When he arrived I saw the lines on his face which the healer had long since wiped away, his eyes dark hollows. Marian saw me and began to weep. She set Meli down on the floor and she projected. Marian had come prepared and gave her a dress to put on. Meli, my dream girl came to my side, tiny teardrops on her lashes.

Previous Post 053

551

“How could you want to leave us Robbie, I thought you love us.”

“Out of the mouth of babes.” I gave her a weak grin. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. You need a serious answer. I suppose all of you do. All I can say is my pain, my grief and sense of guilt at having failed, drove me wild in my need to escape. I know I cannot just die. Cherine, all of you, you will not let me - you would bring me back. I tried to destroy my body to the point where you could not. I tried to lose my body by jumping to places I had never been, also hoping my soul would be lost in that…nothing we must pass through when we teleport, but it does not work, I just got bounced back, hard enough for the damage you saw to happen over a number of tries. Dommi, please apologise to your parents, I destroyed some of the furniture in the apartment when I was bounced back from a jump. Once I’m working again I’ll pay for all of it to be replaced.” I became aware that most of the critical damage in my body had been repaired.

“Why do you need so much to die?”

“Meli, I do not. I need your love, but I cannot bear the pain if even one of you do not love me. To feel that one of you despises me, that is an acid in my heart and brain. I cannot turn my back on any of you, so death becomes my only escape.”

Cherine asked, “Why didn’t you use your healer to check Dommi? You knew she is not well, we saw in you that you felt she was not her normal self.”

“She had just accused me of invading Wendy’s privacy, would you have me then invade hers? What are you saying Cherine, there was something wrong with you Dommi?”

Dommi, her look sheepish, full of embarrassment, softly spoke and her pain came with it. “I have been rejuvenating and I was taken back to my early teenage years. My healer did not realise the chemicals and hormones were affecting my brain, the way I think and feel. I could sense I was being unreasonable, but it only made me act worse. Roberto, I was never that horrible when I was a teenager was I?”

A sense of relief washed through me and without thinking I raised my arms and pulled her to me, a huge grin on my face. “You still love me then?” As she nodded I pulled her down and kissed her. A gasp from Claudia and the sickly look on her face made me notice that the bone in my one arm was still protruding. Maybe some sense of pain would not be so bad I thought. Obediently (and I am damn sure with it’s share of my twisted sense of humour) the healer returned the pain, but at least it was bearable.

“What did you do? Why are you hurting again?”

“I realised Cherine, that it can be good to feel some of the pain. Poor Claudia just suffered a shock because she saw me use my broken arm.”

I pulled myself up and Alki with Marian left the room to give me some privacy. I got dressed, uncomfortable with the lack of underwear. Kosta came to help me, but the girls were ahead of him. I let them help, just glad to feel them all by my side, their soft little hands touching me.

The doctor put her hand on my shoulder, her eyes searching mine for answers.

“Ask me Maria.”

“You want Kosta and me to become like all of you. I have never seen so much pain as I have since meeting you. Is this what you are asking us to live with?”

“This should not happen to you. Ask the others, none of the girls have ever suffered because of their gifts. Ask Alki, Themi or Tasso. None of them have suffered. What you see here is unique to me. I think my way of thinking, what I suppose many would call an artistic temperament, the fact that I have a protector and am responsible for all of you, causes me to turn my pain inwards. I cannot find release by sharing as all of you can.”

Claudia had drawn up close as I spoke and I sensed the questions in her too. “You want to ask me something love?”

“I did not understand all you said to the lady. Why does being the protector for all of us hurt you?”

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“The protector is more powerful than any of us, you cannot even imagine how strong it is Claudia. When it first came into…when it was born, I gave it very strict orders that even I am not allowed to change. It must protect the people I love, especially all of you girls. If it has the choice of saving you or me, it has to save you - not me. Ever!

Think about that love. If I say or do anything to hurt you, it attacks me. It used to attack me a lot in the beginning. If Cherine hurt inside her because I told her off for being naughty, it would punish me. It killed me a few times. Then Dommi and Cherine talked to it and explained that by hurting me it is hurting them even more, so it stopped hurting me so much. But it still does what it can to stop me hurting any of you. If you get nasty, say something to hurt me or make me angry, I cannot always fight back. I think Claudia you have felt what that is like. All that hurt, anger, whatever, it builds up in me and the only way I can release it is by hurting myself.”

