SquidgeWorld Archive

Title: Wishing Tree
Author: Poodle
Rating: PG
Summary: A whimsical tale of a lonely young woman who finds a -broken' android beneath her wishing tree.

Wishing Tree
By Poodle~

She found him beneath her wishing tree. And he was broken...

"You're nobody, Mir-rami! Nobody. Dane will bond with me and we'll be blessed with many children. Father declared this." Her sister's eyes flashed. "You're a foolish child to dream it would be otherwise. I'm the eldest; you'll do as I say. Now return to the..."

But Mir-rami fled. Fled the gawking stares of her father's people. Her sister's eyes. Her own humiliation. *I am nobody.*

Tears burned behind blue eyes. Why could they not be raven, like Tawn's? Why could the legs that carried her deep into the woods not be supple and long, instead of gangly? Why, oh why, did it hurt to be young? To know he would be *hers.*

Autumn leaves protested beneath her feet. She did not hear their cries. *Carry me deeper into the woods.*

Mir-rami escaped to her special place beneath the wishing tree. And there she found him...

~*~*~*~*

Reality swam into focus. He blinked and heard a gasp. He wondered vaguely who he was then snapped to full consciousness.

A pair of eyes widened in fear above him.

He sprang to a sitting position.

She gasped a second time and slipped, plopping onto her backside in a mountain of leaves.

"Your eyes! You are a serpent." She scooted farther into the mound. "You are not real."

He blinked and slowly rotated his head to ensure it was affixed. "Serpent?" He echoed.

"Hiss, hiss." She bared her teeth. "You are a serpent."

"Serpent? Snake. A reptile. I believe you are mistaken."

She narrowed her eyes, maintaining her retreat within the mound. "Your pupils, they are *huge.* You are most definitely a serpent."

"I assure you, your assessment is incorrect. I most definitely am not a snake."

His expression became perplexed. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"You were once a snake," she insisted, raising her chin.

Arguing with the young woman was proving futile. "Where am I?"

"At my wishing tree. In the forest of Layte near the village of Hess. I am Mir-rami, daughter of Hishlum. And you, sir, you are not real."

I am neither imaginary nor fictitious. Although some many consider it disputable as to whether I am genuine, I do not believe I am unreal."

"I am Mir-rami, " she repeated. "It would be proper for you to tell me your name. Or should I call you snake?"

"I am..." A frown knitted his brow. "It would appear that I am damaged."

"I noticed that already." She maintained her solemn dignity in spite of her position among the leaves. Her speech mirrored his own peculiar lack of contractions. "I thought you were a doll, at first. But your chest rises and falls like mine. A wishing tree is a wondrous thing. It holds the secrets of my soul. But surely it could not turn a serpent into a man."

Her words droned into the background with the rustling of the leaves, as he struggled to regain his name. It was a lost and empty feeling. Recollection had always been effortless. Now he knew the meaning of frustration. Finally the connections met, activating a memory fragment.

His eyes lit. "I am called Data!"

"Day-ta."

"Please. What planet is this?" His memories were blurred.

"Planet?" She frowned. "You are in the forests of Layte."

"It would appear you are unaware of interstellar life." Then it came to him. "The Enterprise!" He moved to slap he emblem on his shirt and froze. A chill cut down his spine.

His arm was missing.

She watched him from the sanctuary of her fortress. "You are broken," she said softly. "I did not know how to fix you."

"You attempted such a task alone?"

"That is how I know you are not real."

His eyes followed hers to where the appendage lay forlorn and lifeless. He swallowed. "It is possible I can repair the damage with minimal assistance."

"Assistance?"

He caught the trepidation in her tone.

"It is unlikely I have sustained irreparable damage." His uniform was burned and torn. He stumbled to his feet. "If you are...uncomfortable, I understand."

She scooted farther into the mountain of leaves as he passed and knelt beside the arm. "A tree that changed a snake into a man who is not a man," She whispered.

He struggled with the limb but found the situation awkward and fumbled. It tumbled to the ground. He hesitated, regarding it for a moment before trying again. The results were similar. He drew a deep breath and looked up.

She was watching. What did he see reflected in her eyes as her gaze moved over him, coming to rest on the disconnected arm? Revulsion? Heat rushed over his cheeks.

"Curious." He dropped his gaze. "Is this humiliation?"

In an instant, she was kneeling at his side. "Who hurt you?"

"I do not know. It would seem my short term memory has been impaired." He reached for the limb.

"I will help."

He paused. "Are you certain?"

Her eyes moved over the appendage. "Tell me what to do."

He rolled up his sleeve. At the sight of the truncated arm she pulled in her breath. He met her eyes. "Are you certain?"

She swallowed and held the tattered edges of his sleeve in place as he positioned the limb to reattach it. "You are warm," she whispered. "Your skin is soft. I notice it earlier." She grimaced as he snapped the arm in place.

