Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:40:30 +0200 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little Harry-19 Chapter 19. Busted again, cathararsis, and a bungalow tent. The boys cheered when we drove into the next street and saw Jason and Carl, both enthusiastically waving at us. Davey sat shotgun, with a map on his knees and the GPS receiver on the dashboard. We had pointed out the road with a green marker to the border of our country, where the next map would continue. John, Nicky, and little Harry had folded two seats into tables, and now proudly sat behind them, softly talking about nothing special. I had fished my sunglasses out of my pocket and kept my eyes on the road, now and then looking behind at the boys who seemed to enjoy themselves. Soon we left the small village and entered the highway. "Next crossing to the left, dad, about twenty kilometers from here." "Thanks Davey." We had calculated the trip to last around four days, over a distance of about two and a half thousand kilometers (about 1500 miles). That offered us a lot of pauses and the possibility to enjoy the surroundings and Mother Nature. The first stop would be at a small roadside restaurant, a hundred kilometers from here, where we would rest and have our noon meal. "The GPS calculates ninety two kilometers to the restaurant, dad." After a while Nicky started to fidget. "Pop, I have to go to the toilet really bad!" "Boys, did we take our pampers with us?" "POOOPPP! I'm nearly pissing my pants!" "Just a moment, until I can find a parking place." Five minutes later we detected a blue 'P' and drove into a parking lot along the road, secluded by bushes. Nicky jumped out of the car and hurried to a tree, followed by the other boys. I decided to take a leak myself, and soon we were crossing our streams and trying to shoot little insects from the leaves. Of course the boys won, my prostate wouldn't let me shoot that far. "Look, how nice! A pedophile with his herd, playing with each other's weenies. Hey pedo, want us to join you? We'll teach you a little lesson..." Two shaggy looking men approached us, wearing a mean grin on their faces. One of the men took a knife out of his pocket. Suddenly John snatched a big branch from the ground and stepped forward. "Don't you DARE hurt my father! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Davey looked around and found a picket to defend me with. Nicky heaved a big pebble from the ground and little Harry took another branch. They all stepped forward, ready to defend me with their lives. The men backed away, now looking really angry. "Don't you think you are done with us. We will report you to the police!" We hurried to the van and drove off without looking back. "Would that mean man really harm you pop? I was ready to throw my stone directly into his face!" "I was ready to shatter their brains with that branch, supposing they had any." "I should have thrust that picket into their groins with all my force!" "I should have squashed their noses with my branch!" They were still trembling and started to brag about what they should have done to those men. I was totally bewildered. What kind of a world did we live in, where even taking a leak together with your own children was questionable, or worse. I was shaking and tried to remove the memories from my brain. We approached the roadside restaurant and parked our van in an empty parking slot that was barely big enough. The boys found an empty table in the back, and we ordered a nice meal. Fifteen minutes later we were eating and chatting, when a police car showed up in the parking lot and parked in front of our van. Two officers entered the restaurant and spoke to the waiter. He pointed to our table and the officers approached us, with strained faces. They showed us their identity cards. Little Harry groaned "nooooo..." and tried to disappear under the table, shaking all over his body. "We've got a complaint about your behavior, and we want you to come with us. All of you." "Why are you trying to spoil our vacation, officer? We didn't do anything against the law, so there's no reason for us to follow you." "Do you want us to handcuff you, or are you going with us without protesting..." John jumped up and his eyes shot daggers. "You are crazy! We were attacked by two men, threatening us with a knife. We threatened them back with tree branches and drove off. That's all WE did. But look at what YOU are doing now! YOU are the predators here, YOU are abusing your badge to molest US. Look at my little brother... He's a gypsy boy who had to endure your raids and accusations for more than six years! And again you are molesting him. Why? What did my little brother do wrong?" One of the officers took his mobile phone. "Are you coming with us, or do we have to call for reinforcements? Your big mouth will not help you. We are only doing our job..." They left us no choice, we had to follow them to their car, where we climbed into the back and sat down on two wooden benches along the sides. The windows were barred, the door only opened from the outside. Little Harry started to puke, but we didn't have any tissues. I cleaned his face with my own handkerchief. "I don't want them to screw up our trip to my people, dad. Why don't they leave us alone? I am so afraid..." "There's nothing to be afraid of, we did nothing wrong. Do you remember the last time? Everything turned out for the best, and now everything will turn out for the best again." I tried to believe myself. I really tried... After twenty minutes the police car parked and the officers opened the door. We were led into a small waiting room and had to sit down. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked for coffee, and the boys got a cup of tea with sugar and a spoon. I told them my son had puked and asked to be allowed to clean him up. To my surprise one of them took me and little Harry to a toilet, where I could clean him up and dry his face with a towel. When we returned a third officer had entered the room. "Please will you come with me for a moment?" At least he was polite... I followed him to a small room, where a fourth officer awaited us. "Please sit down." I sat down, and he took a couple of papers, studying them. "Please will you tell me in your own words what happened?" I told him everything, and he listened without saying a word. I told him about little Harry surviving a fire, me adopting him, and his people inviting us all to Rumania. I told him about the last time when we were interrogated, incriminated by our street blabber. I told him about the fun we had, little Nicky who had to pee, and we all accompanied him, crossing our streams. I told him about the two men, accusing me of being a 'pedo' and pointing a knife at us. I told him about my boys, defending me with their lives. And now we were here, arrested like criminals. "Just a moment..." and he disappeared, leaving me with the other officer who looked bored. Fifteen minutes later he returned. "You are free to go. Take your boys with you and enjoy your vacation." "Just like that? Couldn't you at least tell me what happened? What will I tell my boys, who all were dead nervous about us being arrested?" "You were not arrested, but investigated. There's a big difference. This morning we got an anonymous phone call, stating a man was seen in a parking place, playing with the weenies of his four sons. They knew the license plate number, so we could track you down. We called the prosecutor, who decided to start an investigation. That's why you were brought here. We asked you and we asked the boys, and your stories seem to agree. That's why the prosecutor decided to let you go without further investigation. Normally we would have searched your car and your house for possession of child porn or other illegal things, and you would have had to wait much longer." He opened the door. "The boys are waiting for you..." There they were. Four timid boys, staring at their feet, nervously fumbling their clothes, obviously still shaking. "Come on boys, let's go!" Slowly they followed me. I looked at the two officers who brought us here. "Of course you will take us back to the restaurant?" One of the officers looked at me with fishy eyes. "We don't have a taxi service, you know..." I decided to keep my big mouth shut, and in silence we left the police station. Little Harry took my hand, still looking very pale. "Where are we going now, dad?" he whispered. "To Rumania of course, to our REAL people, where we will be received with open arms!" We went to a small shop, where the friendly owner let us order a taxi. Twenty minutes later we were on our way, back to the restaurant and our golden van. Slowly the boys opened up. They told me how a big police officer turned up, a real bully. He started to ask them questions about my conduct, what I did with them, where we showered and how, whether they had ever seen me or each other naked, whether they had ever looked at naughty pictures in my house... All the time John told them to go to hell, and that he only wanted to answer their questions when I or his parents were present. Then little Harry puked again, and suddenly Nicky stood up, with a demeanor they never had seen in him before. "What are you afraid of? My second father is a better dad than you ever will be in your whole life. He really LOVES us, you know, and we all love him. That has nothing to do with being naked or bad touching, but that has to do with TRUST. We all trust dad, and we know that dad also trusts us. And now please give us our dad back. We are too small to cope without him." John threw his arms around Nicky. "From now on you are our King Nicky The Great Dragon!" Nicky blushed. "Did I really have the courage to tell them that? Wow!" We were back in our golden van, this time with little Harry sitting in the front seat on a pillow, and the three boys sitting at the two folded tables in the back. "What shall we do now? Shall we go back home and restart our voyage tomorrow, or shall we go on?" In unison we decided to go on with our journey, even if little Harry perhaps could get one of his nightmares tonight. "Dad, Jack helped me once, when I was terribly angry and frightened about my