Little Cherine Book 04 - BPost016
“What do you expect me to do Cherine. How can I change things for the three of them?”
“Their Cherine can link to them even if she and Robert are not in love.”
2251
“You think so? Show her how, I’d like to see it. Are you talking about that weak linking the other Cherine established with our four girls? You know very well that they were only able to use it because they were already Cherinians.” She did not answer me.
She tried. They tried. Nothing happened. My Cherine and all my girls were puzzled.
“How did you know Robert?”
“I used my brains, that’s all. Cherine my love, why didn’t you link to your father or mother before meeting me? You did love them.”
“Jesus!!” She turned to Cherine. “Oh God, I’m so sorry!! Robert is right. You can link others without being in love with them, very weakly or only once you have linked with someone you are in love with and feel a desperate need to link to him.” She was crying and the other Cherine put her arms around her.
“It’s alright Cher, I’ll find someone to love.”
“No, you never will, you’ll only ever love this way if you love him.” She began to bawl as they clung to each other. “He is the only one with the gift, it is not just me. If you do not have his ability to love and love without stopping, all you will ever have is a small circle of two normal people who love each other. All Roberts are special to us.”
A wild hope surged through my heart. Hardly daring to believe I knelt by her side and turned her face to mine. “What are you saying my love? Do you really mean there is something special about me, that I also brought some special gift to our love?”
She laughed, with little sobs in between. “You silly-billy! You still can’t see that the way you love is what makes all of us Cherinians?”
I remained crouched before her, absorbing what she told me. I saw my mistake. Gently I turned the face of the other Cherine and kissed her cheek tenderly. “I’m sorry my love, I’ve been blaming you for nothing. Of course you cannot love him, not while he holds his heart closed to you.” She felt me and as I pulled her to me, holding her tightly, she burst into tears. I felt my heart being torn and looked up at Robert who did and said nothing, his eyes dropping from mine.
“You’ll have your Cherinians love, even if I have to find another Robert, as I did for baby Cherine.”
When I let her go back to my Cherine, and stood up, I went over to Dominique and she stepped forward into my arms, tears falling off her long dark lashes. “I’m sorry Roberto.”
“No. I was too harsh, no one can dictate to a heart. I’ll find a Robert for her and you will all belong as Cherinians.”
“Then my Roberto can never become like you are? I don’t want that!!” She cried again.
“Shh. You have seen how Cherine and I without our Dommi would have failed. Maybe you are the one who has to teach both of them how to love?”
She looked back at me and nodded her head. I felt as if a terrible weight had fallen off my shoulders and hugging her I softly kissed her and gathering my girls I left silently. When I saw that Cherine was bringing Cherine with, I did not say anything until the door closed behind us.
“We can’t do this my love. She would link to us.”
“She needs to be loved Robert. Please?”
“She would pay with the rest of her life for one night of love. This must not happen baby.”
Dommi put her arms around both Cherines. “Robert is right. Would you like to stay with us even if we do not hold and make love to you?”
She gulped, afraid, shy, but eyes shining as she nodded she wanted to. I gave up and let her stay.
2252
She is younger than my Cherine, but looks much older as she looks her age of thirteen. Dommi quietly went to the bathroom and returned as a sixteen year old, knowing that Cherine would have been embarrassed if she was the only one with the body of a young woman. My Cherine giggled and without bothering to go to the bathroom took off her clothes and changed to the same age as her alternate. She stood next to her and it was almost impossible to tell which is which. That made many of the others change themselves also and suddenly over half of my girls had small just budding breasts. I grinned. Without waiting for our guest to undress I did so and then created a Robert for each of my girls. Those who had stayed under ten got twelve year old Roberts and the rest got copies of myself at eighteen.
“Dommi?” She came to me and I put my arm around her. “Are you going to keep me going all night, or do you think I might actually get to sleep before the sun rises?”
She gave me a sly little smile, “Let’s wait and see.”
As each couple went to their bed I gestured to Cherine that she could use the other half of our big bed. “Don’t bother pretending not to watch. Knowing my Cherine she will be opening all of us to each other and she’ll make you a part of us. Enjoy the feelings and don’t be shy to masturbate.”
My Cherine looked at me, astonished. “How can you be such a prig! Cherine love, come join my Robert and me in our bed.”
