Moon 514 || Blaze and the White Griffon

18 || Evelia

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Last revision: 4/24/2013

She couldn’t sleep. Despite the fact that she didn’t get enough sleep the last two nights and despite the fact that the excessive humidity and heat had left her feeling very worn, she was too excited to sleep.  No later than 2:00 a.m., she rested on her bed in her familiar night clothes, taken from her private chambers in the Order before it was destroyed, and stared around her new room.  Comfortably and dimly lit by a dark blue luminescent plant, it was easy to see things in the middle of the night but wasn’t so bright that you were left squinting until your pupils adjusted.  Whoever came up with the idea to use luminescent plants for night lighting was brilliant, she determined with excited enthusiasm.  It must have been Robin.  Evelia’s eyes made their thousandth tour of the room.  It was evident that Robin was involved in other aspects of designing the rooms so she guessed that it had been her idea.

Robin held the same responsibilities over the database as Evelia, only Robin was from a different Order and she was much older and much more experienced.  Before Evelia was directed to her room, a friendly young girl had shown her a file on the database where you could find individual histories and personal profiles of each member of the crew.  Evelia had been more than a little embarrassed to discover that Dr. Boyd had kept track of her achievements during her lifetime, taking images of her artwork, noting specific contributions she made to the database, documenting her personal strengths and challenges in life, and preserving every image that had ever been taken of her.  While her history and profile had been flattering overall, it left her feeling a little violated – like she had been stalked her entire life but had been completely unaware of her stalker. 

The feeling was meritless.  Dr. Boyd documented everyone’s life.  He was a scientist and that meant he was a record keeper.  But when Evelia came to that realization, it didn’t seem to make her feel much better – that’s just how feelings are: sometimes, they don’t have any foundation in reality but they linger anyway.  Perhaps, she considered, I feel that way about him because of all of the awful things he has done.  She barely blinked away tears and forced her thoughts away from the loss of her parents and her older sister.  Her emotions brimmed over every time she remembered her recent losses but she didn’t want to cry anymore.  She had cried enough the past few days.  So, she mastered her feelings the best she could and focused her thoughts on something else.

Elayuh fussed a little as Evelia shifted position slightly.  She’s so peaceful, Evelia noticed with a smile on her lips.  The child cried only rarely and that seemed remarkable to the young artist as she considered her traumatic life so far.  Fatherless before she was born, motherless soon thereafter, and taken from her entire extended family before she was a few moons old, the child would be the only person representing her native race on this ship – and perhaps forever.  Undoubtedly, she would not be told of her village’s plans to sacrifice her to local deity until she grew to sufficient maturity to learn that sad truth and since no one really knew anything about her culture, she would never know anything about her own people – except that they had somehow survived the Third Holocaust. 

The only vestige of Elayuh’s heritage she would have growing up would be stories that she was nourished from mush made from a local plant.  She probably needs a more well rounded diet, Evelia considered as she pondered over this detail.  She silently determined to speak to whoever was in charge of nutrition and health – was it Saraliah or Sarlaya?  It was a hard name to remember.  Either way, she would help Evelia ensure the child would have a balanced diet.  On the other hand, she already looks healthy, she debated with herself.