Five Years
Prompt: Your muse sees my muse for the first time in 5 years
Jinora had been spending the day in the city, doing some shopping and checking out some places when she decided to get some lunch. She stopped at a local casual restaurant, purchased her food, and found a table outside to sit at. She put her stuff down on the table, where she’d easily be able to keep track of it, and turned to her food, inhaling the delicious aroma before she dug in.
She had nearly finished her meal, and had moved to watching the people around her. Picking at her food, she watched as people went about their day: shopping, hanging out with friends, talking to coworkers. They reminded her a bit of her own childhood. Running around the park with her friends, getting food from the noodle shop Aden had worked at for a time, chasing Mako to get him to calm down and not do anything too stupid. The memories made her chuckle, and she wondered how everyone was now.
She wondered what they all looked like now. Did they look like her friends still, or had they changed into someone else? What about their personalities? Was Bo still as sweet as he once was, and was Mako just as fiery and temperamental? Did Sai still act motherly and loving, and did Skoochy grow up to really be the handsome catch of the street kids that he proclaimed he was (like she believed he would)?
She saw Aden the most out of her old friends, as he would sneak on to the island every once in a while. He didn't look too bad most of the time, but she’d always worry for him. He told her snippets of the local news, but knew he kept quiet about many things, so she wouldn't worry.
She let out a sigh, looking down at her meal. She shifted a few pieces around, before picking up one of the vegetables, munching on it as she thought. She looked up again a few seconds later, scanning the passing crowd, making up little stories about each person when her eyes stopped on one person.
He wasn't doing anything remarkable, just leaning against an alley wall up ahead, a cigarette between his lips as he looked at her curiously. She stared back, trying to place him in her mind. It clicked in her mind at the exact same time a soft gust of wind brushed her bangs to the side a bit, revealing more of her forehead tattoo. She saw him give a small smile (or was that a smirk?), and she smiled in return.
He looked different, but that’s to be expected after five years. He would be seventeen now, as he was only a few months older than her, and her own birthday had recently passed. His dark hair was still messy, though it appeared to be somewhat styled to be messy yet attractive, and he was tall, though that didn't surprise her much. He had already been growing quickly when they were twelve.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, but she slowly raised her hand and gave him a small wave. Vaguely she wondered if he would come over and talk to her, but that thought disappeared when someone approached him. They seemed to talk quietly for a moment, before the other person left, Mako pushing off from the wall. A glance towards her, which she gave him another small smile, and then he was moving, out of her sight and into the crowd.
She leaned back in her seat, the smile still on her face. He looked well enough. He still looked like Mako. He was still alive, and she guessed she’d have to live with that knowledge for now. After all, it was better than her friend being dead.