"The synthetic tissues comprising the epidermis were selected for their similarities to their organic counterparts. Although its hue is different from your own, its texture is much the same." He rotated his arm slowly. It appeared intact.

"Who would do such a thing?" she asked softly.

"Excuse me?"

"Who would leave you broken and alone?"

He shrugged. "I do not know."

"It is sad." She sat. "Tawn would be wicked enough to destroy something simply because it was beneath my wishing tree."

"Tawn?"

"My sister. She hates--"

"The Enterprise!" He tried a second time to contact the ship. Nothing. He struggled to recall where he was. The face of a Romulan flashed through his mind, then quickly slipped away. "Curious."

"Are you certain you are not a snake?"

He blinked. "A snake?"

"Yes. My wishing tree must have known that I was lonely and transformed you into a man."

"I believe you are in error. I was constructed as an adult male android..."

"I *know* you are a male. I discovered that immediately."

His head titled. "Discovered?"

She shifted her gaze. "I thought you were a doll. I did not know that you were *real,* real." A smile tugged at her mouth. She cast him a glance. "But you are."

He looked uncertain. "Should I thank you for the confirmation?"

She laughed. "Regardless, you are mine now."

"Yours?"

"Mine," she said with finality. "But I promise to never leave you broken. Do you eat?"

"Though it is possible for me to do so, I require very little. About this claim of ownership..."

"Are you hungry?"

He frowned. "Interesting. I detect a slight imbalance, possible due to an inordinate expenditure of energy. Now concerning my status as property--"

"There are cara berries at the base of the tree."

"Excuse me?"

"If you are hungry. They ripen in early autumn." She jumped to her feet, and brushing the leaves from the back of her leather skirt, moved to the tree. "See" Reaching past a cluster of wild flowers, she gathered a handful of fruit and returned to his side. "They are very good. Of course, I will take much better care of you in the future." She sat.

He accepted her offering. "The precedent has been established that I cannot be considered the property of Starfleet. A logical penumbra of that ruling would be that I cannot be considered your property, either."

"Eat. You must stay healthy." She squeezed his arm. "You are a wonderful gift."

"Gift?"

"From my wishing tree. Tawn will be so jealous."

"I cannot--"

"There is no need to be frightened. I would never harm you."

"I do not believe I possess the capacity to experience fear."

"I do not know who hurt you or why, but you are safe with me."

"I regret to inform you that I will be unable to remain for any significant length of..."

"You are *very* interesting. Do all of your parts remove in the same manner?"

He blinked at the question. "No. Just the primary extremities such as arms and legs. The head, of course--"

"Does it hurt?"

"Hurt?" He met the pale blue of her eyes.

"When you replaced your arm." Her brow creased in worry.

"No, Mir-rami, I experienced no pain."

Relief lightened her face. "Good. My friends call me Rami. Tawn will be very surprised when she learns you are mine. She said I would never find a man. Dane is ordinary. He pales compared to you."

"Your sister's opinion is quite important?"

She dropped her eyes. "Tawn is the eldest. She is everything that I am not."

"I do not understand."

"She is tall and slim; I am long and scrawny. Dane laughs when I walk. He says that I am a py-tee."

"Query. Py-tee?"

"A lanky bird."

"Ah. " He nodded. "It is possible you will mature to accommodate your proportions."

"Twan is beautiful. Her eyes are large and dark like a moonless night." Her voice grew low. "Mine are faded blue..."

"Like the sky."

Those eyes brightened and he realized he had unconsciously used an appropriate simile. A smile crooked the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you," she whispered. "They are to be married in the spring."

"They?"

"Dane and Tawn."

"This is displeasing?"

"I hoped he would marry me."

He was unsure of the proper response. "Why should you desire to marry someone who equated your physique with that of an unsightly lankly bird?"

She shrugged. "It is true, I am ugly."

"Ugly?" He appraised the young woman and found her not unlike many others. "I am sorry, but I am unfamiliar with your standards regarding what does and does not constitute beauty."

"Perhaps my wishing tree did not want you to know, so you would not be uncomfortable when we come together to create our children."

Golden eyes widened.

"The more I produce, the greater my status will become. I was afraid Tawn would surpass me in this, as well."

"You are mistaken--"

"I will take good care of you, Day-ta." She laid her hand against his arm. "I will feed you and keep you safe and warm."

"The well-being of my anatomical condition is not contingent upon such factors. I seldom require the ingestion of nutrients, and temperature fluctuations..."

"You do not find me ugly?"

"I am uncertain as to what ugly is."

She smiled and slipped her arms around his neck. "You are a wonderful gift."

He stiffened. "Rami, you do not understand. If your desire is for offspring, it would be in your best interest to engage a male of your own species."

