Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 10:32:04 +0200 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little Harry-11 Chapter 11. The zoo, where little Harry got lost and found. The boys put the chairs back into the hallway closet, and I stored all the legal papers safely away. We rearranged the furniture and slumped down on the couch, tired but feeling happy. After a while we started to talk about all the strange events that had happened. The wise woman who seemed to look directly into your soul, all those memories about our past lives, the fact we all seemed to berelated to each other, the fact we were together again in this life. And who was that Mickey? And why didn't we remember all those things before? "I have thought a lot about memories dad," little Harry told me with a frown on his face. "A few years ago I was wondering why I couldn't remember the first years of my life. Sometimes I could FEEL things that happened in the past and I still reacted to them, but I couldn't remember them. After a while I supposed everybody has two sorts of memories. There are the memories that are used by your brain. They can easily fade away, and of course they disappear when you die. In your next life on earth you get a new body with a new brain, without any memories about the past, and that's why we can't remember our past lives through our brain-memory. "There's another memory, that has to be in your feelings. And I think that's the memory you take with you from your past lives to your next life. It's the memory you use when you are not in a body, like Jack. Through that memory you remember things you can't possibly know, and through that memory you also could remember things from your past lives. What do you think about that dad, am I right?" John and Davey both gawked at Harry, and I was totally thunderstruck. Could that little boy think! I had never thought about those things, but everything Harry put forward sounded so logical! Indeed, the times when I thought I could remember things from my past lives, were the times I didn't think but just sensed my feelings, and my brain translated them into pictures. Wow, little Harry really had a point! "I think you are right son, your memories could really work like you explained. You are one really deep thinker!" Harry beamed and threw his arms around my neck. John looked away, deep in thought; and Davey looked at Harry with admiration in his eyes. "I still can't comprehend that once you and I were brothers..." At nine o'clock Davey had to go home, and we all went with him. Mary opened the door and invited us in. The boys started to relay their adventures of the day, and now and then Mary asked them some questions. Gradually she understood that little Harry was a gypsy prince, and his gypsy grandma invited them all to Romania to visit her. "Well, I'm not sure... That's rather far away isn't it? Is it really safe to travel to such a foreign country, where those gypsies are living? Davey has never been far from home before, and what happens when he gets homesick again?" "Awwww, mom... that was years ago in a camp, and it rained all the time! Now I'm a lot older, and of course I'm with my friends and my new dad." "I will give it some thought, but I don't promise you anything..." We went back home, where John and little Harry started a game on the computer. I went to the couch and thought back about everything that had happened. I felt rather empty after all the emotions and events of the day, especially after those remembrances of my past lives. Was everything I experienced really genuine, or did I make those things up in my brain? Was I really a former gypsy leader? I still couldn't really believe it, despite my memories and all the experiences. Suddenly I heard Jack somewhere in my head. "I told you, in the end there will be victory and you will be ROYALLY rewarded. Why do you doubt my words? Your remembrances are genuine, and your son is right about those two different kinds of memories. Don't doubt so much..." His voice faded away and again I started to think. Perhaps I fantasized that voice in my head by myself? I was such a skeptic... After a while we went to bed, dead tired from all the emotions of the day. We showered together, and both boys slept close to me in our waterbed, as usual. We all slept peacefully and uneventfully, until the next morning when the sun peeked through the curtains and woke us up. John yawned, but little Harry seemed to be bright and shining. "Dad? I never went to the zoo before, and perhaps today is a beautiful day to visit our ancestors, the apes..." "You better look out, for perhaps they will make a mistake today and keep YOU in a cage instead of an ape." "You're crazy. You better look out for yourself! But can we? I mean, may we go today?" "What do you think John, shall we take the risk?" In unison we decided to go to the zoo. We first dressed and had breakfast. After cleaning the plates, little Harry and John went to Davey's house. They returned with a delighted Davey, throwing his arms around my neck and nearly suffocating me. "Thank you dad for taking me with you, you are the best dad in the whole world!" I tickled his ribs to free myself, and he squealed with joy. Two seconds later I was floored 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!" They immediately