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Chapter 36 Katrina was back at Chalee-Siri’s secret spot in the woods. It was day and sunlight filled the enclosed area. Birds chirped happily and brightly winged insects fluttered by on a hot breeze. Her mask was already gone when the girl pulled the bottom of her hair covering down and let it slide away from her hair to glide to the ground. She took one step and let the water lap at her ankles. Another step and both feet were immersed. Contentedly she sighed and stepped farther in, feeling the gentle pull of the water, encouraging her along. With a smile she began to move with the flow, sinking deeper and deeper into the mud with each step. The wind brushed past again and nearly burned her. Katrina jumped away from the air. Her feet slipped in the mud and she splashed down onto her rear. Around her the water began to bubble, to boil. Scalded by the temperature change, Katrina fought to stand but managed only to secure the mud’s hold on her even more. She twisted in one direction then another but found herself sinking deeper. She called for help but even the flying, happy creatures of the woods had abandoned her. “A very disobedient child,” the wind whispered in an all-too-familiar voice. It was the voice of her nightmares. Sometimes its face, his face, accompanied it, but almost always the voice was there. That in itself was a reassuring thought because it promised that at some point she would awaken and be safe. “You trust too much in what you know nothing of,” it whispered, the words burning against her ears. Katrina awoke with her usual gasp. She had been right, it was over. She blinked repeatedly to clear her mind and calm her racing heart. She sighed and stared into the darkness, waiting to feel safe and secure in her new home. When those feelings did not automatically come she became even more worried. Absently she reached up to scratch her itching ear and pulled away skin. Calling for the lights to be restored to the room, Katrina sat up, looking down at her hand. Horrified by the many flakes of dead skin, she rushed to her private refresher, hidden behind one of the large wooden doors just past the nightstand. In the mirror she saw her bright red ears with layer after layer of peeling skin. She began to shake violently, uncontrollably even as she saw the rapid healing taking place. Within minutes she would appear as though nothing had happened. Unfortunately, she knew that she would never feel that way. Before the healing process was complete she backed away from the mirror, not wanting to see anymore. Her knees gave out and she abruptly plopped down on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she swayed slightly back and forth, not sure of what to do. Instinctively her mind reached out for something, someone, familiar. Without even knowing that she had done it, the fourteen-year-old allowed her mind to touch and ask for reassurance from someone she had known during her days as a prisoner of the Empire, someone that was supposed to be dead. Her rocking ceased and the feeling of warmth and comfort that she had needed before flooded into her. With a sigh she let herself fall to her side, still curled into a ball. Her eyes closed and she drifted into a peaceful doze. Her mind pulled away from his and some part of her wondered why she had automatically reached for him. The rest of her was at peace and knew better than to question something that had worked so well. Across the galaxy, hidden beneath the sun beaten sand dunes of Tatooine, a still frail Anakin Skywalker wondered at the strange contact. The woman who had cared for him for nearly a year after saving his life sat quietly sewing, unaware that something strange had just happened. Who had-who would-look to him, of all people, for reassurance and comfort, to dispel fear? It was very strange, he thought as he lay back on his sleep cot, maybe he had imagined it. |
