Wishing On A Star

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The four of us dined together that evening with Morkai and Nargra announcing that the day after tomorrow we would be traveling to Akdor for a vacation. "I think you ladies will find your time there very refreshing, the coast is very beautiful, the weather very comfortable, and people very friendly," said Morkai. We were still sleeping apart, but something told me that was about to change, Morkai never said a word, maintaining his jovial demeanor, and optimistic outlook. The next morning I woke up to Morkai handing me his communicator with a worried expression on his face, "its Sandrick, he want's to see you and you alone." I answered the comm indeed it was Sandrick. "If you're not terribly busy Miss Bickford, I'd like to have a discussion with you at your earliest convenience, Morkai can accompany you, but it is you I wish to speak to." With that, he hung up.

"What did you do now?" speculated Morkai, "I wonder what he want's to see you about?" After a quick breakfast, we took a "Tap-Tap" over to Shai Alyt headquarters, wearing my ID card prominently around my neck we passed through security and up to Sandrick's office. Morkai had to wait outside but I was quickly ushered in to Sandrick's private office. Looking grim, Sandrick indicated a chair in front of his desk, by now ear was really starting to grow inside of me. "Have a seat Miss Bickford, so nice that you wasted no time in getting here. That was quite a "stunt" you and Morkai engaged in the other day." Having nothing to loose, I shot back, "That was no stunt sir, and I think you know that!" Sandrick studied me for a moment, the beginnings of a smile forming on his face.

Breaking out into a full smile, his "little" game revealed he said, "Of course it wasn't, actually the reason I called you here is that it's come to my attention that one of your relatives has a…Farm? A place with many Frasta trees growing there." I nodded, "My Uncle does." "Do you think it possible that he might be willing to sell us these walnuts as you call them for a reasonable price?" I thought a moment then replied, "Since he doesn't do much with them, I'm sure my Aunt saves a basket or two for the nuts I don't see why not, but in reality sir, I think that will be the least of your worries." "Oh, how so," he replied. I sat up a little taller in my chair, "Well, to begin with, I've been laying awake at nights wondering how I'm going to explain my current situation to my parents; I guess that would include my Aunt and Uncle as well. As for me I was brought here, I saw things with my own eyes, they were explained to me on the spot, I could ask questions, I had a memory upgrade, I understand things now. How am I going to describe these things to people who will not see these wonderful inventions or devices up close. You see sir, If I don't handle this right there's a very real possibility that they could declare me insane and have me committed."

Sandrick studied me and my serious intent, "Well we certainly can't have that Miss Bickford, tell me, do you have any ideas of what we could do to change that?" I shrugged, "I thought of having the other women accompany me, but they all help with their own harvests, besides, I'm not sure a bunch of strangers would help much." "Do you any other any other relatives or family members you could enlist on your behalf to corroborate your story?" I thought a moment, then replied, My Aunt and Uncle have a son and a daughter, Andy and Sally, Andy is my age, Sally is a dorn younger, I haven't seen either of them in almost two dorns. Of the two, I'm thinking Andy could be more useful, he's always been interested in mechanical devices and inventions, but as I say I have no idea what he's doing now."

Sandrick sat in his chair thinking, then said, "Perhaps I can be of assistance, when you and Morkai return to Kagor for the next harvest, perhaps you could contact this Andy and invite him along on your return to Falth, I could see to it he received a "tour" of our world, convincing him of your story, then perhaps the two of you would have a better chance of explaining things to your family." Obviously, Sandrick was on to something here, but thinking it over, I discovered a couple flaws. "Contacting my cousin and arranging a meeting might take some time, I do not wish to infringe upon Morkai and Nargra's harvest time cheating them out of my help or their rightful chance at a full harvest." "Good point Miss Bickford," replied Sandrick, "Maybe we could let you depart a relfa earlier in order to contact your cousin, although I would extend the offer to this Sally you speak of."

