Little Cherine Book 03 - BPost061

“Pappou?”
“Yes my little flower?”
“Is it too late to change the name of the owner?”
“Why? What name do you want?”

Previous Post 060

2001

“It would make me more happy to know I have seen to it that my daughter has her own home, that she can never end up on the streets like I did.”

From an adult, mature woman, what she said could have been half expected; not from a child. Everyone was touched.

“It is not necessary Aganthi, you can will it to her.”

“Let her Robert. Can’t you feel how it makes her feel to know Irene has a home of her own, that she gave it to her?”

“Oh Alki…”

“It is alright Roberto, we understand and she has touched our hearts also. It is not too late Aganthi, I’ll have the papers changed.”

Irene does not have the same needs her mother has and did not know how to react; with joy or be heartbroken from the love she felt her mother has for her. She cried and embraced her mother. Since she looked at the moment older than Aganthi by about two years, it was an odd scene.

I went out to the balcony, thinking of how it must have been to grow up so poor, have a gift like this given to you and to give it away within minutes. What a heart she must have! Alki came outside.

“I thought you might like to know that I am busy getting the equipment, seeds and all the technical help we will need. The project will be a big success.”

I smiled back. “You feel that confident?”

“Me? It has nothing to do with how I feel Roberto. They have started delivering the first harvest.”

“I can be real stupid. I’m sorry, my mind was not on that. I’m still thinking of Aganthi.”

“She is remarkable, I don’t think you really appreciate how lucky you are to have her.”

“That is true of every one of my wives. But you are also right, I could not have done what she did, not coming from her background. You know how important a home is to their mentality.”

He was gentle with me, apologising for causing the misunderstanding.

“I’ll make it up to her Alki. I will need your help again.” I told him about Natalie, that we need to return her to her world. “I would like the Alki of that world to also become a friend. Would you help me? Perhaps if you talk to yourself…”

He burst out laughing. “I knew you were going to end up driving me mad. Now you want me to talk to myself.”

I explained to Natalie, “I’ve thought about this a lot. I think it is important you have your own home. We need to find a flat for rent, fully furnished. From there on we start tackling Dominique.”

“How?”

“I have no idea. I’m very bad at making plans.”

Her Robert and Cherine were a surprise to Natalie. They both look and sound in some ways more mature than my Cherine and I do, and yet she saw that they look to me for leadership. I’m also surprised that any Robert would.

“I don’t see why you need an apartment, she can stay here.”

“You’ve approved her Cherine?”

“How can you ask? Your Cherine did, didn’t she?”

I smiled fondly at my girl and answered, “Yes.”

2002

“Then it is settled, she stays with us. Natalie, let me show you your bedroom while they try and come up with a plan.”

All girls left and Robert looked at me with a smile. “Now what?”

“How about we kidnap Dominique?”

He was shocked. “Not the sort of thing I do.”

“I’ve done it before, to the other Dominique and her brother. They spent days hating me.”

He wanted to know the details, the storytelling had not given much detail on that part of our story as we had not wanted to hurt the feeling of that Nicko and Dominique. The girls returned as I was still recounting the incident. They waited until I finished.

Dommi asked me. “Robert, Natalie has some concerns and you have not told her what to do. She is dead here. How can she suddenly reappear? Does she see her father? What about her friends?”

Robert said, “Seeing as how they all went to her funeral it will be a bit difficult to explain.”

I shrugged. “I don’t have all the answers. Can we tackle this one thing at a time before we become swamped?” I told Natalie, “Sweetheart, I hope you are not idealising the past - do you really think of those women as being your friends? Our Natalie was wise enough to see the truth about them.”

“When everybody is a stranger, Roberto, even those who were not real friends are a welcome sight.” She smiled. “Even if I do idealise them, it will not last long…not once I’ve spent more than ten minutes with them.”

Rob is mostly worried about the action I’ll want to take, worried that I’ll do something he will not approve of, so he asked, “Dominique then.”

“I presume she stays with her parents. She should still have the same bedroom our Dommi had. What if we wait until she is asleep and bring her here without waking her? Natalie wakes her…no, that would be too great a shock. I wake her. I tell her about us and that as proof of what I’m saying I’ve brought her friend Natalie back to life.”

