My Heart And Soul
"I lost my friend. I lost my soul. Where do I go to escape the toll?
Is there a way to find my friend, to bring the pain to an end?
Quantum physics, many dimensions, could one of them grab our attention?
A voice I know makes my heart soar just by stepping through a different door.
I found my soul, I found my friend. Tears of joy, my pain at an end!"
(dedicated in memory of Elli's twinny, Tiffany)
Personal note: certain aspects of my latest story could not have been possible without my unexpected meeting of Elli and her story, Dragonsight. Through her, I got a glimpse of her twinny. Though lost to cancer, I hope to keep Tiffany's memory alive by including them both in my story.
Dana Sterling
The Kendite embassy on Pern had been completed; the Matriarch herself highly praising its design and amenities. The runways and landing pads had been completely redone in jig time… in no small measure to Fandarel's skill and direction. The Quonset hut village, including Key Clinic, had been completely refurbished and refitted. Thanks to everyone's tireless efforts, Landing was finally ready to serve the people of Pern.
One morning, as I was going over some reports in my Admin building office, I received a knock at the door.
"Come!" I called, switching off the viewer.
It was Rill. "Your ten o'clock appointment is here."
Somehow, I missed the conspiratorial glint in her eye.
Double checking my schedule, I commented, "Did I miss something? My calendar is clear right now."
"They said you'd understand," Rill responded, opening the door fully.
"F'lessan! Tai!" I exclaimed, rising from my seat to give them each a hug.
Something was wrong. Neither responded to my touch. "What is it? What's happened?"
"We're not sure," F'lessan explained, glancing at his weyrmate. "Golanth has been acting strange lately."
"We don't know what to do!" Tai nervously added, glancing out the window. "We're hoping you can help us."
"Where is he?" I asked, grabbing my emergency medical kit off the peg by the door.
"Just outside," F'lessan replied, thumbing in that direction.
"Dana, please hurry!" Tai begged, seizing my arm.
What could've gone wrong? All the reports I'd gotten indicated Golanth had fully recovered and was doing well in his physio sessions. More than a little worried, I dashed down the hall, F'lessan and Tai close behind.
Once I got outside, I stopped suddenly, spotting Golanth high above Landing… doing wing rolls, loop the loops, all manner of dragon maneuvers… and he was bugling at the top of his lungs all the while.
Behind me, I heard F'lessan and Tai explode with laughter. They'd just been joshing me about Golanth!
"Oh, this is serious!" I chuckled, thumbing skyward. "He's got a severe case of elation! And you two…"
Dropping my pack, I wrapped the duo up in a heartfelt bear hug.
"He needs a check flight before I can clear him to return to combat," I told them, grinning from ear-to-ear.
Golanth was more than happy to oblige, landing practically at my feet, offering me his foreleg. Climbing up, he lifted me higher where I was easily able to settle myself on his neck ridge, strapping myself into F'lessan's riding belt.
Laying my hands on his neck, I asked, "Stretch them out, Golanth."
He eagerly complied, extending his restored wings all the way to their furthest extent. Through my empathic contact, I didn't feel a single twinge.
"Downstrokes!" I ordered.
F'lessan's dragon complied, stirring up a massive cloud of volcanic dust all around us. No change. No twinges. Everything appeared sound.
"Aloft!" I ordered, pointing skyward.
Golanth complied, leaping so high his wings' downstroke cleared the ground with ease.
"Show me what you've got, Golanth!"
He did, repeating his performance just moments ago. Through it all, my empathic contact told me that he was finally ready to fly Thread once more. Sensing my thoughts, Golanth let loose a howl of delight so loud that it brought many in Landing out of their homes and places of work to find out what was going on! He dove earthward, pulling to a bone-jarring hover right in front of F'lessan and Tai before gently settling to the ground, his eyes whirling feverishly in a totally pleased blue-green shade.
"When's the next Fall?" I asked as I slid down Golanth's side.
Hearing that, F'lessan broke into tears, his own elation matching his dragon's. Sobbing with relief, he wrapped his arms around Golanth's muzzle, hugging him tightly. Tai hugged them both, her own happy tears blending with F'lessan's.
