Prophecy (Sun and Moon Book 3)

Chapter 32 - Focus

Zuko had been walking forever.

That wasn't true, of course. It hadn't been more than half a day. A few more hours, and he'd reach Sen. The forest around him was alive, breathing and singing in the late morning light.

But Zuko couldn't enjoy it.

He placed one foot carefully in front of the other, walking slowly and deliberately. Each moment that passed was another moment that he didn't want to think about. If he thought, he would think about her.

About what she'd done.

And that was unacceptable. He needed to focus, take one step at a time. First, he would find his daughter.

He breathed in, then out.

He put one foot in front of the other.

He focused on the feel of his feet hitting the ground, each pebble that pushed a point into the bottom of his boots, each uneven stretch, each stick that tried to roll beneath him. He focused on the way the gentle breeze brushed his hair out of his eyes and sent his green Earth Kingdom shirt billowing around his narrow frame. He focused on the way the earth smelled, as if it had rained recently.

He focused on each step, the movement of his leg forward, the play of the sunlight across the ground through the trees, the rhythm of the birds' songs, the tracks where animals had played.

He was so focused on focusing that he didn't notice the building until its shadow touched him. He glanced up, surprised--then shocked.

It couldn't be what he thought it was... could it?

He walked around the little shack, and yes, it was. More rundown than he remembered, almost covered in vines.

But it was the shrine. The shrine where he and Katara had been married, so long ago.

Inadvertently his gaze went to his wrist, where the fire and water swirled across his skin. The elements were no longer touching each other--they were completely separate.

With sudden force, anger took Zuko, and he was swept away on its tide. Why had the spirits done this to them? For what? There wasn't a point to it, to all the pain and the heartache.

Why couldn't they have left them alone?

With purposeful strides, Zuko walked inside the building. Dust coated everything--it had been abandoned for awhile.

At the front of the room, near the altar, was the statue. The paint was peeling off the Lady of Hope, and it was hard to believe that she'd once been alive and glowing and speaking to them.

Hard to believe that she'd ever been anything but a broken, useless statue.

Zuko stalked up to it, his fists clenched and his body tense. He roared at the statue, flames pouring from his mouth.

They licked at her wooden frame, began to eat away at her.

Zuko sank to his knees before the burning statue, as the smoke slowly began to fill the room.

He bowed his head and pounded his fists on the floor, and he screamed out his pain.

"WHY?!" He glared into the void, the smoke caused tears to run down his cheeks and tickled his throat with the urge to cough. "Why did you do this to us? What was the point? Where you bored? WHAT?! Why? WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT?! There's nothing to gain here, just pain. We were doomed from the start and you knew it! WHY, BY AGNI, WHY?"

He touched his forehead to the floor, wishing in that moment that the smoke or the fire or both would consume him, and then he wouldn't have to worry about any of this ever again.

But as he laid on the floor of the abandoned shrine, half-crying, half-screaming with pain and rage, a strange thing happened.

The smoke began to turn to steam. Zuko's eyes stopped smarting and the urge to cough deserted him.

And a strange, familiar light began to fill the room. Zuko raised his eyes, and saw the Lady of Hope floating before him.

_____

So, I've been up since six this morning... guess what I've been doing? Cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. My whole trailer is spotless--but the sour milk smell won't go away!!

Here's what happened: there was a jug of chocolate milk in my fridge and I just never drank it and never drank it, and completely forgot about eventually. Well I got home from work last night to discover that it had imploded inside my fridge and there was sour chocolate milk all over everything.

NOT a pleasant smell, let me tell you. *gags*

I've bleach cleaned my entire fridge and the surrounding area, and there's a box of baking soda in the fridge. But THE SMELL WON'T GO AWAY OUTSIDE THE FRIDGE. 0.o

I can't find whatever is keeping the smell outside--the inside is almost odor free now.

T-T *sobs* and now I'm sitting here in the sour milk smell with a headache from it. :(

Yeah, that was my day. It sucked.

Anywho... here you go. I hope your day has been better than mine!