As Maria listened tears were running down her cheeks, but Claudia was dry-eyed. She listened and nodded as her own experiences found their match in what I was saying and I sensed from Cherine that she is establishing a rapport of empathy with me. When I stopped talking all she did to show any change in her was her little hand came into mine and we walked out together.

Over the next few days I had to do a lot of talking. I apologised to Wendy for trying to force her to show me what was hurting her. I apologised to Cherine and all of them. But most of all, I apologised to Dommi and we talked all our hurts away. Claudia stayed in the guest room, often one of the babies sleeping with her. I could not even seem to get a kiss out of her. If she sat next to me, that was a special event. Yet Cherine told me she feels a very strong love in Claudia for me. Every time she wants to show any affection for me, something inside pulls her back. Cherine feels certain this is hurting Claudia. Since I do not understand what is blocking her, I am selfishly taking this opportunity to enjoy having a little girl I can love as a father, while she works her way through whatever is worrying her, without pressure on her from me.

PART FIFTEEN

Chapter Sixty Three

We tried to secretly organise a party for Dommi, for her birthday. With her ability to see into my thoughts, the secret could not be kept, but she did not show that she knew, watching in amusement and hugging to herself the joy it gave her in seeing the pleasure it gave the little ones as they planned, did their shopping and giggled among themselves.

I was sitting with Alki in my office - I had persuaded Marian to join us. I told him, struggling to hide my amusement. “Claudia is quite the little business woman. She came to me, representing all the girls and told me I should have been giving all of them pocket money every week. I agreed. After we agreed the weekly amount she then told me I should make up for all the back pay. So I asked, from when? Would it be from the time each of them joined the family? She said that it would not be fair as some would get more than others. I suggested we do the back pay as from the beginning of the month. She refused, insisting I owed all the back pay. So I asked her again, as from when. You will not believe what she said.”

Alki grinned, “She wants it as from when she joined you?”

“Nope. She feels I should pay them all as from when Cherine joined me. She says it is not their fault they all joined us later. And since they should all get the same, that would be the fairest.”

“I suggest you employ her Roberto. You need someone with that mentality to bargain for you.” He was tremendously amused.

I pretended to be disgruntled. “It is not funny Alki. She has convinced the girls that it is only fair and now they are all siding with her. She is trying to make me look like a cheapskate if I do not pay what they are demanding.”

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It got him laughing again. “Roberto, forget about employing her. I am going to. The last thing I need is for you to use her against me.”

“Do you realise that nine girls back pay for over two years comes to thousands of dollars? My first reaction was to fight her. Then I thought, encourage her by paying, then I thought, what a wonderful way for me to give them money without them feeling embarrassed about it. Now I am thinking, wow, can I afford it?”

“She wants back pay for the babies? For Meli too?”

“Yup.”

“Does that mean that you add any more girls to your harem, you will also have to pay them as from Cherine? Not a bad idea. It might stop you from recklessly falling in love with every little girl you see.” He laughed. “Somehow you keep reversing all that is traditional. Instead of receiving a proika (dowry) when you marry, it seems you will have to give one to each new wife.”

I grinned. “You know Alki. You are a great help, with you for a friend, who needs enemies!”

Marian had also been grinning, but curiosity made her ask, “Robert, what does Cherine say about it?”

“She does not care about the money Marian. She just loves seeing me cornered by Claudia. She reckons that since Claudia will not let me touch her and I want to be her father, her motives will be construed as being purer than theirs, so they are quite happy to let her screw me financially. I guess she is also enjoying how it makes Claudia feel.”

“That’s my girl!” Both Marian and Alki agreed on that sentiment.

“One hundred and thirty weeks times ten dollars per week comes to $1,300 each. Times that by nine, comes to $11,700. You still think it is funny?”

“Not if I was paying, but since you are, yes, it is.”

