We were on our way to Omashu, a city in the Earth Kingdom because Aang wanted to check another thing off that bucket list of his, not sure what it was this time but it must be something crazy.
We eventually arrived at the top of the hill overlooking the city of Omashu with its sandy dunes and its mighty walls. We alight from Appa, all of us taking in the view before us.
"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang declared excitedly. "I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi."
"Wow. We don't have buildings like this in the South Pole!" Katara said in awe.
"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka commented.
"Really, Sokka?" I glanced at Sokka weirdly. "Nevermind, I'm just not used to your way of thinking."
"Well, what do you think?"
"Well," I pause. "I don't really have anything to say."
"See, at least I can think of something to say," Sokka riposted.
"Fine," I sigh. "I'll let you have that one."
"Well let's go, slow pokes. The real fun's inside the city!" Aang leaps in front of us exuberantly, sliding down the hill before Katara's voice halted him in his tracks.
"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar. You too, Suzume."
Sokka's playful tone from earlier metamorphosed into a more serious one. "Aang, you definitely need a disguise, and so do you Suzume."
"Nuh-uh," I shook my head in defiance. "No one knows about me being the second Avatar, except for well, Zuko and the Fire Nation and potentially some other people from Kyoshi Island but no one will recognise me as the Avatar here."
"Yeah, Suzume's got a point. People won't recognise us here. Besides, what am I supposed to do? Grow a moustache?" Aang questions sarcastically.
Sokka pulls some fur from Appa, shaping them into a fake moustache and a wig, two to be exact for both Aang and me.
"You're not making me wear that," I said plainly.
"It's for your own good Suzume," Katara encourages.
I sigh, letting Sokka place the wig on my hair just after he finished putting Aang's disguise on for him. "This is so itchy," I complained.
"It's only going to be for a little while," Katara consoled.
Sokka stands back, observing both our looks and looking pleased with himself. "Great! Now both of you look just like my grandfather and grandmother."
"Technically, Aang and Suzume are both 112 years old," Katara points out. 'She has a point.'
Aang picks up his staff, spinning it around before placing it upright on the ground. He begins using it as a walking stick, hunching his back and leaning heavily against it.
"Now let's get to skippin', young whipper-snappers. The big city awaits!" Aang begins sauntering to the path that leads to Omashu and I run up to him, both of us leading the way while Katara and Sokka trail us.
"Alright, I need to know how you act like that because I have no idea how to act like an old person."
"You're 112 years old too Suzume, just act your age," Aang chuckles before going back into his role of an old man.
"Uhhh, I guess I could try." I continue walking normally, having no intention of acting old.
After walking for what seemed like hours, we finally make it to the gates of Omashu. Three sentries stand attention at the gate, eyeing us in an aloof manner.
Before we could further approach the gate, one of the sentries stamps his foot on the ground and raises his arm, raising a bolder out of the and levitating it above Aang's head menacingly. 'Whoa, earthbending.'
"State your business!"
"My business is my business, young man," Aang rushes forward to the sentry with a subtle gust of wind, the boulder mere inches in front of the three of us that were standing behind Aang. "and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"
I see Katara shaking her head, her shock seeping into her features. Thinking on my feet and preventing things from getting out of hand, I quickly try to salvage the situation.
I walked past the boulder and grabbed Aang's hand firmly, speaking in the most elderly voice I could muster. "I'm so sorry. My husband's a little grumpy today, he didn't mean anything he said. Come on now dear, move away from the young man."
Aang glanced at me in stupefaction, blushing slightly before he masked it, maintaining the expression he had before.
I point at Sokka and Katara. "And those two fine kids back there are my grandchildren."
"Aw, you didn't have to say that grandma," Katara smiled awkwardly.
The sentry nods in approval at me, "You seem like a responsible wife, make sure you keep your husband out of trouble."
"Oh, I will, young man, don't worry." I smile at the sentries as they step aside, letting us pass through and opening the gates for us.
