- Harry AnderS -
Dutch psychotherapist and alternative writer

'Born to be a King 1'
Book 1 - My little Gypsy Prince
- by Harry AnderS -

An inspirational fantasy

http://www.harryanders.com
harry@harryanders.com

    A retired psychotherapist meets a severely burnt little Gypsy boy, and takes him into his house.
The boy turns out to be the Heir to the Throne.
This emotional rollercoaster hints at past lives, spirit helpers, karma, the Power of Love, and contains several practical psychological concepts.
The story is written by a retired Dutch psychotherapist, living in The Netherlands, and specialized in supporting troubled children. Many more stories will follow!

Chapter 19 ended with:

    Somewhere in the middle of the night, I woke up to the sounds of whispering voices:

    "Come on, it's really okay. I'm doing it all the time."

    "Yes, but he's YOUR Dad..."

    "Shush... don't wake him up. Just do it!"

    A small body entered the bed and melted into me, draping his arm around my waist.
Another small body entered the bed from the other side, and cautiously snuggled up to me.
I grinned, and put my arms around both bodies.

    "Shit, he's awake..."

    "No shitting in bed, please. The toilet is downstairs."

    "Huh?... You're crazy!"

    Little Harry and Nicky started to laugh, and again melted into me.

    "Night, Dad!" sounded into my left ear, with a tender kiss.

    "Night, Pop!" sounded into my right ear, with a wet kiss.

    So, now I was a 'Pop'...
I smiled and felt rich, marveling in the love of my boys.
All four of them...

Chapter 20. Self-esteem, a golden van, a swimming pool, and a sleepover.

    I woke up, looking into two deep blue eyes on my left and two bright greenish eyes on my right.
Little Harry and Nicky both tried to crawl onto my stomach, giggling and competing for the best place.
I felt my morning erection poking into the small gap between them, and was a bit ashamed...

    "Sorry, boys, but I'm afraid I have to use the toilet first!"

    "I can feel that, Pop! You're having a morning woody, just like me and Harry. Only, yours is a lot bigger."

    "That sounds like you are a bit jealous?"

    "Nah, just wait! In a couple of years, mine will be as big as Jason's, and he's bigger than you. And my father has a HUGE one!"

    There went my self-esteem...
I hurried downstairs, followed by both boys.
I entered the toilet first and tried to close the door, but they were already next to me.
Well, I decided to make the best of it...
I relieved myself; and they tried to cross their streams with mine, playing sword fighting.
Of course, that went wrong; but we HAD fun, and again I felt like a little boy myself.
We cleaned the floor with a mop and a lot of water, and couldn't stop laughing.
Suddenly, I felt carefree and totally at ease with my boys.
Why should I have a problem with those things that are so completely natural and human?

    We returned to my bedroom, and detected two moving lumps below our blankets.
Both lumps were softly giggling...

    "Attack of the creepy alien!" little Harry shouted and jumped onto the first lump.

    "Here comes the nickering dragon!" Nicky followed him and threw himself onto the second lump.

    Immediately, they were in a heavy fight; with eight arms, eight legs, blankets, pillows, and bed sheets, all in one big knot and whirling around.
Now and then, a grinning head showed up from the lump and disappeared again...
    They wrestled until they were too exhausted and decided to have a break:

    "Let's hit the shower and go downstairs, because I am HUNGRY!"

    All of them raced to the shower, pushing each other and trying to be first.
According to his cheering sound, Nicky seemed to be the winner...
I tried to make the trashed bed a bit more presentable, by straightening the sheets and blankets.
Then, I joined my boys in the overcrowded shower and tried to get under the water stream...
Two seconds later, they floored me and triumphantly piled up on top of me.
Ouch, my poor old muscles...
I groaned and tried to escape, but they only left me after I used the Magic Word...
I told them that downstairs were something to EAT...

    We took fast turns to rinse ourselves, dried each other more or less carefully, and hurried to our bedrooms to dress.
The boys raced downstairs first, followed by old me at a much slower pace...
Little Harry was already performing his herbs magic onto a pan of scrambled eggs.
John had set the kitchen table with five plates and the necessary cutlery.
Davey and Nicky were buttering huge piles of toast.
    All of them cheered when they saw me; and little Harry grinned:

    "You are the laziest grandpa I have ever seen!"

    "Oh yeah? Well, just wait until you are an old grandpa yourself..."

