Chapter 3 "Meeting Amanda"

Sarek

I first met Amanda two years ago, and I recalled it one afternoon as I ate lunch.

Arriving late at my family's holiday celebration, I passed a compact storage room as I entered T'Pau's substantial housing complex. She kept important clan documents and other prominent items, such as family trees and scrapbooks. I heard faint weeping from a woman, a human. Inquisitively, I quietly stepped into the room to discover a woman in a long rose-colored Vulcan dress holding her head in her hands, which shielded her face. Although I couldn't observe her in totality, she took my breath away, and I felt a sharp pain of empathy in my chest. It was puzzling.

"Excuse me, Miss, may I assist you," I questioned, padding closer to the alien woman.

"Oh, no, thank you," she hurriedly responded, using her hands to wipe away the tears in embarrassment. Her face with her eyes a chestnut brown, her layered brown hair, and her cherubic cheeks produced one breathtaking woman.

"Here, please take my handkerchief. I am Ambassador Sarek, son of Skon," I announced. Next, I handed it to the lady as she peered up at me after dabbing her eyes with a slight smile on her thin lips.

"I don't believe I have met you before, Miss. Are you familiar with my Aunt, T'Pau?"

"Yes, my name is Amanda Grayson. I am interning as a teacher at the Vulcan Academy under your Aunt's sponsorship," she shyly greeted, still sniffling. When I suggested that Amanda inhale and exhale a few times deeply, she seemed to regain her composure.

Appearing calmer, she then clarified by saying, " T'Pau, your Aunt, graciously invited me here to celebrate the holiday."

"But you aren't well, Miss Grayson?" I deduced, examining her closely.

"No," Amanda remarked, handing the handkerchief back to me and thanking me.

"Do you need a doctor," I didn't comprehend the problem as I fingered the cloth that she touched between my two fingers. Irreverently, my mind wandered to the question of the softness of Amanda's skin.

" No, thank you. I am a fish out of water here, Ambassador Sarek, " she forlornly remarked with a melancholy smile on her pink lips.

"Explain the phrase, please. I do not understand."

"Ambassador, I do not belong here. I have tried to fit in and follow Surak's teachings mixed in with T'Pau's advice...but I failed," Miss Grayson whimpered, her brown eyes seeming to beg for assistance.

"Why do you say that," I wondered, kneeling beside her.

"Will you please call me Amanda, Ambassador? I know Vulcans are formal, but I miss being called by my first name," she pleadingly questioned.

"As you wish, Amanda," I conceded as I tried to scrutinize her expression, " Please call me Sarek. Will you please explain your position?"

She nodded and thanked me quietly.

"It's too hot here, everybody observes me like I am an animal on display in a zoo, and I- I- I want a hamburger," Amanda wept. I handed the handkerchief back to her.

"How may I assist you, Amanda?" I gently questioned.

" Do you have a hamburger," she hopefully asked with a slight grin on her pink lips but added, "Sorry, just a joke."

"A joke is a story with a humorous climax," I offered, then frowned, "I do not understand, Amanda."

"Obviously, Ambassador Sarek, son of Skon," she playfully teased with an enchanting grin, and I glanced at her curiously. I knew that humans occasionally mocked each other out of affection, but I wasn't accustomed to it. However, Amanda's heart-warming spirit tugged at my heartstrings.

"Nevertheless, let me help you and show you a place where I like to meditate here. Perhaps it will help you find peace," I suggested, holding my hand out for her to grasp.

Amanda delicate hands slipped into my own perfectly as she allowed me to pull her up. Consequently, I found a corner of my mouth upturned, but I swiftly removed it. When I released Amanda's hands, I felt the absence of her comforting warmth.

"I saw that," the pretty human female joked when she stood up, "you smiled."

"Vulcans don't smile, Miss Grayson. Do you meditate," I coldly scolded her, but I felt secretly pleased with her observation.

"Yes, I mean, I try to," Amanda mentioned, shrugging her shoulders.

