Ming Hua was never really the motherly type. To be honest she didn’t really even want a kind. But somehow, she found that every time she saw a mother carrying a squirming infant, that a knot would from in her throat.
It simply just wasn’t fair.
She’d never have that.
Sure, she could always carry a newborn of her own using her liquid arms. But that just wasn’t the same, she’d never actually feel the smoothness of the baby’s soft skin. 或者 the warmth of its touch as it wiggled around.
Such a thought always seemed to flow into the next; Ming would reflect on what it was like when she had arms.
She missed them.
She missed the impact of a 排球 colliding with her forearm as she bumped it over the net.
She missed being able to truly grip a steering wheel.
Hell, she even missed the pain of accidently brushing her hand against a hot surface 或者 the frigid feeling she got upon forgetting her gloves and touching the snow anyhow.
But above all she missed being able to gently caress the face of a lover. Her lover. But the asshole had left her after she had 迷失 her arms, claiming that she was ‘kind of embarrassing to be around’ and that she ‘couldn’t provide him with what he wanted’.
Ming didn’t fight to keep him. He wasn’t worth it if he couldn’t 爱情 her for who she had become.
With that she looked back at the happy mother smiling down at her baby—running her fingers through its hair and tickling its belly.
Sure—if Ming had a child—she could tickle it with her water arms, but she knew damn well, that it would not the same.
Ming longed to 包, 换行 her arms around herself as a comforting gesture.
Why couldn’t someone 爱情 her enough to have a child with her…to want a child with her?
Why couldn’t she get to hold a baby like that?
Why did it have to be her?
Ming kicked the nearest rock she could find across the street. And then kicked another upon thinking; kicking shit is the only thing I’m good for anyways.
She dropped herself down onto the pavement.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No, P’Li, I don’t.” She snapped. “Why don’t 你 go have fun with Zaheer?”
Ming Hua half expected the woman to sit down 下一个 to her anyways. But for once she didn’t do so.
“If you’re sure.” The firebender shrugged.
Shrugging…just another thing Ming could not do.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Ming muttered. She turned her attention to the mother again. The woman was now standing there laughing with her significant other. Ming’s frown deepened.
Envy.
Lots of it.
The husband…boyfriend…whatever he was retreated back into the restaurant from which he had exited. The woman was once again alone with the baby. Ming looked at her lap. She wiped a tear from her eye with what was left of her shoulder.
“Hello.”
“Go away P’Li.” Ming sniffed, trying to hide her soft cries.
“I’m not P’Li.” A woman sat down 下一个 to her.
Ming did her best to shake the hair out of her eyes and looked up. It was indeed the woman, her baby cooing in her arms.
“Do 你 want to hold her?”
Ming hesitated and nodded. She looked around the street, and form the nearest puddle fashioned herself some arms. She took hold of the baby. The infant stopped her cooing and looked up at the woman now holding it.
The baby’s smile grew wide and she flailed her arms about, happily tugging at Ming’s long dark hair.
The waterbender ran her liquid arms over the baby’s forehead, leaving a wet trail where it had touched.
“She likes you.” The woman smiled.
Ming nodded.
“You’d be a great mother.”
“To bad I’ll never have the chance.” Ming Hua gave a 苦 laugh. “No one wants to be with someone like me.”
“You sure? That guy over there has been eyeing 你 for over an hour.” The woman laughed.
Ming Hua followed the woman’s pointer to no one other than Ghazan.
“Oh, him. He’s just a friend, nothing more.”
“Well, I’d say he’d like something 更多 than friendship. I heard him mention it to my husband.”
Ming couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “He such a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, and he’ll be your pain in the ass…if 你 let him.” The woman looked up. “I should get back to my husband.”
Ming handed the woman’s child back to her and watched as she crossed the street.
Perhaps the time for reflection and regretting was done. Perhaps it was time to accept (once and for all that is) and 移动 forward.
Perhaps she needed to stop looking at the past and start looking towards the future.
“You can crawl out from behind the bushes now.” Ming glanced over at Ghazan.
Her future was going to be an odd one alright…
Y’all probably want to know why that woman let a known criminal hold her child. To which I can give no logical explanation. :D