I couldn’t hold back my grin anymore. “Well, it just happens Claudia is waiting outside to talk to you. You see, she decided that since they all help me, as my employer you should be paying half of it. You won’t mind if I stay to watch this will you?” I went and opened the door to let the girls in.

When the girls had finished with him he was pretending to be a sourpuss about it while having to put up with the teasing from Marian and I, but we could feel how he really felt.

Cherine and I went back to the night club she had celebrated her birthday at. The owner was friendly, but when I explained what we wanted, he was not too happy about it, but promised to talk to the singer. Cherine asked him point blank, would he tell her he does not mind, that she can come and sing for Dominique? Faced by her big eyes and her determined look, he gave in and more or less promised her she will come.

Two days later he phoned to tell us she has agreed, though only until one thirty, as she still has to appear at his club at two. I let Nicko know since he wants this to be a gift from him. The parents of Dominique are going all out; they have had caterers and decorators in from days before and I don’t know how many invitations were sent out.

Only one thing frightened the hell out of me - but I was not willing to restrict/inhibit the girls. They kept disappearing with Wendy, and Marian was complaining about Meli being gone for hours on end. I do not think I was really guessing when I guessed they were preparing a show. With half of Athens top society coming, showing off their talents would be a disaster. I also knew amongst the guests would be journalists from various magazines. If we hit the news stands, this time we would have to leave the country - and I cannot think of where it would be safe to go. As this affected Alki I spoke to him and when I explained my feelings, that I strongly felt I must not accentuate (toniso) for the girls the need to live with the constant fear of being found out, he just shook his head in resignation, and, I think, began to make secret transfers of funds into various offshore accounts. I’ll never forget that he did not even voice the slightest protest.

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All our friends are invited, Diana will be picking up Britta and Andrea. Tasso and his wife were not happy about coming to a high society do, but Cherine would not give in and even arranged they bring Pavlo.

I called Savva at home and asked him over for a drink. I could not invite him to the party, unless we have cleared the air between us.

“All is well at home then?”

“Yes. I am sorry about last time. You have been patient.”

“I have a feeling it will prove to be a great honour that you wish to talk to me. I will be there.”

“If you think your wife would be understanding and keep our confidence, she would be very welcome.”

I rarely am struck by inspiration of any sort early in the morning, but today I needed to capture the images I saw just before waking. They do not fit within what I would loosely claim is my style, but they writhe and fade in patches, like smog, and I feel an urgency to capture what I can.

I heard Cherine enter my office. I checked and saw it is already past ten in the morning and I realised she must have made an effort to keep quiet all morning. I was about to ask her to give me another hour, but then I saw/sensed an intense seriousness from her, but I could also tell she was not focussed on me. I turned to look at her, barely concealing my surprise.

“Robert, I’ve asked Dommi and she is taking me to Kefalari. She has agreed to leave me on my own until I call for her. Please promise you won’t come to me unless I call for you.”

Despite being so independent, Cherine has never asked for anything like this before. Something warned me this is not the time to open a discussion. “I promise, love.”

She gave me a quick kiss and ran off. I heard the car drive away and wondered what is going on. By the time I turned back to the screen, I found I had lost interest in what I had been trying to recapture from my dream. I deleted, and taking a book and a fresh cup of coffee, I sat in the lounge, trying to immerse myself in the story so that I don’t sense Cherine. Not sensing her was difficult, for I was curious, but I managed it.

I have written of what occurred from a sharing with Cherine and I have tried to write of it as if it was Cherine writing - maybe I should have asked her to write, for I don’t think I’ve done her justice.

I could sense both Dommi and Robert were anxious, yet both of them showed they respected me and did not ask why I wanted to be by myself. I was glad, as I would not have been able to explain; I also did not know. I only felt it is very important I immediately come to a certain coffee shop in Kefalari.

Dommi parked for me to get out and asked, “Do you have money for a cold drink?”

I blushed. “I forgot, I didn’t think of it.”

She handed me enough to feed a family and then watched until she saw me enter the shop. As I took a seat, I saw her drive away and it felt strange. Since Kolonaki, I have never been on my own.