burnings and the operations. He called that a 'cataract' or something like that?" "You mean a 'catharsis'?" "Oh yeah, that. Please will you help me to unbottle my anger and fright into a catharsis? I think I need it..." As a psychotherapist, I had helped hundreds of patients to go through a catharsis, but never such a small boy, and never without inducing a lot of emotions first. Would this work? I decided to give it a try. If this really worked, it could free my little soul mate from a lot of problems, and otherwise it could cause nearly no harm. "Do you want to sit or lie down? How did Jack help you?" "He took my hands, and let me shout and cry and kick for a long time, until all my emotions were gone." "Okay, shall we both go into the back seats?" The boys arranged the seats, so little Harry and I could sit facing each other. They surrounded us, curious about what would happen. Little Harry kicked his shoes into a corner and moved his seat a little bit nearer. "Shall we start?" I took his small hands into mine, and he looked into my eyes. He had wonderfully bright blue eyes. I nearly drowned in them. They radiated love and trust. And something else, pride. Slowly his eyes changed. Now I could read fear in them. An intense fear, like a trapped animal. And anger. And despair. I felt a wonderful warmth surrounding us, filled with pure love. And power, pure power. Little Harry started to tremble and squeeze my hands, breathing deeper and deeper. A grunt welled up in his throat, followed by a loud cry. He started to fight my hands and kick his feet. I pressed my leg against his legs to prevent him from kicking me or injuring his feet. I could feel the power increase, like loud whipping music around us. All of a sudden it was over. He slumped down, and I took him into my arms. He looked up at me with so much love in his beautiful eyes... "Thank you dad, that was wonderful. Jack helped me, and together you freed me of all the subconscious anger and fear I had bottled up. Now I feel light and free..." He closed his eyes and fell asleep, with a smile on his face. Carefully the boys rearranged the seats and folded a seat to make a bed for little Harry. They filled an inflatable mattress, and I lifted him onto a sleeping bag on it. Davey looked at me with a deep respect in his eyes. "Next time when I am angry, will you help me too, with such a cathararsis?" I ruffled his hair, while John started to laugh. "You sure are all bottled up, even your tongue." "What do you mean?" "Nothing..." "John means a cataractal catharsis, or a catharistical cataract." Nicky laughed, punching John. "Huh... a cataractistical... I'm breaking my tongue on that word!" Now we all laughed, softly not to wake little Harry who started to snore. I went to the front seat, King Nicky sat shotgun on little Harry's pillow, and we drove off. Next stage to Rumania. We stopped at a gas station and King Nicky filled the tank to the brim, with a proud face. He went inside on his own with my credit card, but came out with a disappointed face. "You have to sign for yourself, pop. They wouldn't let me..." Together we went into the station, and I bought some ice cream cones for the boys to lick during the voyage. Nicky passed them around and tried to preserve one for his friend Harry. After a while it started to melt, so now he had two ice creams to eat, but nobody was jealous. Ultimately he was our King... (at least that's what the boys told him). Little Harry woke up, immediately bright and shining, and wanted me to stop at the next gas station to buy him another ice cream. Of course I did as he wanted, and he chose a big ice cream with several dips and drizzled with syrup. Beaming and licking, like the eight-year-old small boy he was, he returned and we resumed our way. "Where are we sleeping tonight dad?" "I think we will drive on for a while, until we are tired. Then we will find us a nice parking lot to spend the night." "But... when those mean men are looking for us, and they find us on a parking lot? What will they do next time? I'm still a bit afraid..." I had to think that over for a while. Little Harry had a point... Suppose there were other men like those two in the next parking lot, trying to harass innocent victims? "Boys, listen. I want to discuss something with you. Shall we sleep in a parking lot tonight, or are we going to a camping place?" "But we don't have a tent or a caravan... Will they accept us there, with only our van to sleep in?" "Pop, perhaps you could buy such a big bungalow tent... There we could play, sleep, sit, and you could drink your coffee..." Nicky had a good idea! We left the highway at the next exit and went into a big town, looking for a camping store. We asked a nice police officer (yes, they are there!) and he pointed us to a suburb, where we found a big store filled with all sorts of camping essentials. The boys ran to the biggest bungalow tent there was. "This one, dad! This one is big enough for all of us." Of course they were right, and again my inexhaustible credit card was charged. Together we carried the large package to the van and freed a place