“She will still get hysterical when she sees me. Roberto, this Dominique is not the same as me. She has suffered and gets hysterical very easily.” Dommi had seen her mind and memories in my mind.

“My big problem is not that. If I am the one who does the talking, if I am successful, she will get fixated on me instead of Robert, but Robert is too anxious and affected by his history with her, for him to manipulate her successfully, one crushing word from her and he’ll fold. Still, I do not want her to get attached to me, that must not happen.”

I think the others decided I was being a little underhanded, but I can live with that. I decided to enter Robert and let him carry me in his mind. That way we can use all my powers while it is his personality she will see. Just before going to her I decided to send my healer to slightly tranquillise her so that she will not scream when she sees Robert.

That evening I kept my awareness extended so that I can sense when she is about to go to bed. She did not go out and decided to sleep early. Quickly I lay down and entered Robert. We jumped.

“Good evening Dominique.” I let him speak, but reserved the right to speak if I felt he is not handling it correctly.

She started, staring at me (presume I am saying us, it sounds better this way). She flushed and got angry. “How did you get in?”

“That does not matter. I have to speak to you. Will you...” I cut him off. I reached out my hand, touched her and jumped. Robert was just as startled, he must have thought I would take us to his home.

We were on the island in the penal world. *If she screams here, it will not matter.*

2003

I chose to do the talking, since I could sense Robert is floundering, still shocked by arriving here - plus his sensibilities are offended by my kidnapping his Dominique in such a sudden way. “Dominique, we are on an island far away. There is no one here so screaming will not help. I told you that I would be seeing you again, that a wrong from the past has to be corrected. Sit down while I talk.”

“Go to hell!”

“I’m already there Dommi. I’ve never stopped loving you. But I have not come to talk of my love, I’ve come to apologise. When I fell in love with you I put you in an impossible situation, you needed me as a friend and I thought I could no longer be that. I was wrong, very wrong.”

“Fine. Now take me home.”

“No. I have a story to tell you. Okay, I’ll have to admit the truth - Dommi, you see the Robert you know standing in front of you, but the person who is speaking to you is another Robert - but what I’m saying is on his behalf. I come from another world, an alternate or parallel world where things turned out a little different. I know you think I am crazy, but listen anyway. If it helps, look around you. How did you get here from your bedroom, if everything I say is madness?”

She walked up the beach a little and came back. She crouched and ran the sand through her trembling fingers. “You’ve got me here, so talk.”

I told her our story, up to where she decided in Hydra to stay with us.

“When you saw me at the coffee shop, it was not this Robert. Look at him and you will see I speak the truth. My Cherine is still a little girl, you met her too. I am going to leave this Robert here and go back to fetch some other people. Dommi, this Robert loves you, but has decided there is no way you could ever learn to love him as my Dommi loves me. While I am away he might say some silly things. Just be understanding, he is also in shock, just as you are.”

I let go and returned to the girls.

“Dommi and the two Cherines, come with me. Natalie, please wait here with Pamela.”

In my own body now I jumped, taking them with me. Cherine (mine) was shocked at the location I had chosen. I saw the two now had company arriving. I lifted myself off the ground and sped to them.

“Tim. I will be here off and on, sometimes leaving the others, or even just the one woman by herself. I want your word that all of you will keep away from her, even if you hear screaming. If she comes to you for help tell her to go away. I do not want anybody talking with any of them. I’m sorry to be abrupt, but I am in the middle of something important, we can chat later.”

“I cannot control the others Robert.”

“I am not asking you to, they have also heard what I just said. Tim, I am linking my mind to yours. If I see that anyone disobeys I will come back and make that person suffer as they never imagined they could. Am I clear?”

Dominique reminded me of Sonja - how nothing impressed her until I cleaned her jeans. Dominique had faced the unbelievable; arriving here, seeing the others arrive, seeing two Roberts, two Cherines and a younger version of herself. What convinced her was seeing me fly!!