pulled me upright and promised to be good boys for the rest of the day. Little Harry and John made a lot of sandwiches to eat in the zoo, while Davey and I robbed the fridge and put a pile of lemonade cans into a duffel bag. I helped little Harry with his mask, and we all rushed to the car to enjoy our day off. John took the front seat, while little Harry and Davey were both in the back, giggling and pushing each other. John searched the radio for a cheerful song, and soon we were all singing along with the music, clapping our hands and stamping our feet. After a while the boys became bored, until Davey started to tell a joke. The rest of the drive was filled with all sorts of jokes and laughter. We parked the car in the parking lot, and I bought four tickets, with little Harry pulling my hand and John and Davey impatiently waiting at the entrance. The gatekeeper tore the corners off our tickets, and at last we were in! I was visiting that particular zoo for the first time, and it turned out to be HUGE. Everywhere were animals in buildings, walking around free, behind fences, in swimming pools, or in big cages. A smiling man with a camera neared us. "Want a picture of you and your boys? Say cheese please..." He took a few pictures and told us that in a few hours they would be pinned on a big board at the entrance. Impatiently the boys dragged me off to the first building, which to their delight turned out to be the ape house. Soon the boys and I were entranced by the gorillas who looked back at us with bored faces. "Are we really looking at them, or are they looking at us?" Davey asked, grinning and making stupid faces. "Of course they are looking at us, but dad paid them to do that!" John answered and poked Davey in the ribs. "Perhaps they will even recognize you, the resemblance is striking..." little Harry teased Davey. Davey poked at little Harry, but little 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, while holding a writhing little Harry. "Be careful with our youngster, he is still a baby..." "You're crazy!" and off little Harry went, again chased by a grinning Davey. "Look here!" John suddenly shouted, and we all went to the next cage. A mother ape and her small child were sitting together on the ground, and both of them were UGLY, at least to our standards. "That's big Harry and little 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 back for that!" Suddenly Davey roared with laughter and pointed to a big cage with several apes. "Look at that! Did you ever see such beautiful buttocks before?" The female apes all had bright violet and pink colored behinds, protruding and really ugly. The boys roared with laughter and slapped their knees, but after a while little Harry went silent. "How come their butts look like that dad? Are they ill?" I explained this is the way nature makes the female apes more attractive to the males. Little Harry shuddered. "If MY girl ever makes herself attractive like that, I will force her to wear a mask around her behind!" John and Davey nearly suffocated in laughter. We passed through a double door and entered the reptile house. "Look, there's the Harry Potter snake!" Davey pointed at a big anaconda. The boys tried to wake the snake up by pounding the glass, but in vain. "You will have to talk to her in snake language!" Davey grinned. They looked at the snake for a few more seconds and went to the next cage with some smaller snakes in it. Little Harry went to the next door. "Look here! They have a real alligator!" We all went through the door and were amazed by a big crocodile, lazily outstretched on the grass under a bright lamp. A second crocodile swam around in the water, with his mouth slightly opened. "Wow, what big teeth! And look at those mean eyes! Did you know they even eat elephants?" 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 the different animals, visited small buildings with all kinds of fishes, bats, rodents, and insects. We looked at the seals, the sea lions, the bears, the elephants, and the zebra's. Suddenly the boys found the playground, and they left me on my own. I took a seat 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'm starved." I opened the duffel bag, and all of a sudden they were all there, like magic. I distributed the sandwiches and the lemonade. The boys sat down for a mere thirty seconds, chewing and drinking. Still chewing they went off again, leaving me on my own... I sipped my coffee and nibbled at the remaining sandwich, filled with tomato slices and cheese. Now and then one of the boys reappeared and took a fast sip of his lemonade before disappearing again. Once Davey hugged me, beaming. "Thanks dad, it's really marvelous here! I'm so glad I was allowed to join you!" Off he went, somewhere to the labyrinth, where little Harry beckoned him, while John waited for them in the background. They all 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 a 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 in the distance. I followed them, a bit stiff and not too worried. What could have happened to little Harry, here in the relative safety of the zoo? We went to the labyrinth, and the boys dived under a bar. I followed them, complaining and nearly on my knees. They seemed to know the way, and dragged me to the exit on the other side of the small labyrinth. Again