I looked into Dommi’s eyes and saw amusement. “So I’m a prig am I?”
She giggled softly, “A little bit.”
“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.” I pushed and she fell over onto the bed, giggling aloud now as I joined her.
Before any of us had started making love we heard Candy slap the hand of her Robert. Her childish voice as she played her game made all of us grin to ourselves. “You must only do what I say. You must listen to me, I’m your leader.”
At breakfast the next morning the five girls complained that their Roberts had refused to make love to them. The girls had wanted to make love with full penetration and they’d refused. The other girls looked at them in shock and only then they realised they had been stupid.
Tim came in looking the worse for a night on his own. The others were already out in the garden talking so we left them alone, only their Cherine joining them.
“You can forget about that silly Greek boy. He’s history.” Cherine was grinning at me.
“How can a seven year old look so wicked? Are you trying to make me lose control?”
Breakfast is such a lovely meal when it is shared with so much love and teasing.
“You should have done it the way it happened with us Robert. Just like you thought you had lost Dommi and loved me, you should have first let him love Cherine before bringing her back.”
“I don’t think it would have worked. He is not stupid. How could I bring him back, but not her?”
“You really are silly! He had not died when you got him.”
“Perhaps. I think he would have known I could bring her back, he would not have understood about his world splitting if I saved her from the accident. The truth is I could not bear the pain of everyone, I had to bring her back.”
“They wouldn’t even help little Claire until I hit them hard with her feelings.” Cherine was a little shocked that a Robert and Dominique had done that, she still could not see them as being different from us.
“I almost wish we could have had her with us.”
Lynda frowned and then giggled. “No wonder he lets me join you. He’ll never have enough girls to love.”
I frowned back at her with mock seriousness. “And which little girl lover do you think could say no to such a lovely little three year old? She has the sweetest little flower you can imagine and the scent of her, ahh, only a true connoisseur of such beauty can appreciate how special it is.” They all laughed at my play-acting.
2253
Little Claire chose that moment to come running in and as I picked her up she flung her arms around my neck and kissed me. She whispered to me, loud enough for them all to hear. “My daddy kissed my peepee last night!”
“That’s good. Did you like it?”
“Umm. Are you also going to? You are also my daddy aren’t you?”
I’d gladly go through all the teasing again just to feel the way I felt at that moment.
It was one of the first really warm days so I sent Claudia to warn the taverna that we are coming. From there she wanted to spend an hour with her sister. I told her to bring her for lunch and she left. Over lunch we heard Dominique tell Robert that when they return she has to fly to London to buy some clothes. Dommi immediately offered to take her. They took Tina and Rosie with so as to help carry.
We walked along the beach, little Claire with one hand in mine and the other holding her father. I saw there were no strangers in sight and asked her if she would like to fly like a bird. She laughed and said she does not have wings. I picked her up and made her stand on my shoulders.
“Flap your arms, just softly love.” She giggled and as she flapped her arms I made her rise above us, not high, but enough for her to look down at the two of us. She loved it and soon was darting all over the place. She wanted to go back and show the others, so I had to explain she must not let strangers know that she can fly, it is our secret.
“You’re a cunning bastard! Now when we go home she’ll want me to make her fly, you’re trying to force me to do what you want.” He said it as a joke, but there was a slight undercurrent of fear.
“Whatever for? I’ve already said I’ll find another Robert. I’ll tell you one thing, once you are a Cherinian and your mind opens and you have the gift of sensing other minds and hearts, you are going to spend all eternity blaming yourself for being so narrow-minded. You’ll be able to feel what you lost and it will hurt you more than you can imagine right now. I have thought about it and I think that I might be the same as you if I were in your place, so I do not blame you, I just feel sad at what you are throwing away.”
That shut him up! We went back to the taverna where the owner gave the little ones an ice cream on the house. I sat by myself so as to enjoy my cigarette and coffee without feeling guilty about it being unpleasant for others. Britta joined me, still lovelier than I remembered her, the golden glow to her lovely skin even smoother and more velvety. I told her so and she blushed.
“Claudia’s little Jodine is so lovely. Every time I see her it makes me want to have a baby immediately.”
“I thought you were going to get a job?”
“I tried. There is too much unemployment. A lot of hotels closed, some were converted to offices or flats. The company Andrea was working for closed and all he could find was a job as a waiter.”
