- 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 20 ended with:

    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.

Chapter 21. A leak, a tree house, two boys in love, and a nickering dragon.

    The morning sun started to shine through a crack in the curtains, and woke us up.
We yawned, grinned at each other, and cuddled a bit longer.
    Finally, I was too curious, and asked Davey:

    "What happened? Why are you sleeping here instead of at your house?"

    "Sorry, Dad, but the air mattress had a leak and went flat! Within an hour, Harry climbed into my bed, and that was okay with me. However, ten minutes later, John followed him, and now my bed was too small for all three of us. None of us could sleep any more, and that's why we decided to have some more sleep in your bed. I've left a note for my Mom on the kitchen table."

    "Yes, Dad, I'm still feeling stiff from that hard floor! At first, Harry climbed onto my stomach, but I couldn't sleep with him as a blanket. Then, Harry went to Davey, but the mattress went flatter and flatter. At last, I tried to join them in Davey's bed, but it was way too small for all three of us. After a lot of pushing and me falling out of bed twice, we decided to spend the rest of the night here."

    Little Harry just grinned, and pushed his head under my left armpit.
Suddenly, he sat upright, and seemed to feel something...
    He jumped out of bed, nearly tripping over the blankets:

    "There's Nicky..."

    Ten seconds later, the doorbell rang.
How the heck does little Harry know that, each and every time?
He HAS to be a clairvoyant, or maybe sort of a Wise Boy...

    The front door opened, and the joyful voice of Nicky sounded through the house, teasing little Harry:

    "How come you are still naked? Didn't your father buy you enough clothes?"

    "Never heard of a birthday suit? Every day here feels like it is my birthday..."

    "That should yield you three hundred and sixty five presents a year..."

    They laughed, and stormed upstairs.
Little Harry jumped onto our bed and disappeared under the blankets:

    "Come on, Nick. Shuck your clothes and join us!"

    Nicky looked at me for approval...
I nodded, and invitingly lifted the blankets.
A microsecond later, he had shucked his clothes and thrown them somewhere into the room.

    "Attack of the nickering dragon!" he shouted and disappeared under the blankets, next to little Harry.

    They entangled into each other, and Nicky's head popped up again:

    "Pop, I am allowed to be here during the whole day, but only if you agree..."

    "I've already told you that you will always be welcome in our house."

    "Pop, I love you! Every time when I'm here, I'm pretending you are my Dad for real..."

    Suddenly, I felt a tingling in my chest, and my heart leapt up.
'Nicky', hadn't that been the name of my oldest son, once, when I was a Gypsy Leader?
Could it be...
Nah; that would be TOO much of a coincidence...

    A few stomachs started to rumble, and I decided it was time to feed my growing boys.
We showered, and the boys donned their swimming trunks because the day promised to be very hot again.
Davey borrowed a black pair from John, and Nicky got bright blue ones from little Harry.
They raced downstairs, while I dressed into something casual and followed them, two minutes later.

    Little Harry was already cooking scrambled eggs with a couple of his famous herbs.
Davey had set the table, and was buttering a huge pile of toast.
John had poured four glasses of milk, and was peeling a couple of tomatoes.
Nicky tried to help little Harry, by handing him everything he needed.
I brewed myself my first cup of coffee.
Soon, we sat down and savored the very tasty meal.

    Nicky nearly swallowed his fingers while licking them clean:

    "This is really delicious! Wow, Harry, you are the best cook in the world."

    Little Harry beamed, and took the next toast with scrambled eggs 'ala freaky alien'.
I squeezed a couple of oranges, to make some fresh and healthy juice for my four growing boys.
I helped little Harry put on his mask, so that the girls wouldn't be too shocked in case they showed up again.
He unlocked the backdoor, and all of them raced outside to enjoy our new swimming pool again.
They started to splash and shout immediately, having lots of fun.

    I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen table.
After another cup of coffee, I went inside and switched the computer on.
I glanced at my fresh pile of spam emails, and deleted them unceremoniously.
When would they finally invent a reliable spam filter?

