As I said I would, here is a Christmas piece for this year. It was hard not to notice that my Christmas piece for last year was only seven chapters ago, so my New Years Resolution for my stories is to make more frequent updates for this piece, which I've already started doing so I hope you guys enjoy this.

Christmas Matters

Staring at the piece of paper in her hands with a scowl, Katara scrunched it up into a ball before throwing it into the bin. The piece of paper had been an invitation to a Christmas party, and Katara had no intentions of wasting her time with something like that. To say that Katara didn't like Christmas was a complete understatement. She hated it.

Truth be told, Katara hadn't always hated Christmas. As a young girl, it was her favourite holiday and she would always stay up late on Christmas Eve and wake up bright and early on Christmas day to enjoy the festivities. However, Katara's love for the holiday ended when her mother was killed in a home invasion on Christmas Eve when she was thirteen. Ever since then, Katara hated Christmas and wanted nothing to do with the holiday.

After her mother died, Katara resented Christmas with a passion and could never bring herself to celebrate it. The last time that Katara had truly celebrated Christmas was the year before her mother was killed. It was too hard for Katara to think about anything other than the grief that she felt around Christmas, so Katara did everything she could to distract herself from the painful holiday. Ever since Katara got her first job, she always made sure to work around Christmas. Despite the endless amount of invites to parties and get togethers, Katara wanted nothing to do with it.

At age twenty, Katara was a university student working at a delivery centre that worked for charitable organisations. She'd been working there for two years now and her job was to organise the deliveries and make sure that everything got done right to her bosses specification. On the 23rd of December, Katara showed up to work and was ready to get her work done. Though her boss, Iroh, had different plans for her.

"Ah, Katara. Just the girl I was hoping to see," Iroh smiled warmly at her.

"What do you need me for, Sir?" Katara asked.

"We're down on staff for today, so I was hoping that you wouldn't mind delivering the required shipments to the homeless shelter," Iroh said.

"I'd be happy to help," Katara replied.

"Good, because I could certainly use it," Iroh chuckled.

When it came to her boss, he was always a joyful man. In some ways, he reminded Katara of Santa Claus, though she tried to banish those thoughts from her mind. As promised, Katara took over that job for Iroh and gathered the supplies that they were required to send to the homeless shelter as part of their charity organisation.

"Oh, and Katara. I'm not sure if you've heard but I'm giving the entire office Christmas off," Iroh said.

Katara's eyes widened, "What? Why? What about the deliveries?"

"I'm making sure that we get them done before Christmas. A lot of the staff have been working overtime lately so they deserve to have some time with their families. You should spend it with yours too," Iroh explained.

Little did Iroh know, Katara barely had any family to celebrate with. She'd moved to a different state for university and since Katara had always worked on Christmas from when she'd gotten her first job at fifteen, she had not made any plans to go home to see her father. As for her brother Sokka, although they both attended the same university, he jumped at any chance to go out and get wasted on Christmas so there was no point in joining him. She supposed that they'd always had different coping mechanisms. Hers was to distract herself with work, while his was to distract himself by making him forget the pain.

So no matter how much Katara didn't want to, it looked like she'd be spending Christmas alone. At least when she worked it was easier to distract herself. But when she was alone, Katara would have no choice but to be reminded of the aching hole in her heart. The realisation of not being able to work on Christmas certainly soured Katara's mood, so she begrudgingly saddled up the crates in the delivery truck and headed towards the homeless shelter.

As always at this time of the year, every radio station had some sort of Christmas song on it. At one point, Katara resorted to turning off the radio entirely after she resigned herself to travelling in silence. The less she could think about the fact that it was Christmas, the better.

When Katara arrived at the homeless shelter, she started unpacking the boxes of food and supplies that she was supposed to deliver to them. One habit that Katara had when it came to work was over-estimating her abilities, which is what she did when she piled too many crates together and ended up dropping them all onto the ground.

"Damnit," Katara muttered as she went to pick them up.

"Let me help you, Miss," a voice said.

"Don't call me Miss," Katara snapped.

"Then what is your name?" they asked.

"You don't need to know," Katara replied.

"Well, my name is Aang," the boy replied.

"Thank you for your help, Aang," Katara drawled. "Now, would you by any chance know where I am supposed to take these deliveries for the homeless shelter?"

"Oh, you're Iroh's girl then. He called an hour ago saying that he'd have someone else bring the stuff over," Aang said.

"So, help me then," Katara ordered.

"Right this way," Aang replied.

It was clear that this Aang guy worked at the homeless shelter as he lead Katara inside and took care of the deliveries for her. One thing that wasn't clear was why Katara felt this sense of familiarity towards Aang. There was a certain pang in her chest as Katara looked around the homeless shelter. What she didn't feel was sympathy for them, what she felt was sympathy for herself. How could they possibly spend their time at a homeless shelter that was a permanent reminder of what they didn't have? Pushing those thoughts aside, Katara turned her scrutinising gaze back to Aang who took notice of this.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on me?" Aang asked.

