“Would you mind if I lie down next to you and hold you in my arms? Let’s first get used to being together love.”
“I bet you don’t love me anymore. You miss your Cherine who is bigger and more clever.”
2711
I laughed. “Come into my mind if you want love. You, the Cherine with her full memories, would be highly amused by your comment. She has always sensed in me my nostalgia and yearning for these first months when we were getting to know each other and our love belonged only to the two of us. One thing I would like you to know. I love all my, our family, more than you can imagine. Despite that, and they all know it, I have always loved you best of all.”
“They know it? Don’t they mind?”
“They say that the more I love you the more I am able to love them.”
She took a look at her ‘borrowed’ memories and nodded, seeing I spoke the truth. I recalled something else that would please her.
“We did not have time for you to meet him. Cherry baby, we also brought back your father.”
“Was he cross with me?”
“No. He was just so very sorry you felt you were to blame. He explained that you were not. He is happy and also a Cherinian now.”
I looked at her trying to absorb what we spoke of and my heart swelled with love for her. It felt as if I could not contain it within myself and I was about to burst. My hand reached out to her, but she threw herself against me.
“I can feel it! You really do love me!”
I held her tiny trembling body and tears came to my eyes. I have been such an idiot these last few days. I had not taken the trouble to find out when her memories ended and I had not let her feel the extent of my love. I am so used to her almost living within my mind, knowing all my feelings, that I’d forgotten. I’d felt her love for me, including a sense of bewilderment, and let it go at that, just because she’d maintained the link. Idiot!
“Oh my love, I wish I could take away the memories of these last few days. I’ve been so damn stupid! Actually, I wish I could remove those memories the girls gave to you. They are just going to get in our way without really helping you. Can we start all over Cherine?”
I did not need to feel her emoting - just looking into her eyes was enough. “It was not your fault Robert. You’ve had so many things to worry about.” She then asked in a little girl voice, a tinge of fear in it. “Are you really going to die again if we make love?”
I laughed. “No, I’ll feel like I died and went to heaven, but you don’t have to worry. Would you mind if we do not make love tonight? I want to hold you, sleep with you cuddled in my arms. We can take our time and slowly get there, just as if we really have just met and are starting to love each other now. Would you like that?”
She hugged me and I heard her muffled voice whispering, “You’re still my Robert.” and I felt happy.
She decided to sleep in the nude so it would not be true, strictly speaking, to say we did not make love.
When I lay down I placed her on my chest, thinking she would enjoy that. Instead she used that to reach up and her lips softly touched mine. Our kisses grew deeper and a hunger grew that demanded some kind of satisfaction. She sent to me the fires I was lighting in her.
Her skin was so soft and smooth, the flesh soft but resilient and warmer than the rest of her body. Her eyes were huge as she stared at me, watching the storm of emotions within me. She had nothing to complain about; all the love she could possibly want; all the passion and lust that would prove to her how I desire her smooth satin body, the fire that lit in me as I touched her. What she got as a bonus though was an adoration of her that elevates her to being my little goddess.
She moaned, as my lips sank within her, ‘don’t, don’t’ and puzzled I pulled back. I then saw in her mind that she did not mean my physical loving of her, she did not want me to love her so much - it was hurting her.
We settled into a warm cuddle and she went to sleep in my arms. I lay there listening to her breathe and faintly the feel of her hearts pulsing and knew that not in a million years will I have enough of being loved by my little Cherine.
2712
For the first time in a very long time I was tempted to ignore the world and my commitments. We woke up feeling that languor that comes after not only the body has been satiated, but the heart too has been filled with love. We were both sensitive to the feeling of warm skin against warm skin, the movement of the chest as we breathed and the soft slow pulse of our hearts. The scent of her hair filled my nostrils and I lay there content as I have not been for a long time, the world and all its problems distant and unimportant. My little Cherry baby stretched.
“I’m starving.”
As we sat to eat she asked, “Are you going to make them Cherinians today?”
“I don’t know. I feel like just staying here and spending the day with you.”
She looked at me with serious eyes. “You can’t do that! You told them to wait for us. Why doesn’t this Robert have more Cherinians?”