“Are you both broke?”
She smiled. “Poor, but very much in love.”
“You did not use your gifts to make money? Like finding the lottery ticket that will win or playing the football pools after jumping forward in time to see the results?”
“We decided we must not.”
I took her hand and kissed her slim fingers. “I’m very proud of both of you. Tell Andrea to find a grocery shop or other small business, something that will earn you after taxes at least three thousand pounds per month. It must be a business that he is capable of running alone. You can keep the two thousand and the other thousand will go towards paying off your loan. Shh, the loan is not from me, it is from the Cherinian Fund.”
“What Cherinian Fund?”
2254
“How did you think I’ve been helping all those worlds in trouble? There is more than enough to help you Britta. Since you both are Cherinians we expect you to pay it back, but there will not be any interest to pay. One day, if you really become wealthy, I would hope you might contribute to the fund so that others can also be helped. Is that fair enough my love?”
I guess it was for she had tears in her eyes. Claudia left the girls she was with and coming behind me put her arms around my neck and kissed me. I sort of ‘hugged’ her head a moment and let her go with a smile.
When we got home, I grabbed hold of Solace, threw her on the bed and tickled her a bit then went to wash. Dommi had just arrived and she joined me in the shower. She scrubbed my back and leaned against me.
“You’re feeling relaxed and happy Roberto. It’s nice to feel you like this.”
“I enjoyed today. Now I feel good enough to go and tackle that enigma. Think anyone else will want to join me?”
“You’re going to talk to Eminixx? I think they all will.”
“Oh dear! You mean they’ll all want another night of passion?”
She put her hand around my hips from behind. She felt it stiffen and grinned. “I better grab what I can while I can then.”
“You’re getting to be worse than the girls are, totally insatiable.” She let go of me and stepped away from my back. Before I could protest she came to my front and I stared, she looked about ten and the shower had caught her hair which was lying wetly on her shoulders.
“I’m also a girl.” she said with a grin as she took hold of me again. I leant against the tiles as I let her have her fun. I’m always willing to let girls have their fun. As our racing hearts calmed, slowly I slid to the floor and turning her around pressed her tightly to me so that she could feel my racing heart. She cuddled up against me as the water poured over us.
Dominique was caught off balance; she had gone to London that afternoon with a sophisticated woman and we walked out of the bedroom with Dommi a ten year old girl. Savva turned up with his family, bearing a couple of cakes, so we had coffee and chatted. I explained that I want to meet Eminixx and they all agreed they want to be present. I looked at Tim with a sardonic grin.
“You’ll return in the same condition as last night and have to go straight to the airport to fly to your fiancé. You’re a glutton for punishment!”
“I met this man who was walking two of the prettiest little girls I’d ever seen and he turned me into a glutton for punishment. I can’t help myself now.”
Even if he could not feel the way I responded, the girls could, and Cherine reached out to let him feel me and he became linked, a new Cherinian that we all joyously welcomed. It was really strange to see this tough man crying and being held by little girls tenderly.
“I don’t deserve it” he cried. I waited until he had calmed down.
“You really love messing up my plans don’t you Tim? You were supposed to become a Cherinian on your new home world. Now we’re going to be stuck with you here.”
He looked at me seriously a moment, felt that I was teasing and sensed my loves. In a small boy voice he hopefully pleaded, “Are you going to punish me Robert?” The bugger was already taking the mickey out of me and endearing himself even further to my girls!
“I’ll have to. The girls also.” This time they sensed I was serious, even though they hopefully poked in my mind looking for the catch. There wasn’t any. “Tim is leaving before morning. Before he goes I want you girls to open his mind. Teach him how to contact his healer, to jump and all the gifts you think he can handle. Cherine, Sam and Dommi…no, just Cherine and Sam, you’ll come with me. Dommi, I don’t need you since Dominique will be with. If we need that mother love of yours, I’m certain she can help out.”
I warned Tim that he must not betray himself to his love nor use his healer on her. First Cherine has to approve her.
2255
He surprised me by what seemed to deeply trouble him. “Robert, I do not understand. If I had tried to live my life as most people do, holding a horrible job for a small salary and being honest, I never would have met you. I decided to do the one thing you hate most and I become a Cherinian. How can that be right?”
“Ask Jesus.”
“What?”
