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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
F.C. Yee
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August 8 - August 13, 2020
About the only things Kyoshi hated more than gunk on her skin were the warped, infuriating values that older folks like Auntie Mui held around complexion. It was yet another contradiction of the village, that you should make an honest living toiling under the sun but never in the slightest look like it.
In a part of the Earth Kingdom where love was reserved solely for blood relations, the monk from a foreign land was the dearest person in the world to Kyoshi.
“I’ve got hair like the starless night / it sticks to my lips when I smile / I’ll wind it with yours and we’ll drift off course / in a ship touching hearts all the while.”
“For the way I walk is a lantern lit / that leads you into the night / I’ll hold you close and love you the most / until our end is in sight.”
“The time when any of us could have what we wanted passed years ago,” he said.
She knew nothing about spirits. In her opinion, being spiritual simply meant acknowledging the power of forces you couldn’t see and coming to terms with the fact that you didn’t have control over every aspect of your life.
Inside were two ornate metal war fans the color of gold alloyed with bronze. The weapons were packed in a softer wood frame that held them open while protecting them from rough treatment like the sort she’d just doled out.
She’d held on too hard to a treasure that might have been shaped like a home and a family, only to discover that her touch had dissolved it entirely.
“According to tradition, there’s a celebration bigger than Twin Sun Day. We eat special foods like spiral-shaped noodles. School is canceled. Do you know how rare it is for school to be canceled in the Fire Nation?”
There was an agonizing distance in her voice, and Kyoshi despised it. She didn’t want a professional bodyguard obeying her orders. She wanted her Rangi, who scolded her without hesitation and never backed down.
Her hunger to learn all four elements had nothing to do with becoming a fully realized Avatar. Fire, Air, and Water were simply more weapons she could bring to bear on a single target.
Kyoshi had to be stronger, in body and mind. Moments of happiness were like useful proofing, liquid testing the cracks in a jar. The less they occurred, the greater the chance she was on the right track for vengeance.
“Nope!” Kirima said, regretting she’d asked. “Gonna cut you off right there. The last time I listened to a Firebender talk about ‘honor’ my ears nearly rotted off my skull. Had to kick him out of my bed with both feet.”
“Both sides” was a rhetorical weapon used by hypocrites and the ignorant.
“I do feel loved,” she declared. Rangi’s beautiful face shone in reflection. Kyoshi leaned in and kissed her.
“Never wait to find out what the trouble is,” Wong said, already jogging away from the source. “By then, you’re already too close.”
The history of the Avatars contained rebels, enemies of tyrants, those who stood alone against the armies of the Four Nations when necessary. But as far as Kyoshi knew, none had been self-serving outlaws.
Whatever remorse Kyoshi felt vanished. “You snot-nosed little—” He raised a finger patiently like an enlightened guru. “Bup-bup. That’s Sifu Snotnose to you.”
It made no sense to her how she had a critical weakness with her native element but could produce fire decently for a beginner. The reason could have been that Rangi was a great teacher, as might be expected from the scion of great teachers.
“I like your focus,” Rangi said. “But see if you can withstand this.” She slid between Kyoshi’s arms and gave her a head-tilting, knee-buckling kiss, as powerful and deep as the ocean after a storm.
“Your hesitation seems to be less about your own morals than hers. In fact, without your Firebender tethering you to this world, you might feel no compunction at all.
“A hidden passage?” Saiful asked. Jianzhu nodded grimly. “Hidden passage. Through the mountains.”
SECRET TUNNEL SECRET TUNNEL
“Yes,” Rangi said without hesitation. “Preparedness carries the day. There was even a plan for Ba Sing Se, though I’d pity the troops who carried it out.”
“My dear,” Lao Ge said softly. “As you’ll discover one day, the mind has specters of its own.”
“I’m not thrilled you’re wearing daofei colors,” Rangi said, biting her lip as she smiled. “But you look beautiful.”
“Challenges are meant to settle grievances,” he said, dabbing the pad of his forefinger with his tongue again. “What insult have I given you?” “Your existence,” Kyoshi spat.
“Stop!” she heard Rangi cry from far away. “Please stop!” It was the hopelessness in her voice that set Kyoshi over the edge, the complete surrender of a girl who would have been invincible if not for her love. Kyoshi had put that weakness in Rangi,
“You forget, Xu,” she said, and a legion of voices synchronized in the eye of the storm. “There is always someone who stands above you in judgment.”
“You will never be perfectly fair, and you will never be truly correct,” Lao Ge said. “This is your burden.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. The illusion that the self is separate from the rest of the world is the driving factor that limits our potential. Once you realize there’s nothing special about the self, it becomes easier to manipulate.”