"Wait a minute!" Aang and I turn back anxiously, looking at the guard who had now grasped Sokka's shoulder. "You're a strong young boy! Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag!" 'Phew.'
"Good idea!" I release Aang's hand as he releases the bag he was carrying, tossing it to Sokka who catches it in annoyance.
I smile to myself, snickering inwardly as I walked past the gate and grateful to see it close once the four of us had reached the other side.
I breathe a sigh of relief, as do the others.
"Great acting, Suzume," Katara praised. "We would've been in serious trouble if not for you."
"Maybe Aang had a plan, who knows? I might've gotten a little too nervous when Aang spoke to the sentry that way and jumped in. And I'm sorry for holding your hand Aang back there, I got a little anxious and I did what came to mind," I look away shyly and feeling heat singe my cheeks, the feeling only lasting momentarily, though I did not know why.
Aang waves it off casually, "Don't worry about it Suzume. That was some great improvisation. Anyway," Aang points at the tubes and chutes around the city. "This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."
Sokka crosses his arms, clearly unimpressed. "Great, so they get their mail on time."
"They do get their mail on time but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes," Aang squints his eyes mischievously, recounting how he and his friend Bumi used to slide down these very chutes while he lead us to one of the mail chutes. 'He sounds like one crazy man and I can see where Aang is going with this now.'
When we finally reach the mail chute which was at the top of a slope, I felt my heart almost freezing in my chest in pure shock. I immediately began regretting following Aang and wanted to turn back as soon as possible.
"Aang, it's great that you remember your friend and I love your enthusiasm but I feel kinda scared," I rubbed my neck nervously.
Aang starts to get in the mail chute, "Come on Suzume, remember what I said, a bender must have no fear, it'll be fun!"
"Aang, I feel like Suzume's right. I'm beginning to have second thoughts," Katara admitted, though Sokka seemed unfazed, getting into the chute along with Aang with an unmoved expression.
"Aww, come on girls!" Aang urged, giving us his best puppy face. "We'll only have one ride. Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honour."
Both Katara and I exchange uneasy looks and again, against my better judgement, I enter the chute together with Katara. 'It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine,' I constantly remind myself.
Without warning, Aang pushes the cart down and we speed down at almost the speed of light, my heart almost ejecting itself from my ribcage. Among the screams that pierced the air, I'm pretty sure mine was the loudest.
In a track parallel to us, a cart of spears appear next to us, almost slicing my head in half if I hadn't ducked down in time.
"I'm on it!" Aang shouts, rocking the cart side by side until it came off the tracks and landed on a random roof, continuing in its descent. "That's another thing about airbenders Suzume, they must be able to think on their feet."
I glower at Aang, "Seriously Aang? Not a good time for lessons!"
Our cart bounces on the ground for a second, disrupting some soldiers' meeting and bounces back up, crashing through a railing and colliding into another cart. The cart subsequently bounces back onto the chute.
"Aang, do something! Use your airbending!" Katara yelled in fear.
"Yeah! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster! Suzume, this is a good time to practice your airbending too!"
I sigh, knowing I was making a bad decision. I imitate Aang, slashing my arms outwards. A huge gust of wind pushes our cart, making it go double the speed it was going prior to this.
"Suzume, Aang, that's now what I meant!" Katara shouted.
We continued sliding down until we could finally see the end of the chute, where an Earth Nation soldier was awaiting the arrival of the next cart. Just as he bent a cart away, another cart appeared and of course, our rotten luck would have our cart crashing into it headfirst and sending our cart off the chute and along with it, the people in the cart which were us.
I quickly airbend, using gusts of winds to keep me afloat for as long as possible along with Katara and Sokka. In the meantime, Aang was able to overturn our cart with airbending of his own and I breathe a sigh of relief, using a gust of wind to direct the three of us back into the cart.
We ended up crashing through another man's house for what seemed like the umpteenth time today, with Aang shouting his apologies and just as I was wondering when our ride would come to an end, our cart comes to a halt when we crash through a parapet and our cart landed on a man's cabbage cart.