“Dommi love, would you mind going home and getting us some blankets to sit on? Perhaps a couple of two litre cokes and cups might be a good idea.”

She returned with large beach towels and the drinks. We had moved under the palm trees for some shade.

“Dominique, I was the one talking to you through him. Before we settle down and talk, do you recall what I said to you at the coffee shop about your friend Natalie? I went into the past and have brought her back for you. She is waiting to see you. Can I bring her or will you start screaming if I do?”

I was grinning as I spoke and she looked at me in wonder. “You are mad!” When everyone laughed, she decided we were all mad. I went back and brought Natalie. Soon as Dominique saw her she began to scream in fear of the supernatural. I told everyone to just sit and wait for her, as she had run off into the bush. She ran, then walked and then fell to her knees crying. She stayed there a while, wiped her face and got up to return. She could not recall the way back, but walked towards the beach. As she passed a bush a hand reached out and grabbed her.

2004

“Keep quiet, don’t scream. I saw that bastard bring you. Is he going to leave you here?”

“Let go of me.”

“Sure, why not. When he is gone you and me are going…” he choked and fell down.

“Go back to the beach Dominique. Robert is coming to find you. I have some business to take care of.”

“Who is he, did you do this to him?”

“This island is on another world - as I told you. We call it the penal world. I look for people who traffic in little children for sex and send them here so that they can never harm another child. I told them to stay away from you and he disobeyed. Now go love.”

I have never in cold blood made another human being suffer. I did it now. He felt as if I had thrown him into a fire and he felt his skin burning, cracking open. I would not let him scream so he screamed silently. When I decided he would never forget I stopped.

“Get out of here and stay away this time.”

I arrived to find all except for Natalie and Dominique, staring at me in horror.

“Oh Robert..”

“Please my love.”

“But how could you do that to another human being?” She sorrowed at the hardness she saw in me and suddenly I felt sick, sick of all I’ve had to do and see. Words gushed out of me as if I were retching them from a tortured part of my mind, from too many sharings of evil souls.

“Human being! My only concession to that was in my not killing him, bringing him here instead. He is a brute with none of the finer feelings that make a human being. He got married, beat and tortured his wife. When she had a baby girl he was using her for sex by the time she was a year old, going for full penetration before she was two. Anally and vaginally. By the time she was three he had her fucked by a number of men; either for money or for taking photos. You can actually see her crying in the photos. He also used bondage on her.

Cherine, when something like that happens to a child of under three, they see what they are experiencing as being how the world should be. From there he went on to persuading other men to let him use their daughters for photos. He has destroyed at least six young lives. Can you imagine in what a dark horrible world they live in?” I stopped for breath and then called out in agony. “I can’t save them all. I can’t.”

Dommi and Cherine held me, pressing me to them as they tried to soothe me. When they led me back to the others I saw the other Cherine had, with tears running down her cheeks, explained to Dominique and Natalie. They stared at me in horror.

“Why are you looking at him like that! It is not enough he has to go through hell, going into minds like those to save children? What more do you want from him?” Cherine stood in front of me screaming. I put my arms around her and shushed her.

“It’s alright baby, my little cub. They were horrified of what they heard, not at me.”

I sat down and Robert passed me a plastic cup. I took a sip.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes it gets too much for me. Dominique, please do not let this put you off us. In my world the Cherinians call me the protector. I cannot help it, nor can this Robert, or any Robert of any world. We have to protect children. Think back, when you and he were children, did you not sense that softness in him? Was that not why you became friends, didn’t he make you feel safe?”

“When he was a friend, yes.”

2005

“He was a friend, has always been, he just got confused by the love he felt for you. I think it might be better us two men walk off and let you girls chat. You’ll feel freer to speak.” My Cherine and Dommi knew what I was hoping my Cherine would be able to do. Wryly I sent her a message to make certain she directs her emotions to the correct Robert. Miffed, or pretending so, she set her tiny shoulders back and stared at me without replying.

I chose to walk in the direction the men were.

“Why are we going this way? Are you looking for another confrontation?”

“No. The girls seeing us between them and the men will feel safer.”

About halfway between them we sat on some rocks.

