Avatar: Pandora's Moonlight

By Andrea L. (NenaLozara)

CHAPTER 2: "Learning About Yourself"

She felt a lot better. After the shock of finding herself in a strange place with strange people, facing the unknown and the pain, she finally found calmness in Rokyti's talking and singing. She didn't understand what she was saying, but she could easily notice when she said something funny. It made her laugh, even if they didn't share the same language. Rokyti made funny faces and Otay'ni couldn't stand imagine what she was actually saying together with that face. Her mood improved a lot since everyone else left the place. The others made her feel prisoned, while Rokyti, even though she also observed her, saw her in a way that the feeling was different. Otay'nit started looking at her own body. Her long legs, her long arms and slim torso. She was happy about her slim and plain stomach, but what she really enjoyed was discovering her long tail. A tail! The others she had seen also had tails, but there was something so special about it; something she couldn't remember. For some reason, even if everyone had one, she still felt amazed by it. She spent a lot of time playing with it, moving the tail from side to side, looking to be able to control it better. Rokyti was full of joy while she saw Otay'nit's gestures when discovering something new, or when trying to figure something out. She also introduced her more calm daughter to her favorite fruit. That purple color always attracted Otay'nit, together with its sweet smell and taste. This time wasn't the exception, Otay'nit took it as fast as she could and immediately bite it. Rokyti smiled, it seemed like deep inside, she was her daughter after all.
It was almost nightfall and Jake visited the small and covered place where Rokyti and Otay'nit were staying. Jake made a greeting to Rokyti.
"How is she?" he asked in their language, avoiding to look at Otay'nit, in case she still felt uncomfortable.
"She's oh, so much better, JakeSully. She's been all better since you, Neytiri and Mo'at left. She's been laughing and exploring her body, she has even eaten already." answered Rokyti, with excitement in her voice.
"I am so happy for you two. Do you think she's ready to speak to me?"
"I think she's more than ready. She's been trying to communicate with me, we have been able to talk with signs and gestures. She's very expressive."
Jake formed a relieved smile, finally turning to see Otay'nit, who was passing her fingers through the connected strings of one of the beds.
"Otay'nit." called out Jake.
Otay'nit turned her head immediately.
"Can we speak without your mother here?" he asked in English.
"She's not my mother. And yes, we can." she answered.
Rokyti made a small corporal gesture and stepped out of the place, leaving Jake and Otay'nit alone.
"How do you feel?" Jake asked with a calm smile.
"I feel better now. It's all so... strange, it's all new for me." Otay'nit answered, at the time that her left hand played with the tip of her tail.
"I don't understand some things, Otay'nit. Why do you keep saying Rokyti is not your mother? How come you don't recognize yourself and the others like you?"
Otay'nit gave a short sigh, turning her strange colored eyes to see Jake.
"The only reason I respond to that name is because everyone seems to know me with it, but to be honest, I don't recognize that name as mine. I don't remember what happened, but I'm sure I was somewhere else before appearing here. I can only remember the feeling..."
At that moment, Jake got closer, amazed by her words and curious for answers.
"Tell me. Tell me anything you remember."
"I can only remember... pain." she said as her tail embraced her left arm and her face went down, pointing towards the floor. "I remember thinking I was going to die. I remember thinking my life was over, and suddenly I felt a lot of wind, a lot of movement, as if my body were a puppet being thrown. I couldn't breathe for a couple of moments, and I suddenly appeared here, forcing myself to breathe."
Jake looked at her movements and the flow of her words, slowly forming a thought-full face.
"I thought my life was over." she said with a lower voice, forming a small and sad smile. "I just can't remember what life was actually ending."
"Well, we have a couple of clues. You don't recognize yourself or us, because you used to look different. You talk English and another unknown language for us..."
"Spanish." she interrupted.
"Spanish! Then you..." Jake's eyes suddenly got lost in between thoughts.
Otay'nit looked at him as he faded, waiting for some kind of reveal.
"Can it be?" he asked, not specifically to Otay'nit, but to himself as well. "Is Eywa that powerful? Is it possible that... you are human?"
Otay'nit reacted. The word sounded familiar; familiar enough for her to recognize herself as part of it.
"What am I supposed to be right now?"
"A Na'vi. Our kind is called Na'vi. We live in one of the moons of Polyphemus, called Pandora." answered Jake, still trying to process his own thoughts.
Otay'nit made a face. "In a moon? Of Polyphemus? For some reason... I don't really get how we can be in a moon."
Jake gave a small laugh. "That's because you used to live in the Earth." Otay'nit again reacted, recognizing the word. "The Earth had its own moon, which you called the Moon. Things are very different here."
Otay'nit's face wouldn't change, everything was different around here, nothing was as she remembered, but she couldn't remember anything at all at the same time. All she could do was hearing words that resulted familiar to her.
Jake smiled again at Otay'nit's thought-full face. "So, if you are not Otay'nit, what is your name? How were you called in Earth? Who are you?"
Otay'nit turned her eyes to see Jake, finally liberating herself from the existence memorials, and her gesture changed into a sad one.
"I can't remember..."