I ordered a cappuccino and was surprised that the waiter took my order without commenting. I sat back and half closed my eyes, trying to sense what had called me. I heard a man order coffee and I turned slightly to see him and saw he had just arrived and was only now taking his seat. I took a better look, trying not to show I was staring.

I judged him to be about sixty years old, more thin than slender, an intelligent face. There was that kind of look about him, even the quality of his skin, that said he is wealthy and keeps himself very clean and smelling nice - and has never had to work. His clothes I could guess were very expensive, though not new.

He barely smiled when he asked me, “You are English? Do I pass your inspection?”

“I feel like I am becoming Greek.”

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He suddenly let himself smile. “You like it in our country?” At this moment my coffee arrived. He glanced at it. “I’ve never been a parent, so I am not certain, but isn’t it odd for a child of your age to be on your own and drinking cappuccinos?”

“I like sucking the foam, I don’t really like the rest of it.” He laughed. I looked down at my coffee, wondering what he will say to keep the conversation going, as I was certain he would.

“I am Alphonso Markantonis.”

“Cherine Teller.”

“Miss Cherine, would you like to hear my story?”

I had to risk asking the questions which had brought me to him. “I would rather know…why are you sad and why don’t you care about living?”

“It shows? You can tell just from looking at me?” I looked back at him, without speaking. “To explain would require I tell you my story. Would you join me at my table?”

As soon as I did, he said, “I am a Markantonis, we are an old family and at one time we had real power, until my father began to listen to others who chose to educate him about what power is and how he should exercise it. Now we are just an old family and with my passing, memory of us will fade.”

I hope it was empathy which guided me to ask, and not that I was catching his thoughts, because I was not trying to hear him. “Which is heavier to carry - the memories of your grandfather, or of your father?” It was his turn to just stare, so I added, even if Robert would say I was taking a risk, “Which of them is it that made you call for me?”

His face paled and I sensed he had misunderstood me; he thought I was suggesting I am an angel! It did not make me feel like laughing. I could feel it inside me, I must allow him to make me be whatever he needs. I am here for him, not for me.

Gamely he started talking. “The old days, especially in Greece, they were very different from these days. The country was poor and the very wealthy were few and power was shared mainly between two parties - the government and the royal family, with the army supporting the one or the other at different times. Each of them were influenced by others and it was not supposed to be possible for anyone to be someone of note if they did not align themselves to one or the other main power.

My great-grandfather and grandfather, both made the main part of our family fortune in other countries. We were known and respected in Germany, France and England, with friends among their bankers, governments and royal families. Because of this, our power in this country was out of proportion to our wealth and it meant we could not be compelled by threats to take a position or else be excluded, counted as of little importance. Any official function without the presence of my family would have been seen as a failure, indicating they are out of favour with us, never the other way around.

My great-grandfather taught my grandfather that their position comes with a great responsibility attached. He was a patriot and believed that he strengthened Greece by looking after the interests of those who have no power or influence. With time the people came to respect them and this only added to the family influence.

There were always those who sought to convince them to join forces with others and start a political party. Some of them were genuine and honest in their opinions, but others only wished to influence them for their own purposes. I recall my grandfather telling me that they had a number of businesses to run and friends all over Europe to keep in contact with so that they can be of service to our country, and he told me that when it is my turn, I must always keep in mind one rule: I must choose what I do out of love for those I wish to help, not for what it can earn me, in power or money.

As I told you, my first name is Alphonso, which is not a Greek name. My father met an Italian woman from the theatre and married her. After she gave birth to me, she chose to abandon my father and myself and returned to Italy. He wasted time and money in trying to convince her to return to him and by the time he was convinced she would never return, he was drinking heavily. Drink, with the bitter thoughts one indulges in, they can change the character of a person. As I said, he made mistakes, lost our good name and allowed most of our businesses to fold. At least he left me enough to live comfortably, but once his actions had destroyed the dreams engendered by my grandfather, I had little left to motivate me.

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I have lived my life quietly, mostly reading and thinking of what life could have been like. I have wasted my life and now that it is nearly over, I grieve for what I should have done with it. Your question, it was a good one, for it went to the heart of my life. All my father did, it is regrettable, but it is my grandfather and the dreams his own life filled me with, which is heavier to bear. For it is him that I feel I have failed.” He looked at me with sad eyes. “There is so much I could have experienced, so much I could have done - even so many wonders I could have travelled to see, but I have done nothing with my life.”

