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Aang took a deep breath as he sat in full lotus. The disaster that was the Boy in the Iceberg play a night ago weighed heavily in his mind, replaying over and over.
He told Katara that he'd be in the Avatar state if his chakra wasn't blocked.
He told Katara he thought they'd be together.
Katara saying she was confused.
He kissed Katara.
Katara ran away from him.
It's so vivid that he felt like an audience member watching it unfold again and again.
He loved Katara! Didn't he...?
But if he loved her, why aren't they together? Why won't she tell him that she felt the same way?
He did what people suggested! He tried to show her he loved her! He waited for her to come around! But...
"You're afraid she might not love you back..."
Aang opened his eyes to see a phantom-like vision before him. Aang felt like he was looking into a mirror as he looked at this phantom. But something about this phantom was...different. it looked like him but it...wasn't him.
The phantom's eyes were blank and a sash circled it, floating and softly billowing with wind that was not there.
"But how could she not? I've done everything--!"
"But think about her feelings," the phantom finished. "You're afraid that if you have actually talk to her, your heart will break."
"...I thought we felt the same," Aang said, dejectedly.
"The monks taught you that clinging to people, things and control will cause you pain. It's the root of suffering," the phantom said.
"But how is my love for Katara the cause of my suffering?" Aang argued. "You sound like Guru Pathik..."
"No. You didn't want to accept that your 'love' for Katara was attachment. That is what Guru Pathik tried to tell you. And you know that."
Aang frowned. This phantom is stripping him bare of all excuses and he can barely refute.
"Just like the changing of winds, things change. They shift. Nothing is permanent. You know this. You can love. But you cannot demand things stay the same. Just as we cannot demand nature to remain the same."
Aang looked to the ground. "I guess I have to...actually confront this. I can't run away anymore."
The phantom nodded.
"But what if..."
"It is human nature to experience heartbreak. It is human nature to feel pain. But it's human nature to learn from that pain. That pain will fade as you grow from it."
Aang sighed as he nodded. He knew this was something he had to do. He couldn't avoid this anymore. He needed to face it head on, like an Earthbender.
Aang saw a small smile on the phantom as lotus petals grew from below it and seemed to swallow it whole. The phantom faded away like mist.
Aang opened his eyes from his meditation and frowned. He knew he had to do this.
But he really wished he didnt have to.