5
Unlike the forest of the natural world, the oaks of this magical realm loomed hundreds of feet overhead. Their branches leaned toward the earth and leaves shimmered as if coated in sugar. As I stepped through the thin trails between branches, I noticed a shrine in the distance, circled by water.
A monkey spirit sat cross-legged on the stone beneath the shrine, meditating. He was human-sized and dressed in robes. Surely, he would have seen the villagers enter the Spirit World. I approached.
As I did, his humming grew in volume. Within ten feet, he was practically shouting.
"I apologize, sir," I began.
"No."
"I'm looking for a friend."
"Not interested."
I observed his face, nose pinched, lips stretched over sharp teeth. He didn't open his eyes.
"Please, it is important." Again he hummed near to shrieking. I spoke over him. "I need to find those the spirit Hei Bai brought here." He screeched and grunted. A threat. I, too, rose to a shout. "I am a friend of the avatar!"
The monkey opened one eye, before shutting it again.
"I should have known."
"And I demand you tell me—,"
The monkey sucked in air and laughed, so that the water around us rippled and the trees shook from the noise. "You," he said, pointing to me, "demand me?" His lip snarled and he looked me square in the eye.
Before I knew it, he was lunging toward me, his horrific shrieks sending the whole world atremble. I swept my arms in an arc, attempting to bend.
"Foolish girl," he chimed, galloping toward me, "your bending is useless here."
He tackled me and his claws were in my arm before I shook him off, cupped my bleeding shoulder, and sprinted back into that colossal forest.
Minutes or hours later, a cave materialized among the fog. The air thickened. My clothes were drenched, yes in blood, but also water. Cautious now, remembering, how volatile spirits could be toward humans, I whispered toward the opening.
"Hello? Zuko?" I stepped lightly, peered in and saw orange light snake against the rock. "Hello?"
Before I was four feet into the cave's mouth, all light went out before me. Hot, cud-stench breath spread over me. In terror, I turned.
A gigantic panda, Hei Bai, stood before me, heaving.
I braced myself, prayed for my bending to miraculously return. I clenched my fists, as if they would protect me. The spirit leaned in, black damp nose the size of my head.
He sniffed around me, nostril pressing against my forehead, leaving a sticky residue behind. Just as I tensed, ready to fight the bite or clawing he would release on me, his head lowered to my shoulder and his massive tongue licked at my wound. The claw marks that would have required stitches to heal.
Suddenly, a blue light emitted from beneath my skin. Tingling and warmth, a familiar feeling, swelled over the area as the slashes all but disappeared.
Calmed now, I looked at Hei Bai's glistening eye, which ran over me slowly. I pressed a hand to his cheek.
"Thank you."
Before I could grapple with how this exchange stood in opposition to my prior beliefs, I heard the shuffle of feet behind me. I turned and saw a young girl, all teeth and tangled hair, peering at me with childish curiosity. A woman, her mother, sprung out and grabbed her. Chastised her for coming out.
"Hello," I said, and the woman made a point of not looking at me.
"Hi!" the little girl said, pushing her mother away.
"I'm looking for my friend," I said. "Can I come with you?"
The mother stood in front of her child, summing me up. "Who are you?"
"No one," I said, shaking my head. Smiling, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. My answer displeased the woman, and she was backing away when I gave in. "My name is Su Yi. I'm from the mountains of Pohuai, north of here. Well, north of your village."
"Are you?"
I understood her confusion. Green eyes, black hair, olive skin, slender cheeks and a peaked nose. Ethnic ambiguity had benefited and counted against me before.
"I am. I actually visited your village many years ago, during the war."
I hadn't recognized her, but perhaps she would recognize me.
Zuko and his crew had been in the midst of a conflict with the village. He tried to question them about the avatar's recent visit there. They were unwilling.
Zuko was seconds away from blasting the whole of a building for their noncompliance when I appeared, jumped from a nearby tree, brought him to the ground, and laughed.
"I thought you'd have learned by now. This land is not yours."
"Get off of me."
This was our third or fourth meeting, I can't remember. I stood and put myself between his men and the villagers.
"These people are not yours to command."
"I am the heir to the Fire Nation and—,"
"And the Fire Nation's claim to this land is groundless. Retreat now, and save yourself another defeat."
I smiled at him now, because I had fought him off every time before. Our agreement had been that he and I alone would duel, and if I won over him, he would leave.
All that transpired past that moment was too great to dwell on now. The mother, still shielding her child, finally saw me for who I was.
"You," she said, releasing the girl. "You saved us."
"And my friend..." I said.
"You call him a friend? I suppose the years have changed him."
"So you've seen him. Is he here?" I drew closer, until a guilty look troubled her face.
"Come."
She led me farther into the cave, and from afar I heard the crackling of fire, soft chatter of weary voices. I hoped, prayed, that my search was complete.
