Disclaimer - Please See Chapter 1
Chapter 31: T'Ankh'su - The Warrior
Sordd was standing closely behind Mimi in the middle of a large room. There were a number of doors. White, ashen white, pale slate, flint, natural slate, monument grey, basically black, black, with other shades in between. They were spiraling downwards and the light on them grew darker and darker.
Mimi walked towards the white door, she opened it... Sunshine spilled into the room... A man came into view, Sordd knew it must be Michael. He was 6'1" and 198Ibs. He had a square jawline and oval-shaped face, blue eyes, medium thick eyebrows and thick brown hair. He was attractive, charming, kind, polite, and thoughtful. He showered her with affection and compliments. He got everything just right... A diamond ring... Mimi was so content...
She proceeded to open the other doors...
*'*
Mimi, smiling and happy. "Hi Michael, how are you?" a quick peck on the cheek.
"Who was that you were flirting with?" he said.
Confusion ... she wasn't flirting with anyone. She was only speaking to her work colleagues.
"Who do you mean?" She asked.
The guy over there, "You flirt with him every day."
"He's a friend from work Michael, there is nothing going on between us..."
"If you want to marry me you need to stop that kind of thing… You also need to stop wearing those clothes, they make you look like a slut. I'm not marrying a slut." He said.
She looked down at what she was wearing. She wondered if she looked like a slut. Rachel had said she looked amazing in these clothes, did her sister lie to her? She looked up at him, "I'm sorry..." she replied.
*'*
She was standing in the rain on the sidewalk, waiting. Fifteen minutes passed, she texted him, no reply. Half an hour passed, she's worried something has happened. She tries to call him, it goes onto a messaging service. An hour later he's still not here. She's cold, wet and worried.
Eventually she decides to walk home… She sees him under a bridge.
"Where have you been? I'm freezing standing here!" he asked.
"I was waiting on Taylor Street." she replied.
"Why were you waiting there? We agreed to meet here."
"I'm sorry, I thought we were to meet on Taylor Street." She's nervous and confused, she is sure he said Taylor Street. "Do you still want to get something?"
"No, it's too late now…" He walks away.
She follows after him, "Michael, I'm sorry, I made a mistake..."
He stopped and turned to look at her. "You're always making mistakes Mimi. For someone with such intellect, you can be incredibly stupid!"
"I'm sorry…" She replied. Endless mistakes and it's always her fault. Why can't she get anything right?
*'*
"Mimi, prove that you love me. Sleep with me." he said.
"Michael, I don't want to do that until we are married." A tinge of fear in her voice.
"You do it with your other boyfriends." he said.
"I promise you, I don't have any other boyfriends."
"You are a bare faced liar, I see the way you look at them..." he shouted.
"Michael, I don't have any other boyfriends, please understand that they are just friends from work..." Why did he not believe what she said? Maybe it would be best not to talk to them outside of work ...
*'*
He was wearing her down. Nothing she did was good enough for him. One moment he would be kind and generous the next he would just flip. She couldn't get out. He said he would kill himself if she left…
*'*
He hit her, she was sure of it. "I'm sure you hit me." she said.
"You fell down, I saw you fall down. I would never hit you, I would never hurt you. It's all in your head Mimi, prove that it was me."
She wasn't sure what was real anymore...
"If you leave I will track you down and kill you!" he said. Later he denied it, "I didn't say that, I would never say anything like that. You're crazy!"
Did he say it, or was this something else she imagined? Maybe she was crazy.
*'*
15 minutes to get home from work, it took 50.
"Where have you been, why are you so late?" He demanded to know an answer.
"The traffic was really bad...there was an accident."
He slapped her very hard and then grabbed her mouth. "I would rather you shut up than tell lies."
Things escalated. I ran to the bathroom and locked the door. He smashed through it in an absolute rage.
"Things will get a lot worse if you don't stop lying to me." He grabbed my neck and pressed it tight...
"You imagined it, Mimi. You know your memory isn't good. I was out with friends last night, it couldn't have been me. Maybe it was a dream?" It couldn't have been a dream... the bathroom door...
*'*
She continued to open the other doors, giving him glimpses into what had happened, things moved from bad to worse. Mimi herself became more and more withdrawn, depressed, confused, isolated… She was the stupid one, the clumsy one, the one who couldnt stop flirting, the one who didn't appreciate him or show him her love. It was all her fault… Then there was the fear that he would hurt himself or hurt her, she was trapped with no way of escape...