“They are still growing into their gifts love. If they did not visit us every so often they would hardly have any. They needed time to adjust to each other also. Just because we rushed it, does not mean they should also. I wanted them to have time to enjoy their love. I stole that from you and I’ve regretted it, in a way.”
“In a way?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes. I also don’t regret it, because it brought Dommi and Wendy to us. After that, well, I don’t think we had much say in it.”
“I can feel in Wendy that she feels she is very special to me, like a sister. I like her. There is something…I don’t know, it is as if she doesn’t have any bad thoughts. Not like me.”
“You don’t have bad thoughts love. Sometimes a little naughty and at other times a little cheeky. I love all of that in you. I don’t think I could have loved you half as much as I do if you were not the stubborn cheeky Cherine that you are.”
“But Sam, Samantha, she is the brave one. She isn’t afraid of anything - except you.”
I laughed. “I think she is more afraid of you. She looks up to you for some reason and your disapproval shatters her.”
“Why? Is it because you love me so much?”
I stared at her thoughtfully. How has this ignorant little girl seen that when I had not seen it as clearly? I’d thought it is partly her fierce personality that intimidates them. Now I saw that she is right - to a certain extent. I will not entirely discount my previous beliefs. My little Cherine, empathy and all, can still be quite a little terror. It is true of her even at her present age.
Eddie and Dimitri were waiting for us when we arrived. Dimitri already does not look so frail anymore - though as I know from ours, he never will look very strong. Of course the way he looks is deceiving. Cher and Rob were comfortable with them, knowing their counterparts on our world and it did not surprise me to see her sit on Eddie’s lap.
“How did your wife die Eddie?”
“Didn’t you see that in my mind yesterday?”
“I did not look. We do not do that unless invited.”
“I’m sorry; I’d assumed that since you let me look you did the same. Now that the two of you are together I can feel the difference. Your power stirs the ether, like a leashed animal, ready to lash out.”
I did not know how to take that. He sensed I was feeling uncomfortable, but also puzzled.
“You did not know? The powers in you are not tame. You have to hold them tightly all the time. Surely you knew that?”
2713
“I never thought about it that way.” I was dismayed. “The powers you speak of, those are not my Cherinian gifts, they mostly come from you. Your alternate, I mean.”
“He must be very powerful then! I have nothing like that. My wife died about forty years ago in an accident and the powers I was growing towards seemed pointless. I withdrew from the path we had taken and have been waiting for old age to release me.”
I sighed, perhaps with a little envy. “Everything seems to have conspired on this world to make it a far more gentle place than ours is. I will need the exact time and place of her death. Also that of her original body.”
“Why both?”
“Wouldn’t you rather have her back in her own body, a lovely sixteen year old girl again? The second body I need so as to find her soul.”
He looked down at himself with dismay. “I am far too old for a sixteen year old girl to love.”
“You will not keep this body. You must take back your own, which will also be much younger. You did see what my conditions are?”
“Yes. I will do it gladly.” He smiled, a sad smile. “They will find it difficult to adjust to the way the world has changed.”
“Children adjust far easier than adults. Just give them love. With that as their base they will soon be a part of these times. Dimitri, you have been silent. Eddie explained about us, how do you feel about it?”
“Like when I was seven years old and waiting to open my presents.”
“All I will be doing is bringing Hettie back. The three of you must spend time with your Cherine and Robert. If you can grow close then she will be able to link you. You are luckier than your counterparts. Robert is a far nicer person than I am.” I turned to Cherine. “It is true love. I’ve had to fight and kill and see my loved ones hurt. It has changed me.”
Rob just had to open his mouth. “What he means Cherine is that his experiences and his suffering have made his heart bigger than mine. His love for all of you has grown to the point that I wonder, when I feel it, that he can bear so much love. If you had to stay as you are you would find that all you dreamt of has come true. He is the man you must have hoped he will be.”
“You are quite the idiot Robert. I’m not surprised though, seeing as how you are me.” He chuckled and his Cherine stretched her arms to him and lifting her he held her tightly.