I could see what he had done and it hurt me, for he is a good man, just not strong enough. “Didn’t you have any dreams of your own?”

“One. I do not know whether it was a dream, maybe more of an ambition or need. I wished I could meet my mother and ask her why she abandoned us, why she could not stay with my father.”

“I think you never searched for her because her answer would not have mattered. What she did, Alphonso, it is not what changed your lives; it is the excuse. Excuses don’t change lives.”

“You are transferring all the blame to my father?”

“For the life he wasted and for a small share of your failures. He too was your excuse Alphonso, if you had fought back, your life would have been well lived, even if less happier.” As Robert says, I do not respect self-pity, so it is partly responsible for the way I answered him. I saw that he was now truly convinced I am an angel, for my words were harsh and it should have angered him that a child spoke this way to him. It did not, he actually was accepting my words as a judgement he deserved. I wondered what gift of mine was responsible for calling me to him? I needed to know so that I could choose what action I should take. I could not help asking myself whether I have the right to interfere - the man who shot me has made me less confident of myself in this regard.

“Is it too late for me to do at least one thing for giving my life some value?”

Only now did I think to ask my healer to check him. It reported he has only hours or days left and asked to heal him. I refused it permission. I knew I would be crying about it again and again, but I had to. This life can never become what it should, he has allowed himself to become weak, so he will never do anything with it. Then I changed my mind, I told it to make him well enough to live at least another six months.

“Alphonso, you only have a few days?” He paled, but nodded that he knew. “Perhaps you are asking the wrong question? What if you asked whether you can give value and purpose to another person’s life? If you can, would that give value to yours?”

I called to Dommi and Robert, to tell them I will only return late that night, as I need to visit Cyprus. I called for the bill and paid for both coffees, much to the embarrassment of Alphonso, and demanded we return to his home for him to dress warmly, as it will be cold where I wish to take him.

At his home, I warned him of what we will be doing and I jumped us to Robert's favourite stretch of beach in Cyprus. As we arrived, he saw that I now am a girl of about twenty, which reinforced his belief of my being an angel. We walked to the taverna and I ordered fish and everything I thought he would enjoy. I ordered the white wine Robert always chooses and I actually drank a couple of glasses - the taste improved as I drank…maybe being older helped.

The sky darkened and I asked him to walk with me. Once we were away from the lights of the taverna, I pointed at the sky. “The stars, they are as you know them in Athens?”

“I think so, I do not know them well enough…”

I laughed. “I meant, roughly the amount you can see and their brightness.”

“I think so, maybe brighter here because of the street lights in Athens.”

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I jumped us to the castle courtyard, sat on the grass, patting it next to me for him to join me, and then I asked him to close his eyes. After a couple of minutes, I told him to look up at the sky. I was pleased to hear him exclaim with surprise and pleasure. I gave him five minutes to enjoy the magic of the stars.

“The lights of Athens light the sky and are reflected from the clouds above. What stars you can see are few in number and hardly visible. This is our true sky, Alphonso, is it not beautiful? Don’t the stars truly seem uncountable now? Your life, the way you viewed it, resembled the night sky over Athens; the stars, which represent the possibilities and opportunities you have, were few and faded, not truly inspiring. The street lights which dimmed them for you, are the effect of your own doubts and lack of dreams. This, as you see above you now, is how your life really was, these were what life was really offering you. I am not telling you this to be cruel. Alphonso, if I give you back your life, will you search for a dream worthy of you and fight to make it come true? You are gifted and intelligent, you can succeed if you believe in yourself. I believe in you enough to give you one more chance, but will you fight this time? Can you forget about Alphonso Markantonis and become Alphonso Markantonis?”