“When they told this part of your story I found myself thinking that it brought it home to me how similar we are. Usually, I mostly notice the differences.”

“At some stage we were just one person. The possibility existed at various stages for opposite decisions to be made and the world split off where you made one decision and I another. Can you imagine how many times that can happen? Multiply that by the amount of people who have existed. It is staggering to even try to imagine how many worlds there are. What about situations were no human was involved? An avalanche that could have happened earlier or later could be an example.

Robert, something about the whole theory upsets my logic. Every world splitting off carries on splitting also. It can’t be possible for so many alternate universes to exist. Perhaps worlds only split off where different choices will bring about important changes. Maybe there is a sort of elasticity, keeping the world from splitting off. I wonder if we will ever know.”

“The conversation is getting too deep and profound for me. This also shows I suppose that our different experiences are widening the differences between us. Years from now we will be very different.”

“I might be wrong to want to do it, but I want those of us who were recently together to find a way to grow together - not back into each other, but at the same rate and more or less in the same direction. If we share memories, that will give us an understanding of each other. Before doing so though I want to try to find a way of editing them. We all have those secret family moments we do not want to share with anyone else. Where I made a mistake or a fool of myself I do not mind sharing that, but the moments of loving and other personal experiences with my girls I want to keep only for myself. Guess it makes me sound selfish to want to keep such beauty just for myself.”

He grinned, obviously seeing through me. “In some ways you are more inhibited than me. I would have thought that with you sharing so closely with your Cherinians, with so many wives to share with, you would be less, not more.”

We chatted for a couple of hours, having to move back into shade as it was a hot day. When Cherine called to me in my mind I knew she had not been successful. I told Robert so.

“Don’t give up. She must have a reason.”

“Is she still the girl I loved?”

“Underneath all the bitterness? Yes. You will just have a more difficult time of it than I did. She is worth it though. What do you think of Natalie?”

“As a girl or as a wife?”

“Both.”

“I like her. I liked yours and could not understand why you had a child with her, but would not marry her.”

“Perhaps I am only able to fall in love with children, even Dommi, I first loved her when she was not much more than a child.”

He grinned. “There are some strange Roberts, but you definitely take the cake.”

“If you and Cherine can love Natalie, it will simplify things a lot. We plan on giving her, her own Samantha.”

“How could you, she may have the same body, I know you can do that and I have also been thinking of starting a tissue bank. But what about her soul, her mind?”

2006

“You forgotten we know how to increase a soul and then split it?”

“Oh God!”

“Just something to think about. It mainly depends on your Cherine. By the way, my Alki will be coming soon. He will help us with your Alki.”

“You are really determined to change our lives.”

“If it means it makes you grow so that Cherinians become a viable change in humans of your world, yes. I have shared with you what I have been warned is being planned for mankind by a handful of unscrupulous men, if it is true and their intentions are…as horrific as I was told, then it is urgent you also grow your Cherinians. It means you must change Robert, for they will need a strong and determined leader who is committed to a dream.”

“It really is a mission with you! Isn’t one world enough for you?”

“What if something happens and we die out. I want to know there are many worlds with Cherinians, not just tens of them, hundreds of Cherinian realities if possible, that way we are bound to survive and spread. Keep in mind that it is also crucial that in each Cherinian reality, the Terrans have Cherinian allies from a wide range of aliens.”

“Is it the protector in you that drives you like this?”

“It might be.”

“Strange that only you have it to such an extreme.”

“I hope there are others.”

We came upon the girls. I saw Dominique had been weeping and big Cherine had her arms around her.

“Can we go home now Robert?”

“Yes. Dominique. When you get home you will find only half an hour has passed. You will be tempted to think of this as a dream tomorrow. Pick up a shell and hold it in your hand. Every time you think this was a dream you can look at it and know you brought it back from a dream. Can we collect you tomorrow night? I’d like you to get to know us under better conditions. It became a little dramatic today.”

I let them all go, Cherine staying with me.

“What do you want to do now Robert?”

“What happened with Dominique?”

“Too many things have happened to her Robert. We should do it over a number of visits.”

“I’m glad. Shows you used your brains, even if I did not.”

