Lt. Sheila Bailey - Calling All Boasts
Aly Drolet
((Promenade - Starbase 118))
Bailey: Well my mother sang, lullabies mostly. She also played the Elaysian Harp. A mix between an Earth harp and violin.
Soft and sweet, flowing like water over rocks, smoothed slippery over time, came the music her mother played. It enveloped the whole house, transcending the ground floor and spiraling like smoak through a chimney. That was what she heard in the wee hours of the morning as a child. Whispered haunting melodies meant to soothe the soul. And yet her description of the magnificent instrument she played hardly gave it any justice. The Elaysian Harp was light, almost as if plucked, yet still produced a deep ritch ring that echoed like a bell. Merely thinking about it made her homesick, if only for her mother’s comfort.
DeVeau: Is that why you’re thinking of that instrument? Because she played it?
Bailey: Guess I have been missing home.
Turning away from Alora, Sheila noticed the longing creep up on her. A longing for home, for far off wild places, the mysterious green ocean. And while for some, it may have simply been a pit in the stomach sort of emotion, for Sheila it was always more than that. For her, it always became a sort of burning, numbing. A longing for what was and for what could have been. A sort of mild dissociation as her eyes glazed over. Always terrible timing, like a current suddenly picking up enormous speed. Hard to control, yet easy to swim out of a few moments later when her voice came out in a haunting whisper.
Bailey: ‘s ma bhionn tu liom, bi lion
A stoirin mo chroi
‘S ma bhionn tu liom, bi liom
Os comhair a’ ti
Ma bhionn tu liom, ‘s gur liom
Gach orlach ded’ chroi
‘Se mo mhile cnoc
Nach liom De Domhnaigh tu mar mhnaoi…
Not exactly a proper lullaby for bedtime, yet a song her mother used to sing quite often. So often in fact that Sheila had long since memorized the lyrics. A mournful tale about departing love.
DeVeau: ::quietly:: Are you okay, Sheila?
Blinking away the blurriness from her vision, Sheila nearly forced herself back into a more aware state.
Bailey: I’m sorry, talking about my mother can be difficult for me. Makes me miss Elysia something awful.
While Sheila longed for home, for that sweet, crisp, floral Elaysian air, she didn’t discount the home she had made on the Base. In some ways, it was more welcoming and homely than her childhood home had ever been. Full of kinder, gentler folks. Yet, artificial air, no matter how much the weather was simulated, that aspect couldn’t compare. Elaysia was a warm planet, bright. It was the people milling about the Base that made the environment come alive with vibrant warmth. Even now such warmth was felt in the closeness between herself and Alora. Not uncomfortably so, yet enough to merely know that she was there.
DeVeau: I understand. I really do. I miss my home a lot sometimes too.
Bailey: I suppose it happens to us all at some point…What about giving it a try?
Sheila was slightly embarrassed now that she was struggling for something to say. Why did she always have to have such bad timing? Her emotions always got in her way. If not the guilt, then anxiety and spaciness, now red faced embarrassment. And in the middle of it Alora noticed, reaching out a hand, fingers lightly dance over her shoulder. The action from anyone else might have made her shiver, yet in this case the comfort was appreciated.
DeVeau: Most music shops will let you try the instruments. Why don’t we go inside? Maybe something will speak to you?
Sheila nodded, slowly pulling herself away from the storefront window. Here she followed Alora inside the shop. Inside was practically every musical instrument you could imagine. Corners jammed full of glittering golden harps, Vulcan lyres, alto bass clarinets. However, what caught her eye the most was a small pale pink conch shell. The object’s spiral was turned over so one couldn’t see the small set of strings that encased the opening. Nevertheless, Sheila, having heard the droning twang of the shell in her youth, knew that they were there. Hurrying over she carefully picked it up and turned it over.
Bailey: Oh my universe! I haven’t seen one of these in years.
DeVeau: Response
Bailey: Well It’s an Elaysian instrument. You blow a drone and pluck the strings for the medley.
DeVeau: Response
Bailey: Nah. Never learned. Knew a boy once in school who could play.
DeVeau: Response
Bailey: Don’t think he was very good. But he got the drone down perfectly. Could call all boats for miles if he stood on the shore. That’s the instrument's original purpose, as a call.
DeVeau: Response
Lieutenant Sheila Bailey
Medical Officer - General Practitioner and Rheumatologist
Starbase 118 Ops
M239512BG0
“We all have regrets. But we can’t undo the things that we’ve done.” - Sara Lance