"Dana, thank you," Golanth's lifemate wept. "If not for you…"
I waved his praise aside. "My part was such a small piece of this success. Chlorith and her physio really got the ball rolling, resulting in Golanth's recovery."
Tai broke away, running up to me, wrapping me up in a bone-creaking hug.
"You're wrong, Dana," she sobbed, her grip never letting up. "None of this would've happened if you hadn't found Chlorith, thanks to your gift of quantum jumping."
"Tai's right, Dana," F'lessan added, laying his hand on my shoulder. "If you hadn't made the transdimensional jump utilizing your dragon gift of quantum ergokinesis, Chlorith wouldn't have known about Golanth and he would still be crippled."
"I want to thank her," Golanth rumbled, joining our group. "Can you take us there?"
"You did, after all," Tai teased me, grinning happily, "promise that on the day Golanth took to the skies once more…"
"You'd bring him by to show off his progress," F'lessan finished, his expression earnest.
Grinning broadly, I nodded. Changing into our spacesuits, the three of us boarded our dragons. Making certain we were firmly strapped in, I pumped my fist in the air, our three dragons leaping skyward.
Give them the fix, love.
Ten minutes later, we came out of between over that dimension's version of Master Robinton's home, settling gently to the sands of the beach. I stayed on the ground. F'lessan, Tai, and their dragons took wing, moving off.
Chlorith? I silently called as I removed my helmet.
Dana?!
Yes.
Where are you?
The beach of Cove Hold.
We'll be right there!
Seconds later, a host of dragons appeared overhead, landing a short distance away. Chlorith with Elli, Rollith with Tiffany, Aureath with Ariana, and Aurelith carrying Oriana. The humans dismounted, running my way, their dragons close behind, the excitement on all their faces clear.
"Dana!" Chlorith called out, rubbing her muzzle against my cheek. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Elli! Tiffany!" I cried, embracing my two friends. "How are you?"
"We're fine," Elli replied, pulling back to look at me. "You?"
"Better than alright," I sighed, glancing over at her daughters. "Hello, Ari, Ori!"
"Hey, Dana!" they responded, waving.
"What are you doing here?" Tiffany wondered, giving my shoulder a squeeze.
"Do you remember what I said before you all returned home?" I asked, my gaze sweeping the group.
Elli was the first to make the connection, gasping as she looked right at me. "He can fly again?!"
A shadow passed over us. Pointing skyward, I replied, "See for yourselves!"
As Chlorith and the others looked up, I heard gasps of surprise and squeals of delight as everyone watched our Golanth and Zaranth wing along in close formation, F'lessan and Tai waving feverishly from astride their dragons.
"Thank you, Chlorith," I quietly addressed her, bowing deeply. "My people and I are in your debt."
"I only started the process," Chlorith responded, her head pointing at the flying pair. "You and your healers completed it."
"A team effort, then," I chuckled, gently pounding her on the neck, "each contributing to the final overall success."
Squealing together, Ari and Ori boarded their dragons, taking to the skies to join Golanth and Zaranth, waving furiously in congratulations!
"Shall we?" I asked, nodding towards the foursome above.
The others needed no further urging, racing for their own dragons. In moments, Tarnaa, Chlorith, and Rollith had joined the formation, every rider grinning from ear to ear!
For nearly an hour, we soared through the skies of Chlorith's Pern, F'lessan and Golanth leading the way, the rest of us spread out in a V formation behind him. Abruptly, sensing his other dimension self, our Golanth headed straight to Honshu Weyrhold. As we arrived a short time later, he bugled loudly in greeting to his alter dimension twin visible on the ledge below.
Circling once, our septet landed in a clearing nearby, the riders dismounting. Chlorith's F'lessan and Tai were equally stunned to meet their other dimensional selves while the two Golanths exchanged pleasantries.
"This is so weird!" our Tai remarked, staring in wonder at her other dimensional self.
"It's like looking in a mirror!" Chlorith's F'lessan added, face to face with his dimensional double.
Our Golanth then turned, first bowing deeply to Elli's queen then rubbing muzzles with her.
"Thank you, Dragonhealer," he said aloud, his eyes shading to a brilliant blue.
"Wait!" their Tai exclaimed, suddenly realizing something. "You lot were gone for nearly a month and a half!" Whirling, she stared at Chlorith. "You went to their world?! You healed him?!"
