[?]
I looked up again. It was so hard to believe, but there were TREES hanging from the sky. I didn't know what I was walking on. I didn't even really want to know. I just wanted to go HOME, back to my mom and my dad and my village. Where was I, anyway? How had I gotten here? I shut my eyes and tried to remember…
Pictures came back to my mind. It was my eighth birthday. I smiled at that—made it through eight years. There were only two years left until I was home free, until my best friend Aiko was home free. She was very pretty; I was going to marry her one day. I remembered thinking that right before… something went wrong. I frowned. I couldn't remember it. There was me, talking to Aiko after she got out of one of her parties, and walking her home. Then blackness and I was suddenly here.
It didn't make sense.
Since my mind wasn't working right, I tried to think some more about this place. Where did the trees float in the sky? Everyone knew that Empress Koori had all of our books burned, and no more books were allowed, but everyone else knew that trees didn't float in the sky anywhere. At least, I didn't think they floated in the sky anywhere.
The place I was in was really quiet. Really, really quiet, like I shouldn't talk very loud or I could get in trouble. That was what happened when I talked outside of Aiko's parties while I waited for her. These ladies in fancy dresses came out and shushed me. I was going to throw mud at their dresses one day, see if that would make them leave me alone.
"What are you doing here?"
I looked around, surprised, and found a boy a little bit older than me. He was wearing brown pants and an orange shirt, but the orange shirt only covered one of his shoulders. He had weird blue tattoos. His face looked like he might care about me, just a little bit. Plus he sounded very worried, like I wasn't supposed to be wandering around alone. Him being nervous made me nervous, and suddenly I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. I felt really tired, like I'd spent all day playing with Aiko in the mud. I felt really lonely, too, and I started missing my mom so much that I actually broke down crying.
Well, it wasn't all out crying like I was some kind of girl, but I could feel tears in my eyes at least.
The boy put a hand on my shoulder. "You're a Bender."
Bender… I hadn't heard that word in a very long time. Bending wasn't something mom or dad talked about too much. I wasn't even all too sure what Bending was. Was that what I had been doing before I got here, in the time I couldn't remember? I thought harder than ever, remembered leaving Aiko at her house, walking home… I got really angry because one of the other kids was making fun of me, and he didn't have any reason for it at all except he had money and I didn't. So I jumped on him and then the next thing I knew all this water was attacking him and he ran away screaming.
Suddenly I just knew. Oh. I was a Waterbender. The word made me all shivery.
"I guess so," I said. "So does that mean…" I swallowed. "Does that mean that everyone I know thinks I'm crazy? That I'm walking around and talking to stuff that doesn't exist?" He shook his head.
"I can't really know for sure. I've never seen this happen, but I'm worried that this is my fault."
That didn't make much sense. "How could this be your fault? And how can you have never seen the Sickness before? It's been around since… since forever."
He didn't even pretend to answer my question. His eyes looked very sad. "What's your name?"
"Manchu."
"Are you ten years old yet?" he asked. I shook my head and he sighed. "They just keep getting younger…"
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You're in the Spirit World," he answered.
That place sounded familiar. "You mean that place where Yuudai—"
"Shh!" He put a hand over my mouth and looked quickly around. "Don't mention him here, understand? Some things still hold grudges against him." I nodded silently and he pulled his hand away.
Then I knew the one thing that I wanted. "Please, sir, can you help me?" It sounded strange to call someone my age sir, but if felt like the right thing to do. It seemed like the kid was actually a lot older than he was letting on. Older than anyone I knew or anyone still alive.
He shook his head no. "I can't send you back home. I'm sorry."
"But I want to go home!" I said. I felt those tears in my eyes again, but I wasn't going to cry a second time… well, I didn't really cry the first time either, but that wasn't the point. "I miss my—well, that is to say, I need to take care of my mom. And my friend, Aiko. How can I marry her if I'm here and she's there?"
He smiled at me, and I decided it looked a little sad. "She might join you soon enough."
I shook my head. "No, sir. I don't want her here. It's scary, and she'd start crying all over the place."
"Look," the boy whispered, glancing around. "If you really want to try to get out of here, look for Hei-Bai. He's like a gigantic panda bear. I'm going to try to find a more permanent solution." Then he was gone, and I was lonelier than ever. I started walking but I didn't know the ground and I tripped a lot. Soon I was soaking wet and I could have been crying—but I wasn't because I didn't cry—for all that I knew. I started to get really cold and scared, and I just wanted someone to help me get out. Without that kid there to help me, I didn't know if I would ever get out.
Find Hei-Bai, I reminded myself. Just have to find Hei-Bai, and then I can see Aiko again.
A/N: Sorry for the lateness of the update! I'm also sorry it's so short. Time just... slipped away from me this week, to be honest X.X
Thanks again for your review, Tainted :D I really like your guesses and your hyper responses. They make me smile, almost as much as the virtual cookies! Are you TRYING to make a female version of santa claus? You might succeed at that...
Anyways, this isn't technically a chapter. It's kind of like... an interlude. You can expect one every five chapters, just to help piece together things that Hikari can't experience. If you've got any questions/comments/concerns, shoot me a message or review! I'll still update on Wednesday, see ya on the flip side :)