![Venus_Cursed_4.jpg](/topshelf/system/files/u6342/images/Venus_Cursed_4.jpg)
by Saless
Chapter 60
Erica continued to try and calm Sarah down, but nothing was working. She was about ready to call 911 when Jill suddenly burst into the room. "Who's attacking Sarah?!" she yelled, with Mike coming in right behind her.
"Nobody! I somehow triggered a memory of something her mother did to her a long time ago and I can't snap her out of it!" Erica cried out, slumping to the floor at the foot of the bed.
"Her mother?! But I thought…" Jill started to say, then cut herself off and ran over to Sarah.
"Wait! She'll just try to get away from you, don't scare her more!" Erica exclaimed, reaching out to grab Jill's leg but missing.
"I won't scare her; you're the one who triggered the memory." Jill replied, but Sarah did recoil from her and she retreated before Sarah could become any more hysterical.
"If it's a memory of her mother that's doing this, maybe I can help." Mike offered. He stepped forward, but Jill grabbed his arm to stop him.
"NO! That's the worst thing you could do right now! Vash! Can you do anything?" Jill said.
Already working on it. was his reply. He became visible and approached Sarah, but got the same response. So he became invisible again.
Sarah suddenly grabbed him where he'd been rubbing up against her and clutched him to her chest. Ack! he squeaked, but soon she was crying into his fur and stroking his feathers absently.
Sarah finally began to calm down when Vash started purring and kept muttering, "Jaime" over and over again.
"Damn!" Mike exclaimed when he finally made out what she was saying.
"What?" Jill asked when he didn't say anything else.
"Sarah has a teddy bear named Jaime! I remember her mother complaining that she should get rid of it, that she was too old for stuffed animals. She always blew it off as just a memento of her childhood or something, as she just kept it up on a shelf in her room and never took it down." Mike said, never taking his eyes off of Sarah.
She is dealing with the pain of the memory the same way she did then. What set her off? Vash asked. Jill had to ask Erica, as Sarah was in no shape to relay the message.
"I don't know! She was putting herself down and I told her not to call herself a freak, and she just totally lost it!" Erica sobbed, unconsciously reaching out towards Sarah from where she was lying on the floor.
That doesn't help. Her shields are as tight as ever, I can't get anything else out of her. I don't even know what memory this is, it's not one I've seen any sign of before. Vash said in frustration.
Jill knelt down and drew Erica up against her in a gentle hug. "It's alright Erica; it's not your fault." she said. Erica tensed at first, and then turned and sobbed on her shoulder.
"Damn, what happened?!" Mike growled in frustration. He looked helplessly at Sarah and Erica. Is there anything I can do? he thought.
Just be here and keep your anger and frustration in check. That's all you can do for now. Vash said sadly.
Eventually Sarah fell asleep, Vash still held tightly to her chest. "Erica, can you tell us how you knew it was a memory of her mother that did this?" Jill asked when she'd managed to calm her.
"The bond." Erica said with a sniff as she wiped the tears from her face. "We were talking through the bond when it happened and I got this image before she shut me out."
"What image?" Jill asked patiently.
"I think it was in Sarah's old bedroom at her parents' house, when she was twelve or thirteen. Her mother was furious about something, totally out of control. She was holding Sarah up by her throat against the wall and seemed like she was really going to choke the life out of her. That's all I saw." Erica said, more tears streaming unheeded down her face.
Jill sat back in shock. "I had no idea…" she said softly.
"Neither did I! She never said anything bad about her mother! In fact she always had good things to say. Although…" Mike trailed off, frowning in thought.
"What?" Jill asked.
"Well, it was around that age that she stopped really talking about her parents at all. She'd never gotten along with her father, though she never actually said anything bad about him. But she was always saying good things about her mother. Then she just stopped. She didn't talk about them at all from then on." Mike said.
"Why didn't she ever talk about this with any of us? We would have understood why she didn't want to see her parents if she had." Jill said.
She didn't know. Vash said.
"What do you mean, she didn't know?! How could she not know?!" Jill replied.