Chlorith shook her massive head. "I only began the process, teaching their healers the ways of dragon physical therapy. They completed the process." Nodding to us, she added, "You can be proud of what your healers have accomplished, Masterhealer. Well done."
"Without your aid and your teachings," I countered, bowing to her, "our Golanth would not be free to soar the skies of Pern once more. We are in your debt."
"And if you had not followed your instincts and what the quantum jumping was revealing to you," Chlorith remarked, lowering her head so she was on a level with me, "your Golanth would still be crippled, unable to fly. If you hadn't followed your heart and made the transdimensional jump to this reality, the miracle of Golanth's recovery would never have happened. You are the nexus of these events, Masterhealer. That one critical choice, that one critical decision, made all the difference."
"She's right, Dana," Tiffany commented, coming over to give me a hug and a peck on the cheek. "I, too, owe you a debt of thanks. How did you know I was dealing with cancer?"
"I recognized the signs from some of my medical training," I explained, returning her hug. "After everything you and your friends had done to help us, it was the least I could do in return."
"Chlorith is right, Dana," Tiffany wept as she hugged me once more, sniffling back tears. "You are the nexus of these events. If you had never come here, we would never have gone to your world. But because we did, the information you gave our Dana about the immunotherapies has rid me of the cancer that was taking my life." Wiping away her tears, she whispered, "Thank you!"
"You've got it wrong," I told her, smiling at her surprise. Glancing around at the others, I added, "You all do!"
"But, Dana,…" F'lessan started, his puzzled expression matching everyone else's.
"Think about it," I told them, grinning broadly. "Elli, Tiffany, what would've happened if you'd decided to stay on Earth instead of coming forward through time and space to Pern?"
At first puzzled by my question, Elli and Tiffany looked at each other, their faces mirroring their confusion.
"Oh, billie bob hell!" Elli gasped, her hands covering her mouth.
"Son of a bitch!" Tiffany exclaimed, she and Elli turning to stare at me.
I gathered both in a hug, tears running down my cheeks. "See what I mean?"
"What is it?" our F'lessan wondered.
"Yeah, I don't follow," Elli's Tai added.
"If Elli and her twinny had stayed on Earth instead of coming to Pern," I explained, looking straight at them, "a whole cascading series of events would've never occurred. Chlorith and Rollith would've bonded with different lifemates, or, worse, they might've gone between when they didn't find anyone they liked."
The shock of recognition suddenly hit the others, causing them to stagger backwards.
"Without Elli to bond with, Chlorith most likely would never have become a master dragon healer," I went on, nodding to them. "Without Elli, Ori and Ari would've never been born, their dragons bonding with others or worse. Without Chlorith, both of our Golanths would still be crippled, unable to fly. Without Chlorith, I would've never been drawn here from my reality. Without Elli's dragon, we'd've never met and Elli's twinny would probably have died of cancer."
I backed up a step, taking Elli and Tiffany by the hand. "You two are the true nexus of events. That single choice set everything else in motion, bringing healing to our two Golanths and saving Tiffany from cancer. Thank you both for coming to Pern!"
"By the First Egg!" Chlorith whispered.
"She's right!" our Golanth rumbled, his eyes shading to an uncertain orange.
Ori and Ari came running up, hugging the pair, tears running down their faces.
"Mom!" Ari sobbed, trembling with the power of suddenly realizing the truth.
"Aunty Tiff!" Ori wept, hugging Elli's twinny fiercely around the waist.
"Hush, babies," Elli softly crooned, reaching out to give Ori a hug. "We're here. That's all that matters!"
"Your time with the chronoarchs has served you well, Masterhealer," Chlorith rumbled, bowing to me.
Her eyes slowly whirling in a brilliant amethyst shade, Chlorith moved over to her lifemate, bowing as she softly rumbled, "I, too, am glad you and your twinny decided to come to Pern, my heart. Thank you!"
There was no disputing the shared love between Elli and her dragon, Elli hugging Chlorith's muzzle, Chlorith gently wrapping her forelegs around her lifemate in a tender embrace. Tiffany and all the others turned to their dragons, showing their own appreciation to their lifemates. Even Tarnaa and I got in the act. When the moment finally passed, everyone pulled back, glancing around the group. No words were spoken. None were necessary.
