Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 15:13:25 +0200 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little Harry-10 Chapter 10. Harold Janovski Romany, my little gypsy prince. At first I didn't know how I should answer. I heard a male voice, nearly in tears, speaking with a very strange accent, clearly not used to our language. Who was this man? And who was that small boy he was talking about? A certain Harold Janov... But... of course! That was my boy! Harold Romany... that had to be little Harry. What did they want with him? "Yes sir, that boy is here, he lives with me. And may I ask you who you are?" He told me his name, a strange sounding name, and I could hardly understand the rest. "Me... telephone boy, please? Boy with telephone? Yes? Boy here, speak me? Please?" He wanted to speak to little Harry? But why? Were they those gypsies that my lawyer was looking for? They found their little prince, my little Harry? "Oh... I am sorry sir. Yes sir, a moment please, I will ask him..." "Harry? I think our lawyer has found your people. I have a man on the phone who is asking for you, but he only speaks a very foreign language. Perhaps you could try to understand him?" Little Harry took the big receiver in his small hands with some hesitation, and listened. First his eyes grew big and his face colored a deep red, after a few seconds of listening his eyes started to beam, and suddenly he answered the phone with a couple of strange sounding words. Again he listened and answered, apparently searching for the right words. Then he looked at me, beaming, and with so much love in his eyes... "My people have found me dad. This man asks me to tell you he is grateful, and he wants to meet both of us as soon as possible." "Can you ask him where he's living?" Again little Harry searched for the right words, but the man seemed to understand him. They talked for a couple of seconds. "He is living with his... er... with my folks in Romania, somewhere in the mountains. And he will be here by airplane tomorrow in the morning to meet us. He is bringing a few people with him, and he will try to get an interpreter so you can follow our conversation." "You can tell him it's ok with me, but only if you really want to meet them..." "Of course I want to meet my folks!" he answered with a broad smile on his face, and again he started to speak into the receiver. They talked for a long time, and little Harry started to speak the foreign language more and more fluently. Obviously the first six years of his life returned, and I observed a subtle change in his manners. He stood more upright, with more pride in his gestures, and with something I could only describe as an aura of royalty. Eventually little Harry put the receiver back, leaned into me, and started to sob. I took him with me to the couch while John protectively draped his arm around him from the other side. For a couple of minutes we were just silent and comforted our emotional boy. Suddenly the telephone started to ring again, and I went back to the desk. "Hello?" I told the microphone, expecting to hear the Romanian voice. This time my lawyer called, announcing with a proud voice that he found little Harry's gypsy clan somewhere in Romania. He faxed them my phone number and all other information they needed, so one day they certainly would contact me. He nearly fell off his chair when I told him they already phoned me. "But... they didn't speak a word of our language, and I had to use an interpreter to be able to talk to them..." I told him about the conversation they had with little Harry, and about our meeting the next morning. He promised to be present, to have a look at the possible legal consequences, and to keep an eye on everything else concerning little Harold something Romany. What was his second name? Oh yeah, Janovski. I returned to the couch, and both boys melted into me. Little Harry stared into space. "I had a very strange feeling, dad. At first I had to look for the right words, but after a while everything returned. I could nearly smell the campfires and hear the music. I was their little prince, and everybody touched me, cuddled me, and played with me. All the children were naked when they were home, and all the men touched us everywhere. They often played with our weenies and laughed when we got a stiffy, and everything they did was quite normal. Every man played with every boy, and we all loved it. They didn't touch the girls however, because girls have a different character and they don't like that type of playing before they are old enough. "We had a gang of boys about my age and older, and we often went on an adventure trip in the woods, looking for small animals to eat, and following tracks. Sometimes we went into a town, but they were nearly always afraid of us and chased us away. But we really did nothing bad! I think they didn't like gypsies, because they were always calling us names and throwing things at us. "Often policemen raided our camp, searching for things we were supposed to have stolen, but they never found anything. Sometimes they took a lot of people away with them, but my people always quickly hid my parents and me. The last time they couldn't hide us fast enough and we had to flee by ourselves. We went to a small caravan and