Guards promptly encircle us, rightfully glaring at us just as both Aang and my disguises came off, not that the guards seemed to care or know who we were.
We were eventually detained and taken to the royal palace, understandably to be rightfully charged for our crimes.
We were made to stand in front of an elderly king in the throne room, who simply looked at us questioningly.
The guards behind us force us into a kneeling position while one of them explains our crimes, "Your Majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, travelling under false pretences, and malicious destruction of cabbages." The guard peered at the king inquisitively. "What is your judgement, sire?"
"Throw them," the king raises his hand threateningly and I shut my eyes in fear, "a feast!" 'What?'
I breathe a sigh of relief, as do the other three. "I think we should start committing more crimes in the Earth Kingdom."
"Suzume!" Katara chided quietly.
I grin sheepishly as we were led to a dining room, where a long table lay abundant with food of all sorts. We were all given seats, with plates and cutleries already set before us. 'Finally some food.'
The elderly king walked around us as we sat down and leaned in over Aang, observing him."The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."
"Thanks, but I don't eat meat," Aang declined.
"How about you?" The Earth King walks over to Sokka. "I bet you like meat," he then stuffed a whole drumstick into Sokka's mouth, who pulls it out quickly.
"Is it just me, or," Katara turns her finger beside her temple in a circle. "is this guy's crown a little crooked?"
"Yes, it does seem that way," I whispered, helping myself to every little bit of food on the table and enjoying them thoroughly.
The king takes his seat, staring directly at Aang. "So tell me, young bald one, where are you from?"
"I'm from," Aang pauses for a second to come up with something. "Kangaroo Island!"
"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping!" The king jests and as expected, silence hung heavily in the air until for some reason, Sokka starts laughing at his joke but stops after realising no one was joining him.
"What? It was pretty funny."
The king lazily stretches his arms and yawns, "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay."
The king seemingly about to take his leave, turns his back to us and when everyone least expected it, he hurls a chicken leg at Aang who instinctively airbends a miniature sphere of air at it. 'Dang it, why would he even do that? I hope Aang keeps silent about me being the Avatar.'
Just as my thought came to pass, Aang glanced in my direction, nodding his head reassuringly quickly before turning back to face the Earth King once again. 'Wait, how did he know what I was thinking?'
"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" the king gazes at Aang expectantly.
"Okay, you caught me," Aang raises his hands up in surrender. "I'm the Avatar. Doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out," Aang looks underneath the table."No firebenders here. So, good work, everybody!" Aang pulls the three of us in a hug. "Love each other, respect all life," Aang begins dragging us back with him to the door sneakily. "and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!"
Our escape attempt was unsuccessful as alas, there were two guards at the doorway that crossed their spears, preventing our escape.
"You can't keep us here! Let us leave!" Katara urged.
"Lettuce leaf?" the king asks in confusion, taking a lettuce leaf from the table and biting it.
"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts," Sokka whispered.
"Yes, I think we're all fully aware of that!" I snapped hushedly.
"Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges," the king announces nonchalantly. 'Oh no.' "But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."
The guards promptly did as they were told, leading us to a seemingly plain wall but after they earthbent the wall, they shoved us into our chambers, a room that contained four beds that were neatly aligned, two jade-green lamps and three green drapes adorning the otherwise barren room.
"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice," Katara comments.
Momo jumps off Aang's shoulders just as Sokka begins speaking, "Nice or not, we're prisoners!"
"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be," Aang pondered.
"No Aang, you won't be taking those challenges. I'll take it in your place," I argued firmly.
"What? I would never let you do that for me, Suzume. Besides, you just started learning airbending and the king doesn't know you're the second Avatar," Aang protests.
"Well, we're not sticking around anyway so both of you won't need to worry. There's got to be some way out of here," Katara rubs her chin in thought.
