Little Cherine Book 06 - BPost030

arthur-grafo8 (60)in #sfandf-fiction • 5 years ago

“....If I were to pretend not to love him for the sake of teasing him, it would not be right, it would not have been teasing; I would be guilty of abusing his love for me.”

3791

“Why does he still fear what he knows is not true? He can sense your love.”

“In all of us there always remains a fear that those we love will stop loving us. It is not a bad fear Haven, for it prevents us from taking our loved ones for granted. The Normals of my world do that a lot and then their love for each other dies.”

“What you are telling me, it has something to do with Anna?”

“We have not looked within her mind - she never invited us. We do know she was hurt by her father who abandoned her and the only man she ever loved hurt her also. She fears love. While her daughter was a child she channelled all her love to her, but since Smaragda fell in love, she has shut her heart.”

“She is defending herself from love?”

“We think so.”

“Ahh.” She thought she now understood why Robbie had chosen her.

“That was not the lesson you have to learn Haven. You only needed to learn how to defend yourself from hate.”

Haven’s thoughts were already on a different track. “Why would she allow me to get close to her?”

Cherine grinned. “You’ve had a good teacher.”

Fondly she looked at Athia. “She only succeeded because she came to me as a baby so I felt safe.” We all laughed and Haven grinned, acknowledging she was not being fully honest. “Should I go to her as a baby?” she wryly asked.

Shiyra shook her head. “No, I think it may be better for her to be the baby.”

“What are you thinking of?”

“She needs to learn to trust a male. If she is a baby and a male makes himself her father and protector, it might release her from her fears.”

I could not help chipping in. “I do not think Anna only fears loving males. She does not love any females either and as you may have felt among us Cherinians, all of us love others not of our families.”

Jade grinned. “I can’t see her agreeing to becoming a baby for anyone to look after her.”

Dommi frowned. “Just hold it a moment, I think you may have something there. What if Smaragda was to be her ‘mother’ for a while, I think she may agree to it. She would enjoy feeling her daughter loving her and Smaragda is the one person she trusts.”

Meli’s eyes focussed as she evolved an idea. “We should tell her that Smaragda will not know who she is. Smaragda will be told that a baby was found and we cannot look after her as we will be travelling again, so we want her to care for the child.”

Dommi did not like it. “It would not be fair to Smaragda. She will learn to love the baby as a mother - how do you think she will feel when she is told the truth? It would break her heart.”

Meli did not lose her smile. “But we would tell her from before Dommi, and she will agree to have her memory blocked for a while. Only if they both agree would we do this.”

Haven looked worried. “Robert said I was not allowed assistants, only Shiyra, won’t he be angry that you are helping me?”

Cherine caressed her cheek. “He would be more angry if we did not.”

“But then he will be angry whatever we do?” Cherine was delighted and hugged her.

“Do not fear his anger my love. We enjoy making him angry now and then.”

“But he will be disappointed in me, thinking I could not do what he asked of me.”

3792

“She is right Cherine, that is one thing any of us would fear.” Wendy said.

Cherine sighed and Robbie appeared. She asked him, “Put her mind at rest love.”

“Shiyra is your assistant Haven, but it does not mean you should not get advice from experts. You are planning to manipulate Anna to seduce her heart, and these girls are the experts in that.” Modestly he added. “Should you feel you need some of my input you are welcome to ask me also.”

Aganthi asked, “Haven, are you afraid of us knowing what you think, of your mistakes being seen?”

“What? Why do you ask that, what have I done?”

Aganthi nodded at me. “You have not done as we all have. You have not given Sam permission to watch your thoughts and emotions, even when in privacy.”

Haven narrowed her eyes as she looked at me and for a brief time they were the old cold green and then she asked. “For your diary?” I shrugged. “I do not fear you Sam, you are welcome.”

Robbie laughed. “You are braver than I am then, I fear her.” He saw her expression and added sorrowfully, “Oh Haven, when will I be allowed to tease you?”