a car, hidden in the woods for just this purpose. We went to a foreign country, with the intention of going back when everything would be quiet again..." Little Harry kept on talking and talking and talking... he told us every slightest detail about what he remembered of the mountains, the caravans, his parents, all festivities where he was dressed in a gown with gold thread and a lot of jewels and sat next to his father; all the times when everybody was arrested and the camp was empty except for the children and a few elder women, their gang hiding in the woods where they had built some forts out of a few old caravans and a lot of used boards, how they were hungry and went to another town to beg for food but they were chased away by angry yelling people... He talked non-stop, until John picked him up and put him down at the computer to play an adventure game. That helped. The rest of the day they were busy puzzling how to avoid dangerous monsters and how to enter the next hidden cave. I phoned the clinic, and excused Harry and myself for having an urgent family affair that prevented us from showing up. We made a new appointment for little Harry and myself. I also phoned the airport to ask what time the flight from Romania would arrive, but they knew nothing about a flight from that direction landing within the next few days. Now I was puzzled. Did little Harry misunderstand the phone call? I asked him, but he was very sure: they would arrive the next morning by plane. I called my lawyer and he was puzzled too. He promised me to contact the interpreter, and ask him questions about the time of arrival and where they would disembark. Half an hour later the lawyer phoned me back. They were already on their way by a private charter flight, and would arrive the next morning about nine o'clock. They had even ordered a big limousine to transport everybody to our address, where they would arrive around ten o'clock. They were bringing their own interpreter with them, and had politely asked if I would allow them to take photographs in my house? They were also bringing with them all legal papers concerning little Harold and his parents. I could expect at least three noblemen, one interpreter, one photographer, one secretary, and of course my own lawyer, my two boys, and myself. The boys and I decided to rearrange the room for ten people, assisted by Davey who suddenly turned up. The boys told Davey everything about the newest developments, and he promised to help us the next day with the providing of drinks and catering. He beamed and enthusiastically embraced me. "Thanks dad, for letting me help you!" "You're welcome son." "I like that, you calling me 'son'!" I smiled and ruffled his hair. My third boy... how many boys would follow? We went to the supermarket and bought everything we thought we would need the next day for so many people. Davey and John cooked this time, while little Harry directed them and tasted everything like a real chief cook. Of course the food tasted delicious, and all three boys beamed at my compliments. "I want to be a cook when I am older," Davey announced, "and Harry and John could be my assistants." "In your dreams!" John answered with indignation, and he poked Davey in the ribs. "Perhaps I will hire both of you as my personal kitchen staff," little Harry announced with a smug face. Both boys attacked him until he surrendered. "That's not fair. You are both much older than me. Rape!" The boys cleaned the platters and the cutlery and put everything into place, while I brewed myself a cup of coffee and settled down on the couch in the living room. I heard some discussions from the kitchen, and after a while three boys entered the room and leaned into me. "Dad, Davey is helping us tomorrow, so wouldn't it be easier for him to spend the night here?" John asked me with his best puppy eyes. "Yes dad, I think John has a good idea!" little Harry added, with puppy eyes number two. I looked at Davey and saw puppy eyes number three, expectantly looking up at me. "Okay by me, but you have to ask your mother first..." Enthusiastically they went to the phone to get permission from Davey's mother. For some reason the boys went upstairs, and I went to the computer and typed in 'Romany'. The next hour or so I was busy gathering as much information as I could about a culture from the Balkan countries, consisting of about forty million people who were hunted and chased from the middle ages up to the present. They had a very elaborate culture and did not mix with 'gadjo' as they called foreigners. They always had only one leader, and when he died his natural son took over. The leader always mixed with his people, and you couldn't recognize him by his clothes or by other characteristics, except for his known royal heritage. They mostly lived from trading goods and manual labor. Nobody really knew them, as they were very self-contained and proud and concealed their culture from every gadjo. The boys came rumbling down the stairs and surrounded me. John hesitantly opened the conversation. "Dad, do you have some time for us? We want to talk to you..." We settled down on the couch, with little Harry on my lap, Davey and John on either side leaning into me. "Davey certainly wants to spend the night with us, but he is also