Chapter 39
Nurse Kya led Katara inside a typical, sterile looking doctor's office before being dismissed with a wave of the hand. As far as Katara had observed, every one of these shrink offices looked more or less the same, the all too familiar couch, the bookcases and the collection of diplomas on the walls. Perhaps the office of Dr. Yagoda was slightly more posh than those of the therapists she had dealt with in the past, but it was essentially the same deal, only a little primped up.
Dr. Yagoda herself was significantly older than Katara had expected her to be, a grey haired and wrinkled old woman of at least seventy summers. Only a few members of the staff were at the asylum on a Saturday afternoon, but unlike them, Yagoda was not wearing the white doctor's coat. She wore a simple but elegant blue long-sleeved dress with a white coral necklace. Her graying hair was pulled back into a tight, little bun. All in all, she looked like a harmless grandmother from down the street, but Katara refused to allow herself to relax, knowing full well that she could face criminal charges for unlawfully entering the premises.
Still, Dr. Yagoda did not look upset or angry as she spoke to address her. "I've been told that you are one Miss Katara Enuaraq, correct?" she asked. Katara nodded at the older woman. "Please, sit down," Dr. Yagoda pointed at the seat by her desk. Katara had no other option but to do as she was told. "I trust you understand that what you did here today could have severe consequences," the old woman spoke, but she did not sound threatening as such.
"I understand that," Katara nodded. "But I was desperate to see Azula and try to help her."
"I've been made aware of your friendship, yes," Yagoda nodded at her. She remained silent for a while, looking a little conflicted. Then she let out a heavy sigh. "You know, Miss Enuaraq-"
"Katara, please."
"You know, Katara," Yagoda gave her a small smile. "Normally I would have asked my staff to interfere as soon as we had noticed an outsider interacting with one of the patients, and I would have then called the police. However, I hesitated upon being told that you were actually having a conversation with Azula. I will be perfectly honest. We have been unable to get through to this young woman the entire week and here you just showed up out of nowhere and got Azula to open up to you. I immediately told myself that this might be an opportunity to get through to Azula and help her."
"What do you mean by that?" Katara asked.
"It means that I am considering not pressing charges in exchange for your agreement to work with us in order to help Azula," Dr. Yagoda told her.
"That sounds… good?" Katara said uncertainly. "As long as you don't expect me to share everything that she entrusted me with in confidence. That would destroy her trust in me and ruin our friendship."
"I would never ask you to do that, no," Yagoda shook her head. "However, you should know that your conversation with Azula was being monitored. So, we already know most of what you discussed with her."
"You spied on us?" Katara exclaimed, her cheeks burning with anger. "That's low!"
"Is it?" Yagoda narrowed eyes at her. "Azula has been entrusted into my care, Katara. By allowing her to converse with you, someone who is not a qualified psychotherapist, I took a great risk. You could have easily said something to make her condition worse, but fortunately for us all, you didn't. But I could not have known that you possessed emotional intelligence greater than most adults. I apologize for this breach of your privacy and I understand that it feels wrong and unpleasant, but you did literally break and enter the premises in an illegal manner, so there could be no reasonable expectation of privacy on your part."
"Fine," Katara sighed. "I concede that point. But please, Dr. Yagoda, if you use any of what you overheard us talking about, Azula will think that I have betrayed her trust. And she would never forgive me that!"
"Have a little faith in me, Katara," Dr. Yagoda smiled at her. "I do not intend to bring up any of the facts that Ms. Nakamura revealed to you. However, it gave me important insights into her psyche and state of mind, and as a result, I believe that I will be able to help her more effectively moving forward."
"I mean… that sounds reasonable?" Katara ventured. "But you said that you wanted us to work together. If you now know enough to help Azula, what do you need me for?" she asked.
"I believe that interacting with you will provide Azula with the necessary positive stimuli to make her react better to my attempts to help her," Yagoda explained. "Also, I would like you to consider visiting Azula once every week, preferably on Saturdays. I could use the promise of your visit to coax Ms. Nakamura into cooperating. It seemed to me that she would be delighted to see you again," Yagoda added with a warm smile, making Katara blush slightly.
"Of course, I would love to visit Azula regularly. Saturdays would be great," Katara said without much thinking. This meant that she would be missing out on the summer Pai Sho camp this year, but helping Azula had to take precedence. Having fun could wait. Here was a dear friend of hers, struggling and in need of her support. This was not at all a difficult decision to make.
