Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 21:18:53 +0200 From: hadjo Subject: Harry-8 English is not my native language, so please have some consideration... Chapter 7 ended with: Time went by and suddenly it was nearly eight o'clock. Time for John to go home. "See you tomorrow in the morning!" he said and we both got a fierce hug. And off he went. Now we were both anxious waiting for that medium Christian. What had he to tell us? Chapter 8. Unnoticed the atmosphere in the room was changing, as if everything went at peace. I was sitting on the couch, Harry leaned against me with his head on my lap and my arm draped around him. Softly I stroked his hair and his face and he melted into me even more. He sighed a few times and had a content and peaceful smile on his face. I even thought I heard him purr... The room became very silent, as if all sounds were damped and I thought I smelled a very subtle scent of flowers. It felt as if a big cathedral was building around us and we nearly could hear some chorus singing in the background. It was a wonderful feeling, although I never went to a church and didn't really believe in some kind of religion or supreme being. The bell rang and Harry jumped from the couch and rushed to the door. I heard him enthusiastically greet Christian in the hallway and after a few seconds they both entered the room. "Spirit is already here I see..." Christian announced and sat down on a chair while Harry again nestled himself onto me. "Perhaps I might offer you some coffee first?" I asked him with some trepidation. "Yes please, that would be wonderful. No milk and two lumps of sugar please." I went to the kitchen, followed by little Harry. "Did you see that light?" Harry asked me, totally in awe and still gasping. "What light?" I asked him, rather confused, "what did you see, and where was that light?" "Well, there's a very bright light in the room, shining around everywhere. And mister Christian is radiating so much love and power... it makes me feel like crying and laughing at the same time. And Jack is there too, and he is radiating that same kind of power." "How come only you can see that light? I didn't see anything..." I asked him, even more confused and also a little bit jealous of Harry. "I don't know... it's like I am making it up, but at the same time I know it's really there... it's like I am seeing and feeling all at once." I brew a pot of fresh coffee and Harry placed two cups, a glass of cola and some cookies on a tray. Together we went back where Christian silently sat in his chair, obviously enjoying the peacefulness in the room. We drank our coffee and Harry sipped his cola, and after a few moments Christian started to speak: "There's a deceased person in this room who passed away only a few months ago. You didn't know him in his last life on earth, but your son certainly does! He is regretful he couldn't help his protégé any longer, but it was his time to go home and to transfer all his responsibilities onto you. And now he wants to explain the reasons, so that both of you will know everything that's important for now." Christian waited for a moment and seemed to listen to somebody, in the meantime taking another sip of his coffee. After a couple of seconds he nodded and continued: "You DO know him, but as a little boy, and at a very young age he severely burnt his face and his hands. After a couple of months he died, but he went back to earth very soon to fulfill here a certain task. A few months ago his task on earth ended and now he is back home, completely aware of his surroundings and of his powers. He guided you to this house and to this little boy with the help of a few others in the spirit realm, for it was your time to contact your son and to be his father again in this life." He took another sip of his coffee and turned his chair around, facing little Harry: "How's your name my friend?" "I'm Harold Romany," Harry answered with a hint of proudness in his voice, "but everybody calls me little Harry." "Do you remember some things about your life before you arrived here?" "I remember a lot of caravans in a circle with campfires and people dancing and making music. Suddenly there was a lot of police and we went away to a foreign country on kind of a holiday, and sometimes we stayed in one place for a couple of weeks. I always made friends with a few children and from them I learned the language really fast. But most of the time they chased us away and we had to go on. Until they burnt our caravan down and I landed in a hospital where Jack comforted me and learned me the language quite well. After that I started to live with Jack and he learned me the habits and the manners of the people I am with now. Until he suddenly died..." Harry was very quiet for a while and his thoughts clearly went back to his youth and to his parents. After some time Christian went on: "I see a picture in my mind of two people, a man and a woman, both of royal heritage. They belong to a rather big group of people with a very close family clan. Nobody else seems to like them and everywhere they appear they are chased away. They are called names and stories go around about stealing, robbery and worse. But nobody really knows who they are and how they live, and they keep themselves far from every stranger or foreigner. That man is what we in our country would call a king or a president to his folks, but without a crown on his head, a palace to live in or a throne to sit on. He is very important to his clan and they protect him wherever they can. But somehow there was a witch hunt in that country and the man lost all contacts with his own folks. He disappeared into a foreign country with his wife and his little son, planning to go back within a couple of months. Just before he decided to go back they burnt his caravan down and he and his wife perished in the fire. Only their little son survived..." The room went dead silent. Little Harry looked up at me and I looked down at little Harry. Slowly he nodded his head. "I KNEW it. I just knew it... I have to help my people out when I am big enough. That's my task..." He tried to disappear completely into me and started to sob. I tried to comfort him and Christian went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. Eagerly