"The air vents!" Aang points excitedly to the other side of the room. The air vent in question was just an infinitesimal hole.
"If you think we're going to fit through there, you're crazier than that king," Sokka comments harshly.
"We can't, but Momo can!" Aang grabs Momo. "Momo, I need you to find Appa and bust us outta here!" He then runs to the air vent, desperately trying to get him through but to no avail so he gives up trying, leaving Momo stuck in the hole in the process.
I sigh, walking over and pulling the poor creature out of the air vent. Momo looks at me appreciatively before running back to Aang.
"Eh, how was Appa supposed to save us anyway?" Sokka questioned.
"Appa's a ten-ton flying bison; I think he could figure something out," Aang explained before ultimately resigning to flopping onto his bed as I do on mine, letting darkness slowly consume my vision.
Time Skip
Early in the morning, I was awoken rather roughly by a guard who bound me by my hands and covered my mouth so I couldn't scream for help. I tried resisting and freeing my hands so I could airbend but to no avail, his grip was too strong.
The guard leads me out of the cell to a secluded place along with Katara and Sokka, who had guards of their own watching them. After a while of waiting, the guards earthbend an opening, revealing Aang and the king.
Aang glances at us in concern then glances at me for a split second and for some reason, I could hear his voice giving me advice even though he wasn't speaking at that particular moment. 'Don't say anything Suzume, don't tell them you're the second Avatar.'
'How did he do that?'
Aang turned back to face the king, "I will give your friends some special souvenirs." The guard holding me unties my hands, slipping some crystalline structure onto my finger and the moment it touches my finger, it tightens around it. I try frantically to pull it off but to no avail.
"Those delightful rings are made of pure jennamite, also known as creeping crystal," the king explained. "It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall, your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible thing, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."
The crystal begins to grow, covering my knuckles. "Ahh, it's already creeping!" 'Can I airbend this thing off me? Nope, I don't think so.'
Aang glares at the king, "I'll do what you want."
We follow Aang to his supposed first challenge. Katara, Sokka, the king and I were standing on top of a balcony overlooking a waterfall in a cave abounding with stalagmites. In the middle of the cave, a key seemed to be hanging, bound to the cave's ceiling by a metallic chain which was in turn bound by a stalagmite. There was also a ladder leading up to the key in the very middle of the waterfall, though I doubt climbing the ladder would lead to much. The crystal on my finger began growing larger, almost covering half of my entire left hand.
"It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry. Ooh, there it is!" The king points at the waterfall. "Would you mind fetching it for me?"
Aang begins jumping through the stalagmites, attempting to climb the ladder to retrieve the key but he was pushed back by torrents of water into the stalagmites.
"Ooh, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before," the king laughs sarcastically. 'I really want to knock the teeth out of this old man.'
Aang didn't seem to get the old man's memo, trying to dive into the waterfall again, this time from above, but it didn't work. Aang looked up and I finally saw realisation dawn upon his features. He sends an arc of air at the stalagmite, slicing it off cleanly and making it land directly above the king's face with the key still fastened onto it.
Aang crossed his arms impatiently. "There! Enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back now!"
"Ah, not yet," the king crosses his hands pleadingly. "I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet, Flopsie."
We were on the move again, the king leading us to a deep sunken enclosure. We stood above the enclosure as Aang descended it. By now, the crystal had already grown to the full length of my left arm, it was hard to even move it.
A rabbit stood in the middle of the enclosure as Aang stood behind it. "Okay! Found him!" 'It can't be that easy.'
"Bring him to me. Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsie!"
"Come here, Flopsie," Aang calls and suddenly, a gigantic furry creature leaps down behind Aang. "Huh?"
The rabbit squeals in terror, bolting across the arena to seek shelter from the beast. "Flopsie, wait! Flopsie! Flopsie!" Aang was hot on his heels but ultimately was unable to capture it after it slid under a hole.
I see realisation once again dawn upon Aang's features just as the gigantic creature came charging towards him, "Wait a minute, Flopsie?"
