Katara looked over at her sleeping companions. It was night and they were camped out. Aang, Sokka, Appa, and Momo were sleeping soundly (especially Sokka, who was snoring quite loudly). Katara stared at the fire as it was dying, trying to sort out the swirling maelstrom of thoughts that was her mind.
There was one word, one name, that she could not stop thinking of. Momo. Momo. Momo. It was insane, completely insane; but she felt something for him. Ha. A lemur! Was she in love with a lemur?
Perhaps. So now I'm admitting it, she thought. He was so human, so different from any other animals!
"I love you, Momo," she whispered to the sleeping form of the small lemur.
To her great astonishment, he opened his big, green eyes and looked at her. He made his way over to her.
"Momo…" she whispered his name. "Momo, I love you."
Both pairs of eyes widened in shock as the lemur's body started to change. His fur was gone and he started to get taller. Much taller. And then, there in front of Katara stood a man.
A very handsome man with blue arrows tattooed on his forehead and arms. A very handsome and naked man.
"Katara. You broke the spell!" the man said.
"Wha…?" Katara was speechless. The handsome man who was Momo explained.
"When I was about five years old, my father, brother, and grandmother died of a terrible disease. Only about half of the people who got this horrible sickness lived. I was one of those people. My mother never got it; so it was just she and I until I was eight. Oh, and when I was a human, my name was Hari.
"Soon after I turned eight, my mother remarried. The man seemed nice at first, but then he started abusing my mother and I. My life was miserable and I often wished for death rather than live on in this nightmare. But for two years I lived in pain and anguish."
Katara's blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears. This man had been through so much! She just wanted to hug him and comfort him. Telling her his past was obviously painful for him. He was shaking (that could have been shivering because he had no clothes…) and he looked as if he would cry too.
"My stepfather brutally murdered my mother in front of me when I was ten. He came after me too, but I ran away. I traveled for weeks, trying to live off the land. I don't remember much about this time but I finally came upon an old witch in a little hut in the middle of the forest. 'Please, ma'am, help me,' I begged. I told her my story. 'I think I can help you escape your tragic past,' she cackled. I became nervous at this point and I had every right. Being a naïve ten year old, I drank a potion when she told me too. I blacked out and when I woke up, I was a lemur. And I have been ever since. Until now.
"Thank you, Katara. You have no idea how much you have done for me! The cruel witch told me that I would turn back into a human when a beautiful girl fell in love with me. I despaired; who would fall in love with a lemur? But Katara, you did it! You turned me back into a human!"
Katara finally started to cry. "Oh, Hari!" He pulled her close to him and held her. They kissed passionately. "I love you, Katara," Hari whispered. And for the first time since he could remember, he was truly happy.