little Harold Romany swallowed half of the water in one long sip. "That's why Jack told me to be proud of myself every time he spoke to me... he knew!" He looked at me with desperation in his eyes: "Will you help me to grow up dad? Please?" "I promise! Cross my heart!" I answered with the children's promise, causing a small smile on his face. "There's something else I have to tell both of you," Christian continued, "I see a picture in my mind of a hunter in a forest. He goes to town and takes himself a wife. After nine months a little boy is born and his wife dies in the childbed. From that time on they are both inseparable. He nurtures the boy and teaches him how to hunt, how to set up a trap and how to skin a deer and a bear. After a couple of years they are heading for their cottage when suddenly they are attacked by a wounded bear and they both die. Today I am seeing both that man and that boy back, here in this room..." "I remember dad! I remember everything! That bear was attacking me, and you tried to rescue me with your knife..." I remembered too. Again I saw that enormous grizzly heading for my boy, and without thinking I jumped in between to rescue him with only a small knife in my hand. Everything came back into my memory, I could even smell that bear! I could feel his enormous claws rip my body everywhere, and after a few seconds everything went black... Slowly I came back into the room with a blank look in my eyes. Where am I? What happened? Is this how dying feels? Christian offered me the glass and I gulped the rest of the water. Little Harry sat on my lap with a look of concern in his eyes. "Feeling a little better now dad?" Without a word I took him in my arms and he melted into me. My boy! MY BOY! I really AM his father! My poor little baby, mangled by a bear and I couldn't rescue him... but now I have him back. So that's why he started to call me 'dad'... and that's why I had that strong feeling we belong to each other. My little soul mate. I promised I would protect him with my own life! And I would do it again... "Another thing you have to know," Christian continued after a while, "is that both of you had a very good friend, another lonely hunter and he was a wonderful person. He lived a couple of miles away but every time you had to go to town he took care of your little son. He was really devastated by your death and killed that bear with his own hands. But the bear wounded him severely and after a few months he died of blood poisoning. This morning I saw him back in the supermarket, and again he will be a very dear friend to both of you. There will be a time in the near future when you have to take him into your house and help him, like in the past he took your little boy into his house and helped you out. Any questions?" Any questions? A zillion of them! But no question would pop up into my mind. They all were hiding just below my consciousness. There just was too much information at once; I had to sort things out first... "How about my face?" little Harry suddenly asked, "that man Peter is fetching a mask for me to hide my scars and I am very glad with that, but when I am grown up I want to have at least a normal face when I have to go back to my own people..." "Your question will be answered within two days. Your spirit friend will guide you and help you where and whenever he can. So don't be afraid, everything will turn out for the best. Your friend has already contacted you and your father a few times and given both of you some ideas and directions, but you should never try to contact him on your own. That could be very dangerous. You always have to wait until he is contacting you. And that is not always possible, so you will have to be patient and wait until he eventually shows up. Now and then he will enter your dreams, or give you some thoughts, or you will think you hear a voice somewhere in your head. And most of the time you will think it's your own fantasy or you will be afraid you are making everything up yourself..." I went to the kitchen to fetch some more coffee while Christian had some small talk with Harry. We drank our coffee and after some time Christian decided to go home. We both accompanied him to the door and waved until he disappeared around the corner. We went back to the couch and started to talk. And we talked, and talked... we talked about our dreams, about what we remembered of our past lives, about our future, about our best friend John, about Harry's operations and his new mask, about him calling me dad, and about my little brother Joshie who came back on earth as Jack, until at last everything was talked over and over and we both had the feeling we were really totally empty. We went to bed in the middle of the night, deadly tired but never in our lives we had felt so good... That night little Harry and me laid down in our bed face to face, our faces less than one inch apart, our arms around each other, looking into each other's eyes, drowning in each other's love, rubbing our noses together, grinning at each other like crazy, sometimes kissing, sometimes tickling, sometimes just melting into each other's warmth. It felt like making love to each other... At last we both fell into a deep sleep, still with our arms around each other and our faces together on one pillow. It was a very deep and dreamless sleep for both of us, until in the morning the bright sun woke us up. "Time to make me some breakfast dad," little Harry yawned and he stretched himself out as far as he could reach, "yesterday I made it, so today it's your turn!" He turned around onto his back and grinned at me with a twinkle in his eyes and a broad smile on his face. "What time is it?" I grumbled, "I am too old for that! I need my rest! Couldn't you bring me breakfast in bed today?" Harry started to tickle me and I turned around and straddled him. Merciless I tickled him back until he surrendered. "Stop for I am wetting the bed!" "I will buy you some pampers." "You're crazy!" The bell rang and Harry wrestled himself from beneath me and hurried to the door. I heard him open the door and a female voice sounded. Tripping over his own legs Harry hurried back and dived for his clothes. "It's John's mother and she is crying..." I