Sitting up, my hands flung to my chest as I heaved for air. Looking around as I gathered my breath back, I saw that I was not in the icy dungeon I had been in moments before- but my temporary bedroom in the Air Temple. Sliding back, I rested my back on the wall, closing my eyes. My hands shook against my chest, as I fought to get the images- the feelings erased from my mind. This dream had been one of the worst yet. Locked away in some freezing cell, I was abused- beaten. So much so that when I thought death was there, the torture continued on and on. I thought I was to live in a never ending array of pain- until I woke up. Safe and sound, and totally unharmed.
Pushing my hair back I twisted it into a knot that rested at my neck.
I can’t stay here- they’re getting worse! I need to get away- but where? I don’t want to go back to republic city, but I have no place- wait… There is one place I was always told I would always be welcomed… I wonder if the offer still stands after all these years. Well Bri, there’s only one way to find out. Looks like I’m heading home.
Later that morning, after a long-long- long meditation period, I sat with Tenzin for mid-morning tea. Tenzin took a sip of his tea, sitting the cup down.
“Something is wrong Zabri, what is it?”
Glancing up from my up touched tea cup, I tipped my head to the side.
“Well, Tenzin, it’s just that- I um, I’ve been getting some-um some bad dreams lately, and I uh, I think it’s a sign from my inner being that-that…”
“What? A sign for what?”
“I connected with my cousin Iroh, when he first came to the City, and I realized then how much I have missed my family. I believe my inner warfare is from the unsettled accounts with my family…I haven’t spoken to them in years, and now the guilt is weighing on me.”
“Zabri, what are you trying to say?”
“I’m sorry Tenzin, I really am, but I am leaving. I need to settle my accounts with my family if I am to have the inner peace so desperately sought after by Air Masters. I wanted to stay with you, and complete this vacation. But this is your family, not mine. It’s time I headed home.”
“I am guessing when you say ‘home’ you don’t mean Republic City, do you Master?”
Giving a sad smile, I shook my head, as I blinked back tears.
“No, I don’t.”
“When do you plan on leaving?”
“This afternoon, if not earlier.”
“How shall you get there?”
“Leza can fly, I plan on making a detour to Republic City to see Iroh and get my other glider. Once I arrive and see my family, then I will focus on fixing my broken one.”
“Well then you seem to have it all figured out, there is one last thing though…”
I was so scared at that moment. The conversation could go two ways- one good the other bad. For some reason, maybe my fear, I could only see it going down the darker path.
“You must make sure to say goodbye to the children, and promise to write when you will be returning to the City.”
~~~
“Oh bri, promise me you’ll be safe; you are like a daughter to me.”
“I promise Pema, you have been my mother figure for years.”
Pema released me from her warm
“You have to promise to write me every-single-day- got it? Because I want to know ALL about everything in there!”
YOU ARE READING
The Only Hope
Teen FictionThe world has changed, and continues to do so. Yet the stories of my family, of how they nearly both destroyed and saved the world, continue to live on. Their actions created the future which is my present. Though, it's not a very bright one at the...
