Little Cherine Book 09 - BPost051
An officer entered. “Captain, do we prepare for landing? We have identified the one continent as being largely free of the local species, so we should be able to gather the supplies we need without them being aware of our presence. Since they have not advanced into space communications yet, we should be able to keep our presence secret from them.”
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6101
“I would prefer to trade.”
The officer was emoting his desperation and frustration at the captain’s refusal. “Why take the risk? Our people are starving and children are weakening, we cannot afford to risk them refusing us.”
“Why should they refuse us? They are obviously far behind us technologically, we have a lot to offer.”
“How will we make our offer if we cannot talk to them?”
We felt the captains’ resolve stiffen. “We’ll find a way.”
By now we were all puzzled. It was obvious from what we had seen in their future, the captain had found a way to communicate; they had not acted like invaders and had been invited to land. Or so we presumed. We decided we have to stay to find out.
We were all grinning because of the happiness we felt in Robbie. “Indripp, we’ve found another ethical captain.”
“Not necessarily,” Alki said, “It is highly unlikely a man or woman of high ideals would reach his position. I think he is being practical. If they are refugees without a home world, having a string of friendly bases they can call on when in need would make sense.”
“Over galactic distances! Not likely Alki. They would not expect to be returning this way, there are no other habitable systems close by.”
“All the more reason for him to be careful. What if they do not find a home in the direction they intend travelling, would it not make sense to return here, re-provision and set out in a different direction? They could do so a number of times until they find a satisfactory system.”
“But they stayed here!”
“We are not certain they did Rosie, we only know we saw them here during our previous visit.”
“You mean our next visit - relative to this time?” Cassie got her grins.
Agapi said, “Pappou, you are both right, they could kill all the local people and take over this planet if they wanted to. They must be ethical to a certain extent.”
When the spaceships appeared in the skies of the Paerin, they did not react with panic. They prepared a site, surrounded it with statues and paintings, the spaces in between filled with singers and orchestras. Periodically they sent up firework displays that took various shapes, including what they could see of the spaceships. Captain Foorize prepared a landing vessel and with a number of officers and other representatives of their people they landed in the designated area. As they came out of their landing craft, the impact of the music was no longer muted and they collapsed, screaming.
Once their translator was able to communicate, Captain Foorize diplomatically prevaricated, claiming they had been overcome by the beauty of the music. The Paerin accepted his explanation as proof of their sensitive natures and felt kindly towards the Forttaki.
“We were hounded by our enemies who did not appreciate our music and art and our leaders saw that we would soon no longer exist as a people. We used all our wealth to purchase the ships you see in your skies and after generations of suffering, we finally managed to leave our world. We are travelling in search of a world we can call home, but it has taken far longer than we expected and supplies of certain minerals are desperately needed or our people will be dead within weeks. If you will agree to our mining from your oceans and the southern ring continent what we need, we will in exchange teach you how to build spaceships and other equipment that will make life easier for all your people.”
6102
With amazement we listened to the Paerin argue between themselves. They had no objections to their new friends mining what they need, but they were worried about what technology they should accept. They only wanted whatever would provide them with more free time to concentrate on creating new art works. The Forttaki were also amazed and condescendingly thought the Paerin are naïve and idealists. One of them was quick to see the possibilities and showing them one of their robots, explained how they could build millions of them to do all the work so as to free the Paerin entirely from time wasted not creating art.
Hish Ishoo gave a speech, overcome by emotions. “You have shown yourself to be true friends and sensitive souls. Why search for a new world, we would not have you leave us. We do not need the continent you want to mine, it is too cold for our people. If it suits you, make it your home and stay with us.”
The crowds and crew in the spaceships were watching the proceedings and they went wild, celebrating before captain Foorize could consider the offer. To have refused would have led to rebellion and thousands being killed, so he accepted.
The Forttaki proceeded in an orderly manner. First they transported the minerals they needed, tended their hydroponic gardens, bringing them back to full health. Their nurseries concentrated on preparing plants that could grow in the colder climate and withstand the changes in the ecology. By trial and error they farmed the land, always choosing the plants that had proven successful for their seedlings. During this time all Forttaki were given a short period on the land that is to be their new home and their medical scientists developed antibodies for their immune system while ensuring they are not bringing with them anything dangerous to their host planet and people.