    Next, I started my word processor and opened my new book, titled 'Born to be a King'...
A storyline started to unfold, showing me sitting on the porch of my new residence.
A couple of children tumbled into my driveway, and one of them told me about his little brother, a severely burnt Gypsy boy.
Soon, I was no longer aware of my surroundings, and time went by unnoticed...

    The door opened, and four enthusiastic boys stormed into the living room:

    "Dad, we want to build a tree house, in those birches in the corner of the backyard. Do you have some boards, a hammer, a saw, and a couple of nails? We have already sketched a design..."

    John and Davey looked at me with heated faces and expecting eyes...
Little Harry and Nicky waited one step behind, impatiently waving with a piece of paper and a pencil...

    "Well... Yes, that sounds good! However, I don't have any boards; and I think we will have to buy a lot of equipment first. Do you happen to know where we could find any used boards?"

    Nicky stepped forward, and put his arms around my neck:

    "In our backyard, we're keeping a whole lot of used lumber under a plastic sheet, from Jason's old tree house. What do you think, Pop, shall I ask him to give it to us?"

    "Well, you might give it a try, but don't press him too much! It is HIS lumber, and it's okay for him to say no..."

    Now, Nicky was the day's hero; and all of them raced upstairs to get into some clothes.
Soon, they were downstairs again, and offered me a couple of quick hugs and kisses.
They disappeared through the backyard...
I went back to my computer, to work on my book a bit more.

    Ten minutes later, my four boys entered our house, hesitantly followed by another, slightly taller boy.
He resembled Nicky, having the same greenish eyes, but with darker hair.
He looked around a bit timid, and smiled bashfully...
    Nicky pushed him forward, and joyfully beamed at me:

    "Pop, we can use all of Jason's equipment, but only if he is allowed to help us with our tree house..."

    "Of course, Jason is allowed to help us, and I think he has made a very generous offer!"
    "Hi, Jason! I am Big Harry, to distinguish me from little Harry over here. Please, come in, and do you want a drink?"

    Jason nodded, bashfully looking at his feet, and we went to the kitchen.
John dived into the refrigerator, carried the milk to the table, and asked everybody what they wanted.
Little Harry, Davey, and Nicky wanted hot chocolate; and John poured some milk into a pan.
    Jason shook his head, and mumbled:

    "May I have a cup of coffee, just like your father?"

    I ruffled his hair, and told him:

    "Of course, you may have coffee. You are a boy after my heart! Do you want milk and sugar?"

    "Hmm... Thank you, but could I have it black, with two lumps of sugar?"

    "Just like me! I don't want to spoil its taste with milk either..."

    We enjoyed our drinks, while little Harry proudly showed me his design.
It looked good, and I complimented him with his sketching abilities.
    He beamed proudly, and turned towards Jason:

    "I KNEW that you could be a nice fellow as well! Let's be friends..."

    Jason colored a deep red, but he shook little Harry's outstretched hand.
I LOVED my little boy with his big heart!
He would be an excellent King in the future...

    Nicky approached me, and leaned into me:

    "Pop, we can use all the wood from Jason's old tree house, but how do we bring it here?"

    "Maybe, we can transport it on the roof of our van. How much wood do you have?"

    Jason answered me, still looking a bit uneasy:

    "My friend and I collected quite a lot of lumber. We had planned to build a very big tree house. That is, until my father..."

    He broke off, and slowly got tears in his eyes.

    "It's okay, Jason. Yesterday, your Dad told me everything. I know you had a very difficult time..."

    "He told you EVERYTHING?"

    "Everything! Is it possible to drive into your backyard, or do we have to carry your wood to the front?"

    "I think it should be possible to drive quite nearby. Do you have any ropes?"

    John and Davey collected a couple of ropes from our garage.
Little Harry and Nicky arranged the rear seats into two rows, and everybody got in and buckled up.
We drove off to BJ's house, while Nicky proudly pointed the way, two blocks from our house.
I reversed our van, and we entered their driveway backwards.
Now, we saw a huge pile of wood, neatly stacked under a plastic sheet.