"Wonderful, I am glad that we have managed to reach an agreement," the older woman nodded, looking pleased. "Also, in case you are worried about Nurse Kya, I have decided to limit myself to a mere reprimand instead of firing her. As soon as she overheard Azula talking with you, she realized the importance of it all and immediately informed me. If she hadn't done so, I would have been forced to dismiss her."
"Thank you for your kindness, Dr. Yagoda," Katara smiled at the older woman, feeling grateful. She would have felt awful knowing that the helpful nurse had been sacked as a result of her meddling. "Can I ask you something, Dr. Yagoda?" Katara asked.
"Of course, what is it, Katara?" the older woman replied kindly.
"I am sure that you already know enough to understand that Azula's mental trauma is… significant," Katara said. Yagoda's expression became somber as she nodded. "You also must have realized the role that her father has played in creating her current emotional state." Yagoda nodded again, though she looked a touch uncomfortable by now. "I have reasons to believe that her father will attempt to remove Azula from your care before she has fully recovered."
"That is merely a speculation on your part, Katara," Yagoda tried to dismiss her concerns, but Katara was having none of it.
"Well, since you know what Azula and I discussed, then you would also know why we believe that Azula's father will attempt this," Katara insisted. "So, I want to know. Will you allow Ozai Nakamura to sweep in just before Azula's eighteenth birthday and collect his daughter just so that he can resume tormenting her?" Yagoda looked both angry and extremely upset at Katara's words, so much so that her elderly hands even began to shake slightly. "You mustn't give in to Ozai Nakamura, Dr. Yagoda. You know that it would destroy Azula. And I thought that you were motivated to help her," Katara pleaded.
"I am! I am motivated to help her!" Yagoda exclaimed, looking greatly distressed. She rose from her seat and began to pace back and forth across her office. "But you must understand that the asylum… and I personally am in a very difficult position, Katara," the old woman sighed.
"Why? You know what the right course of action is, surely," Katara said. She then realized something. "Wait a moment. Ozai Nakamura has paid you off. Because of course he has."
Yagoda winced at Katara's words. "The asylum has been struggling to attract wealthy and influential patients who would be willing to pay our admittedly high fees," Yagoda admitted. "Ozai Nakamura's request to give sanctuary to his daughter in exchange for a hefty donation to the asylum came at exactly the right time," the old woman said.
"So, that's it," Katara snapped, anger starting to build within her. "Money trumps everything once again, common decency, compassion, even your very oaths."
"No… no, you're wrong about me, child," Yagoda spoke in a tired voice. "In my fifty years of working in the field, I have never walked away from someone in need, and Azula most definitely needs our help and compassion. I will not have this taint my legacy. I am committed to doing the right thing for Ms. Nakamura."
"Does that mean you'll stand up to Ozai Nakamura?" Katara asked, feeling hopeful again.
"Such is my commitment, yes," Yagoda nodded. "We have already received the transfer of funds and have started to put them to good use, so I expect that Mr. Nakamura will be furious. Perhaps he will even become violent, but that will not stop me. And I will remind Mr. Nakamura that he has also breached our oral agreement. He is most certainly guilty of lie of omission when I asked him for details of Azula's trauma. Azula will be released from the asylum only when she is ready, not because of some arbitrary conditions such as her upcoming eighteenth birthday."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Yagoda," Katara smiled gratefully at the older woman. She began to feel a tiny bit more optimistic about being able to protect Azula from her father. Katara only hoped that Dr. Yagoda would not suffer some unfortunate accident as a consequence of her refusal to play ball with Ozai Nakamura.
"No, thank you, Ms. Enuaraq," Yagoda smiled at her. "You have given me a lot to think about. In fact, your arrival today is starting to feel more and more like some sort of divine intervention and that is not something I normally put stock in."
"I was just trying my best to help," Katara blushed demurely.
"Well, you are a natural at it," Yagoda said. "And now, I would bid you farewell until next Saturday, however… there is one more thing that I wished to discuss with you. While monitoring your conversation with Azula, I could not help but notice that Ms. Nakamura is not the only one nursing untreated mental scars. Katara, you also have not received the help you have needed over the years."
Katara found herself blushing hotly. "I'm not doing at all badly, really. It's nothing-"
"Stop it, child," Yagoda interrupted her with a soft look in her eyes. "Not doing badly is simply not good enough, Katara. You are too young to be content with just 'not doing badly'. You deserve better. One of my younger colleagues who I was with earlier, was briefly involved with your case six years ago, and shared the pertinent information with me. I can say with confidence that the state-funded support system has failed you, Katara."
