Handprints in the Earth

Posted on Sat Jan 2nd, 2021 @ 11:23pm by Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun

Mission: Healing of Minds
Location: USS Liberty Arboretum
Timeline: Backpost Before Therapy Session

Backpost

Rhenora had left him alone to enjoy the arboretum. He walked along the many species of trees, shrubs and flowers until he came upon a spot where the bed looked to be struggling. There were several species of flowers, each fighting for the same plot of earth beneath them. What's more is that there was a vining plant that seemed to be consuming the earth beneath them. He knelt down and looked at where his hands needed to begin.

A young woman behind him cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir, may I be of assistance?”

He looked up at her, “You have an invasive species of vine here, choking the life out of the surrounding foliage. I was going to see if I could help weed it back.”

“Oh yes, that would be Solanum dulcamara or better known as bittersweet nightshade. We have a plot dedicated just for it nearby, but like many species it tends to spread itself around.” She smiled as though it were amusing. “My name is Honey and I will gladly get you a set of tools if you wish to assist the garden. We encourage anyone who wishes to learn.”

“Thank you, though tools will not be necessary, nor will any chemicals or otherwise. I prefer to work with my bare hands, very therapeutic you might say.” He showed her his rather large hands. “All I need is a place to discard the remains.”

Honey nodded, and moved away for a moment before returning with a small levitating barrel cart. “You can place whatever scraps you have in here, and I will make certain they get a proper recycle.”

“Thank you for your help Ms. Honey. I will let you know when I am done.” She nodded and walked away and he turned and set to work pulling and digging to remove the bittersweet vines.

As he dug and toiled in the dirt he couldn’t help but to think of a prayer which resonated within him. Finding an empty spot in the earth he pressed his handprint deep into the soil and recited out loud the prayer to himself.

“The Handprints in the Earth

One night as I dreamt a little dream
I was toiling in the earth with the Prophets as my guide.
Across the dark soil flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed handprints in the earth,
One belonging to me and one to my Prophets.

After the final scene of my life flashed before me,
I peered back at the handprints in the earth.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and troubled times,
there was only one set of handprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Prophet about it.
“Prophet, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d toil with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of handprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

The Prophet whispered, “My child, I care for you and would never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of handprints,
It was then that we weeded for you.”

– Modified Original by Margaret Fishback Powers

Sometime later when he felt the remnants of the bittersweet vine had been removed from the dirt, he carefully filled the bed back in and smoothed it over to look like he was never there. He made sure to add a final touch of a single handprint before standing up and looking down at his handy work.

Reflecting on the work and the prayer, he came to the realization that his faith was indeed faltering. After so many years of blindly following a prophecy and the doctrine set before him by the Prophets, he was tired of being led along like a dog on a leash. There was so much more to his broken belief system that he was not prepared to deal with at this time, but the therapy of the earth was a good start.

Now he needed to join Rhenoray for a therapy session with Aurora. He sought out Ms. Honey and thanked her for her time and allowing him to reflect.

“Any time you wish to come back, the soil is all yours. And I will let you know how the bed is doing.” She smiled and moved away, her job still unfinished, as was his.