Avatar: The Last Waterbender

The Awakening

My eyes fluttered open. An unfamiliar room surrounded me. I looked down at myself and saw I was dressed in Earth Kingdom attire; a light green dress that went down to mid-thigh with dark green tights and brown boots. I got up and went to stand in front of a mirror. My long black hair was half down, half up in a braid with my bangs framing my tan face. The braid was decorated with light green flowers. My bright blue eyes stood out against all the green.

I turned when I heard someone come in and saw a boy around my age with tan skin, shaggy brown hair, and brown eyes. He seemed cute and full of energy.

"Hi!" He chirped merrily. "You must be new here. I'm--"

He stopped midsentence when he saw my face and just stood there staring.

"You are...?" I prompted him.

He snapped out of it and blushed madly. "Um, I-I'm Toru."

I bowed. "I'm Kaori. Do you have any idea how I got here?"

He seemed confused now. "I'm guessing through the door?"

"Hey! Toru!" Another guy came in who looked a lot like Toru only a bit older and with green eyes. The new guy looked at me. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kaori."

"Oh hi, I'm Akio, Toru's big brother."

"Only by, like, a year," Toru added quickly. "I'm fifteen, he's sixteen. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," I said.

Toru's face fell for a second, but then he beamed again. He mumbled, "Not too old. I still have a shot."

"W-wha...?"

"So anyway," Akio cut in, "why are you in our house?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "I just woke up in here."

"Ah!" A woman entered, followed by a man. "I see our guest has regained consiousness."

"Mom? Dad?" Akio said. "You know her?"

"Yes, she was found off the shore stuck in an iceberg! We offered to take her in."

"How strange," Akio mused, "that she mysteriously appeared on Avatar Day."

I blinked. "Avatar Day?"

"I love holidays!" Toru grinned at me. He came over and took my hands. "Come on, I'll show you around!"

Toru led me outside. The sun immediately blinded me and I squinted my eyes as we walked by the stalls. I tried looking at what the market stalls held, but Toru was half dragging me to a throng of people down the road.

"What's going on?" I asked as we made our way to the front. I saw a huge statue and, with a shock, realized it was Avatar Kyoshi. I smiled faintly as I gazed up at her. I noticed Toru was still holding my hand and released his. I looked over at him and he was facing away from me slightly, but I could see the red tint on his cheeks.

I turned my attention back to the statue. A man came up with a lit torch and the crowd cheered loudly.

I watched in horror as he set fire to the statue.