eng.- visual fairy tale c.o

8/8/2019 Eng.- Visual Fairy Tale C.O.

1/18

Cara Orji


2/18

You know, Im really glad that Sokka got me this journal. (And,no, its NOT a diary! None ofthat sissy stufflike dear diary this,ordear diary that. Just a journal. No more, and definitelyno less!) Atleast Ill be able towrite my thoughts down even ifI cant thinkclearly. My sister doesnt know that I have this. I just hope that shewont think to read my journal entries, should she ever find it. . . .

Anyway, the four nations fire, earth,water, air have been atpeace for a long time now. Im hoping that that peace will continue,despite my sisters frequent rampages at every little thing that I do.IfI even so much as sneeze out ofplace, shell just go crazy with herfire-bending!

Thank heavens for Sokka . . . hes always sticking upfor me. Icant even begin to tell how many times hes been burned for mysake . . . over and out.


3/18

Came across a frightful man today . . . dont even know howI did it. I was taking a walk through the marshes thismorning trying not to think ofmy parents bodies in theirgraves when I came upon this dirty,wretched monster ofaman. Nearly scared me to death!

Although I didnt even know ifhe was a bender or not, I didntfeel as though my earth-bending skills were developed enough,giving the very strong impression that he was ultimately strongerthan I. I gave in to his threats ofunimaginable torture and foundmyselfstealing from my sister and Sokka,only to be followed by anunending sense ofdread. Im not even sure that Im going tofollow

through with this plan . . . oh,what a horrid situation to be in!


4/18

Well, Ive done it, and I managed to meet another strange,wretched fellow along the way. I told the first man (who Inow believe to be an escaped convict) ofmy seeing this

otherman, and he did what we would call spazzing out. I dontknowwhat connection the two may have had in the past, butits probably not a very pleasant one. I doubt I shall ever findout. And even ifI did,what good would it be to me?

And now to bed with a sick stomach, a horrible headache,

and a bad conscience.


5/18

Theres this nice girl in my village named Katara whohas been teaching me things aside from my schoolwork.Shes a very wise girl . . . and a waterbender, too. I just

wish she could help me teach Sokka! Hes anearthbender, like me, but only knows moves that arerelated to his trade. And even then, he isnt a very brightone. Such a big heart, but little to go along with it. I

dontmean to say that Im that much brighter than he is, but Ican read and write, now, cant I?

Poor,poor Sokka. . . .


6/18

Would you believe it! I found the twomen I had come across a fortnight ago last night.The authorities found them fighting each other viciously in a ditch, and apprehended themand took them into custody.

By now my sister had realized that some ofthe food in the pantry had disappeared andthe question as towho had stolen the food was yet to be answered. Lucky for me, I was noteven suspected, so I had felt some relief. But the moment I saw my convict (as I shall refer tothe man I met on my walk through the marshes), I got that sickening feeling ofdread again.

This time, I was afraid that my convict should reveal my secret wrongdoings, and that Sokkashould have to endure it, and that my sister should unleash her fury against me yet again.I tried to tell my convict (through some strange manner ofbody language) that I had not

reported him to the authorities, but it didnt seem to have any effect on him. However, to mysurprise, he graciously accepted the blame ofthieveryon my behalfinsteadoftelling themthat I had purloined the food from the pantry at Sokkas house (them being Sokka and theauthorities). He must have been very grateful for that food I had stolen for him . . . why elsewould he do this for me?

Perhaps he isnt such a horrid convict after all. . . .


7/18

As far as I know, those convicts are long gone, but thethought ofthem haunts me ever sooften. Now to thehighlight ofmy day sofar. . . . I was told today that the

mistress ofthe great house on the other side oftownwould like for me to come and play at her house. This isthe Lady Kitana ofwhom I speak, and the expectationsthat come with this strange invitation are unknown to

me. Perhaps there is someone there whowill help mewith my bending?


8/18

Well, I went, and now Im back.When I arrived, thegreat iron gates were opened for me by a beautiful younglady a waterbender whowent by the name Azula. Shewas cold, haughty, and seemed to condescend greatly towhatever need I had in that house. She treated me like a dog,and a worthless one at that. She called me coarse andcommon. Things I wouldnt have called myself. . . until now.

I see myselfnow through Azulas cold, hard eyes. Eyestrained by a heart ofice . . . trained under the guiding hand

ofLady Kitana.


9/18

Ive been visiting Lady Kitanas house for a fewweeks, now. Each and every timehaving to endure Azulas presence just as much as I seek her company. I see herface almost everywhere . . . in the sky,on the ground, in the pond, everywhere.She has become a part ofme, and what am I to do about it?

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Ive learned a little more about LadyKitana. Her fortune, her love, her heartbreak, and her vengeance on all menmanifested in Azulas beauty and ice cold heart. (There I go again with Azula!) Ivebeen sent there merely to humor her and to satisfy her thirst for vengeance.

But, enough ofthat.While at the Ladys house today, I came upon a young man about my age whoforced me tofight him with my earthbending. I beat thepoor fellow (who just happened to be a waterbender like Azula . . . just my luck)and left the house, hoping that noone had seen us. But my one question was this:what on earth was the young man doing there?


10/18

There is an earthbender whoworks for Sokkawhose name is Haru. Hes amorose, suspicious looking man who does his work well, but just doesnt

seemtrustworthy.We passed by this man when Sokka and I wentout one night

for a

walk, and, as we came back home,we sawpeople running to and from thehousewildly.We rushed inside tofindpeople crowding around my sister . . . lying

on thefloorwith a deepwound in her head,facing the fireplace, as ifher attacker

hadcomeup behind her quickly, silently, and nowhere to be found.

I,for one, immediately blamed Haru for this, but I soon found that mysisterwas nowmore calm and serene . . . as ifshe couldnt ifshewould. No morerampagesor fiery blasts offury. (I shouldonly hope that she meant it for thebest.) Just my sister, and a gracious and loving Katara to care for her all the

while.


11/18

I have received news ofa fortune that I shall inherit from anunknownand I hardly know how to accept it.Within a few days, thewhole villageknew about it, andpeople began to treat me differently. They were farmorepolite than usual and called me sir. This gave me the cue to actcondescendingly to thosewhowere around me. I dont know ifit was justto make myselffeel important,or rather a retaliation against Azula . . . away to destroy the notion ofmy being a common and coarse fellow as shehad described me. But,whatever the case, I acted haughtily and Kataranearly condemned me for it. I told her that she was just jealous that I hadinherited a great fortune and she did not. I gave this argument and stoodmy ground. She was gracious enough not to continueon the subject, but Ihad a horrible feeling that she was right about me. I was extremely proudofmy new inheritance, ashamedofmy old one, and I did the worst thingI could have done.

I made sure it showed.


12/18

Along with the news ofmy inheritance came theexpectation to leave my small village for a bigger city . . .Takoro. I would study there with a man whowould help medevelop my bending and further my education. I heard thathe was an airbender, so I didnt quite understand just how hewould help me with my earth-bending. But, I decided to trustmy mysterious benefactor and go along with the plan.When I left, I was not so nearly ashamed ofmy little village

as I had once been, and so I cried. I cried like the child I was,

knowing that there was no turning back. Not even to tellSokka and Katara that I was sorry. Not even to say good-bye.


13/18

I arrived at the address I was previously given (the lawyer who hadbrought me the news left instructions as well) and I found the suite inwhich I was to stay. Upon arriving at my destination, I came across theyoung man I had fought at Lady Kitanas house. Turnsout that he was thesonofmy new tutor and would be my guide for the time I would spend inTakoro.

The young mans name was Chet and turned out to be a very amiableperson, no more than twoor three years older than me.We got to knoweachother quitewell that night and eventually became close friends. Ilater went to visit his family and my tutor, as well as twoothers whowouldbe studying alongwith me. One ofthose twowas a morose,contemptuous firebender by the nameofZuko, and the other (beingalmost the exact opposite and an airbender) known as Aang.

