LiTTLE CHERiNE Book 03 - post066

I turned to Smaragda. “Will you please tell these people that I have just met you, I do not know you and we are not going to trick them?”

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1601

“But you do know me, you invited me!”

“I did? But I’m certain I did not put a pack of cards in your socks. Could I borrow it?”

Startled she looked down and pulled out the pack. She handed it to me and I shuffled. I put my other hand over the hand holding them and opened my hands. There was nothing there. I looked at her with dismay.

“Why are you playing tricks on me? Don’t you want me to do my magic tricks with the cards?”

“I didn’t touch them!”

“Then why did you put them back in your sock?”

She looked down, saw them and giggled.

“Oh well, cards are boring, all magicians use them. How about we try something different?” She nodded.

I picked up a stuffed toy. “Smaragda, do you like dogs? Good, would you hold this one for me and pet it so that it does not get nervous.”

She took it and petted it, giggling. The tail began to wag as she petted it and she looked at me a little scared. “Didn’t you know dogs wag their tails when they are happy? Petting them makes them happy. Sometimes they even try to lick your face.”

The stuffed toy moved in her arms and she dropped it with a squeal. It kept on jumping and I saw she was afraid so I told it to sit. It did so, cocking it’s head to look up at her.

“Smaragda, you are not afraid of a stuffed dog are you?”

“But it is a magic one!”

“Wouldn’t you like to say that you are the only girl who has a magic toy dog? It does not have any teeth so don’t be afraid of it.”

With some gentle coaxing she picked it up and it lifted itself and nuzzled it’s snout against her cheek and then put it’s front paws over her shoulder and rested it’s head.

“I think it is tired and wants to sleep. Shall we put it here and let it sleep? You can take it with you afterwards.”

I turned to our audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, Smaragda has been playing a trick on you, she wanted you to think I am the magician, but the truth is that she is the magician. Watch what she will do for you now.

I told her to wave a finger in a circle in the air. As she did, a golden glow began to form. It looked like a ring of sunlight and I kept on telling her to concentrate to make it brighter. Soon she was designing all kinds of shapes, excited by what she was doing.

We did a variety of other tricks, got other guests to come to us, write a word and show it to the audience while Smaragda kept her back turned to them, then she would guess the word. Of course I would put the word in her mind - only once was a word given that she did not know (Rosie did it on purpose I’m sure) so she did not get it right, but she did get so many correct that she was flabbergasted. She was almost ready to believe she has magical powers.

It was finally time for the last act and time for me to keep my word.

“Smaragda, remember the circles of light you made before? Can you do it for us again, but this time make the circle pointing down near your feet.” She did so and a small circle began to glow. “Can you make it bigger please, much bigger. That’s right. Make it nice and thick, we want a big solid circle of light.”

1602

Soon as it was big enough I told her to put her one foot on it. I held her hand as she did so, her confidence in herself and me now was such that she did it without any fear. Her foot rested on the circle and I told her to pick up her other foot and put it on the circle too. She did so, wobbled a moment, but found her balance.

“That's a good girl. You are doing very well. Now concentrate your mind and make the circle come as high as my knees.” I watched her mind and made it raise her as she ordered it to. Her excitement was something unbelievable and I sent it to all the Cherinians. It stopped at my knee height and I got her to crouch and slowly sit on the disc of light. She did so and I told her to hold on to the circle. She did with one hand and then gathering her courage let go of my hand and held the circle by both hands. I then told her to make it fly around, wherever she wants. Of course I made it move in accordance with her wishes.

She flew over everyone, going to her parents who were staring at her without being able to believe what their eyes told them. She stopped in front of them, her voice almost a squeak from her excitement. She touched their faces and even bounced herself on the circle. I saw the mother was now becoming terrified so I asked her to return to me. The circle came down to near ground level so that her feet touched the ground and I took her hand to help her stand up.

“Smaragda, that was magical and beautiful. Give a bow to your audience please.” They all clapped enthusiastically for her and she gave them a number of bows, her face flushed with pride and pleasure.

