Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 13:42:39 +0100 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little-Harrys-Life-9 This is the sequel from my first book 'Little Harry', and I strongly commend you to read book one first! Thus you will enjoy book two even more. You may find book one on Nifty, or you may visit my new SITE: http://www.harryanders.com and read the elaborated book from there (recommended!). 'Little Harry's Life' >by Harry AnderS, the author of 'Little Harry'< Chapter 9. A mask, a psychic, a fight, and a salmon. As we neared the town, I grew more and more nervous and started to think. I had to live with my so distorted face for the rest of my life... Maybe it was better to train myself to get used to it, and to ignore all the nasty comments from the people around? Jack always taught me to be proud of myself and of who I am. He also let me see that the looking doesn't hurt you. It's just other people being curious about the unknown, that's why they are looking. The name-calling doesn't hurt you either, that's just a vibration in the air. It's your own reaction to their spoken words that's causing the hurt inside, so in a way you are hurting yourself... Was I really willing to hurt myself every time people looked at me and thought it was necessary to call me an 'alien' and a 'freak'? I remembered our visit to the gardener, where I was so enthusiastic that I totally forgot about my alien face. I even couldn't remember people staring at me or making comments. That time I was really proud of myself and of my knowledge of all those interesting herbs... I decided to be enthusiastic and proud of myself from now on; and to not let other people decide how I had to behave! Big Harry parked the car in front of a toy shop, and I announced: "I'm going with you! Jack always told me to be proud of myself and of who I am; so toy shop, here am I!" I jumped out of the car and headed for the toy shop, leaving Big Harry and John behind. I opened the front door and entered the empty shop, while a 'ting' from a hidden bell announced our arrival. From the back of the store an elderly woman joggled towards the front, looking at us as if we were some species from another planet. Suddenly she shifted her glasses to the tip of her nose, and looked again... "Oh my dear! You poor little child!" she exclaimed. She threw herself at me, in a futile attempt to embrace me with her ugly looking fat arms. I shuddered by the disgusting idea, and swiftly stepped aside. Now she got a confused look on her face and nearly fell, tripping over her own feet. I took another step back, and looked at her with disdain: "I am NOT a poor little child! Do you do this with all your customers? Shame on you! Come on, Dad, this isn't the right place for us!" I took Big Harry's hand and pulled him out of the shop, followed by a snickering John: "Did you see that, Dad? That crazy woman nearly attacked me!" We drove off, leaving a confused woman behind, angrily looking at us from behind the shop windows. John slowly got a frown on his forehead, and looked pensive: "Perhaps I know a place where they actually might help you, but I am not sure where it is. Somewhere in this neighborhood is a special shop where they assist actors and such." Suddenly I felt Jack around. He sent me his love, and told me he would help me. We had to turn around and enter the first street on the left... I leaned on Big Harry's broad shoulders, and told him a bit hesitantly: "I don't know why, Dad, but we have to turn around right here, and enter the first street on the left..." Fortunately Big Harry immediately did as I told him without a protest, and to our surprise the shop showed up. 'Griming and Clothing for Actors' was painted on the windows in ancient characters. Big Harry parked the car, and John and he entered the shop. I followed them, with this time a lot more hesitancy... what if another woman would try to embrace me? Or chase me away for embarrassing the other customers? I DID look like a freak... what if they refused to help me? Again I decided to be proud of myself, and challenge my fate. I straightened my back, and entered the shop... A warm and cozy atmosphere surrounded me and made me feel welcomed. A nice man with a friendly face pointed to a couple of chairs: "Good morning, gentlemen! It's nice of you to visit my shop. Please have a seat!" He smiled at me, with interest and warmth in his eyes: "You are a little young to already be an actor, I suppose?" I liked him immediately. He showed a genuine interest in me, without the uncertainty that too often made a first contact so difficult... I decided to help him a bit, by making a little joke: "Of course, silly! And I don't need a mask, because I have already one of my own." For a moment his smile faded away, and I saw tears welling in his eyes: "I see, and may I tell you something that might be important? It's