Pearls
#2 of old_stories
Pearls
By Phantomgraph
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Trantor stood on the starboard deck of the ship, one hoof firmly planted on the railing, the other on the wooden deck. The wind blew throughout his mane, tangling it into a snarled mess as it did. He didn't care. He had made the journey, paid his fair, he was fulfilling his dream, yet oddly he felt hollow inside.
Others looked at his tall frame, and he felt their eyes upon him. He didn't care. He was going to come to this place, and try to finish that which was started so long ago. He saw them looking at his old gray uniform, ironed as close to the day that it was new as could be. They saw gleam of the medals upon his old tired chest. They saw his old black tail now tipped in silver flow behind him in the wind, just like his equine mane.
A young human pointed to Trantor and said loudly to it's father "Is that an alien daddy?" His father shushed him quickly, scolding him for pointing and other human customs. Trantor didn't care. All his being was focused on the object coming over the horizon.
He was vaguely aware of the pleasant feeling the wind left him with as it rushed past his fur. A young adult human female on the port side looked over at Trantor and was struck by his appearance. She thought him rather hansom, regardless of his race. She recognized his kind from her history lessons thou she had never met anyone of his race. She looked him over from ear-tip to hoof. She found him pleasant and with amazing balance, even thou the deck was pitching back and forth in the sea. She also found something odd in the appearance of the equine. Her curiosity was peaking, but because of her culture, she was unable to ask. She was only allowed to wonder about the strange bundle of flowers he held loosely in his hand, their red 'v' shaped ridged flowers moving only slightly in the wind from the forward motion of the ship.
Trantor himself paid no attention. He himself was lost in a world long since past. He wasn't quite sure how he would act upon arrival. He had tried to tell himself that he would be strong. That the years of pain he had bottled up inside him would not come spilling out all at once like a dam breaking, but now he was not sure.
Before him the object began to grow in size. Trantor still felt numb, empty. For nearly a hundred years had he planned to make this journey, and every year he had put it off even further. Now he was here. Now he would have to confront the demons that had driven him all his life.
The tiny ship drew nearer and nearer what was obviously it's destination until it was forced to slow down or risk crashing into it. Trantor watched it, his heart racing in his chest all the while.
To most, it wouldn't have appeared as much more than a odd shaped building, not very large really, suspended in the middle of the sea, but to those who knew of it's meaning, it's very existence was sacred. Tranor waited his turn like all of the rest of the tourists, and finally exited the ship, and proceeded up the walkway to enter the building.
As he stepped over the thresh hold he removed his old army hat, as proper military custom. He waited his turn, like all the others, choosing the left side rather than the right. When he reached the railing he gazed out over the water and the tears began to fall.
He wasn't aware that he was crying, nor would he have cared at that moment. One by one he began to drop the odd flowers into the water, whispering into the air as he did the names of his fallen comrades.
The human female that had noticed him earlier also wept, as she watched him. Into the air she whispered a short prayer. "May your god help you find someway to relieve your pain, gallant one." She turned then, and boarded the tour ship. Another was rapidly approaching.
For the briefest of time Trantor was nearly alone, except for the tour guide who worked on the monument. He watched Trantor, and not quite understanding what was happening, reflected on history. One hundred years ago the race known as the T'rell had opened hostilities with the equines by preforming a surprise attack on the equines battleship Talawees.
The attacking T'rell opened fire targeting the ships reactor as it was passing through this solar system. The reactor had exploded, killing all two thousand hands. Within minutes the ship fell into orbit of the planet and crashed at this very spot in the shallow sea.
What followed was a twenty year long blood bath between the two races, with the equines finally prevailing. Both sides suffered heavy losses, the body count exceeding the millions. The monument in the tour guide and now Tranor were standing, was built for and over the final resting place of the Talawees.
At that time another tour ship approached and docked, and it's passengers disembarked. The tour guide watched as the passengers of this boat milled around and clicked their pictures. Some looking oddly at Trantor. A slight murmur arose for the briefest of instances and the tour guide moved around to see what was the cause of it.
When he saw he froze, and un-clicked the release on his blaster. It didn't happen often, but on occasion a T'rell and a equine would occupied the monument at the same time. So far they hadn't noticed each other, but that could change in a moments notice.
The T'rell wasn't in military uniform, dressed as a common tourist, and was on the other side directly across from Trantor. The T'rell was laying a wreath into the water when it happened.
Trantor turned and recognized instantly the tail and pointy ears so well known as those of the T'rell. He froze, and watched. The T'rell still hadn't noticed the equine, and the tour guide moved his hand to the blaster. It was set to stun, and their had been a couple of times in his employment when he was forced to use it.
