Hey, guys. Sorry, it's been a little while. But I'm back, so here you go. (Don't even ask, you know I own nothing.)
It was devastating. An entire village…gone, wiped clean from the map.
It had been a peaceful Earth Kingdom town before the disaster, full of good people.
As Aang and Katara flew over the leveled village on Appa, neither was smiling. Katara's eyes welled up at the thought of all the innocent people left homeless, injured. And she knew that not everyone could possibly have survived the catastrophe.
A blazing wildfire had engulfed the town, having come from the forests that surrounded it. It had raged through the village, incinerating everything and everyone in its path.
Katara and Aang sat together in silence on Appa's head. Katara clung to Aang and buried her face in his robes, not wanting to see the charred remains of the village.
Aang's face was blank. He couldn't believe the destruction. He pictured the scene of the fire burning through the town. Children were crying, people were running through the streets in a desperate attempt to escape the blazing inferno, never looking back as their homes and possessions were burned to the ground.
It was a sickening thought.
Aang landed Appa and dismounted, hoping to find survivors. He walked into what used to be the town square. It used to be full of people, busy and loud. But now it was desolate, portions of the ground charred black from the fire.
He found a child's toy on the ground and picked it up. It was a plastic doll that had scorch marks all over it. The face had melted completely off, with the exception of one eye and half of the mouth.
And the next thing he saw nearly brought him to tears.
It was a little girl, no older than about eight, with burnt clothes and a big burn on her arm. The girl walked up to him. "Are you the Avatar?" she asked timidly.
Aang nodded. "Is this yours?" He held the doll out to her.
The girl took the doll and examined it. "Yeah…but I can't use it now." She threw it aside.
"What's your name?" Aang asked. "Are you lost?"
"My name is Tián," the girl said. "And…yes, I'm lost. I haven't seen my mommy in two days. My daddy and I are here to look for her. We left to go fishing before the fire…" And she started crying. "I-I don't know where she is or if she's okay…I don't know what to do…"
Aang felt a pang of guilt. He knew it wasn't his fault. But if he had been there, he knew he could've done something…
Aang walked with Tián for a while through the abandoned town until they came to the remains of a particular house.
"This used to be my house," Tián said solemnly, walking through the rubble until they heard a voice.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Tián froze. "Mommy?"
And then a tall woman emerged from the farthest room. "Tián? Oh, thank the Spirits!"
Tián ran up to her mother and gave her a big hug.
"Where's your father?" the woman asked.
"I-I don't know," Tián said. "He told me to split up and meet at the town square at sunset."
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay," the woman breathed. "I thought I would never see you again."
"The Avatar helped me look for you," Tián told her mother.
Aang watched the reunion in silence, smiling. He was glad to help someone in need.
"Thank you so much, Avatar," said Tián's mother. "My name is Qiángliè. If we can ever do anything for you to show our gratitude—"
"Always happy to help," Aang said with a smile. "You really don't need to do that. And…call me Aang."
He knelt down next to Tián. "Be safe," he told her.
"Thank you so much, Aang," Tián said, hugging him.
Aang was a bit surprised, but he hugged her back. "Anytime."
Aang returned to Katara and Appa, and they soon took off toward Ba Sing Se.
"Did you find anyone?" Katara asked.
Aang nodded. "I found a little girl," he replied. "She was looking for her mother, and i helped her look. We found her after a while."
"That's so great, Aang," Katara said, wrapping an arm around him.
"It felt great, seeing them reunite," he said. "It was so…heartwarming."
"I'll bet the little girl was happy to see her mother again," she breathed, frowning a little. "I just wish that…" She sighed, trailing off.
"What?" Aang asked.
"I don't really mean to make this all about my sob-story…I just wish that I could see my mother again. Just one more time."
"Maybe you can." Aang took her hands, smiling. "Close your eyes…"
He meditated very hard, and soon enough his tattoos began to glow.
And then everything faded to black for a brief moment, before the Spirit World came into view.
"A-Aang?" Katara asked. "What happened?"
"I sent us into the Spirit World…you said you wanted to see your mother, right?" Aang replied.
They walked up a bill and down into a grassy meadow, across a steam, and through the forest.
When they came to a clearing, a woman dressed in blue was standing right in front of them. She looked a lot like Katara, and she looked as though she had been expecting them. It had to be Kya.
Katara's eyes began to well up. "M-mom?"
The woman smiled. "Hello, Katara…"
Katara let out a sob and embraced her mother.
Kya strokes Katara's hair. "I've missed you so much, my little Waterbender. I love you…"
And then Katara's vision began to blur and fade into a bright white light. Her mother was gone, but when the light faded into reality, Aang was sitting right next to her.
"Katara, I'm sorry," Aang said sadly. "I-I ran out of energy and I couldn't keep us in the—"
She wiiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at him. "Thank you…"
She hugged him tightly. "You're the best, Aang…I love you."
Aang hugged her back. "Anything for you, Katara. Anything."
And as Appa flew away from the village, Aang and Katara thought of Tián, and how even when you think someone is gone…one day you will reunite.