they couldn't find little Harry, and now I started to be a bit worried. Where could he be? Had something happened to him? Was he astray somewhere? "Do you know where the children's toilets are?" They took me with them, and I probed all toilet doors hoping to find little Harry there. I called his 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 his door to have a look at all that noise. But we found no trace of our little gypsy prince. Where could he be? "Do you remember the last time one of you saw little Harry? Where was he and what was he doing?" "Harry and Davey were hiding at the back of the labyrinth, and I was looking for them. I tagged Davey, but I couldn't find Harry. After a while Davey helped me to look for Harry, but he seemed to have totally vanished. We looked everywhere, and after a while we went back 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 at our table in the playground to wait there for little Harry, hoping he would return after a while. They promised to stay where they were until I came back or until little Harry showed up. I started to walk in 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 started to feel really uneasy. Where was that damned entrance? Suddenly I saw the small tower of the ape house, somewhere in the far distance. Relieved I started to walk towards the tower, hoping the zoo's office should be there too. Finally I detected small pickets on every corner, with bright yellow arrows, pointing to the entrance, the snack bar, the playground, and the office. I felt really stupid... I followed the yellow arrows pointing to the office, and soon was greeted by a young lady behind a ticket window. "Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?" "My little boy suddenly disappeared. I'm here with my three boys, and they were playing in the playground. After a while we missed our youngest boy, eight-year-old little Harry. We looked for him everywhere, even in the toilets, but so far in vain. Now the two other boys are waiting in the playground, hoping he will show up..." "Could you describe your little boy for me please?" I described little Harry, a slender boy with brownish hair, deep blue eyes, slightly stuffed cheeks, and a cheerful pug nose, dressed in a blue sweater and long denim pants. I also told her he was severely burnt in his face, and therefore wore a plastic mask to hide the scars. She took a mobile phone and called a few security people to look out for him. "That's all I can do for now sir, every security guard will look out for him from now on. Go back to your other boys in the playground and wait there until he shows up. From time to time one of our security people will contact you. Don't be too worried, it happens all the time, and eventually they all show up sooner or later." I followed the yellow arrows, and soon I was back in the playground, where a sad looking John greeted me. He and Davey were taking turns looking in different directions, and after a while they changed places. Clever boys! I complimented John and assured him that now the security guards were looking for little Harry everywhere. He nodded and leaned against me, obviously looking for strength. Davey turned up, looking disappointedly with tears in his eyes. "Again l looked everywhere, even in places we never went before, but he seems to have vanished..." He leaned against my other side and started to sob. A tall man, wearing an uniform with 'security' on it, showed up and looked around the playground. After a while he neared us. "You are the father of the little lost boy?" he asked me, with a concerned voice. "Please will you tell me everything I should know about him, even the slightest details?" John told him everything, filled in by Davey. They were playing hide and seek, and it was John's turn. Within two minutes he found Davey, hiding behind a big tree, but he couldn't find little Harry. After a while they both started to look everywhere, until they became too worried and asked me for help. The security guard took his mobile phone and relayed the new information to a few others. "Don't worry. I think he went too far away while seeking for a nice place to hide, and couldn't find the way back. All security officers are looking for him now, and they will call me as soon as they have found him. I will be somewhere in the neighborhood, looking for him too, and now and then I will show up." I never felt the urgency to buy one of those mobile phones myself. Why should I? I was always home, where I had my telephone and my answering machine. But now I cursed myself for being so short-sighted. I decided to buy a couple of those things, first thing in the morning. One for myself, and one for each of my boys, to carry with them all the time! That way they never could get lost again without the possibility of contacting me. Now I really could feel the full weight of responsibility on my shoulders. It was crushing me! John and Davey went searching for little Harry again. They promised me to return every few minutes, and of course not get lost themselves! I pointed them to the yellow direction arrows, but of course they had already seen them a century ago. Never underestimate youth! I closed my eyes and tried to be little Harry, hiding myself from the tracing eyes of John. Davey hid himself behind a big tree, but where should