Okay, just so there isn't any confusion (Oh- ha! No pun intended ^_^),
K'Ela is 26 years old. I kinda tell you that in this chapter, but just in
case you miss that, I'm telling you here. She was only remembering when
she was younger.
So... enjoy! Oh- there's a really tiny spoiler for "Breaking the Ice," but not really.
Chapter 6
Confusion
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked me, making sure I was as fine as I said I was.
"Yeah," I lied, and I allowed him to believe that.
I realized then that I needed an excuse to get out of there, away from the person I thought I would finally be able to be comfortable around. I said, "I just remembered I left something in my car," and left, passing Hoshi, and telling her she could go back inside.
Inwardly I scolded myself for the lame excuse, but I had thought of nothing better, and he didn't really question- not that I left him any time to do so.
I got into my car, just glad to be alone, when I remembered that I actually had to find something to take back with me. I shrugged that thought away, it being unnecessary to do so. Besides... I had more trying thoughts to deal with.
I at first believed I was going insane. There was no possible way for me to have seen one of my father's memories... Or was there? He had told me that he and Ah'Len read each other's minds, using telepathic granules of some kind. Maybe that same connection... oh, I hoped not. Besides, I tried to convince myself, they only could do that using the granules. Just thinking about that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.
I looked down at the floor, trying to distract myself from my thoughts, and there, lying on the coarse, black rug was a key. I picked it up, brushing some of the sand and dirt off the cool brass. It was unfamiliar to me, so it must have been my dad's.
Suddenly, the same bright flash of light went through my mind, and I gasped, letting the key fall from my fingers. I sat back in the seat, shaken by the experience, but at least assured that whatever was happening, it wasn't the same connection that my father and Ah'Len shared. This was a much shorter, more random connection. But that scared me too. How would I know when it would happen again?
I looked back down at the key, wondering if I should attempt to pick it up again. Finally I decided I should, and I struggled to get it out from under the gas pedal. The metal once again felt cool in my hand, but nothing happened. I turned it over and over in my hand, wondering if the connection was lost, and if I could have ever initiated it myself.
I was just about to put it down when a memory came into my thoughts.
The door was white, and the glass of the window was oval in shape, with white floral designs restricting the view inside. As the key unlocked the door and it opened, the inside of this house was shown to me... or whoever I was. To my right was a living room, with dim lighting, giving the entire area a deeper, richer color, and while it looked more solemn, a feeling of comfort surfaced in my mind.
To my left was a staircase, one with a burgundy rug that was worn from years of use until its once soft texture became hard like the wood beneath it. I looked up, my eyes following the wooden railing's sharp turns up to the second floor until it disappeared from my sight.
Ahead of me was the warm glow of the bright light of the kitchen area, the light seeping past the boundaries of the kitchen and into the hallway. From this spot I could see the entire length of the house's first floor, one beautiful room after another.
From across the house, I heard a bright voice say, "Hello? Who is it?"
It was a woman's voice- an older woman- whose cheery words, though plain if it weren't for her tone, brought a smile to my lips. However, I could feel this person's heart skip a beat, and one word arose in my thoughts: mom.
I dropped the key, hearing a muffled clang as it fell on the floor. I suddenly didn't want to touch anything. Everything held a memory, and I was done searching through the past. I didn't want to know any more. I got out of the car, and was just about to open the door to the hotel room, but I heard Hoshi and my dad talking. I wouldn't have normally eavesdropped, but I heard my name. They were talking about me.
"I don't understand, though," said Hoshi. "Why don't you want to see her?"
My father sighed. "I haven't seen her in a long time. I forgot how much she looks like her mother."
"Trip, it's been twenty-six years since you saw Ah'Len."
"I know, I know. It shouldn't hurt me this much. I don't know why it does."
*I* knew. He had spent so long trying to forget about her, my arrival back home just brought all those memories back with me.
Hearing a break in conversation, I re-entered the room, pretending I heard nothing. I had definitely had enough problems for one day.
We all talked like nothing happened for the next two hours, catching up on each other's lives, listening to stories about life here in Florida, or on Enterprise- which I was surprised to see that my dad was actually enjoying listening to.
We then were going to go back home, I stopped to talk to Hoshi alone for a minute.
"Hoshi, I wanted t' ask you somethin'."
She turned to face me, waiting for me to continue, but the expression on her face telling me silently, "No, please no more questions."
