Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 22:27:33 +0200 From: hadjo Subject: Harry-16 English is not my native language, so please have some consideration... Chapter 15 ended with: We went back home and the boys started a game on the computer. I felt a little empty after all emotions and happenings of the day. Was everything I experienced genuine or did I make everything up in my brain? Was I really a former gypsy leader? It still couldn't really believe it, despite my memories and all experiences I had this day... Suddenly I felt Jack. "I told you, in the end there will be victory and you will be ROYALLY rewarded. Why do you doubt my words? Everything is as you remembered and as you were told, even by little Harry. He is right about those two different kinds of memories." His voice faded away somewhere in my head. Did I make up that voice myself? We will see... Chapter 16. Soon the evening was over and we all went to bed, tired from all emotions of the day. We showered together as usual and both boys took their places beside me in our waterbed as usual. We all slept peaceful and uneventful until the next morning the sun peering through the curtains woke us up. In unison we decided to go to the zoo. We first clothed and had breakfast, after that Harry and John went to Davey and brought him with them, with the promise to his mother to bring him back in the evening before nine o'clock. Davey was delighted, for his own father never took him anywhere. Skipping he entered the house, jumped up to me and threw his arms around my neck, nearly choking me. "Thank you dad for letting me go with you, you are the best dad in the whole world!" I tickled him and he squealed with joy. Well, that wasn't a very clever action for two seconds later I laid down on the floor with three boys on my stomach, giggling and tickling me everywhere. That was too much for me. "Stop boys, for I am nearly wetting my pants!" "We will buy you some pampers..." "Stop now or we aren't going anywhere today!" That helped, they even pulled me upright and promised to be good boys for the rest of the day. Harry and John made some sandwiches to take with us while Davey and me robbed the fridge and put a pile of lemonade cans into a duffel bag. I helped Harry to put on his mask and we all rushed to the car to enjoy our day off. John took the seat in the front while Harry and Davey shared the backseat, giggling and pushing each other. John searched the radio for some songs and soon we were all singing along with the music, clapping hands and stamping feet. After a while the boys became slightly bored and Davey started to tell a joke. The rest of the voyage was filled with all sorts of jokes and laughter. We parked the car and bought four tickets with little Harry looking around and John and Davey impatiently waiting at the entrance. The gate keeper tore the corners off out tickets and we were in! For the first time I visited that particular zoo and it turned out to be HUGE. Everywhere there were animals in buildings, walking around free, behind fences, in small swimming pools or in cages. Immediately behind the entrance a man with a camera neared us. "Want a photo of you and your boys? Say cheese please..." He took some pictures and told us they would be pinned on a big board at the entrance in a few hours. We went to the first building which turned out to be the ape house. Soon the boys and me were entranced by the gorilla's who looked at us with a bored face. "Are we really looking at them, or are they looking at us?" Davey asked, grinning and making faces. "They are looking at us of course, but dad paid them for that!" John answered and poked Davey in the ribs. "Perhaps they even do recognize you, the resemblance is striking..." little Harry teased Davey. Davey poked at little Harry but Harry was too fast and ran away, with Davey on his heels. "Dad, help me, Davey is picking on me!" little Harry shouted and jumped into my arms. I ruffled Davey's hair whilst holding Harry. "Be careful with him, he is still a little baby..." "You're crazy!" and off he went, again chased by a grinning Davey. "Look here!" John suddenly shouted and we all went to the next cage. In the cage were a mother and her small child sitting together, and both of them were really UGLY. "Looks like big Harry and small Harry sitting together..." John teased us. I went after John, helped by little Harry, but of course he was too fast and escaped. "Next time we will get you for that!" Suddenly Davey burst into a loud laughter and pointed at a big cage with several apes in it. "Look at that! Did you ever see such buttocks before?" All the female apes had bright violet and pink colored behinds, protruding and in my eyes really ugly. The boys roared with laughter and slapped their knees. After a while little Harry became silent. "How come they look like that dad? Are they ill?" I tried to explain that's the way nature makes the female apes more attractive to the