    We waited until everybody sat down, and attacked the pile of nicely smelling food.
In no time, their plates were empty again, and they licked their fingers and looked around for more...
I was glad to have rescued another toast and some scrambled eggs for myself!

    They had to wait for me, while little Harry brewed me my first cup of coffee and John took the milk from the refrigerator and poured everybody a glass.
Finally, I was ready; and little Harry wanted to put his mask on with a little help from me.
Soon, all of us went outside and enjoyed the morning sun...

    The sun was already abundantly shining from a cloudless sky, and the day promised to be very hot.
John looked at me, showing me his best puppy-dog eyes:

    "Dad, on a TV commercial, I saw such a small inflatable swimming pool, to be used outside. Please, could you buy us one, to cool off?"

    Immediately, three other boys with puppy-dog eyes surrounded me, expectantly looking up at me:

    "Yes, Pop? They don't cost much money; and we can use them every time when it's too hot..."

    "Well... I'm afraid our car will be too small to transport all of us plus a swimming pool..."

    They looked disappointed; until little Harry saw through my joke and poked me in the ribs:

    "You're teasing us! You at the steering wheel, John in the front seat, Nicky, Davey, and me in the rear, and the swimming pool tied onto the roof. Come on, let's go!"

    "Yes, I was teasing you; but, at the same time, I am serious! Now that we're having so many new passengers, maybe we should look for a bigger car?"

    "Really? You are serious? You want to buy a BIGGER CAR?... Yessss... Come on; let's look for a bigger car on the Internet!"

    They raced to the living room, and crowded around the computer.
I decided to let them have their fun, and started to tidy the kitchen.
    Suddenly, Davey shouted from the living room:

    "Dad, look here! We have found a really nice one!"

    They appeared to be canny boys...
They found a site with used cars; and now pointed to a big van, sparkling in the sunlight with a golden glow.
The van had two front seats and five removable sleeping seats. Four of them could be placed into a square, while the fifth one could be folded down as a small table...

    "Wow, that's a really nice vehicle! What about its price?"

    "Nah, you've already told us you are rich! You can use your credit card, and buy everything with it..."

    I chuckled about little Harry's naivety, but didn't dare disappoint him.
Besides; I wasn't really rich, but I DID have some money to spend...

    "Okay, let’s have a look at our new van."

    The boys cheered, and all of them tried to hug me at the same time.
Together, we tumbled towards the ground into one big wriggling pile...
John escaped first, pick-pocketed my keys, and proudly opened our old car.
He took the front seat; and Davey, Nicky, and little Harry dived into the rear.
They buckled up, and waited impatiently for their lazy grandpa...
Finally, I had straightened my clothes and entered our car.
I started the engine; and we drove off, again loudly cheering.
We were on our way to our new van...

    After twenty minutes of driving and a little bit of searching, we saw a huge signboard with 'Used Cars'.
We turned into the driveway and entered an enormous sales yard, filled with all types of used cars.

    "There she is!" John pointed to a big van with a beautiful metallic golden color.

    "WOW!" Davey exclaimed, with sparkling eyes and totally in awe.

    Both little Harry and Nicky were unusually silent, evidently very impressed...
We parked our old car, and went straight to our new conveyance.

    "May I help you, sirs?" a smiling man approached us.

    "We want to have a look at that big van over there, and maybe we could have a test drive?"

    The man opened its doors, and let the boys discover all possibilities of the removable chairs.
Nicky found out how you even could turn the front seats around...
Now you had a real conference room, with six seats arranged around a table in the middle!
The boys were more and more enthusiastic, and started to try out all the different sleeping positions.
Finally, I tempered their excitement by asking about the price minus the value of my old car...

    The man named his price, and it turned out to be exactly what I had in mind.

    "You are lucky, sir. An hour ago, I nearly sold this van. At the last moment, they decided to buy a smaller one..."

    The boys rearranged the seats, and neatly fastened their seatbelts.
The salesman took the front seat, and showed me how to operate the various knobs and handles.
He handed me the keys, I started our golden van, and we drove off for a test drive...

    I felt like a King in our new golden van, and the boys were ecstatic.
They jumped up and down in their seats and craned their necks to look everywhere.
    One by one, they discovered more and more useful facilities:

    "We even have lockers in the backs of all our seats, Dad!"

    "Look, you can switch the front ceiling lights independent from the back ones!"