not how you look, but who you are, that counts." "I know... and it feels nice here!" "Thank you! May I offer you one or two suggestions? And my name is Peter." He went to a bookcase, and returned with a book filled with many photographs of all different types of faces. Peter took a chair, and beckoned me over to sit next to him. For a moment I was a bit unsure, but Big Harry encouraged me while John tried to support me with his eyes. Okay, let's go for it! I left my seat, and joined Peter in front of a big mirror. Peter smiled at me, turned a couple of pages in the book, and showed me some pictures: "Look at this boy, here's how he looked before he got his mask. And this is how he looks now, wearing a plastic mask to hide his scars..." In amazement I looked at a small boy of about my age, with a severely distorted face that was ripped away in a car accident. They had tried to restore the damage, but he still looked like a freak and an alien, just like me! The next picture showed that same boy, but now with a nearly normal face, and you had to look very careful to be able to see that his face was damaged... "Wow, look at this, that's really amazing! Could you make such a beautiful mask for me too?" "I would like to try out a few things first... do you allow me to touch the scars on your face? They are from a burning, I suppose?" I trusted him, and told him everything about the fire and the many operations I had to undergo. I lifted my polo-shirt and lowered my pants, to let him have a look at the rest of my body. I even let him see my wrinkled little pecker and my bum with all the ugly scars. Peter looked at me with tears in his eyes and nearly choked up: "I will be honored to create a beautiful mask to hide the scars on your face!" The next hour we looked at photographs, deliberated possibilities, asked questions, tried a couple of things, and every time we consulted Big Harry and John for approval or advice. Eventually we were satisfied, and Peter started to model some clay. He carefully put small pieces on my face, while I looked at myself in a mirror and now and then directed him or remarked at something. Slowly my face started to change, while I looked in marvel at my transformation into a 'normal' boy with a cheerful pug nose, slightly stuffed cheeks, and full lips. When we were done, I slowly turned around... Big Harry and John looked at me with bulging eyes, being totally astonished. I couldn't restrain myself and started to dance through the room, loudly cheering. At last I looked like every other eight-year-old boy! I looked NORMAL again, after two years of being ashamed of myself... After a while I sat down in front of the mirror and studied the pieces of clay on my face, trying to remodel them a bit. Peter beamed; but warned me, smiling from ear to ear: "Be careful! It will come off easily, because it's only plaster. But it's a good indication of how your real mask will look when we are ready. Your nose will be slightly bigger, and your lips will look even more natural when you put the final mask on your face." Again I couldn't restrain myself, and threw my arms around Peter: "Thank you! At last I look the same as my other friends." "You are welcome!" Peter reacted with a blush, and again he got tears in his eyes. Suddenly I fished a piece of my newly modeled nose from the ground, and unsurely looked at Peter... "That's no problem. It's only clay. Now we will take everything off your face, and I'll make a mold for your mask." He cleaned my face of all the plaster, and gently applied some oil. He went to the kitchen in the back of the store, and returned with a container of a greenish paste and a spatula: "Can you sit quietly for a short time, and breathe through your nose?" I wasn't really sure, but nodded; and Peter started to apply the greenish paste all over my face. All the time I sat upright like a statue, and only flinched a bit when Peter put two straws into my nostrils before covering my nose. I felt the urge to sneeze, but fortunately could suppress it... A few minutes later Peter gently peeled the hardened paste off my face, with the straws still sticking out: "That's all for today. You may wash your face in the kitchen." I felt relieved, and went to the kitchen in the back of the store to splash my face with water. When I returned, Peter showed me the greenish negative impression of my face: "From this mold I will make an exact copy of your face, to model a mask. After two days the mask will be ready, and when you put it on you will look like a newborn boy!" He turned around with tears in his eyes and looked at Big Harry, secretly wiping the tears away: "You have a wonderful son!" Big Harry made an appointment for me, to fit my new mask. He thanked Peter abundantly for his patience and professional help. Again I threw my arms around Peter and kissed him: "Thank you for helping me. I knew you were the