She repressed the memory. She does not consciously know it ever happened. She stopped talking about her because she couldn't let herself think about her lest the memory resurface. That's why the memory's are so hard to find. Whatever Erica said must have been very similar to whatever her mother said to trigger the memory. Vash said.
Jill and Mike looked at Erica and she said, "Don't look at me! I just told her to never call herself a freak! I wasn't going to hurt her!"
Jill sighed, "This isn't getting us anywhere. Mike, would you put Sarah on her bed? Be careful of Vash." Mike carefully picked up Sarah and laid her on the bed, then pulled the blankets off the floor and covered her with them, making sure not to completely cover Vash.
I suggest the three of you leave the room until I call for you. There is no telling what state of mind she'll be in when she wakes. Vash said.
"Okay. Come on Erica, we'll let Sarah sleep for a while." Jill said.
Erica grabbed her robe on the way out and threw it on before plopping herself down on the oversized couch. "I wanted to protect her from John, but it was me I should have been protecting her from." she said after Jill and Mike sat down on either side of her.
"Hey, you had no way of knowing this could happen, none of us did! You didn't do anything wrong!" Mike said firmly. Jill pulled her into another hug.
"That's right. Even Sarah couldn't have predicted this, she'd buried that memory way too deep for that. I just wish I knew exactly what happened." Jill said.
"Yeah, what could have made Sarah's mom act like that?" Mike wondered.
"It's not Sarah's fault!" Erica growled.
"Whoa, I didn't mean it like that!" Mike said. "I just meant that I wonder what was going on that she reacted so badly to. Did Sarah accidentally break something that was really valuable to her or something? I can't imagine what it could be, but something must have happened."
"Is there any history of mental illness is Sarah's family?" Jill asked.
"Not that I know of." Mike replied.
"Sarah is not crazy!" Erica said angrily.
"Erica, calm down! I was referring to her mother." Jill said.
"Oh. Yeah, she must have been off her rocker to attack her own child like that." Erica agreed sheepishly.
Jill sighed wearily, "Well, there's no use worrying about it now. We won't be able to get any answers until Sarah wakes up, and maybe not for a while after that. I'd better call in sick for her."
"Erica, why don't you lie down for a bit?" Mike suggested. Jill had already gotten up to get the phone, so Erica shrugged and laid down. Mike got a blanket and draped it over her and then joined Jill at the kitchen table. When she got off the phone he said, "This is really bad, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. I get the feeling this isn't the only memory she's repressed like that. They could all come pouring out now, and she's going to need all our help to deal with it. That's bad enough, but with her powers she could do a lot of damage if she loses control." Jill said sadly.
Mike winced, "Ouch, I hadn't thought about that angle. What about Erica? She's not doing too well, either."
Jill nodded, "I'm not surprised. This all happened while they were having a conversation over their bond. I don't know how it works for them, but it is probably a lot like it happened to Erica, too. Her concern for Sarah distracted her from it, or she might have been in as bad of shape as Sarah is. I'm afraid this is going to be very hard on Erica, too."
To Be Continued…
Comments
Wow!
This is some repressed memory!
I have the feeling that Sarah has a lot to work out from that time in her life. I'm also getting the feeling that it could all be related to why Sarah cannot change back to her male self and why Sarah is much more lively than Sean ever was. Something hurt the young boy enough to make him withdraw inside himself. Will Sarah have the courage to explore that dark past--perhaps by visiting a world with highly empathic counselor types to help out? There is at least one person in STNG who might fit the bill, and I'm sure there are others available...
SuZie
I don't think the captain would like that
Something tells me Captain Picard would be less than overjoyed to have a portal opened to Counselor Troi's "office" so she can counsel Sarah. And it might attract Q's attention, then what?
KJT
"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Sarah's **********
probsbly called her a freak! Could a young Sean have been a crossdresser? Could Seans dad have abused him? Could his mother, then berate him, to make him feel guilty? Could an uncle, or family member or friend have abued him? Maybe Venus did him a favor with the curse, making it a blessing.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Wow, indeed!
I've been in Sarah's shoes, but not to such an extreme level. You've got us all hooked now, I hope you resolve this quickly. I still probably won't sleep as well tonight as I would have, darn you! I hope Sarah and Erica can find their healing together, they already have their bond, if they work together to be the rock for each other that should seal their souls together for life.
