The wind blew colder as the rain hammered down on the water's surface. Each roll of thunder drowned out the piercing screams of terror that surrounded the ocean around her. She was gasping for air at every breach of the waves, her heart high in her throat. A sudden explosion of light illuminated the sky, and for a second she could see the destruction around her. A great gust of wind pushed her back down. She fought to stay afloat, kicking her legs as hard as she could. She didn't have time to breathe again before another wave crashed over her head, grabbing onto her and pulling her downwards. The sound of the next thunderous boom was drowned out and muffled. Her legs stopped kicking when she realized the surface was further away than it had been before. She contemplated giving up. Her lungs ached and begged for air.

For a moment, it was calm under the water.

Then, another burst of lightning brightened her surroundings. It was shocking enough to give her the adrenaline rush she needed to kick her way back up to the surface. Her muscles were screaming for a release from the abrasive waves.

The rain spat in her face again, but the waves had now settled and stilled. Her chest was heaving, lungs burning with the residual water trapped inside. She couldn't see and she couldn't hear anything but white noise as she struggled to push herself upright. She only managed to get onto all fours as her breath quickened, the sting of salt water still scratching against her tightly shut eyes. It was hot—too hot—and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. She knew she was hyperventilating, but there was no one to rub her back and remind her to breathe. She was alone, and terrified. She couldn't remember getting to land, but all of a sudden, she was there, and she seriously doubted she'd blacked out for however long it took her to reach trees.

Her arms buckled underneath her, sending her straight to the waterlogged ground, panic rising in her again as the water touched her face. She thrashed away, hearing the shallow water slosh around her, eyes still closed. She couldn't manage to peel them open. She begged herself to wake up from whatever sick dream she was having. She'd had hyper-realistic dreams before but she'd never actually felt like she was truly dying in them. She still felt sheer terror by being in or near any sort of water. She wanted a dry bed and for her mother to hold her. It was childish, she knew, but that's how terrified she was. Her breath quickened again as she realized there was a possibility she wasn't dreaming.

"It's just a dream, come on! Open your eyes and you'll be in your room. Come on, Charlie," she muttered to herself uncontrollably, almost hysterical.

She slowly forced opened her eyes and blinked back tears. She wasn't home, and she wasn't in the ocean anymore either. Her heart was still pounding away in her throat, but the tightness had left her chest. Her body had gone numb and her muscles limp, not even able to twitch her finger. The exhaustion weighed down her body. She held her breath a second too long and succumbed to the black spots that filled her line of sight.

When Charlie came to, she found herself collapsed onto her side. She groaned and whimpered as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position. At first her arms were unable to hold up her own weight, and she fell back into the mud. Confusion painted her features as she slowly realized she still wasn't dreaming and still wasn't home. Charlie still felt scared, wanting to cry again, but she had exhausted through her energy, rendering her unable. Her eyes widened as she felt sick, and shoved her head to the side. Bile and saltwater spilled from her mouth, causing her to reflexively gag between whimpers.

Charlie softly sobbed to herself, trying to rationalize if she remembered this place or not. She didn't have a phone or a flashlight on her, and it was hard to see in the dark. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She could still taste the salt from the ocean under the bile which stained her mouth. Charlie wasn't sure how long she laid in murky water beside her mess of bile, but when she heard animals begin to make eerie noises around her, she knew better than to stay.

Charlie shakily stood on her feet, water reaching her calves. Her hair was plastered to her face as she whipped her head around to take in her surroundings.

In all directions around her, moss-covered trees stood tall with long, thin vines stemming from their branches connecting to each other. A soft fog coated the ground, making the distance seem blurry and pale. An occasional gleam of silver moonlight shone through the gaps of the leaves, creating a radiant glow on the water beneath her feet. Charlie slowly moved out of the water, looking behind her to see she was standing on the edge of a wide, murky river. Moss patches grew on the water's surface, disturbed by occasional ripples from below. It was an unsettling thought that she wasn't alone in the river.

She had to move—she had to get home. It was the only thought on Charlie's otherwise blank mind. Walking was a chore on her stiff legs. Abdomen tensing as she coughed out more salt water, her mind was determined to continue. However, her body didn't seem to get the memo as her knees hit the ground again. Charlie was rasping with each breath and was still tired, just wishing for a bed to collapse into. When she finally lifted her head again, she saw a warm light in the distance.

Charlie walked towards the glow, slow and steady, as the stinging in her lungs got more painful. She was desperate for warmth—for safety—and the assurance that she couldn't be far from home. The light grew closer and she could see multiple shadows sitting around it. Small, wooden huts entered her vision as the sprinkling of rain started up again. Charlie flinched with every droplet that touched her skin. Her vision was growing dim yet again and every step she took sent a shattering pain up her spine. As Charlie cleared another foot or so, the shadows turned to her.