By dawn he was fully healed and he had been rejuvenated to about thirty years old. I watched the sky brighten and then told him, “I suggest you move to another country…after I arrange documents for you. Sell whatever properties you have and get the money out of Greece so that you have capital to get started again. Take your time, but do not take too long, or else you will end up doing nothing again. Alphonso, despite all the books you have read, you do not know how to fight, so whatever you try, you might fail. Don’t give up, consider failure a lesson so that your next attempt has a better chance of succeeding.” He nodded. “One other thing, as a man of honour, I ask that you respect my wishes and never speak to anyone of me. You never met me, I was just a dream you had - okay?”

During the previous evening, once I asked them to, Dommi and Robert and the other girls had shared from me every now and then, so they were not worried and when I returned home, they hugged me for a long time, inundating me with their love. Robert arranged for Tasso to visit Alphonso to get his details, and I am pleased that Tasso told us he did not ask him any questions about me.

They, Savva and his wife, arrived next day. She had dressed up for visiting, but he came wearing a jacket and open shirt. The girls made them welcome and he stared at them, as apart from Dommi, he did not recognise any of them. They were all about eighteen.

“Savva, before we start, I need to ask you a question. How religious are you and your wife?”

“So-so. You know, we go to church once or twice a month, we fast for Easter. Is it important?”

“In a way. If you are fanatically religious it would be a problem. If you are able to think for yourselves and do not accept everything you are told blindly, then it is not a problem. We are not anti any religion. Dominique is Greek Orthodox, I think so are Diana and Melina. Cherine, yes, that is her and that is Wendy, they are I think Church of England. I am an atheist.”

I had lost him. He shot to his feet and went to Cherine. He examined her, obviously touched by her beauty and awed by that something which seems to glow from her. His fingers lightly touched her hand. He nodded.

“Yes, you are that little girl who came to my office, the one who was shot.” He turned to me. “Would you explain please? I feel the bottom is falling out of my world. I am forced to believe what my eyes see and what my fingers feel, but my mind rebels.”

“You want the short or the long version?”

“The long one and make it as long as you like. The longer the better.”

“You sound like a cop.” The tone of her voice got everyone laughing. Since I knew the control Wendy has over her voice, I suspect she did it deliberately.

He grimaced. “Despoinis, I’ll need the long version so as to give me time to recover from my shock and to start understanding what I am told.”

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“Savva,” I admitted, for obvious reasons, “to tell you the truth I’m also having a problem, I find the girls very distracting. I cannot adjust myself to how beautiful they are…anyway, we better start from the beginning.”

I started from the little girl walking into my garden. I gave him all he had asked for, details upon details, trying to not only help him understand our gifts, but also see the beauty of what we are and may become if we are not exposed to the threat of governments before we are ready to protect ourselves. All I tried to gloss over was the matter of sex between my girls and myself. I was certain he read between the lines, but I wanted to avoid offending his wife - at least until they decide to join us. If they do, then I must.

We had reached the stage where I was talking about Wendy when his wife began to mutter to him. I realised what the problem was.

“Would it help your wife if she saw the girls at their actual ages.” I saw his eyes agree. First our wee ones changed back to babies, looking funny as they lay tangled in their clothes. The other girls took one each and putting their nappies on again, placed them on the sofa with pillows, in a position where they can continue to observe us. Our guests sat frozen in shock - I lost my bet, I had expected his wife to scream.

“This here is Tina, that is Rosie and this cute one, she is Samantha. They are my daughters. This last little one with the lovely dreamy eyes, she is the daughter of Alki, our neighbour. If you do not mind, for the sake of their modesty, the other girls should change in the bedroom.” They left, with only Dommi staying. When they returned I introduced them again.

“Kyria Sophia, this is Cherine, my little girl of the magic garden. This blonde beauty, she is Wendy. Do you need to see what she looked like when she came to us? Do you want to see the little girl who was tortured and was living her last few days, her body dying, just as her heart and mind had already died?” She shook her head negatively. “Now this one…Savva, if you were coming here as a police officer, you would not know how to react to her. There are no laws that apply to her. I will be telling you about Diana soon. Now, last but certainly not least, this is Claudia, my golden girl. She comes from Sweden. Shall we continue now that you can see them as they actually are?”