    "After you've put the back of your seat completely down, you could even sleep on it!"

    My mind took over, and showed me a couple of doubts.
Why was this beautiful car for sale?
Was she reliable, or did she have some hidden defects?
    Suddenly, I thought I heard the voice of Jack in my head, chuckling:

    "This car is a present from us to you. She is a good car, and you will need her in the future."

    Was this for real, or did I make up that voice myself? I wasn't really sure...
I thanked Jack in my mind, and thought I heard his answer:

    "You are welcome, and don't doubt so much!"

    I shook my head, and still wasn't really convinced.
What if I started to hear voices, like so many of my patients had been doing...

    We returned to the yard, and I sealed our purchase.
I paid the salesman with my 'credit card that can buy everything'.
We moved all our possessions from our old car to our new van.
The salesman handed me the papers and the keys, and we drove off in a festive mood.
John climbed onto the front seat, and started to try out the built in modern digital stereo.
    Suddenly, our crazy song reverberated through our new van with a deep booming bass:

    "You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

    All of us sang along with the song from the tops of our lungs, already feeling at home in our new van.

    The boys played with the various sitting positions of the rear chairs.
In the end, they had put all five of them together into sleeping positions, thus creating one big bed:

    "Look, Dad! When we are traveling to our gypsies in Rumania, we can sleep in our own van! She has enough room for everybody."

    As a good parent, I told them to sit down, put their seat belts on, and postpone the playing until we weren't on the road...
However, they didn't really listen, and who cares?
They were too enthusiastic, thus I let them go and drove a bit more carefully...

    "John, do you know where we can find a shop that's selling small swimming pools?"

    "Yes, Dad, I'll show you the way. At the next crossing, turn to the right..."

    John guided us to an enormous two-story shop, in the centre of a town I had never been before.
We left our van, entered the shop, and asked for a swimming pool...
The smiling vendor guided us to the left side of the shop, where he had set out several types of indoor and outdoor pools.
Of course, the boys went immediately to the largest outdoor pool he had!
It was a beautiful dark blue inflatable tub, six by twelve feet (2x4 meters), provided with an electric air pump and a huge water filter...

    "This one will be big enough for us, Dad, even when Thomas and Chrissie are back from vacation."

    I looked at four pairs of begging puppy-dog eyes, smiled, and nodded...
The sound raised the roof and the windows rumbled when they started to cheer and dance around.
They grabbed me, and hugged me nearly to death...
I paid the grinning vendor with my inexhaustible credit card, and we tied the big package onto the roof of our new golden van.
We went home in a cheerful mood, again singing along with the booming music of our digital car stereo.

    I parked our golden van in our driveway, and walked around her to admire her again.
Davey and little Harry followed me; with their arms around each other's shoulders and bubbling over with enthusiasm.
John and Davey went to our backyard; to decide where we should put our new swimming pool...
    After a moment, they returned:

    "Dad, we want to tidy up that place next to Harry's herbs. It’s an ideal spot, in the shadow of those big trees, and it's difficult to see from the streets."

    We followed them, to have a look.
Little Harry protested, because he was afraid they would trample his precious herbs...
At last, he agreed, on condition they would keep the pool at least three feet away from his white cobblestones.

    Together, we lifted the heavy package off the roof of our van, and dragged it to the backyard.
We unpacked the pool, the air pump, and the big water filter; and decided where we should put everything.
After a lot of lugging and towing, finally our new swimming pool was in its place.
Little Harry and Nicky went into the house to look for an electric cord, and John and Davey went into the garage to look for a water hose.

    After our still dry pool was sufficiently inflated, John turned the water tap on.
Nothing happened, and everybody looked a bit surprised.
Davey reached for the water hose, looked into its opening, shook it...
All of a sudden, it started to spout...
We roared with laughter, while a now soaked wet Davey coughed and spluttered the inhaled water from his lungs.
His revenge was sweet.
Before we knew what happened, he pointed the hose at us.
We yelled and jumped out of the way, leaving Davey roaring with laughter!

    Now, all of us were soaked wet, showing goose bumps from the sudden cold...
We went inside, and the boys hurried upstairs to look for swimming trunks.
In no time, they were back in the backyard, where they splashed, laughed, and had lots of fun with the water hose.
Slowly, our new swimming pool started to fill up with water.