“When I have learnt to dare tease you?” she asked and for a second he did not know whether he should cry or laugh, so I let him see she was teasing. He swung her up into his arms and kissed the tip of her nose. She wrinkled it.

“What was the purpose of that? It…tickled.”

Smaragda loved the idea and Anna, as we’d prophesied, agreed to it. She did worry why we suggested it and we told her that doing it among ourselves has been a lovely experience and that is why we suggested they try it. Her mind calmed as she accepted our motives as being pure - isn’t it horrible when people do that when you are fibbing?

Smaragda introduced a new factor once her mother had regressed to a baby and her memories were blocked. Smaragda wants Angelo to be the ‘father’. The three of them were taken to an alternate reality where the local Cherine agreed to link and watch over them. While there, Robbie spent time with his little Claire, who is not so little anymore. Claire pleaded with us to do a storytelling of how Robbie found her in the sea and all that happened afterwards. Diana asked her why she doesn’t just look in Robbie’s memories, but she said he plays down his role, making only her father look like the hero. That made Jade determined to do the storytelling, so Meli agreed.

“How long are you thinking of letting them stay there Haven?”

“Ten years.”

Robbie whistled. “I sure hope you know what you are doing! They will return changed by their experiences.”

“I thought that was the purpose of our strategy?”

Robbie did not explain to her what he meant and mournfully told Jade, “What you did, now I won’t be able to go there again for a long time. You should not have dramatised my first visit.” His complaint only served to make her happy, while the rest of us grinned; Claire has a case of hero worship and we found it amusing watching him squirm. The only one more amused than us was her father Robert.

All of us asked for privacy so Aganthi knew we were planning something for her birthday, but she did not guess what. Alki and Allan were brought into our scheme and then so was Savva and his family. We spent many hours scouring Athens for flower girls who do not have a family that love them.

Everybody was invited to her birthday party. It began at nine in the evening at the Club Cherinián where a cake was brought out for her. Aganthi was trying to be discrete in her search for our gift(s) and was feeling a little let down that none of the others had brought her any.

Before lighting the candles for her to blow out, Robbie asked for silence.

3793

“Aganthi, you do know that you are still my little flower princess? You are a very difficult person to buy presents for. You get more joy out of us helping other children than in receiving anything we can buy for you. We decided we should do what makes you happy, so we did not bother with presents for you. Are you ready for your surprise?”

As she nodded, the door opened and three flower girls came out. They were the worst cases we had found. We call them flower girls, but they are not really. It has long since been made illegal in Greece for children to do that job, and so they were sent out to pick up men for sex. That is one job that laws cannot seem to save children from. All three were very sick, had been badly abused and their bodies and minds scarred. They came out timidly, not understanding why they had been told to carry flower baskets.

Aganthi paled as her mind reached out to them. “Roberto.” she whispered and he put his arm around her.

He nodded at the three families and they stepped over to the girls, each family taking one girl, they came over to Aganthi. Robbie spoke in English so that the girls will not understand.

“These three families have decided to adopt these girls. They are our way of honouring who you are and what you mean to all of us. Your example has made all of us finer people, so how else could we show you how every Cherinian treasures you as their flower princess? Why don’t you take your three girls to a room upstairs and calm their fears while our healers repair their bodies? The cake can wait my love.”

Aganthi was as tender as only she can be with children like these, while remaining very practical in the way she talks to them, and ignoring us she took as long as was needed to calm the girls, to explain in ways they can understand, that the past is now only the past, today and the future will be different with new parents, as they will be part of new families who will care for them. The children did not believe her, but some of the magic of her heart touched theirs and they allowed her to put them to bed where the healers helped sleep claim them for the night. Aganthi sat watching them for half an hour before returning to us. We do not know of any Cherinian who has cried that much on their birthday.