The crowd also began to notice it, and moved quickly away. The area grew breathlessly quite and the T'rell turned to see what was the matter. A moment later he looked across the monument directly into the equine's eyes.
Everyone held their breaths. Then in an instant something magical happened. The two locked gazes, and single teardrop fell from the T'rell's eyes. It was not much, but it seemed to signal something, and the two walked to meet each other face to face.
The tour guide partially pulled his blaster from it's holster ready at a moments notice of trouble. Then the T'rell raised his paw at waist length, in the human sign of a hand shake.
Trantor looked at it for a moment, then almost automatically did the same. Again they gazed wordlessly into each other's eyes, tears flowing. Then without warning the handshake became a deep hug, with both parties breaking down into sobs.
The tour guide lowered his blaster back into the holster, and looked around the room. All eyes were focused on the two. Most of the humans smiled and nodded, some cried. The tour guide did not understand the exchange, and as the tour ship made ready to depart the two seem to have been finished.
They broke apart, and with a final hand shake the T'rell got back on the tour ship. Trantor watched him go then turned to the rail that the T'rell had been on, and watched the wreath float away.
Before the next tour boat arrived, the tour guide approached the equine, and just above a whisper he said. "Sir, I do not wish to disturb you, but I thought you should know that this is the last tour boat for the day. We reopen at seven in the morning."
Trantor turned slightly and looked at the guide, and nodded he understood.
The last tour boat arrived and it's contents milled around snapping photographs of everything in site. Most gave odd looks to the equine but no more. When it was over the equine was the next to last to board the ship, followed by the tour guide who sat next to him.
Neither spoke a word on the twenty minute ride back to the mainland, then just as Trantor was exiting the ship he turned to the tour guide and said simply "It was a Awapuhi Lei*" Then he walked off and caught a hover cab back to his hotel.
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On the way to his room Trantor looked deep within himself and found that something new was occupying the emptiness that for so long had been there. If he could have he would have plucked it and examined it more closely, but this thing was only a feeling. He could feel it's light diminishing even as he held it in his minds eye, and he made a decision.
And so Trantor helped it grow.
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Later that evening hunched over an old personal information manager the tour guide read the article he had downloaded. He had never been particularly good at finding information on the galactic net, and this had been no exception, but he had found it after several minutes of searching.
He read. "Awapuhi Lei. A necklace or thin wreath made from the Awapuhi plant native only to the planet Guilder. Similar in appearance to the earth red ginger plant, the Awapuhi plant is more ridged than red ginger. It is traditionally given by the equine race to one another as a apology, usually by the offending party. The individual flowers are given in times of sorrow."
The tour guide leaned back as the spark of understanding over took him, as both parties had brought the same flower to the memorial, in one form or another. And so tears also filled his eyes...
And thus two hearts were healed that day... and another understood.
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This will, undoubtedly, be one of the stranger short stories that I've ever written, and as thus is the reason for this after-word. This story came upon me as I sat in a restaurant awaiting my lunch not far from a tropical beach called Waikiki on the most isolated island chain on this planet.
For those of you who do not know, Waikiki beach is on the island of Oahu (roughly pronounced Ah-WA-who). It appears that Waikiki (roughly pronounced WHY-key-key) is a rather famous tourist attraction on the chain of islands also known as the fiftieth state of the United States of America. But Waikiki is not the only thing that Oahu is known for, as it is on the island of Oahu that this states capitol resides (Honolulu - pronounced hon-A-lu-lu), and quite possibly the most famous, no, rather infamous place in this centuries American history.
You see I had just returned from visiting this place of which I speak, and found it strange how many feelings that came over me in doing so. Only after in the restaurant, reflecting quietly on my feelings, and thinking back on all that I had absorbed, could I understand what I and some of those who had accompanied me had discovered that day.
This story is a direct result of my examining my feelings and my desire to share it's deep meaning within my heart. Perhaps you would find the story of what I have observed even more interesting, but that really doesn't matter. You see, I had just visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I suggest you go there instead and think about this story.
I think you too will see it's true meaning. =)
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* For you to know the Awapuhi plant is real. It's the name that Hawaiians give to the red ginger plant. It's pronounced ava-POO-he in their language. And just to give the story a more interesting twist, a Lei is the flower necklace that the Hawaiians present to visitors and use in their ceremonies =) The use of the plant in a Lie is not unheard of, but it bares no special meaning as the story suggests, however the flower is commonly place at grave sites.
Hawaii state laws prohibit the use of artificial flowers at the grave side. As the ginger plant is quite hardy, it is place at loved ones final resting place because it will often last seven days or more before wilting in the tropical sun.
PG };8>