I go this time? In my fantasy I walked away from the playground, until I saw a small barn with an open door. Curiously I entered the barn, and suddenly the door shut. Everything went dark, and I was trapped! A wave of panic overwhelmed me, and shuddering I opened my eyes. What a strange daydream... had this happened to little Harry? Of course the security guards would have looked into all barns and behind all closed doors by now. There was no way they shouldn't have found him... I couldn't get rid of the panic, and I saw the worrisome face of little Harry wavering in front of me, looking at me with fear in his eyes. Where was he? I thought of Jack. Where was Jack, now we really needed him? I tried to call him in my mind, but he didn't answer. He promised us to be our guardian angel, but where was he now? Or was he with little Harry now? Or was everything a fake, perhaps wishful thinking? Time went by, and slowly the sun disappeared below the horizon. John and Davey were dead tired from searching everywhere and all the emotions, and the security people couldn't find a trace of little Harry. At last they told us they were sure our little boy wasn't in the zoo any more. From now on we had to contact the police for further investigation, as the zoo closed within half an hour. They promised to ask night security to keep an eye open, in case Harry showed up during the night. Again they wrote our telephone number down. We were devastated. Slowly we walked through the entrance, looking behind, hoping to see little Harry run towards us with a big smile on his face: "Gotcha!" We went to the car, hoping to see little Harry's face waiting for us behind the windows, but he wasn't there. We entered our car with a feeling of desperation. Where was our little gypsy prince? What had happened? I started the car, looked behind one last time, and we drove to the police station, which fortunately wasn't far away. The police officers looked bored, obviously we weren't the only ones who had lost something. I got my second cup of coffee that day, and both boys got a glass of cola. We told the officers our story and answered several annoying questions. Was this the first time little Harry had disappeared? Could 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 little Harry would disappear without leaving a trace? Could someone else have taken him somewhere? Did we know of any person little Harry had contacted during the last days, or perhaps through the Internet? The officers wrote our answers down, and promised us to do everything they could to find the little boy. We had to sign all papers, and they wrote our telephone number down, promising to call us as soon as they knew more about the lost boy. They advised us to go home and wait there. They opened the door, we shook hands, and again we were outside. What now? We went to the car and I started the motor. In silence we drove off, John and Davey softly sobbing on the backseat, me behind the steering wheel with tears in my eyes. Where was my little soul mate? For heaven's sake, what had happened to my boy? "Jack, JACK, where are you..." On our way home we bought some fish and chips, but after a few bites we threw them away. How could we be hungry whilst perhaps our little friend was in despair? After an hour we entered our village. First we took Davey home, promising him we would 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, promising to pay her a visit as soon as little Harry was with us again. I parked the car in the driveway, and we went straight to the answering machine in the living room. Nobody had called us. I even checked the phone to be sure everything worked... 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 frightened? And what if his mask started to itch after a few hours? Would he still wear it? We both drifted off... "DAD! I am sure Harry is alive! Suddenly I felt him, and he is sleeping now. He is in a dark place and the door is closed, but I can't see where the place is or who brought him there. He cried a lot and now he is dead tired. But he is okay." "How do you know? Did Jack tell you something?" "No, I don't feel Jack around, but I tried to look for Harry in my mind. All of a sudden I felt him..." "Are you really sure, or do 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 us to protect little Harry..." Suddenly I heard Jack's voice in my head, loud and clear: "Don't worry and go to bed. You will need some sleep!" "Did you hear that dad? Jack tells us not to worry and to go to bed for we need some sleep!" To say I was totally flabbergasted isn't strong enough... even John could hear him? We showered and went to bed. John draped himself all over me, with his head on my shoulder. We were dead tired and fell asleep almost immediately. "DAD! Wake up! The telephone is ringing! Come on! Hurry up!" John forcefully shook me and nearly dragged me out of bed. Sleep charged, I looked around. "What time is it?" "Nearly four o'clock, but the telephone is ringing! Come on, hurry!" I staggered downstairs, nearly falling, and hurried to the ringing phone in the living room. "Hello?" I told the receiver in a sleepy voice. "DADDY! I am so sorry! Are you mad at me? I climbed a fence and went into a barn, and suddenly the door shut down, and I couldn't open it because it was locked, and I started to pound