Posted by Ensign Chandel (Science) in Quarters: Leah Hart

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Quarters: Leah Hart

Posted by Ensign Chandel (Science) in Quarters: Leah Hart
Posted by… suppressed (11) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Ahh, grandmothers. Do you get along with yours?”
Chandel leaned back in her chair, eyes distant, letting her mind drift far from the hum of starship corridors. She thought of her bayou grand-mère, the woman who had shaped her earliest sense of home. In her mind, the metallic walls of the ship faded, replaced by the warm, weathered wood of a cabin perched on stilts above the slow-moving waters of the Louisiana bayou.

The cabin had always felt alive. Spanish moss hung from the rafters just outside, swaying with the whisper of cicadas and frogs, while the screened porch gave a wide view of the glistening black water and the cypress knees jutting like guardians from the swamp. Inside, every corner held a touch of Cajun French heritage.

Her grand-mère’s walls were lined with woven baskets, cast-iron skillets polished black from decades of gumbo and jambalaya, and hand-stitched quilts patterned with fleur-de-lis and bayou lilies. A crucifix carved from driftwood hung above the door, flanked by tiny bottles of homemade spices and herbs sealed with wax, their scents mingling with the constant aroma of chicory coffee.

The furniture was sturdy but worn, heavy wood carved long ago, softened with embroidered cushions of bright reds and yellows. A rocking chair creaked by the hearth, draped with a crocheted shawl that smelled faintly of lavender and smoke. The old radio on the shelf still crackled out Cajun waltzes when tuned just right, filling the small home with the sound of accordions and fiddles.

Her grand-mère herself would sit at the kitchen table—always covered with a lace cloth—rolling out dough for beignets or stirring a pot while humming in French. The windows were dressed with lace curtains, letting in golden shafts of sunlight that caught the dust and made the air shimmer.

For Chandel, that cabin was more than wood and bayou air—it was sanctuary, memory, and roots. Even across the stars, she carried it with her, tucked away in thought like a charm against the vast cold of space

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah could tell Chandel was lost in memory and she simply sipped her wine and let her be for a moment.

“My abuela and I are very close,’ Leah said with a deep smile. “The story goes that I got my love of dancing from her. She’s a flamenco dancer and when I was three I was following her about trying to copy her movements,” she said, laughing.

Leah breathed in the memory of that love, that bond. “I think she’s the member of my family that understands me best. My family is… complicated, but with her everything is simple, pure.” She drank from her wine glass and pushed it to the side, pulling the beading tray towards her.

“What about you?”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Ah yes. My grand-mere are as close as you and your abuela. She raised me in the bayou. Her little cabin sat low beneath the shade of moss-hung cypress trees, with a porch that seemed to float over the slow, green water. The air always carried the scent of wet earth, wildflowers, and woodsmoke, and the sound of cicadas was like a constant lullaby.

She taught me how to paddle the pirogue through the narrow canals, how to set crab traps at dawn, and how to read the sky when storms would roll in from the gulf. Inside the cabin, the walls were decorated with handwoven baskets, faded quilts, and crucifixes, all reminders of her Cajun French roots. She spoke as much in French as in English, especially when telling me old stories about the spirits of the swamp, or when singing the soft lullabies that carried me to sleep.

Life with her was simple, but rich—every day filled with hard work, laughter, and the deep stillness of the bayou at dusk. To me, she was strength and comfort all at once, the heartbeat of that watery world.”

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah smiled. “I love that- how deep your connection to her and her home is. I can understand it too. There is a sense of heritage in the simple things, the objects, the language. It gives us roots, even when we are out here travelling the stars.”

She gestured to her beads. “Did you bring something creative to do as well? If not, you are welcome to do some jewellery making as well. I can bring out more materials easily enough.”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Ah would you be willing to teach me? This is something I’ve never tried my hand at.” Chandel said her eyes lighting up with excitement. In her long life there were many things she’d learned and she was always interested in learning new things. It was what kept her life from getting boring. She had learned to live in the now.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah grinned. “Sure! I’ve love to teach you. What would you like to make? I’ll grab the supplies you’ll need for it.” She had never had anyone ask her to teach her how to make jewellery before. She’d made things for friends, sure, but this felt somehow more special.