"I was just wondering how long you were stayin' here in Florida."
"Just a few more days. Why?"
"I was gonna try t' do somethin' special for his birthday, and I was thinking that he might like it if you came. I was hopin' to get everyone else from Enterprise t' come too."
"That would be pretty hard to do. *I* can come... but it's sad to say that I'd be the only one. T'Pol went back to Vulcan a little while after your dad left Enterprise to marry a man named Koss. Dr. Phlox went back to Denobula after Enterprise came back home, but who knows where he is now; the Interspecies Medical Exchange program sends him all over the universe. Travis is the captain of a cargo ship, a long way away from here. Everyone went their separate ways."
There was an awkward pause.
"What about Jon?" I asked.
"...I don't think Jon and your dad are on the best of terms. They had a pretty bad argument a long time ago. I have no idea why, or what about, but when the captain came back to Enterprise..." She sighed. "I know he didn't give up trying to talk to your dad, but things just didn't work out."
That was what I saw. So I wasn't going crazy after all.
"What about Malcolm?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know. He never really talked much. Trip got him to talk a little, and so did the captain, but he pretty much kept to himself."
"Oh..." I said sadly.
"But *I'll* come," Hoshi told me.
I smiled. "But I'm still gonna try an' find Jon and Malcolm."
She nodded, accepting my efforts.
We arrived home, discussing Enterprise, and talking more in those minutes than we had all morning.
As my dad walked down the hallway, I closed the door behind me. The same flash of light went through my mind, and I had to hold on to the frame of the door for support. As I touched the frame of the door, another flash hit me. Pictures flashed through my mind at random, none of them connected to each other, and all of them joined by emotions that I couldn't explain. I heard so many people talking, and none of it made any sense.
Just when I thought it was over, more pictures shot through my thoughts, changing and playing over and over in my mind, with no sequence and no importance, and bombarding me with other people's thoughts. Anger, hate, happiness, fear, satisfaction, uneasiness, pain, gratification all surged in me until I couldn't take it anymore.
I could feel myself collapsing, but the memories didn't take pity on me. They continued through my tears, putting me through even more agonizing pain.
As I felt myself hit the floor, I could hear a far-away voice shout with concern, "K'Ela!"
*sniffle* Poor K'Ela... I hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you thought.
So... enjoy! Oh- there's a really tiny spoiler for "Breaking the Ice," but not really.
Chapter 6
Confusion
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked me, making sure I was as fine as I said I was.
"Yeah," I lied, and I allowed him to believe that.
I realized then that I needed an excuse to get out of there, away from the person I thought I would finally be able to be comfortable around. I said, "I just remembered I left something in my car," and left, passing Hoshi, and telling her she could go back inside.
Inwardly I scolded myself for the lame excuse, but I had thought of nothing better, and he didn't really question- not that I left him any time to do so.
I got into my car, just glad to be alone, when I remembered that I actually had to find something to take back with me. I shrugged that thought away, it being unnecessary to do so. Besides... I had more trying thoughts to deal with.
I at first believed I was going insane. There was no possible way for me to have seen one of my father's memories... Or was there? He had told me that he and Ah'Len read each other's minds, using telepathic granules of some kind. Maybe that same connection... oh, I hoped not. Besides, I tried to convince myself, they only could do that using the granules. Just thinking about that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.
I looked down at the floor, trying to distract myself from my thoughts, and there, lying on the coarse, black rug was a key. I picked it up, brushing some of the sand and dirt off the cool brass. It was unfamiliar to me, so it must have been my dad's.
Suddenly, the same bright flash of light went through my mind, and I gasped, letting the key fall from my fingers. I sat back in the seat, shaken by the experience, but at least assured that whatever was happening, it wasn't the same connection that my father and Ah'Len shared. This was a much shorter, more random connection. But that scared me too. How would I know when it would happen again?
I looked back down at the key, wondering if I should attempt to pick it up again. Finally I decided I should, and I struggled to get it out from under the gas pedal. The metal once again felt cool in my hand, but nothing happened. I turned it over and over in my hand, wondering if the connection was lost, and if I could have ever initiated it myself.
I was just about to put it down when a memory came into my thoughts.
The door was white, and the glass of the window was oval in shape, with white floral designs restricting the view inside. As the key unlocked the door and it opened, the inside of this house was shown to me... or whoever I was. To my right was a living room, with dim lighting, giving the entire area a deeper, richer color, and while it looked more solemn, a feeling of comfort surfaced in my mind.