The sound of a body clamoring towards them caused the lively chatter to stop. Fifteen sets of eyes all zeroed in on the area of the swamp the noise was coming from. A few of the men stood, prepping for what they were worried would be a fight. A small figure fell through the thicket and cried out for help. The women immediately rushed to her side, the main healer calling rough orders for the men to stop sitting on their thumbs and pull the child to where they could work.

They placed her on a pelt near the fire, body wracked with shivers as she zoned in and out of consciousness. "Can you tell us your name?" the kind older woman asked with what sounded like a Southern accent, settling her hair away from her face. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she coughed harshly, her throat raw from screaming and coughing so much.

"Charlie," she croaked out, dark brown eyes fluttering, struggling to remain open.

"Alright, we're gonna fix you up."

Charlie nodded and allowed herself to rest again. Her body was covered in blood from multiple cuts and scratches from the trees she'd run into. The breaths she let out were shaky and rattled, and the tribe could all hear the water stuck in her lungs. She looked so differently to them—they assumed she was of the Water Tribe given the ocean-like scent that surrounded her. Her jaw way square, which was quite unnatural to girls, but perhaps more common in the Earth Kingdom. However, her thin, agile body suggested otherwise. Based on the old stories, it was a trait shared by the ancient Air Benders. Most striking was her hair, which was the color of fire. However, her ginger hair paired with the freckled complexion on her nose and cheeks didn't belong to any nation they'd known of. She was a complete mystery to them. This confusion led to an argument between the tribe of whether or not they should help the odd-looking girl. Of course, the main healer shut this down immediately, insisting that she would help her regardless of her nation.

Charlie was drifting in and out of consciousness, but when she was responsive enough to her surroundings, she found herself leaning on a log by the fire. This time, it didn't take her as long to remember the predicament she was in. Fabric bandages wrapped around her arms and legs which were only clothed in scraps. Without warning, Charlie began coughing a ridiculous amount and her head started pounding again, leaving her dazed. She turned her head, and her eyes followed shortly after, to see the same older woman from earlier smiling with sympathy. Her palms hovered Charlie's body and travelled upwards, starting at her legs but halting at her chest. The woman furrowed her brows, frowning to herself in dismay.

"Ja Li, you have water in your lungs, we'll need to extract it," she explained softly, looking sympathetic. "Just sit still and you'll feel better in no time."

Charlie was too dazed to process the mistake in pronunciation, and instead just nodded. A few more women crowded around her and they sat with their legs crossed on the mossy ground. One by one, they closed their eyes and Charlie felt a tugging sensation in her chest. From her mouth, droplets of water floated, sending a deep panic straight to her stomach. Charlie went to scream but all that came out was a strangled yelp as a quarter-sized amount of water was drawn from her lungs. When the women opened their eyes, they huddled around the girl who they found sitting frozen, tears running down her face. She had fear in her eyes, and her silent cries broke their hearts. Shortly after, Charlie had fallen victim to unconsciousness again.

When Charlie woke up next, she was in a small, hut-like room. She laid on a soft pile of furs, covered in a light-weight fabric, and with closed eyes, she could almost imagine it was her own bed. Soft light streamed through the wooden arch of the hut. She took inventory on her injuries and how her lungs felt. Her chest felt lighter, she realized she'd been gifted new clothes, they were a tad too big, but soft and warm nonetheless. A green tunic wrapped around her top, with brown trousers covering her legs. Charlie was glad she was finally dry and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, you're awake. Would you like some food?" a small woman asked tentatively walking towards her.

Charlie nodded and tried to sit up. "Here, have some water." Charlie squawked with an almost feral look in her eyes. "Okay, okay, no water. Will you eat some stew?" Charlie hesitantly nodded again. She received a look of pity from the other woman, as she walked out of the tent. Charlie wrapped herself in the green blanket they'd given her and curled in on herself. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out for, but it was bright outside the hut. In fact, the sky was now a dark orange, indicating sunset. In other words, she had slept through the entire day.

Eventually, she stood up to the sound of hearty laughter and ventured outside in search of food. As she hesitantly walked through the arch of the hut, she found herself standing above a group of men who huddled around a fire with sticks of fish in hand. They noticed her presence and gestured to her to join them. Charlie tentatively approached the group, then sat on the ground with them, still at a distance. She wrapped her arms around herself out of comfort, still feeling wary among the tribe. One of the men—Due she remembered—approached her with cooked fish on a stick. The corner of her lip twitched upwards as a sign of appreciation as he silently offered her the food, sitting beside her.