We went to Apostolis at midnight and there Aganthi found a multitude of gifts waiting for her. We would not allow her to sit and think her sad thoughts and kept on dragging her onto the dance floor. When the party ended, she left us to sit by the three girls. She sent to us that this was her best birthday ever and wished us a good sleep as we went to bed.

The three girls will need a few days before Cherine can be of any use to them and Aganthi has Irene and Noelle with her, so we decided it would be a good time to jump to Smaragda ten years in her future. The Cherinians there had been warned that they must stay away from us, not contact us in any way so that we do not learn of the future, so it will be a quick in and out visit.

Robbie stopped us. “Before you go, there is something I want to tell you. Haven and Shiyra, you are not to jump ten years. Go forward seven years only. When you arrive there the girls will block your memories but they will leave in your minds the memory that you are there to help and protect Anna. The girls will return to collect Shiyra and you after another three years. Cherine, here is enough money to rent them a flat for three years and for their living expenses, plus a sum for unforeseen exigencies. Leave them their healers, but in all other ways they are to be Normals. Haven, Shiyra, I leave it to you to choose the age and sex you wish to be.”

We were all in shock at his orders. Some of the girls began to cry while the rest of us tried to protest. Haven stopped us.

“I will do as you ask Robert. Will you tell me why when we return?”

“I would prefer that you be able to tell me.” He went to her. “For us you will be gone only hours and yet, in our hearts, we will feel every second of the three years and miss both of you. Haven, please do not leave thinking I ask this because I do not love you.”

Proudly she answered, “Sometimes you are a difficult person to love Robert, but I respect you and will trust you in this.” She looked at us girls, her glance lingering on Robyn and her eyes softened. “They think you are doing this for our good and I know you well enough by now to be certain you would not cause them pain without reason. Robert, you are sending me into danger by taking away my powers so I thank you from now for respecting me enough to do so.”

3794

We ended up staying there for nearly a week. First we had to find the girls an apartment close to Smaragda. We found out someone in the same building is leaving at the end of the month and we paid them to leave immediately. We then had to buy furniture and a lot of other things for them. Robbie has been very generous and there is enough left for them to live very comfortably and keep a substantial sum in reserve for emergencies.

“I am worried Cherine. When you take my memories, my love for Robert and all of you will be forgotten. I do not wish to risk getting involved with a man while I am here. I think I should take the body of a male.”

“That might be a good idea for Anna’s sake, but Haven, if a girl falls in love with you, we will cause her pain.”

“I do not wish that to happen either.”

Latreia gave a wicked grin. “Meli, what about the Sacred 42? Add to their memories that they are married and love their wives.”

“I like that. We could tell them that Lady Meli has sent them on a mission to watch over Anna and her parents without telling them, I mean Smaragda, who they are and why they are here. That provides the motivation and will be easier than creating a new personae from scratch.”

Haven grinned. “It would have been nice having Samuel with us, he would be certain to get us into trouble. Cherine, I was worried you were planning to make one of us male and the other female,” she pointed at herself and Shiyra, “in the hope we would fall in love with each other.”

“Now why didn’t we think of that!” Cherine teased. She looked at me. “Sam, are you sure you really want this?”

“Is there a way to save us having to shave every day? It was the one thing I hated as Samuel. I’m surprised that Robbie prefers to shave, rather than instruct his healer to keep his facial hairs trimmed. Cherine, yes. Please.”

“I’m not certain what Robbie planned for these two so I can’t calculate how your presence will affect his plans. I’ll take the chance Sam. Enjoy yourself.”

As had been pre-agreed, there is to be only a one way communication with the local Cherine and she was told I will also be staying and she should keep me discreetly linked, just in case we get into trouble. She was given the keys to unlocking our blocks so that we can instantly become Cherinians again. That took some of the anticipated fun or excitement of our adventure away for Haven, but she did not protest.