males. "Well, when MY girl ever starts making herself attractive like that, I will force her to wear a mask around her behind!" John and Davey nearly suffocated. We went through a double door and entered the reptile house. "Look, there's the Harry Potter snake!" Davey pointed to a big anaconda. The boys tried to wake the snake up by pounding the glass, but in vain. They looked for a few seconds and went to the next cage with some smaller snakes in it. Harry entered the next door. "Look here! A real alligator!" We all went through the door and were amazed by a really big crocodile, lying lazily on the grass under a bright lamp. A second crocodile swam around in the water with his mouth slightly opened. "Wow, what a big teeth. And look at those mean eyes!" They all looked rather impressed. After a while we went through the next door and the sudden sunlight blinded us for a moment. For two hours we strolled through the garden, looked at all different animals, visited small buildings with all kinds of fishes, bats, rodents and insects. We looked at the seals and at the sea lions, at the bears, the elephants and the zebra's. Suddenly the boys detected the playground and I was alone with myself. I sat down at a small table and ordered a cup of coffee. Now and then I saw one of the boys running from swing to slide to climbing rope to conning tower to labyrinth to water bridge... until John suddenly appeared with a big smile on his face. "Do you have something to eat dad?" I opened the duffel bag and all of the sudden they all were there like magic. I distributed the sandwiches and the lemonade cans and they really sat down for a mere thirty seconds, chewing and drinking. After that they were gone again, leaving me alone with myself... I sipped my coffee and nibbled at the remaining sandwich filled with tomato slices and cheese. Now and then one of the boys appeared and took a fast sip of the lemonade before disappearing again. Once Davey hugged me. "Thanks dad, it's really marvelous here! I'm so glad I was allowed to join you!" And off he went somewhere to the labyrinth where little Harry beckoned him with John waiting for them in the background. They disappeared and I didn't see them back for a long time. I dozed off in the bright sun and the joyful sounds of playing children. "Dad, do you know where Harry is?" "Huh?" I opened my eyes and looked at the worried faces of John and Davey. "We were playing hide and seek in the labyrinth, and all of the sudden Harry disappeared. We've looked all over the place three times, but we can't find him. Did you happen to see him?" "No, he wasn't here for a long time. Perhaps he went to the toilet? Where was the last time you saw him?" They pointed to the labyrinth. I stood up, a little bit stiff and not too worried, and followed them. What could have happened to little Harry, here in the relatively safety of the zoo? We went to the labyrinth and the boys dived under a bar, followed by me nearly on my knees. They seemed to know the way and directed me to the exit on the other side of the small labyrinth. Little Harry was nowhere to be seen and now I started to be a little bit anxious. Where could he be? Had something happened to him? Was he astray somewhere in the zoo? "Do you know where the children's toilets are?" They took me with them and I probed all toilet doors and called Harry's name a few times, but there was no response except for a small boy with a bewildered look on his face and his pants down, hesitantly opening the door to have a look at all that noise. But there was no trace of our little gypsy prince. Where else could he be? "Do you remember the last time one of you saw Harry? Where was he and what was he doing?" "Harry and Davey were hiding somewhere around the labyrinth and I was looking for them. I tagged Davey but couldn't find Harry. After a while Davey helped me looking for him but he seemed to be vanished. We looked everywhere and after a while we went to you for help." "Do you have any idea where he could be now?" They looked at me as if I was the dumbest ass on the planet... I parked John and Davey in the playground to look out for little Harry, perhaps he would return after a while and look for us? They promised me to stay where they were until I returned. I started to walk into the direction where I thought the entrance would be. But after a while I got lost. Where was I? And where could I find someone who belonged to the zoo and who perhaps could help me to find my lost boy? I walked and walked and now I really started to feel uneasy. Where was that damned entrance? Suddenly I detected the small tower of the ape house, in the far distance. I started to walk faster, and then I detected those small pickets with several arrows pointing to the entrance, the snack bar, the playground and the zoo's office. I really felt stupid... I went to the office and was greeted by a young lady behind a ticket window. "Good afternoon sir, what can I do for