I gave her a hug and whispered, “Does that make up for the fall?” She nodded and then kissed my cheek.

She was soon in the midst of a circle of children, all playing their part perfectly, showering her with admiration and envy. The girls sent me many messages, amused at my going out of my way to make this day so special for her. I called out to Smaragda, “You forgot your doggie!” She turned to look and it ran across to her, jumping at her feet. Then it lay down, tail wagging and head tilted up at her. She picked it up and of course all the kids wanted to see and touch it.

As I'd expected I had to fend off questions by her parents, refusing to explain. “It is the job of every good magician or illusionist to confound their audience. When they say ‘but that was impossible’, then the show was a success. How it is done is my secret.”

When they left, Smaragda was a very happy girl with a bunch of new friends. They agreed to meet her at the coffee shop the next day. Now we could all relax and be Cherinians again.

“Cherine?”

“Go to him my love.”

“I want you with.” She nodded and we walked over to Luigi.

“You have heard why and how I killed, as I promised you would. I felt how you responded during the telling. That was during moments of your emotions being played with, as a poet does, reaching in past the heart and touching the soul. Now that you have had time to look at it more calmly, would you condemn me Luigi?”

“You do not need to be condemned nor absolved by me Roberto. It is within your own heart that you need to find your own peace. If you condemn yourself, what purpose my absolving you?”

“And the other way around. Luigi, I still ask the question. I need to know, a man like you, a poet with all the sensitivity of a poet, how do you respond to my deeds and fears?”

“With sorrow for both. Sorrow, for fate decreed that you should be the instrument when you were not suited to the task.”

“Am I forgiven for the trick I played on you?”

“The choice, the blindness?”

“Yes. One night of suffering.”

“I’ve tried to understand. I felt you were trying to give me a message.”

1603

“I thought so too, but I stand accused of giving you one night of meaningless agony.”

“Why did you?”

“Luigi, when people find out I can heal, most will easily ask and beg on behalf of their loved ones, some do so as if they have a right to demand it of me. I wanted to know, how many of them would sacrifice for the one they beg for. The first was a father who hated his son. He agreed to become paralysed in place of his son. The second was you. I had to carry out the terms of the agreement so that I would know, and you, that the offer was made with love and without regret.

Or so I thought. The night I left you I slept under a tree. I had a visitor who accused me of selfishness, of hurting you just for the sake of proving a theory to myself.”

“How did he know? Do you know who he is?”

“No. I only had the feeling of a power far superior to mine and a wisdom I will need a thousand years to equal. To return to you if I may. If you had asked and I had answered yes and done it and moved on. Would it have had the same meaning for you? Would you have viewed your brother as you do now? Did your offer to give your sight in exchange show you also, perhaps to your surprise, how much you truly love him?”

“I see. I never told him, but you are right, in my heart I felt closer to him. I also found I liked what I had done, that it made me like myself.” He wryly chuckled. “When I woke up with my sight regained, I almost felt, for an instant, as if I had been cheated out of something special.”

“The same with the father I mentioned. He too was healed of his hate and it allowed him to see his love. Either way, for the grief of thinking of yourself as blind, I apologise.”

“No. Don’t. Help me to understand.”

“It comes back to the question, are you richer if you receive or if you give?”

“Yes. You gave me an opportunity to give.”

I nodded. “Today must have been quite a traumatic day for you.”

“I was shocked to hear about Jade, that she has come to you since I last met you.”

“You may use the word created, we do. If spoken with love it is not a bad word. She is proud of it. Jade?” She came over and stood by my side. “Do you see her as another aspect of myself?”

He gave a sort of lopsided grin to her and looked back at me. “You would be flattered if I answered yes? I think she has found a soul of her own.” Jade beamed with happiness at his answer and rushed off to repeat it to all the girls. I saw they all showed happiness for her and she radiated such glee and self-confidence that I had to pass on some of it to Luigi.

“Can you see how blind the ordinary person is? All you could see was her face, the movements of her limbs and body and you guessed at how she felt. Feeling it yourself, does it not open another dimension of understanding?”

