Previously on 'Airbenders in Love':
"And to celebrate Myra's first successful day of work, the three of us are going to Miko's Dragon."
5. A Night to Remember
Miko's Dragon is a restaurant not far away from the Red Rose. Once finding a small table near the back of the establishment, we order our meals. I order something light too be polite.
We eat quickly as Hirok and I retell our day to Lara.
As dinner comes to a close, Lara says, "Well, I am quite tired from such a long day. I had planned on the three of us going to the big festival tonight, but I'm just exhausted. You two go on with out me."
I give Hirok a questioning look. I would love to go, but only if he shares the same enthusiasm. A smile sweeps across his face. "Of course we'll go! This is Myra's first night in Hakida Village and all."
I didn't bother correcting him-it was technically my second night in this town, but why bother?
Thus, we saw Lara back to the Red Rose and made our way towards the big festival in the center of town.
Hirok and I walk side by side in silence. Today has been very interesting.
Food vendors are along the side of the long, wide street and people of varying ages crowd the street. I catch sight of a puppet show and motion for Hirok to join me.
The show is about a young earth kingdom princess who is stolen from her home and rescued by her 'prince charming'. How dull. As I let out a small yawn, Hirok elbows me playfully and whispers, "Hey, there's supposed to be some sort of play going on. Wanna go check it out?"
"Yeah. Let's go!"
The play takes place at a medium sized outdoor amphitheater. Most of the seats are already taken, so we have to sit near the back.
It takes me a while to figure out what's going on. It seems we've come during the middle of the play. So instead, I just enjoy the atmosphere.
I glance over at Hirok for a moment. He laughs and holds his breath at the right times. But he is a native to this town, so I guess it's not as hard for him to catch on.
As I scan the crowd, I notice that a great majority of the audience are on dates. That brings up the whole love question again. But I still feel I'm too young for it. Twenty-one may not be considered a youthful age to everyone else, but it is to me. I still want to see the world, meet new people, learn about different cultures. Though it doesn't seem like that is what I'm doing at this very moment…
****
Once the play is over-and I still have no clue what it was about- it is quite late, so Hirok walks me back to the tea shop. When we get to the door, I give him a simple, "Goodnight, and thanks so much for everything today."
"Don't mention it," he grins and walks away, fading into the darkness of midnight.
When I walk in, everything is so dark that I have a hard time finding my way to my room. I go through my nightly routine of preparing to go to sleep, and then lay on my bed, shut my eyes, and do a little bit of serious thinking.
How long will I stay in Hakida Village? What happened to seeing the world? Being a true nomad? Letting the air guide me in whichever direction it sees fit? But the air hasn't guided me anywhere yet but here. So isn't this where I belong for the time being?
Soon my very own thoughts are contradicting each other and I escape into deep sleep. This was truly a night to remember.
To be continued…
Author's note: Short chapter, but it shows what Myra is thinking at this point as she tries to plan here next move as a nomad.