Snip

“Besides, every vineyard probably needs someone willing to stomp the grapes. Otherwise everybody’s just standing around admiring the vines while nothing actually gets made.”

Counselor Alex Cross

“There is a story behind the Spring wine,” Hegush said and leaned forward adapting a well-developed storyteller voice, “Once Upon a Time, in the days before the Prophets when evil walked the land, there lived a small simple village. There lived a girl,” Hegush chuckled, “but she was born ugly, so her parents kicked her out and left her to beg on the street. Believing her ugliness to be a sign of a curse villagers would avoid her and so she was left to scavenge the town and countryside to find food.”

Cross leaned back, fascinated and listening raptly.

“What the villagers didn’t realise was that her beauty was on the inside, in her heart and it was more beautiful than any of theirs. Despite being afraid of the villagers because of how they treated her, she would help them out when they weren’t looking. Watching stock at night, finding lost items and leaving them on the doorsteps of their owner. The foolish visitors believed they were blessed.”

Hegush had a gift for story telling and Cross found himself being drawn in and feeling for the girl despite knowing she hadn’t been real.

“One winters day a man came to town in the middle of the night, but the Inns were all shut. The girl instead found him shivering in a doorway and took him to the small dwelling she had made for herself where she lit him a fire to keep him warm and shared the last of her food with him, including a small cup of grapes she had saved away for winter. The man’s hands were shaking from the cold and while he was eating the traveler accidentally knocked the grapes over and crushed them. Desperate not to waste them she gathered them back up into the small cup and put them aside. “

“The next day the traveler left. Without any more food the girl returned to begging for food on the street hoping for the same kindness. However, as they had before, the villagers only scorned her and left her to starve. One day, as the girl lay dying, she reached out to the cup of the fermented grapes and believing it would hasten death along, drank it. Unbeknown to her the traveler had blessed it and instead of dying she turned into a grape vine and all the villagers were cursed to crush her grapes forever as a punishment, the traveler came back took the wine they had made and gave it to those who were good and kind just as she had been.”

“Perhaps the name comes from the name of that village, and it has been lost over time.” Hegush suggested, coming out of his story-telling zone “But it is a fable, I would not put much stock in it.”

He leaned back in his seat and took another sip of his tea again listening to what Cross had to say.

“Absolutely fascinating story and you told it well. Most stories are based in facts of some sort.” Cross mused.

“I’m not so sure about that point,” he said when Cross made the comment about him underselling himself. “I knew someone who could do that, he could captivate an audience with just his breath, and I could swear he could talk the wings off of a bird if he wanted to. He was passionate and proud. He never failed to tell the galaxy what he thought. He is the one who could shape a room better than anyone I’ve ever know.”

Cross smiled, “I think you listened and learned, more than just what it was trying to teach.”

A flicker of memory passed across his mind a distorted almost ghostly image of a proud, attractive, golden-haired young Bajoran male speaking passionately in a pub, just as he had when Hegush had first met him. Hegush gave a good-natured laugh, “I used to annoy him I think, I like to challenge him and play the devils advocate,” then his voice changed, almost wistful, so much had changed since those days. “That was a long time ago now. Before I even joined the Academy. Well before I rejoined it,”

He nodded thoughtfully as Cross spoke again. “You are right though, someone is needed to stomp the grapes, there is no point wasting a grape that could make a perfectly good wine.”

Lt. Hegush Falz, COO

“Indeed. Well, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time, Lieutenant though I have very much enjoyed this meeting. Welcome aboard and I look forward to serving with you. If you’d like to have a drink one evening, hit me up. I’m always open to more stories and good conversation.” Cross said as he rose.

Counselor Alex Cross