Chapter 5: the past
"Tell me how you got the diamond." Ronny asked excitedly, wanting to hear every detail of their adventure, wishing she had been able to go along. She had been awake for only a few hours but was eager to catch up on all she had missed. "Do you know anyone named David and Amanda Robinson?" Dax asked curiously as the five rangers plus Spencer and Mr. H sat around Ronny's bed as the yellow diamond slowly poured energy back into her body via an intravenous tube in her left arm. The yellow ranger paled as the sound of two names from her past invaded her present. She didn't think about her parents much, her life was way too busy. Maybe her busyness had been her way of avoiding dealing with their rejection.
"David and Amanda were great adventurers." He began fondly. "They have traveled all over the world, even Antarctica." He explained. "Why do you ask Dax?"
"Well, we found a plaque with their names on it outside the diamond mine." The blue ranger replied. "Do you know them?" He asked again.
"We went on a trip once to Zaire, in search of the yellow diamond a long time ago. They must have gone back for it." Mr. Hartford surmised.
"If they found it, why did they leave it there?" Will questioned in confusion. "Rumor has it, that the diamond would only be found when the chosen people found it." Rose contributed her insight. "They didn't find the yellow diamond, but the other diamonds they did find helped a lot of people in the nearby villages."
"So you think we were meant to find the yellow diamond especially for Ronny?" Mack suggested curiously. She thought it ironic that the jewel that saved her life had been discovered by her own parents. Tears glistened in her eyes as she thought about the parents she had never known, and would never know.
"I wonder where they are now." Mr. Hartford wondered thoughtfully about his old friends.
"They died in a plane crash about 8 years ago." Whispered Ronny sorrowfully, surprising the group. This was her opportunity to finally tell the others about her past. Feeling vulnerable she continued nonetheless. "They were in Peru searching for Alazar's pendant." She began slowly.
"Alazar's pendant?" Andrew Hartford repeated incredulously. "I thought that necklace was only a myth." He stated wondrously, shaking his head curiously.
"Am I the only one who has no idea what they're talking about?" Dax asked confused.
"Alazar's pendant was a necklace of one of the most powerful emperors of Peru, it was considered to have protective powers and thousands of people died trying to find it." Rose explained to the blue ranger.
"Not to mention worth millions of dollars." Will added enviously.
"Well did they find it?" Dax asked, completely enthralled by the story. "No." Mack replied ruefully, recalling the stories he had read in all the adventure magazines his dad had collected over the years. The Alazar pendant was a huge subject still drew attention today.
"If they did, "Rose continued, "It must have been destroyed in the plane crash." She observed realistically.
"How did you know about them Ronny?" Will asked his best friend suddenly.
This was the time to say what she had kept hidden from them, to tell them the truth. After an extremely long pause she uttered, "They were my parents." She couldn't have shocked them more, especially Andrew Hartford.
"I knew them." He stuttered in disbelief. "And I never knew that they had a child." He choked on his astonishment as he stared at Ronny in shock.
"I never put it together either, sir." Spencer added his amazement to the startling revelation.
"Obviously you weren't' with them." Mack declared uneasily about what that meant.
"No, they left me with my uncle and my three cousins when I was five years old." She explained angrily, "and they never came back."
"They were good people Ronny." Mr. Hartford tried to explain. "I'm sure there must have been a reason they decided to leave you with your uncle." She was envious of the relationship Mack shared with his father. Though Mr. Hartford was an adventurer like her parents, he hadn't given Mack up.
"You didn't leave Mack behind." Ronny pointed out softly. Mr. Hartford sighed; there was nothing he could say to that.
What he didn't know, what they all didn't know was that those 'good' people had given her up when she was five years old. That she had memories of them, memories of them leaving her for their adventures, of the day they left her behind for good at her uncle's house. They didn't know what their leaving had done to her. Or to her uncle for that matter, they had been too selfish to care. Her uncle was raising his three sons on his own since his wife had died months before in a car accident and had volunteered to take Ronny in. She would always be grateful that he had but he could never take the place in her life that her parents should have had.