"Well, I would have loved to get better therapy, but my family could have never afforded the rates of institutions such as yours," Katara replied, unable to keep some slight bitterness out of her voice.
"I understand that, Katara," Yagoda said. "This is why I am offering you weekly sessions of therapy with me, free of charge. I will set aside two hours for you every Saturday, after you have visited with Ms. Nakamura. Think of it as a compensation for the help you are providing us with Azula. Will you accept my offer?"
"I…" Katara hesitated. For the past four or five years she had been trying to convince herself that she had gotten past the worst of her trauma, and that she was alright. It never rang quite true to her, because if she was so stable, then why did she need to reach for Librium at every little disruption in her life? She wanted to be done with this, once and forever, but the truth was… her wounds had never been properly treated. Here, she finally had the opportunity to have a real professional working with her, using all of her vast experience to help her so much more effectively than the exhausted and overworked therapists she had been forced to deal with at the state-funded hospitals. Besides, she had encouraged Azula to open up and be honest about her trauma. She had no right to hypocritically avoid practicing what she preached. "Alright, I would be happy to undergo therapy with you, Dr. Yagoda. Shall we start next Saturday?"
"Why wait? We can start right now, if you don't mind," the older woman pointed at the nearby couch. "We'll keep it brief today, an introductory session so to speak. Just a brief chat to get ourselves better acquainted."
Even a short session with Yagoda proved to be at least three times longer than any session Katara had ever had with the other therapists. When Katara left the Crystal Castles Sanatorium, it was already half past five in the afternoon, and she knew that she had to hurry to make it on time at the Agna Qel'a bus station on the other side of the city, in order not to miss her 7pm bus home.
The day had been emotionally extremely exhausting, but ultimately so very rewarding, making Katara feel like she had made a difference. Despite the emotional exhaustion, Katara at the same time somehow felt very light, walking with a rare spring in her step, feeling happier than she had felt in a very long time. There was only one thing bothering her, and that was the nagging feeling trying to tell her that she had forgotten something important…
Yue Taqqiq sat at a small table in one of the countless Agna Qel'a cafés, constantly checking her wristwatch as she glared at her second cup of macchiato. It was half past five, and Katara was half an hour late to their meeting. She had been sitting at her table since a quarter to five, waiting for forty-five minutes already. Yue was aware that a lot of people in the café were staring at her, some in sympathy, some smirking, but they were all thinking one thing and one thing only, that she had been stood up by her date.
Yue was not just feeling angry right now, she also felt more humiliated than she had ever felt in her life. Never had she been stood up by anyone, and she most certainly had not expected to be treated this way by the one person she trusted above any other in her life, Katara Enuaraq. The rational part of Yue's brain was trying to tell her that perhaps she was overreacting, that perhaps Katara had simply been delayed at the asylum, but right now Yue was in no mood to be logical. She had been prepared to make the boldest step in her life thus far, to walk away from her inheritance for Katara's sake, and Katara had… bailed on her?
Having waited for another embarrassing and humiliating quarter of an hour, with Katara still failing to show up, the utterly livid white-haired girl rose from her seat and stomped towards the exit, making her way outside, onto the busy streets of the capital. Fittingly, it had started to rain, quite heavily in fact, and Yue had not bothered to take an umbrella with her. By the time she got to the bus stop, Yue was already completely soaked and shivering, which improved her mood none.
Sitting on the bus and trying to ignore the way her wet clothes clung to her unpleasantly, Yue began to think that perhaps this was the way in which the fates were trying to tell her something. Yue could not deny that Azula was in a terrible situation and needed help, but still, Katara had spent the entire day in that asylum. And she had promised to meet with Yue, a promise she hadn't kept. It sure started to seem that despite Katara's claims that Yue was the girl she loved, she actually cared more about spending time with Azula. Maybe this was the wakeup call that Yue had needed. Maybe this was the fates telling her that she and Katara just weren't meant to be.
One thing was clear, though. She was no longer considering walking away from her inheritance for someone who dared to ditch her like that, turning her into a public laughing stock for the other patrons of the café. What she had been prepared to do was a massive personal sacrifice, but she couldn't do it for someone who had done something so hurtful to her. Yue had to reconsider her plans once again.
So, it was back to square one for Yue. She was going to submit to her father's designs for her, even if it meant marrying someone like Hahn Adjuk against her own wishes. Not all arranged marriages had to be miserable. Just because she didn't want to touch Hahn with a ten foot pole, it didn't mean that she couldn't find a way to carve out some freedom and independence for herself. Women who were miserable in arranged marriages most of the time lacked the strength to project their own will onto their husbands, but she wasn't going to be like one of those weak willed femmes. She would not allow Hahn to dominate her life. She would take charge and make sure that Hahn understood that their marriage was merely a political union, and that he had no reason to expect her to be quietly submissive to his demands. If she could ensure this, Yue felt fairly confident that she had no reason to fear the future as it was envisioned by her father.