"Thank you sir," I replied, "But in her case, I believe she's married, then your dealing with a husband, I've never met him that could present its own problems. For the time being I think it best to stick with just Andy." "Very well," said Sandrick. "Please call me oh, say a couple relfa's before the next harvest departure, and we can work out the details." "I just thought of one more thing," I replied. "My cousin in all likelihood will be employed, he won't be so inclined to readily give up his employment on a promise, compensation will be most likely required, along with a little incentive." Sandrick chuckled, "Don't worry Miss Bickford, I think we can take care of that minor detail."

We then shook hands and when I exited his office, Morkai jumped up from where he had been sitting, "What did he want, are you in trouble?" Smiling, I replied, "No trouble, Morkai, Sandrick wants walnuts. I'm trying to figure out a way of explaining to my parents my situation, we simply came up with an idea or two." He was greatly relieved I wasn't in any trouble especially after I explained the plan Sandrick and I had come up with. "Leaving a week earlier might cause some raised eyebrows," replied Morkai, "since everyone will think we're getting the jump on them but maybe we can get Sandrick to explain the plan to them, who knows?"

I returned to Drolugi's alone as Morkai had to go see the provisioners about a matter concerning the way they were re-stocking the ship's supplies. I encountered Hanna coming out of a lift and dragged her along in my search of Weeko. We caught up with her just going into the dining room to order her lunch. "Come with us Weeko," I said, "I'm buying lunch, I want you to meet my best friend Hanna Brown, this may be a rather long lunch, as we've got some things to discuss." Both women seemed a little put out at my insistence, but we found a table with privacy where we could talk. Hanna was polite and shook Weeko's hand but remained somewhat cool throughout the luncheon but I was successful in opening up a discussion that brought many repressed feelings out into the open.

I was successful in getting Weeko to open up about her tribe, and previous life, eventually as we dined, both women relaxed and even laughed a bit. The important thing was getting them to talk. Gradually Weeko could see my true intentions, and that I truly wished to be her friend and at one point I knew I had her "hooked." With her head bent Weeko quietly asked me, "You say you were going to teach?" "Yes, why?" "Although Gitel has made it possible for me to understand his world, I really do not know your language or how to read it; do you think it possible to teach me?" I smiled and touched her on the arm, "Absolutely Weeko," I replied. "It looks like I have a second pupil; Hanna has requested me to improve her educational abilities as well. Once I return from Morkai's home, we will all sit down and conduct our own private school, would that be all right with both of you?" Weeko nodded, and a moment later so did Hanna, so began a long but steady course of education for two women on opposite ends of society, for the next two dorns whenever we were between harvest times the three of us would retreat to a quiet place to study. Under my instruction, we would read, do sums, practice writing skills and talk. Gradually Hanna put aside her hatred of Indians and accepted Weeko as her friend; it was a slow process but a steady one. As for Weeko, I brought her out of her "shell" transforming her into an intelligent and strong woman who finally came into her own.

One day while heading for my room and exiting an empty lift Gitel confronted me, shaking my hand he said, "You have done wonders for my Weeko, she is not afraid anymore, she is determined and my job of teaching her to fly has grown easier. Morkai has informed me that your pilot training is near completion, remember that offer I made to you back when we first met, whenever you are ready I will finish out your training." "Thank you Gitel, I eagerly look forward to your instruction."