To my left was a staircase, one with a burgundy rug that was worn from years of use until its once soft texture became hard like the wood beneath it. I looked up, my eyes following the wooden railing's sharp turns up to the second floor until it disappeared from my sight.
Ahead of me was the warm glow of the bright light of the kitchen area, the light seeping past the boundaries of the kitchen and into the hallway. From this spot I could see the entire length of the house's first floor, one beautiful room after another.
From across the house, I heard a bright voice say, "Hello? Who is it?"
It was a woman's voice- an older woman- whose cheery words, though plain if it weren't for her tone, brought a smile to my lips. However, I could feel this person's heart skip a beat, and one word arose in my thoughts: mom.
I dropped the key, hearing a muffled clang as it fell on the floor. I suddenly didn't want to touch anything. Everything held a memory, and I was done searching through the past. I didn't want to know any more. I got out of the car, and was just about to open the door to the hotel room, but I heard Hoshi and my dad talking. I wouldn't have normally eavesdropped, but I heard my name. They were talking about me.
"I don't understand, though," said Hoshi. "Why don't you want to see her?"
My father sighed. "I haven't seen her in a long time. I forgot how much she looks like her mother."
"Trip, it's been twenty-six years since you saw Ah'Len."
"I know, I know. It shouldn't hurt me this much. I don't know why it does."
*I* knew. He had spent so long trying to forget about her, my arrival back home just brought all those memories back with me.
Hearing a break in conversation, I re-entered the room, pretending I heard nothing. I had definitely had enough problems for one day.
We all talked like nothing happened for the next two hours, catching up on each other's lives, listening to stories about life here in Florida, or on Enterprise- which I was surprised to see that my dad was actually enjoying listening to.
We then were going to go back home, I stopped to talk to Hoshi alone for a minute.
"Hoshi, I wanted t' ask you somethin'."
She turned to face me, waiting for me to continue, but the expression on her face telling me silently, "No, please no more questions."
"I was just wondering how long you were stayin' here in Florida."
"Just a few more days. Why?"
"I was gonna try t' do somethin' special for his birthday, and I was thinking that he might like it if you came. I was hopin' to get everyone else from Enterprise t' come too."
"That would be pretty hard to do. *I* can come... but it's sad to say that I'd be the only one. T'Pol went back to Vulcan a little while after your dad left Enterprise to marry a man named Koss. Dr. Phlox went back to Denobula after Enterprise came back home, but who knows where he is now; the Interspecies Medical Exchange program sends him all over the universe. Travis is the captain of a cargo ship, a long way away from here. Everyone went their separate ways."
There was an awkward pause.
"What about Jon?" I asked.
"...I don't think Jon and your dad are on the best of terms. They had a pretty bad argument a long time ago. I have no idea why, or what about, but when the captain came back to Enterprise..." She sighed. "I know he didn't give up trying to talk to your dad, but things just didn't work out."
That was what I saw. So I wasn't going crazy after all.
"What about Malcolm?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know. He never really talked much. Trip got him to talk a little, and so did the captain, but he pretty much kept to himself."
"Oh..." I said sadly.
"But *I'll* come," Hoshi told me.
I smiled. "But I'm still gonna try an' find Jon and Malcolm."
She nodded, accepting my efforts.
We arrived home, discussing Enterprise, and talking more in those minutes than we had all morning.
As my dad walked down the hallway, I closed the door behind me. The same flash of light went through my mind, and I had to hold on to the frame of the door for support. As I touched the frame of the door, another flash hit me. Pictures flashed through my mind at random, none of them connected to each other, and all of them joined by emotions that I couldn't explain. I heard so many people talking, and none of it made any sense.
Just when I thought it was over, more pictures shot through my thoughts, changing and playing over and over in my mind, with no sequence and no importance, and bombarding me with other people's thoughts. Anger, hate, happiness, fear, satisfaction, uneasiness, pain, gratification all surged in me until I couldn't take it anymore.
I could feel myself collapsing, but the memories didn't take pity on me. They continued through my tears, putting me through even more agonizing pain.
As I felt myself hit the floor, I could hear a far-away voice shout with concern, "K'Ela!"
*sniffle* Poor K'Ela... I hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you thought.