By the time Katara returned to Cape Kuruk it was already a quarter to ten and the sky was quickly turning dark. She was happy to see the family's Powell truck parked next to the bus stop, Sokka having come to pick her up and saving her from the fairly long walk back home through the dark would-be streets of Cape Kuruk. Sometime during her bus ride back home, Katara had remembered just what she had forgotten in Agna Qel'a, feeling like an absolute idiot for not remembering her scheduled meeting with Yue. She really should have asked Dr. Yagoda to start the therapy sessions next week, but she had been so surprised by the offer that she had literally forgotten everything else in the world. Katara only hoped that Yue would not be too angry and would be able to forgive her. It had sounded like she had some important news to share with Katara, and now Katara found herself deeply anxious wondering just what she had missed out on.
Sitting alongside Sokka in the truck as they made the short, less than ten minute long drive home, Katara wondered if she should call Yue right away. Then again, perhaps Yue would be too angry right now, and besides, Yue was the one who always called her in order to pick up the phone bill. Katara decided that she would give it another day and then calling Yue if her friend hadn't called her first.
"So, how did it go?" Sokka asked impatiently when Katara had been keeping quiet until now.
"Oh, better than I could have hoped," Katara smiled broadly. "I feel hopeful that we'll be able to stop Azula from falling back into her father's clutches. If everything works out the way we hope, then all that's left will be to find Azula a new place to stay."
"Just bring her home to us," Sokka winked at her.
"Haha, right," Katara laughed. "I wonder what Suki would say about that, a pretty girl hanging around your house, huh?"
"So, Azula is pretty?" Sokka chuckled.
Katara didn't even blush at that, it was so obvious to her. "Like, duh," she rolled her eyes as the car pulled into the driveway and stopped in the yard, amidst Naga's excited barks. They got out of the car, but before heading inside the house, Katara spent a while playing with the affectionate family dog.
The house was dark, save for the dimmed lights in the living room. Katara and Sokka could hear their father speaking with someone on the phone. Hakoda sounded more than just a little angry, shouting at someone. "Didn't you look at the drawings I sent you last week? The platform leg I circled in red? The fatigue cracks have definitely gotten worse over the past year," Hakoda ranted. "Bracings? Does that look like something that could be fixed by placing a bracing? Why don't you ask me to put a piece of band-aid on top of it, too? That would be just as helpful!"
"What's up with that?" Katara asked, feeling a little worried as she and Sokka both walked into the living room, alerting Hakoda to their presence. Hakoda immediately lowered his voice when speaking.
"Dad told me that he's just being extra careful after that near accident last Yule," Sokka explained. "He says that he literally has to exaggerate his reports for Nakamura Industries to do something about the safety conditions on the rig."
"Ugh, that does not fill me with confidence," Katara sighed. "And it's not as if I don't have enough reasons to hate Ozai Nakamura already."
"To be honest, this isn't something that Ozai Nakamura handles himself," Sokka shrugged. "But I agree that since he's at the top of the pyramid, the buck ultimately should stop with him."
By now, Hakoda had gotten off his phone call with whomever he had been shouting at, turning to face his children. "Did you get everything sorted, Katara?" he asked, even if he did not know all the details of what was happening with her and Azula.
"I think so," she nodded. "Everything alright with you?" she asked despite Sokka's reassurances, pointing at the phone.
"Yes, yes, there's nothing to worry about. I'm just being a little paranoid, but that's apparently a good trait for someone responsible for workplace safety, right?" Hakoda laughed, but he still sounded slightly nervous.
Even though her father's behavior made Katara a little concerned, her immediate attention was tightly focused on helping Azula, which was why she pointed at the phone again. "May I use the phone, please?" she asked. "I need to call Uncle Iroh."
"Of course, Katara," Hakoda smiled at her, stepping inside the kitchen together with Sokka. Katara could hear the fridge doors being opened and closed again, the two enjoying some cold beers while fixing themselves sandwiches. Katara silently hoped that they would think to fix something for her as well, considering that she hadn't had the time to eat since very early in the morning.
Katara felt a little embarrassed when she remembered that because of the time difference, it was currently past 1am in the Ba Sing Se time zone. She only realized it after Iroh Nakamura had already answered her call on the fourth attempt, sounding somewhat sleepy on the other end of the line.
