Lighting a Candle
Posted on 27 Feb 2015 @ 12:22am by
815 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
M13-A: From the Old to the New
Location: Cammy's Quarters
Lisa sounded the chime on Cammy’s door. Seconds later, the door slid open and she was greeted by a flustered looking Ensign Valentine with a bruise on her forehead.
“What happened to you?” she asked, reaching for the mark.
Cammy pushed her hand away. “Nothing.” She ushered Lisa into her quarters
Lisa sat down on Cammy’s bed next to Jack. “Let me guess: you bumped in to something?”
“You think?” she replied rubbing her eyes. She slumped a little and let out a frustrated sigh.
“I can’t imagine how hard it is to see your whole life, and then suddenly have to learn to see all over again.” Lisa put a hand on her shoulder. “Especially someone who lives such an active lifestyle like you.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“But it IS. I can tell it’s bugging you.”
“Maybe a little.” Cammy gave Lisa’s hand a squeeze. “I mean, I used to be able to scale walls, do flips and handsprings onto balance beams, and run along rooftops without missing a step. Now…” she ran her fingers through her hair. “…now, I can’t even walk across my own floor without falling like a prat.” She turned to look at a blurry image that vaguely resembled Lisa. “I can barely make out your face,” she confessed in a pained voice.
Lisa took her hand and held it against her cheek. “It’s right here.”
Cammy took her free hand and placed it against Lisa’s other cheek. Slowly, the corners of her mouth curled into a bittersweet smile. It wasn’t the same as actually seeing Lisa, but knowing she could always reach out to her eased Cammy’s heavy heart a little. “At least I can always feel you.”
Lisa leaned close to her ear. “You can touch me any time…”
Cammy chuckled and pushed her away. “Lisa! This is serious!”
“I know.” Lisa’s faced became solemn. “You doing your eye exercises?”
“Maybe…” Cammy bit her lip.
“Things aren’t going to get better if you don’t.”
“…I know.” Cammy conceded. “But it’s stupid! And it gives me an awful headache…”
“Cammy, you’ve got to do your exercises. You want to live like this for the rest of your life? Tripping over yourself all the time?”
Cammy's face contorted. “…no.”
“Okay then. I are going down to sickbay to meet with a doctor and set up your physical therapy appointments. I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Fine. It’s still going to take me a while to get used to this. I can walk around feeling everything. Don’t suppose you know of any ancient remedies for being visually disadvantaged?”
Lisa considered that a moment. “Well, I doubt Starfleet Security will approve you using a blind cane. You might whack someone with it. Guide dogs aren’t an option…”
“Hmph. So much for the ‘wisdom of the ancients.’”
Lisa made a sour face. Suddenly, inspiration came to her. “Of course, the Larkaccian Ground Seers!”
“The who?”
“It was a rogue group of people from a small planet in the Beta Quadrant who were blinded for disobeying a religious precept…supposedly something about reading forbidden texts, which wasn’t entirely unlike the metaphorical concepts of forbidden knowledge in the book of Genesis…”
“Lisa…” Cammy gave her a shake. “You were talking about Dirt Seers?”
“Oh, yeah, right…the Ground Seers…” She refocused her attention. “Anyway, they taught themselves to feel the ground through their feet to help them ‘see’ their way around the caves they took refuge in. Maybe you could go use your feet to find your way around until you get used to your new eyes?”
“Are you saying I should go around barefoot?”
“It helped the Ground Seers.” Lisa retorted. “Besides, I think it’s time your colleagues knew what huge feet you have.”
Cammy’s face puckered. “First, I do NOT have big feet. Second, I’m not one of those Ground people. Third, we have something called ‘uniform regulations.” I doubt Starfleet would approve of me not wearing shoes.”
“Maybe not when you’re on duty, but they aren’t going to do when you’re off duty.”
“I can’t just walk around without shoes. That’s crazy.”
“It’s only crazy if it doesn’t work.” Lisa said with a smirk. “If it helps you out, who cares if people think it’s weird?” She shrugged. “But it’s up to you. You can either sit here cursing the darkness,” Lisa run her fingers through Cammy’s long hair. “Or you can light a candle.”
Cammy wasn’t so sure. Then again, anything was better than tripping over her own furniture. Until she adjusted, she’d have to do something to keep from killing herself in her own quarters.
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Ensign Cammy Valentine
Infiltration Specialist
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