CHAPTER 22: Twirls of division
"Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul."
Aang awoke with a start.
His heart was still racing from a vivid dream, and he blinked groggily in the calm morning breeze, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep as he sat up. The dream lingered in his mind, vivid and intoxicating, leaving him feeling both elated and slightly disoriented.
He had been soaring through the skies on his glider, the wind rushing past him as he performed graceful loops and spins. And amidst the clouds, he had seen her - Nii with her eyes like star filled shimmering dark ponds and a smile that lit up the world like the moon during midnight.
They had been flying together through thick and fluffy clouds, and he still remembered the feeling of joy bubbling in his stomach as he heard her giggling in between the white puffs.
Aang rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
He did not exactly feel well-rested.
As he stretched his body, the first light of dawn was beginning to creep over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the landscape around him. And his eyes soon landed on the archway leading inside the temple, which caused his thoughts to leave behind the dream and catch up on what had happened last night and why it had been hard for him to fall asleep.
Right.
Nii. His hand in hers. The pond. The twinkling stars. Her body bathed in moonlight. His body. Feeling ablaze. Her kiss on his cheek.
Aang reached up a hand to graze his fingers gently over the cheek that she had kissed.
It was as if he could still feel her kiss lingering there.
"You're beautiful, you know," she had said.
He had been so caught up by all of the emotions running through him, by his experience at the pond, by her challenging viewpoints and discovering new depths within himself that he had completely forgotten to tell her that he thought she was beautiful too.
It had been hard for him to fall asleep.
He had tossed and turned, his mind wild with all sorts of scenarios and questions in his head.
What if he had told her that she was also very beautiful to him?
What did she think of him not saying anything after she had shown him her body like that?
What if she thought he was weird?
What if she thought that he thought that she was weird?
What if he had kissed her cheek back?
What if he had kissed her?
What if he had bathed with her?
Aang closed his eyes and rubbed his hand along his neck, a deep sigh leaving his lips and twirling the crisp morning air around him.
What if she did not like him?
What if she did?
What if she did not know that he actually kind of liked her too?
Wait.
Did he like her?
"Morning," he heard a raspy voice say behind him.
Aang opened his eyes and shook his head slightly, turning his head to see the source of the sound.
He watched as Zuko and Katara joined him by the bonfire in the meditation garden.
They were holding hands.
Aang noticed dark circles under Zuko's eyes, and he wondered how their night together had been in the dormitory.
"Rough night?" Zuko asked before he lit up the fire.
"Yeah, I had, uh… A dream," Aang said, wondering whether he had dark circles under his eyes too.
He blinked his eyes a couple of times as to rub away the last remnants of his dream and what had happened the night before.
"Same," Zuko breathed through his teeth, and Aang furrowed his brows slightly as he saw a dark shadow gliding over his friend's face. He also noticed a look of concern in Katara's eyes while she poured rice into a pot.
Aang opened his mouth to ask about his dream, but at that moment, he noticed Nii walking towards them out of the corner of his eye, earning him to quickly clasp his lips shut.
He felt a rush of excitement bubbling in his stomach, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.
He could not help but to turn his gaze to follow her as she walked closer. He did really like the way her hips swayed with her every step. He remembered how they had looked yesterday in the moonlight.
When their eyes met, a jolt of recognition passed between them, sparking a connection that felt both profound and inexplicable.
He felt nervous all of a sudden.
She was smiling at him, and he could not help but to smile back.
He heard Katara snicker.
"Good morning, people," Nii chirped.
There was a sense of familiarity in her voice, as if it was echoing the bubbly feelings from his dream. It reminded him of the sound of birds singing at dawn.
"Good morning," Aang smiled dumbly.
He felt his body twitching slightly when he sensed her hand gently rest on his shoulder. He could feel her warmth through the light fabrics of his clothes and it washed over him, spreading from the point of contact like a gentle electric current and a comforting embrace at the same time.
It was as if she was silently reassuring him of something.
He just did not know what.
