Fire in the Sky (TLOK)

Chapter 48: From the Ashes

His name was Ren.

In the beginning, I was not kind to him. He nursed me back to health and all I did was curse him day and night. He found me on the beach, half alive, half dead. I was still seeing my mother through one eye, burnt face rubbing against the coarse sand. He lifted me up, spoke,

"Get up," and I dropped like the rag doll from Ba Sing Se Uncle once gave me when I was young.

I said terrible things to him. I moaned about dying, "Leave me in the sun. Let me be burned by it." but he couldn't hear me. Literally, he could not hear me. I never really found out why he was deaf, but it seemed to be something that occurred later as he grew up. He could speak fine. He seemed to understand most of what I said, but he only laughed when I cursed him.

He cleaned me up, spent his money on a balm that one merchant at the market sold to him for more money that necessary.

We ended up with a routine. He would wake up, check on my face and apply more balm, and then he'd disappear out to his boat to catch fish and sell at the market. He would come home and cook just enough rice for both of us and grill a fish. He always caught enough to sell, and just one big enough to eat.

I always called him a fool, a wretched bastard, deaf idiot, ugly wart. But he only smiled at me. He said I was looking better every day.

It must've been a month after he saved me, maybe two months. I asked him if he knew who I was. He tilted his head to the side and said, "Should I?" and after that, I looked at my reflection with my good eye through the water for the first time since I had burned my face. He let me go with him on the boat, showed me how to catch fish. I didn't know what I was doing, holding that rickety rope, doing such a meager task. Then again, I had nowhere to go. So I threw the rope. Turns out there are things that I'm not so good at.

I did help him sell the fish. He wasn't getting a good sale, seeing as everyone bartered with him until he was taking rusty pieces of metal as payment. I saved him lots of money, arguing with other villagers, getting them to pay the proper price for their fish. I still had my sharp tongue, and my scarred face, I like to think it scared them into submission.

One time he called me beautiful. I laughed straight in his face. But then he smiled even brighter, and I didn't know what to do.

~~~

Kira held the little boy for a long time. He cried and cried, unintelligible words and sounds. She rubbed his back in soothing tones, comforted the boy who hadn't known a mother, a father, perhaps not even a womb. Ripped from the earth, the unwanted root of a seed.

He came up for air, heaving dry sobs, dark green eyes wild with fear. Kira smiled her gentlest smile. She took a handkerchief from her sleeves and gently wiped his face. He flinched at her hand, but relaxed, feeling the soft cloth rub at the dirt and tears, snot and spit.

"It's alright," she said again, "It's okay."

The boy heaved another sob, hands clutching at her. Fire threatened to burn her sleeves, but she kept them at bay.

"You will be alright," she told him, "I will keep you safe." Kira watched as his posture seemed to relax. Relief? Was it? "Do you understand?" she asked. Slowly, the boy nodded. "Good," Kira patted her lap, and the boy crawled into her arms. He was small, even if Secretariat Gun said he was about eight or nine. Malnourishment wracked his body. Even with a Dragon Spirit, he was still weak. She easily hoisted him in her arms, gently stroking his matted hair.