Diary of an Earthbender

Cara Orji
Journal Entry # 1
You know, I’m really glad that Sokka got me this journal. (And,
no, it’s NOT a diary! None of that sissy stuff like ‘dear diary’ this, or
‘dear diary’ that. Just a journal. No more, and definitely no less!) At
least I’ll be able to write my thoughts down even if I can’t think
clearly. My sister doesn’t know that I have this. I just hope that she
won’t think to read my journal entries, should she ever find it. . . .
Anyway, the four nations — fire, earth, water, air — have been at
peace for a long time now. I’m hoping that that peace will continue,
despite my sister’s frequent rampages at every little thing that I do.
If I even so much as sneeze out of place, she’ll just go crazy with her
fire-bending!
Thank heavens for Sokka . . . he’s always sticking up for me. I
can’t even begin to tell how many times he’s been burned for my
sake . . . over and out.
Journal Entry # 2
Came across a frightful man today . . . don’t even know how
I did it. I was taking a walk through the marshes this
morning — trying not to think of my parents’ bodies in their
graves — when I came upon this dirty, wretched monster of a
man. Nearly scared me to death!
Although I didn’t even know if he was a bender or not, I didn’t
feel as though my earth-bending skills were developed enough,
giving the very strong impression that he was ultimately stronger
than I. I gave in to his threats of unimaginable torture and found
myself stealing from my sister and Sokka, only to be followed by an
unending sense of dread. I’m not even sure that I’m going to follow
through with this plan . . . oh, what a horrid situation to be in!
Journal Entry # 3

Well, I’ve done it, and I managed to meet another strange,

wretched fellow along the way. I told the first man (who I
now believe to be an escaped convict) of my seeing this other
man, and he did what we would call ‘spazzing out.’ I don’t
know what connection the two may have had in the past, but
it’s probably not a very pleasant one. I doubt I shall ever find
out. And even if I did, what good would it be to me?
And now to bed with a sick stomach, a horrible headache,
and a bad conscience.
Journal Entry # 4

There’s this nice girl in my village named Katara who

has been teaching me things aside from my schoolwork.
She’s a very wise girl . . . and a waterbender, too. I just
wish she could help me teach Sokka! He’s an
earthbender, like me, but only knows moves that are
related to his trade. And even then, he isn’t a very bright
one. Such a big heart, but little to go along with it. I don’t
mean to say that I’m that much brighter than he is, but I
can read and write, now, can’t I?
Poor, poor Sokka. . . .
Journal Entry # 5
Would you believe it! I found the two men I had come across a fortnight ago last night.
The authorities found them fighting each other viciously in a ditch, and apprehended them
and took them into custody.
By now my sister had realized that some of the food in the pantry had disappeared and
the question as to who had stolen the food was yet to be answered. Lucky for me, I was not
even suspected, so I had felt some relief. But the moment I saw my convict (as I shall refer to
the man I met on my walk through the marshes), I got that sickening feeling of dread again.
This time, I was afraid that my convict should reveal my secret wrongdoings, and that Sokka
should have to endure it, and that my sister should unleash her fury against me yet again.
I tried to tell my convict (through some strange manner of body language) that I had not
reported him to the authorities, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on him. However, to my
surprise, he graciously accepted the blame of thievery on my behalf instead of telling them
that I had purloined the food from the pantry at Sokka’s house (‘them’ being Sokka and the
authorities). He must have been very grateful for that food I had stolen for him . . . why else
would he do this for me?
Perhaps he isn’t such a horrid convict after all. . . .
Journal Entry # 6

As far as I know, those convicts are long gone, but the

thought of them haunts me ever so often. Now to the
highlight of my day so far. . . . I was told today that the
mistress of the great house on the other side of town
would like for me to come and ‘play’ at her house. This
is
the Lady Kitana of whom I speak, and the expectations
that come with this strange invitation are unknown to
me. Perhaps there is someone there who will help me
with my bending?
Journal Entry # 7

