Daughters of Mara - Book 1: Revelations

Chapter 4

"I'm Toru now, but my name was once Toph."

Saph's mouth fell open in shock. "T– Toph?" she stammered. "Beifong??"

That word caused a rueful grimace, though Toru seemed to recover quickly. "That's a dangerous name to say aloud. In fact, you shouldn't repeat any of our true names."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. But I'm right, aren't I?"

After a slight pause, Toru nodded, but Saph wasn't finished.

"I thought Toph Be– Er, I thought she was born like, a hundred years ago?"

"Almost a hundred and twenty-seven years ago, actually. She was my great-grandmother. Sadly, I never got to meet her. I was born a few months after she died, so my parents named me after her."

That explanation made perfect sense, but something else didn't. "I was always told that your whole family died when Zaofu was destroyed."

"Not exactly." Toru beckoned for her to follow to another room. It was a homey space, well-decorated with colorful drapes and full of comfortable-looking furniture. "Please, sit."

On her way to do so, Saph spotted something that made her turn and stare in shock. Photos weren't rare, exactly, though most of the ones that existed were from before the comet. It was the subject of the picture that stopped her in her tracks: An old woman with a bright smile had her arm around the shoulders of a second old woman who seemed far less enthused.

"Gran..." she murmured, picking up the picture to trace her trembling fingers over that familiar smile. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. This woman was younger than the Gran she remembered, but still recognizable.

Toru appeared at her shoulder. "I guess you never had any photos of her, did you?"

"Why do you?" Saph asked, blinking quickly. This was truly surreal, but the last thing she wanted to do was start crying.

A faint frown spread across Toru's face, green eyes darkening a little when dipped her head. "Let's sit down. We have a lot to talk about."

"What's going on?" Saph asked apprehensively, though she did attempt to get comfortable in a nearby chair. Mainly, she just wanted to curl up in a ball to protect herself from whatever unpleasant news this conversation would bring. What else could Toru's sudden mood shift mean?

"Koko asked me to explain some things to you."

"...Okay?"

"Did your parents ever tell you where you were born?"

"Just in some town," Saph said with a shrug. She'd never given it much thought. "Before the comet."

"Well...you were actually born in Zaofu."

"...What?! Really?"

"Your parents showed up there one day, looking for help. They'd been on their own for a long time, and they were in trouble. I'm about their age and remember it clearly." She sighed regretfully; in fact, she looked extremely uncomfortable. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but the woman you called 'Gran' was actually my grandmother. Her name was Suyin."

Saph let out a breath, feeling simultaneously relieved, awed, and slightly abashed for having made Toru assume she was breaking some dire news. "I know she wasn't actually my grandmother–"

"Oh!" Toru rubbed her temple with a rueful smile. "Okay. Heh, sorry. I– I wasn't sure what she'd told you."

"I didn't know the rest, though." Saph just shook her head. It was hard to believe Gran had been a Beifong. "But why hide it? She told me all kinds of stories about your family, but she never let on that she was part of it."