behind the back seats. We returned to the highway and the boys searched our map for a camping site. "Here dad, here's a nice one, we think. It's about one hundred and fifty kilometers from here, and the map says you can eat there too." Our technical boys, John and Davey, located the place on the GPS receiver and now they all followed the arrows on the little screen, telling me every kilometer how many kilometers we had to go, and what time we would arrive according to the GPS. Little Harry started to fidget. "I have to use the toilet, dad, but please don't stop in a parking lot..." We stopped next to a gas station, and little Harry hurried inside. He returned with a key, waved at us, and disappeared around a corner. We waited a couple of minutes, until John and Davey got impatient and decided to look for him. They disappeared around the same corner, and Nicky and I waited in the van. After ten minutes they returned, looking very worried. "We can't find him dad. The man in the station told us a small boy brought the key back after a few minutes. We've looked everywhere..." I jumped out of the van, and together we went to the gas station. The vendor told us a small boy entered the shop and asked for the toilet. He handed him the key and told him to go outside, turn right, and unlock the second door. After a few minutes the boy returned, handed the key back and politely thanked him. The boy went away, and he didn't see him back. What now? We decided to split up and search the surroundings. John and Davey went right, while Nicky and I went left. We looked everywhere, even in all stinking containers. We called his name a couple of times, but in vain. In the distance we saw John and Davey, looking everywhere just as we did. We crossed the parking lot and looked in all cars. We asked a couple of people , but nobody had seen a small gypsy boy with light brownish hair, clad in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Eventually we went back to our van, hoping to see little Harry there... Suddenly Nicky jumped up and shouted: "There they are!" In the distance John and Davey reappeared, waving at us, together with a timid little Harry, wiping his eyes with a slip of his shirt. They entered the van. "That duffer got lost, he took the wrong way and couldn't find our van..." "I'm only eight years old, and I didn't know where the toilets were. A man showed me the way, but after I brought the key back I couldn't find the way back to the van..." He started to sob, and immediately all the boys comforted him and told him it wasn't his fault. "Next time we will join you and go together. Now dry your tears and enjoy the trip to your people. After all you are our Prince!" Little Harry's sun started to shine again, and within a few minutes we were all singing along with the music of the car radio. We found the camping site, big and crowded. The receptionist told us there was only one space left, in the back of the site, and we couldn't reach it with our van. Well, that wasn't a problem with four strong boys who could help carrying all the camping stuff. We parked our van and toted our new bungalow tent across the campground to our space, me and the eldest boys lifting a corner each, Nicky and little Harry together lifting the fourth corner. Wheezing and puffing we reached our space, where the boys carefully studied the instructions. "They have colored tapes around the tips of the canes and in the corners of the big tent. Let's put the frame together first." It LOOKED so easy... but it took us nearly two hours of puzzling (and sometimes softly cursing) until eventually our bungalow tent stood and was properly stringed up. "Next time it will be much easier dad, because now we know what we have to do first." We decided to visit the campground restaurant before carrying the air mattresses and the sleeping bags to our bungalow tent. There we filled our empty stomachs and lazily rested for a while in the cozy chairs around a barbeque place, listening to soft music. After a while I decided to prepare for the night. "Come on boys, let's carry everything to our bungalow tent and set it up for the night." We had fun filling the air mattresses before we carried them on our heads to the bungalow tent. We returned and took the sleeping bags and the pillows with us. On the third trip we carried the suitcases to our tent. We positioned everything and lazily tested the mattresses for a while. Davey had to visit the toilet, and we decided to accompany him in case he would get lost. We found the toilets and the showers, and Davey hurried inside. Within two minutes he was back. "They don't have toilet paper." What now? We didn't bring toilet paper with us. Totally forgotten! Davey started to fidget and jump, obviously he was in real need. I sent John to the camping store and reassured Davey that he would be back in time. Within five minutes John was back, panting. "The store was closed, and the receptionist didn't have toilet paper. They told me we should bring that with us ourselves, as the young camping visitors tend to play with it too much." What now? Davey went green