"Uncle Iroh, this is Katara… I'm so sorry, I totally forgot how late it is over there," she blurted out apologetically. "But I just got back from Agna Qel'a and wanted to share the news with you."
All the sleepiness immediately went out of Iroh's voice, as if he had taken a dip in a vat of coffee. "Tell me everything, Katara. Or at least, what you can," he insisted.
"I told Azula that I am working together with you in order to help her, and she didn't react negatively to that, so I think that's a good thing," Katara began. "And since we're working together, I think it's important that you know exactly what we're dealing with, even if Azula did not give me the express consent to share this with anyone, so I'll have to be very vague. But I think you need to know that your brother was stabbed while attempting to carry out sexual assault on his own daughter," Katara said, keeping her voice low so that Sokka and Hakoda could not overhear her.
"…that monster!" Iroh gasped. "I seriously could not have imagined… Azula must not go back to him!"
"I agree, and I think I have managed to persuade the head of the asylum, Dr. Yagoda, to stand up to Ozai Nakamura and not allow Azula to fall back into his clutches," Katara explained. "Uncle Iroh, I really think that it would be very useful if you reached out to Dr. Yagoda and talked with her yourself. Perhaps you can advise her how to handle your brother, and you could also discuss future possibilities for Azula."
"I am going to call her first thing Monday morning, Katara," Iroh promised. "We have a unique opportunity to pull Azula out of her abusive circumstances, and we must not squander it. I will do everything within my power to help."
"Good," Katara smiled with relief. Iroh definitely seemed more committed than at any stage before. "Uncle Iroh… would you be willing to provide Azula with a roof over her head?"
"Absolutely," Iroh replied without thinking. "If she would be willing to consider it, I would be happy to take her in. There is so much unused space in my Ba Sing Se estate. That place needs someone living there regularly. Do you think Azula would agree coming to live with me? She has been very dismissive of any such suggestions in the past."
"I think it could be discussed with her," Katara replied. "She's more open to that idea now than ever before. I think that she could be convinced. At this point, I don't feel that she opposes the idea of living with you, Uncle Iroh. She's more afraid of having to interact with her mother and her brother. She's very concerned about their reaction to her possibly moving to Ba Sing Se. Azula thinks that they hate her and would try to turn you against her."
Iroh let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, of course Azula would feel this way. I am not at all surprised, and I can't really blame her," he replied. "I will not promise to cut Ursa and Zuko out of my life for Azula's sake. That would be completely unfair, because they need me just as much as Azula does. Ultimately, Azula would have to learn to at least coexist with the rest of her family. What I can promise, however, is to initially minimize her contact with Ursa and Zuko, if she truly is so deeply set against it."
"I think that would be very helpful, Uncle Iroh," Katara said, nodding to herself. "And I think that if I were to explain this to Azula, it would ease her worries somewhat."
"Perhaps you should also tell Azula the reactions of her mother and her brother when learning about her being placed in an asylum," Iroh said, sounding downcast. "Ursa was so horrified that she could barely speak after learning the news. Zuko tried to be more stoical about it, but I could tell that he was greatly upset and conflicted about the news."
"Maybe it will help for Azula to know that as well," Katara said. Although she might just assume that Ursa and Zuko are putting on a performance. I'll have to see if this is actually something helpful for her to know. "I'll be seeing her again soon. Dr. Yagoda has agreed to let me visit Azula every Saturday."
"Oh, that is very kind of her," Iroh said, sounding pleased. "Does that mean you will be missing this summer's camp?"
"I… I'm afraid so, Uncle Iroh," Katara sighed. "I'm sorry, I would have dearly loved to attend, but I wouldn't have been able to have any fun if I knew that Azula was in this situation and yet I wasn't doing anything to help her."
"My dear Katara," Iroh sounded deeply touched over the phone. "I can't even begin to thank you for everything you are doing for this family and for my niece in particular. The world would be a better place with more people like you in it."
"Oh… thank you so much, Uncle Iroh," Katara choked up a little from the old master's kind words. "I'm just… trying to do the right thing. Is it alright if I call you on Monday after you have spoken with Dr. Yagoda?"
"Of course, Katara, call me at any time," Iroh said in a gentle voice. "Together, I'm confident that we will manage to keep my niece safe."
Next chapter: In Katara's absence, the summer Pai Sho camp feels quite different this year. Meanwhile, Katara continues her visits with Azula, while undergoing therapy herself.