afraid he will get another of his nightmares. His father used to abuse him nearly every night, and now and then he dreams that his father is back and wants to do those things again. I told him about Harry's nightmare last night, and Harry himself couldn't remember anything and was very surprised! I also told him our private secret, that we all are naturists and that we both sleep with you in your bed. He promised us to never tell those private things to anybody, including his best friend or his own mother. Now he wants to be a naturist too, and tonight he will try to sleep without any clothes on, just like us. "We think he ought to sleep with you in your bed tonight, so you can help him with his nightmares if necessary. And there's another thing. Davey never had a real dad. He only knew a man that always abused him. Perhaps tonight he might discover how a REAL dad acts. Harry and I will sleep together in Harry's room tonight, since of course we can sleep with you for the rest of our lives..." I tried to say something, but my throat choked up and wouldn't let me. I loved those boys so deeply and totally! I merely nodded. "Dad, are you sleeping in the nude too?" Davey suddenly asked me with a hint of fear. "Do you have a problem with that?" "Nah, but my father always approached me naked, mostly in the middle of the night. He always crept into my bed and started to undress me. I had to do things with him, and he did things with me. Until one night, when he tried to put his big thing in my behind. That caused me a lot of pain, and I started to bleed. I thought every father did those things with his own children, but I was always afraid of him..." Davey started to cry, and I took him onto my lap. I felt him stir for a moment but then he melted into me. Little Harry threw his arms around his friend's neck. "Let it go Davey, don't bottle it up. In a moment you will feel better..." Davey let it go, and after a while he did feel better. His eyes started to beam again and suddenly he kissed me on the lips. "Thank you dad for comforting me. Now I am no longer afraid, and I really do feel much better!" He washed his face in the kitchen, and after a while the boys started a game on the computer. Lazily I zapped the TV channels, looking for something interesting. The room felt peaceful and everything was in harmony. I started to think. Three noblemen... were they the subsidiary leaders as long as their king wasn't old enough to reign? One secretary... to annotate their decisions? They asked my permission to take some photos... so they did accept me as the guardian of little Harold. But of course I was a 'gadjo' to them... or was I? The boys got tired of the computer so we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow we should be bright and shining, to welcome little Harry's people in our house. We went upstairs, and John and Harry immediately started to undress. Davey looked around with some hesitancy and blushing... Obviously he wasn't used to undressing while an adult was looking. I decided to help him a bit to overcome his shyness. "I hope you are not going to run off naked again?" I teased him with a smile, starting to undress myself. He blushed fiercely and suddenly jumped up, trying to reach my neck with his arms as he had seen little Harry do so many times. Fortunately I could catch him before he fell, but my trousers were halfway to my knees, so we both tumbled backwards onto the floor. "Easy please, I am only an old man!" "You're only an old grandpa!" he teased me and tried to pin my arms to the floor. "Attack of the werewolves!" John shouted, only clad in his socks, as he tried to help Davey. "Attack of the creepy aliens!" little Harry shouted, already naked, and he jumped into the pile. Together they pinned me to the floor with triumph in their eyes. "We got your body, your heart, and your soul!" little Harry told me with a smile from ear to ear. "Yeah, you certainly can be sure of that!" "You're crazy!" After a while they let me go with a promise to get me back later. John and little Harry went to the shower, while a shy Davey and I continued to undress. I smiled at the now naked Davey and tenderly hugged him. For a moment I saw a hint of fear in his eyes, but the next moment he completely melted into my arms, looking up at me with a contented smile on his face. I kissed his nose, and he let himself go even further. I carried him to the shower, where little Harry had already adjusted the temperature. We started to lather up and wash everyone's body, as we were used to doing. After a while Davey joined us, still looking a bit shy. He was very ashamed of his first stiffy and tried to hide it, but little Harry detected him with a big smile and shouted: "Boner alert!", promptly getting his own stiffy. This time John won with triumph in his eyes and of course promptly getting his stiffy. Now boners came and went, but nobody paid them any attention. After carefully washing each other, everyone dried everybody everywhere, but when little Harry dried Davey in the butt crack I thought I saw Davey slightly wince. John and little Harry went to little Harry's bedroom, and I went to my bedroom, hesitantly followed by a shy-looking Davey. I slumped down onto the water bed, but Davey didn't follow me, looking uncomfortable