"Um, no, it's just… you look familiar," Katara said.

"Oh well, what is your name then?" Aang pressed.

Katara sighed, "Katara."

Aang gasped, "Katara? Katara Chen?"

"Yes," Katara nodded. "Do we know each other?"

"Don't tell me that you've forgotten me," Aang said.

"Sorry…" Katara trailed off.

Aang sighed, "Katara, we'd known each other for six years from when you were five. We were neighbours until I moved."

"Oh, Aang Liu?" Katara realised.

"The very same," Aang grinned. "I can't believe that you forgot me."

"Well, it has been almost a decade since I last saw you, so you can't blame me for forgetting you," Katara reasoned.

"True," Aang agreed. "So, how have you been? What are you up to?"

"I've been… okay. I'm not up to much a part from university. I'm in my sophomore year," Katara replied.

"Well, I'm about to graduate from school," Aang said.

Katara smiled awkwardly, "Well, it was nice seeing you again. I should be heading back to my work."

"Of course," Aang nodded. "But, we should totally meet up sometime. How about tomorrow or Christmas day? Are you free then? Because we could use an extra set of hands around here."

"Oh… um, I'm busy on Christmas," Katara lied.

"But doesn't your family live in a different state?" Aang pointed out.

"I'm still busy," Katara said through her clenched teeth.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be here," Aang mumbled, and the disappointment was evident on his face.

Katara scoffed, "Why even bother with this place? For some people it's just a reminder of what they don't have."

"But it's still good to help people," Aang argued.

"It's unfathomable to me how homeless people can leach off of people. Don't they have enough reminders that they're poor?" Katara muttered.

Aang scowled at her, "If you have nothing more to do here, then you can leave."

Not needing to be told twice, Katara gathered herself and left the homeless shelter. Once she was back in the delivery truck, Katara broke down in tears as she felt the guilt about what she had said looming over her. Katara didn't have anything against homeless people, she really didn't. It was unfortunate how many people weren't able to support themselves due to circumstance. Those words had come from a place of grief from Katara, because just like they would be reminded of their unfortunate situation, she would be reminded of the fact that she had no mother to spend Christmas with.

~*•°•*~

That night, Katara struggled to get some sound sleep. Her bitter words from earlier seemed to be echoing in her mind. Was this some kind of punishment for being a bitch? When Katara decided to get a glass of water, she just about had a heart attack when she saw someone sitting on the edge of her bed. Though it wasn't just anyone.

It was her mother.

"M-mom?" Katara cried.

"Hello, my sweet girl," her mother smiled.

"H-how? What? Y-you're dead," Katara stammered.

"I'm here to help you, pumpkin," Kya said.

"With what?" Katara asked.

"You will see," Kya stated as she moved next to Katara. "Now, take my hand."

There were a million thoughts racing through Katara's mind. This was obviously some sort of ethereal occurrence. But how could this be? Despite her caution, Katara still reached for her mothers hand, choking back a sob as she felt her mother's familiar touch.

In an instant, Katara felt herself being pulled away and taken into some type of dramatic pull. It was the most bizarre sensation that Katara had ever felt. It was almost like being on a rollercoaster ride. When it stopped, Katara found herself looking into a room. Though it wasn't just any room. It was the living room of her childhood home. A gasp escaped from Katara as her gaze landed on her younger self on the floor. She turned to her mothers ghostly form before turning back to the scene as her mother made an appearance.

"Katara, sweetie, what are you doing?" her mother in the scene asked.

"I'm making presents!" Katara's younger self exclaimed.

"For who?" her mother wondered.

"Aang told me how some people don't get presents on Christmas and that made me feel horrible. How could people not get presents, mom? So, Aang told me how he and his family donate their presents to charity so I wanted to make some too!" young-Katara said.

Her mother smiled, "That's a wonderful thing to do, sweetie."

Katara turned to Kya, "Why am I seeing this?"

"Because you need a reminder of how Christmas used to make you feel," Kya replied. "You loved Christmas, Kat. You loved the spirit of it and celebrated it with happiness every year. You always helped Aang give back to people because it was part of the giving spirit in Christmas."

"We did have fun together," Katara murmured. She did miss those fun times with Aang. But time wasn't the same now. Katara was different, and Aang could see that for himself.

Katara felt the pull again as it felt like she was being taken to another place. This time, she was back at the homeless shelter where she had just been only hours ago. It was Christmas, and Katara instantly found Aang at the head of the food bank as he handed out the donations with a smile on his face. As the day went on, Katara watched in amazement as the homeless people wore smiles on their faces as they received donated gifts.

"Why am I seeing this?" Katara asked her mother.