the door but nobody heard me, and I screamed and yelled, and it was so dark, and everything was so creepy, and I was so terribly afraid..." Little Harry nearly suffocated, stumbling over his own words. He started to cry, and a man took over. He told me he was the night guard at the zoo. Ten minutes ago he suddenly heard somebody desperately pounding a door, somewhere in the darkness. After a lot of searching he found a hidden barn behind a fence, with a crying person who had locked himself in. He had to collect the key from the office, so he first reassured the crying person he would be back within a minute. When he eventually freed little Harry, he was shocked by the look of a totally devastated face. But the little fellow assured him his face was burnt two years ago, and there was no need to call an ambulance. Now both of them were waiting in the zoo's office, and please could I come over and collect my son? "I'm on my way! Please wait for me, and don't go anywhere!" John and I embraced each other and together we danced around the room. Still grinning we hurried upstairs, dressed and went to the car. Two seconds later I hurried to the backdoor, to enter our house with the hidden key, as I totally forgot to take my own keys with me and couldn't start the car... John fell asleep in his seat next to me, and I could hardly keep my eyes open. The streets were deserted, and everything looked spooky, with only now and then the bright headlights from an approaching car. I searched the radio for some music to stay awake. Suddenly our song was there: "You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..." I grinned and silently thanked Jack. I could feel him around, grinning too, and his voice sounded somewhere in my head. "Keep your eyes on the road! I couldn't help you, as you all needed this experience. Your son had to overcome his fears, to be a better king in the future. You had to be aware of your responsibilities, to be able to safely guide him through his boyhood. My son had to wake up, to be more aware of his capabilities as a leader. The other boy had to be welcomed into your company, to feel more safe in his life. Now go get your little gypsy, and tomorrow the clinic will help him to get new skin on his scars. God bless you all..." I parked the car in the darkness of a desolate zoo parking lot. John woke up and yawned a few times. Together we went to the closed entrance, but what now? The door was shut, and all lights were off... Fortunately John had better eyes than me, as he detected a bell in the darkness and pressed it a few times. In the distance we heard the sound of a buzzer. After a few minutes the guard appeared, followed by a very timid-looking little Harry. The guard opened the entrance and let us in. He guided us to his small office, where we were welcomed by the smell of fresh coffee. Little Harry got a second cup of hot chocolate milk, and John asked for hot milk without the chocolate. We all looked at each other... suddenly little Harry threw himself onto me, trembling all over his body. "Are you mad at me daddy? I am so sorry. I didn't do it on purpose..." I cuddled him and tenderly kissed his face, wet with tears. I got my handkerchief and carefully dried his eyes. After a while his tension faded away, and he melted into me with a deep sigh. He closed his eyes and nearly fell asleep, until a curious John asked him what happened. Yawning little Harry told us his story. They played hide and seek, but every time they detected him first; so he decided to look for a better hiding place. He went further away and climbed a small fence. Behind the fence he saw a barn with an open door, and of course he was curious. He looked into the barn and saw a pile of food bags. He looked at the bags to see what was in them, and suddenly the door closed and everything went dark. He panicked and tried in vain to open the door. He pounded the door and yelled, but nobody heard him. After a while he sat down on the pile of bags and waited. Of course we would miss him and come over to rescue him... But nobody rescued him, and now he started to cry. He cried for a long time, and eventually he fell asleep on the pile of bags. When he woke up everything was dead silent and spooky. Again he started to pound the door, and suddenly a voice told him to wait a minute, as he had to get the key. The nice security man rescued him, and now he was afraid I would yell at him and punish him, like John's father always used to do 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 you are a small boy. So you did nothing wrong. But I was very afraid, just like you. I was so afraid they had kidnapped you and I would never see you back..." Now I started to sob from all the emotions. Little Harry threw his arms around my neck. "It's okay dad, don't bottle it up. Just let it go. In a few minutes you will feel better..." Did Jack teach him to say that? Suddenly I started to laugh. The little devil... We thanked the security guard and went home. Both boys slept on the back seat, entangled in each other's arms. I switched the radio on, and again I heard our song. "You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..." I was happy again. I had my boy back, my little soul mate. Lost and found. 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... have a look at my homepage.