and shuffling his feet. "Come on and join me! I promise I will not bite you, at least not tonight." "I'm not used to sleeping with somebody else..." "Would you rather sleep in John's room in his empty bed?" He shook his head and hesitantly entered the bed from the other side, leaving a huge distance between us. I decided to let him have his own space, turned around and closed my eyes. Two minutes later I felt Davey's body press against my back with a deep and contented sigh. "Dad? May I ask you a question please?" "Of course son, you may always ask me anything. What's the trouble?" "I like that, you calling me 'son'! But my butt is starting to itch... Please will you have a look?" I turned around and switched the light on. Davey threw the blankets aside and lifted his butt onto a pillow with both legs pulled up. Obviously he had done this many times before. He pulled his cheeks apart, and for the first time in my life I saw a boy's pucker. Involuntary I held my breath and shuddered. What a mess! I saw two inflamed red scars with at least six stitches. I couldn't help it, I cursed. Was that a FATHER, who had done this to his own child? That poor boy, marked for the rest of his life... "I know Dad. I was too small for his big penis, so he tried to tear me open with his fingers in frustration. I tried to scream, but he held his hand over my mouth and smacked me in the face. Everything went black, until the next morning when there was blood everywhere on the sheets. He put some cotton wool in my butt, and warned me not to say a word to my mother. But the next day she saw all that blood on the sheets and took me to the hospital..." I took him into my arms and wept. What devils there are in this world! Soon he wept with me, with his head on my shoulder. Suddenly I heard him softly sob, "Daddy, daddy, my daddy, I love you..." and again he completely melted into me. After a while our sobbing lessened and he carefully repositioned himself on the pillow. "Do you have some baby-oil or perhaps baby-powder, to put onto my scars?" "I only have a small bottle of massage-oil. Will that do?" "I don't know, but we can try. You could always wash it off if it doesn't help." I got the bottle of oil and carefully applied a few drops to the scars and to the stitches. "Thank you dad, that feels a lot better! Now I am sleepy..." I switched the light off and draped the blankets over us. Davey nestled himself into my arms and was gone with a deep and contented sigh. I couldn't sleep for a long time. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that beast, tearing his own son open in frustration because his pucker was too small... Quietly the door opened and a small figure neared the bed. He tried to crawl in, felt Davey, walked around, and crawled onto my stomach with his nose in my left armpit and his arms around my shoulders. Little Harry contentedly sighed and fell asleep. Quietly the door opened again. Another small figure tried to crawl into the bed, felt Davey, walked around, and draped himself against my other side with a contented sigh. I LOVE my boys, I love all three of them. "Wakey wakey, rise and shine..." a joyful voice sounded into my left ear. Slowly I opened my eyes. Still blinking I stared into three pairs of eyes, belonging to three boys fighting for the best place on my belly. Of course my poor belly wasn't big enough for all of them, so little Harry was squeezed in the middle while John and Davey both clamped my arms trying not to fall off. "What do you have for breakfast?" "I thought you would bring me breakfast in bed today?" "Who told you that?" "Again a disappointment..." "Come on boys!" John commanded. "Let's go downstairs." They left the bed and descended the stairs, leaving me alone in my bed. I drifted off again, smiling and totally in love with my boys. I woke up to a delicious aroma caressing my nostrils. Three boys with beaming faces entered the bedroom, carrying a tray full of platters, a pile of toast, a saucepan with something hot that looked like scrambled eggs, three glasses of milk, and a cup of fresh coffee. They climbed onto the waterbed. "Look out, you are moving too much!" John warned, trying to keep the tray horizontal. Some of the milk spilled, but who cares? We all took a platter and some silverware, and smeared a slice of buttered toast with what I assumed was another creation of little Harry's cooking. I couldn't determine what it was, but it tasted wonderful, slightly outlandish, with a hint of onions and something indefinable but really delicious. Eating pigs don't oink, and so we all sat in silence, enjoying the tasty meal. Soon all of the toast was gone, the saucepan was empty, and we all licked our fingers. The boys sipped their milk while I sipped my coffee. "I didn't know you could brew real coffee, it tastes even better than when I make it myself!" Little Harry beamed and smiled from ear to ear. The alarm clock went off, reminding us of the forthcoming visits around ten o'clock. John pushed the knob to silence the sound. We dressed and went downstairs, John helpfully carrying the remains of our meal. Davey helped John do the dishes, while little Harry carefully attached his mask to his face with a little help from me. The boys assisted me in the living room, by putting all chairs into