Samuel

(taken from diary of Samuel)

I came to, with a start. I realised I had been watching this thing the local people call a television. I recalled our meeting with Lady Melina and her vaguely worded mission for us on this world. She had given us some knowledge of what life is like on this planet to help us survive what she called the city jungle, and told us we have been given the power to heal ourselves should we be wounded. I could see the other two out of the corner of my eye and wondered why the Lady had chosen these two as my companions. Restless and eager to get started, I stood up and went to the window.

“It is nearly evening, we should go out to find the child.”

Shida sat looking at the box. “I wish my wife could have come with. When I tell her about the moving pictures, she will not believe me.”

Harvey stood up. “Come on, Sam is right, we must search for this Anna child.”

3795

It will not take any great detective work to find her, since we know the number of their apartment. We took a seat at the coffee shop and waited for them to appear. They did not appear that night and we thought we must have missed them the next morning. We used this time to practice our Greek. The Lady has placed the knowledge of the language in our minds, but it takes a while for the tongue to learn to twist itself around some of the more difficult words. The Greeks compound the problem of speaking their language by having two separate modes of speaking, one that is used when being formal or wanting to show respect and the other for casual conversation. Luckily the other language we had to know was English, which somehow the Lady has placed in our minds as a replacement for our native tongue. It is very disorientating not being able to recall even a word of my own language.

Since we did not see a couple with a young female leave the building that night, we decided to take more direct action. The others insisted it is my job to knock on their door with some excuse. I was still trying to think of one when I knocked. I then saw a button and pressed and a bell rang inside, but nobody answered. I was now at a loss, what should we do?

The neighbour must have heard the bell, for she opened her door. “They are not in, they will be away for another two weeks. Can I take a message for them?”

I pretended to be flustered and answered in broken Greek. “I don’t know what to do now, I’ve just arrived in Greece and I was supposed to meet them here.”

“They did not tell me they were expecting anyone! Are you sure?” She became embarrassed at her stupid question and quickly said, “They have gone to Kerkyra. I don’t know which hotel.”

“Are you certain? We are talking about two young men, not Greeks?”

“I think you’ve made a mistake, a young couple live here with their daughter. I have not heard of any foreigners in this building. When did they arrive?”

“A couple of days ago.”

“Oh, that must be the flat on the floor below, I heard it was rented a few days ago.”

Making suitable apologies and thanking her I tried to make a quick exit, but now she was curious and had a number of questions that I did not know how to avoid. Luckily she heard a favourite program starting on her television and sent me off.

We reasoned that if the Lady Melina sent us here at this time, she had a reason, so we found out how to get there and stunned by the idea of flying in a machine, we bought tickets. We arrived on the island in the early evening. In town we saw to our dismay that the streets are packed with people. What chance of finding Anna?

We agreed to meet outside the door of a small church and split up. I have to admit I was not as efficient as I should have been. I kept on being distracted by people, vehicles and other strange machinery they have. I decided my city is not much better, but at least it does not have the stench of fumes. A natural place to search at this hour were the various eating places. The small ones were not a problem, but some of them seat hundreds of people and I would never have guessed that so many of them would be young couples with a daughter. I finally gave up in disgust. This quartering of a city on foot is not my style. I returned to the church and found somewhere close by to sit with a glass of ale and think.

a) We do not know what Anna looks like; b) we do not know what her parents look like; c) we know their names, Smaragda and Angelo but not their surnames. It seems our Lady slipped up. In a way it was a comfort for it proves she is not a god.

At that moment an obviously Greek family sat at a table close to me and the mother told her daughter to ask the gentleman (me) if she can have the extra chair at his table.

A girl of about seven shyly came to me and asked for the chair. I replied, “I’ve been keeping the chair for a little girl called Anna. Are you Anna?”

I was only teasing, so it was a shock to me when her eyes opened wide. “How did you know?” She ran off to her mother and told her. The father came over to me.

“How did you know her name?”