you?" "I've lost my little boy. I was here with three boys and they started to play in the playground. After a while we missed one of them and went searching for him everywhere, even in the toilets, but in vain. Now the other boys are waiting for him in the playground and here I am..." "Will you describe your little boy for me please?" I described little Harry and told her he was severely burnt in his face and therefore wore a plastic mask to hide his scars. She made some notations and called a few security people to look out for him. "That's all I can do for you for now sir, every security guard will look out for him from now on. You may best go back to your other boys and wait there until he shows up. From time to time one of the security people will contact you there. Don't be too worried, it happens all the time and eventually they all show up sooner or later." I followed the arrows and soon I was back in the playground where I was greeted by a very sad looking John. They were taking turns in looking out for Harry everywhere and after a while they changed places. Clever boys! I complimented John and told him what the lady said to me. He nodded and leaned against me, obviously looking for some strength. I comforted him for a while. A very sad looking Davey appeared with tears in his eyes. He leaned against me on the other side and started to sob. In the distance I saw a man wearing some uniform with 'security' on it, looking around. I waited until he looked in our direction and beckoned him. "You are the father of the little lost boy?" he asked with a warm and concerned voice. "Please will you tell me everything I should know?" John started to tell everything, filled in by Davey. How they were playing hide and seek, how he found Davey hiding behind a big tree but he couldn't find Harry. How after a while they both started to look everywhere, became worried and went to me for help. The security guard took his mobile phone and gave a few orders. "Don't worry, I suppose he went too far away and couldn't find the way back. We all are looking for him now and they will call me as soon as they have found him. I am here somewhere in the neighborhood looking for him too and now and then I will show up again." I never felt the need to buy one of those mobile telephones myself. Why should I? I worked at home, there I had my telephone and my answering machine. But now I cursed myself for being so purblind. I decided to buy a couple of these things first time in the morning. One for myself and one for each of my boys to always carry with them! That way they never could get lost any more without the possibility of contacting at least one of us. For the first time I felt the full responsibility weight on my shoulders. It was crushing me! I sat down on my chair while John and Davey went searching for little Harry again. They promised to be back every few minutes and not to get lost themselves. I pointed at the direction arrows but of course they already had detected them... Clever youth! I closed my eyes and tried to place myself in the same circumstances as little Harry, trying to hide myself from the tracing eyes of John. I saw Davey hide himself behind a big tree, but where should I go this time? In my fantasy I walked further away from the playground until I saw a small barn with an open door. I went into the barn and the door closed. Everything went dark and I was trapped! Suddenly I felt a wave of panic starting to form and I opened my eyes. What a strange daydream... was this what happened to little Harry? But of course all security guards would have looked into all barns and behind all closed doors by now. I couldn't get rid of the panic and I saw the face of little Harry wavering in front of my face, looking at me with a lot of fear in his eyes. Where was he? I thought of Jack. Where was Jack now we needed him? I tried to call him in my mind, but I couldn't detect him. He promised us to be our guardian angel, but where was he? Was he with little Harry now? Or was everything a fake and did I never hear his voice in my mind... Time went by and slowly the sun disappeared behind the horizon. John and Davey both were deadly tired from their searching everywhere and from all emotions, and the security people couldn't find any trace of little Harry. At last they told us they were sure Harry wasn't in the zoo any more and from now on we had to contact the police for further investigation. The zoo closed within half an hour. They promised us to ask night security to keep an eye open in case Harry showed up during the night, and they wrote our telephone number down. We were devastated. Slowly we walked through the entrance, every time looking behind in the hope of seeing little Harry running towards us with a big smile on his face: "Gotcha!". We went to the car with that same hope of seeing Harry behind the windows, but he wasn't there. I started the car, looked behind one last time and we went to the police