“Look back in time to when He was on the cross and ask why the first person he welcomed to His Father’s Kingdom was a criminal. Tim, just in case you misunderstand me; I meant check it out in the Bible. You are not allowed to go into the distant past, for any reason at all.”
Robert had paled. Then another thought struck him and he looked as if he was about to faint.
“Robert, how many alternates of Jesus are there? Was He a Cherinian?”
“If He was, then He was born before His time. He never created a World, unless…”
“Unless what!!!?”
“Unless He did and it has moved away from us! It makes a weird sort of sense, his twelve disciples could have linked to Him.” I shook my head. “I don’t think I really want to know right now. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is without having to go looking for another alien.”
“Alien!!” he squeaked.
“After two thousand years, do you think He will still think the same way we do?”
*I have wanted to return to you earlier but I had family matters to take care of. Eminixx, I hope I did not upset you too much by taking you to see our planets.*
*You did. I think I am beginning to understand when you say we are not always able to hear the words of our God clearly, but it is still upsetting to know my life has been facing in the wrong direction.*
*Our people also thought our world was flat and the first man who told them it was round was punished. I’m glad you do not want to punish me. Eminixx, when it was decided that you would be released from the Sparkler I was very excited, I hoped to learn to see life in many new ways from you. I hope you also learn to enjoy discovering the differences between us.*
*You talk like a parent Robert. For this time, while I have no family, may I belong to your family?*
*You have paid me the highest compliment possible among our people. I would be honoured to have you in my family Eminixx.*
*What would your family name me?*
*Is Eminixx the name of all in your family?*
*That is how it is Robert.*
*Let me explain then how it is with us. My name is Robert and my family name is Teller. Each of those who are in my family are named Teller and we call that our surname. Robert is my first name. Cherine is my wife, my mate. Since she became my mate her surname also became Teller. Sam is my daughter. Her true name is Samantha but we often cut names short as a way of showing our love and also out of laziness. She too is a Teller. I think you understand me up to now? Good. Now it is time to confuse you again. This soul you see is named Robert Teller. You may be able to see that his soul almost looks the same as mine? That soul is named Dominique Teller, she is wife, mate, of that Robert. That small soul is the child of that Robert and Dominique, she is named Claire Teller. All of them are and are not of my family. I now need to explain to you about alternate realities and worlds.*
2256
It was not as difficult for her to understand as I’d thought it may be. I’d feared she would have no frame of reference for the concept, but it seems logic is not a weakness in their species. I have made the same mistake so often on our own world. We often think that because someone comes from a civilisation or culture we consider backwards, that the individuals of that culture are stupid, despite evidence to the contrary.
*In those other realities there are Sparklers too and they hold souls they ‘saved’. That means that in some of them there is another soul of yours and others of your family. When they and all of your family are released, you will have to decide for yourselves whether to consider yourselves all one family, or each family part of a greater family.*
*That is not for me to decide. I thank you for your teaching, but you have still not named me as part of your family.*
*May we use a name of our people? I’ll name you Emmie, Emmie Teller of the Eminixx.* We watched her as she brightened, the area surrounding her coruscating with flashes and waves of light. The Sparklers, Jo and some Anadir who had been watching and listening saw this as an exhibition of pleasure from her. *You are pleased Emmie?*
*I am Robert, I was also trying to give you signs of my gratitude and sense of honour I feel. I have learnt that you are the supreme parent of all the families and to be accepted by you within your own family, means you have made me family to all these souls. My family of my world, when you release them and they learn of what you did, will see me as an Eminixx who brought great honour to them.*
*Would you like me to confuse you even further?*
*???*
*Certain souls have qualities to them that give them roles within families that are not their true roles and those roles often extend far beyond their immediate family. Jo for instance. She has no immediate family here, and yet she is parent to every single soul, of all species, that is still immature, a child. She has a need within her to nurture and care for all children. Children can sense that parent love in her and respond to it. Emmie, even all adult (mature) souls still have within them the child they once were and that responds to her as well. In that way she becomes parent to all of us. All Dominique(s) also have this gift so they are also accepted by all of us as a parent. Confusing?*
*My parent, I regret that this child of yours is to disappoint you. When I was released I felt both Jo and Dominique give to me of their gift, so I am not confused. Your explanation has only helped me to understand. I know it pleases you when you confuse me and I plead that you forgive me.*
Emmie watched thoughtfully as everyone laughed at me. It turned out that she does understand humour, though she had not meant her comment to be humorous. I conferred with the others, mainly Ordinx and Solomon before extending my invitation.
