Shiala woke with a start. That seemed to have become par-for-the-course for her. She heard a sound from the next room. She was crying. Again. Not that she was blaming a child for crying. It was in their nature, and the memories it brought back were her own fault, not the child's. That did not make the noise any easier to hear.
It was over a year ago that she had been rescued from the clutches of the Thorian by one Commander Shepard. Free of its grasp she had thought that she could escape the nightmares, and for a time she had. But not for long. When Saren and Benezia had brought her to the Thorian, they instructed her to meld with the creature to obtain the Cipher. And so she had. But she had made a mistake. A mistake resulting in the child in the next room.
All asari knew that melding could go beyond a sharing of minds, that it served as their form of reproduction. They knew how to make sure that they were only doing one and not the other. But Shiala had forgotten, lost herself in the experience that was the Thorian. And so a child was conceived, between her and the Thorian. A child that would not allow Shiala to get past her nightmares.
She went into the next room to comfort the child. Its skin was green, as was Shiala's. But Shiala had not been born green, and in her skin it was unnatural both in feel and in look. But the child, her daughter… the greenness of her skin fit as perfectly as the color of any asari. Shiala loved her, but this could not continue. She could not live with these dreams. She was reminded of a human phrase she had once heard. If you love something, let it go. It hadn't made any sense to her when she had first heard it. But now few words rung more true in her mind.
The idea had first occurred to Shiala a month after her daughter's birth, but she had dismissed it. However, as the nightmares continued it came back to her, growing strong each time she dreamt. She had contacted the agency two week ago. They were coming today. When the sun rose she set out to the landing dock. It had been repaired after the geth left. All of Zhu's Hope had. Tear began to well up inside her as the ship landed and spilled out as it left with her daughter.
But, for the first time in a year, Shiala slept well that night.