“Sometimes names come to me. Let me see…does your name also start with an ‘a’? Maybe Angel, no, wait, Angelo. Your wife, she is…..it is a difficult name for me, something like Smaragda?”

“I don’t believe in mediums! How do you know our names?”

3796

“I am not a medium. Mediums commune with the dead, I only see facts about the living. You come from Athens and your apartment is on the fourth floor. Am I right?” I was already regretting my efforts to impress him as I realised he will soon know I live in the same block of apartments and his neighbour will probably tell him about me. I stood up and lifting a chair moved it to their table. “Do not be afraid of me Anna, I was only playing a game with you.”

Smaragda asked, “A game? How did you know her name?”

His voice grim Angelo said, “He also knows your name, mine and where we live.”

“Just a lucky guess Angelo. It was highly unlikely she would be Anna, but once I saw I was right I took another chance and guessed your names.” I told them about my knocking on their door by mistake and the conversation with their neighbour. “When she admitted her name was Anna, I thought it can’t be, not in a city with so many people, it would be stretching coincidence too far and yet it was you. To tell you the truth, I am in shock and still can’t believe it.”

“I’m afraid it does sound farfetched. Did someone send you to spy on us?”

“Why, are you an important politician?”

“Don’t get smart with me!”

“Angelo, you are being rude! The man is right, who would care about us and go to the trouble of sending a detective? If he was a detective, why would he make contact with us, shouldn’t he have stood behind the kiosk over there watching us?”

I laughed. “By career I am a soldier. My friends and I decided we wanted to live a little before signing up again so we came to Greece. We were fascinated by all we had read of your country.”

Angelo was still uneasy, suspicious of me, and I can guess he was formulating all kinds of terrible scenarios why I was making contact. Harvey and Shida arrived within minutes of each other and stood in shock when they saw me with a family that fitted the three people we were searching for. I waved for them to come over and I introduced them.

“Shida? Is that an Indian name?”

Angelo seized on that. “Yes, where do the three of you come from?”

I winked at Anna. “We come from another planet.”

That irritated Angelo even further, but Smaragda had seen my wink and smiled. “Sit with us. Perhaps you could tell us about your planet?”

Harvey gave me a disgusted look and twirled his finger by his head as a silent comment to Shida. Angelo saw and calmed down a little. I tailored my comments from here onwards to firing the imagination of Anna. As I talked about our home, mostly concentrating on the Gillians and Lady Meli and the philosophies that guide them, Smaragda realised I was talking for the benefit of her daughter and she was pleased. Angelo was more critical, but saw Anna was enjoying our discussion, so he did not interrupt me too often. I was pleased at the bright mind of the child and encouraged her to ask questions or argue points with me.

“Where are you staying?”

“We haven’t looked yet. I suppose we will have to find a room soon.”

Angelo laughed. “You expect to find a room in the middle of the season? I think you will be sleeping on the beach if you did not book a room from before.”

“We are soldiers, so it will not be a hardship.” Harvey answered.

“If the police find you, it will not be that comfortable.”

“It is illegal not to have a room!?”

Smaragda found the question funny, but little Anna was worried about us. I reassured her. “Perhaps one night you and your family can join us on the beach. It is lovely sleeping under the stars with the sound of the waves singing you to sleep.”

“You are a romantic.”

3797

“A soldier and romantic Smaragda mou?” Angelo laughed sarcastically.

I was not insulted, but I told him, “You would be surprised Angelo at how many career soldiers are romantics. They also tend to be sentimental, seeing their life’s work as being guardians or protectors.”

“I do not like soldiers.” he replied in a flat voice.

“The world would be a far better place if no soldiers were needed, but they are needed Angelo. If you dehumanise your guardians, portraying them as monsters and evil, you help encourage that belief in themselves. Show them that you appreciate the hardships and risks they take to keep this a safe world for you and you inspire them to achieve the best in them.”