Aang stands still as the creature reaches Aang but instead of attacking him, he picks Aang up and licks him. "Flopsie!" 'That was close.'
The king promptly whistles and Flopsie climbs up from the enclosure, rolling onto his back and letting the king rub his belly. "Oh, that's a good boy. Yes, who has a soft belly?
In the meantime, Aang jumps up to where the three of us were. "Are you guys okay?"
I look at the crystals that had by now encased my entire body except for my leg and my head. "Other than the crystals slowly encasing my entire body, doing great! But you didn't need to do this Aang, I coul-"
Aang cuts me off. "I did what I had to do and I'll finish it." Aang then jumps over to the king, looking him in the eye with an expression that oozed determination. "Come on! I'm ready for the next challenge."
The king laughs evilly, leading us to the destination of the final challenge, an arena that looked like it was well-tailored for earthbending.
"Your final test is a duel. And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent." Two strong men appeared on the left and right of the king, both staring at Aang menacingly with axes in their hands. "Point and choose."
"So...you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Aang asks.
"Choose wisely!" Bumi gestures. I gaze at Aang worriedly, hoping desperately that he could hear what I was thinking. 'Choose the old king, please choose the old king Aang.'
My wish was answered when Aang casts a brief glance back at me, nodding silently in acknowledgement before turning back to face the three men in front of him.
"I choose you," Aang points at the king. 'Good choice.'
"Wrong choice!" The king clenches his fists and begins grunting, growing taller and straightening himself. He removes his robes, revealing a powerfully-built body beneath his feeble facade. He stamps on the floor, earthbending Aang off the balcony and sending him flying into the arena. 'Of course, he's a powerful old man, have to love our luck.'
The king jumps down into the arena, "You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see."
"Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?" Aang questions nervously.
"There are no take-backsies in my kingdom. You might need this." The guard from above tosses Aang his staff.
The battle commenced with the king earthbending a few rocks in Aang's direction, who dodged all of them in his typical airbender style.
"Typical airbender tactic, avoid and evade. I hoped the Avatar would be less predictable."
The king bends more rocks at Aang but he just dodges and evades them even more, flying up in the air with the assistance of his staff. "Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later you'll have to strike back!"
The king directs a boulder at the ceiling, the smaller pieces of rocks formed from the boulder knocking Aang back down to the arena. Aang then gets up, dashing at the king while avoiding the rock pillars that were erupting from the floor unremittingly. One of them eventually hits him, sending him back down to the ground. "You'll have to be a little more creative than that!"
I grunt as I experience sudden pain shooting up my chest, it was as if I was experiencing the same pain Aang was for some reason. 'Why does that even happen?'
Aang gets up again, this time switching up his strategy. He creates some sort of air scooter (I'll have to ask him to teach me that later), zooming past all the obstacles in the arena and launching a huge air blast at the king who immediately blocks it with a huge slab of rock.
"Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?" The king stamps the ground again, bending a wave of rocks in Aang's direction which sends him halfway across the arena.
My eyes were fixated entirely on the match when suddenly, the crystals enshroud my view of the arena, the crystals by now encasing my entire body. I felt my breath hasten, my pulse accelerating in fear until a familiar and seemingly bottomless power seized control of my body and my senses. I felt my eyes begin to glow, once again reunited and armed with a seemingly depthless supply of strength and a boundless understanding of bending.
'Since the crystals are made from minerals from the earth, I should be able to earthbend it.' And sure enough, the crystal structure dismantled itself at my mind's behest, the shards flying in all directions.
I leapt down into the arena, my feet guided by some otherworldy spirit as it stamped on the ground, making pillars of rocks appear all over the arena, targeting the king. He simply laughs, riding on a wave of rocks toward me. I stomped onto the ground in front of me, a huge crack in the middle of the arena forming and splitting the arena in half. I hold my palms out in front of me, powerful air currents gushing out of them towards the king and sending the king flying to the opposite side of the arena like a doll swept aside by a strong tornado. The side of the arena I was standing on also began to shift away from the side we were on.