After six years they started to build towns and people in family groups were brought down. They named their continent Paerins Gift so that their descendants will always remember how wonderful the Paerin people are. At the same time they were also teaching the younger Paerin and helping to put up factories for them. Parties from both sides visited each other repeatedly and the Paerin never realised that their new friends were wearing special earphones that muted their music - they were told the earphones translated their speech.
Robbie had just eaten a mammoth sized steak, half raw as he likes it. With that he’d consumed a full plate of fried chips, a bowl of Greek salad, tomato, spring onions and baby cucumber with feta, roka (rocket) and green split olives, drenched in heavy dark green olive oil and vinegar. To wash it all down he’d finished two bottles of beer. Even many of our other species friends had watched him with astonishment, wondering where he’d put it all.
Solace said to isi-mi, “Robert had the Sparklers replace his stomach with a Sparkler World; tiny on the outside but infinite on the inside.” isi-mi passed on her sally and soon everyone was teasing Robbie. He waited until we quieted down and sitting back with a happy look, he suggested we leave.
Cherine asked for all of us, “Not yet Robert, please. It is so rarely we get to watch happy times.”
He pulled Cherine onto his lap and groaned a bit as her weight pressed on his distended stomach. “We’ll stay for as long as you want, my love.”
I believe it is a definition of happy times, or some kind of inexorable law of nature, that they never last long. We do not collectively watch the same scenes, unless something special is happening. We tend to split off into groups and search for our own events on planet, in the hope we will have something unique or strange to share with the others later on. It is the same with all Cherinians. Those who cannot leave their bodies because of work, watch whatever Freddie shows on the screens. If something important happens and any group is present, the first thing they do is notify Freddie so that all can share and he can record.
A group of Anadir chose to watch a crowd of Forttaki drinking in a bar. When they realised what the conversation was about, they had Freddie place it on his screens.
“…one more time, I think I’ll go mad and kill them.”
6103
“Careful you fool, the cops hear you and you’ll be taken for healing.”
“Healing! What can heal us! Who’ll heal the healers? We are all being driven mad by the mind-twisting noise they call music.”
“Aye, it is the price, as Captain Foorize keeps telling us. I say we should force them to stay in their part of the world and leave us alone before we do go crazy and kill them.” The muttering seemed to be repeated at many tables, but we could sense they were not so much angry as despondent.
It was not necessary for Cherine to say anything. She only looked at Robbie and he told Freddie to skip forward by six months as soon as everyone is back. Like a pebble skipping across a pond, we jumped in six month intervals, watching as things went from bad to worse. No violence was committed against the Paerins, but Forttaki were committing suicide or going amok and killing their own people. At one visit we learnt that the Captain with a group of government representatives had flown to visit the Paerin leaders, so we jumped to listen to them.
“Swiswi Swi, our people are dying and those who are still alive are going mad.”
“It is a disease? Can we help?”
“No, it is not a disease, you are causing it. When you asked for satellites we did not know you intended using them to broadcast your music to our continent. As glorious as your music is, it is insanely loud and never stops. We are not capable of handling it.”
“That is nonsense, music cannot have that effect on anyone. Is this a new tactic to negotiate for further concessions from us?”
We watched the Forttaki team return home and they were a glum lot. As soon as they arrived, they entered a room that is soundproofed.
“I say we must order our ships to remove the satellites. Do you all agree?”
“They will see that as an act of war.”
“I really don’t care anymore.”
Captain Foorize tried to calm them. “We must not forget that this is their planet. If we must, then I suggest we send our ships to find a planet without a sapient species. In the meantime we can prepare so that we arrive with all the tools we need.”
“That is no longer possible Captain. Our population has grown. Surely you are not suggesting we leave our children here?”
It seems they needed his vote to take action, so they temporised by initiating a plan to soundproof all buildings, giving them temporary relief whenever they need it.
Dommi asked us, “How do you think we would react if a species told us they cannot bear our music, any of it. Would we stop playing our music or would we be offended?”
“By ‘us’, you mean the Normals?”
“Of any species Haven.”
I laughed at the picture I saw in my mind, despite it not being funny. “We’d play our music louder.”
“It’s not the same. We would not force them to listen to it in their homes and where they work and so on. The Paerin are pathological about their damn music. Samantha was right about them.”
6104
“Why?” I asked Robbie.
“What do you mean why?”
“As a species, why are they pathologically obsessed by their music?”
