Mom,
What am I doing? Why is my life so . . . boring? I can't live like this. I can't. I'm stifled.
You know I still write to Zuko and that I still have a bit of a crush on him. He writes to me as much as possible, and, well, I write back, and he's been travelling the Earth Kingdom for what feels like years. And he's done so much! He's walked the streets of Ba Sing Se, met a King's pet bear, gone on an incognito date, gone to an Earth Rumble, Kyoshi Island, and more I'm sure he hasn't told me! Of course I'm not jealous of all of his relationships, considering his terrible father and tenacious relationship with his sister, but still . . . he's gone out into the world.
I'm going to the Fire Nation for my birthday and Dad doesn't even want me to do that even though he would be with me. I know that he's overprotective after we lost you, but it's been years, Mom, and our relationship is so . . . not good. He feels the need to protect me from something. This entire village does. They feel the need to remind me of my place, that if you'd not set up this correspondence with Zuko I wouldn't have known of the world at all.
I'd know nothing but the South Pole, and even though I would have been allowed to marry whomever, I would still have to do it in the next few years, and then I would have kids, and that would be it. And most of the men here aren't like Dad, they'd probably stifle me.
I'm a powerful waterbending master but all I do is help keep the walls intact and do laundry and practice my waterbending. Besides healing, what's even the point? It's not like I'll ever use it in combat. And sometimes the hunters need their wounds healed but there are other healers besides me that are older and more specialized.
I'm going to go out and see the world, or at least the Fire Nation, and then when I come back here it'll be different. I'll make sure Dad knows that I can handle myself. I'm not nine anymore! I'm a Master and I deserve the right to see grass and the ground and . . . everything. And see Zuko. Dad would really hate it if he learned about my crush. Dad is just . . . ugh, Mom, I wish you were here to control him. He doesn't want me to do anything.
Every time I receive one of Zuko's letters I'm happy but then I read it and I get sort of sad because he's doing so much. I had that one date but besides that my life doesn't change at all. I help cook and sew and I practice and that's it, and he can fight and learn about trade and meet new people. He and his crew and uncle are the only people out of here I know! And he meets so many girls. But that's another story.
The trade ships are getting caught up in the weather, so I might not get that many letters from him before I go. But I'm going to go and meet Azula and Ursa and Lu Ten. I'm going to meet Zuko again and have fun, even though I couldn't actually court him even if he liked me because of this tribe.
Everything was better when you were here.
— Your daughter, Katara