station. There I got my second cup of coffee during the day and both boys got a glass of cola. Again we told the whole story and now we had to answer several annoying questions. Was this the first time Harry suddenly disappeared? Did he have any reason to run away? Was he frightened about something? Was he afraid of a punishment? Could I think of any reason why Harry would disappear without leaving a trace? Could someone else have taken him with them? Did we know of any other person Harry had contacted during the last few days or via the internet? At last they promised us to do everything they could to bring him back to us. They wrote down everything we had told them and we all had to sign the paper. They wrote down our telephone number with the promise to call us as soon as they would know anything. They accompanied us to the door and we shook hands. We went to the car and I started the motor. We drove away in silence, John and Davey both in the backseat, softly sobbing, I behind the steering wheel with tears in my eyes. Where was my little soul mate? On the way back we bought us some fish and chips, but none of us were very hungry. In silence we drove home and delivered Davey at his house with the promise to let him know as soon as we heard something about little Harry, even in the middle of the night. Mary invited us in but we politely refused with the promise of visiting her as soon as little Harry should be home again. I parked the car in the driveway and went straight to the answering machine in the living room, but nobody had called us. I even checked the phone... That evening John and I sat together on the couch in the living room, arms around each other, softly speaking and guessing where our little friend and soul mate would spend the night. Where was he? What happened to him? Would he be very frightened? And what about his mask that started to itch after a couple of hours? Would he still wear it? We both drifted off... "I am sure Harry is alive dad! I could feel him and he is sleeping now. He is in a very dark place and the door is closed, but I can't see where that place is or who brought him there. He cried a lot and now he is very tired. But he is okay." "How do you know? Did Jack tell you that?" "No, I didn't feel Jack around, but I tried to find Harry in my mind. And all of the sudden he was there..." "Are you really sure, or did you make things up in your mind?" "I am absolutely sure dad, but don't ask me how. I just know..." "Do you know where Jack is? He promised to protect us..." Suddenly I heard Jack's voice somewhere in my head, loud and clear: "Don't worry and go to bed. You need some sleep!" "Did you hear that dad? Jack told us not to worry and to go to bed for we need some sleep!" To say I was flabbergasted isn't strong enough... We showered together and went to bed, John draped all over me with his head on my shoulder. We both were deadly tired and we fell asleep nearly immediately. For a moment I could feel John's pecker poking into my belly and then I was gone. "DAD! Wake up! The telephone is ringing! Come on! Hurry up!" John shook me with all his force and nearly pulled me out of the bed. Besotted I looked around. "What time is it?" "Nearly four o'clock, but the telephone is ringing! Come on, hurry!" I staggered out of bed and went downstairs, nearly falling, and hurried to the still ringing phone in the living room. "Hello?" "Dad! Are you mad at me? I climbed a fence and went into a barn and then the door shut down and I couldn't open it for it was locked and I started to pound the door but nobody heard me and I screamed and yelled and it was soo dark and I was soo afraid..." Little Harry started to sob and a man took over. He told me he guarded the zoo during the night and suddenly heard somebody pounding a door. After some searching he found the small barn behind a fence and first reassured the little fellow for he had to go back to the office to collect the key. After a few minutes he freed little Harry and at first he was really shocked by the look of a totally devastated face. But the little fellow told him his face was ok and there was no need for calling an ambulance. Now they both were in the zoo office, and when could I come to the zoo entrance and collect my son? "Immediately of course! Please wait for me and don't go anywhere!" First John and I embraced each other and we made a big round dance. After that we hurried upstairs, clothed and went to the car. I had to go back via the backdoor and get the hidden key, for I forgot to take my keys with me... and off we went. John fell asleep in the front seat and I had some difficulty in keeping my eyes open. The streets were nearly empty and everything was very dark with now and then a bright headlight from an approaching car. I put on the radio to stay awake and our song was there: "You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..." I grinned and silently thanked Jack. Suddenly I could feel him around me