a circle. Now we all sat down in anticipation of the upcoming visit. I was a little nervous. Would they try to take little Harry 'home' with them to their country? And how would little Harry react? Would he go with them, or would he refuse and stay with me? But they were five to one... At a quarter to ten a big van arrived and parked along the driveway. A second later, another car parked behind the van, and our lawyer appeared in a hurry. The van opened and three men and two women descended one by one, dressed in foreign clothes with strange colors. One of the men spoke a few words to our lawyer, and they all followed him to our house. Little Harry and John both hurried to the door, and soon we heard soft voices speaking in a foreign language. John entered the living room, followed by our lawyer, three men, a young woman, and an elderly woman carrying a sobbing little Harry who had put his arms around her neck. She whispered a few words into his ear and he nodded slightly, trying to dry his eyes with a sleeve of his shirt. "Welcome to our home!" I greeted them, "Please sit down. May I offer you something to drink?" One of the men turned around and translated my words into a foreign language. One by one all men approached me and bowed, told me their name, shook my hand, and took a chair. The young woman refused my hand but directly stared into my eyes, making me shiver with the intensity of her stare. She nodded knowingly and took the next chair. The elderly woman approached me, put little Harry down and warmly embraced me, telling me a couple of words I couldn't understand. I looked at little Harry... "That's my grandma dad, I immediately recognized her. She is sort of a queen, the mother of my father. She told you she's giving you her blessings, and she thanks you for helping me to grow up. That man over there is my uncle, he's a younger brother of my mother." He turned around, asked them a few questions, and turned back to me. "The man over there is a photographer, and he wants to take a couple of pictures to show to our people back in Romania. The other man is a translator, and he's helping us to understand each other. The other woman is... what's the right word? She is kind of a wise woman, a fortune teller, and she can see into your soul who you really are. She also can talk with our ancestors, and sometimes she's giving advice to our people." The interpreter translated little Harry's words in a soft voice and they all nodded. John and Davey entered the room with a tray full of cups, a pot of coffee, a pot of tea and a cookie jar. Soon everybody was silently drinking tea and eating cookies. Now and then one of them looked at their little prince, and I could feel their respect and love. Little Harry had placed himself on my lap and possessively leaned into me. I could feel his heart beating a little bit faster. Obviously he was just as tense as I was. What would happen to him? What did they expect from him? He placed his hands firmly on mine, thus preventing my arms around him opening up and letting him go... Harry's uncle started to speak first, translated by the interpreter. He told us that about two years ago a whole detachment of policemen raided their camp, looking for their leader, accusing them of robbing and stealing, as usual. They distracted the police by offering them a fake leader, while their real leader headed for the hidden caravan, already attached to a car in the woods. He silently escaped, with the intention of returning after a few months when everything should have calmed down. After a few months their wise woman sorrowfully told them she had contacted the spirits of their leader and his wife, who had both departed life, but she couldn't contact their little son, their six-year-old heir to the throne, Harold Janovski Romany. She was absolutely sure he was alive, but she didn't know where he was... They couldn't crown another leader as long as their heir to the throne lived, so they had to wait... Until yesterday, when out of the blue, a foreign lawyer faxed them and asked them questions about a certain little gypsy boy called Harold Romany. Harry's uncle immediately phoned us and had a conversation with the boy to be sure he was their little prince. Then they took off to our country with the first private aircraft they could charter... Suddenly the wise woman turned to me. I felt her eyes piercing through my soul. After a moment she started to speak, again translated by the interpreter. "We all greet you, our beloved leader, and we offer you our sincere loyalty." Huh? What did that interpreter try to tell me? Me, their beloved leader? This had to be a mistake... I clearly misunderstood him. I asked the interpreter for clarification. He translated my words to the wise woman, but she shook her head and started to speak again. "Once you were our beloved leader, a long time ago. In that life you had two sons and three daughters. Your eldest son became our new leader after some gadjo murdered you. When your eldest son died, his eldest son became our new leader; and he was the father of our little prince Harold. You are one of us, the great grandfather of our heir to the throne Harold Janovski Romany, and we all greet you and offer you our sincere loyalty." They all rose from their chairs, made a