Swept Off Her Feet Read Online Free PDF Page A

Their loss rendered the settlers ominously short of diverse genes. This lack had placed the future of the colony in grave jeopardy.
    “Heaven help me,” Nnora groaned. “Two more cycles! If each pava grows with this degree of intensity…”
    She frowned as she heard the self-pity in her words. “Damn! I hate a whiner. Get a grip, Nnora,” she fussed, addressing her image, her voice echoing loudly in the steamy bathroom. “What the hell do you have to cry about? You’re luckier than most.”
    She giggled, thinking of what Lori would say should she come in and hear her talking to herself. She didn’t care. She needed this pep talk, needed to reiterate her blessings.
    “I’ve survived a shuttle-wreck, survived losing my real family and history and survived being different. I have weathered being alone in a world of strangers, have overcome the rejection of my childhood peers and on top of all that, I managed to find the best foster family in the world. I have a mother and a father who truly love me, as well as a cherished sister who helped nurture me through those rocky first years.
    “Now I have an adventure to look forward to. In less than an hour, Father’s ship will be arriving to transport me to his kingdom on the planet Mars. What are a few pesky pava cycles compared to that?”
    I can hardly wait to see what outer space is really like! Does the Earth really look like a green and blue jewel, or is that just T.V. special effects? Wonder if I can talk the pilot into stopping off by the Moon for some pictures—I’d like to see the landing site where they planted the American flag.
    She playfully hummed the music from the Twilight Zone series as she finished applying a silky lotion to her long limbs. She switched over to the theme music of her favorite sci-fi show, Star Trek , giving full voice to her excitement.
    “Dum-de-duuum-de-dum-dum-de-duuum-de- duhm … de-duuuhm ! Space… The final frontier,” she intoned solemnly, snatching up the hairbrush to serve as her microphone. “These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise! Its five-year mission…to explore strange, new worlds…to seek out new life and new civilizations…to boldly go where no—me, me!—has gone before!”
    Thrilled to be embarking on her own voyage to the strange new world of her forgotten homeland, Nnora tried to imagine what was in store for her. At last, she would see the home her mother’s great-mother had established after being forcibly exiled from her home world.
    Honestly, she hated the fact that, try as she might, she could not bring herself to forgive her father. Her inability to let go of the resentment of her past challenged her personal view of her character. Having been on the receiving end of injustice and prejudice, she demanded fairness in all her personal dealings, holding herself to a high standard of behavior. She squirmed within at the knowledge that she was not living up to her own expectations.
    Worst, she knew her father did not deserve her censure, knew she should not blame him for acting in the only way open to him at the time. Yet, though she hated seeing the hurt look on his face every time she pulled back or eluded his embrace, she found herself unable to let go her anger and move beyond the hurts of the past.
    Mr. Spock would say it was illogical to blame her father for abandoning her, for leaving her to live as a human. Her father had been forced to abandon the search, and intellectually, she even understood his need to order the destruction of the wreckage to prevent any humans from gaining evidence of their existence. The resulting blast had destroyed the possibility of searching the site for further clues of her survival and possible whereabouts, thus hindering his subsequent attempts at finding her. She still found it hard to believe her father had never given up searching for her, had designated a group of people to do nothing but search for clues for her existence, day in and day out, reading