*Emmie, Solomon can create a body for you to join us on our world. Would you accept our invitation to join your family in our home? You will find it difficult for a time to adjust to our kind of body as we have limbs on which we are able to raise ourselves and move.*
*If you would forgive my mistakes while I learn, I would wish to try it Robert.*
My girls and I were ready. As she appeared and fell over we caught her. Gently we lay her on a couch. Solomon had ensured that she has the same huge, dark liquid eyes with the same long eyelashes. She went into shock and her whole body trembled. Dommi picked up her head and shoulders, sat down and held her tightly, emoting her mother love. This helped Emmie and gradually she calmed down.
She kept on wrinkling her nose so I guessed what the problem was. “You do not have a sense of smell in your own body?”
“What is that?”
“When you breathe in you sense something, as if you can taste the air?”
“Yes. That is normal for you, you do not taste it in…?”
“It is Emmie, as you see, we do not have sensory feelers - I presume that is what you meant?” I explained, giving her the reasons why a sense of smell is useful to us. “It can also be very pleasant. Certain plants give off very nice smells as do certain foods. Also when we are close enough to the person we love and we can smell them, it adds to the pleasure of seeing and touching. I imagine it will take you some time to get used to our smells and all smells may feel unpleasant for now.”
2257
“We must not take her outside Robbie,” Gillian said, “the smells of traffic will make her sick.”
We all introduced ourselves, not that it helped. She could not see the differences easily and it took her days to learn to recognise us. She was able to recognise me and Dommi, though Robert and Dominique did confuse her. She was also terrified of standing up again. It took a full day just to get her to sit up and that she only did because she had Dommi holding her. Our visitors, Dominique, Robert and Cherine decided they should not be around to confuse her and went for walks or visited others as often as they could. Nicko and his parents visited Elia and Claire and they decided to stay there a few days. Tim had flown to his fiancé. Little Claire ended up staying with us most of the time as she became too tired if they took her out all day. Having her around, sometimes sitting on my lap was a pleasure I had not hoped for. Cherine was a spoilsport and would take her away after a while.
“Robert, your family has two sexes also?”
“That is correct.”
“But how are your children born?”
She grew visibly upset when we explained. I think she was horrified. I asked her how they gave birth, but she could not explain to me. When I asked if she could show us in her mind she only felt comfortable at having Dommi enter her. She did so and when she opened her eyes she looked at us with surprise.
“I am not clear what happens. I do not know if they have a third sex or whether it is a kind of symbiosis.” She let us enter her mind and we all looked. The girls were amazed, but I felt my skin grow cold and clammy with fear. I sent Sam to get Solomon and Sol was not long in coming. I showed her and she was interested, but did not understand why I was so disturbed.
I tried to explain as gently as I could. “Sol love, let’s call their third sex the incubator. If the incubator is of their species it will have a soul and you should be holding them. If however it is not and does not have a soul, how will they continue as a species? To me the incubator looks more like some kind of plant. Can you....”
Sol was gone without waiting. The girls now understood, though Emmie did not, and they sat there trying to control their worry so as not to let Emmie feel it. We expected Sol back very soon and when she did not appear for a long time I called Sam and Cherine to join me and we returned to the void. The turmoil that met us answered the question for us. We all called urgently for Solomon. Ordinx must have sensed our urgency and coupling that with the disturbance of the Sparklers he appeared to question me. While Sam explained I shot off into the center of the Sparklers. Even now the Sparklers made way for me. Solomon appeared.
*We need time to grieve Robert. Please leave us for now. We have condemned a species to death and there is nothing you can do to help us. We will not commit suicide, but we are in pain.*
*Perhaps you are right Solomon. Since you have lost your faith in me and are not using your brains I better let you enjoy yourselves grieving. To think that you call yourself the supreme thinker!*
Obviously all the Sparklers were connected to Solomon, for it was as if an earthquake shook them. His form nearly lost it’s shape.
*You are saying there is hope?*
*I hope so. I first have to talk some more to Emmie. Do you think you could join us in our home?*
Ordinx and Jo also joined us.
