The Beaded Tapestry

Darkness creeps to the edge of the bed and peeks over the footboard at my prone body. I am riveted in place, there is no escape.  The ebony shadow flows over the wooden frame and begins the envelopment of myself. Screaming will come to no avail as I am alone.  No one to witness my struggles or relieve my fears in this moment of panic. The feeling of being eaten alive is strong, losing my grip on this world one centimeter at a time. Pulled beneath a blanket of terror, persistently making its way upward toward my head. I raise my arm to block my face, attempting to stay the progress by keeping as much of my body out of the reach of the darkness. My extremities are no longer within this sphere. Leached away by the black force, I feel my body slowly melting into the surface beneath me.  There is no pain, only fear.

My movement draws the attention of the room.  A medical attendant quickly comes to my side, administering a cocktail of drugs into my system.  I see the creature at my feet retreating, slowly making its exit as I lose consciousness. 

Dear Victoria,

A small piece relating to my illness last week.  The dream keeps replaying in my mind and I hope to relieve these thoughts by relating the episode to you.

The vision is so vivid.  I cannot begin to solve how to remove it from my daily thoughts.  When evening approaches and the light begins to fade from the world, the reverie returns, haunting my step until I sleep.  The episode is always accompanied by a moment of panic, increasing my respirations and evoking a tenseness along my spine as the fear during the true event returns.  I must calm myself using methods taught by you. I never needed these before, but am grateful for your diligence and insistence that these practices become part of my knowledge base. I am puzzled why the accident that took my arm does not inflict these types of visions.  This pattern has become a part of my daily routine since the illness and I hope that by relating it to you it will bring it out into the open and dispel the phantoms hold on me.

I realize this also concerns our ever nearing separation.  The thought of no contact with you for three years brings me to tears.  For me the pain will be most evident over the next year waiting impatiently to begin my own long journey.  For you the pain will be endured at the end of your travel, spending a year on a new world with no contact or assistance from me.  The best hope is that we have made our preparations with enough foresight to withstand whatever complications may arise.  Careful preparation that will give you the tools and knowledge to face any issues with competence. My apologies for this dark letter.  I realize I should be sending you encouragement and support before your first trip out of our solar system.  Instead I bring you cryptic and foreboding words. 

I promise my next letter will be different.  Full of hope and encouragement for the future.

Forgive me,

Annalis

A short project to clear the creative pallet

Dear Victoria,

Thank you for including the encrypting instructions with your last letter.  I realize now how cautious my last letters were and welcome this added security.  It makes it possible to relax my guard and be more candid and direct in my messages to you.

I have indeed begun to change my analyses of the anomaly.  Shortly after your departure I came across some historic records produced by the original settlers of Neo-Britannia.  The records were over two hundred years old and describe the original settlers first few decades of exploration. There have been many published reports from the scientific and government sectors of the planet, but this is the first information I have come across that originates from the agricultural community. The account is fascinating and I am curious why I had not encountered it before.  The narrative describes the unique relationship some of their members fostered with the Anomaly.  ‘An inner dialog with the creature was something a privileged few had the fortune to experience.’ To quote the text. ‘Sharing everyday events and experiences through some type of brain wave emissions.’ I discovered these exact entries mixed in with the agricultural reports of the growth potential for certain regions of the planet along with the struggles face by the incorporation of bees into the planetary environment. The reports were logged, strangely enough, by the neurosurgeon who was stationed with the group during their initial years. Their original base was setup just outside of what is now Delphi.  They farmed a large section surrounding this location and produced long running logs of their experiences.

It was an odd place to find this type of activity record, so I can imagine why it has remained unknown to my sphere of research.  I am excited by the prospects that this entry bring up in my mind.  It plays right in with the ideas about the Flynn Foundation and the growth we have seen in that direction of space.  It will be interesting to see what you find upon your arrival.  A lot can happen in six years.  I wish I could be there.

How disappointing that your view of Mars was so distant.  I had envisioned a much more spectacular view during your pass by.  At least you have your real firsthand view of the Anomaly to look forward to at the end of your stasis. I am not sure you remember, but I am not allowed to consume caffeinated beverages during my regeneration.  I think you must have forgotten this or you would not be torturing me with you frequent references to our favorite drink. I did enjoy your description of the coffee corner on the vessel, but could you please refrain from mentioning the c-word.  The craving for a dark rich espresso is exquisite and I sometimes wonder if this absence is worse than the nerve signals ignited by the regeneration.

I am very surprised but overjoyed that you have made a friend on board. I envy your prospect of sampling the experimental cuisine of New London since this is something I will probably never get to experience.  I will just have to live precariously through you for now.  This will be especially important once I am established on the space station.  I do not believe the menu will be very exciting.  I only hope they have a fresh vegetation habitat established by the time I reach the system. There was not one mentioned during my first trip briefing, but it was in the long term system description.  It will make all the difference to my palate if there is a fresh grown variety of substances to enhance the onboard diet.  We will have to see.

I will stop for now.  I have a lecture in two hours and I still need to complete my morning therapy.  Please do not worry, I am taking it slow.  No twelve fingered sister will arrive in the Alpha Centauri system.

Love Always,

Annalis

I am always exploring interesting place to inspire a new letter for me book. This cafe was very small and crowded, but offered some surprising ideas. Letters from Oxford – offering 17 was written here. It will be a while before it is published though.

Dear Victoria,

At last I am able to respond to your letter. The illness that has consumed me over the past few days was indeed not related to my regeneration.  It was however debilitating and I spent the two days in the medical facility under heavy sedation. The surgeon whose care I am under was concerned that the infection would interfere with my recovery. One of the students who came to my lecture last week was carrying a strain of the bacteria responsible for scarlet fever. Although this in not normally a serious illness and easily treated with antibiotics, my reaction to the contagion was extreme.  Due to the various substances that I am required to consume to keep my regen on course, I was very susceptible to the bacterial strain he was carrying.  Another thing missed by the explanation from the prep team.  It was a very rare occurrence according to the medical staff, but still the possibility was there.  I am now released for normal activities, although still a little weak.

I will write to you again soon.  It was not possible for me to read your past two correspondences yet.  I just wanted to inform you that I am alive and recovering.

Love,

Annalis