|
Tsunami didn't even look up as Dasher trotted through the
door of her room and came to sit beside her on the bed. The Gelert looked concerned,
and with good reason. Her sister was curled into a ball, her face between her
forelegs and her mane falling over to cover her eyes, a picture of abject misery.
Dasher's heart went out to her. She knew that Tsunami wouldn't have told anyone
else about her plight; she wouldn't have wanted anyone worrying over her, and
she wouldn't tell unless she was asked. She placed a golden paw on her sister's
green-haired shoulder.
"Su, tell me what's wrong."
"Fame," the Peophin replied in an exhausted
whisper. Apparently she was too worn out and harassed to embrace stoicism any
longer.
"What?"
"Fame, Dash. Everyone is telling me I should
be a star for my voice, I could make it big, go and sell records and everything.
But I don't sing because of that… I sing because I feel the music, Dash.
"Not because I want to be a star but because
I want to… because the music is in me. I love to sing, but I'd rather sing by
the river, alone or with my friends, than on a stage with a thousand-strong
audience listening to my every note."
"So what's the problem, Su?"
Tsunami raised her head at the question to look
miserably at her sister. "I don't know what I want anymore. I'm willing to be
a member of the Aquatic Chorus if I don't sing a solo but… I just can't keep
away the thought that I… should be a soloist. You know, being a background vocalist,
part of a choir, my voice is just part of the team. You guys and other people
have told me I can sing well enough to be a famous singer. What if I'm just
wasting my talents?"
"You have to be true to yourself, Su." Dasher's
brown eyes and voice were gentle but firm. "Listen to yourself. Ignore the doubts,
ignore the fears; ignore everything but your own essence, your own soul. Ask
yourself what you want. And no matter what it is, even if it's not being a famous
singer, go for it. That is you, your calling. No one can take that away."
"But what if I don't have an ambition? I never
did…"
"Not everyone has an ambition, Su. But everyone
has a vocation. Something that they just… well… do for the sheer joy of doing.
Whether it gets them NP or not." The gleaming paw stroked her shoulder gently,
and Tsunami felt a great wave of soothing power course through her body, clearing
the anxiety and weariness from her mind and leaving peace in its wake. Dasher's
Bless ability, she thought wryly. I'll probably be stronger in combat now.
"You'll understand your calling someday. Some
of us find it sooner than others. You'll find yours eventually though. Everyone
does."
Tsunami looked gratefully at her sister. "Thanks,
Dash."
"Not a problem," Dasher grinned. "Let's go down
and eat before the boys scoff the lot."
To be continued...
| 