“Emmie, we are all very excited to learn about how your species create and give birth to children of your kind. Would you mind if we ask a few more questions? The part that takes from the male and female and nurtures the infant to be born, do you know if it is part of your species?”
“Are you asking if it can think? I do not think so. Robert, all I know is that it is part of us.”
“Are there other creatures similar to it?”
“Yes, but they cannot nurture.”
2258
“Why does it nurture your young? What does it get from you?”
“Nothing that I know of. We watch that it is never attacked by animals…so we do something for it, I had not thought of that. Each family has their own and no other family may use one that does not belong to them.”
“How about feeding? Do you feed it?”
“No.”
“How do they reproduce?”
“They have a part that is under the soil, it travels away from the body and then comes up to create a new one.”
“There is no word in our language for such an entity. I will give it a corny name, would you mind me calling it the Mummy Tree? We do have plants that reproduce through their roots. We also have creatures that need other creatures to nurture them so I think we can assume that there is a form of symbiosis. Emmie, I now want to ask you other things about your world. ”
I had the girls join in as we asked her questions about their culture. Did they have buildings, vehicles, pets, herds, agriculture, doctors, scientists, philosophers, astronomers…that last one in particular she did not understand, as I’d not expected her to.
“When on your world, can’t you see lights in the sky?”
“No.”
“How can they not have stars Robbie?”
“Easy my love. It would seem they do not have a moon from what Emmie says, that they would have seen. I have a suspicion they cannot see the stars for one of these reasons. Either their eyesight is not good or else their world is enclosed within a permanent cloud, like Venus, or else there is some interstellar cloud of dust obstructing their view of the cosmos. Emmie, may I enter your mind? I am not interested in your thoughts, just in seeing how you perceive us from this body.”
I looked and grinned as I returned to my body.
“I did it! I guessed right for once. Look at her eyes, aren’t they beautiful? Sol, you helped her create her body, but you knew that I found her eyes beautiful so you copied her real eyes?”
“Yes, did I do wrong?”
“She can only see close up, she is short sighted. Everything more than three metres away is a blur. No wonder they could not see stars. Emmie, I want to change your eyes for normal human eyes. It will make you feel afraid and dizzy again, but with time you will adjust and then you will understand what we are talking about.”
“No Roberto, you must not!” Dommi was distressed. “How do you think she will feel once she is back in her own body again. You cannot give her our eyes then.”
Sam cut in. “Robbie, perhaps they could wear glasses, but maybe their brains are not made for seeing further.”
“You’re both right. Sam, if you are, could our healers help adjust their brains?”
“How can we know dad?”
“I see. We would have to experiment with at least one of them and if it turns out that we cannot help them, we will have condemned that one person to misery as they will then know what they are missing out on.”
Sol was impatient of our change in direction. “Robert, what about the Mummy Tree?”
2259
“What about it Sol? Do you realise what a massive job it will be? We first have to find out how many families there are since each family is only allowed to use it’s own Mummy Tree. We have to learn the areas each family occupied so that we bring a baby Mummy Tree from each family area. We might need to bring a few thousand or even a few million!”
“Then it is impossible?”
I pretended to sound hurt. “Did I say that Sol?”
I had goaded her to the point where Sol for the first time ever became short tempered. “Why won’t you just explain clearly instead of teasing!! You know how important this is to us.”
“I’m sorry Sol. I’ve been pretty stupid, here was silly me thinking all this time it was important to the people of Emmie!”
She mimicked the girls by calling out in frustration, “Arghhhh!!” as she balled up her fists. She saw me looking closely and laughed. “You’re trying to force me to become just like your girls!”
“I must be doing something right. Sol, you always say your people are used to taking their time and suddenly you are impatient. That is a big change!!”
She sat back with a grin. “No wonder your girls sometimes call you names! Is that what this has been about?”
“No, just a welcome side effect. Sol, you are used to me seeing a problem and dashing off to solve it. Why the hurry this time? How long will it be before we need a Mummy Tree? The answer is, only once we can move a world of Meli’s into a reality. This time I can afford to take my time, think it through like a Sparkler would. There is only one pressure and that is the effect this is having on your people. I thought I’d already made it clear that I think I can return, with your help, to their world. I do not see why I should not be able to collect Mummy Trees. Don’t jump the gun though and get excited. We have never tried going back in time and to such a distance before. Just tell them I see this possibility and I will try it.”