deep bow, and confirmed their loyalty to me, once their beloved king... I was totally speechless. How... What... But that was impossible! I didn't remember anything about being a king. They were making a tremendous mistake! I was nothing but a retired therapist who had saved some money, and certainly not their gypsy leader... "I'm sorry, but I think you are making a big mistake. I am not one of you, and I certainly am not your leader!" The wise woman beckoned me to her chair, and deep in my heart I knew what I was supposed to do now. Don't ask me how, I just knew... Little Harry left my lap without saying a word, and climbed onto John's lap. I went to the woman, sank to my knees, and bowed my head. The wise woman put one hand between my eyes and the other hand at the back of my head, and started to hum. At first nothing happened, but slowly I started to feel totally calm and at ease. I remembered I had done this many times before, and I had also done it several times to other people, to help them remember their past lives. The humming intensified, and everything became a blur. I left my mind, and my consciousness traveled back, along my timeline towards my youth. My brother Joshie passed by, I landed in the womb of my mother, and suddenly I felt totally free. I went further back, until a big grizzly bear killed me and I recognized my past life; with my son, who is now little Harry, and our best friend, who is now John. Again I landed in a womb and felt free. A nasty looking man with a big stick in his hand murdered me, but I traveled further back along my timeline, until all of a sudden I stopped, sitting in the middle of a big crowd around a campfire. I was that man, their uncrowned king, sitting amidst my people; but at the same time I looked at myself from a distance. I saw a huge man, with a small boy on his lap of about seven or eight years old. Another boy of around ten years old leaned against his back, smiling proudly. A few children played around the man and his wife. All children were totally naked. Suddenly I held my breath... Joshie? That small boy on my lap was my little brother Joshie! Joshie, who in a next life returned to earth as Jack and now was John's father, once was my youngest son... And I recognized that small girl over there, one of my daughters. There was Mary, Davey's mother in this life! How on earth... Another small boy climbed my lap, next to my youngest son, now both fighting for the best place. JOHN? How was that possible... in my gypsy life Jack and John were soul mates! Inseparable, always together; and now in this life they are father and son! How on earth... I looked at my eldest gypsy boy, and a name entered my mind: 'Nicky'. Who's Nicky? I didn't have the slightest idea... The humming changed, and I traveled further back along my timeline, until I was a small boy myself. I was their heir to the throne, and I had a soul mate. We were always together and inseparable. LITTLE HARRY! My little gypsy boy from now, was once my best friend! And now, in this life, it's his time to be their heir to the throne... My best gypsy friend had a brother, who often played with us and always helped us. DAVEY. Little Harry and Davey once were brothers... And when Davey grew up, he got a son too, who became the soul mate of my youngest son... The humming faded away and slowly everything went black. Trembling all over, I returned to the room, still kneeling, my head slumped down on the floor. This was too much at once! One moment my life is easy and everything is simple, the next moment I remember I once was a gypsy leader and I recognized all my friends, my little brother, and my spirit guide... I need a break! I rushed to the toilet, and after relieving myself I put my head under the cold water tap in the kitchen. That helped, after a moment I felt much better, and I went back to the room. Little Harry was talking with his grandma and his uncle, now and then translating things to John and Davey. They both looked very surprised. Again little Harry's grandma asked the wise woman a couple of questions, and little Harry translated everything to his friends. "Davey and I once were brothers, and we were always playing with our little prince, that was dad when he was younger. When we grew up Davey got a son, that's John now; and his son always played with the son of our leader, that was Jack; and Jack also was dad's little brother Joshie in this life. In this life Jack also is the father of John, so in a way we all are related to each other. Davey's mother once was dad's daughter, so dad also was Davey's uncle. Dad's eldest son will also join us when the time is right, and his name sounds like Mickey." John and Davey both stared at little Harry, totally bewildered and with their mouths wide open. After a while John started to think aloud. "I understand a few hundred years ago dad was a gypsy prince, just like you are now. He had a soul mate, that was you. You had an elder brother, that's Davey. After all of you grew up, dad got two sons. His eldest son became the new leader, and his name sounds like 'Mickey'. His youngest son was Jack. Davey also got a son, that's me. Jack and I always played together, and in this life Jack is my real dad... WOW! We really are all related to each other!" Little Harry got a