Well, I went, and now I’m back. When I arrived, the

great iron gates were opened for me by a beautiful young
lady — a waterbender — who went by the name Azula. She
was cold, haughty, and seemed to condescend greatly to
whatever need I had in that house. She treated me like a
dog,
and a worthless one at that. She called me coarse and
common. Things I wouldn’t have called myself . . . until now.
I see myself now through Azula’s cold, hard eyes. Eyes
trained by a heart of ice . . . trained under the guiding hand
of Lady Kitana.
Journal Entry # 8
I’ve been visiting Lady Kitana’s house for a few weeks, now. Each and every time
having to endure Azula’s presence just as much as I seek her company. I see her
face almost everywhere . . . in the sky, on the ground, in the pond, everywhere.
She has become a part of me, and what am I to do about it?
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I’ve learned a little more about Lady
Kitana. Her fortune, her love, her heartbreak, and her vengeance on all men
manifested in Azula’s beauty and ice cold heart. (There I go again with Azula!) I’ve
been sent there merely to humor her and to satisfy her thirst for vengeance.
But, enough of that. While at the Lady’s house today, I came upon a young man
— about my age — who forced me to fight him with my earthbending. I beat the
poor fellow (who just happened to be a waterbender like Azula . . . just my luck)
and left the house, hoping that no one had seen us. But my one question was this:
what on earth was the young man doing there?
Journal Entry # 9
There is an earthbender who works for Sokka whose name is Haru. He’s a
morose, suspicious looking man who does his work well, but just doesn’t seem
trustworthy. We passed by this man when Sokka and I went out one night for a
walk, and, as we came back home, we saw people running to and from the house
wildly. We rushed inside to find people crowding around my sister . . . lying on the
floor with a deep wound in her head, facing the fireplace, as if her attacker had
come up behind her quickly, silently, and nowhere to be found.
I, for one, immediately blamed Haru for this, but I soon found that my sister
was now more calm and serene . . . as if she couldn’t if she would. No more
rampages or fiery blasts of fury. (I should only hope that she meant it for the
best.) Just my sister, and a gracious and loving Katara to care for her all the while.
Journal Entry # 10
I have received news of a fortune that I shall inherit from an unknown
and I hardly know how to accept it. Within a few days, the whole village
knew about it, and people began to treat me differently. They were far
more polite than usual and called me ‘sir.’ This gave me the cue to act
condescendingly to those who were around me. I don’t know if it was just
to make myself feel important, or rather a retaliation against Azula . . . a
way to destroy the notion of my being a common and coarse fellow as she
had described me. But, whatever the case, I acted haughtily and Katara
nearly condemned me for it. I told her that she was just jealous that I had
inherited a great fortune and she did not. I gave this argument and stood
my ground. She was gracious enough not to continue on the subject, but I
had a horrible feeling that she was right about me. I was extremely proud
of my new inheritance, ashamed of my old one, and I did the worst thing
I could have done.
I made sure it showed.
Journal Entry # 11

