Iza sighed in relief and shut her laptop. She had just sent the finished project to Amy and could finally relax. 'What to do now?' She thought. She debated with herself for a little bit, then decided to visit her mother.
She grabbed the locket that she had bought for her mom and pulled out the yoga mat and set it on the floor. She sat down and closed her eyes. Iza didn't have to meditate on the floor, but it was more comfortable for long sessions than just leaning against the wall.
Iza focused on her breathing and imagined the forest clearing beside the river. She blocked out all thoughts but those of the river. Soon she heard the soft trickling of the river and she opened her eyes.
Iza's mother soon emerged from the trees with a smile on her face. "Iza! How are you?" Iza got up and hugged her mother. "Hi, mom! I've been good. I got you a gift." Her mother sat down and Iza sat next to her. Iza pulled out the gift wrapped box from her pocket. She handed it to her mother and her mother opened it.
Her mother gasped when she saw it. "I love it Iza! Where did you get it?" Iza smiled. "Well, it's kind of a long story." Iza went on to explain what had happened and how she had visited other worlds. Her mother beamed at her. "That's great, Iza! It means you're finally coming into your powers!" Iza looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Her mother smiled gently at her. "On my side of the family, the people are able to visit different realms and interact with them. How do you think I met your father?" Iza looked shocked. "Dad was from another realm? Is that why he was barely around?" Her mother nodded and smiled sadly. "Because your father was from a different realm, he didn't spend much time on my realm. When you visit one realm, your body is still connected to our world."
"That makes sense." Iza said. Her mother smiled again. "Now, you said you were drawn to one string in peculiar?" Iza nodded. "Then you should visit that realm again. Our family occasionally form deep bonds to another realm, and it sounds like you have the start of one." Iza frowned.
"What does that mean?" She asked. "It means, if you forge a deep enough connection, you can stay there for long periods of time, and even stay there after you die in your birth realm. I formed a bond to a world with mysterious creatures and kind people. That's why I am still able to communicate with you after I have died in our realm." Iza nodded.
"Well, I think I'm going to go explore the realm now." Her mother smiled and told her to be safe and have a fun trip.
Soon Iza was back in her world going to get her trading box and a bag. Iza chose to grab an older style of bag that she thought would fit into the avatar world. She sat back down on her mat with bag and box in hand. She went into the abyss quickly and walked over to the strings. She quickly found the multicolor string and focused on not falling onto a boat this time, but a market place instead.
Soon she found herself laying face down in an alleyway. She pushed herself up and walked out into a bustling open market. She quickly located one selling and buying jewelry. "Hello there, young lady! Would you like to buy some jewelry?" The man asked her. Iza shook her head. "One of my family members left me quite a lot of jewelry and I don't need all of it. I was hoping I could sell some here." The man hummed and Iza pulled out her box. She opened it and the man nodded. Iza pulled out several of the better necklaces and 4 rings.
"What can you give me for this?" She asked the man. The man thought for a second before replying. "I'll give you 8 silver and 3 copper for those." Iza nodded and gave the man the jewelry in exchange for the money.
Iza walked away from the shop and towards a clothing store. Iza ended up buying a green and yellow dress, 3 pairs of tights, 3 green button up shirts, and 2 pairs of shoes. She quickly changed into the dress and put her other clothes in the bag she had brought.
Iza wandered around for a little bit until she saw a familiar face. She decided to tail the other teenager through the marketplace. Iza followed Zuko for about 30 minutes until she got bored of staying out of sight. As she was about to leave Zuko, she saw something that caught her eye. A ukulele, or at least, something like a ukulele. Iza turned away from Zuko and towards where she had seen the instrument. She bounded up to the counter. "Hello! How much for that instrument?" She pointed at the ukulele like thing. "3 silvers." The man said shortly. Iza nodded and dig around her bag for the coins. After she had 3 silvers, she handed them to the man and he gave her the ukulele in its case.
Iza left the shop and took out the ukulele. She strummed it ukulele and frowned. It wasn't on the key she wanted, so she messed with the knobs until she was satisfied. Now that it was on a key she knew, she wanted to play. Iza set down her bag and leaned against the wall. She started playing the first thing that came to mind and singing along with it.
A long long time ago,
There was a volcano
Living all alone in the middle of the sea
He sat high above his bay
Watching all the couples play
And wishing that he had someone too
People began to gather around and listen to Iza play, but she didn't notice.
And from his lava came
This song of hope that he sang out loud
Every day
For years and years
I have a dream
I hope it will come true
That you're here with me
And I am here with you
I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above
Will send me someone to lava
Years of singing all alone
Turned his lava into stone
Until he was on the brink of extinction
But little did he know
That living in the sea below
Another volcano
Was listening to his song
Zuko saw a crowd forming and heard a beautiful voice singing along to an instrument. He went to investigate.
Everyday she heard his tune
Her lava grew and grew
Because she believed his song was meant for her
Now she was so ready to meet him above the sea
As he sang his song of hope for the last time
I have a dream
I hope it will come true
That you're here with me
And I am here with you
I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above
Will send me someone to lava
Rising from the sea below
Stood a lovely volcano
Looking all around
But she could not see him
He tried to sing to let her know
That she was not there alone
But with no lava, his song was all gone
He filled the sea with his tears
Watched his dreams disappear
As she remembered what his song meant to her
I have a dream
I hope will come true
That you're here with me
And I am here with you
I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above
Zuko was stunned. Was that Iza, the girl who had crashed onto his ship?
Will send me someone to lava
Oh they were so happy
To finally meet above the sea
All together now their lava grew and grew
No longer are they all alone
With Aloha as their new home
And when you go and visit them this is what they sing
I have a dream I hope it will come true
That you will grow old with me, and I will grow old with you
We thank the earth, sea, and the sky we thank too
I lava you
I lava you
I lava you
When Iza finished people started clapping and Iza startled. "O-oh. Thank you." Iza blushed as the people kept clapping. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a familiar scar, but when she turned, she couldn't find him. Iza shrugged. After the people had left, Iza picked up her bag and found it more heavy. She looked inside and saw people had thrown coins in. Iza smiled. It was time to go home now.