and his voice sounded somewhere in my head: "Keep your head by the road! I couldn't help you for you all needed to experience this. Your son had to overcome his fears to become a better king in the future, and you had to be aware of all your responsibilities to be able to guide him through his boyhood. My son had to wake up and to be aware of his capabilities as a leader, and the other boy had to feel welcomed in your company. Now go get him, and tomorrow the clinic will help him with his face and with his body. God bless you all..." I parked the car in the darkness of an empty zoo parking place, and John slowly awoke and yawned a few times. We went to the dark and closed entrance. What now? The door was shut and the lights were off... fortunately John detected the bell in the darkness and pressed it. In the distance we could hear a buzzer and after a few minutes the guard and a very timid little Harry appeared. The guard opened the entrance and let us in. We went to the office and were welcomed by the smell of fresh coffee. Little Harry got some hot chocolate milk and John asked for hot milk without the chocolate. We all looked at each other... suddenly little Harry climbed onto my lap, trembling. "Are you mad at me dad? I didn't do it on purpose..." I cuddled him and kissed him all over his face. At first he was very tensed, but after a while all tension faded away and he melted into me. He sighed a few times and started to tell. Every time they played hide and seek they detected him first, and after a while he decided to find a better hiding place. So he went further away and climbed a small fence. Behind the fence was a barn with the door open and he was curious... first he looked into the barn and he saw a pile of food bags. When he looked at the bags to detect what was in them suddenly the door closed and everything went dark. He panicked and tried to open the door, but in vain. He pounded the door and yelled, but nobody heard him. After a while he went to the pile of bags and sat down in the darkness, waiting. But nobody came to rescue him and he started to cry. He cried for a very long time and eventually he fell asleep on the pile of bags. When he awoke everything was very silent and spooky. Again he started to pound the door and suddenly a voice told him to wait for another two minutes for he had to get the key. After two minutes the man rescued him and now he was afraid I would yell at him and punish him just like John's father always did with John... "I will never yell at you, and I will never punish you for something that's not your fault. You are a small boy and small boys are curious, and it's not your fault to be a boy. So you did nothing wrong. But I was very afraid too, just like you. I was afraid I would never see you back." I started to sob from all emotions and little Harry threw his arms around my neck. "It's okay, don't bottle it up, just let it go. In a moment you will feel better..." Did he learn that from Jack? Suddenly I started to laugh. The little devil... We thanked the security guard and went home. The boys both slept on the back seat, entangled into each others arms. I put on the radio and again there was our song! "You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..." I was happy again. I had my boy back, my little soul mate. ------- Chapter 17 will follow. Thank you again for your emails. I love them, even the smallest! A few excerpts: * Well done again. A very vivid chapter, still sticking to the storyline in an intense way. I like it, and also the comments you get from, what I can only describe as a group of quality readers. I think the story - together with the comments - make quite an impact and hopefully is making more people reflect about what is what and what is really right and wrong in the physical world that our bodies live in. * A lovely story, well written and plotted. It is based on a theme (Romany) that is little known in the U.S. Your use of English is excellent, no need to apologize. I have a friend in Friesland whose English is similar so it is a pleasure to read. I am proud to have visited The Netherlands and seen (as well as heard - carillons) first hand it's beauty! It was summer and no masses of bulbs, but the roses were stunning in their beauty. I also admire your political/legal system. We would do well to copy much of it. Thank you again for sharing your talents with us. * Just a quick note to tell you how much I am enjoying your story "HARRY".... I love Holland...been there quite a few times.......... love it. * Interesting chapter. You demonstrated well your interest in the paranormal. You do a good job of keeping interest. One anxiously awaits the next chapter to see where the story is going. Please send your comments (or hints how to go on) to my mailbox: mailto:harry@hadjo.nl and thank you very much for reading my first story in the English language. My native language is Dutch (Nederlands) and I am living in The Netherlands.