Revelations of a Runaway

1. Welcome to Republic City

The large boat finally arrived at the dock. It had been a long ride, and I was more than ready to stretch my legs. Stowing away on a cargo ship was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The ride over the sea was difficult with no one to talk to. The closest thing I got to social contact was avoiding the crew. That counted didn’t it? Sure, why not?

Anyway, I was sure Mother was looking for me by now. I doubted she was very happy about the whole thing. I mean, I did run away from home sort of. But I’m nineteen now! I’m too old to be cooped up like tomorrow’s chicken dinner. Ever since I heard from my grandmother about Korra leaving for Republic City, I have been so envious. I wish she would have waited until I came to visit. We could have run away together to the city.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Korra was too fiery to wait. When she decided something, it was right then and not next week. But that’s okay. Now that I was in the city as well, I’d find her, and we’d be up to our old tricks. As long as Uncle Tenzin didn’t find out I was here that is. He would ship me back to Mother in the Fire Nation faster than I could say, “Penguin sledding.”

Of course, he would tell me that I was her only child, that she’d tried for years to have me, and that she was only protecting me. I knew all of that. But I still couldn’t take it. She treated me like I was stupid. I knew she didn’t feel that way. Father didn’t either. But they acted like me being a non-bender made my life so much worse. Actually, I quite liked being a non-bender. It was not as bad as they thought or as the Equalists made it out to be. If only Uncle Bumi lived in Republic City… He would understand everything. Uncle Tenzin could never understand.

Most people didn’t understand how either Uncle Bumi or I could possibly be non-benders. My grandfather was the freakin’ Avatar for crying out loud! Truthfully, I didn’t understand much about it either. Mother came from a waterbender and an airbender while Father was the illegitimate son of Fire Lord Zuko, obviously a firebender, and an earthbender. I could have easily been any kind of bender out there. But I wasn’t. I was me. But I was happy.

Squatted behind a crate near the large door, I was ready to run for it. The moment the door opened, I would be out of there – finally. Ship rides were not my cup of lychee juice.

There! A ray of sunshine hit my eyes and made me stagger backwards a little. It had been a while since I had last seen you, oh wonderful and great sun! I blinked a few times until finally my eyes adjusted to the light. Then I bolted. Some of the crew members jumped when I appeared suddenly. Most of them didn’t know I was there, but this one guy in the background kept screaming, “I told you it was haunted! I told you! The ghost of a maiden – she was after my cabbages!”

I wasn’t a ghost! Okay, so I was really, really pale. My dark brown hair didn’t help my complexion any either, and my light blue-grey eyes did seem spooky at times, even to me. And maybe the white dress that I was wearing looked ghostly. It was very flowy. But I liked flowy stuff, and it wasn’t too difficult to run in.

I ran for a while. I had no clue where I was going. Of course, I didn't. I'd never been anywhere but my tiny Fire Nation village and the Southern Water tribe to visit Grandmother. Satomobiles filled the streets. I had seen one before. But only one. I'd never even imagined this many. I slowed down when my lungs started to ache. I was far enough away. Besides, what would those men do? Have me arrested?

I walked around aimlessly looking up at the tall buildings I'd found myself surrounded by. Everything was interesting. It was so much louder than anywhere I'd ever been. The smells, while unpleasant, were entirely new. The only thing about the place was the lack of green.

The city wasn't entirely lacking green though. During my exploration, I did find a few parks, places with ponds and rivers and lots of grass and trees. Some even had tons of flowers. I knew I could stay there for a long time and be happy.