right person!" Peter beamed, smiled from ear to ear, and this time he kissed me back. I was rather silent on the way back home, thinking about my new mask and all the new opportunities that suddenly showed up. Now I could attend a normal school, just like my friends! And I could openly play in our street, without being afraid of pestering or name-calling! The more I thought, the more I felt good. And all that thanks to my new Big Friend who so carefully looked after me... I threw my arms around his neck from behind, and nearly suffocated him: "I'm very happy we found that shop, and thank you for buying a mask for me. I love you!" Big Harry started to sniffle, and wiped his eyes clean with a slip of his shirt. After a while we entered our village, and Big Harry parked the car in the parking lot in front of a big supermarket. Should I take the risk to accompany them into the shop? But what if the other customers started to harass me? Or what if... HOLD IT! Had I not taken the decision to always be proud of myself in the future? Thanks to that I would have my mask within two days! I jumped out of the car, and announced with a proud voice: "I want to join you! Do you have a coin? I want to drive the shopping cart." Big Harry looked very surprised, but took his wallet and handed me a coin. I went to the pile of carts and took one, stared at by at least three other customers who looked at me with shocked faces... I smiled at them, and told them with pride in my voice: "Don't judge me by how I look, but look for who I am!" Two customers shook their heads in disbelief and shuffled away, but a tall man with a beard and a moustache warmly smiled back: "That's my boy! You certainly will achieve wonderful things in your life. Just always be proud of yourself!" "I will!" I smiled at him and headed for the first pile of groceries, followed by Big Harry and John. We filled the cart with all the foodstuffs we thought we needed to survive the next week. I pointed Big Harry to a couple of useful dried herbs, to use in our food; and he asked me what food I loved most. That was roasted pig or lamb, but unfortunately they didn't sell that here. Suddenly I saw a fish I recognized from our river in the mountains: "That's a fish I know! They were always trying to jump up to our waterfall and reach the higher parts of the river. They are very difficult to catch as they are swimming really fast. Please can we have one?" "That's a salmon, and they are very expensive here. Do you know how to prepare them?" I looked at him with disdain. Was he really so stupid? But he started to laugh, and now I knew he was teasing me. I punched his arm, and he punched me back, still laughing. He took two of the biggest salmons and handed them to me, to put them into our cart. After a while we were done, and headed for the cash register. A few customers were ahead of us, so we had to wait until it was our turn. Suddenly two girls started to giggle and make fun of me: "Look at that! What kind of creature is this? What a freak... Hey alien, you are on the wrong planet!" John growled and balled his fists. But before he could attack the girls, the tall man with the beard and moustache intervened and dragged both girls by their ear lobes to the exit, where he pushed them through the sliding doors: "Go away, and don't let me see you here again! Perhaps you may come back when you get a better understanding of the words 'compassion' and 'esteem'. This boy has more humanity in his soul than both of you ever could muster together." Both girls ran away, red-faced and tripping over their own feet, while I turned a deep red and felt like disappearing into the floor. The bearded man returned to the cash register, where he introduced himself: "Hello, my name is Christian. I am very touched by how your son is coping with his inconvenience. He has a wonderful aura and a very strong spirit. In this life he is predestined to assist others in coping with their problems. I also will compliment your other son who so proudly stood up for his brother. He has a big heart filled with a lot of love. And you sir, you may be proud of yourself too, because you are really caring for your boys. In this life you are turning into a beautiful soul with a lot of love and compassion!" Now it was Big Harry's turn to color a deep red. I had never seen him that bashful. He looked at his feet and shuffled them a bit. Christian looked at John and me, and ruffled our hair. He had a beautiful warm smile and a calming aura. John seemed to like him at once, and I felt safe and understood. I laughed at him, and he winked at me. I felt Jack around us, and at the same moment Christian turned to Big Harry: "I hope I am not imposing too much, but I have a message for you. I'm working as a psychic medium, and your spirit guide wishes to contact both you and your youngest son. He tells me it's very important, so please don't