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.
I sat on a bench in a large park for a long time before the sun started to set. That's when I realized that I had no idea where I was going to stay or what I was going to eat. So I got back up again and started to explore some more. If luck were on my side, I'd find someone kind who could help me.
The city completely shut down at night. They might as well have rolled up the sidewalks. It was dark, and I was a petite girl wandering by myself through the streets. If someone messed with me, I could do some damage though, so I wasn't scared. I may have not been a bender, but Father had insisted that I be trained as chi-blocker. I could paralyze someone temporarily from the neck down in under three seconds.
But I still relied on instincts when a group of four men came out of a bar drunk and started towards me. "Hey, baby! You wanna play with my fire?"
I'm sure I would have been able to take them. After all, they were under the influence, and I was almost always underestimated. But I ran. I was scared. I'd never been around anyone like them, so I just freaked.
I ran for a long time. I didn't ever even glance back to see if they were following me. Apparently, they weren't. I stopped when I reached a large, noisy building. It was lit up like a parade on Avatar Day - specifically last year's Avatar Day in the Southern Water tribe. Korra had just mastered earthbending, so it was a big celebration.
I couldn't help myself. I was too curious to walk away, so I entered the building. There wasn't a soul in sight, so I followed the arrows on the floor. At first, the hallway was dark and only muffled sounds came through the concrete walls. Then suddenly I was in a large arena. There were people everywhere, jumping and screaming.
Then I saw the six benders that everyone's eyes were on, and I realized where I was - in a pro-bending arena. I was watching a pro-bending match! I rushed down the steps to get as close as possible. If only Korra were there with me. She and I had dreamed of seeing a pro-bending match since we were little.
One of the benders in red was hit by water and flew off the back of the stage. "Aannnnd the Avatar is out for the round, folks! But the Fire Ferrets' bending brothers aren't going to give this match up! They're going for a knock-out!"
Avatar? Korra? Korra was playing in a pro-bending match? No way.
I saw Korra take her helmet off on the rising platform to a small room. It was definitely her, and I definitely had to find her.
"Excuse me," I said to an elderly man beside me. "How do I get to that room over there? The one where the Avatar is?"
"Like I'd tell you ridiculous fan girls even if I did know!"
"Wha - ?" The man walked off quickly. I guess I'd have to find it on my own.
I turned away as well and walked back up the steps briskly. I had to find it before the match ended, and she left. I ended up back at the entrance to the building, and I decided to go down the only other hallway there, the one that was designated for employees and pro-benders only. It seemed pretty obvious that she would be in that direction.
But I didn't get far down the hallway before I ran into yet another old man who demanded to know what I thought I was doing. "Bathroom?" I squeaked. It was the first thing I could think of.
"Do you fan girls think that's gonna work every time? Come up with something unique, and I might let you pass for the hell of it."
"Okay. The Avatar is my best friend, like a sister. My Grandmother was her waterbending master. And I was just in town to tell her something very important. You see, I - I, uh, just found out that her mom has a deadly disease. They thought it would be best for me to tell her."
"Oh, and what kind of disease does she have?"
"She has, uh - she has the Polar Anemia. She got it when she visited the Northern Water Tribe. The sudden change from one pole to the other was overwhelming."
"Sudden, huh? How'd she get there so fast?"
"Flying Bison. Master Katara has a Flying Bison," I said shakily. I was a terrible liar.
"Fine. Whatever. But next time practice your lie a little more." He turned away and left me in the empty hallway. But I could still hear him muttering, "Stupid fan girls."
I wasn't sure what these fan girls were, but dear lord, I didn't think I wanted to meet them. Everyone seemed to be annoyed by them.
I kept walking through the hallways for a while, but I finally decided that I had no clue how to find her. Of course, I didn't know how to get back out either. I was on the first floor though, so I just found a window and hopped out. I supposed I could go back to wandering the streets and avoiding drunken men. Fun.
The park wasn't far from the pro-bending arena. I wasn't so sure it was the same park, but the wooden benches wouldn't really be comfortable anywhere I went. So why not? I laid across the first bench I saw and closed my eyes... For about five seconds. There was no way I could sleep on a wooden bench in a random park.
I woke up with the rising of the sun. How had I slept? I jumped up and looked around. No one was there, and I seemed to be all in one piece. I guessed it would be okay, but it sure wouldn't happen again.
But I knew what I was going to do today at least. I was going back to the pro-bending arena. And I was going to sit on the steps until Korra showed up. She had to come by eventually. I mean, she pro-bended now. So obviously she'd go to the arena for practice, right?
The only problem was that I couldn't find the arena. At all. I walked around for hours, but everything looked different in the daylight. And no one would help me. The people around me were all too busy to help tourists. It's amazing how many nice people I had met since I'd gotten there.
I ended up in the park for a third time. But yet again I had no clue whether I was in the same park as I was before. It looked the same, but I felt like I was on the other side of the city.
"Brothers and Sisters! Come to the Revelation!" A man was shouting from atop a table. "Non-benders will not be oppressed any more!"
I didn't want to get caught up in the whole Equalist movement that Mother had told me about, so I avoided eye contact.
"Excuse me!" The man said hopping off the table. "Are you a bender, young lady?"
"No, I'm not, but -"
"Then come to the Revelation, Sister!" The man screamed at me before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Here take this. I'll write the address on the back. There's maps on these telling you were to go, but I'll save you the time."
"I don't want to go though. I don't want to be a part of any violence," I told him, handing the flyer back.
"Nonsense! There won't be any violence. Amon, our leader, has yet to become violent. It is simply a rally. You must come! Tomorrow night at nine. You have the address, Sister. And the flyer is your 'invitation' to the event."
I finally conceded and folded the paper up. I stuck it my satchel while the man watched me closely. I had to tell him that I would be there before he got back up on his table and left me alone. I trudged off in no particular direction after that. Well, I had something to do tomorrow night if I couldn't find somewhere to stay - which was highly unlikely. So it looked like I'd be going. Besides, what could it hurt to go to a rally and hear these idiots make fools of themselves?