"But you are mine."

"No." He placed a gently restraining hand against one of the arms encompassing his neck. "I do not know how I arrived on your world. But I am not the result of metamorphosis. I cannot be," he paused, "Yours."

A burst of early season chill caused her to shiver. "When first frost glazes the woods, my wishing tree is beautiful. You will like it here. We gather basel nuts for the celebration of Last Light."

"Last Light?" His attempts to graciously disengage were proving futile.

"Yes. As the days grow short." Blue eyes melted into gold. "You will be very happy here. We will be blessed with many children and..."

"I do not wish to cause you disappointment, but your proposal is genetically impossible. I cannot replicate."

"Replicate?" A frown knitted her brow.

"Reproduce." At her puzzled look he continued. "Although I am capable of functioning in an intimate capacity, I--"

"Yes!" Her face brightened. "You will teach me."

"Teach?"

"I have never -functioned in an intimate capacity.' You can teach me." She strengthened her embrace. "Now."

"I believe--"

She covered his lips with hers. "I wish to know," her kisses trailed across his cheek, "how all your parts come together. You must show me."

"Rami." He struggled from her embrace. "I do not believe it would be...appropriate, for me to do so."

"I promise that I will take good care of you."

"A gilded cage is still a cage. I cannot stay."

Shadows darkened her eyes.

A burst of wind whisked mahogany leaves into a spiral that rose, then slowly died at the base of the tree.

"But you are mine. A gift from my wishing tree."

"A male of your own kind--"

"Will never want me! I am not like Tawn."

"Because you are you."

"I am *different.*"

"I know what it is like to be different," he told her softly, "to desire to be like those around you. But wishing will not make it so."

Her eyes drifted toward the tree. "The forest is magical this time of year. Wishes made near the celebration of Last Light can become real."

"Sorcery, incantation. Magic. I believe your conclusions to be inaccurate. There is no such thing."

"But there is!" Her face brightened. "I will show you." Jumping to her feet, she scurried to the base of the tree and stooped to pick a wild flower. "These are magic." She returned to his side. "See." A white bloom lay in the palm of her hand.

"It is only a flower."

"Oh, no. It can sense your soul." Her eyes widened as its petals deepened to crimson. "It knows what I'm feeling. When no soul is near, its petals are white, but when--"

"Rami, such flowers are indigenous to many worlds."

She sank to his side. "It *is* magic. Take it, you'll see."

He laid his hand over hers. "There is no magic." His eyes fell to the blossom clutched in her grasp. The crimson bled to blue.

"It knows I am sad," she whispered. "It senses the tears of my soul."

He swallowed. "Its petals respond to your presence, nothing more."

"You are magic, Day-ta." She clung to her belief.

"Only the magic of science."

Wind whispered through a pile of leaves, drawing her eyes toward the sound. "If you do not stay, you may become a serpent again."

"It is chance that I must..."

His communicator beeped.

Mir-rami's eyes widened at the sound.

He slapped it. "Data here."

"Are you all right, Data?" The commanding tone was Picard's.

"I believe so, sir. Though my memory is fragmented."

"I'm not surprised under the circumstances. Do you recall your abduction?"

His brow furrowed. "Abduction?"

"Never mind. Prepare to beam--"

"Captain."

"Yes, Mister Data?"

"Would it be possible to postpone my departure?" His eyes cut to the young woman.

There was a pause. "Postpone?"

"Yes, sir. There is a native humanoid present whose level of technological development is substantially below that of our own. For her to witness--"

"Understood. Contact us when you're ready. Picard out."

He drew a breath, then met her puzzled gaze. "I cannot stay."

She dropped her eyes. "You would rather be a serpent?"

"No. But if forced to choose between my present form and freedom, I would default to the later. I am sorry."

She placed her magic blossom on the grass between them and solemnly watched it fade to white. "The ground contains no soul."

"Rami." He raised her chin and met her eyes. "There are many things in life that confound me. I have often been accused of overt naiveté, but I have lived among humanoids long enough to know there is truth in the adage -beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'"

"You do not find me ugly?"

"I do not believe you classify as such. Most developing humanoids pass through a stage deemed -awkward'. It is transitory."

She smiled. "I will remember you."

"And I you." He released her chin. "Will you do me a favor?"

"If I am able."

"I wish for you to leave."

She frowned. "Leave?"

"Please."

Scooping her flower from the ground, she rose and presented it. "A gift. When it senses your soul you will remember there *is* magic in this place."

"Thank you." He took it from her hand. "For...everything."

She turned and walked away without a backward glance.

He watched until her silhouette merged into the forest's amber foliage, then his eyes were drawn to the stirring branches of the wishing tree.

"Goodbye, Rami."

His eyes fell to the blossom in his hand. He found its petals white.

~End