and started to moan. I went outside, directly to the first bungalow tent that showed up. Fortunately the owner was home. "One of my boys is in need of toilet paper, and we forgot to bring that with us. Could you please lend us some?" "You are the fifth one today. That will cost you two Euros." He reached behind to a big pile of toilet rolls and took one, waiting for me to pay for it. "That's a lot of money. In reality they cost only a fraction of that price." He put the toilet roll back onto the pile. "OK, next time better." "Well... we are really in need... OK, I'll pay for it." He reached back again, smiling. "You are all the same. I'm here every year, in this same space, and every year my stallage is paid by customers like you." I laughed and complimented him with his commercial spirit. In a hurry I went back to the toilets, where in the meantime Davey had occupied a stall and now waited for a piece of toilet paper to finish his business. John brought him the toilet roll, pinching his nose. We heard Davey pull his pants up and flush the toilet. He returned from the stall and washed his hands. "Do you have a towel?" Totally forgotten! He tried to dry his hands by waving them in the air, and then dried them by wiping them along his trousers. "Thanks dad! I was afraid I had to use your handkerchief to wipe my behind with." We all started to laugh and went back to our bungalow tent. John and Davey decided to scout the surroundings, and Nicky and little Harry accompanied me in our bungalow tent. "Dad, will you tell us a story?" A story... that was a long time ago. I tried to remember the stories I used to tell my daughters, but in vain. Nothing would pop up. So I fantasized a story about a king who had two sons. His eldest son had a lot of pride and would be the next king in the future. His youngest son was in harmony with himself and enjoyed every moment of his life as a prince. Soon I was totally lost in my own story and kept on telling, until John and Davey showed up. "Dad, it's totally dark in the tent! Where are the lights?" Totally forgotten! Never had I thought that camping would require so many preparations. Probing and fumbling in the suitcases we looked for soap and towels; and in procession we went to the showers. Fortunately they were nearly empty, and soon all of us were cleaned up and ready for the night. The boys decided to sleep in their underwear, in case somebody showed up during the night or they had to go outside. Little Harry protested, afraid that his scars would start to itch. We decided to let him sleep in the nude, as he always did. Ultimately he was only eight years old! Immediately Nicky decided to imitate his friend, as he was only eight years old too. In total darkness the boys unzipped all sleeping bags and zipped them together into one long blanket. They draped the blanket over all five air mattresses and folded it back, to create one long bed. We crept under the long blanket, and little Harry claimed his usual place on my stomach. Nicky nestled against my left side, and Davey against my right side, while John threw his arm around Nicky and held my hand. Soon we all drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep. We woke up at the sound of a crowing rooster, followed by barking dogs and yelling children. Lazily we stretched and yawned, surprised we had slept so well. We put on some clothes and went to the showers, which turned out to be crowded with grown-ups and children, most of them running around naked. Little Harry and Nicky immediately mingled with them, while John and Davey seemed to be more hesitant. Eventually we found an empty stall and showered, two at the same time and changing places. We dried each other's backs and returned to our bungalow tent to dress properly for breakfast. We went to the even-more-crowded restaurant, and waited what seemed like an eternity to eventually have breakfast outside in the abundantly shining morning sun. I waited another fifteen minutes to get my cup of coffee and a drink for the boys. We left our table, which was immediately occupied by the next visitors. We deflated the air mattresses, folded the long blanket together, put the smaller things into the suitcases, and carried everything to our golden van. We downed our bungalow tent and tried to fold it into the cover, wondering how the hell they ever had put such a large tent into such a small cover. Eventually we gave in and carried the whole thing to the van, where we shoved it into the back with some difficulty. I went to the reception office and paid them with my credit card. John sat shotgun with the map on his knees. I started the engine, and again we were on our way to Rumania. Harry AnderS, alternative writer. Thank you for reading my stories, and thanks to Nifty for hosting them. I would like you to proofread my new chapters and comment on them. The latest version of the edited and new chapters is available on: http://www.harryanders.com (both in microsoft-word and in html) Please send your remarks to harry@harryanders.com Please help me improve the story. I could use MORE editors and proofreaders...