round 23 En. Riverview - The power of memory

[Guest]

((Starbase 118 – Personal quarters))

:: Slowly Ceilidh peeled her forehead away from the window port allowing the fog of her breath to dissipate fully before moving over to the small coffee table and picking up the pair of gloves that had become an extension of herself and something she now went everywhere with. Going about her daily life had been challenging at first, but after much work with Counselor Meona, Ceilidh had begun to learn to control what she was willing to pick up empathically and what she could tune out. Gloves also provided a barrier, helping to muffle out what she felt, which was something she was coming to appreciate.

Heading out of her quarters and towards the turbo lift, she kept thinking that in 24 hours she would be back on board the USS Columbia with her family.

o0 Family....0o

The thought brought back a vivid stream of memories to her forethought and she was instantly hungry for pie, specifically, something that resembled apple pie. Her father would always gather all the children to pick the fruit just at the peak of ripeness to be used in a variety of ways, but all the kids knew that their fathers’ pies were what they wanted most, and he knew that as well, choosing to leave the making of the pies to the very end once batches of jams and jelly had been made, or slews of the fruit had been chopped and frozen for future use during the cold months.

(Flashback – Many years ago)

((Kateria – Tannis – Home of the Riverviews))

Riverview: Mumma, is he here yet?

::The small brown haired girl asked as she skipped into the family kitchen, her curls swinging in all directions around her face. Her soft brown shoes made a dull scuff sound on the stone floor, kicking tiny pebbles in all directions out from under her feet. The days’ sun was beginning to set, and its streams of brilliant oranges, yellows, reds, and purples peered in through all the windows along the south and west walls, highlighting the freckles on the bridge of her nose and the slight few on her cheeks. Making her way across the large room, she dragged the wooden foot stool over to the sink with the goal of getting herself a glass of cold water like a big girl.

The woman sitting at the table put down what she had been reading and shook her head with a smile on her face. Even though the woman had been reading her latest find “A History of Klingon Opera “, she had kept glancing at the young girl as she moved across the room, trying to move a stool that had been carved from an old tree and probably weighed just as much as she did. A man standing close to one of two working kitchen island laughed out loud and put his knife down, making sure to wipe his hands on the nearby towel to remove the excess flour he had stuck in between his fingers. ::

Trayton: Not yet my little one, you must be patient. Today is your brothers’ big day at school!

::He wiped his hands on his apron and walked around to where the little girl was stretching as hard as she could to reach one of the drinking glasses from the cupboard. Picking her up in one swift motion, he held her up high enough for her to not only reach a glass for herself, but one for him as well. With glasses in hand, her papa turned on the tap and together they watched the flow of water from the tap into the sink and saw the designs it created in the sink on the few remaining bubbles from the previously washed dishes. As she leaned over the sink, she splashed some of the cool water at him before she filled up their cups. Sitting her down on the counter, together they both enjoyed the refreshing feel of something nice and cold, compared to the late summer heat that was all about them.::

Brielle: It is getting late though Trayton. I was expecting him to done by now and sitting here in the kitchen talking about his experiences today.

Trayton: You must also be patient Brielle.

::He smiled with a gentleness that made the small strands of hair now becoming more visible in his hair to look as if they were shining. Helping his youngest down from the counter, Trayton returned to the work he was doing beforehand, preparing the evening pies for when the entire family would be gathered around the table to see how one of the oldest had done that day. ::

Trayton: Landon knew this would be a long day for him, and he had hoped to be home for evening meal, but perhaps things needed more time. It all depends on who is with him my love, you know how some examiners need more time than others.

:: Brielle couldn’t argue with her husband on that point, having herself proceeded over many examinations, sometimes well beyond the time that had been set aside for the exam to take place within. Still, she had been sure that it shouldn’t have gone on this long. One hour perhaps, two maybe, but three full hours beyond the normal 2 hour allotted time?