She watched the other members of the tribe sheltering in the open space beneath their huts, manipulating the water out of the soil. Due noticed her interest, stating "They makin' sure the huts don't get no wood rot." He looked up at the night sky, encased by tree tops. "'Cause it was stormin' earlier."

"How are they doing that with the water?" Charlie asked, tilting her head in their direction. The water seemed to bunch together and form a floating puddle at their will.

"You mean bendin'?" Due stopped picking at his fish for a moment as Charlie nodded. "You're a strange'un aren't you?"

Charlie's eyes narrowed slightly, her expression unamused. "Where I'm from, people can't do that stuff," she explained to him.

"Where'd you say you was from again?" he questioned, waving his stick in her direction. Charlie didn't answer, and instead took a bite of her fish. She knew better than to tell a stranger where she was from, even if he did seem trustworthy. "Okay then, what's your name?"

"It's Charlie," she muttered, letting her eyes droop. She basked in the warmth of the fire, trying to block out the memory of having water forced from her lungs, and the reason the water was there in the first place.

Due hummed as the fire crackled. "You should get some rest, Ja Li."

Charlie opened her eyes again. "Huh? No, it's Charlie," she corrected. "And I'm not tired, I've been sleeping all day."

"Jar Li." Her eye twitched for a second, but she dropped it, not feeling up to an argument. "Your brain might not be tired but your body sure is." Charlie sighed in response. He was right of course, her arms still ached, barely able to continue holding up her food. He stood up, taking her food for her. She strangely didn't have much of an appetite anyway.

The older woman approached her as Charlie was headed back to the hut she'd been sleeping in. "You know, you can stay with us as long as you need, we need more women around."

"Thank you," Charlie said with genuine appreciation, "for helping out. For everything, but I really need to keep moving."

"I understand, young one, but I insist you stay the night. You're still weary from your journey here, I can see it in your eyes."

"One more night won't kill me." Charlie twitched her lips into a smile.

"Do you need a bag for your things?" It wasn't much of a question as it was a statement. "I'll pack some food too. I didn't save you just to let you starve out there." The woman returned Charlie's smile, a soft, motherly tone to her voice. One that reminded her too much of her own mother. Tears stung her eyes as she thanked the woman profusely. "You can stay in that hut over there this time. We try to keep the healer's hut ready in case someone else needs immediate care."

She gestured for Charlie to climb up a wooden ladder which brought her to the small, wrap-around porch of the circular hut. It had no door, only an open arch which led into the one room. There wasn't much to look at, simply some dark green fabric on the floor on top of animal pelts.

Though she didn't want to admit it, she was exhausted, so it didn't take long for her to settle down on the floor, wrapped in the light-weight fabric again. She was lulled to sleep by the sound of wind rustling the tree leaves, and the crackling fire that she could still hear from outside.

A soft thump brought Charlie out of her slumber. A second thump came, followed by another. It felt like a heartbeat, though it wasn't her own. There was no sound, but she felt the vibrations pulse throughout her body.

Charlie opened her eyes. The heartbeat called to her, and she instinctively responded by standing up in a daze. She began walking almost automatically, feeling like she had no control over her movements. The thought didn't bother her as much as it should have.

After climbing down the ladder, she found herself facing Due and the woman who healed her. "Ja Li? Where are you goin' off to?" Due asked, tilting his head.

She remained in her trance, but was conscious enough to respond. "There's somewhere I need to be now." Her voice sounded somewhat flat, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

The healer walked up to Charlie with a brown bag in her hand and held it out. "In that case, here are your clothes." She pulled the draw straight tighter to secure the bag before giving it to Charlie, who bowed her head slightly in appreciation. "Be safe, Ja Li."

"Thank you for all of your help so far," Charlie spoke, slinging the bag over her shoulder. She turned away, the heartbeat thumping louder, as if trying to recapture her attention. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon enough."

Hypnotized by the heartbeat, she walked out of the camp and didn't look back. She was unsure how long she walked for, but she was snapped out of her trance when she finally came to a stop in what seemed to be a clearing, decorated with giant tree roots, twisting together and spreading outwards in all directions. The thumping came to a stop when she looked ahead of her.

There stood a mighty tree which raised high above the rest of the swamp, sheltering it with leaves. Thin vines stretched downwards, some reaching the ground, and others falling short. Charlie wasn't sure what compelled her to start walking up the roots, perhaps the same entity that had called her there in the first place.

As she reached the base of the tree trunk, she found herself staring at a half-naked old man. Charlie recoiled slightly, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected sight.