As promised we left on the Na'Vas for Akdor on the shore of the Sheynalian Sea, Nargra's parents were dead, killed in a tragic accident several dorns ago, but Morkai introduced Hanna and I to his parents who embraced us with open arms. Both were enjoying retirement and surprised both of us upon revealing that they were close to 100 dorns old. I knew that the Nuel enjoyed long life spans, the record being one hundred and seventy-six dorns the average being one hundred and forty. Morkai's mother was an excellent cook introducing us to wondrous creations of culinary art. I brought along some of the coffee I had purchased in Deadwood in no time it became in high demand, Morkai's parents enjoyed it but it was Nargra and Morkai who became real "addicts," it's a good thing I didn't bring the whole five pounds, they would have consumed it all. When not drinking up all the coffee We strolled the little village of Akdor stopping at incredible shops, most of the shop owners knew Morkai and Nargra, and gave us special bargains. Both men had warned us concerning local dress especially beach attire which consisted of "nothing" to very little. By this time Hanna and I had accepted the fact that if we were going to live here on Falth we were going to have to change. Reluctantly we accepted our fate and began to dress in the native style. Coming from a stuffy Victorian culture it was incredibly hard at first, but both of us decided "When in Rome!"

Women's beach attire consisted of very abbreviated one-piece swimsuits that barely covered our derrieres and even less of our breasts. The first couple of times on the beach we were terrified and greatly distressed, but after seeing many with even less, Hanna and I were forced to accept our fate and reluctantly wore the garments, however soon we began to think nothing of them. Together with our men we enjoyed cookouts on the beach feasting on a local crustacean that when boiled was like food of the Gods. We took long walks on the beach, stared up at the night sky at Solis and Syria.

One warm evening Morkai and I were by ourselves, and I was returning from collecting firewood, I had nothing especially on my mind when I came over the crest of a small dune and saw Morkai just sitting there looking out to sea. I've asked myself a million times since what it was, the moonlight? His appearance? Whatever it was I realized right then and there my incredible love for this man. Hanna said it would come, and it did, I dropped my firewood and rushed to his side hugging him with all the strength I could muster. "Take me home Morkai!" He looked at me with great puzzlement, "But we just got back from your planet…" "No, I mean OUR home!" It took him a moment to realize what I had meant, but then wasted no time in returning home.

That night I expressed my incredible joy as we made love all night long, his gentleness, and understanding, my passion, I wept with happiness, as we embraced. "I love you so much Morkai, I want to be your wife, I want to have your children," were the words I whispered in his ear. All my pent up emotions and repressed feelings now burst forth. The next evening we played on the beach like innocent children swimming in the nude, making love in the dunes. My whole demeanor changed overnight, Hanna knew what it was, and smiled, "See, I told you it would come."

One day Morkai insisted on looking in shop that sold jewelry, some of the most incredible pieces caught my eye, but when Morkai requested to examine a ring, what the shopkeeper showed us took my breath away. It was a ring of incredible beauty, no diamonds but a ring made of what Morkai called "Morbidium." The ring itself consisted of a blackish grey with streaks of gold and red running all through it. Where the diamond should be was a stone called "Malndstone." When you gazed at it, it was though you were gazing at he cosmos, the ring also appeared to be alive; clouds of blue's greens, and pink seemed to swirl around a sparkling backdrop giving the appearance of stars. "The warmth from your hand causes that," remarked the shopkeeper, "Malndstone is called the soul of the universe."

Morkai saw how my eyes lit up at this treasure, haggling with the shop owner before purchasing the ring. At the time, I wasn't completely familiar with the cost of things on Falth but I learned later that the price was considerable. This was a point of contention later on when I realized the true cost of the ring, Morkai and I arguing at length over spending such a fortune on what was to be my wedding ring. "Your something very special to me Holly," said Morkai. "I know I shouldn't have spent that amount, but it's a special ring for a special person. You have no idea how many people are telling me there's simply something about you, my own parents see it . Accept the ring in the spirit it was given, I don't want it to be a source of discord between us it's a lasting symbol of my love for you, please…Please accept it!" I finally gave in and hugged him tightly, but whispered, "But I have nothing to give you !" He paused a moment then looked me in the eye, "You have already given me more than I could have ever hoped for."

