Lost Loved Ones

My mother and I have a lot in common, but the thing that sticks out the most is the fact that neither of us have fathers. Well, we do, but we both grew up without them. I once asked my mother at diner what happened to our fathers. She nearly choked upon my question, but once she cleared her throat she said,

“Well, from what Grandma Lee told me before she passed was that my father, your grandfather, was a strong Watertribe warrior. He wasn’t a bender though, nor was she, and he was very close to the Avatar.”

I myself almost choked, “What?! The Avatar?!”

My mother took a sip of her drink and nodded.

I was at complete awe.

“Wow, so you’re a descendant of the Fire Nation and the Watertribe, complete opposites, and your dad, my grandpa, knew the last Airbender, Aang!” I felt like I was royalty.

“What about my father?” I asked this eagerly though it was a subject I knew my mother would rather not discuss.

“He--he was also part of the Watertribe, the Northern one to be exact, and he was a Waterbender, like you.” She replied with resent in her voice.

“Oh…does he have a name or is he nameless like grandpa?” Grandma Lee never told my mother her father’s name and I wasn’t looking for a repeat of that between my mom and I. 

“Nameless,” she replied back almost instantly.

“Mhm,“ what a lie, “So where are they now?”

My mother sighed, “I believed my father would’ve passed by now and I’m not sure about your’s.” She got up to put her dish in the sink.

I started to think--to think about whether my mother ever had this conversation with Grandma, whether she ever thought about looking for her father. At the moment all I wanted to do was play detective and find my father, but my mother would never let me, let alone give me enough clues to do so. 

“Why did they leave our lives,” I blurted out. I didn’t mean to, but I was kind of glad I did.

“Uh,” my mother was caught off guard, “Apparently, it wasn’t going to work out between Grandma Lee and grandpa, so he left after he found out Grandma was pregnant with me, and your father wasn’t ready and left without a trail two days after you were born.”

There was a moment of silence. I didn’t even notice the tear roll down my left cheek when my mother ran over and hugged me saying that it wasn’t my fault.

“It’s not that,” I replied, “It’s just so many things are left unknown. Like I can’t even picture what he looks like because everyone says I look more like you than anything.”

“Now you know why you’re so beautiful,” she was trying to cheer me up.

I looked up, into my mother’s eyes, “Could you try to tell me what he looks like?”

With a gulp she replied, “From what I can remember, he was tan…with blue eyes like your’s--”

“But you have blue eyes too,”

“Yes, but your’s are more like his,” lies, “Oh, and he definitely didn’t have blonde hair like you.”

That was one of the only traits I didn’t share with my mother along with my ability to Waterbend and my tan skin.

“I think that one was a mutation,” she continued, “I’m sure you’re the first blondie there is. You could start a whole blonde population.”

It was true. I’m the only blonde in the books.

“Honey,” my mom started, “The truth is, I really don’t know why our fathers didn’t stay to raise us and I know exactly how you feel.”

“But mom…” my voice trailed off.

“Yes, Lee?”

Lee is my nickname, my real name is Leekri--named after my Grandmother, obviously.

“What if--” I couldn’t make the words come out of my mouth.

“’What if’ what, sweetie?” My mother was growing concerned.

“What if I lose you?” My biggest fear.

“Listen,” my mother gently took my face, so that I would be forced to look her directly in the eyes, “Hopefully that won’t be for a very long time.”

I think right then and there my mother jinxed herself for one year later, present date, she had passed away due to an unknown disease and I was now on my way to my dearest loved one‘s funeral.