By Carol Holaday

AnRho Ta'Ne was a tall slender man with deep blue eyes and a rather large, but loveable nose set above a strong mouth and chin. He had a gentle and pleasant laugh, and he laughed a lot. AnRho was definitely a man of presence, a powerful healer, and a very well known one, at that. He had a lovely wife named L'ta who was his light and joy. They were both very skilled at the art of healing with crystals and herbs and color and light and sound. Together they worked to care for those in the community that needed them. They were never stingy with their services or their time, so they were well-loved and prosperous.

AnRho and L'ta had a daughter. Her name was Ta'Na L'ta AnRho. That means Ta'Na of L'ta and AnRho. Ta'Na was as beautiful as her mother and a friendly, happy child. Both of her parents doted on her and frequently stopped what they were doing in order to play with her. Ta'Na hardly knew the idea of pain or suffering at all, and was actually a bit spoiled, but not in a bad way. All in all, life was really very happy and pleasant, most of the time.

Then something terrible happened. L'ta was on her way to the home of a friend who was very ill. She was on foot and in a hurry. In her haste she stepped into the path of a large cart and was killed, trampled by horses’ hooves and heavy wheels.

AnRho was numb with the pain of losing L'ta. He wanted to follow her into the next life, but Ta'Na was still there, and she needed him to love her and help her heal. He needed her, too, for the same reason. So, AnRho threw himself into the job of raising Ta'Na. Being around her was like sunshine and was a balm to his heart. For Ta'Na, AnRho was the sun and moon and stars, her protector and friend, her beloved father. Together they rebuilt their lives around healing. AnRho taught Ta'Na everything he knew about healing and they worked together as a team, much as he and L'ta had done before the accident.

Ta'Na grew up to be a very beautiful woman. She resembled her mother greatly, with a small and delicate frame. Her hair was dark and long and very soft, and her eyes were an unusual violet/grey. When she smiled it lit her body from head to toe, so full was her light. When she was around her father this was always the case, for he brought out the best in her and she the best in him.

As she became a young woman, Ta'Na began to notice boys and show an interest in them, and AnRho knew it wouldn't be long before he would be faced with giving Ta'Na into the care of a husband. He tried to put it out of his mind, hoping that she would find the boys in her life just that, boys, who wanted to play at life and dally with girls, not men who wished to marry and raise families.

Indeed, Ta'Na felt this way about most of the young men she came across. None of them could measure up to her father, except one, Mah'Ri. Mah'Ri was the son of a vendor in the marketplace where Ta'Na went several times a week. They noticed each other right away and soon developed quite a rapport. Ta'Na would find excuses to go to the market so she could tarry near the space of Mah'Ri's father. Soon it was obvious to everyone in the market that the two were very much in love.

It didn't take long for word to get back to AnRho that his prize was in love, and with an ordinary street vendor. This upset him tremendously. If he were going to give her up to a husband, he wanted it to be to a man who could provide for her and keep her safe. So, AnRho set out to find the right husband for Ta'Na.

It wasn't long before a suitor appeared, named Azsh'Ra. Azsh'Ra was a very rich young man with many holdings. He was a trader, importing and exporting goods around the world. Azsh'Ra was smooth and pleasant in his approach to An'Rho. Azsh'Ra quickly gained AnRho's confidence and asked to become Ta'Na's husband. AnRho readily agreed to this with stipulations that Ta'Na would be free to come and go and be with him often. He was pleased and called upon Ta'Na to tell her the good news.

Ta'Na did not take the news of her engagement with joy. She told her father about Mah'Ri and asked him to allow her to become Mah'Ri's wife instead. They talked long and argued hard about the fact that Mah'Ri could not provide for Ta'Na in the way that Azsh'Ra could. For the first time, neither could or would hear the other. Tempers flared and words flew that could not be drawn back. AnRho told Ta'Na she was a spoiled baby and would have to learn to take instruction from time to time. Ta'Na maintained that she had a right to choose for herself whom she would spend her life with. After all, had not he and her mother been given that choice? In the end nothing was resolved, and many painful words were spoken. In her fit of temper and tears, Ta'Na threw the crystal she had been holding, straight at her father's head and told him she never wanted to speak to him again. The crystal shattered on the tiles, and when AnRho looked up, still in shock over her behavior, she had left the room.

AnRho had much to think about. He pondered what would be best for both Ta'Na and for himself, and in the end, he came to the conclusion that her happiness was foremost. He called for Azsh'Ra and explained the situation and apologized for letting him down. Azsh'Ra was furious, not about to give up. He left in a fit of anger, vowing that he would not be put off. AnRho was taken aback by his reaction, but he felt relieved that he would be able to face his daughter again, and allow her to choose her life.