For a time I worried that Morkai might be one of those men whose reckless spending habits soon drove the family into poverty but as things turned out he was quite conservative with his money, being very cautious in his spending habits, he purchased a similar ring for himself but without the Malndstone, "I've got an idea for later," was all he'd say. Soon there was a double wedding in our lives, Hanna and I shared the ceremony together, there is only one religion on Falth, not unlike Christianity in many respects, a priest performed a small ceremony and we spoke vows, and although it was extremely short, it was very moving. The priest blessed our rings and sanctified our marriage. Back at Drolugi's we partied and danced. A live eighteen-piece band was present, playing this new music I was really taking a liking to. One of the dances Ann said was very similar to a Virginia reel, couples formed two lines across from each other it was a very "beat" influenced dance, the person across from the other mirroring the other dancer in movement. At a given point in the dance, people on the end of the line broke off twirling and spinning down the line pairing off on the dance floor at the end of the line. By this time, nothing shocked us anymore and dancing was no exception. Some of the younger Falthian guests engaged in a very energetic dance involving tossing the female partner practically over the head of the male, pulling her under his legs twisting and jumping. Dancing at arm's length holding onto each other's hand. Unbeknownst to me Nargra and Hanna had been practicing which caused quite a stir among the other women from earth. I paid particular attention to Weeko and Gitel who didn't engage in any of the fast dances, performed quite well the slow ones.

One of the guests we invited was Sandrick, Morkai and Nargra didn't think he would come, but there he was. Morkai welcomed him and I sat and talked . It turned out that I wasn't the only one he was talking to about getting a relative to sell him walnuts. Sara joined us revealing a larger plan afoot. "It's true Mrs. Draaka," said Sandrick, I have made Mrs. Narshu the same offer as you as far as her father selling us his Frasta fruit as well as possibly growing a field or two of Kresha." I gave both of them a disgusted look, "Instead of hiding things why don't we all work together and combine our resources," I stated. Looking at Sandrick I added, "You asked me to contact my cousin, perhaps if he accepts your offer he could act as a sort of agent, working with not only his father, but Sara's father as well…And anybody else you're talking to about this."

Sandrick gave me a sheepish grin, Well it seems you've caught me Mrs. Draaka, very clever of you, very well, I have been speaking to Ann concerning the possibility of her father joining in on this effort." I looked at Sara, "How are you're efforts at explaining your current situation to your parents?" Sara grimaced and shook her head, "Not good, Ann's not having any better luck although we've only made one effort."

I thought a moment then looked at Sandrick, "I've got an idea, it might take some time to develop, and it might require you to travel to Kagor with us, but if I can really convince my cousin on this it just might save the Shai Alyt a lot of credits, along with solving several problems at once." I then asked Sara, "Do you have any cousins or other siblings?" "I've got two brothers, one works in Detroit and is married, the other is out west somewhere, he and my father don't get along too well, but I think my mother knows where he is." Smiling, I said, "Perfect, see if you can find out from her exactly where he is perhaps we could meet with him, maybe involve him along with my cousin as well." I gave Sandrick a coy smile, "I think we might be able to make something of this, count me in one hundred percent sir." Sandrick smiled, "I'm certainly glad I acted upon your invitation Mrs. Draaka it would seem that we are all together on this." I told Sandrick that I had been giving this matter a lot of thought and that in the coming relfa's I would sit down with Ann and Sara and we would come up with a plan. "Like I told you earlier, I really don't think you'll have any problem as far as what you might be charged for the Wort and walnuts it's trying to figure out how we're going to break the news to our parents."

Two of the guests I was delighted to see were Gitel and Weeko, both of them sat with the other pilots Gitel spending much of his time with Morkai and the others, however at one point I was talking with Weeko when a voice behind me said, "Could I have this dance with the bride?" It was Gitel looking very confident offering his hand. The dance was a slow one I knew reasonably well, we stepped out onto the floor, and as we danced he said, Weeko's started to feel much better about herself lately, thanks to you." "I like her and I'm more than happy to help she's interested, that's very important." He didn't say anything for a few moments as we danced then he added, "Just continue being kind to her, it's really making a difference."