As I told the story of Wendy, Sophia wept. So did Diana and Claudia. I went into a lot of detail, broke their hearts just as our hearts had been broken. At the story of the beer bottle even Wendy was weeping, Dommi and Cherine could not stop the tears from falling any longer. When I spoke of the death of her father, I knew Savva was not even thinking as a cop anymore. His face betrayed his satisfaction at my viciousness. Sophia cried out ‘moro mou’ and put out her arms and Wendy went to her and sat on her lap.

When I reached the birth of my daughters and it was time to tell them of Diana, I hesitated. Savva saw this.

“You are frightened of telling us something. It is about this vision of magic?”

We all laughed. “Oh Savva, if you only knew how apt that is.”

I told her story, of the effect she had on me, how I could hardly bear to be close to her. Diana guessed what he was feeling and went to them. He took her tiny hand in his large hand, felt the softness, the warmth, the reality of her. His fingers went to stroke her cheek and withdrew, as if he felt it would be sacrilege. In return she bent over, giving him a kiss on the cheek, lingering just long enough for him to inhale her scent. Tears coursed down his cheeks as he lowered his head to kiss her hand.

“She is a miracle. You have truly been blessed Mr Teller.”

“Please, we are not in your office, call me Roberto.”

Diana, being female, knew it was important we have Sophia on our side. She went to her. “Roberto says that I am the daughter every mother has ever dreamt of having. That I was born out of those dreams.” She placed her cheek alongside her old face and then kissed her wrinkled cheeks.

I told of my daughter from the future visiting us and the birth of that girl, my beautiful and strong Samantha.

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I continued with the story. Of the visit to Cyprus. We had to show, at the request of Savva, how the girls jump (teleport). They watched Cherine disappear and walk back in from the garden.

At this moment Alki and Marian came over. I made the introductions and carried on with our tale. I spoke of Britta and Andreas. What I did to them. Of the love they found in each other. Of little Klo, of the plea for help from Britta and what happened in Sweden. Of how I took Claudia into my family.

“Do you need to see the video of her being raped, of their confessions. The admission by her parents of the truth.”

“No. If I need to, that can be another day. Please continue.”

When I reached the last part of our story, of the pain that drove me to kill myself, of how they found me, I asked Cherine to take over the story. She told of their shock of when they found me, the details of what condition I was in. Of the gangrene that ate at my flesh without them being able to help. Of the days passing and their vigil by my side and of the decision by the doctor. Of how Wendy then sang and broke her heart so that she cried in the arms of Dommi and how this brought me back. Of my screams, that she told them she still hears, as I was forced to endure the pain of my shattered bones and torn skin. The pain on all their faces was more than I could bear and I wept for them.

“You now know that I have committed the crimes I was accused of. Wendy my dear love, the girl I kidnapped. The accusations by Mr Petsas, all true. Two men killed. Another girl kidnapped from Sweden and brought here. A trail of false documents to hide the origins of my girls.

On the other side. You now know of the love we have for each other. You know of the courage of a little girl who fought death itself to bring me back, not once, but a number of times. You know of our gifts, of the way we look at the world, of our dreams and hopes, not only for us, but for all of mankind. You know of the void, of the Kaleidoscope Worlds.

All that is left is for you to agree to join us and to dance with us. Become part of our World. Then even should you not wish to join us in life, at least your souls will be safe from the void and eternal oblivion. You can then rest, knowing your love for each other will survive beyond the grave. If you join us in life too, then I will speak of what it will mean to you before you make your final decision.”

Throughout, Alki had been radiating his unease at my openness with an officer of the law.

“Alki, it was a condition Savva agreed to. Whatever he hears tonight, I may erase it from the mind of his wife and himself should they decide we are an abomination and not want to join us in any way. Relax. Why don’t you talk to them, tell them of how you felt, of how you feel now. Maybe you can convince them to dance with us.” While they chatted in Greek, Cherine and Dommi tackled me.

