About Your Daughter

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 18th December 2019

Characters: K'lvin, Fandra
Description: Fandra brings a concern about K'lvin's daughter Kaliha
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 10

The fostermother, Fandra, bounced Kaliha in her arms. Despite the smile she
kept on her face for the young girl, there was worry in her eyes as
she waited for the bronzerider. She looked at the timepiece, then back
at the door, dreading the coming conversation.

K'lvin's hair was still damp and brushed back from his face when he
came striding into the creche looking for his daughter. A smile
touched his mouth when he caught sight of the fostermother holding
Kaliha. "There's my girl," he said, his heart warming as it always did
when she reached out, clenching and unclenching chubby hands towards
him in a gesture that clearly said 'pick me up!'

Fandra handed him the young girl, hesitated, then cleared
her throat. "K'lvin, uhm...I've noticed some things that I need to
talk to you about. About Kaliha."

"What is it?" he asked, bouncing his daughter in his arms and smiling
into her big blue eyes before lowering her onto his hip and looking at
the fostermother.

"And it's not just me...other creche workers have noticed it too." She
looked at Kaliha with worried affection. "Kaliha doesn't seem to see
things very well. She doesn't seem to notice things on the floor when
she walks or if she cries for her favorite toy, doesn't seem to know
it's there until it's really close to her face or she's grabbing it."
Fandra pointed to the green flit stuffy that Kaliha always seemed to
want. "I'm worried that it's getting worse. At first I thought it was
just baby clumsiness, but she's nearly two now and it hasn't gotten
any better."

K'lvin's heart immediately squeezed. He couldn't help the reaction. He
loved Kaliha and she was his only link to Bahji. The thought that
something could possibly be wrong with her made him feel sick. "Have
you taken her to the healer? Are you sure it's vision problems?"

She flushed. "I wanted to talk to you about it first. You said, " She
continued delicately, knowing that it might be a painful subject,
"that her mother had difficulty giving birth. And that she was blind."
Fandra cleared her throat a little, "Sometimes a hard birth can do
things to a baby that don't show up until later. She can see my face.
I know she can. But things that aren't right next to her, she doesn't
respond to. The other little girl I foster, she's the same age and if
she wants her toy, she walks across the room to get it. I don't think
Kaliha can see hers at the same distance. She looks for it, but if
it's across the room, can't seem to find it."

"It was difficult," he confirmed, having to clear his throat to
stabilize his voice. He looked around the room, imagining Kaliha
trying to find her toy and being unable to... In a flash he remembered
the way Bahji navigated their weyr back at River Bluff with
experienced fingers. "Her mother went blind, it wasn't from an
accident. Do you think she's going to go blind to?" As soon as he
asked the question, he shook his head, knowing the fostermother
wouldn't know the answer to that. "I'll set her an appointment with
the healers."

Fandra answered the question. "I really don't know. I've never worked
with anyone who was blind or went blind." She hadn't known Kaliha's
mother and had only heard about her from Kaliha's father. "Okay. Would
you like me to take her or would you rather take her?" She didn't know
if the Healers could really test the girl's sight yet, but hoped that
they could provider some answer to her concerns. She hoped that she
was wrong.

"I'll take her," K'lvin said immediately. Things had been extremely
busy around Barrier Lake, but he would always make time for something
that involved his children's health. "I'll also visit her
grandmother," he gestured to Kaliha. "She might be able to tell me
more about how Bahji went blind and what to expect, if it is that."

"Oh, I didn't know that Kaliha had a grandmother that was living."
Fandra nodded. "I'd be interested in finding out her experience. It
might help me if the Healers..." Her voice trailed off. "But I hope
they don't."

"Yeah," he murmured as he stroked a finger down the smoothly rounded
cheek of daughter. Now he looked at her blue eyes in a different way,
wondering if sand in the hour glass was about to empty on her time
with her sight. The thought brought a choking sensation to his throat.
He didn't know why, nor did he have time to explore the feelings
standing in front of Fandra, but he knew Bahji would not have batted
an eyelash at the news. She had understood how to have a full life
without her sight and hadn't let it slow her down from doing the
things that she wanted to do. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course. Just let me know as soon as you find out anything.
Whatever she needs, I'll do."

Last updated on the December 18th 2019

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