"Have you read any of Surak's teachings?"

"Yes, I am on my second reading of them. I began reading them on the journey from Earth to Vulcan, but I wanted to dig into it by doing it again."

"Would you please clarify the phrase, 'dig into,'" I requested, raising my right eyebrow in curiosity.

"Pardon me, Ambassador Sarek, and I forgot how literal Vulcans are sometimes. I mean, delve into his teachings, really absorb it," Amanda corrected herself, showing early warning signs of frustration.

" One of Surak's lessons is to 'Accept everything that happens and persevere in your struggle. Have patience in your challenges.' When I became Ambassador, I recited this quite often, and I still do," I confessed, wondering why I felt the need to tell her.

My katra indicated that I felt comfortable with Amanda in response, although she was an illogical human. I requested that Miss Grayson follow me to a small meditation room filled with tall white unlit candles and two meditation mats. While pointing at the black mat, I offered Amanda a place to sit and meditate as l lit a candle one by one. The light displayed her exquisite features as she shut her eyes, and I couldn't remove my gaze from her for ten-point nine seconds. Her high cheekbones and slight pinkish hue was quite attractive. Gradually, I lowered myself to the mat in front of her.

"Accept everything that will happen to you. Persevere in struggles, and have patience," I instructed, closing my eyes.

Together we meditated on that mantra as two people individually. However, a part of our spirits merged inexplicably, and I believe we both felt that feeling of jointness although we were strangers.

"Thank you for taking the time to assist me," Amanda honestly replied to me before we joined the others, smiling widely.

" Surak advises us to help others. However, I know the difficulty of adjusting to a new planet as I have struggled while working with the previous Ambassador on Earth," I said, downplaying my role.

"How long have you been a diplomat," she inquired, her brown eyes opened wide in wonder.

"Seven years. T'Pau and my Father influenced the former Ambassador's decision to hire me as an assistant."

"Yes, I find that your family must have considerable influence in Vulcan society," Amanda affably remarked, and I nodded, not knowing what to say.

" I am indebted to T'Pau's extraordinary kindness in sponsoring me as a teacher at the Academy here. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity," the pretty brown-haired human female admitted.

"T'Pau would never waste her time on someone who didn't exhibit great skill," I complimented, and Amanda blushed. Inwardly, I felt a bit of happiness at her action.

"I will escort you back to the gathering," I abruptly suggested. I realized I needed to remove myself from Amanda as she generated feelings in me that I couldn't explain. Ones that I didn't even have when I was married to T'Rea.

Amanda lowered her head and nodded, concealing her delight, but I could feel it. Her positive energy and warmth radiated like sound waves to me.

One Hour Later

"Who is the human female at the gathering," My father, Skonn, inquired, raising an eyebrow. He was always wary of humans because they were emotional. Before I could respond, T'Pau appeared and proudly introduced,

"Amanda, this is Skonn, son of-, and his youngest son, Sarek. This is Amanda Grayson, a Human intern at the Vulcan Academy with impressive linguistic skills."

Reverentially, she bowed her head, but I disregarded her as much as I could.

"Miss Grayson, it is a pleasure," my father stated, then whispered something into the ear of T'Pau, who nodded, and they swiftly excused themselves.

"How do you find the Academy," I inquired, finding myself alone with this awkward yet beautiful human again.

"Engrossing. The library is enormous, and I have lost many evenings finding books to read. The students are the best I have seen, and their minds are like little sponges."

"Indeed," I replied, arching an eyebrow at her expression. Mentally, I told myself not to ask for an explanation.

"Amanda," T'Pau called, and she excused herself before joining her sponsor. For a moment, I stood there intrigued by my newest acquaintance, a striking woman from Earth named Amanda Grayson.

Meanwhile, my assistant alerted me that it was time for my next appointment, and I felt relieved that Amanda wouldn't be my mind's focus for a while. I found out recently that the human name "Amanda" means "worthy of love," and to my annoyance, I pondered what it would be like to love her.