Healing Trust

"How about..." Jurishe trails off, thinking, herself. She glances around the room, looking for some choice inspiration. "How about this," She ventures, "You told me a story yesterday; I'll tell one today, and then we can head out to see the city, get lunch, and hit the market. Does that sound good?"

She wasn't sure which story she'd tell, but there must be one that Katara hadn't heard before, from the Water Tribes.

Jurishe took a higher spot on the edge of the bed, "Well, I could tell you a short one, a long one... or both," She offers, looking down at Katara, "You've probably already heard the long one, though - just to warn you."

Taking her hair clip out, she brushed her fingers through her hair, getting it untangled before twisting it all back up into place. She secures the clip in its place, letting it hold her hair.

Jurishe laughs, at that, "Nah, it's alright if you close them. I know you're still there."

Straightening, she decides to tell her the shorter of the stories, first, to see what she thought of it, before going into the other. "Alright... So, on a sandy beach, far away from the glaciers - " It was a Water Tribe story, after all, "A little girl found hundreds of thousands of creatures called 'starfish', washed up into the sand." She paused, then, waiting for any questions that might arise, from that imagery.

Once she gave the okay, Jurishe continued, "Well, the starfish needed to be in the water, and would die on the beach, if they were left much longer. So the little girl stooped down and carefully picked up a drying starfish before it shriveled up... and she threw it, back into the waves." Her voice had changed, as she was telling the story, becoming soft, and changing pace as the tale continues.

"As she watched, it wiggled, regaining the color it had lost to the sun, and floated away, alive and well."

"So, encouraged by her success, the little girl picked up another one, just as carefully as before, and tossed it back into the waves..." Jurishe continued, when her friend was quiet, "She saved thousands of the starfish this way, all by herself, continuing on as best she could, telling herself that each of the lives that she saved was important."

"But then, another person stepped onto the beach. He was an older man, who had seen nothing but horror in the world, and he spotted the little girl in the distance. Walking toward her, he saw the dying starfish... but instead of helping her, he crossed his arms, calling it a futile task."

"He told the little girl, 'This makes no difference; you can't save them all'."

"That's exactly what she said," Jurishe told her warmly, her smile broadening at the question. Every time she'd told this story to the children of the Water Tribe, they'd asked the exact same thing.

"First, her eyes met his, and she stared at him. Resting gently in her palms was another starfish, struggling to stay alive. Looking back at it, she gently tossed it into the water, once again watching, as it regained color and floated gently away."

Pausing for just a moment, Jurishe lets her voice change, just slightly, as she speaks for the little girl; "...'I can try to save them all,' She told him, looking up with strength and determination in her eyes. Then, she continued on her quest, retrieving another starfish with the same calm, gentle hold and toss as before." It seemed, however, that the story wasn't over, just yet.

"The man bristled at her answer," She told Katara softly, "And claimed that she would fail her quest. He thought that, surely, after telling her just how difficult it would be, and how long it would take, she would give up." Then, her grin was audible as she continued, "But we know how stubborn we girls can be, right?"

"Her only response was to continue, at the same pace, with the same gentle touches, and four more had been saved, before she answered, confidently, 'We'll see'." The story ended on that powerful, simple quote.

"If she'd have been a waterbender, she could really have shut that guy up," Jurishe laughed, giving Katara a wink that she couldn't even see, "One big wave, right?" Stretching her back out, she gave a slight sigh.

"I've always loved that story... To keep trying, and to save as many people as you can; that's how I'd like to live."

"I've never seen a sandy beach, but if there are starfish washed up and dying, I'd hope you'd start helping me throw them back!" She teases.

At her question, however, she nods. "You may have heard this one... since it was a story connected to the previous Avatar," Jurishe begins, "It's the story of the boy who loved the moon." It was, in fact, a somewhat widespread story, but a good one, nonetheless.

"Well, alright," She brightened, as this was another one of her favorites, "The story happens mostly in the Northern Water Tribe, but the boy came from the same Tribe as I do. I used to hear it a lot, as a kid."

"Well, the princess of the Northern Water Tribe - Princess Yue - had the most beautiful snow-white hair that anyone had ever seen. When she was born, she didn't make a sound, and she wouldn't wake up; her parents feared that she was lost to them..." She pauses, and then, "So they prayed to the moon spirits."

Jurishe nods, "It had never happened among our people, before. Princess Yue's father rested her in the moon spirits' pool, and they saved the baby, giving her a part of their own life... Once they had, her dark brown hair faded, taking on the sheen of the moon's light. That's why her parents chose the name 'Yue', for the moon."

This part of the story was largely skipped over, as it was mostly unimportant, but she added anyway, "Feeling that she had been saved for a reason, the Princess always knew that her duty was to her people, and would do her best to do good, by them, as she felt that the moon spirit would want her to do."

"Well, when the avatar and his friends came to the Northern Water Tribe, she greeted them along with her father... and her eyes were drawn to a young warrior from the Southern sister Tribe," She explains, "She thought he was handsome, even as he only had eyes for her, clearly drawn to her as she was, to him. As the time drew on, he courted her lightly, becoming her friend and confidant - she told him about the moon spirits gift."

Then, the tone of her voice changed just slightly, "Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked... The city was under siege, but still the boy stayed by the princess' side as her protector. The fighting raged on for an entire day, only stopping as the moon rose into the sky, and the Fire Nation Army seemed to retreat."

"Little did they know, the Fire Nation admiral - a dishonorable man - planned to do the unthinkable," To her people, especially, it was a heinous act, "He would kill the water spirits, and remove the moon from the night sky."

"The moon spirits lay, now lifeless, beside their pool, in the form of black and white koi fish. The light of the newly risen moon had faded, leaving the sky dark, and the waterbenders defenseless without the power and pull of the full moon."

"When all seemed lost, the princess remembered how she had been allowed to live; she had been given life by the moon spirits. Perhaps, she thought, she could give it back." Jurishe paused, to allow the thought to sink in, before continuing, "When the battle was at its most hopeless, she returned the life that the spirits had bestowed upon her. Before she could fall, limp, to the ground, the boy caught her carefully, cradling her in his arms, crying for her sacrifice, her duty."

"Rather than fading away, as the moon had done, the princess was lifted up, about to become the moon itself... Her eyes met those of the boy she loved, and she bid him a final farewell, promising to always be with him."

A smile came to her face once again, "The end."

Z. Katara Len

Katara listened to the whole story with interest, awe, and perhaps a little embarrassment given her own Fire Nation heritage. The days of propaganda were long over in the Fire Nation, but for Katara to know that those had been her people 80 years ago struck her as odd. "A heroic sacrifice..." she mumbled softly, "so that another could live." she closed her eyes. "I admire that. I really do." it reminded her of her own mother, who was the last of Katara's family to lay down her life. "That was a lovely story." she smiled. "sad... and happy... and lovely. Thank you for telling it to me." she nodded approvingly.

Mood: Interested Condition: Comfortable

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