Sadly, he never got the opportunity to speak to Ta'Na. The moment that he left the house of AnRho, Azsh'Ra ordered Mah'Ri killed and his body placed where none would ever find it. Then he had Ta'Na kidnapped from her room as she lay sleeping. Ta'Na awoke as she felt the hand of her captor move across her lips. She never got a chance to cry out before she was carried away into the night, terrified and confused.

The next day Azsh'Ra returned to the home of AnRho to lay claim to Ta'Na. AnRho again told Azsh'Ra that he would not force his daughter to marry him if it was not her wish. Azsh'Ra demanded to hear from Ta'Na's own lips that she did not want him. Of course, when the servants returned from Ta'Na's rooms and reported that she was not there, AnRho assumed she had gone to Mah'Ri and, therefore, sent for him to come from the market.

When Mah'Ri was no where to be found, everyone believed that Mah'Ri and Ta'Na had run away together. Only Azsh'Ra and his servants knew the truth. Azsh'Ra left AhRho's house declaring he was done with AnRho and his wayward daughter, and would look elsewhere for a more suitable wife.

AnRho had never experienced such shock and grief before, not even at the death of L'ta. He was alone, and he had no one. There were many who came to console AnRho, but he would not be consoled. His pain was so deep that he could not find the bottom. He could hardly believe that Ta'Na would leave him in such a way. He sent servants out looking for the couple, in the hope that he could find her and salvage their relationship, but the word coming back was always the same. No one had seen any sign of the young couple.

Ta'Na was filled with shock and anger when she realized in whose home she was being held prisoner. Azsh'Ra laughed at her and told her that he had purchased her from her father for a tiny fraction of his great wealth. In her heart, Ta'Na knew that her father would never do such a thing. She asked to visit with AnRho, and was refused. She tried to leave and was beaten and returned to her rooms. This happened numerous times and always ended the same. Azsh'Ra visited Ta'Na regularly, and regularly beat her, for she frequently let him know how much she despised him.

For a long time Ta'Na believed that her father would come to her, that he would take her back into his home, but it never happened. Azsh'Ra took great pleasure in letting Ta'Na know that her father was not interested in her wellbeing. He even told her that AnRho had taken a new wife and had another child to occupy him. Ta'Na was crushed by these stories. She felt lost and abandoned, left to the mercy of a man with great wealth and no heart. Finally, she gave up believing that AnRho would ever come for her. She withdrew into her own world, one where her father and mother were still present and filled with loving attention for her. She left her healing skills behind and offered help to no one. Ta'Na had two children with Azsh'Ra. It was after the birth of the second child that Ta'Na, who had the skills and could have easily saved herself, gratefully succumbed to a postpartum fever.

As time passed, AnRho's pain at the loss of his daughter turned into anger and bitterness. The man who had once been a great and powerful healer refused to use his power to help anyone, let alone himself. He no longer had a desire to heal or help anyone and he blamed Ta'Na for this. As he aged he became more and more of a tyrant, and those who had at one time served him with great joy and pride learned to scurry to the nearest place of safety when they saw him coming, in order to avoid his now vile treatment of them. By the time AnRho died, there was very little left of his household, and he was mourned by virtually no one. For by then, there were few who remembered the man with the gentle laugh and the ready healing hands. Those that did simply shook their heads at one another and clicked their tongues sadly.

AnRho and Ta'Na played out this story again and again in other lives, other roles, different scenarios, trying to repair the damage done by Azsh'Ra. Each time a small amount of healing took place. Ta'Na and AnRho are now currently embodied and playing out another scenario designed to bring them both back into balance. It is AnRho's last chance to rid himself of the fear of being consumed by a woman, his last opportunity to receive his power and become again the amazing and powerful healer he once was. He has this chance to show Ta'Na that he is always there, that he will not abandon the child who was the sunshine of his heart. Ta'Na has this final opportunity to heal herself, to fully know that she was not purposefully left to suffer. She also has this opportunity to be with and help the healing process of AnRho, the man who once was her sun and moon and stars. And should they be successful, all shall be brought into balance and alignment for them, and they shall finally be free of the cellular memory of it.

So be these words given unto the one known often as Joy, once known as Ta'Na L'ta AnRho, daughter of the great and powerful AnRho Ta'Ne.

Woman, Spirit, mother, artist, teacher, writer, friend - Carol Holaday spent her first 41 formative years on the Great South Plains in the small city of Lubbock, TX, home of Buddy Holly as well as many other creative souls. Carol has a degree in Art, as well as training and certification in perinatal education and counseling and Reiki healing. She is also the mother of three, for which she has no license or certificate. Carol recently relocated to San Diego, CA where she continues to teach, write and find her sweet spot.