Chapter two: Goodbye

Katara woke up abruptly to a feeling of guilt and despair. Why am I felling this way. She wondered as she slowly began to pull her robe over her head. She could not help but feel as thought there was a hollow pit where her heart should be. Katara felt confused and now she began to worry. I am probably getting worked up over nothing. She finished by shoving her feet into her boots, the inside of which felt as soft as velvet. I just need to get outside for a while, I am sure everything is okay.

Katara opened the flap of her tent and stepped outside into the morning air. She was surrounded by a myriad of sensations as she released the flap and let it fall lazily back to its closed position. She could feel the cool crisp air filling her lungs and giving her life. She could feel the sun gently kiss her skin, warming her like a fire until finally she opened her eyes. I had better go and check up on Sokka. I know he said yesterday that he had decided what to do but I am worried. I can not think of a time when Sokka has been so devoid of humor when he spoke. Even right after Suki left him; he still relied on his dry humor to get him through the sorrow.

Katara turned and slowly walked into the grove of trees to where Sokka has pitched his tent the day before. She kept her head down, watching her feet move over the earth, one after another, lost in thought until she had at last come to the place where Sokka's tent had been. She looked up only to see the folded grass.

"Sokka?!....SOKKA?!" Katara screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice filled will panic and fear. She looked around desperately, her heart pounding, her breathing shallow. Sokka was nowhere in sight…he was gone.

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Aang lay peacefully on his mat. He was lost in a dream that he had many times before. He was flying around the Southern Air temple. He could feel the wind flowing gently a crossed his skin, inviting him to continue onward. The sweet smell of fruit pies wafted up from the ground below and everywhere he looked he could see other airbenders and flying bison. He landed softly on a knoll overlooking the garden. There was monk Gyatso, just as he had always been, waiting to welcome his back. Except when monk Gyatso started to talk he heard not his voice but a scream…"SOKKA?!"

Aang's eyes flew open, "Katara," he said softly to himself. Aang sprang to his feet and darted out of his tent. He saw Katara kneeling deeper into the grove of trees and ran towards her. Never had he felt a greater need to be by her side, his feet pounding away at the grass and dirt. He came to a halt right behind her.

"Katara? What's wrong?" he said almost pleadingly.

"It's…..it's….it's Sokka," she said in a voice muffled by her hands and tears.

"Sokka? What wrong with him?" Aang questioned.

"He's gone," Katara sobbed as a new wave of sorrow hit her and she began to cry even harder now.

Aang could feel his heart begin to ache. Sokka was all that Katara had left after their father had died in the failed invasion attempt and if he had gone, Katara was alone. This made Aang even sadder now, he loved Katara more than anything in the world; her suffering was almost too much for him to bear.

The sound of pounding feet from behind came closer to Aang with each second. "What's wrong?" asked Zuko half annoyed half alert.

"Sokka's missing," replied Aang.

"Well, where did Snoozles go?" Toph said coming to a stop near Zuko. "This had better not be one of his 'I am so alone' things."

"I don't know," snapped Aang as Katara began weeping even harder at this blunt comment, "but that doesn't matter. We have to search for him. We will split up, Toph you head down to the pond and start there. Zuko, start here and see if you can find any tracks to follow. I will get on Appa and check the far side of the island. He could not have gotten far."

With that the search began. As Aang hopped on Appa he thought, I am coming Sokka.

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Hours had passed and there was still no sight of Sokka. Katara had gone back to her tent where she could be alone. Only moments before Zuko returned and said he could not find a track anywhere. Toph returned a little while later with the same amount of success. Sadness turned to rage as Katara turned to face Zuko and Toph.

"You did this," Katara said her voice cold and venomous, "Both of you did this. If you two ASSES could have shown a little more compassion but no, you had to do this. It did not occur to you that even though Suki left him weeks ago that he still might be hurting? Sokka has had a hard time finding girlfriends first because he had not choice, next Yue, and now Suki….it's entirely your fault."

Katara finished almost spitting. Her blooded shot eyes filled with tears and malice. She wanted so badly to snap there necks right then and there.

"NOW WAIT RIGHT THERE SUGAR QUEEN," came Toph's voice raising to meet the venom with which Katara spoke," I KNOW SOKKA HAS HAD A HARD TIME BUT IF HE WAS NOT SUCH A WIMP.."

"Calm down both of you," Zuko said coolly interrupting Toph, "maybe we where a little harsh with Sokka but these things happen in life." Katara gave him a look that would frighten a moose-lion. "But we should have been a little more tactful in how we approached the matter; I will give you that much Katara. Plus, Aang is not even back yet and we all know if anyone can find Sokka, its Aang."

"Your right," sighed Katara, "it's just that I miss him so much and I did not even get to say goodbye. I am sorry Toph."