threw myself out of bed and dressed in a rush. Together we ran down the stairs to the hallway where Trudy patiently waited with tears in her eyes and sniffing into a handkerchief. "May I have a word with you please?" "Of course! Please come in! Harry, could you get a glass of water please?" Harry went into the kitchen and Trudy sat herself down onto a chair, still sobbing. "He left me, that son of a bitch. He wrote me a letter he wants a divorce and he will have the two youngest children. I don't know what to do... it's too much for me. I want to go to my mother for a couple of weeks..." She started to cry again and I tried to comfort her while Harry came back with a glass of water. He threw his small arms around her neck: "It's okay mum, just let it go. Don't bottle it up. In a few minutes you will feel better..." After a few minutes she pulled herself together and started to tell her story. Fourteen years ago she met a very nice and warmhearted man who lived on his own in a nice house in the village. They started to talk, drank some wine together and suddenly they found themselves into each others arms. After a few days she knew for sure she was pregnant. She was too ashamed to tell the nice man the truth and too bothered by what her parents and the neighbors would say, so she seduced a far friend, Eric, who also was on his own. A few days later she told him she was pregnant with his child and they married in a hurry. Eight months later John was born. After two years they got another boy, Mark, and after another year they got a girl, Marrie. And Eric never knew John wasn't his own child... until two days ago. They had a fight after I left the house, and in desperation she told Eric the truth: John even isn't Eric's descendant! Furious Eric left the house... Again she collapsed and started to sob. Crying loudly she screamed the truth, for the first time in fourteen years: "John is the child of Jack! But Jack never knew the truth, and now John's father is dead..." Very clear I could hear somewhere in my head: "But I DID know the truth, I only never told anybody..." After some time Trudy pulled herself together again. "I never told this to anybody else before and I want to keep it a secret for John until he is old enough to understand. Today I am going to live with my mother for at least the coming weeks, and I am taking the two youngest children with me... but John asked me to leave him here with you and Harry. Here he has his friend Thomas and he also is very fond of both of you. If I am imposing too much on you I am very sorry and then I have to take him with me, but I promised him to ask you first and I know I can trust you..." She kept silent and looked at me with some anxiety in her eyes. I looked at Harry and Harry looked at me and we both knew without words what the other was thinking. I nodded. 'Of course John can live with us! He will always be welcome into our house and we will even give him his own room here if he wishes. He can bring his own things with him and I will guard him as my own son!" "Thank you, that's a load off my mind!" Trudy answered with relief in her eyes, "I will send him to you as soon as I am home." Half an hour later three children entered the house with a load of boxes, bags, a camp bed, two skateboards and a couple of games. A very happy John hugged me nearly to death and went to his new own room, accompanied by a beaming Harry. Mark and Marrie left after a glass of cola and promised to write a postcard now and then. Trudy came by to say farewell, and all of the sudden I had two boys living in my house, just as Christian forecasted... ------- Chapter 9 will follow. The lag is gone... again I am overwhelmed by your emails. Thank all of you!!! Some excerpts: *WOW...I am an older man..I don't read a lot of the youth stories...I'm turned off by the never ending sex in most of them. However, after running across this neat story of love and compassion; I must tell you how much I am enjoying it. You are doing a marvelous job. Thanks for writing this for us. Love Is The Key. *Reading your story leaves me with a sadness for children who have to endure such conditions. I cant help but shed a tear or two for little harry, but also glad to see him stand up for himself. Please don't go down the route and spoil such a moving story with the sexual sordiness that we are used to in Nifty. *I just finished reading Chapter 7 and still think it is a fantastic story and well developed. I wrote you after Chapter 2 and do not know if you received it or not but I am still an avid fan. *I enjoyed the chapter and like the little mysteries you leave us with at the end of your chapters. *So many glowing words have been said about your story, that it would be repetitive of me to go on about it. The truth has been told to you. You are a gifted story teller, a person that shows the depth of his heart and love through his words. *This is just an amazing story, which to be totally honest with you has brought tears to my eyes! Please keep the good work coming! *I love the story! Also love the course that you are taking with it .. little Harry is going to be a very powerful force .. and I think you will find that this story is going to take on a life of its own! I expect many MANY chapters:-) *The more I read of this story the more I fall in love with Harry. For all that he has been through he is wise well beyond his years. In the short time he was been with Big Harry his self confidence has grown by leaps and bounds. I look foward to each new chapter to see how this young man will grow and how his and Big Harry's life will continue to be blessed. You have a truly great story here. *I read the first chapter on a lark, was immediately hooked and now await each new chapter with baited breath. Of all the stories I have read in the last 3 years only 4 or 5 have drawn me in the way Harry does. *I have to say that both chapters 6 and 7 were great. I LOVED them. I can't wait to read more and to see how things turn out. You have done an excellent job and I think that your story is very well writen and thought out. It is a great story please keep up the good work. Thank you again for all your encouraging words. The story will go on! 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.