Sol came over and hugged me, giving me a kiss. I could feel her body was trembling and I held and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry love, I have been teasing a little. I had said once before that I wanted to try and go back millions of years, so I thought you would remember that.”
“I was too scared to think. Our people are all suffering Robert.”
“Go back to them and tell them you have my word that I will try.”
“That will be enough Robert, thank you.” She left and I sat there lost in my thoughts. I looked up finally to find the eyes of Cherine on me. She came to me and held me tightly.
“It is alright my love, you did not hurt Sol.”
“Are you so sure my Cherry baby?”
“The Sparklers have not changed that much, I think Sol is becoming more like a little girl, you know, of our world.”
“If he is, then the Thinkers may also. If they become like the politicians of this world that could become a problem. Emmie, I see you are trying to understand what we are worrying about. The females and males of your species were collected by the Sparklers, but they did not collect your Mummy Trees as they did not have souls. I will have to go back in time while in the void and travel to your original world to bring a few Mummy Trees.”
“If you could do that then you could take us back there also!!”
“Are you comfortable? Is your body causing you any distress?” She replied it was not. “Are you certain? The weight of this world is not making you suffer?”
It took her a while to understand. “But why?”
“Something must have happened to your world that increased your weight, or else, you do not come from that world originally.”
“What!?”
2260
That caused such a furore that other Cherinians appeared.
“For god’s sake! I only mentioned a possibility!”
Emmie was not that easily mollified. “We have stories Robert of us being brought from a world of God to our world, carried there in a terrible fire so as to suffer!”
“Why did you have to leave the world of your God?”
“The God was angry for we had destroyed that world.”
“Holy shit!!” There are very few readers of science fiction among the Cherinians, so they had not understood her remarks. I had to explain why I reacted the way I had.
“I think her people come from another planet. They either polluted it or allowed themselves to increase to numbers where their planet could not sustain them. The fire they were carried by must have been their spaceship - which suggests they were not much more advanced, technologically speaking, than we are, since they still used chemical propulsion engines. Colonising a new planet without continual support from their home world would cause them to lose their technology and then of course their knowledge as they struggled to survive. Obviously the planet they went to had a higher gravity than their bodies were evolved to endure. Just imagine, they had spaceflight before we even learnt to stand on our two feet!!”
I sensed Sam decide that this was the last time she would let this happen, she would concentrate on reading science fiction from now on. I threw her a kiss as I grinned at her. Once Emmie understood, she became extremely excited. I promised her that if I can go that far back in time we will go to their original homeworld and use that world as the model for her people.
We had settled and I’d been given a cup of coffee when another question occurred to me. “Emmie, when a male and female decide to have a child, do they only have one at a time, and, how often do you have children?”
She looked sad. “It depends on how many Mummy Trees the family has. If I have understood your time divisions, I would say we each try to have a child about once every of your years. We have to give the Mummy Tree between thirty to fifty so that we can hope that at least one will live to grow into the family.”
I nodded. “Yes, that makes sense. The higher gravity probably kills off all the weaker infants. I think that with time you would have adjusted, as a species, and your descendants would not have suffered from the higher weight.” I left it to the girls to explain that to her while I went outside for a smoke. Alki and Savva joined me. They were both grinning.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” They chuckled though so I tried to think back, recall at which stage had I made a fool of myself. I came up blank.
“Come on guys, tell me.”
“Look at you Robert. You moan and groan about everyone looking to you to solve their problems, complaining you cannot handle it, but as soon as you are given a problem you come to life. We can all feel how full of life you are feeling now.”
“But this is an alien species Savva, and we have just been given a glimpse into their history! That is exciting.”
Alki and Savva laughed, glancing at each other. Alki put his arm over my shoulder.
“Tell us Roberto mou, what has not been exciting? Finding your Cherine? Wendy? Discovering new worlds? Saving them? Even your battles with Hettie, were they not exciting?”
I nodded. “You’re right. That does not mean I do not also get weary and overwhelmed by it all at times.”
“I know. Just like your girls.”
“What are you talking about?”
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)4th October, 2019
* posted on Steemit: 4th October, 2019
If you wish to read from an earlier book, from Book 01 to Book 04, use this link button to open the LC Book Index:
