Whirlwind [Avatar Aang]

☁Prologue☁

In the spring of 86 AG, a whirlwind of love and pain was born. 

The small baby wriggled as a piercing cry bubbled out of her mouth, hitting the warm spring air that spread through the room from the open window. Her lungs worked well, her mother found out, jumping slightly at the sound, surprised that one little child could make that much noise. She accidentally jostled the baby girl in her arms, making her cry out even louder. The baby screamed and screamed her head off, almost as if she knew what was coming for her like she knew that her mother wasn't going to keep her. Her little arms reached out toward her mother, moving her little fingers in front of her mother's eyes, who turned her head away, tears spilling down her flushed cheeks. 

The midwife reached out and took the screaming baby into her arms, laying the baby out in her hands. Glancing down into the sweet face, her heart twinged at the sight of the big teardrops falling down her tiny face. Then she looked at the baby's mother, who wasn't even looking at the two of them as she lay on the ground, a knitted blanket draped on her torso that the other midwives placed around her after she had the baby. The midwife knew that the mother didn't plan on keeping this baby, and she couldn't blame her. She was a young mother who wasn't with the father of the baby anymore, and she had her whole life ahead of her that didn't coincide with having a child. Hopefully, the baby would end up with a good family.

"Do you want to name her before you give her up?" the woman asked, holding the baby in her arms gently. The baby wouldn't stay still and wouldn't stay quiet, filling the air with her screeching cries. The midwife was surprised that the mother could hear her talk over the sound of the baby. All this baby wanted was her mother. However, the mother shook her head quickly, her dark hair falling into her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want her?" the older woman asked gently, hope filling her chest. "You both could have an amazing life together."

The mother cleared her throat, and the midwife knew what she would say. They had always looked just like this when they were going to let go of their precious children. She knew the look by now. "No. I don't want her. I can't ever give her what she deserves." 

"I promise she will have a great life," the midwife said, swallowing hard, hoping her tears would dry. She was used to mothers not wanting to keep their children, and she wasn't that upset before as her heart had hardened throughout all of this, but this child was different, she could feel it in her bones. Tears still pricked her eyes as she said, "I hope you find what you deserve, too."

"Thank you."

The midwife turned on her heel, her dress flaring out around her as she walked through the doorway, gently closing the door behind her. Walking down the hallway, she glanced in the other occupied rooms as mothers lay with their babies on their bare chests, a look of pure love and adoration decorating their faces. These women were different, though. They had their family with them and their husbands or boyfriends gently caressing their faces as they stared down at their new little family. This baby was all alone, and that made the midwife sad. At that moment, the midwife knew what she had to do. She was going to adopt her and give her the life that she deserved.

The baby had suddenly gone quiet, sniffling softly to herself, resigned to her fate of abandonment and loneliness. The midwife smiled down at her as they made it into the main area of the abbey. Something changed in the baby that night. She was born with the love and sacrifice of her birth mother, but when she left her mother's care, she was slowly changing to become the person that the Spirits had planned for her to be. The little girl didn't know it yet, but she had a long journey ahead of her, and she wouldn't be alone. She would never be alone again, not if the midwife had anything to do with it.