"I am sorry too," Toph replied begrudgingly crossing her arms in frustration.

At that moment, Appa appeared on the horizon heading right for the camp. Katara watched anxiously as Appa landed and Aang hopped from his back…he was alone. Downtrodden, Aang walked towards Katara with his head held low.

"I am sorry Katara," Aang pushed out, "All I found was this letter stuck to a pole next to dock with Sokka's knife. The boat was gone. It is addressed to you." He held the letter out to Katara who took it in her shaky hands.

"Did you search the far shore?" Katara asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Aang replied, "that's what took me so long to get back. But I could not find where Sokka landed. I don't think he wanted us to follow him."

Tears filled up in Katara's eyes as she stared at the letter and had just given her. Slowly she unfolded the parchment and looked at the writing. It was written in Sokka's hand writing.

Katara,

I am sorry that I did not speak to you in person but that would have only made things harder then they need to be. I have thought about this for a while now, it was only when Zuko and Toph said something that I finally figured that I have outstayed my welcome. Do not blame them for this, I don't. They were right after all. I was bringing the mood down. Over the past weeks I have seen the faces souring and becoming filled with impatience and I know that I am the cause of it. With a mission as important as Aang's, I could not put that in jeopardy.

So, I am leaving. Know that you will always be my sister and I will never forget you but I need to find my own path. I hope that this will not be the last time you hear from me but I cannot guarantee anything right now and I do not want to fill you with hope or false promises. But if it is, let me give you at least one more piece of brotherly advice.

Love is the hardest thing for anyone to define. As a result, only you can know when you are in love but do not take it for granted because it is just as easy to fall out of love as it is to fall in love. Treat it as a flower that is nurtured and not ignored else it should whither and die. I took the love Suki had for me and ignored the effects of my behavior and now my heart is filled with sorrow and pain.

I hope that you understand why I am doing this and should I ever find my path, I will find my way back to you.

Love

Sokka

P.S. Even though it hurts, the few moments I was in love make it worth the while. Goodbye.

Tears flowed from Katara's eyes, landing on the letter below. He is gone for good. And with that final thought, the rest of her strength gave way to sorrow as she fell to the ground below. Everybody just stared into nothingness, their friend was gone. Nobody dared to move as if moving would cause further pain.

Katara was just lying in the dirt with her tears causing the mud to stick to her face. Zuko slowly knelt beside Katara, reaching down, he lifted into his arms. Katara pulled her face into Zuko's shirt crying harder than ever. As Zuko approached Katara's tent, he looked down to her. He could not see her face and that worried him. He wondered if she would leave to find her brother, if she would leave and never come back until she did. He knew that he did not love Katara other than being a friend but that was just it, she had become his friend. Ever since he helped her find her mother, she had become his best friend. What would Aang do if Katara left? Aang would follow her for sure but then his training would be disrupted and he still has to face my father. Thoughts continued to race in his mind as he laid Katara on her mat and closed the tent flap.

Zuko turned to see Toph and Aang sitting by the fire. "How are you guys holding up?" he asked.

"Fine I guess," replied Aang.

"Fine," said Toph, "this is something that I think Sokka just needs to get out of his system. He will be back within a week."

"Yeah, I think he will," Zuko thought, "but what worries me is if Katara will go after him. If she does, then we have to go after her and then everything will be messed up. I do not want to sound cruel but I think we just have to let Sokka come back to us."

"I was just thinking that to," Aang said in a tone so soft that Zuko was barely able to hear him. "I love Katara but I have to agree with you guys on this one. I just do not like to see her in so much pain."

"It's okay Aang, everything will work out somehow," Zuko replied.

Those were the last words of the conversation; everyone just watched the flames dance in the night. Hours seemed to pass with everyone thinking about what is to come before Aang broke the silence, "Guys I am just going to check on Katara and then I am going to get some sleep."

"Sleep sounds good," Toph said as Zuko joined in on walking to their respective tents.

Aang walked softly to Katara's tent and let himself in. He crawled next to Katara and sat behind her.

"Katara? How are you doing?" Aang asked carefully.

"Fine," she said with hollow words, "I heard you guys talking by the fire."

"Oh," Aang said scared and embarrassed. "Well, we were just talking…"

"Stop Aang," Katara interrupted, "I am not angry and I am not going to leave you guys to go after Sokka. He would probably be really mad if I found him anyway and I cannot take that right now."

"Okay, well I will just leave you alone." But before Aang could get into a position to leave, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled back down to the ground.

"Don't leave, just sleep here tonight, please," Katara pleaded.

"Okay," Aang replied as he lay down. Katara pulled his arm over her and pulled him in close to her. As Aang lay there, he could not help but notice how warm she was. Her warmth soothed his aching heart, her breath calmed his mind and her heartbeat ohh her heartbeat. Even though he knew that he should not be happy, Aang had never felt better.