Along with the news of my inheritance came the

expectation to leave my small village for a bigger city . . .
Takoro. I would study there with a man who would help me
develop my bending and further my education. I heard that
he was an airbender, so I didn’t quite understand just how he
would help me with my earth-bending. But, I decided to trust
my mysterious benefactor and go along with the plan.
When I left, I was not so nearly ashamed of my little village
as I had once been, and so I cried. I cried like the child I was,
knowing that there was no turning back. Not even to tell
Sokka and Katara that I was sorry. Not even to say good-bye.
Journal Entry # 12
I arrived at the address I was previously given (the lawyer who had
brought me the news left instructions as well) and I found the suite in
which I was to stay. Upon arriving at my destination, I came across the
young man I had fought at Lady Kitana’s house. Turns out that he was the
son of my new tutor and would be my guide for the time I would spend in
Takoro.
The young man’s name was Chet and turned out to be a very amiable
person, no more than two or three years older than me. We got to know
each other quite well that night and eventually became close friends. I
later went to visit his family and my tutor, as well as two others who would
be studying along with me. One of those two was a morose,
contemptuous firebender by the name of Zuko, and the other (being
almost the exact opposite and an airbender) known as Aang.
I soon began my studies with Chet’s father and quickly learned the
ways of the rich.
Journal Entry # 13
As the years of my study passed, I occasionally visited Lady Kitana and
Azula, which only led to more pain than I could have wanted. At some
point, Azula came to Takoro to be introduced into society. Her arrival
brought about many interested young men to her door, one of them
being
Zuko. And, what’s worse, she basically allowed him to court her while
she
teased me and occasionally ignored me entirely.
This hurt me badly and only deepened the wound that Azula had made
so many years ago. I tried not to think about it and Chet did his best to
comfort me, but nothing could keep my mind off Azula. Azula, Azula,
Azula. . . . Lady Kitana had told me to love her unconditionally during a
visit I had made, and I can only say that I have no choice but to do so. Oh,
Azula, Azula . . . so beautiful, so cruel, so cold.
Journal Entry # 14
After getting myself into debt and wallowing in self-pity over Zuko’s being
engaged to Azula, I soon discovered the identity of my benefactor. Believe it or
not (and I nearly didn’t at first), my benefactor and my convict are one and the
same. That is to say, my benefactor was my convict! That wretched man from my
childhood had come back only to say that the I’ve been using is his money. He
earned it and gave it all to me. And to make matters worse, my benefactor, a
waterbender by the name of Takua, will be executed if he is found in the country,
putting me at risk in ways that I would rather not describe. I could hardly bear the
sight of him, let alone his presence.
I can honestly say that I abhorred him for doing this to me, but I knew that I
must hide him and get him out of the country. Both for his safety and my own,
and not to mention Chet’s! I somehow managed to convince Chet that something
must be done and that this man Takua was worth the cause. We developed a plan,
got Aang involved, and set out to do it at the opportune moment.
Journal Entry # 15
It was a great many weeks before we followed through with our plan. A visit to Lady
Kitana’s finalized Azula’s marriage to Zuko and made Lady Kitana finally realize what a
monster she had made. A trip to the marshes upon receiving a note concerning Takua
nearly
brought about the end of my life. I had slowly grown to care for Takua and I didn’t care who
had sent the note . . . it concerned him and I need to know what this person knew. It wasn’t
until I got there that I found out that it was from Haru, and not even until he had tied me up
and threatened to kill me. I mean, he was going to kill me, but he was delayed. As he told
me of his revenge, he drank a mouthful of some liquor after nearly every phrase, each gulp
giving the time I had left to live. And each time he drank, thoughts and pictures flashed
through my mind. Sokka, Katara, all the people I had been unjust to . . . all the horrible
things I had done. I wanted to apologize, to make up for the things I had done, but it was
too late. Well, almost. Chet, Aang, and a boy from my village burst into the room just in
time, and I shall be ever grateful.
And once we had the chance to follow through with our plan, we were caught by the
authorities and forced to hand my convict over. The poor man was doubtless sentenced to
death, and his last words were but for he and I to share.
Journal Entry # 16
After Takua’s passing, I finally began to pull myself together in search for a
source of income (to pay any leftover debts that Sokka hadn’t already
graciously
done for me), and I even got a chance to visit my village. I visited Sokka and
Katara (my sister having passed away by now), and dropped by Lady Kitana’s
house. She had passed away soon after my last visit, and the house had almost
completely gone with her. Only a small section remained, and there I found
Azula, as beautiful as ever, but different in a way that made her seem kinder. In
fact, she was more kind and gentle than before . . . she explained that Zuko had
abused her, and his recent death had made her a very different person than
before. Her heart of ice had melted and those years of Lady Kitana’s training
disappeared.
My relief must have shown quite obviously on my face because she laughed.
The first real laugh I had heard from her, and, perhaps, it would not be the last.
An Afterthought
I am an earthbender . . .

. . . like the earth itself — my character, my

thoughts, my emotions.
At the start of my story, a rock. Rough and
without definite form.
But at the end of my story, weathered and
smoothed down by fire, air, and water.
A new man, a new person,
and it’s only the beginning . . .