I soon began my studies with Chets father and quickly learned thewaysofthe rich.


14/18

As the years ofmy study passed, I occasionally visited Lady Kitana andAzula,which only led to more pain than I could have wanted. At somepoint,Azula came toTakoro to be introduced into society. Her arrivalbrought about many interested young men to her door,one ofthem beingZuko. And,whats worse, she basically allowed him to court her while sheteased me and occasionally ignored me entirely.

This hurt me badly and only deepened the wound that Azula had madeso many years ago. I tried not to think about it and Chet did his best tocomfort me, but nothing could keep my mind offAzula. Azula,Azula,Azula. . . . Lady Kitana had told me to love her unconditionally during avisit I had made, and I can only say that I have no choice but to do so. Oh,Azula,Azula . . . so beautiful, so cruel, so cold.


15/18

After getting myselfinto debt and wallowing in self-pity over Zukos beingengaged toAzula, I soon discovered the identity ofmy benefactor. Believe it ornot (and I nearly didnt at first), my benefactor and my convict are one and thesame. That is to say, my benefactor was my convict! That wretched man from mychildhood had come back only to say that the Ive been using is his money. Heearned it and gave it all to me. And to make matters worse, my benefactor, a

waterbender by the name ofTakua,will be executed ifhe is found in the country,putting me at risk in ways that I would rather not describe. I could hardly bear thesightofhim, let alone his presence.

I can honestly say that I abhorred him for doing this to me, but I knew that Imust hide him and get him out ofthe country. Both for his safety and my own,and not to mention Chets! I somehow managed to convince Chet that somethingmust be done and that this man Takua was worth the cause.We developed a plan,got Aang involved, and set out to do it at the opportune moment.


16/18

It was a great many weeks before we followed through with our plan. A visit to LadyKitanas finalized Azulas marriage toZuko and made Lady Kitana finally realize what amonster she had made. A trip to the marshes upon receiving a note concerning Takua nearlybrought about the end ofmy life. I had slowly grown to care for Takua and I didnt care whohad sent the note . . . it concerned him and I need to knowwhat this person knew. It wasntuntil I got there that I found out that it was from Haru, and not even until he had tied me upand threatened to kill me. I mean, he wasgoing to kill me, but he was delayed. As he told

me ofhis revenge, he drank a mouthful ofsome liquor after nearly every phrase, each gulpgiving the time I had left to live. And each time he drank, thoughts and pictures flashedthrough my mind. Sokka, Katara, all the people I had been unjust to . . . all the horriblethings I had done. I wanted to apologize, to make upfor the things I had done, but it wastoo late.Well, almost. Chet,Aang, and a boy from my village burst into the room just intime, and I shall be ever grateful.

Andonce we had the chance tofollow through with our plan,we were caught by theauthorities and forced to hand my convict over. The poor man was doubtless sentenced todeath, and his last words were but for he and I to share.


17/18

After Takuas passing, I finally began topull myselftogether in search for asource ofincome (topay any leftover debts that Sokka hadnt already graciouslydone for me), and I even got a chance to visit my village. I visited Sokka andKatara (my sister having passed away by now), and dropped by Lady Kitanashouse. She had passed away soon after my last visit, and the house had almost

completely gone with her. Only a small section remained, and there I foundAzula, as beautiful as ever, but different in a way that made her seem kinder. Infact, shewas more kind and gentle than before . . . she explained that Zuko hadabused her, and his recent death had made her a very different person thanbefore. Her heart ofice had melted and those years ofLady Kitanas trainingdisappeared.

My reliefmust have shown quite obviously on my face because she laughed.The first real laugh I had heard from her, and,perhaps, it would not be the last.


18/18

I am an earthbender . . .

. . . like the earth itself my character, my

thoughts, my emotions.At the start ofmy story, a rock. Rough andwithout definite form.But at the end ofmy story,weathered and

smoothed down by fire, air, and water.A new man, a newperson,and its only the beginning . . .

eng.- visual fairy tale c.o

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