    I went inside, and donned some dry clothes.
I gathered the boy's wet garments, and put everything into the washing machine.
Now, I went to the kitchen, to prepare enough food for four hungry growing boys and myself...

    After a while, I returned to the backyard, carrying a tray with a huge pile of healthy sandwiches and drinks, to feed my small army.
I looked at my six children, and chuckled.
They were playing, yelling, having lots of fun with the water hose, and bouncing up and down in the now halfway-filled pool...

    SIX children? What the heck...
I counted again.
John, Davey, a girl, little Harry, another girl, and Nicky...
My household was growing fast!

    John was the first one who detected me with a food tray.
He stormed towards the food and me, nearly slipping:

    "Come on, Dad has something to EAT!"

    Within a split second, six dripping wet children surrounded me, looking as if they were starved...
The oldest girl, of around twelve years old, politely approached me:

    "Hello, sir, may we use your swimming pool? Your boys said it wasn't a problem..."

    "Did you pay at the entrance?"

    She looked a bit timid, blushed, and stared at her feet...
The youngest girl, obviously her sister, recognized the joke and playfully winked at me:

    "Of course, those nice boys already paid for us..."

    "In your dreams!" little Harry laughed, diving towards the tray for a sandwich and a drink.

    In no time, they had emptied my tray, and all of them were chewing like hungry wolves.
They put the empty drinking glasses back, and resumed their games in the pool.
There I was, suddenly carrying an empty tray with empty glasses...
Still feeling hungry, I returned to the kitchen and made myself an extra large sandwich, filled with double helpings of everything I could think of!

    The afternoon filled up with laughter, splashing, and joyful yelling from the backyard.
Everybody seemed to have lots of fun; while I filled my time by cleaning the house and working on my paperwork.
I switched the computer on, and absently sorted the enormous flow of spam from the few important emails...

    Suddenly, I decided to write a book about my adventures around my little Prince.
Why not?
I knew I was good at writing, and I might even be able to put a few hidden messages in my book...
I thought about a nice title for my book, and ended up with 'Born to be a King'.
Enthusiastically, I switched to my word processor and started with chapter one.

    Time flew by; and, in no time, the sun was already descending the sky.
I switched the computer off; and went to the backyard, to have a look at my nine playing children.

    NINE playing children? What the heck...
I counted again.
A new girl and two small neighborhood boys had joined our group in my absence.
They were frolicking and splashing as if they were totally at home in our pool, which was now filled to the brim.
    I chuckled, and told them:

    "Boys and girls; sorry, but it's time to go home! We have to dress and prepare for dinner..."

    Reluctantly, our visitors clambered out of the pool.
They looked at me with their clothes in their hands, still dripping wet:

    "Can, err... may we come back tomorrow, please? It's fun here!"

    "Maybe; but, for today, you've had enough fun. We are invited to have dinner somewhere else."

    They thanked me politely, and went home.
John and little Harry went upstairs, to dress neatly for dinner.
    Nicky threw his arms around my neck and offered me a wet kiss:

    "I have to go home now, Pop; but thank you for this marvelous day! Can I... err... may I come back tomorrow, please?"

    "Of course, you may come back! You are always welcome here! Greet your father and Jason from me."

    Nicky went home, showing a beaming face and skipping all the way.
I went upstairs to dress neatly, and to look at what my boys were doing.
    John threw his arms around my waist:

    "Today was really fun, Dad! Thank you for everything; for our new van, and for our new swimming pool."

    "Yes, Dad; I had so much fun today! You are a really neat Dad; and thank you for everything!" Davey beamed, offering me a big kiss.

    Little Harry just beamed.
He radiated love, and pushed into me with every movement.
I helped him take his mask off, cleaned it with water and soap, and put it onto the mold to keep it in shape.
He looked a bit tired, so I lifted him onto my shoulders. He clamped his hands around my forehead, and let his legs dangle free.
John took my left hand and Davey took my right; and, together, we went to Davey's mother.

    Mary opened the front door when she saw us coming, and her eyes filled with joy.
She directed us to the living room, and offered us coffee and juice.
Davey started to tell her about all the events of the day.
He described our new golden van with seven movable chairs, and the new inflatable swimming pool with a huge water filter.
He vividly described how he took revenge for our laughing at him, by splashing us with the water hose.
He joked about their newly found girl friends, who joined them in our swimming pool and refused to pay at the entrance.
    Suddenly, he climbed onto her lap and put his arms around her neck:

    "I've missed you, Mom! I had a tremendous lot of fun today, but I wish you could have joined us."