"How are things going at Landing?" Elli finally asked, giving Chlorith a gentle pat on the neck.
"Why don't you come see?" our F'lessan offered, his hand resting on Golanth's neck.
"Yeah!" Tai chimed in, patting Zaranth on the side.
"Elli?" I asked, smiling broadly. "Tiffany? Ori? Ari? Only fair that you come visit us."
"Mom, can we go?" Ori and Ari asked together. "Please?"
"Chlorith would probably hand me my head if I said 'No'," Elli chuckled, giving her dragon's eye ridges a scratch.
"We could even show you Friendship Weyr on Pun Ch'lar," I told them.
"A dragon weyr?!" their F'lessan gasped.
"On the Kendite homeworld?!" their Golanth stammered.
"It was necessary," I responded, grinning over at our F'lessan and Tai.
"Necessary?" Tiffany spoke, a little confused. "Whatever for?"
In the next breath, she and Elli both gasped, coming to the same conclusion.
"She Impressed?!" Elli exclaimed, eyes positively bugged out.
"An Istan queen, about a Turn ago," I chuckled, seeing the thunderstruck astonishment on the faces of the humans from Chlorith's reality. "My friend, Keymon? A bronze! And you remember Davar? He Impressed a blue!"
"Holy bat shit!" Tiffany whispered. "How is any of that even possible?"
"I want to go see!" Ari and Ori spoke as one, the two of them bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Alright, alright!" Elli relented, chuckling as she hugged her daughters. "Let's get suited up!"
I think everyone set a new time record getting suited up. Once every spacesuit was checked and verified, we mounted our dragons, strapped in, and took wing. Once we reached sufficient altitude above Chlorith's Honshu Weyrhold, we vanished between, emerging ten minutes later back in my dimension and high over the crater home of Friendship Weyr on Pun Ch'lar!
Almost immediately, we were joined in the sky by the dragons and riders of Friendship Weyr, Pumara aboard Puneth leading the way, the entire group exchanging waves of greeting before we finally spiraled down to the floor of the weyr crater. No sooner had we dismounted and removed our helmets, the Matriarch slid down her dragon's side, running over to us.
"Liona!" she cheerily greeted, wrapping me up in a bone-creaking hug. "So good to see you!"
Pulling back to get a better look, she glanced at our friends… and gasped!
"Am I seeing things?" she asked, startled to see two Golanths and two Zaranths.
"These are my friends from a different reality, Zucanno," I assured her, leading her over to our transdimensional friends. "It is with their help that I was finally able to heal our own Golanth."
Lowering her head so she could more closely examine us, Chlorith asked, "Why did she address you as Liona?"
Turning to my Kendite Zucanno, a shy smile on my face, I asked, "Would you like to tell them?"
Smiling back and planting a kiss on my cheek, Pumara nodded. By the time she had finished the telling, everyone from Elli's dimension was slack jawed and absolutely bug-eyed in amazement!
"Holy shit, Dana!" Tiffany finally managed to whisper.
"I think it's a cool name!" Ari exclaimed, running up to give me a hug.
"Way cool!" Ori chimed in, joining her sister.
"Well earned, too," Elli added, coming up to her girls, laying her hands on their shoulders as she smiled at me.
"You've come a long way, travelers," the Kendite Matriarch spoke, gesturing to the living quarters where the dining area was located. "Perhaps you'd care to have some food and drink before we show you around."
Everyone agreed to that, Puneth taking the dragons to the corrals to feed while Pumara led her visitors to the dining area for something to eat. By the time the tour was over, our visitors were suitably impressed with the newest weyr, even hinting at setting up one of their own once they returned home. Thanking the Kendite Matriarch for her hospitality, our transdimensional friends reluctantly bid us all farewell, mounting their dragon lifemates and taking to the Pun Ch'lar skies. With a final wave to everyone below, they vanished between.
It had been good to see our friends from another dimension again. Golanth had been made whole thanks to their help, and it filled my own heart with joy that I had helped Elli hold on to her twinny. That kind of love and caring, even though they were not related to each other, was well worth saving!