"They tried for a few years, but eventually the lure of adventure was more important than raising a five year old child." She argued resentfully.
"Ronny, I'm sure they loved you more than their adventures." Dax tried to argue, had to argue. If she was right then she had every right to be heartbroken and betrayed.
"Five year olds don't understand why Mommy and Daddy aren't coming back." She shouted bitterly. "All I know is that they left me at my uncle's and never came back. I don't care what their reasons were, they left me." Ronny sobbed as her throat felt raw at the overuse. The heart monitor still attached to her beeped incessantly, warning them that she was not out of danger yet.
"Every day for five years I prayed that they would change their minds and come back for me. Then one day in fourth grade my uncle came and took me out of school. He told me they had been killed in a plane crash." The heart breaking memories crashed over her as the emotions broke through her usually tough exterior.
"Please just go." She pleaded with them as tears fell down her cheeks. She turned her back to her friends.
"She needs her rest." Spencer agreed seriously, noting that the conversations were upsetting the yellow ranger as he ushered them out of the room. Ignoring her protests, he gave her another sedative to help her get through the night. Her body desperately needed the rest and he knew the memories that had been stirred up would only prevent her from getting the rest she needed.
Life's like a novel with the end ripped outThe edge of a canyon with only one way downTake what your given before it's goneAnd start holdin' on, keep holdin' on'No wonder Ronny didn't talk about her parents.' Mack concluded after hearing her story. It must be hard for her to know that his dad had not made the same choice as her parents did even though they had the same careers. 'How can I or anyone convince her that it wasn't her fault?' he thought bitterly.
'Cause when push comes to shoveYou taste what your made ofYou might bend 'til you break'Cause it's all you can takeOn your knees you look upDecide you've had enoughYou get mad, you get strongWipe your hands, shake it offThen you stand, then you stand
She had been cleared to resume active duty, her powers were restored and she was anxious to be part of the team again. With the emotions of the last few weeks, she needed an outlet for her pent up energy. Despite Spencer and Mr. Hartford's diagnosis that her body would be forever weakened by her ordeal, she still needed exercise to build up her strength.
"So Ronny, when's your next race?" Mack asked oblivious to the fact that her health had been seriously compromised by the energy drain. None of her friends were aware of the reality of her situation either, mostly because Ronny had made Mr. Hartford and Spencer promise not to tell them. She didn't want them worrying about her every time they went into battle.
"I won't' be racing anymore." " Ronny admitted as she announced her resignation from racing.
"Even with the power of the yellow diamond, my powers will never be full strength again." She continued sadly. "It's for the best, really." She had come to peace with her decision. Yes, she would miss the competition but it wasn't worth the risk. "It's not worth risking my health over." She added wisely. It hadn't been an easy one to make but maybe it was time for her to find something she wanted to do for herself.
"I'm sorry Ronny." Empathized Dax. The blue ranger was just as passionate about his career as Ronny had been about hers. He understood the painful choice she had made to give it up.
"It's not fair." Will complained to the others after Ronny had left. "Wasn't it enough she had to the energy drain and now this?" he ranted upset.
"If Ronny can deal with it, so can we." Mack chided his teammates.
"Yeah." Rose agreed quickly with their leader. "We'll just have to help her find other things she can do."
"Speaking of Ronny, does anyone know where she went?" Tyzonn asked bewildered at the yellow ranger's disappearance.
Mack had a pretty good idea of where she went, but didn't let on to the others. Knowing Ronny, she needed to get away after being stuck inside for the last few weeks. Not that he could blame her; she must have felt suffocated from the memories that had come to light in the last few weeks and the trial of getting her strength back.
She headed out the watch the race. She needed to get out of the mansion and out of the watchful eyes of her friends. She loved them dearly for their concern, but despite her painful revelations she was not as fragile as they might think. Mack and Will hovered constantly, and if she weren't more self-sufficient she would probably be more tempted to let them do more things for her. Rose was always asking if she needed anything, and Tyzonn would just bring her things he thought she needed.