“Not my brains, my heart.”

“That is all you have for brains my love.”

She pretended to take umbrage and attack me and I got rid of her clothes, and mine, and went dashing into the sea with her in my arms. We frolicked around until I had enough damn seawater up my nostrils and in my ears and I carried her to our towels. Gently I laid her down and hunched over her I stared into her eyes.

“I love you even more than ever.”

“How can we Robert? I feel it, but every time I think it is not possible to love you more.”

“I’m looking forward to finding out what the limits are. I think there are no limits. It just keeps on getting deeper and more meaningful. We are both maturing so maybe that helps both of us to find more to love in each other.”

2007

It was such a good loving. Her body warmed by the sun, tasting salty from the sea. We both felt a need to take it all just that little bit to extremes and she bit and dug her fingers into me and, as always, drove me wild.

“Are we going home or do you want to speak to those men?”

“There is no need to. I imagine that by now they will know I mean it when I give an order.”

“Maybe he will not tell them.”

“You think so? I think he will be swearing at me for the next two weeks.” I chuckled.

We returned home, not bothering to hide the glow of love.

In the morning Dominique telephoned. She asked if she could meet Natalie. They gave her the address.

“No. I want to be alone with her.”

“We have a problem Dominique. We have not worked out how to bring her back. Too many people went to her funeral. It would cause a lot of talk.”

“You mean the other Robert has not found a solution? I thought he solves all problems as they appear.” Her tone was a little sarcastic and Robert wisely did not answer. “I’m sorry. Can I come and take her in my car, we’ll go somewhere where nobody knows us. I need to talk to her.”

“That would be fine. She’ll be waiting for you.”

“Robert, I still can’t believe it! Just as well the other one told me to bring the seashell back with me. I’ve been staring at the thing for hours.”

When he closed the phone Robert was beaming. “She phoned!”

When she arrived, I told Natalie to go out to her, not to make her come in. We must let her accept whatever happens in stages. They were gone all day and when Natalie came back to us she was full of smiles.

“She cried and held me for a long time. Said she had not realised how much she loved me until I died.”

“She told you what her life has been like? Don’t tell us what she said, that is her business and private.”

“Yes, she told me. What a bastard he is!” It was funny seeing Natalie so vehement.

“Did our Natalie show you her gift for not being noticed?”

“No.”

“Once Robert and Cherine open your mind and you have the gift of jumping, visit her and have her show you how.”

“Dominique said we should not collect her until after midnight, she had previously arranged to go out with her friends.”

I grinned, pleased. “At least she is now willingly meeting with us. Natalie, not a problem, I’ll sense her when she arrives home. Where should we go tonight?”

“How about the Seychelles?”

“Not enough difference in time. Somewhere with daylight.”

“I know. How about Hong Kong? We can drive up the mountain to the tea room that has a view of the city. That will really blow her mind.”

“Since she is not likely to scream for the cops this time, I’ll chance it.”

2008

Dommi shook her head, disagreeing. “I think we should take her home with us. Let her meet our family. When she meets my parents that will help also. I wonder if she will like Tina and Cassie?”

“Like? She’ll love them. At least she will be able to see something positive about loving a Robert,” I was grinning, “we make lovely kids together.”

Pamela looked worried. “How long would you be away?”

“From here? An hour. Come with Pamela, you have to also like her and bond. She cannot become family if you do not all love her. I do not see a problem with your Cherine, it seems mine has shown her how it was for her and how she loves Dommi. That helped. I don’t know about you though, it worries me.”

“I’ll come. If Robert and Cherine both love her, I know that I will also.”

“You must love her for yourself Pamela. No self effacing helps here. The circle will not expand to pull her in if you do not.”

We picked her up at half past one and jumped home. They were surprised to see all of us, but quickly my girls did what they could to make her feel welcome. Dommi proudly introduced her daughters. Cherine smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up.

“You all be nice to each other. I have some work to do, I’ll see you later.”

We called it an early night since it was the equivalent of four in the morning for Dominique.

“My parents will be worried if they don’t find me at home. They heard me come in.”