“Nonsense! I have done my compulsory service and I know what life is like for soldiers. Everything possible is done to dehumanise them so that they obey orders without question. Anybody who shows any softness is bullied or even victimised until they either break or become harder than those picking on them. The officers who are career men are even worse.”

Angelo was verging on the outright insulting and Harvey was bristling, ready for an argument, so Shida stood up. “We will leave you now. I hope we meet again while we are here.”

As we walked away Harvey smacked his fist into the palm of his hand. “That man, he makes it very easy to dislike him.”

Shida put his hand on his shoulder. “Harvey, we do not know what the soldiers of this world are like. Perhaps he is right. They do not seem to have a warrior mentality, war is waged with weapons that kill from a distance. Last night I saw on the television soldiers entering a village and killing old people, women and children. That would not happen on our world.”

Shida left us, doubling back so as to find out where Anna is staying. He met us later with the information.

We stayed up late that night, walking around town and watching how the people of this world enjoy themselves. Despite their technology, we decided they enjoy the same things the poorest of our world do. Friends meeting to talk and drink and if there is music or entertainment they will sit for hours enjoying it because the entertainers are live, not images on their television. We had to walk for a long time before we could find a secluded spot to sleep.

We were careful over the next few days not to constantly intrude on their family time, only nodding as we passed by. On the third day we were sitting at a pavement table when they came past and Anna left their side to ask me something about Lady Meli. As I explained, the parents joined us and Shida courteously stood up and invited them to join us. After that they were more relaxed and often greeted us first.

Harvey is doing his nut trying to work out what danger Anna is in. He infected us with his worry and we spent many hours discussing it. Though we allowed them to see us at times, we kept them in sight of one or the other of us at all times.

“I may be wrong, but I have a feeling they are not in any specific danger. A thought has crossed my mind and you are both going to think I’m crazy.”

“We already think so. Just tell us Sam.”

“What if they are family of the Lady and she has to be away for a long time, so she sent us here only as a precaution?”

“You think this is her world!? I find it difficult to believe.”

I smiled. “Why is that Shida?”

His voice was passionate, which showed his low opinion of the people of this planet. “None of them are like her! Look at them, how could someone like her come out of people like these?” Harvey agreed with him.

3798

“She spoke to us of Greece, I think she does come from this world. What I find difficult to understand is why she would send us to her family as their protectors, without telling them about us. One more thing. I told Anna about our Lady, giving her name and the parents heard also and yet none of them believed she is real.”

“What makes you think she comes from here then?”

“Think back to our days in the desert, did she not speak in a language we did not understand with Alki and the others? Now that we speak Greek, do you not understand the words?”

“Alki! If you are right he will be on this world! The others too!”

I grinned. “I’ve already checked. There is a powerful man known by the Greeks and his name is Alki Georgiades. When we return to Athens I will find out if his wife is named Marian. As for Nicko, we did not learn his family name.”

We followed the family back to Athens, having to take a ship to the mainland and busses back to Athens as there were no seats available for days on the aeroplanes. Harvey just would not believe there is no imminent danger and fretted for the two days it took us to get to our apartment.

* * * * *

“Samuel, Harvey and I will keep a watch over here, you should see what you can find out about Alki.”

Before dawn next day I was waiting outside the address I’d found in the telephone book. I waited in vain until lunchtime. I went to a kiosk and called his home number and a servant answered, who told me Mr. Georgiades is at the office. I got from her the address and found my way there by the simple but expensive expedient of taking a taxi.

Because I was annoyed with myself for allowing him to slip past me at his house, I went for the direct confrontation.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Georgiades is not here. Was he expecting you?”

“No, I’ve just come from overseas and thought I’d take the opportunity of meeting him again while I was in the area.”

“One moment please.” She dialled a number. “Kyrie Georgiade, a foreigner is here who says he has met you before from overseas and would like to meet you.” She turned to me. “Your name please?”

“Samuel.”

“Your surname please?”

“Tell him he just knows me as Samuel.”