“Ask the Unation healers, they are far more advanced in dealing with twisted minds.”
“I don’t think their minds are twisted, as you put it. If I’m right, why do they need to hear their music all the time? Why is it such an essential part of their lives?”
Cherine’s eyes widened. “Crickets?” soon everyone was thinking of other examples, from birds to the howling of wolves. It turned out I was right. Once the scientists examined the Paerin from that aspect, they discovered that if they do not make their music all the time things go wrong with their organs internally and they die. No wonder they cannot conceive of any creature not wanting to listen/play music all the time.
This is Robert. If we are to write here, I will have to do so, but I’m warning you, I am extremely busy and will not be able to write in much detail.
As you have probably surmised, our Sam is having problems and I hold you partly responsible. If you had not played along, we would have realised there was something wrong much earlier. She is brilliant at hiding from me the fact that she is troubled, but I suspected something was wrong before the two of you conspired against the Muyzith. Here is how we found out.
Sam had just deduced the above about the Paerin and everyone was congratulating her when the Muyzith ship opened and Msito came out. Angelica got up to go to her, but she gestured for our Angel to stay where she is. She went to Sam and asked her for a talk in private.
They walked along the shore until they were out of sight and sat on some rocks, Msito careful to choose a lower rock so that her face would be almost level with Sam. She stared at the water moodily for a while so Sam waited, the only evidence of her agitation the biting of her lower lip.
“You have shown a fine understanding of the Paerin.”
“Not really Msito, I only tried to find an answer that made sense to me. I was lucky that it turned out to be right.”
“Why would you care?”
“Of course I care! How could I not! Two species dead and neither of them to blame.”
“You were just being a friend of aliens?”
“Is that what this is about? You have come to admonish me again for not being honest?”
“No, I have come to ask why you do not love us, why are you not our friend? You never have been, you disliked us from the start.”
“How can you say that! Especially you, you know that I’ve loved you almost from the beginning.”
“That is so? Is that why you chose Angelica to be my special friend?”
“Was I wrong? Hasn’t she been your friend?”
“I’m not arguing that she is not, I think any girl of your family you’d chosen would have been, I’m asking why not you? Why did you turn your back on me?”
Sam almost whispered, “That’s not fair.”
6105
I was not listening to them, but when any of my loves is in danger, I can feel it. I jumped to them. Sammy looked at me almost without seeing me, her eyes swimming in tears. Msito stood up abruptly.
“Our conversation was meant to be private.”
“It was. I’m not here as Robert, I am here as the protector. Why is Samantha in danger?”
She paused, shocked and puzzled. “Not from me.” She shut her eyes and concentrated. “My people have kept their word, they are not monitoring us, so it is not them.” She looked down at Sam and only then realised something was wrong. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and she was shaking. Aganthi arrived and pulled her into her arms, Dommi and Cherine arriving almost instantly after her and then all the girls were with us.
I made my voice gentle. “Will you share with me what was said Msito?” She did so and Cherine was in my mind listening while keeping the others out.
She nodded, her eyes also brimming with tears. “Aganthi and Diana, take her home. Msito, ask your leaders to join us please.”
This time I told them all the truth. At times I felt their minds lash out at me with anger, most of it directed at Sam and you. I then explained to them why Samantha did it. Msito shared with them her meeting with Sam and they stopped reacting out of anger and considered all they’d learnt.
“We, as a species, are more aware of how a mind can break down, so we can empathise. Robert, we do not understand her obsession with getting Arthur here since she loves you. If we could understand that, perhaps we could understand why she has driven herself to this.”
“It is not for the expressed purpose of splitting herself and sharing his life. You know that Samantha has an extreme sense of what is honourable and will place our family in jeopardy if she feels it is necessary, so that we do not betray what being Cherinian means.
She is obsessed with getting him here because he created us, because he has done nothing but show love for us all these years. Has he not interceded on our behalf when he was needed? When I speak of his love, I do not only mean the love he has for my family, I include all Cherinians and all species. Any person that he has written of is special to him. She feels it would not be ethical of us to allow him to suffer and die on his own. She is determined that what he gave us is what he should also share in. Samantha feels that we would be betraying all that makes us human if we abandon him.”
They withdrew and conferred among themselves, no doubt speaking with those in their ship. As they returned I was able to guess at their answer from what Msito was emoting.
