Prologue
The Planet El Auria…Centuries Ago
Her grandmother leaned over the child lovingly, enfolding her in her arms. The scratchy skin of her brown-skinned hand gently glided over the young girl's smooth face as she hugged her tightly. Intelligent six year old eyes looked attentively up at the old woman. She knew her grandmother did not have long to live. There were many things the girl knew intuitively; and many of the elders, including her father, said she was gifted in that way.
"Your father told me you went up on the mountain yesterday," her grandmother said as though reading the girl's mind. Of course, her grandmother had the gift too.
The girl nodded silently, keeping her dark brown eyes focused respectfully on the lined face above her.
"You must be careful, young Guinan. For there are many dangers in this world. And soon I will be gone and will no longer be able to protect you. And your father is too consumed with his work to keep an eye on you."
"I saw the pool up on the hill," said Guinan. "It was so beautiful. And it was so hot yesterday. I just wanted to dip my feet in the pool."
"And what would you have done if you had fallen in?"
"Momi, I do know how to swim!"
"You are basing your assumption on the premise that the pool was filled with water."
Guinan looked at her grandmother in confusion. "What else would it be?"
The old woman smiled faintly. "Tell me, child, how many times have you been up to the top of that hill? Ten times...perhaps twenty?"
Guinan nodded yes.
"And have you ever seen that pool before yesterday?"
Guinan squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember, then slowly shook her head no. Her eyes grew wide again. "How did it come to be there, Momi?"
"Maybe you saw what you wanted to see, child. You must be careful."
"You mean because I was hot and tired, I saw a pool of water? But you told me that the things I create with my mind are good things; that they are my own."
A shadow passed across her grandmother's face. Was it fear? She pushed Guinan away and gripped her shoulders tightly, looking deep into the girl's eyes. "You did not create what is up on that hill, and you must promise me that if you go again, you will keep your heart open and free, and filled only with love."
"Why, Momi? Why are you so scared?" Despite her usually calm disposition, Guinan felt her lips begin to tremble.
Her grandmother sighed. "Your father does not believe in such things. He has forbidden me to tell you of the old ways."
"Oh," said the girl. She settled back in her grandmother's arms, and fell silent. "But…father never asks me what we talk about. Like you said, he is too busy with his work. Don't you want me to know the old ways?"
Her grandmother rested her chin on the top of Guinan's head, deep in thought for a few moments. "Yes, I do," she said after a time. She gently pushed the girl to her feet again. "Go and close the door. Then come back, and I will tell you a story."
Guinan jumped up, excited, and ran to the door, pushing it closed. It was heavy, not like the doors in the newer buildings. Everything about her grandmother, including where she lived, seemed ancient. She turned to face her grandmother and then walked back slowly to sit down across from the hunched figure. "Is the story you are going to tell me true?" Guinan asked.
Her grandmother's face grew sober. The firelight seemed suddenly to ebb, and Guinan felt what could have been a chill pass through the small house. Or it could have been her vivid imagination. "Yes, it is true," said the old woman. "But sometimes I wish that it was not."