hesitate too long..." I could see Big Harry looking bewildered, then hesitating. He looked at John and me, and I silently smiled back to him: "Say 'yes', you can trust Christian!" I still could feel Jack, also saying 'yes' to Big Harry, and a moment later Christian smiled: "Thank you! Shall we meet this evening at eight o'clock? To prove this is genuine, your spirit friend now tells me that the youngest boy isn't your real son in this life, and the eldest boy is a friend." Big Harry looked totally overwhelmed, and hesitantly handed him his business card with our home address and phone number. Christian left us after ruffling our hair again, and Big Harry paid at the cash register for the groceries. We took the cart to our car and put the groceries in the back. I brought the cart back, handed Big Harry the coin, and we drove home in silence and still being very impressed. Soon we were home, and John and I helped with unpacking the groceries and putting them away in the kitchen. Big Harry still looked a bit overwhelmed, so I suggested: "I want to cook this evening! Do you want to help me and eat with us, John?" "I'm not sure..." John hesitantly answered, "My mother will be back from town about four o'clock, and she hasn't seen me since this morning, so I am afraid I will not be allowed. But I will see you tomorrow morning, unless my father has another of his bright ideas and makes me do some chores first." At that moment our doorbell rang, and John and I rushed to the front door to open it. Thomas and Chrissy waited outside, eager to show off their brand new skateboards: "Hi John, hi Harry, are you coming with us? We're going to try out our new boards!" John looked at me with a questioning face: "Of course! I will get my own board, and Harry can use Mark's spare board, if he wants to." "Yes, of course I want to! I'm coming with you! Bye, Dad!" I went to my Big Friend, hugged him, and went to the door. Suddenly something struck me: again I had called Big Harry 'Dad'... what if he didn't like that? He FELT like my father, and I LOVED him as sort of a second Dad... but of course he WASN'T my Dad... Now I felt confused, and stammered with a blush on my face: "Sorry... I shouldn't have said that... but I wish you WERE my Dad!" I turned around before he could answer, and hurried to the others. We went to John's house, where I hurried upstairs to get Mark's spare skateboard. I had used it before, in the safe darkness of the evening, so I knew Mark wouldn't mind. Besides, he owned a newer and better skateboard. I went downstairs, where the others impatiently waited for me. Together we skated off, a bit slowly because Chrissy wasn't used to her new board, and to be honest I didn't feel totally at ease either... We practiced for a while, until Chrissy felt a bit more secure on her board. I tried a few curves, and soon felt more and more safe. Obviously riding a small snow scooter had honed my sense of balance. Now John and Thomas wanted to ride around our block, and Chrissy and I joined them. I saw Big Harry sitting on the porch of our house, drinking a beer, and waved at him: "Dad, look at me!" He looked at me, smiled, and waved back. Obviously he wasn't mad at me for calling him 'Dad' again. I felt relieved, and tried to perform a couple of difficult curves. That wasn't very clever, as I nearly fell over, but fortunately I succeeded in keeping my balance. That had to be the punishment for trying to show off... but I knew for sure that within another hour or so I could do those curves perfectly! We rounded our block, and crossed the street to the next block. One time Chrissy nearly fell, but John and Thomas caught her in time and gave her some instructions in how to keep a better balance. I looked back at what they were doing, and the next moment I bumped into somebody who left his house without looking where he went. I had seen him before, a sixteen-year-old really big boy called Jason, who always stared at me and called me nasty names. I always ignored him, because I felt he had a difficult time in his life and couldn't really help being such a dork. Now I bumped into him, and he started to swear and shout at me: "Dammit! You stupid freaky alien! Next time I will kick the rest of your ridiculous half nose into your brains, supposing you have any." He kicked at me, and I fell off my skateboard on my knees in the gravel. Before he could do anything else, John took his skateboard and hit him with all his force. Now the boy turned to John, raging and cursing, and threw himself at him. Before he could hit John, Thomas stepped in and kicked him in the nuts while Chrissy jumped up and punched his nose with her little fists. The boy folded double and started to scream. We clutched our skateboards under our arms and left the battlefield in a hurry, back to the safety of my house. Big Harry sat upright in his chair, obviously he had heard the