frown on his face: "I think that's the meaning of the term 'soul mate'... when you meet someone, in your soul you already know you once were mates..." The interpreter translated everything in a soft voice, and the wise woman nodded. She looked at little Harry. "What's with your face? I can see something artificial? What happened to your face?" Little Harry started to tell, in his own language, while the interpreter translated everything. He told her about the caravan being on fire, about Jack paying the hospital for him and comforting him, about his living with John but in reality living in Jack's house, about everybody calling him a freak and an alien. With tears in his eyes he told her about a stranger suddenly living in Jack's house, and how he first was afraid and freaked out, but now he calls the stranger 'dad' and 'dad' is buying everything for him, his clothes, his new desk, and his new mask to hide his scars. He also told her about Christian, and what he told us. He told her about the appointment with the transplantation clinic, and that he hoped to get his real face back. "Dad, will you help me to peel my mask off my face, so that they all can see my scars?" I helped him to peel the mask off, and without any shame he turned around and let them look at his distorted face. "This is the real me. I am your freaky alien gypsy prince Harold..." Mouths opened and closed. None of them had expected this, and they all needed some time to get used to the sight. After a while we started to talk to each other for a long time. They told me they didn't have much money, and they were glad I took their little prince under my wings and was willing to pay for his skin grafts and for his education. My lawyer had faxed them all data, and they had already put their heads together to decide what was the best thing to do. They decided to grant me full custody over their little prince, until he was old enough to decide for himself. They had brought all the papers regarding their little prince with them, allowing me to adopt him as my own son. With a loving smile, little Harry's grandmother handed me a bundle of papers. I thanked her and handed the bundle to my lawyer to have a look at them. My lawyer glanced at the papers, and his eyes grew big. "They already translated everything into our language, and really everything needed is here, even the correct Romanian seals from the embassy. Harold Janovski Romany IS in your custody since yesterday, and he remains under your guardianship as your son until his eighteenth birthday!" "Yippee!" little Harry shouted at the top of his lungs and threw himself at me. "Now nobody ever can take me away from you dad! You and me will always be together. I am so happy!" He started to sob and to laugh at the same time and grinned like crazy. He kissed me everywhere he could reach me, and soon my whole face was wet with his and my tears of joy. From now on he really and totally legally was MY boy... Soon John and Davey claimed their share of the joy. For a long time we held each other, with eight arms around one another, long arms and short arms, and everyone's eyes were wet. After a while little Harry thanked all the visitors one by one. Most of them had tears in their eyes, and I could feel them radiate lots of love and compassion to their little prince who was so happy now. He embraced his grandma, and she took him onto her lap. They softly talked into each other's ears, and little Harry started to beam. "Dad, we are all invited to visit our people in Romania after my operations! They will perform a ceremony to adopt us as Romany gypsies, and after that you will be their honorary King until I am old enough to take the leadership onto my own shoulders. John and Davey both will be honorary gypsy noblemen for the rest of their lives, and they will have their own caravan in our clan. When they are old enough they could even take a gypsy wife if they want, and their children also will be gypsies for the rest of their lives." We ordered pizzas, and our visitors really liked them. After the pizzas were eaten, the photographer started to take a lot of pictures of all of us, alone and together. Little Harry had to put on his mask with a little help, and he took the next series of pictures. We went into the back yard, where a proud little Harry showed off his herb garden, surrounded by white cobblestones. Everything was photographed, even little Harry peeking through the bushes in the corner, like that first time I saw him... After a while we all said our farewells, with promises to fly to Romania as soon as possible, and to keep in touch by phone and fax. Everyone embraced everybody, even our lawyer who acted a little bit shy, and they all headed for the big van that arrived exactly on time. A minute later they all were gone, and suddenly everything was dead silent. Still under the spell of the events, we went back to the house to clean up the leftovers. Harry AnderS, alternative writer. Thank you for reading my stories and thanks to Nifty for hosting them. The rewritten story is available on http://www.harryanders.com Please join our own forum on http://forum.harryanders.com Please send your remarks to harry@harryanders.com Help me to improve this story and visit my homepage. I could use more proofreaders...