Power Like No Other

Chapter 2:Katara;Life Alone

 Cold, aching cold. A bitter cold, one that sank into your bones, one that flowed through your veins. That was the kind of cold that Katara felt as she sat staring out over Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom. She had been here for three weeks now, doing random jobs here and there. Making only enough money to stay at the rundown inn she had found, and make sure she did not starve to death. It was not a happy existence, but at least she was alive. That was better than being dead. Lately though, being dead would almost be better, nightmares, horrid, terrible nightmares had been disturbing her sleep. It was always the same thing, a woman, who's face she was never able to see clearly, laying in a pool of her own blood. It haunted her, made it hard to focus. She knew that it had something to do with her past, the past she could not remember. That irritated her more than she let on in her daily life. Not knowing where you came from, who you came from. She could deduce that the woman in her dreams was probably her mother, but then again she could be wrong. It could be not even related to her in any way, it might just have been something she saw as a child. But her gut told her otherwise.

The sun was starting to rise now, it was beautiful, truly. But she has seen it many times now. With as much as she has jumped around, the last few years she had been on her own. Ever since the older couple that had taken her in after finding her on the shores of the Earth Kingdom. She was eight when they found her, waterlogged and with a bad concussion, they had taken her in, raised her. She still was not sure how she felt about their deaths.

It had saddened her. But not to the point one thinks you would be saddened if the ones who raised you, fed you, and helped bathe you, had died. It's not like they had been mean to her, nor had they abused her. It just felt as if she was never going to truly be part of their family. The village had also kicked her out after they had passed. So she had been forced out on her own. She held no hate for them, it had just stung a bit.

Well maybe more than a bit.

With that last thought, she jumped down from her preach,(which was on top of the inn she was staying at)down into the alley below. To pay for her stay she was working at a tea shop further into the city. It was going well, the pay was good, and she liked the owner. A funny old man, who often spoke in strange ways that was hard to understand. Despite this, she adored him, he was kind and wise, and never once had she heard him yell at his employees. Quickly she made her way through Ba Sing Se, waving at the people she saw every day en route to the tea shop. The city was alive, with vendor's yelling for your attention as you walked by, children yelling, the sweet smell of food from all the shops. The colors, oh the colors. How Katara loved the green that was every roof, people were happy here, and she hoped she could be as well, that the spirits might grant her this one simple wish, for her to find a little bit of happiness.

The Jasmine Dragon.

That was the name of the tea shop she worked at. It was almost always busy, people loved the atmosphere, the jolly laugh of the owner, and the big genuine smiles of the staff.

"Katara!" Someone shouted at her as she made her way in, grabbing her apron that had her name embroidered on it. "Yes?!" I shouted back, tying my hair back quickly. A young woman a little older than her peaked around the corner to where Katara was. All the staff came in through a back door. Through the back door you came into a narrow room with hooks and little cubbies for storing your things. On your hook was your apron, that you only got if you had been working for a month without fail. But the owner had liked Katara so much, and thought she was such a good worker that he gave her one early.

"You're in early today. What couldn't sleep?" The young woman's name was Ummi, and she had been working at The Jasmine Dragon for over a year now. "Something like that." I answered.

"Well get it together, we are very busy today, and we need all hands on deck. So no falling asleep on me, got it?" I nodded, and got to work, heading into the kitchen to help with dishes and anything else that might need done.

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By the end of the day Katara was beat. Her feet her, and arms were even a little sore from carrying around trays of food and drinks. But the work was rewording, and she loved the joy it brought the customers, so all in all it was a good day. She sat and watched as the city went into night mood, less children and more adults made their way out into the city. Couples laughing and holding hands walked by, smiling at each other. It was almost too much for Katara to watch, not that she was one of those people that disliked couples or anything of the sort. But it did make her ache inside for the same thing, the longing for a family of her own was becoming greater and greater. And even more so since the nightmares had started. 

She hoped that one day she might get answers as to who she was, but that was not going to be today, nor tomorrow, and she was just going to have to live with that.

However hard that might be.

With a deep breath in and out, Katara waved goodbye to her co-workers and headed home, knowing that she was going to be doing the same thing tomorrow, but found that she was looking forward to it this time.