“The probability of telepathy and other paranormal powers existing have tantalised us with possibilities for centuries. To be in a room full of people who have these powers is an amazing experience. I think even you do not realise how different you have become. I have watched many conversations and it is impossible to understand what they talk about, for they leave half unspoken - knowing the other has picked up the meaning. Your girls, your wives and children give me the impression that they only speak aloud about one tenth of what they are saying to each other.”

“Not as low as that, but you are correct. I have fought against it, I do not want us ignoring the spoken word - just as I would not want to ever lose the written word. The voice is a marvellous instrument, sometimes speaking of emotions clearer than the mind - that is perhaps an exaggeration, but it does supplement the feelings we pick up. Look at Jade just now, despite feeling her emotions, how much nicer it was hearing the excitement and joy in her voice.”

“They complement each other. I suggest it will not help to keep them bound to the old ways by you laying down rules. Time will teach them which are the most effective ways of communicating.”

1604

Keith said, “I disagree, by laying down rules, Robert has often made us stop and think - what he asks often seems crazy or pointless, but then after a while we see why he made the rule. What Robert should have told you is that he fears we may move too far away from the rest of mankind. He is concerned that doing so would not only make it difficult for us to cohabit with them, but also cause some to think of themselves as superior to the normal person. He is right, but it cannot be avoided, as much as he may dislike the fact, we are superior.”

“Luigi, Keith is also a professor so I am a bit out of my league by arguing with the two of you. Keith, one question - how are you superior?”

“You want us to list the ways!? Having a healer alone qualifies us.”

“But Keith, I believe every single human being, perhaps many animals too, have a healer; they just do not know how to access it. Does the ability to read make you superior to an illiterate person or just better educated? I do not see it the way you said, I see that having a healer imposes upon us responsibilities, we have to help those who do not have access to their healers, especially since we refuse to teach them how to contact their own. If we did not have reason to fear, we could, if correctly planned, teach every human within the next five years. Just as with reading, they have the latent ability, they only lack the teaching.”

“As you see Luigi, we see things from different points of view. With Robert you will be reminded of your younger students who live in a world of ideals and believe in the goodness of Man.”

“Keith, you will excuse me if I ask you a question? If Roberto were a man without these graduate ideals, if he were more cynical - what would the Cherinians today be like?”

“I can answer that for you. My name is Jonathan. I am that man you would imagine Robert as. When I first joined I fought him. There were nights I went home after listening to him, seeing how he handled momentous events and cried from frustration and anger. I saw the Cherinians as an important step up the ladder of evolution and feared he was about to waste this opportunity and destroy the dream with his simpleminded ideals. He has an irreverant way of treating important occasions that made me want to hit him. He imposed modes of conduct that I saw would lead to the extinction of all Cherinians. I even tried to take the leadership away from him. Do you know what he did?"

“I can imagine it was something that frustrated you even further.” Luigi answered with a smile.

“He offered to place me as leader in his place. No, he did not offer, he demanded!”

“And? That did not please you, that a level headed practical man who knows the ways of the world would have a chance to guide your people?”

“No. It did not. It made me face myself, look at what I would do to the Cherinians and I did not like what I saw. He still frustrates and angers me, but now I have the sense to bide my time, to wait to see the results.”

“Jonathan, I think you will go home tonight, think of what you said and kick yourself. I never imagined you would stand before me and argue in my defence.”

He laughed. “I probably will. Robert, I am not so small minded that I cannot see when I am wrong. I am able to grow.”

“If you were a girl I think I would hug and kiss you for what you just said. I imagine you must be sleeping a lot easier recently, since I became more sober and cautious.”

“The truth? I think the change in you actually highlighted for me how wrong I was. I do not sleep easier Robert, it is now that I worry. I would prefer that you frustrate and anger me.”

I bowed my head to hide the tears that threatened to spill over. Softly I whispered, “I’m sorry,” and walked away from them.

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I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.

Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου

(Alexander Zenon Eustace)
^{24th September, 2019}

* posted on PALNet - Steemit - WEKU - CreativeCoin: 24th September, 2019

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