    For the next two hours, we were busy sorting the lumber, piling all sorts of boards and stakes onto the roof, and fastening them with the ropes.
We drove home, unloaded everything into our backyard, and went back to fetch more wood.
Eventually, we had loaded the last pile of wood onto the roof of our van.
Jason told us to wait for a moment, and went inside the house.
He returned with a couple of boxes, filled to the brim with all sorts of nails, screws, and clamps.
He went a second time, and returned with an electric saw and a couple of hammers, pincers, punches, and screwdrivers.
We loaded everything into the trunk of our van, and drove home.
This time, Jason sat shotgun, looking both relieved and very sad...

    We unloaded our van for the last time, and now I was dead tired from the unusual work!
My inexhaustible boys scooted upstairs, to jump into their swimming trunks.
They raced downstairs, skipping a couple of steps, and dived into our swimming pool to cool off.
Jason and I slumped down onto the couch in the living room, and looked at each other...

    "Do you want another cup of coffee?"

    "May I have a cola this time, please? I'm really thirsty, after all that carrying..."

    "Of course, you may have a cola! Help yourself from the refrigerator in the kitchen."

    Jason hesitated, but went to the kitchen and returned with a cola.
He sipped his drink in silence, looking into space...
    Suddenly, he turned towards me, with tears in his eyes:

    "Why are you so nice to me, after I kicked your son off his skateboard?"

    "Maybe I am a nice person? Plus, I know what happened to you..."

    "Do you REALLY know what happened? Did my father tell you everything?"

    "Jason, what happened to your friend?"

    He looked shocked, shuddered, and started to cry:

    "... Sniff... They took him to I don't know where... I think his parents murdered him, after they heard what happened..."

    I couldn't help it... I pulled the poor child into my arms, without thinking.
For a moment, he stiffened; and then he started to cry earnestly.
    He leaned into me, and sobbed:

    "Sorry, but I can't help it. It's just how I am. I don’t want to be a homo, but I love him and he loves me. We found each other, and we connected immediately...
    "From the first day on, we did everything together. We even promised each other to stay together for the rest of our lives...
    "We had to be very careful. We had to hide our feelings, because both his father and my father are homo haters and they are always railing about fags...
    "We hoped to build us a cozy tree house in my backyard, where we could be together without any fear. We worked our asses off, to collect all that wood and buy our equipment...
    "One day, my father wasn't home, and we wanted to cuddle. Stupidly, we did it in my bedroom... My father was home early, and found us naked. He threw Carl out of the house and started to yell at me, calling me a 'worthless fag'. He kicked me through the house, and I had to visit the hospital with two broken ribs and a lot of bruises. I told the doctors I fell off the stairs, but they didn't believe me. I just couldn't tell them the truth; that I fell in love with my friend...
    "After I returned from the hospital, my father started to yell again. He called me a 'fag' and a 'worthless homo'; and he promised to castrate me, to cut my balls off, if he ever saw me with another boy...
    "I've tried to find out where Carl lives now, but I can't find him. His parents sold their house, and then they just disappeared into nowhere..."

    I held Jason close until his sobs diminished and he tried to pull himself together.
He blew his nose in a tissue, and mumbled:

    "I am such a crybaby... just a worthless fag!"

    "I think you are a wonderful boy, with a lot of love in your heart!"

    "Huh...?"

    "Jason, do you still love Carl?"

    He nodded vigorously and started to sob again, being unable to speak.

    "Shall I try to find out where Carl is living now?"

    His greenish eyes looked straight into mine, and I saw such a hope in them...

    "Would you really do that for ME?"

    "Yes, I will do that for YOU, being my new and worthy friend... Do you have Carl's last name, his old address, and maybe a telephone number?"