*But Robert, you keep making the threat, but we cannot wipe their minds of their memories without affecting them badly!* *They do not know my love. Would you want to lose your memories of this tale, of this wonder if you were them?* *What will you do if they decide to leave?* *Let them go of course. If we have to leave, then we do. We have to take some risks each time, love, if we are to expand, I feel they are worth it.*

Savva said, “This is not all new to me, but I never imagined anything quite like this. If I had not seen the girls tonight as they were earlier and as they are now, even then I would have thought your story the ramblings of a madman. I cannot pretend not to believe. Roberto, I did not become an officer by being afraid to face facts, but I have also learnt to be cautious. Your story is frightening. You are asking we change our lives entirely. Change the very beliefs we grew up with. We need some time.”

“That is understood and expected. I would have been surprised if you had jumped at our offer. Think of it this way. You have never seen a garden, I tell you there is one just outside those doors, come let me show you. For you to see it would not be foolish. It may need courage because you have never been outside, but it would not be foolish. Just come and see and then we return. You go home with Sophia and we discuss it again whenever you are ready.”

“May I talk with my wife alone? We could take a walk…”

560

“I have a better suggestion. This has taken longer than I expected and I should feed the girls soon. Why don’t both of you sit here and talk. When you are ready, come find us at the taverna, you know it, about two blocks further down?”

“Thank you.”

“Okay girls, back to eighteen again. First take the wee ones so that they can get dressed in the bedroom. There has been too much crying today, it is time for you to enjoy yourselves.”

As we walked to the taverna I was surprised to see Claudia walking hand in hand with Wendy. They were talking very seriously. Cherine and Diana were at my side while Dommi walked with Marian and Alki, the two mothers uncomfortable at not having their babies in their arms.

Cherine spoke very softly so that the others would not hear. “Robert, can I help? It is important they join us isn’t it? Will you be cross with me if I manipulate them a bit?”

“Actually, I think we need all the help we can get. You go ahead love, but very gently.”

“Manipulating them is not bad?” Diana asked.

Cherine leaned over to speak to her across me. “Please Diana, don’t. Robert feels bad enough about it.”

I grinned to myself and pressed them both tightly to me, feeling strange that I should be holding them both by the waist.

“Diana, you may be named after the huntress, but beware. You all have the protector, but I have Cherine. I warn you, even my protector would not dare go up against her when she is defending me.” Cherine dug her elbow into me in mock chagrin, but I felt the secret delight she took in my faith in her.

Our supper was over, coffees drunk, but Cherine insisted it was not time for us to return yet. She had been successful with Sophia, but not Savva. She felt we should give the wife more time to persuade him. After a while I decided we should return

“Savva, I have been thinking. You are a man who obviously loves his wife. You would not fear taking a risk yourself, but would not wish to place her at risk. Why don’t we take only you to dance with us. Should you decide it is safe for her and you wish to, we can take her to the next dance.”

Relieved at my offer he accepted. The girls sat, their faces hardly showing what they were thinking but in my mind they were cheering. Of course Cherine had to needle me. *Talk about manipulating - I really don’t know why you need me to do anything.*

He was easier to call than I had expected and once he had orientated himself he was eager and curious about everything. At first he feared that mingling his aura with ours might cause him harm and instinctively pulled back. When we introduced him to the babies and he saw how tiny they were, he was overjoyed at their dancing with him. Now more worried about causing them harm, it shook him when they dove in and exchange kissed with him. He tasted the incredible sweetness of their infant love and fell in love with all of them. Before the dance was over he had exchange kissed with all of us, even Alki and I.

I called to them all, it was time for us to return.

I opened my eyes to find the eyes of Wendy on me. I smiled my love to her and turned to Savva. Sophia had her arm around him as he wept. I did not give him time to recover and shamelessly applied some blackmail.

“Savva, you have seen. Would you deprive Sophia of her chance to see the glory of your soul? Do you not want to see hers? There is one thing more, if you leave here without her going, you will spend every second in fear. For now you know we spoke the truth. If you die, your soul will live there with us. If Sophia dies you will lose her forever. Could you live with that? Can you even guarantee that you can drive home and back here tomorrow without anything happening to her? We never dance twice in the same day. Tonight we have to for Sophia. That is why I cut short our stay there. Will you agree to it?”

Next Post 055

I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love.

Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου

(Alexander Zenon Eustace)
^{10th April, 2019}

* posted on Steemit: 10th April, 2019



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