The rain pounded on the ground, pelting us with its hard drops, but we didn't care. The mud was starting to wet my shoes, but it was the least of my problems.
Victoria knelt kwa the tombstone and dropped a rose. "Good-bye, Jenny," she sniffed.
Annaliese rubbed her back appreciatively. "I'm sorry for all the times I've been mean to you. I guess... that's what sisters are for." She had stopped crying yesterday, when she ran out of tears.
Christopher shoved his hands in his black suit pockets. "I'll get him back, Jen," he muttered. "I swear it."
I knew he meant the Joker, but I had deep feelings that he was talking about me.
"Let's go," Anna whispered to Vicky, and they walked away from the grave. That was the cue for everybody to start leaving. Superboy looked confused, but tried his best to look sad and worn out.
The only people left were me, Erica, and Christopher. Lian had tagged along with Megan and the rest of the team.
Erica crossed her arms. "I don't get it."
"What?" Chris and I asked in unison.
"The fact that the Dragon Spirit hadn't rescued her in time. If she'd went to the Spirit World, she'd still be alive," she continued.
"Was there something barring the dragon from this world?" I inquired.
Erica shrugged. "Maybe something in her mind, around the time of her death. Maybe she didn't WANT to be saved..."
"Then that's it," Chris concluded. "She was depressed before she died, and she didn't want to come back." He glared at me when he thought I wasn't looking.
Erica shook her head. "The Dragon Spirit isn't stupid enough to waste a power like that. I should know."
"And now what?" I asked. "Will there be a new Avatar?"
"Maybe," Erica sighed. "And that's my inayofuata job. Finding it." Suddenly, she had an idea. "The Lazarus Pit..."
"The Lazarus what?" Chris pressed.
"The Lazarus Pit," Erica repeated. "It has the power to restore the life of any dead person. Take Jason Todd for example."
I looked at Chris hopefully. "Would wewe allow it?"
He looked down. "Wouldn't that be cheating death? And well... God?"
"Riiight..." Erica and I agreed.
Erica groaned. "And I don't even have a clue of who the inayofuata Avatar will be!"
"Isn't there a cycle?" Chris said. "You were a Firebender, and Jen was an Airbender. Shouldn't the inayofuata one be Water?"
"We can't be so sure. There's been a lot of occasions when an Avatar isn't born according to the cycle." Her watch suddenly beeped. "I have to go. Batman wants me to start early." She hugged Chris tightly, then walked away.
It was just me and him. I felt awkward, but it was the least I could do for Jeannette.
"This is all my fault," I told him. "I betrayed her, and she died, saving the result of my betrayal."
"Thus begins a siku in the life of a human," he sighed. "There was one day, when Jenny was twelve, and she wanted another sibling."
"Victoria--?" I started.
"Vicky was ten at that time," he answered before I could fully state my question. "And she drove Jen nuts. What Jeannette really wanted... was a niece.
"I never hoped to get married, but now at the looks of things... I will. For my sister."
"Just last year," I began, "Jeannette was always begging me to take her to a Pow-wow."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "Pow-wow?"
"It's an Indian thing. I always refused, because I was afraid of going back to my old life. And now I'm gonna devote the rest of my life to her. It's the least I could do."
He smiled. "For Jenny?"
"For Jenny," I fist pumped him, making it count as cheers, even without a drink.
Jeannette was the one thing that kept me from going insane. And now that she's dead, I was worried about how my future would go.
I looked at the sky, which was still cloudy. But even if she was dead, I knew I still loved her.
I suddenly remembered the meadow, and our first conversation there. The flashback was so clear in my mind.
"Look at us now. A guy who has nothing to look mbele to in his life, and a girl who crashes into anything someone throws at her," I had alisema all those years ago.
I could hear her ringing laugh, as if she was right beside me. Her voice was so clear, and I was beginning to get hysterical.

"I think I like it that way."