    Again, Jason was nearly unable to speak...
I handed him a piece of paper and a ballpoint, and he wrote down everything he remembered.
He went to the kitchen to wash his face, and I took my phone from its cradle...

    My lawyer was surprised to hear from me, and we had some small talk.
I told him about a fifteen-year-old boy, Carl, who suddenly disappeared two years ago; and I relayed Jason's information.
The lawyer chuckled, and promised to trace down the lost boy and call me back as soon as he knew more...
    Before hanging up, he grinned:

    "It looks like you are opening a shelter for lost boys?"

    "You could say that. Within a few days, I will contact you again, to ask you about the possibilities of adopting another boy."

    I put the receiver back onto its cradle.
Jason sat on our couch; still rubbing his eyes and staring into space...
    From the doorway, little Harry and Nicky looked at me with puzzled faces:

    "Who are you going to adopt, Dad?"

    "It's too early to tell you for now, but I think you will discover soon enough..."

    "Aw, Dad, you never had any secrets for me..."

    Suddenly, Nicky stared at me, wide-eyed:

    "Am I going to live with YOU after my father dies? I was afraid he would send me to an orphanage..."

    Jason jumped up, and looked shocked:

    "Is my father going to die? Why is that? Is that my fault, for being a worthless fag? I don't want that..."

    He looked around; like a trapped animal that is desperately looking for an escape route...
I took Nicky's hand, went to our couch, and sat down next to Jason:

    "Now let me hold both of you. No, Jason, NOTHING is your fault. Your father has cancer, and it is possible that he will die from it within a couple of months. That has nothing to do with you!
    "I think he wanted to tell it one day, but didn't know when or how... He told me yesterday, and asked me to look after his son after he died...
    "Nicky, how do YOU know about your father?"

    "He talked to Davey's mother, while I was in the kitchen. He told her he has cancer, and didn't know what to do with me..."

    I held both of them close and waited, while they digested the sad information.
Nicky crawled onto my lap, and Jason took my arm and forcefully pulled it against his chest.
Little Harry thoughtfully offered Jason a tissue, and he blew his nose in it before giving it back.
Little Harry carefully took the filthy tissue between a finger and a thumb, and shuffled to the kitchen to throw it away...
He returned, took a new tissue, and tenderly dried Nicky's eyes.

    Suddenly, Jason turned around and faced his little brother:

    "Sorry, Nicker, for being such an asshole all the time. I didn't really mean it... Maybe I was jealous of you. Our father always looked after you, but I didn't exist any more. In his eyes, I was only a worthless fag, after I was so stupid with Carl... I really couldn't help it. I was so terribly alone..."

    He started to cry again, and hid his face in his hands.
Nicky hopped off my lap, and tenderly hugged his big brother:

    "It's okay, Jase, and I've missed you too. You didn't play with me any more, and I didn't exist to you either. When Carl was with us, we always had a lot of fun, remember? But, after our father kicked Carl out of the house, you seemed to change into somebody else. Suddenly, you were a real bully..."

    Little Harry and I looked at each other, and we had a conversation without words...
Together, we left the living room without saying a word, leaving the two brothers alone.
We went to our backyard, where John and Davey still splashed and frolicked, accompanied by two girls from yesterday.
John had smartly constructed sort of a slide from a few boards and a plastic sheet, and now they had tremendous fun!
Clever boy he was, always up to something new!

    "Attack of the crazy Gypsies!" little Harry shouted, cannonballing into the water and emptying half the pool.

    Davey turned the water tap on, and squirted a forceful water stream at the yelling girls.
They tried to escape, by swimming under water until they had to emerge:

    "Please, sir, tell that nasty boy to leave us alone!"

    However, their eyes beamed, and they clearly enjoyed the water attack and all the attention they got from our boys...
Suddenly, they attacked John and dunked him mercilessly, yelling at Davey:

    "Leave us alone, or we will drown your boyfriend!"

    Davey grinned, and again attacked them with the water stream:

    "MY boyfriend? In your dreams! You're only jealous!"