She relaxed as the familiar sounds of tire meeting asphalt filled the air, as the sunshine warmed her face, and the solitude relieved her frayed nerves.
"Do you miss it?" A voice questioned as the red ranger joined Ronny in the stands of the Racing Championship.
"Yes and no." Ronny stated ambivically. Mack waited for her to explain her answer. "Yes, because I loved the adrenaline of racing and the challenge of it, but no because I never did it for me."
"I didn't want to be a burden to my uncle so I just did whatever he and the boys did. It didn't bother me and I grew to like racing very much. But it's not who I am, it's just what I did." She acknowledged rationally.
"How come you never told us before?" Mack inquired kindly. Ronny sighed at the tone of his voice. "I was afraid Mack; it's not the type of thing you just tell people. In fact, you guys are the only ones I've ever told." She admitted shyly. "I'm glad you did." He said softly. "We're your friends; we'll always be here for you."
"I know." She accepted his words truthfully. She turned her attention back to the race at hand, watching as the favorite to win the championship this year made his move to the front of the pack with 20 laps to go. He watched the look on her face as she became engaged in the race, how she would bite her lip thoughtfully as the cars weaved in and out of each other without colliding and how her eyes would light up when the leaders fought for the top spot as the amount of laps decreased as the end of the race neared. Mack thought her brave for being able to walk away from a sport she loved even if it was for her own good.
"How did you know where to find me?" Ronny questioned him suddenly, slightly taken aback when she noticed how intently he had been looking at her.
"You're not as complicated as you seem." He teased her, laughing when she leaned into him with her elbow trying to knock him off balance. "I thought you might be saying goodbye." He revealed after he retaliated with a playful squeeze around her neck. She was surprised at his insight, she hadn't intended it to be that way, she was just naturally drawn to the race track, having watched her cousins' race for years before she got her turn.
He didn't expect an answer from her as he turned back to the race, giving her the opportunity to scrutinize him. She appreciated his ability to be quiet and not pester her with questions or demanding answers. Accepted. That's what she felt when she was with Mack; she didn't have to try to be something else, just her. Whatever she was, she thought with a smile. Today would be the start of a new Ronny, she decided peacefully.
"What are you going to do with all your free time now?" Rose wondered curiously, noticing how antsy Ronny was with nothing to do. Especially after all the time she spent in bed, it was no wonder she was extra fidgety as she paced around the room. No one had the heart to tell her to stop, since they were all so relieved to see her out of bed and acting more like herself.
The yellow ranger was still mourning the absence of race car driving in her life. She knew it had been the right decision to make, but it left a void in her life that needed to be filled.
"You should find a new hobby." Mack suggested from where he was lounging on the couch.
"You could take up scrapbooking." Dax teased. "Or cooking." Will suggested with a laugh. Bull riding, chemistry, gardening, karate, kayaking, hiking, miming, chess, and puppetry had also all been suggested by her friends. She appreciated their efforts and even laughed at their ridiculous suggestions.
"What about running Ronny?" Mack recommended thoughtfully as the pair sat on the patio later that afternoon. "You are by far the fastest runner on the team." He complimented her truthfully. She looked up in surprise at his comment, and smiled as she pondered his idea.
She had decided to run competitively as an outlet for her athletic nature. It had been Mack's idea for her to get a hobby to at least fill the time she had previously spent race car driving. She found it unnerving how well Mack understood her, her need for competition, her need to achieve, her need to belong. He had been there for her every step of the way and she really appreciated his friendship. She wasn't surprised when he was there waiting for her at the end of her training run.
"Good time today Ronny." He congratulated her as he stopped the stop watch.
"Thanks Mack." The yellow ranger offered quietly, rising up to offer a soft kiss on his cheek. "Anytime." He returned sincerely as he wrapped her in his arms for a hug.
Every time you get up and get back in the raceOne more small piece of you starts to fall into place – yeah