Chapter 67 - Tvi-sochya
Tvi-sochya - inner peace arrived at by meditation
Sordd quietly closed the door to Avarak's room behind him. He was satisfied that Avarak's mental and emotional shields were at a more stable level, and he had left him contentedly playing on his holographic padd. He was now going to check on T'Shahel, who although not as strained as Avarak was in need of some fortification. He quietly opened the door to her room. On entering he could see his daughter kneeling down on her mat, her face was more serene than it had been at first meal, however, there was still a trace of something that concerned him. Sordd decided that it was now time to have a much needed conversation, which she had obviously, to Sordd anyway, been avoiding. He quietly entered the room, then knelt down, only the incense burner, sending forth a calming fragrance, and a candle between them...
"T'Shahel," Sordd quietly whispered her name, so as not to startle her.
T'Shahel opened her eyes and looked at him, "Sa-mekh," she replied softly.
"Something has been troubling you for sometime," he said, "I can help you, but only if you let me."
She looked up at him with a frown on her brow, "Sa-mekh, asking for help shows weakness in a Vulcans ability to reason things by themselves in a logical manner," she replied.
Sordd raised an eyebrow, unsure how his daughter had come to such an illogical conclusion, "There are occasions when it is illogical not to ask for help, perhaps this is one of them?" he asked.
T'Shahel looked at him and said nothing, while fidgeting with her robe, a habit she still had not managed to gain control of.
"You first need to acknowledge the problem, before you can go on and solve it," Sordd said, "What is the problem that you are facing?"
T'Shahel took a deep breath before speaking, "It is too difficult to speak of sa-mekh," she whispered. He could see tears pricking at her eyes, he could also see that she was using immense effort in order to stop them from flowing. "There are many things…" she was unable to hold his gaze so instead she looked down and tried to focus on the candle flame that was burning between them.
"What is the most pressing matter at the moment?" he continued the line of questioning.
T'Shahel fidgeted even more with her robe and eventually started to speak, "Avarak may have drowned," she said with a hitch in her voice, "his katra would have been lost," she looked up into her fathers eyes, "our katra's could be lost if there is not a keeper…"
Sordd was inwardly relieved that she was finally speaking these things out. He thought very carefully before proceeding. "The fal-tor-plak was created to ease the suffering of the living, to help us in our grief, to bring us peace," he replied in an understanding tone, "many civilisations have similar rituals to mark life's journey. Everything comes from the a'Tha and everything will return to the a'Tha. It is illogical to think that a katra would be lost simply because a particular ritual has not taken place, therefore the logical conclusion would be that Avarak's katra would have returned to the a'Tha that surrounds us."
She looked up at him again, "What about Mimi? She does not have a katra," she replied.
"The human word for katra is spirit or soul. There are as many belief systems on Mimi's planet as there are on ours," he replied. "It is something Mimi and I have discussed. I am willing to discuss this with you, but it may be more helpful to you if you discuss this question with her?"
T'Shahel thought for a moment then replied, "Ha, sa-mekkh, I will speak to her about it."
"Rom," Sordd replied. He paused then spoke again, "There is something else that is troubling you…"
"Ha, sa-mekh," she replied. After another long pause she spoke again, with some strain in her voice, "Is it acceptable to speak of ko-mekh in front of Mimi?"
"It has always been acceptable ko-fu," he replied. "I am sure that Mimi would find it agreeable if you were to share your memories of ko-mekh with her." Sordd inwardly sighed, his daughter was one for hiding her concerns, sometimes that being detrimental to her mental and emotional wellbeing. "T'Shahel, you do know that you can speak to me anytime about things that are unsettling you. You do not have to bear the burdens on your own."
T'Shahel frowned and then spoke, "Is asking for help giving up?" she asked.
"T'Shahel, asking for help is not giving up," Sordd said to her, "it is refusing to give up." He watched his daughter's face as the revelation hit her, immediately some of the strain which had been etched on her face began to leave. He continued, "Many things have happened over recent days that are… unsettling. Let your mind be at ease."
"Sa-mekh, sometimes it feels like I am in a sandstorm and the thoughts and emotions are whipping around me and I can not control them."
Sordd paused before speaking, "Take my hand T'Shahel." T'Shahel reached out her hand and he cupped it in his. "I am going to teach you a technique that will help you in the future when you are bombarded in this way, with different thoughts and emotions."
"Ha, sa-mekh," she said while looking at him.
"When I am in a storm, like the one you are speaking of there are two methods I have found to be effective in bringing me to a place of inner peace, you can learn to do the same," he said. "Now close your eyes." T'Shahel closed her eyes in response. "You have power to control the wind," he continued, "take control of the wind, instead of focusing on the individual grains of sand," Sordd could sense through their touch that she was taking on board what he was saying, "you have power to cause the wind to subside, until all that is around you grows still..." After some time T'Shahel's countenance returned to a more peaceful state.
"Thank you sa-mekh," she said softly, with an acceptable Vulcan smile on her face. "What is the other thing you do in the midst of a storm?" she asked with a note of interest in her voice.
"There are times when it is wise simply to remain still," he replied, "eventually the storm will pass..."
*'*