    Little Harry attacked the girls, in a futile attempt to rescue a spluttering John.
Afterwards, John gratefully dunked little Harry...
I grinned about the ageless and immemorial spectacle of boys and girls trying to impress each other...

    I went back to the kitchen, and brewed myself another cup of coffee.
In the living room, Jason and Nicky were still talking and sobbing.
I decided to leave them alone, so I took my coffee to the backyard.
I sat down at a small distance, thus avoiding to be splashed too much.
Enjoying the joyful sight of my playing children, I sipped my coffee...

    Suddenly, Nicky appeared from the backdoor and shouted:

    "Pop, hurry up, your telephone is ringing!"

    I hurried inside, and a smiling Nicky handed me the receiver:

    "It's your lawyer, and he has some GOOD news..."

    I laughed, ruffled his hair, and answered the phone.

    My lawyer complimented me with my little operator, who had taken the call as a real professional.
He had some good news about my question, but unfortunately some sad news as well...
The good news was that he had found the lost boy, living in a nearby orphanage.
The sad news was that his parents didn't survive a car accident, two years ago. Their car slipped off the highway and collapsed into the banks. The boy was catapulted, and that saved his life.
After a couple of weeks, the boy had left the hospital; but he didn't have any known relatives and the authorities had put him into an orphanage.
He was put up for adoption, but nobody took him because all of them wanted to adopt younger children.
The orphanage was very strict, and they didn't allow him to contact anybody outside until he was at least eighteen years old...
My lawyer had taken the liberty to tell the orphanage about my adopted son and me; and Mister John Dragon himself had granted me permission to take the boy for a day or so.
He had even hinted at the possibility of a second adoption...

    I thanked my lawyer for his valuable help; and got the address, that was quite nearby.
I hung up, and thought I heard Jack's voice in my head, joking:

    "Maybe, you will have to buy a bigger house..."

    Or, did I make up that joke myself?

    I told the neighborhood children to go home, because I didn't want to leave them in the water unattended.
Reluctantly, they went home, promising to be back the next day.
I told my boys to go inside, because we had to discuss something important.
They followed me to the living room, with curious faces.
John, Davey, Nicky, and little Harry sat down onto our couch, while Jason and I took the easy chairs.
I will have to buy a bigger couch as well...

    I told my boys what I thought they needed to know about Jason and his friend, Carl.
I pictured how, two years ago, Jason's friend disappeared into nowhere.
Today, my lawyer discovered that Carl's parents died in a car accident, and only Carl survived.
The authorities had put him into an orphanage, where he wasn't allowed to contact anybody outside.
He was put up for adoption; but, until now, nobody had taken him.
The orphanage was less than half an hour's drive from our house...

    Suddenly, I had a lap full of Jason, sobbing desperately:

    "You... found... Carl...; ... are... we... going... to... see... him?"

    "Yes, Jason, we are going to see Carl. That is, if you really WANT to see him?"

    Jason couldn’t talk any more, but he nodded vigorously.
He cried his heart out, with his arms around my shoulders and his face pushed into my chest.
Nicky put his arms around his brother on one side; and little Harry put his arms around him on the other side.
    Little Harry bent over, and whispered into Jason's ear:

    "Let it go, Jason, and don't bottle it up. In a few minutes, you will feel better..."

    John and Davey stormed to the kitchen to get a new packet of tissues.
They bumped into each other in the doorway, and looked rather sheepish.
Davey went back to the couch and sat down; rubbing a big lump on his head.
John got the packet of tissues, and handed it to me before rubbing his own lump...

    After some time, Jason dried his eyes and looked around bashfully:

    "I am such a worthl... Err... Oops, sorry... I am such a wonderful boy, with love in my heart!"

    All of us started to laugh, and Nicky offered his big brother a wet kiss:

    "I love you, my wonderful brother with your loving heart!"

    "I love you too, my little nickering dragon!"

    Finally, we knew from where Nicky got THAT...

************************************************************************************************************

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