She leant forward to insist on a surname and the receiver moved away from her ear. I heard a voice swearing. She pressed the phone to her ear again, listening intently and after agreeing shut the phone.

“Mr. Georgiades has told me to take you to the yacht club where he is having lunch. He asked me to tell you he would enjoy your company and reacquainting himself with you over a meal.”

By the time we reached the pavement a limousine was waiting for us and within a short time I was entering the club. As we entered the dining area I saw another two men leaving his table, waiters taking their plates away. As we walked through the diners to him I felt his eyes on me and as I looked back it felt as if they were boring into my brain. He reminded me of an instructor from the days when I first joined the army.

He got to his feet. “Samuel, I am Alki.”

I smiled. “I know. Did you think I had forgotten you? Do you have news from home, is Princess Thina well?”

He did a very strange thing. He closed his eyes for a long time.

“I am sorry Samuel. Yes, Thina is well.”

I felt shivers run down my back. “You are not the Alki I know!”

3799

I’d startled him. “What makes you think so?”

“You never called her anything but Princess Thina. There are other small clues, but that is the most important.”

He gave a grin, which because it reminded me of my Alki, disarmed me. “You are right. Samuel, you are not on his Earth. This is an alternate reality.”

“The Lady Meli, your…Alki’s daughter, she is from here?”

“No. I do not have a daughter or wife. Samuel, somehow you always seem to break the rules and I’m not certain how to handle it this time. May I have a moment to consider the problem?”

“As long as you intend being honest with me.”

He ordered for me and soon as my food arrived he began eating, so I was forced to emulate him. I was more than pleased to find my meal included meat, the memories of our fruit and vegetable diet still make me hanker for good red meat. When coffee arrived he lit a cigar and sat back.

“Samuel, which would you prefer? That I tell you the truth and you lie to your comrades or that I lie to you?”

“Neither are acceptable Alki. If you are anything like the man I know, you would not ask either of me.”

“I have to Samuel. Unfortunately my lying to you is not a good proposition. You would niggle away at it until you have the truth and then you would have to lie to your comrades anyway. You may need a drink, as I can guarantee you will be shocked.”

“In that case the wine I’ve had is enough. I prefer a clear mind when I am being shocked.” He laughed.

Alki explained how I was created and why, without telling me who I really am. “Samuel, your comrades this time, they also are not who you think they are - they never were, not even during your desert escapade. They are aliens, from different worlds. The one you should consider your prince, Roberto, he found them at war and brought them to his world to broker a peace settlement. He succeeded and they are now friends. A close friend of Roberto’s had an emotional problem so he sent her here as a baby. The ones you call Harvey and Shida were ordered by Roberto to spend three years here. Roberto was hoping that by giving Harvey the responsibility of watching over and being the guardian of a child, he will grow as a personality and be better suited to helping his own people. Anna had suffered in her real life from men, that includes her father, who hurt her. The three of you are not here so much to protect her as to teach her not to fear loving men. You came with because Harvey asked you to join them. This is not your adventure Samuel, it is theirs, Harvey, Shida and Anna. The parents of Anna in real life are not really her parents, but they do not know that.”

“May I have that drink?” I don’t know why, but as stupid as it may sound, even as he talked I found myself believing him. I was now totally at sea, lost. What was I to do? “Who am I? Why have I never met Roberto? Do I serve as soldier to my prince?”

“You tempt me to answer you do. Sam, he is not a real prince and you are part of his family.”

“Family!? Are we brothers, is he my father?”

“Let it go Sam, trust me on this. You agreed to play a game, a charade to help others. Just allow yourself to be Samuel who is well suited to doing what has to be done.”

My mind went to the obvious and it broke my heart. “What about Thina? She also is not real?”

His face became gentle as he saw the pain on mine. “Sam, the love between the real Thina and yourself is far stronger than anything you feel for your princess. Both of you rejoiced that you loved each other as Samuel and Thina, so carry on loving her.”

