day to relax, and she refused to let future anxieties ruin it.

: –:–:–:

They made lunch and ventured into the forest to gather berries and nuts. They swam some more. Dinner was something of a feast – fish, berries, and even some tea they'd been hoarding from the time they left Ms. Zhu's. But today, they'd agreed, they should have it. When night fell they lit a fire and roasted some of the nuts they'd gathered and ate. Jet told them tall tales he'd learned from his own parents. Stories about fantastic creatures that had supposedly been seen in the mines or in the surrounding woods. It was the first time Smellerbee had heard Jet mention his parents without anguish in his tone.

When it was time for bed, they did not spread out around the fireplace as they normally did. Instead, they lay one right beside the other, close enough to hear each other breathe even over the hum of the insects that sang them to sleep.