Karen J.
"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
BIG Industrial size can of worms has been opened
Beyond the repressed memories, possibly horrific ones, of Sarah as the boy Sean, Jill just dropped us another bombshell. Erica apparently has similar buried memories from HER childhood though perhaps they are not of her parents as she seems on far better terms with them than Sean/Sarah is with hers. Was she abused, by a relative, lover, teacher or a so called friend? And remember Jill can read minds/feelings so she is unlikely to be wrong about Erica.
With Erica and Susan's soul bond Susan's painful recollections may trigger Erica's own and possibly their emotions will feed back on each other. Jill and Vash are right to be worried.
Can Mike or Sarah's shadowkind coworker help her?
John in Wauwatosa
Oh, it's raining ... again
Hum, can they enter films? Sigmund Freud in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure seems a capable head shrinker.
John in Wauwatosa
I think what they meant
I think what they meant is that, due to the nature of the bond between Sarah and Erica, anything one feels the other one does too. So the pain and trauma Sarah felt will also be felt by Erica, once the distraction of worrying about Sarah lessens. So they are going to have to deal with TWO people, not one.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Exactly!
The bond makes it as hard on Erica as on Sarah (or nearly so). But it also gives them a way to get to reach Sarah, so it's not all bad!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Extreme Shock therapy!
Suddenly experiencing an a long repressed memory can have traumatic effects. I like that Sarah has so many friends concerned about her. Hopefully this breach of the dam will bring cathartic healing to Sarah. Fortunately she has many supportive friends who will help her deal with these issues. Hopefully, being freed from these binding deamons will lead to Sarah dealing successfully with the curse. The only person who knows for sure is probably not telling. Am I rigth Saless?
Thanks for a very entertaining story.
Hugs,
Trish-Ann
~There is no reality, only perception~
Hugs,
Trish Ann
~There is no reality, only perception~
Of course you are!
What fun would it be if I did? ;) Thanks Trish-Ann!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
I'm not
Cavrider----Just another " Grunt."
even going to try on this one ! There are so many possibilities ,each on more horrific than the last . I only wish we could get to the feel good part real soon ! Good job Saless !
Cavrider----Just another " Grunt."
Hmmm
Now I am assuming Tiffany is still outside looking in, maybe hearing all that is going on and wants to help. Tiffany has a bit of a dark side. Could we be seeing a visit by Tiffany to Sarah's mother?
Or something else entirely.
In the world of Cat Legend webcomic shadowmancers are supposed to be capable to visit minds in sorta-spirit-journeys. I assumed this would be the case.
Okay, okay, I simply like to guess! It makes reading more fun!
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
I think I like Faraway's
I think I like Faraway's idea better, less blood to get out of the carpet! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Counselors
There are a number of empathic/telepathic counselors in the MORFS universe. They have experience with involuntary sex changes, people being made to think that they are freaks or subhuman, and child abuse due to those perceptions.
Just don't send her to Pink (from the story Grey.)
Oh gawd!
No way I'd send her to Pink!! Well, not unless I wanted Pink dead, anyway... ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Looks like
there's big problems here, Not to sure how Mike and Jill will sort it out, but i wish them the best of luck...It won't be easy!!!
Kirri
Trauma
I wonder if the trauma is due to the violent reaction of someone who she loved and trusted.
Sean used to speak highly of his mother, but that incident stopped that. Now, Sarah receives a harsh reaction ("Don't ever call yourself a freak!") triggered the old buried memory.
I hope the telepathy and empathic links will help her work through the issues.
Part of the therapy might be confronting Sarah's mother.
Could be, but probably
Could be, but probably shouldn't happen too soon or she's liable to lose some body parts! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Body parts
Didn't Sarah already lose some body parts?
Yeah,
but she got a good trade in! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
problematic powers at fault?
I was just thinking about the word "freak" that had triggered it....
think maybe that perhaps she started to develop her powers as a child, and her partents flipped out. As a result she suppressed the memories AND her ability to use the powers. Until recently they began to resurface.
just a thought
--especially since im reading this late and has already been covered in latter chapters--