“You could stay here a year and return an hour after you left and sleep at home as normal.”

I stayed out of the way for the next few days, letting Robert and his Cherine take Dominique and Natalie to meet her parents here and her adopted sister Despina.

I had been feeling her mind, just sort of in the background, mostly watching her through Dommi. When she met Despina and she was told about her, where she had come from and why, I felt a little of her dislike of me melt. I warned Dommi. I had gone out of my way to make certain she does not like me.

The girls wanted to do a storytelling for her and Natalie, but I refused to allow it and when we did a golden circle of love I told Robert to take them out dancing. I would not take any chance that she gets pulled in to us. Luckily I also appear to be too young for her - though nowadays I’ve noticed most of the society women in Athens seem to have boyfriends younger than them - maybe it is a status thing with them, ‘look at what I can afford’, just as the Chinese women used to have nails so long they curled in loops, showing they do not have to work, or to even wipe their own bum.

We did jump to London, Dar and of course to Cyprus. When she asked if they can jump to London again as she wants to buy some toiletries, I knew she is beginning to accept it all as a normal way of life. At least Alki was made happy. With me having to lock myself away, I spent the next couple of weeks being productive.

I went once to see Petsas and stared at him as I sensed his nightmares. I am still stumped and do not know what to do. I cannot allow him to carry on suffering like this. I met Themi in the hope he’d give me some pointers. I said, “If a person has a problem in life they cannot face, they go into hiding within their mind. At least, certain people do.”

“Perhaps all of us Roberto. We all have our breaking point.”

“What would happen if I went into his mind and confronted him there? Would he have to come to terms with me or would he go even deeper into hiding?”

“You could shatter what is left of his mind.”

So much for that idea.

2009

And so much for my idea of making Dominique fall in love. Discussing it among ourselves we decided that timing must also be very important. If you are in the right set of mind you love one person; if not, then you probably love another. Of course most of the girls did not agree, being so positive in their youth that under any circumstances they would have loved me. I did not point out the measures we are taking to prevent future generations from loving me. Oh well, they will see the comment here and flay me alive.

“I don’t know what else to do. We have come closer as friends again. I don’t know how to make her fall in love with me. Perhaps it was not meant to be.”

“Trust my Cherine, she will do it, as she did for me. Afterwards, do not try to hide that she was manipulated, Dominique is too intelligent for that.”

“Little Cher says that her memories of loving me are buried too deeply under a lot of other painful memories.”

“It just means she needs more time. Take her to Meli’s world. One thing more. Stop taking Pamela and Cherine with whenever you are with her. Since you love her I feel they will too. Let her be able to feel she is just with you, that she is important to you, not just one of a string of girls.”

He took her to Meli’s world, to Paphos for supper and then to sit at the bar and listen to the music in candlelight. When he put his arm around her she did not object, but then neither did she snuggle up to him.

I asked Cherine what she is doing, but she told me to wait and would not explain. I was getting tired of hiding, I wanted my life back. It had been one of my greatest pleasures sitting with them in the lounge, either watching them chat and play or talking with them, while one or two sometimes cuddle on my lap.

Robert said to me, “I was thinking. Every lover thinks that if he saves his loved one and he gets killed doing it, that would make the girl realise how much she had loved him. What if we do that, then you could bring me back to life.”

I asked Cherine. She said, not a bad idea, but not yet. She told Robert to his face that he is being too serious, pedantic and intense. She demanded he relax and show Dominique that he has a sense of humour. I cautioned him that Dommi does not enjoy most of my humour. With Dommi we tried to guide him. It seems his humour has to be gentle and show underneath it that he is caring.

“One of the things I find endearing about Robert is his ability to say sorry. The guy I was going out with, the one she married, never did.”

Robert tried it, he did something wrong and then of his own initiative apologised, even though it made him look foolish. She made a comment about it. He then told her the story about when we first met, making himself look pathetic and stupid.

“I had become so blinded by my bitterness that when I found love, I kept on testing, trying to kill it. I was forced to grow up very suddenly and I’ll tell you, I’m glad.”