“You must please tell Samantha, as soon as she is recovered and can understand you, that we will stay to help her. When she has fully recovered, ask her to speak to us.”
6106
As I said, I…we have been extremely busy. Those who killed themselves or were killed by those who broke down, we collected their souls and tissue. They are being cared for and nursed back to sanity, just as our sweet Samantha is. We will soon have to leave this time to prepare for rehabilitating the planet and then return to collect the souls.
We have jumped far back in time to collect samples of all life the Inguel teams need. While they are doing so we are travelling to the closest solar systems in search of another planet for the Forttaki.
I’m fine. Five months have passed since I last wrote here, Robbie would not let me until today. Everyone has been very nice, but I still feel stupid. How could I have done all those idiotic things? I’ll tell you something, I certainly have more empathy for the Forttaki than I should, now I can understand how it is that life can make the mind see as logical, ideas that are crazy.
We found a nice planet that does not have sentient life so we are going forward in time to double check that at the time we bring the Forttaki here nothing has evolved or is evolving towards self-awareness.
Keep your fingers crossed for me, I have to go meet the Muyzith now.
Sam has asked me to write for her (Allan).
She arrived at the taverna, barely had a moment to sit on Robert's lap and have a sip of his coffee when all the Muyzith marched out of their ship. They were all splendidly dressed, like that first time we met them, and a floating trolley followed them. Robert and his girls, followed by all of us, quickly projected so that we would also be formally attired and then walked over to the area they’d chosen.
A Muyzith looked up. “Freddie, are you recording?”
“Always, Amsiu. You wish to have a copy?”
“Our ship is recording but we would appreciate a copy.”
“I’ve asked the Inguel and the Unation ship to also record. If this is a ceremony all are invited to, may I join you?”
Amsiu looked startled and then beamed with pleasure. “Please do.” Robert looked sort of lost when Freddie put in an appearance - standing by the Muyzith!
We stopped in a half circle and Samantha walked a few extra steps forward, standing by herself, looking like a very vulnerable child. Beautiful, but very much a fragile child.
“Samantha Teller, do you still hold the official position of friend of aliens?”
“I do.”
6107
“We have a situation that needs to be remedied.” He paused and we all felt Samantha gird herself for what is to come. “We do not have an honorary Chinese citizen as an honorary Muyzith citizen. Would you kindly fill that position for us?”
Even the Muyzith do not think of themselves as a people with a sense of humour, so I think they themselves were just as startled as we were. I for one, gave Amsiu full marks for showing the kind of sensitivity that would put Samantha at ease. According to our species, each one of us burst into an ear-to-ear grin as we tried to keep the reserved pose we’d adopted in honour of the Muyzith.
“I’m not a very good Chinese.”
Amsiu adopted the head tilting we so often see Robert take and then he answered, “Yes, that is true, but, you are an interesting Chinese.”
Samantha could not contain herself and she giggled. “I suppose you are going to claim I am a Chinese butterfly?”
Everyone laughed and relaxed, aware now that the Muyzith are here to honour our Samantha, not to censure her as we’d thought.
“Samantha Teller, friend of aliens, honorary Chinese citizen and Cherinian butterfly, we have asked Msito to perform the ceremony.” He stepped aside and Msito walked out to Samantha. She looked stunning. Her skin a dark emerald colour and dressed in a tight silver outfit that showed off and accentuated her slim height.
“We have never had an honorary Muyzith before so there is no customary ceremony we have to stick to. May we create one suitable for Cherinians?” Samantha nodded and Msito knelt before Samantha and wrapping her arms around her hugged her tightly. “Welcome beloved Samantha.”
For the next hour Samantha was in a daze, perhaps she felt reality was slipping slightly askew for her, but her cheeks were bright with colour and her eyes shone. I fell in love with her all over again - and it did not upset Robert, for he could feel everyone emoting love for her.
Damn it, Allan deliberately set out to embarrass me! (It’s okay, I’m giggling).
I can’t say I was beautiful, for I felt very awkward until Msito embraced me. When she knelt I misunderstood and was almost in tears, but she made it my happiest day ever (well, you know what I mean…Robbie has to keep the real happiest moments of mine as his.)
My fellow Muyzith have asked me to give you a message from them (the mistake is theirs, but I did not correct them, I thought it was lovely):
Arthur Teller, creator and author, beloved of Samantha the Muyzith, we greet you.