I cried out, “How will I face them? My whole life is a lie!” I looked out the window so that he would not see the tears in my eyes. “You have broken my heart Alki.” His eyes spoke for him and I pulled myself together. “I am sorry, you are not to blame, it was wrong of me. As you said, I broke the rules and tried to find out the truth. It is not always good to know the truth Alki. This person I am now, what happens to me afterwards, do I stop existing?”

3800

His eyes filled with wonder. “You can still ask questions? Sam, you remain a precious part of your real self. You are not killed off. Ask no more questions please.”

I nodded. “There is something you do not want me to know, so it would probably hurt me even more. Alki, one last question and then I promise to stop. What is the Lady Meli to me?”

I could sense his relief, as if I’d let him off a particularly sharp hook. “She is your wife. The way you saw her, that is the way she really looks.”

That caused me dismay again. “My wife! But what of Thina then! Are you saying I am faithless in my real life?”

He groaned. Suddenly he laughed. “Keep some questions for later Sam. It will not harm you to wonder.”

That showed me he does not understand my true nature. The thought that I could be harming my Lady Meli, my wife, that shamed me. To think that my love for Thina was wrong, that too was torture. I kept quiet though, he had been honest and told me what he thought he could and I respect my Alki, so I owe the same respect to him.

I left him and walked along the beach up to the Delta and sat on the dirty sand for some time thinking. What I had learnt had left me in a turmoil and adding to that was the thought that I will have to lie to my friends and then live a lie from now onwards for another three years.

“So, what did you learn Sam, is it our Alki?”

“No. This was a fat greasy Greek shipowner. Nothing like ours.”

Shida looked disappointed. “I knew it was too much to hope she would send us to her real world. Think, if her people are anything like her, what a magical place it must be!”

“Shida…I think the Lady is special on her world also.”

As I had unwittingly done in the desert, I now had to teach them that our real role is to learn how to love a child and fill her heart. Somehow I had the feeling it will be far more difficult this time.

I found myself watching my two comrades with different eyes now and I tried to analyse or guess what they were like as aliens. What culture did each of them come from? It was obvious from the fact that his character carried through into this metamorphosis, that Harvey comes from a warrior people, strong on military tradition. Their insistence on honour and accepting responsibility for any failures reminds me of stories I had read as a child of warriors in our past (I know, the memories were probably manufactured by my Lady Meli, but they are all I have, so I must continue to refer to them). As for Shida, he must have come from a people far softer, probably trusting and friendly with a dislike for war. I can imagine his people as treasuring art, philosophical debates and procrastinating when faced with a potential enemy. If there had been a war between these two races, then the people of Shida must have been the victims. That may also explain why Harvey is so protective of Shida; transferred guilt that is buried so deeply that even my Lady could not prevent it from surfacing in his new personality?

There was much time for introspective thoughts since we did not have much to do. Angelo still does not make us feel welcome and our contact with the family is rare and more in the nature of neighbours one knows, but not wanted as close friends. Only Anna shows any pleasure at seeing us, but my storytelling has already faded from her mind so there is little reason for her to wish to speak to us.

Television is doing much to educate us about this world. It is obvious these people are still very backward and have little understanding of the damage caused to those who have wealth when they tolerate hunger and death among those who are less fortunate. It was the core of what I had wished to teach my princess, but the problems here are on a scale far larger and impossible for any one leader to rectify. This would need the concerted efforts of all who are in a position to alter the perceptions of the majority in the wealthy countries.

One historical documentary of a war fought about thirty years earlier showed children holding guns and leading into battle so that they were killed (sacrificed) to give the adult soldiers a better chance of surviving and killing the enemy. All three of us were sickened, but the effect on Harvey was more permanent. He became morose and shows contempt for all the people of this world. He makes his feelings obvious to all the Athenians we meet, whether when purchasing food at the shops, eating in a restaurant or at the coffee shops.

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