sounds of our fight... "That son of a bitch!" John cursed, breathing heavily. "I kicked him in the nuts, and he screamed like a pig!" Thomas proudly announced. "I jumped up and punched his nose!" Chrissy giggled. I nestled myself onto Big Harry's lap, and started to sob from all the tension. "He is always pestering Harry and calling him names, with his big mouth and his bad manners," John raged, "but I will get him! Next time I will bring a baseball bat with me!" They all started to talk together, trying to tell Big Harry what had happened. Big Harry threw his safe arms around me and comforted me by slowly cradling me. That helped, soon my sobs lessened and I felt much better. Chrissy told him I was bleeding, so he looked me all over. Everything seemed to be all right, except for a small flesh wound on my knee. John went inside and returned with a wet cloth, a bottle of iodine, and a band-aid. He cleaned my knee carefully; and put a drop of iodine into the wound, which caused a sharp pain for a moment. Then he administered the band-aid like a professional. That felt better! Suddenly I jumped up and grinned at my friends: "You really GOT him! And he was a very BIG boy too! Wow!" Now they all laughed, and started to brag a bit about the importance of their part in the fight. After a while Mark and Marrie returned from their shopping in town, proudly showing off their new clothes: "Hi! Mom asks you to come over and help her with moving Harry's stuff to his room." "Is Dad already back?" John asked them with some hesitancy... "Not yet," Marrie answered her brother with a frown, "And I hope he will NEVER come back! We are better off without him!" She looked at me with a shocked expression on her face, and kneeled down: "What's that band-aid on your knee? Are you wounded?" "Nah, I was kicked off Mark's skateboard by that big boy on the next street that always shouts at me. But John hit him with his skateboard, Thomas kicked his nuts, and Chrissy punched his nose!" "Wow! You really did that?" "Yeah..." "Wow!" We followed Mark and Marrie to John's house, where John's mother greeted us. She looked rather sad, with reddish eyes. Obviously she had been crying a lot. She offered us a cup of tea with a pastry, and we munched on it in silence. Then we all started to tell her everything about our big fighting adventure. I proudly showed her my band-aid, and now she even smiled a bit. She seemed to feel a little bit better now. We went upstairs, to gather my possessions. Jack had provided me with many nice clothes, and we packed them into a couple of empty cardboard boxes. I put my playing stuff into another box, and in rank we marched off to my new old room in my new old home. We had to return a second time, to fetch everything else from the garage, except for my old wooden desk. We would ask Big Harry to help us with that later on. I started to put away everything in my cabinet, helped by the other children. Soon everything was in its place, and we played a bit with a few of my small games. Then it was time to return to Big Harry and John's mother... We entered the living room, where Big Harry and John's mother seemingly had a deep talk. Big Harry looked at me with a funny look in his eyes, as if he had been longing for me... What had they been talking about when I wasn't there? It surely had been something very positively! John went to them, and embraced his mother, proudly smiling: "Everything is in place now, except for Harry's old desk." Big Harry ruffled John's hair, meanwhile looking at me with a smile on his face: "I saw Harry's old desk and it looks rather rickety, so I thought about buying him a little present..." I jumped up, and tried to crush my Big Friend in my arms around his waist: "Really? Wow! Could you buy me a computer-desk, with such a sliding thing in the middle?" "Perhaps when we go back to Peter's shop. First we will get your new mask, and then we'll look for a new desk. Okay?" "OKAY. Marvelous!" Suddenly Trudy got a puzzled look on her face: "New mask? What are you talking about?" We told her everything about our strange adventures that morning, including the attacking lady, the greenish mold of my face, the happenings in the supermarket, and the pending visit at eight o'clock of a psychic medium named Christian. John looked at his mother, with a pleading look and his best puppy dog eyes: "Mom, may I join big Harry and little Harry this evening? Little Harry is cooking..." "Okay, but I want to see you back in the house before eight o'clock. You have to do some chores too you know." "Thanks, Mom! You are the best." We went home, where John and I started to prepare for dinner. First we chased Big Harry out of the house. He tried to look as if he felt rejected, but his eyes beamed and told me he was proud of me. He went to the porch and took a cup of coffee with him. Addicted bum... but I LOVED him. John and I decided to