We have unanimously agreed to work with all Cherinians or non-Cherinians who are devoted to bringing you into our reality. Please prepare yourself for the moment Samantha comes to bring you to us, for it has been agreed by all the species that she will represent all of us.
We will not attempt to control your presence here - unless you cause Samantha any pain. Should you do so, as her brothers and sisters, we will be her sword of vengeance.
6108
I waited for you to write, but since you seem determined to keep quiet, I better warn you, I’m deleting the above part since e`i`u left and please do not copy and paste it back in or edit your side, as it will make the whole thing appear in my copy also. This is our final secret.
I have been worrying about the Paerin. As matters stand right now, they are the only species that are condemned to remaining alone. Now that we know of them, many species will pay short visits to help them grow, but how do any of them become Cherinians?
According to those who have studied the few Paerin bodies they brought to Freddie to investigate, it is almost as if the Paerin obey a different set of laws. They do not perceive the world, space and time in the same way all other species do. It seems that time moves slower and faster for them and does not maintain a steady rhythm. That is why their speech and music affects all of us so strongly. Robbie and all of us are feeling awfully proud of our Wendys, Candy and Spice and I expect those of our family to have a super night tonight. The scientists told us they provided the clue that made it possible for them to work out what the problem is. They are all excited for they believe there must be an organ in the bodies of the Paerin that affects time. That means, they claim, that it must hold some substances unique throughout the galaxies or else, it manipulates time through some sub-atomic manner. Either will revolutionise science. They have not yet found any such organ, but there is much they have to learn before they’d even be able to identify the purposes of many of the organs.
A thought occurred to me. Could it be that for them to perceive time in the manner they do, they have to keep singing? Could it be that if they are silenced long enough, the organ that is responsible breaks down or loses control?
Robbie has contrived to embarrass me again - he told them what I wrote and they took it seriously, which only proves to me that scientists love theories, however bizarre or outrageous they are. They will have to wait for some live Paerin to experiment on, with their agreement of course.
We did not save every life throughout the decades of turmoil that led to the death of both species. The Forttaki underestimated the Paerin and became lax in guarding their spaceships. In the weird way that humans have of thinking, it made sense to a group of Paerin that they destroy a spaceship so as to force the Forttaki to leave. They used a passenger jet plane built for them by the Forttaki, added a cradle to it and sent a missile from the ceiling height of the jet. The rocket thrust of the missile damaged the plane also and the crew all died.
The Paerin were ignorant of the layout of the spaceships and only by bad luck did it strike at the exact spot where the fuel is. The explosion sent the spaceship flying sidewise with the result that another two were damaged. The crew of the two damaged ones powered up to avoid colliding into more ferries and ships, but their panic led to the ships being thrust into the atmosphere. They lost control as the ships floundered and heated up and they crashed with all fuel and bombs aboard exploding. Within minutes the planet was stripped of its atmosphere and everyone died.
Nobody was surprised that Robbie was there by his side at the death of Captain Foorize. His healer did not wait as all the others did for us to jump into the future when the Inguel would have the planet suitable for its Paerin inhabitants again, and within the same day the captain found himself alive and healthier than he’d ever felt, in a spaceship world filled with an amazing variety of aliens.
6109
We’ve given him time to adjust to the changes and surprises and he is now sitting with us at the taverna and has just been introduced to Cherine. He might be a nice person, but he is a strong personality with a very practical way of thinking. Despite that, he had been rocked emotionally and was emoting a strong need to weep.
“You are all mutants like her?”
“You could say our mutations were originally artificially imposed on us by linking to Cherine, but it is true, our Normals think of us as mutants.”
“Ours came about over thousands of years. My people lived on a small continent that was accessible thanks to a string of islands. Our world was struck by a meteor about three thousand years before our departure and all the islands sank. At that time our people were not capable of crossing such large distances so we remained isolated. When the meteor struck our world, it caused a large number of volcanoes to appear on our continent. Most of our people died due to the poisonous fumes, but those that survived adjusted, our nostrils growing filters to clean the air we inhale.
Being closer to the southern pole, it was extremely cold most of the year and our bodies grew a dense covering to preserve the warmth of our bodies. With the development of steam engine driven ships on the main continent, we were rediscovered. They considered our ancestors either savages or animals, according to their prejudices and we had no rights. Many of our people died working under impossible conditions before attitudes changed for the better.