"Because you need a reminder that you can still celebrate Christmas despite the pain that the holiday brings," her mother replied. "Look at these people. They barely have anything and can hardly afford to give gifts to their loved ones. They have to accept gifts without being able to give anything in return, being reminded of what they don't have."

"They could still change it," Katara argued. "They could turn their lives around and have a happy Christmas on their own merits. I can never have a happy one again because you're not here."

"You can still replace the bad memories with good ones," her mother said. "If you don't, then look at what could happen to you."

In an instant, the setting changed again. This time, Katara was in a rundown apartment. It was clear that Katara had aged quite a bit here. She certainly wasn't young anymore, since her face bore a few wrinkles and her hair was beginning to turn grey. One thing that Katara noticed was how… alone she was. The woman resembling her older self had no zest or spark for life. She just looked miserable and alone.

"But… I don't understand," Katara murmured.

There was a knock on the door and Katara watched as her older-self went to answer it. Katara was surprised to see Aang on the other side of the door. Like her, he certainly looked a little bit more on the older side. Only he seemed a lot more happier than Katara's older-self did.

"Hey, Katara," Aang smiled brightly. "We're having Christmas lunch now, and I was wondering if you would like to join us?"

"No, I don't want to. Now leave me alone," her older-self snapped as she rudely slammed the door in his face.

It quickly became apparent to Katara just how bitter and lonely her older-self was. She was lonely and sad, that much was clear. But Katara refused to accept that this was all her future could entail because how could it? Sure, Katara might be a real grinch around Christmas but that couldn't mean that she would be miserable all the time.

"How could this be?" Katara asked.

"If you continue on the path that you are on, the bitterness and resentment will consume you. You will not let people in and you will stay alone without anyone," her mother replied.

"No, I won't be like this. This can't be my future," Katara insisted. "Surely there will be someone? I can't be alone forever."

"You need to learn to let people in, Katara. Otherwise there will be no room for anyone else," her mother said.

Let people in.

Let people in.

Those three words repeated themselves in an echo as Katara found herself being sucked in again. All of a sudden, Katara found herself lunging forward in her bed in a fit. She instantly looked around for any sign of her mother, but found none. As the realisation of her dream sunk in, Katara burst into tears as she remembered what she had seen with her mother.

That night, Katara cried herself to sleep for the first time since she was thirteen.

~*•°•*~

On Christmas day, Katara approached the homeless shelter with caution. In her hands were boxes of presents and food that she had spent the previous day buying just for this occasion. Katara didn't know how Aang would respond to her, since she hadn't exactly been the best person when she first saw him after nearly ten years. She supposed that she'd deserve a cold shoulder for being a bit of a bitch.

Bracing herself for the worst, Katara headed into the homeless shelter and made her presence known to Aang when he had his back turned to her. The surprise on his face was evident when he saw her, though Katara was hoping that it was good surprise.

"Hi," she whispered. "Am I too late to join the fun?"

"Of course not," Aang replied after a moment of silence.

They spent the rest of Christmas day helping the homeless, and Katara did have to admit that it brought a rare smile to her face to see people happy when they got their gifts. It was a feeling that Katara hadn't felt in so long, and she was happy to have it again. Although she and Aang didn't really talk much, Katara could still feel him watching her throughout the day. It wasn't until the donation time was over and they were packing up shop that they had a chance to speak.

"So, you certainly seemed a lot happier today," Aang commented as they packed up the boxes. "What changed your attitude?"

"I needed a reminder of what was important. And what's important is giving people a good Christmas even though I can't have one," Katara replied. "So, I would like to apologise for my harsh words the other day. I imagine that they didn't come from the girl that you remembered me as."

"They didn't," Aang nodded. "The Katara I knew was a loving and giving person who would never mock someone in a poor situation. So, what changed?"

Katara sighed as she fought back the tears that always came up when she talked about her mother, "My mother died."

"Oh," Aang said.

"It was when I was thirteen. On Christmas Eve. Ever since then, I've hated Christmas and have never wanted anything to do with the holiday," Katara confessed.

"Yet you're here today," Aang commented.

"Truth be told, this is the first Christmas since she died that I've actually done something. I'd just sworn off it and never celebrated the holiday," Katara said.

"I think that your mother would want you to be happy and enjoy this time rather than resent it just because she's not here," Aang stated.

"She said something similar to me in a dream," Katara muttered.

"So, now that our paths have crossed again, what do you say we keep in touch now?" Aang asked.

Katara smiled, "I'd like that."

And they certainly did. One thing for sure was that Katara would never allow herself to spend another Christmas being alone and bitter. Especially not when she had Aang to spend it with now.

So this was kind of inspired by a Christmas Carol and a different fic that I read with a similar plot. I hope you guys enjoyed it and Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. I'll see you guys here next year, hopefully with some more frequent updates.