"Suzume, stop!" Aang urged, his eyes also glowing as he stared into mine. "Please, you're going to hurt him."
I relent, feeling the immense power and my once complete understanding of bending depart my body. My eyes stop glowing and I feel my legs buckle, exhaustion clinging on to me now as I feel myself collapsing, Aang arriving just in time to hold me.
"Are you okay, Suzume?"
"Yeah, I am. Thanks for stopping me there, I don't know what got into me back there," I smiled weakly.
Aang simply returns it before the king emerges, laughing his peculiar laugh again, "It seems that the rumours are true, we really do have a second Avatar and she earthbends exactly like Kyoshi."
"Well done, Avatars. Both of you fight with much fire in your heart," the king praises and I get up woozily, Aang still grabbing hold of my hand while glaring at the king.
"Well, you've passed all my tests," the king stares at Aang. "Now, you must answer one question."
"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests," Aang argued.
"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"
"Oh, come on!" Sokka protests from afar.
"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What ... is my name? From the looks of your friends I'd say you only have a few minutes," the king walks away from Katara and Sokka before any of us could oppose.
Aang and I both leap up to them using airbending, although my leap was a little unstable because I was exhausted.
"Suzume, you should have earthbent us out of these crystals before you went to fight the king !" Sokka complained, staring at me in disappointment. "But who am I to argue with someone who just did all that?"
"Sorry," I smile sheepishly. "I was only focused on attacking that annoying king and besides, I had no control over what I was doing."
"It's okay, Suzume," Katara consoled. "We have to think about it, what if all the challenges were some sort of riddle? Or what if they had something in common?"
"Wait a minute," I pondered for a while, thinking back to all the challenges. "Although the goal of the first two challenges was quite simple to understand, they required unusual solutions, not the ones that seemed evident from the very beginning. It's almost like each challenge required you to think outside the box or," I paused.
"Or think of crazy solutions!" Aang exclaimed. "I know who the king is!"
Time Skip
We finally get the guards to escort us to the king and Aang explains how we arrived at the solution, "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges and by what Suzume said," He shoots a smile in my direction which I gratefully return. "As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities. Bumi, you're a mad genius."
Aang and Bumi embraced each other like long-lost family members. "Oh Aang, it's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally."
I clear my throat, interrupting their moment. "Could you please free Katara and Sokka?"
Bumi breaks the crystals by clenching his fist, shards of crystals flying in all directions, I even had to dodge one of them.
"Jennamite is made of rock candy," Bumi grabs one of the crystal shards and munches on it. "Delicious!"
"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Katara questions.
"Who are you calling old? Okay, I'm old," Bumi admitted.
"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked.
I folded my arms across my chest. "Yeah, you should've told us earlier and uh," I paused. "I'm sorry for what I did to you earlier."
"Ah, it's okay Suzume. First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," Bumi snorts. "But I do have a reason. Aang and now Suzume, both of you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar, now two Avatars to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. Both of you have much to learn even though you did just split the earthbending arena in half, Suzume," the earth king laughs his weird laugh while I look away in embarrassment. "Both of you must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when both of you do, I hope both of you will think like mad geniuses. And it looks like both of you are in good hands. Both of you will need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation," Momo climbs onto Aang, reminding us of his presence. "And you'll need Momo, too."
"Thank you for your wisdom, but before we leave, I have a challenge for you." When I saw the mischievous glint in Aang's eyes, I immediately knew what he would do.
"You and King Bumi go ahead, I've had enough adventure today. I'll be heading back to Appa so enjoy yourself Aang."
Katara nods in agreement, "Yeah, same here Aang."
"Me too," Sokka said.
"Well, suit yourselves," Aang shrugs, walking out of the room with King Bumi. The three of us walk back to Appa, exhausted and enervated by the day that had passed us.