Ceilidh watched the banter between her parents as they talked about her oldest brother and his school exams. One day, she thought to herself, it will be her taking her exams like a big girl, so that she too could do important adult things. Of course, that was a long way away, and right now all she wanted to do was play hide and seek with Landon before it got too dark outside.::

Ceilidh: Well, I wish he was home now!

::Supper had already been pushed back an hour, and she was starting to feel hungry. Placing her glass on the counter, Ceilidh jumped down from the counter top and dragged the stool over to the window, where she would be able to sit and stare out the window to watch her brother as he walked home. Sitting there, she was able to let her imagination run free and thought of what the birds were singing about, or what poetry the frogs were talking about tonight. It was during one of the conversations with a frog she saw on the other side of the widow, did she see the familiar face of her brother as he walked towards the front door.

Moving off her stool as quickly as possible, she ran to the front door and pulled it open as hard as she could and waited to jump up into her brothers’ arms, as she had done so many times before. Instead, he didn’t even seem to notice her, and instead walked with heavy angry footsteps inside and straight into the kitchen. Hoping that her brother had just been lost in his thoughts, Ceilidh reached out and grabbed onto his hand. The moment she grabbed hold of his hand and tried to wrap her fingers around his, thoughts that were angry and hurtful and dark washed over her hand and felt like they were crashing over her arm and into her. With a scream she let go, as if to those around her, she had been hurt, and ran straight to her mother, where she buried her face into her mothers’ shoulder.

Brielle, for her part had been in the kitchen, discussing with Trayton the nuances of early Klingon Opera, and who were its original composers, many being those not of high ranking officers, but those who were dying and their final words spoken aloud and captured by someone unknown. It made her question if the accuracy of the stories were even accurate, or was the point that, stories had at least partially remembered, and hence the warriors lived on, if not in battle, but in death? When her daughter screamed, Brielle had stopped the conversation and peered out of the kitchen to see what was going on, only to have her younger child run straight into arms and cry big sobs on her shoulder. Looking up, she noticed the expression her oldest had on his face. Something had happened, but he hadn’t said anything, so what had caused Ceilidh to scream as she had? ::

Brielle: What happened?

Landon: I don’t want to talk about it.

Brielle: Well you better, as you’ve scared your sister to the point she’s in tears

::Looking over, Landon saw Ceilidh crying into their mothers’ shoulder. He reached for, and when his fingers barely touched the top of her head, once again Ceilidh let out a scream of pain, so loud that Landon took a step back in shock. Brielle looked down at her daughter and up to her son and back again, trying to comprehend what had just happened. She had an inkling of what had happened, and glanced over to where Trayton had stopped working on his pies and had a look of concern on his face. They both were wondering the same thing, but didn’t dare speak it out loud, not now with Landon in the room.

Gathering Ceilidh up her arms, Brielle took Ceilidh upstairs to her room, leaving her son and husband to discuss what had happened that day. ::

(End flashback)

((Starbase 118 – Turbolift 21))

Looking at the gloves as they cover her hands, Ceilidh shook her head and exhaled deeply. It had been many years ago since that earliest memory of the power of touch had taken place, and each day had been a struggle of how to deal with the emotional impact of dealing with such strong feelings. It had taken her mother well over an hour to calm Ceilidh down to the point that her tears stopped. Instead of supper that night, Ceilidh cried herself to sleep with her mother holding her in her arms until at last her head tilted slightly and there were no more tears. Who would have thought that years later, that first real memory of what it meant to be different would still hold such influence over her daily habits. It had been the first of many memories that herself and Dr. Meona had worked through in order to help Ceilidh move on with her life and learn to coexist happily within herself.

As the turbo lift opened, a multitude of smells slammed into her nose, letting her know that she was in the right place. Stepping out, she followed the familiar path to where she was supposed to have been now 7 minutes ago. Seeing the face of Dr. Meona, Ceilidh smiled and waved leaving her memory in the past where it belonged and adjusted her gloves as she was still a bit away and was happy to see that their normal location was still available. ::

Ensign Ceilidh Riverview

Counselor/Diplomatic Officer

USS Columbia

C239209CR0