When he told her about how I had sat there eating chocolates while he was trying to attack me, really making himself sound a pathetic case and then of how I made Cherine cut the link so that he wanted to die she asked, not knowing I was listening in.

“Since you are both the same person, how is it that you are such a nice person while he can be so cruel?”

“Different experiences I suppose. He has had to suffer a lot.”

“Nonsense, it is when you suffer and stay nice that you show your character. He is flawed Roberto, not nearly as good as you.”

My Cherine was sitting by my side and was fuming, but had to keep her mouth shut. She also could not understand the emoting of Robert while Dominique was talking to him, so I explained, “He is right to be upset by her observations, Cherine. She is seeing him as being a nice man and people do not fall in love with ‘nice’.”

“Wait a bit longer. Ask Robert to go and do a job for you. Let her be without him for a week. Let her remember what it feels like to be alone.”

2010

I sent him to help on the world which Robert destroyed and is rebuilding. He was away for a week our side, but spent a month there. He came back looking gaunt and troubled. I let him stay a couple of days and sent him off to help the world attacked by the fire-world. He returned six weeks later (ten days our side) and it was obvious the experiences of both worlds have deepened him, his character and personality are finer and stronger.

“I missed you terribly, but to tell you the truth Dominique, I’m glad he asked me to go. God, but I was angry when he did, but I owe him so much I had to. When I saw what a terrible condition both worlds are in, one, most of the population dead, the other starving and trying to rebuild, it made me realise what a serious commitment and responsibility being a Cherinian is.”

“He just sent you because he was too lazy to go himself. All he did was sit and play games on his computer.”

Cherine grinned at me, but her eyes were smouldering and there was a wolfish look to her smile.

“Don’t you even think of getting your own back. I’ve been struggling to make her see me in a bad light.”

“If you keep on doing it, she will also wonder whether underneath it all her Robert is not the same as you.”

“Think it is safe for me to unbend a little?”

“Just stop making her think you are a shit.”

“Why? You all think that and yet you love me.”

She giggled and gave me her sign that I have scored a point. Once I had time to think on it a bit, I wasn’t quite so sure she was supposed to do that.

For a time all the girls took turns going with Aganthi to help her, or just to keep her company. She went every day to clean her home, polishing everything. They quickly got bored and even Irene stopped going so often. I began to watch Aganthi and realised it is becoming an obsession. She could have used her gifts, but is doing the housework the old hard way. Lots of elbow grease, which I guess is satisfying some inner need. I decided to give her another few weeks and then, if I still need to, I’ll do something about it.

Dominique had looked bored without Robert around. She did not try to get to know her Cherine and Pamela. Soon as he was back she sure wagged her tail from happiness. Unfortunately she was not endearing herself to the two girls.

Cherine made the two of them change to girls of about nine. She explained this was the result of the healer fixing their bodies; they also became rejuvenated and are now in body, and becoming in mind within days, little girls. Suddenly Dominique had more time for them and even fussed over them.

“You brought out her mother love, a good move. She has stopped thinking of them as competition.”

That was the theory, in actual fact she only treated Robert as a good friend. Cherine suggested that it is time for Robert to do his brave deed and die. I thought otherwise.

“It is not necessary for him to die. What if they go - Cherine, you go with, go to the penal world on safari. I will make a lion attack Dominique. When Robert saves her, you do what you did to Dommi. I think she will be open to those feelings at that moment. Then you bring them back and we get the healer to take days to heal him. We let him hang in the balance for two-three days.”

I first found myself a lion that is a loner, somewhere in East Africa as it would not do to have a whole pride of lions attack. I practised controlling him and told Cherine when I was ready.

Dominique had made an appointment for her hair and we had to postpone for a day.

Dominique felt nervous seeing herself and Robert as the only adults with three children. She kept on looking for danger. Seeing only zebra and buck soon calmed her down - she did not know that where the food is, a hunter is also bound to be around. I gave them a couple of hours of enjoying themselves and had the lion wait for a moment when she was about ten steps away from the others. I warned Robert and sent the lion in.

Next [Book 03] - Post 062

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)
^{16th September, 2019}

* posted on Steemit: 16th September, 2019

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