The Child of Frozen Stars

In the days of her youth, Kimi Hashiko never knew her parents, or her family. As the story goes...

Back in the 9th month of Kimi's infancy, her family became burdened with the in-ability to properly care for her as the family had wished. With all the love and adoration left in her heart, her mother wrapped her close with her baby blanket. Giving the infant one final hug, she set off to the steps of the Northern Water Tribe's Temple. It was common for a family to find an abandoned baby there, and she was sure someone would come across the little one quickly. Setting off quickly, her mother made her way to the steps in brisk time, laying Kimi down carefully and gingerly.

"Goodbye and good night, my dearest Kimiko." Her mother spoke to her, pressing the infant's small body against her in a quick hug before she turned and left. Huddled inside a bush nearby, she waited and watched, hoping for someone to come by and notice the poor child. As the cold air sank deeper into the mother's clothes, she began to give up the small bit of hope she had. Just in the last second, a young couple of newly-weds bounded around the corner to pay their respects for a fallen friend. They heard the cries of Kimi's small lungs filling with the cold ridged air, and rushed to her side.

Seeing the abandoned infant as a gift and sign from the spirits, the couple graciously took Kimi into their home, naming her Kimiko from the name stitched on the corner of the blanket she was wrapped so neatly in. The couple, realizing they were not quite ready to raise a child, reached out to orphanages and foster homes to take Kimi in. When a home finally came available, the couple had gotten used to calling her "Kimi" in short and forgotten to tell the fosters her full name. From that day forward, Kimi was re-named and moved from home to home. She learned how to waterbend from a elderly man named Master Mizu until he had nothing left to teach her. She had became used to traveling around as a child and decided she would travel for the rest of her life, never truly having a real home.

Finished