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Thanks to Agni, it was a perfect summer day for everyone in Republic City. At the grand estate in the Fire Nation district, the youngest member, Zuko, lay on his stomach in the living room.
The adorable nine-year-old had busied himself with working to improve his art skills. The young boy had quite the imagination. From his mother, Ursa? The boy inherited his love of theater and performing.
From his father, Lu Ten? He'd inherited his musical talent when playing the Tsungi horn. But, it was from his great-grandmother, Ilah, he'd gotten his skill in drawing.
Currently, he was drawing a dragon and phoenix dancing in the sky, making sure to get every detail ideally. He couldn't wait to show it to his parents when they got home from work.
His grandparents, Iroh and Kimana, were out of town for the week. They'd gone to a particular flower show where contestants showed off the new species of flowers they'd breed. Kimana hoped her Sundrops would make it into the registry. While his grandparents were gone, his parents had to fill in at the tea and flower shops.
Currently, he is in the care of his great-grandparents. He called Ilah granny and Azulon grandpa. He didn't know at the moment where they were in the house. Therefore, he kept working on making his drawing perfect. About fifteen minutes later, his granny came into the living room. "Zuko?" she called him kindly.
His head popped, and he gazed at his beautiful granny. "Yes, Granny?"
"Your grandpa and I figured we should enjoy the day by going to the park. We really shouldn't be inside on a beautiful day like today. So why do you gather your sketchbook and pencils and we'll go to the park? We'll find a nice spot in the park where you can sketch in the fresh air."
"Okay! Give me a few minutes!" Ten minutes later, the family reached the nearest park, with plenty of families enjoying the fresh air. The family found a small gazebo where Zuko could work on his sketches while staying in the shade.
Azulon unscrewed a thermos of his son Iroh's mystery tea so they'd have something to drink while outside. They hadn't even had their first cup of tea when they heard a voice call out.
"Azulon! Ilah! Is that you?" The couple turned around and saw their best friends Aneurin and Calypso walking toward them. "Hello! Come on over! We've plenty of tea and cookies to share!" called out Ilah as they welcomed their friends over.
"I see you're taking advantage of the nice weather as well. How are you doing, Zuko?" Calypso asked the little boy. He gave his usual smile, answering. "I'm enjoying it. Thank you for asking Calypso! Oops!" as he dropped his pencil.
He went to pick it up from Aneurin and collected it for him. However, bending down to pick it up revealed Aneurin's prosthetic leg, which caused Zuko's eyes to go wide. "Zuko? Is there something wrong?" his granny asked him. He didn't say anything. Finally, however, Aneurin figured out what startled the boy.
"It's alright, Ilah. If I had to guess, your great-grandson had never seen anyone with a prosthetic before. Am I right, Zuko?" the elderly man asked the child.
"How come you don't have a real leg? Does having a fake leg hurt? Is it hard to walk?" he asked to which his granny frowned at his inappropriate questions.
"Ilah, you don't need to get upset. Aneurin is used to children asking about his leg. So he's more then happy to tell them about it. After all, there needs to be more awareness about amputees, anyway," Calypso assured her best friend.
"Yes, Ilah, its not a problem. I'm more then happy to explain to Zuko."
"Okay, as long as he didn't offend you."
Azulon's lookalike best friend gazed at the curious young child. He smiled warmly and then began to explain. "To answer your first question, Zuko. The reason I do not have a real leg? I was born with a birth defect that caused my leg to be deformed."
"Birth defect? Deformed?" Zuko asked, showing he wasn't familiar with the terms.
"It means my leg wasn't formed correctly before my birth. Having a birth defect comes with its own unique set of problems. Most birth defects require either special therapy or even surgery to correct. However, with my congenital disability? It couldn't be surgically repaired, nor would treatment make it work properly.
The only treatment to help me was amputation. Meaning they had surgery remove my leg then give me a new one."
"Did it hurt? Were you scared when they're going to cut it off?"
"I wasn't old enough to fully understand what was going on. Only my parents promised they help me. So I didn't become scared until I woke up and realized it was gone."
"Did you have a heart attack? I've heard people say they nearly had a heart attack due to fear."
"Well, yes, I was freaked out big time. I also didn't know what the next few years would bring. It took a month for my stump to heal. I was on antibiotics and carefully monitored to ensure there wasn't an infection. That wasn't any fun."
"So, what happened next?"
"After five weeks, they fitted me with a temporary prosthetic. Then I had to start physical therapy. The first thing I learned was proper skincare. To reduce swelling and avoid irritation.
I had to learn to care for my stump and new leg properly. It wasn't the easiest thing to learn as a small child. However, my parents helped me with a routine to care for everything adequately cared for."
"How long was it before you could walk again?"
"Well, before I could walk again, I had to strengthen my body first. So I did several exercises and other therapy to be fitted with a permanent prosthetic."
"Was it hard work?"
"It was bitter work. To this day? I've to do daily exercises at home to keep my body in shape, so my artificial limb works properly. That included keeping up with proper skincare."
"To you use your cane to help you?"
"Yes, it can take up to a year or more to relearn to walk. However, most people will still need some assistance to be mobile. That, however, isn't the hardest part of having a limb removed."
"What is then?"
"You must be able to process the emotional and mental repercussions of losing a limb. For it isn't just the physical problems that you must deal with. It's the ones going in your heart and soul. So many amputees are enrolled in mental therapy alongside their physical therapy to help them learn to cope with their loss."
"Were you in therapy?"
"Yes, I still am to this day. However, I discuss other areas in my life with my therapist. Having therapy would do plenty of good if they'd be willing to seek it out."
"Wow. All of that is so wow!"
"I'm sure a little of its gone over your head. However, what do you need to know? Don't treat people as inferior if you see them with a disability. Please treat them with respect and dignity, for we all have some disability. Whether its a recognized one or not doesn't matter. We all deserved to be treated with respect."
"Okay, thank you for explaining it to me. And I'm sorry if I did offend you."
"No, Zuko, you didn't offend me. I prefer to educate young people to know better in the future. So I don't mind explaining it to you."
"Okay. Is it alright if I draw a picture of you? I'd like to see if I can draw your prosthetic properly."
The older man laughed before nodding that he would be glad to pose for him. By the time they left the park, Zuko had drawn a perfect portrait of Aneurin, who proclaimed Zuko was indeed a great artist in the making. Then all of them headed back to the estate for a well-cooked meal. Happy to be together and to be alive.