~Leah Hart, NP

“Hmm, how bout a necklace like this?” Chandel said as she pulled a datapad out of her pocket and pulled up a picture. https://i.imgur.com/rwKHdx7.jpeg

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah leaned in, studied the image and nodded. “The design is basic enough, but I won’t have the pendant you’re looking for. How about I teach you the basic technique and then you can make that one when you have the right pendant you’re wanting?”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Could we replicate it?” Chandel asked not know if it was better to have real pieces.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah nodded. “You can,” she said. “Absolutely. That’s not an option tonight, but later, you definitely can do that. I brought my collection with me, but when I’ll definitely have to replicate the findings as I use up my stores, if I can’t find them in our travels.”

She pushed herself to her feet and moved over to the bookshelf that had some locking-lid containers. She pulled a couple down and brought them back over. “I’ve accumulated a variety of styles of glass beads that would work for the style you showed me.” She set that container and took off the lid. Inside three layers fo trays were smaller containers that were filled with a plethora of Czech glass beads, glass pendants of all sorts of shapes and colours, and seed beads. Plus there were simple and ornate metal beads in gold, silver and bronze.

~Leah Hart, NP

“Ohhh,” Chandel said with interested excitement as she bent over, running a finger through the beads and pendants as she studied them. “Hmm, I think I like the jade green and turquoise blue with the silver as the base.”

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah grinned at her new friend’s excitement and it was so nice to be able to share something she loved with someone else. Connection and all that.

She grabbed the larger second container and pressed the release button on the front. The top slowly flipped open and the inside staggered open like a set of stairs, with each tier being independently moveable. “Grab a few of the silver beads and pairs of the glass beads you like. If there is a larger bead you like even more, pick that for the focal centre bead.”

Pulling a tray out of a bag at the side of the couch, Leah set it on the table in front of Chandel. It had curved rows that mimicked the way a necklace lay flat and had periodic markings in millimetres. “So this helps you design a layout. I have some leather cord we’ll use to string it all, but you can decide if you want just a few beads so they stand out, or if you want a whole string that create a cohesive design. I don’t mind either way. I like collecting the beads from all over.”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Oh, this will work!” Chandel said excitedly as she spotted a circle shaped tree pendant. She then picked out silver beads for spacers and six each of the jade and turquoise beads. “How’s that?” She asked showing Leah.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s pretty! I like it,” Leah said.

She grabbed a length of black leather cord and rose from the floor. “Here, I’ll help you measure how long you want the cord. Let’s thread the pendant on so the eight gives us an accurate placement since it will cause the cord to droop more.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Chandel eagerly rose to let Leah make the measurement as she handed the tree pendant to her.

Ensign Chandel Sci

“Oh, I was coming to you,” Leah said with a laugh. “But this will work okay.” Event as she said that,Leah’s shorter height was more apparent.

she strung the pendant onto the cord noting from experience the size of jump ring they’d need to secure it better and then passed the cord and pendant around Chandel’s neck.

“I’ve got the ends and one can slid loosely. All you need to do is pull the pendant down till it rests where you think you like it best. I’ll mark the cord length with my fingers.” Thank goodness for yoga- it meant she could hold her arms out for long durations- useful for both nursing and measuring.

~Leah Hart, NP

Chandel laughed too at their miscommunication. She reached up and took the tree pendant and set it between her breasts near the sternum. “I think about there should do, Leah. Thank you.” She waited while Leah did what she needed too.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Leah held the end of the cord tightly between her right thumb and index finger, and as Chandel pulled the pendant down, the cord slipped easily along her left fingers. She then pinched where it met her other fingers. “Okay, hold the pendant against you for a second.”

She dropped the end and stepped around Chandel, picking up the end again. “There! Good to go, we’ll leave a tiny extra to secure the clasp, but…” Leah stepped back over to the coffeetable and knelt down, grabbing a small pair of sharp scissors and snipping the thread. She slid the pendant off and setboth pieces on the table. “Now you can build the necklace. There’s a couple design choices you can make, like having all the beads together on either side of the pendant, or we can use findings called crimps to space the beads out and stop them from sliding. Both are lovely but they have very different vibes.”

~Leah Hart, NP