Letters From Iroh

Trip

At the lunch table, the five-Flavor soup was set out in five small bowls, one for each member of my family. My brother and his fiancé were sitting next to each other, and my mother and father were on either side of them, leaving a space for me at the head of the table. I sat down, and began to take little sips of the soup. It was good.

"Good morning, or, well, afternoon, dear." My mother said, nicely.

"Hey." I said, somewhat absentmindedly, looking up through my messy hair.

"What's up sis? Had another nightmare? Looks like it. Or was it that you woke up to write in your journal? Or did you finally write him back? Huh? What happened?" Matki sarcastically cooed in between slurps of soup.

Wow. Sometimes I though Matki spied on me.

"No. I didn't write him back. I do feel better though. I may go out to see someone."

My family all stopped eating, staring at me.

"Who?" they asked in awestruck unison.

"Gosh. You guys. No, I'm not going to see anyone important. I'm just going to go visit Sidka. I haven't seen here since I've been here, and went off to college a while ago. I needed time to adjust and Sid understands that. I'm just going to go see her in the marketplace. It's just on the adjacent side of Yue Bay. It's not in the city, but I'll still need the boat to get there."

"Woah! B, you're goin' to see Sid! Let me come!" Matki exclaimed. "She was always my favorite friend of yours."

"No, Mat. Sorry. I have to go talk to her alone. I apologize, guys." I sighed. "I'll be back this evening. I'll bring back some bubble water and celery and carrots for the next batch of soup." I started to get up to leave. "Sidka and I are just going to meet and head over to a kiosk to eat or something. I'll see you guys in a few hours."

"See you later hon." My dad said after a long pause. "Also, you should remember to write BSSU back. They've been sending you letters for the past few months nonstop. Are you sure you don't want to try to go back and get your old job? The Headmaster knows you could still perform it well. You know it wouldn't hurt," he said, jerking his head over to a stack of letters piling up by the radio. "They really miss you over at the United Forces."

"I don't know, Dad." I felt antsy. "I gotta go you guys. Sidka may already be there." I knew she probably wasn't. She was always late. "Can I take the sailboat? I know we have a couple other motorboats, but I'd like to take the sailboat." I asked, with a somewhat higher-pitched voice.

"Sure, hon." It's docked next to Rian's speed boat." My Dad said somewhat angrily. "Stupid Rian doesn't know where to park his stupid big boat. Makin' our house look small with his stupid big plants...." My dad went on mumbling about Rian, our neighbor who always was in "friendly" competition with my Dad for various things. I saw my chance to slip out.

I ran down to our boathouse, to where the small sailboat was. It was a nice boat, despite its size, and it had a large, crimson-red sail. I untied the rope, and using a blast of my waterbending, pushed the boat out into the deep blue waters of Yue Bay. Out on the water, the sea, I felt at home.

Even if it was a short distance I was going, I liked to pretend I was on the open ocean, miles away from home. As I sailed I looked up at the sky, the clouds fluffy and white. I glanced at the waters. The afternoon sun shined down on them, making them sparkle and dance in the trade winds that blew little gusts of water over each other. As I sailed on, I thought back to the night that the ship was mended, the second night I knew Iroh, and the first night I really got to know him.

I remember, after all the reporters left that the crew was tired, but I felt somehow thrilled by all the attention from the media. So, during the hours after the reporters first left, the crew slept in, while I stayed awake in my room, pacing around and thinking. The main duties of the sip were taken care of, and, since the ship was docked at Whale Tail Island for repairs, the men woke up later that evening to explore the region. I remember that on the island, it was the celebration of the annual migration of the Beluga-Orca's. Water Tribe sailing lore claimed that whales could never be found near the island, due to its shape, a giant whale's tail. The legends say that the whales were frightened due to the fact that they perceived the island to be the tail of the largest whale on earth.