His eyes were closed, but it was like he could sense she was there. "Hey there," he spoke with a soft, raspy voice.

Charlie's eyes widened. "How'd you know I was here?" she asked him, stepping closer. His hair was thick and grey, and it blended into his beard. He sat cross legged between two roots with his hands flat on his knees in a meditative pose.

He let out a light chuckle and opened his eyes. "How did you know to come here?" he threw back with a twinkle in his eyes. She knew what he was implying. Whatever higher being had called her to come to this tree had called out to him too. "What's your name?"

"I'm Charlie," she answered, sitting down cross legged in front of him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ja Li."

Her eye twitched. "It's Charlie actually, with a 'Cha'," she corrected, thinking about how the tribe in the swamp made the same mistake. "Why's everyone keep doing that?" she muttered under her breath.

"Charlie, huh? That's a strange name around here." The man let out a laugh, looking upwards at the tree. The corner of her lip pulled into a slight smile. His positivity reflected back onto Charlie, making her feel more comfortable than before. "Call me Huu."

"Huu," she repeated, the name sounding strangely familiar on her lips. "So… do you know what called me here then?" Charlie stared at the trunk of the tree behind Huu. He hummed his answer and fell from his meditative position onto his back, where he too was entranced by the tree's beauty.

"Of course," he began, the wind gently rustling the leaves. The sky slowly grew to become a light blue and pink color, casting light upon the vast swamp. There was something almost welcoming about the sight, comforting her like it hadn't before. "The banyan grove tree," Huu continued, "is a sacred being. It calls to those who need it most."

Charlie's eyes widened in awe. "So this tree, it—it's alive?" This humored Huu, judging by his warm laughter.

"Of course! It's a living organism, like me. Like you."

"Like the world," Charlie finished, placing her open palm on a tree root which extended past her waist.

Huu sat up and smiled softly. "All the trees in the swamp are connected to each other, and also to the rest of the world. The branches and roots intertwine and expand outward, just like people do. Even when your friends seem far away, if you listen hard enough, you'll hear them."

He gestured at the space next to him, encouraging her to sit. Hesitantly, Charlie moved closer to him before accepting his invitation. She took a deep breath and sat down, crossing her legs under the great tree. Her eyes closed, and she focused on her lungs expanding and shrinking, a soft light peeked behind her eyelids. She slowly opened them and a light gasp took all the air out of her lungs.

There sat a boy, barely twelve years old, with a crooked smile on his face. A girl, around fourteen, with worry wrinkles already settled into her skin. A boy, older than the others, sharpening a hunting knife and rolling his eyes good-naturedly. A sense of longing filled Charlie to the brim, tears dripped from her eyes as she sat under the large tree. Confusion tore through the younger boy's face as he seemed to look her in the eyes. She shuddered at the thought and the vision drifted away like clouds. The soft light dissipated into the humid breeze.

When she blinked, it was like she was finally seeing. The view of the pink-skied swamp filled her heart with bittersweet nostalgia. She looked at the man sitting beside her, now knowing why he felt familiar, and why the banyan grove tree comforted her as she sat under its branches.

"But… I don't understand," she admitted to Huu, who smiled without a care in the world.

He paused for a minute before he spoke again. "Sometimes, the banyan grove tree shows people visions of their past. People they used to know, and those they miss the most. But it can also show you the future—people who you'll meet eventually. Time is nothing but an illusion in the swamp. It can show you where you need to be, and its spirit will direct you there."

"Thank you," she whispered whole-heartedly, the gentle breeze picking up around them.

The vines from the tree swayed gently, weaving into a large circle. Flowers bloomed on the outskirts of the oval shaped creation, and the golden light circled through it, filling it completely. Like a mirror, she saw her reflection, a determined look crossed her features and she stepped through the opening assuredly.

The bright sunrise was the first thing to greet her. Charlie had never seen such saturated colors before. Everything truly looked alive. She couldn't help but drop her jaw as the air left her lungs. She was awestruck and completely in love with the scenery. Even the trees seemed brighter, bolder, and stronger. To be perfectly honest, she couldn't tell if drugs were involved or not.

In the distance, she saw a large city, carved out of rock with a sweeping pathway in front of it. Three figures stood at the gateway, and there was no question of who they were. She held onto a flower that had grown on the vines and murmured a goodbye to the swamp she'd come from, trying desperately to remember the aliases she'd heard them use not long ago as the vines fell behind her.

"Holy shit… I'm in Avatar."

Soundtrack

Avatar's Love by Samuel King || Charlie first sees the banyan grove tree after walking there in a trance.