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“NO! ZUKO DON’T GO!” Mai had opened her eyes with the alarming sound of her own voice. “ZUKO PLEASE NO!” Her screams were echoing in her head. “Please. I am your loyal son!” So was his voice. And his screams. Zuko. He was gone. Yesterday he was the all mighty heir to the throne of the firelord. Today he was the banished prince. Zuko. A boy who was once really pretty. Now he had a huge scar on her face. Her childhood friend since she could remember. The only person she trusted with all her heart. The only person who didn’t judge her for anything. The only person she could talk to. The boy who made her heart skip a beat everytime she saw him. The only one who made her feel like she was important. Zuko. The prince who asked her if she thought it was logical to join the meeting. The one she said “Why not?” to. Yesterday he was here. Today he was gone. What was she going to do without Zuko? Who was she going to talk to now? How was it going to be between her and Azula now? Would she ever be able to sleep without nightmares? She looked outside. It was dark. It was dark but when you looked out careful enough, the night was slowly receding. Where was Zuko now? Was he gone yet? Was he crying? Was he in pain? Was he thinking of her? No. No it was selfish of her to think of that. Would he ever come back? Daydreams she had dreamed of when they were older, would they ever come true? Would she ever see him blush again? Would she ever throw mud on his face again? Would he ever tell her to not cry again? Would he ever hold her hand again? Would- would he ever tell her that he feels the same way? No. Zuko is gone. Who knows if he’d ever be back again she knew the avatar was gone for a hundred years why would he come back now? After all that happened, why would luck ever smile to their faces again? “Why would he be back?” She whispered to herself. “Goodbye Zuko. I- I’ll miss you. I’m sorry.” Mai felt her face warm up. She felt her nose getting runny. She felt her eyes filling with tears. She felt hear heart stop. She felt her lungs sink. She felt her hands shake. Sobs followed her helpless situation. Sobs with “I’m sorry”s in between. Sobs with “come back”s in between. She looked outside with her blurry vision. It wasn’t dark now. A new day was aproaching. A day she thought would never come. A day where Zuko was gone. The dawn looked orange beautiful as it felt black and hopeless. The sun was rising. The sun was rising and Zuko wasn’t home.
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“NO! ZUKO DON’T GO” Mai had opened her eyes with the alarming sound of her own voice. “Please. I am your loyal son!” And his. Tomorrow would be the day after three years. She looked outside. It was dark. It was dark but when you looked out careful enough, the sun was rising. It was today. Today was the day of his banishment. The banished prince was still the banished prince. Zuko was still the only person she trusted. Zuko was still the only person who made her feel worthy. Zuko was still that one person she... loved. Zuko. How did she do it without Zuko? Without waiting just to see his face everyday. Without hearing his lubber compliments. Without him trying to convince her that Azula won’t hurt her. She’s now been waiting for Zuko for three years. She’s grown. She’s grown into a teenager. She’s grown into a poet. She’s grown into a knives master. She’s grown into a noblewoman. She’s grown into a fighter. She’s grown out of toys. She’s grown out of bun covers. She’s grown out of emotions. She’s grown out from talking. But Zuko. She’s never grown out from Zuko. She’s never grown out from the way she felt about him. She wondered what he was doing now. Maybe he was sleeping. Maybe this was a night he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he was thinking of her too. She didn’t think this thought was selfish anymore. If she felt this strong about how she felt, it should’ve been mutual. Maybe he was dead. No. He wouldn’t die Zuko wouldn’t give up. She would never tell this to anyone but she missed Zuko. She missed his scent. She missed his warmth. She missed his touch. She missed his dorkiness. She missed his politeness. But was Zuko now, the Zuko then? Was he worse, was he better? Was he the good person Mai always saw in him no matter what or did he give himself up to the dark place in his head. Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Did he even remember her? Maybe he remembered her and missed her so much that he even missed being picked up on by her. She know she did. She missed him. She missed him so much. “I missed you.” She whispered into the awful color of orange that had filled her room. Just like how it filled the room that day. It seemed like it was the whole world. Mai felt her face warm up. She felt her nose getting runny. She was grown. She wasn’t going to cry. She felt her eyes filling with tears. She felt her heart stop. She wasn’t going to cry. She felt her lungs sink. She felt her hands shake. She wasn’t going to cry. She was grown out of crying. Words were no use. Silent sobs followed her helpless situation. Silent sobs with “I miss you”s. Silent sobs with “I need you”s. She looked outside. The sun looked yellow and bright as it felt red and vicious. Years had past and Zuko wasn’t here. The sun had risen and Zuko wasn’t here.