For a time it looked as if we were now considered equals, but beneath their civilised veneer the prejudices of their parents festered. As our scientific knowledge expanded into the knowledge of cells and how our bodies develop we were declared mutants. Soon those of our people who had moved to the main continents were forced to return as a movement grew, claiming that we were no longer pure Forttaki and should be exterminated to prevent the impurity of our mutations from contaminating them.” His voice hardened. “They even insisted that the children born between us should all be killed.”
Manoli said, “We too have what we call racial differences. You may have noticed that some of our species are darker in colour. They are the original humans of our world. As they migrated to colder climates their skin and hair lightened. With us the prejudices went the other way, the lighter races claimed that the dark races were closer to the animal stage while they were more advanced in the evolutionary sense.”
He glanced at some of our lighter skinned friends and back at Manoli. “You are the result of such a mixture?”
He grinned at him, remaining totally relaxed. “Not directly. What my ancestors did, far back in time, I cannot say.”
“Are such prejudices in your world still alive?”
“Not among us.” He changed from a swarthy Greek to a milky white skin blond blue eyed appearance and then changed back to the other extreme, even his hair crinkling. “Those born Cherinian sometimes change their looks so that their skin is red or green or whatever else they fancy. How can we remain prejudiced?”
Syrina giggled and projected herself into a copy of isi-mi and after a quick exchange of caresses she changed back. “Why should we limit ourselves to our own species? There are so many ways of seeing the world, why limit ourselves?”
Captain Foorize was too shocked for him to hide it and Allan grabbed the opportunity. “Are you perhaps starting to think like those who persecuted you?”
It will take us some time to recognise their facial expressions and body language, but his emoting was enough. I liked the feelings of shame that he broadcast, it means he is capable of keeping an open mind and growing. I decided to help change the conversation.
6110
“How did you convince the pure Forttaki to sell you spaceships?”
“I was already an officer on a ship and knew that the owners were not making a profit. I made my proposal to our leaders and they agreed to buy all the ships we could. It took us another thirty seven years to convert them for carrying so many passengers. We also needed space to carry landing vehicles, equipment for creating factories and so on. Luckily computers advanced within that period and we were able to buy the latest models, even though the sale of them to us was prohibited, so we brought all the knowledge of both our civilisations with us.”
“Did they try to stop you leaving?”
“Publicly they threatened and appeared to be taking action to hinder us, but behind the scenes they helped. They were relieved as the public was clamouring for them to declare war on us. We did not have the latest military technology, but we would have succeeded in destroying much of their industry while the war would also drain them financially.”
Cherine got that naughty look we all adore. “Yes, that is what our Robert hates about governments, that they say one thing and do another secretly, against the wishes of their people. He says it is because they see themselves as fathers who are wiser than the public.” Robbie, under the context we were discussing could not very well defend his beliefs and as he realised what a telling blow she had delivered, despite her believing the same as Robbie does; he sat looking at her as her eyes sparkled with such love that we knew he was lost to us. Quietly we explained to the captain about our love of teasing and how Cherine had scored a point and he was just enough like us to appreciate the joke.
As Freddie arrived back in the reality of the Paerin, their world was shown on the screens and everyone marvelled at the success of the Inguel teams. Captain Foorize could not believe what he was seeing and our explanation that we were fifty thousand years in his future left him unable to speak for a while.
“You are going to bring back my people, as you did with me? How, after so many years?”
“Not just your people, the Paerin also.” I gave him a moment to think of the obvious. “We have also identified another planet without any intelligent beings and will bring your people back to new bodies on that world. I hope you do not mind, but we’ve had to make changes to your bodies so that they can survive and thrive there.”
“You have made such changes to my body also?”
“Yes.”
“I do not feel different.”
“Your original food, from your home world, would not effectively provide you with the nourishment you need anymore and could end up causing failure of certain organs through abnormal collection of toxins. That was one of your problems on the planet of the Paerin and is also one of the reasons so many people died needlessly.”
He laughed at the irony. “Our previous selves would probably accuse us of being mutants and show the same prejudices against us.”
“Cherine, would you mind us doing a telling for our guest?”
“Why should I mind Meli. I think you will be doing a number of tellings over the next months.”
“I asked because it would be nice if you could do a golden ring first.”
The reason why Meli wanted to do a telling was so as to include the explanation about the Paerin in a way that he could accept.
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)15th March, 2020
- posted: 15th March, 2020
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