Soon, Toph and Sokka joined them by the fire, and they shared their breakfast rice together while discussing the plans ahead.
Zuko and Katara planned to travel back to the Fire Nation together in order for them to send off materials and manpower as soon as possible. Even though Katara suggested that her brother go to the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka argued that it would be best if he and Toph travel together to Ba Sing Se to ask for help from the Earth Kingdom.
Aang knew that he wanted to see Suki, so he made no further comments.
He himself wanted to stay at the Air Temple.
He wished to be there when the help arrived, welcoming everyone who wanted to offer him their help with the restoration.
In secret, he wished that Nii would stay there with him.
"I just don't get it," Nii's voice suddenly sounded out, and they all looked at her as she put down her empty bowl of rice.
She was gazing into the fire with a furrowed brow, frustration evident in her voice.
"And I guess I never have," she sighed with a shrug of her shoulders. "Hearing you guys speak about this nation and that nation. It just gets to me. Why is the world divided into four nations of benders? It just seems so… arbitrary, so… limiting."
The five friends exchanged glances as she spoke.
"I mean, think about it," she continued, gesturing animatedly as she spoke. "Earthbenders in the Earth Kingdom, Waterbenders in the Water Tribes, Firebenders in the Fire Nation, and Airbenders…"
She waved her hand at Aang, and he felt her eyes lingering on his face as he looked down at his hands in his lap.
A moment of silence passed by.
"Different benders," Nii went on with a slightly softer voice. "Each confined to their own separate corners of the world. But why? What's the purpose?"
Her voice soon grew more impassioned with each word, frustration giving way to a sense of urgency.
"I know it's probably because I was raised in a tribe of all sorts of benders and non-benders alike, but… Why can't we all just be together as one people? United by our shared spirit of humanity rather than divided by the elements? Again… It just doesn't make sense to me."
The group of friends listened in silence, absorbing the weight of Nii's words.
It was something that Aang had heard whispers of before.
He had thought the same thing many times. It was a sentiment shared by many, a longing for unity in a world still fractured by ancient divides. By history.
As he sat there, surrounded by the beauty of nature and his friends yet burdened by the weight of division, he could not help but wonder if there would ever come a day when the barriers between nations would finally crumble, allowing humanity to rise above the limitations of the past and forge a new path forward, together.
Aang locked his eyes with Zuko, who was staring at him with a strange expression on his face that Aang did not necessarily recognize at first.
However, the strange light in Zuko's eyes caused a sense of hope to well up within him, filling his chest with a lightness that he had not felt in a long time.
It was like an idea sparked within them both at the same time.
They both opened their mouths to say something, but Nii's words stopped them.
"Anyways, I've really enjoyed spending time with you guys. But I think maybe it's time for me to get back to my village. I don't wanna overstay my welcome. I'm glad that I was able to help you just a little bit, Aang."
Aang widened his eyes, and he felt his heart sink like stone in his chest as her words reached his ears, their impact hitting him with a force that he had not anticipated.
He looked at her with wide eyes, and he felt his mouth fall open as the news hung heavy in the air around him, casting a shadow over the warmth and light of the day.
She just looked at him with a sweet smile.
He felt disoriented.
For a moment, he just sat there in stunned silence, his mind struggling to process her words. The thought of her leaving now was like a dagger to his heart, piercing him with a pain that he would never have anticipated.
"Um, Nii…" Katara said with her eyes resting on Aang's face for a short moment. "I'm sure that… We really appreciate your help and all, but… I mean, you're welcome to stay a bit longer if you want."
Aang felt a lump form in his throat as he struggled to find words, any words.
He wanted to reach his hand out to her, and ask her to stay.
His heart pounded in his chest.
There were so many things that he had not shared with her.
He did not want her to go.
"Thank you Katara," Nii smiled, before she rose to her feet. "But I just have this feeling that my village needs me. I think I need to go now."
"Too late," Toph suddenly uttered in a stern voice, causing everyone to turn their gaze in her direction. "Some of them are already here."