    "Don't bother about it, son. I have enjoyed myself today with cooking a special meal, and that was a lot of fun as well!"

    We helped her setting the table, and sat down.
Mary returned from the kitchen with a tureen of steaming soup, and each of us got a bowl full.
    Little Harry tasted the soup, frowned, and savored again...

    "What did you put into it? I can taste oregano, onions, celery, parsley, but there's something else in it I don't recognize..."

    "Well... I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. This is just a can of soup from a supermarket!"

    All of us started to laugh, and our little cookie colored a deep red...

    After the soup, Mary served us a very tasty meal; with grilled steak, baked potatoes, all sorts of vegetables, and a delicious sauce; followed by a big ice sorbet with a mixture of fruits.
All of us were stuffed to the brim, and abundantly thanked her for the tasty dinner.
    Davey threw his arms around her neck:

    "Mom, I didn't know you could cook like this!"

    "You know, this is the first time in many years that I really enjoyed cooking. Thank you for the compliment!"

    The boys settled down in front of the television, to watch a series of cartoons.
Mary and I sat down onto the couch, and sipped a cup of coffee and a glass of tea.
    She took a handkerchief out of her purse, and wiped her eyes:

    "I am so grateful you wanted to let Davey join you today... I can see in his eyes how much he enjoyed this day and your company!"

    "I have enjoyed his company as well. He is a friendly boy with a good heart, and I like him very much."

    Davey left the cartoons, and crawled onto my lap:

    "I like you very much too! I am so happy you are my new Dad! I hope I will never lose you..."

    He tried to melt into me, with teary eyes:

    "Finally, I'm having a REAL Dad, for the first time in my life..."

    John and little Harry claimed their share; and we cuddled for a long time.
Finally, we disentangled, and Davey asked:

    "Mom, can John and Harry spend the night here? I've never had a sleepover..."

    "Well... I don't know... Where will you put them to sleep tonight?"

    "On that big inflatable air mattress, from my summer camp..."

    "Oh yeah; that's nearly a double one... Okay, but only if their father agrees."

    Of course, I agreed, and that yielded me three big kisses.
The boys immediately went upstairs, to arrange their things for the night and inflate the air mattress...

    I thanked Mary again for inviting us, and went home.
The night was dark; showing no moon, but thousands of stars twinkling in the sky.
I looked at the Milky Way, where I recognized the Polestar and a reddish planet I suspected to be Mars.
Now and then, a star blinked; and, a few times, I saw a falling star, shooting along the horizon.
I felt small and vulnerable, and shivered involuntarily.
Who was I, and why was I living on this planet?
What was the meaning of all this, and what would my future bring?

    I entered my house, showered, and went to bed; feeling alone and abandoned.
I missed my boys...
I hugged my pillow, and tried to get some sleep.
Slowly, I drifted off...

    Two hours later, I woke up to the sounds of whispering children...
I opened my eyes, switched the lights on, and looked into three smiling faces.

    "We're going to sleep in your bed!" Davey declared.

    He shucked his clothes, quickly followed by John and little Harry.

    Davey got to me first.
He threw himself onto my stomach, pushed his head under my chin, and clamped his arms around my body.
Little Harry tried to push Davey away, but in vain... He gave up, and melted into my left side.
John walked around, plopped down, and melted into my right side.
I switched the lights off, draped my arms around them, and dozed off, feeling rich with my boys.

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Thank you for reading the next chapter of this story 'Born to be a King 1 - My little Gypsy Prince.
This is the FIRST book of the adult series. Many more books will follow, just be patient...
Enjoy the reading, and help us make our world a better place. We need you!

Please, have a look at my children's series, about the same little Gypsy boy growing up in a secluded place in the Rumanian mountains; this time seen from his own point of view.
The children's story is on Nifty in 'young-friends', and it's callled: 'Born as a Prince'...
Just click this link to go to Nifty, or go to my homepage to read the latest versions.

I would LOVE to receive your comments or appreciations...
Please, send me an email now and then, to let me know the story has some impact on you.

I wish you lots of Love in your Life, and Profound Peace in your Heart.
Harry AnderS, Dutch psychotherapist and alternative writer.

harry@harryanders.com
http://www.harryanders.com