Seeking Refuge | Neteyam

Chapter One

There was this phrase my mother always told me: "Even the darkest of stars brighten up the night sky."

When I was younger, I just thought it was silly. Her interests were specialized in the astronomy field after all, and I thought it was just one of her favorite fun facts. But as I grew older, I began to realize what she really meant. With every fall, every mistake, every obstacle and every injury, she always recited that little sentence to me. For the past fifteen years, she would repeat it.

And I listened. I figured she knew from experience--from her own hardships. She wasn't born Na'vi, and she would tell me stories about how she and Uncle Jake had to show that they were capable of genuinely being Na'vi; that they could adapt.

Eventually, my mind would just repeat the sentence every time I came across negativity. It became a mantra I would just repeat in my mind, over and over. It helped me connect back to the peace within me.

So here I sat, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Tree of Souls, allowing my mind to wander and find peace once more. Times had been extremely difficult lately as the Sky People continued to try and take our land. My mother, father, and I would go on the missions to ambush the Sky People, so we didn't have that much time to spend together. When we weren't on missions, dad was in meetings and mom was helping wherever she could.

I watched as woodsprites fluttered around, adding on to the gorgeous bioluminescence in this forest---the blues and greens and purples, all so vibrant.

A long breath drew from my lips as I rolled the beads of one of my bracelets between my fingers. My mother and father had a bracelet as well. It symbolized the love we have for each other in our family. I just wished it were back to simpler times. A year ago, we were living in peace and not hiding from our enemies. A year ago, we were running around the forests and exploring without fearing we might come across Sky People. A year ago, there was no war.

Even the darkest of stars brighten up the night sky.

"Ayn'at!" My ears twitched at my name, recognizing the familiar voice shouting and disrupting the peaceful silence. I felt a hand land on my shoulder as the boy dropped down beside me with a worried face. "We've been looking for you, bro! Why are you here? You look like Kiri when she does that weird thing!"

I smiled at his concern. "I am fine, Neteyam. Just thinking."

The excited grin on his face faltered as his expression softened. His hand dropped from my shoulder as he looked into my eyes. "Thinking about what?"

I laughed, "I do not know. Life, I guess."

He looked at me intently before allowing his expression to brighten again. "Well," he stood up and held a hand out to me. "Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk have been looking for you so we can eat dinner. Haven't you been hearing our calls?" He motioned to the necklace wrapped around our necks.

I shook my head, "I turned it off."

"What? Why?" I opened my mouth to speak but he shook his head. "You know what? Doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're back in time for dinner." He reached down and grabbed my hand as I didn't reach it up to place in his, and pulled me up off my feet. Before I knew it, he was dragging me through the forest and back to our hidden village in the mountains.

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"Ayn!" Tuk squealed as she ran out, jumping up into my arms.

"Hi, Tuk!" I smiled, holding the girl close to me.

"Where were you? We couldn't find you anywhere!" She dropped back down to the ground, looking up at me with her big, sparkly lime eyes.