prepare one of our salmons. Fortunately John knew how to use the stove, because I was only used to putting them onto a stake and roasting them. Together we cleaned the fish, and I fetched some herbs from my garden to spice it with. John carefully put it into the stove, while I prepared a nicely smelling potage. Again I had to go outside to fetch some other herbs, grinning at Big Harry who impatiently waited on the porch and counted the minutes. He had to wait there until we were ready... In the meantime John was frying part of the potatoes and cooking another part of them, while I prepared a potpourri of mixed vegetables. Together we mashed the potatoes to get a nice puree, and decorated them with the vegetables. Now the potage was nearly ready, so we went to the living room. We put the dinner table in the middle of the room, and decorated it with a white tablecloth and seven little candles. John knew how to operate the CD device, and we looked in Big Harry's collection for some nice background music. We put three chairs around the table, and neatly put three plates and cutlery in front of them. We looked everything over for the last time, and were really satisfied with our work. We went to the kitchen, and took a dish filled with the potage and a dish filled with the fried potatoes to the table. Now we were ready! Together we went to the porch and invited Big Harry into his own house, going straight to the living room. Big Harry looked around, and a big smile illuminated his face: "Wow! I feel like a king this evening. What are you doing to me?" A proudly beaming John guided Big Harry to his chair, while I looked everything over for the last time. Then I told John to scoop up the potage. He did, and soon we all enjoyed a soup that fortunately turned out to be very tasty. Big Harry beamed all the time and licked his lips. We went to the kitchen, and John got the readied salmon from the stove. We carefully put it onto a platter, where I decorated it with a few green herb twigs. John took the puree platter, while I carried the salmon to the living room and put it onto the table. Again the room filled with a nice scent, and Big Harry approvingly sniffed the air. We all added some of the puree, a few vegetables, a piece of the salmon, and some fried potatoes to our plates. We didn't say a word, as we all were too busy with eating and savoring. After the meal three small homemade sorbets filled the last empty holes, and now we were stuffed! Big Harry rubbed his stomach with a contented sigh, and exclaimed: "Wow! Never before did I enjoy dinner so much! You are an excellent cook, and I think you will make a good living out of it." This time he was NOT right, and I decided to make that very clear: "I will NOT become a cook! I love cooking and I will always love it, but when I am old enough it's my task to help other people with their problems. That's what that Christian fellow told me today, but I already knew that before. Inside myself I can feel I have sort of a task to fulfill in my life..." Now I felt Jack around, and I heard his voice somewhere in my head: "You are right. This evening you will hear more about it." Of course I was very curious. What would that psychic medium, Christian, tell us? Would Jack be there too? We went to the kitchen and cleaned the dishes and the cutlery. John and I rearranged the table in the living room, while Big Harry brewed a cup of coffee and brought us a glass of cola. We sat down on the couch, and enjoyed each other's company. Time went by, and just before eight o'clock John had to go home: "See you tomorrow morning!" We both got a big hug, and off he went. Now Big Harry and I impatiently waited for that medium, Christian... ------------------------------------------ A few excerpts from all the nice emails you've sent me: * I was told about this site by a friend; I've started reading "Little Harry" and already the tears are streaming down my face, and I've only got to chapter 3 yet! I think it will take me a while to get through it all - and I must try not to look at the ending first! * I discovered 'Harry', and I am amazed at the incredibly sensitive (and sensible) story! * I wanted to say how much I am enthralled by Little Harry. I'm also an author who has posted on Nifty, and just wish my stuff was as good. I hope you all enjoy life...it's too short to do otherwise. * I have gone to your new web site which is AWESOME. The music is very kewl. It's all your fault I was up until 0200 reading! Thank you for reading my stories, and please send me an email... harry@harryanders.com Visit my NEW WEBSITE, and maybe read from there ALL my stories: http://www.harryanders.com And, please, write something in our new FORUM... I wish to thank the Nifty archives for hosting my stories. When you have a few spare dimes, donate them to Nifty! They are doing a marvelous job. (Yes, I've donated them my euros too)