Mimi walked towards the black door. Sordd could see her digging her nails into her palms. She turned to him for reassurance, she was shaking. He stood behind her, placing his hands upon her arms. He whispered, "I'm here Ashayam. You are safe."
She went to open the door, she turned the knob…
The ground gave way beneath them, sucking them down... there was nothing to grab hold of, they both continued to slip further and further down into a pit. The light continued to get dimmer and dimmer...
*'*
... Mimi woke up, it felt like she was lying on a woodland floor, the hard roots under her back. It was a familiar place. She reached out her hand, Sordd wasn't there. She must have lost him in the fall, it was her own stupid fault she shouldn't have opened the door. She scanned around... Then she saw it, two eyes staring back... She jumped to her feet, she needed to run, to get out of here...
Rain, soaking wet and cold, assaulted the earth, pouring through the tree canopy. Dirt was running like rivers along the woodland floor. She ran as fast as she could, the light was getting dimmer by the moment. Fear, crippling fear began to work its way through her being. She glanced back. Its eyes were locked on her. The Beast was chasing her….
*'*
The Warrior awoke, he was lying on a woodland floor, the hard roots under his back. He reached out, Mimi his Ashayam wasn't there. He must have lost her in the fall. He instinctively jumped to his feet. His eyes scanned around... in the distance he could see her running through a dark wood, the rain soaking her through. Something else came into focus, a Beast was chasing her. Without hesitation the Warrior began to pursue...
*'*
She took a sharp turn to the right, of the beaten path, hoping to throw it off in the thick of the trees. The branches caught against her clothes, whipping and scratching her face and bear arms. She needed to escape. She slipped in the wet mud, she struggled to her feet. She needed to get away as fast as she could, out of its reach. The faster she ran the slower she got. It was always the same she could never gain ground. The Beast was getting closer, catching at her heels...
*'*
The Warrior saw her dart into the right, the Beast following in close pursuit. He darted into the right also. The branches caught on his clothes, whipping and scratching his face and bare arms, it was of no consequence. He needed to catch the Beast before it got her, his Ashaya. He saw her slip and fall, then get up again. The Beast was catching at her heels. The Warrior quickly gained more ground...
*'*
Mimi's lungs felt like they were about to explode with exhaustion. She could feel the Beast breathing down her neck. Thorns were cutting at her bare feet, they started to bleed, slowing her down. She tripped again over a root, she braced for the fall but the ground gave way. She slid down another embankment into a pit of mud. It sucked her in, filling her mouth and lungs, she spluttered it out. She turned to see where the Beast was. Mud was in her eyes blinding her. She tried to wipe it away but it only seemed to make things worse. She couldn't see it but she could hear it moving around, circling her...
*'*
In the distance the Warrior saw her slip and move out of sight. The Beast followed. The Warrior got to the embankment and looked down, the Beast was circling her, ready to pounce...
*'*
Mimi tried to scream, the Beast clasped a hand over her mouth to stop her. "Shut up!" it hissed. She was now paralysed by fear. Its other hand wrapped around her neck and pressed hard, she was suffocating, she couldn't breathe...
Suddenly there was a commotion ... from behind the Beast she saw a Warrior... and the glint of a blade...
*'*
With his free hand the Warrior grabbed the Beast by its neck. One swift move and he pulled it away, hurtling it against a rock. The Warrior moved towards the Beast. He took his lirpa; a strike to its head with the club end. He spun the metal staff around and ran it through with the fan-shaped blade… The Beast was dead.
*'*
The Warrior returned and knelt down beside her, his Ashayam. She was shaking with the cold and with fear, unable to move. He tenderly tucked a stray hair behind her ear then took off his outer robe and carefully wrapped her in it, warming her. He gently lifted her up in his strong arms, drawing her closer to himself. "Than fam an'kharh. Tu ekman Ashayam."
"Thank you." she whispered. "Thank you.." her voice cracked.
He gently stroked her cheek, wiping the tears away. "Ashaya nam-tor, t'nash-veh." He whispered.
She buried her head in his chest. "Ah, t'nash-veh Ashaya." She replied.
Notes
Ashaya - love
Ashayam - beloved
Than fam an'kharh. Tu ekman Ashayam. - Do not fear, you are safe beloved.
Ashaya nam-tor t'nash-veh - My love, be mine.
Ah, t'nash-veh Ashaya - Yes, my love.
Let's pretend there is some Vulcan mind meld thing going on where Mimi can understand and speak Vulcan.