I decided this time to alter Eddie first. When he stood before me a young man of about twenty two I went back for Hettie, Cherine coming with me to see how I do it. Perhaps I wanted to show off a bit, but I soon saw I should not have done it. She returned totally in awe of me. Seeing me become the void, not the bringing back of Hettie, had that effect on her. At least she is no longer afraid of the void.
We had to leave the young couple alone for a few days so that they can adjust and open their hearts to each other. We took Dimitri with us. He joked about it, saying that he has always hated flying and our jumping is a much nicer way to travel. Even then, he looked out of the windows to convince himself he really is in Greece.
“It has been a long time. I used to dream I would go to a kafeneion and drink real Greek coffee. I never expected to though. It was just a fantasy and now you have made it happen.”
“We’ll go to a kafeneion when we return. Your life has changed now Dimitri; how much depends on you.”
I jumped back in time, made the acquaintance of the same hotel person who facilitated our visits on our world and he was, luckily, just as willing to be bribed. I arranged three bungalows and returned.
“Dimitri, it is the middle of Winter here. Not the best time of the year to come here from the heat of Dar. I’ve booked rooms for us in the Seychelles for three nights. I’m afraid that my Cherine and I are not going to be much company, we need time to ourselves, but you’ll be with your Cherine and Robert. I hope the three of you will find a lot to talk about and enjoy yourselves.”
2714
I had to insist to get Rob to agree, but he did not really have a chance - not with his little love dying to come with us. Before we left, I explained about the programs Allan has originated and told him how well they are selling. I suggested he form a partnership with Dimitri and Alki so that all three of them will have a good income, while Alki uses his knowledge and expertise to make a success of it. He agreed on condition that a quarter of the earnings will go to a special fund for all Cherinians. He foresees that there will be many others who do not have the financial capabilities to live a decent life on their income. Cherine grinned at me, her heart well ensconced within me and feeling the chagrin I felt as I realised I have been bested. I’ve tried to see to my Cherinians, but with so many alternate worlds to worry about, I have not often been as thoughtful of my friends.
Even the heat pleased me. It made my love perspire and I relished the increased opportunity to lick her soft skin and taste the clean scent of her body which is stronger in this climate. We spent many hours alone and in bed, but we also spent time walking and swimming. She played like a child and her laughter was like little silver flowers that came to bloom in my heart. She has never, in all our fifteen years, been like this with me before and I treasured these moments, even feeling grateful to Noname2 for forcing me to steal part of her, turning her into this delightful and confident child. Perhaps the memories she sees as second-hand reassured her, but she is far more relaxed in our lovemaking, not trying to pressure me as she had in our first year. She keeps herself in touch with my mind and feelings on a permanent basis and sees how I enjoy the way we are and is willing to give me all the time I want.
I had one small mission before we left. After breakfast on the second day, I took her hand. “Come, let’s go and meet a friend.”
We found the village easily, but Mama Jo was not there. She never has been. After describing her and talking for a while a woman mentioned that there is someone that fits the description in another village. We got the name and directions and left, ostensibly to find transport. I have never been to that village, but have been to a point on the beach that is within walking distance. We jumped. As we came out onto the beach we saw her sitting there. She had brought two coconuts for us to drink. As we appeared, she sliced the tops off and held them out to us.
“I felt you were coming and I was curious. I sense love and friendship and yet we have never met. Is it from a previous life?”
I am going to enjoy this, for I am certain that for the first time I am going to see her caught by surprise. I explained and she did not interrupt me with questions, just sat there looking at peace but interested. I explained that our Jo has died and is now staying on our World as a large green woman, but that she intends leaving us soon to return to all the children that need her on our Earth.
“I have not decided to die yet. There is still time for me to do what I came here to do. I am glad she finished and was able to come to your World. Will there be such a World here?”
“Yes. This world has it’s own Cherine and Robert. They need a little time to grow stronger though. They will also need someone to push them now and then.”
She frowned. “I better meet them then. I am not certain I am pleased. I see I will have to set aside my life and come to help them.”
“It would be a good thing. Ultimately many more children will benefit from your taking such a path.”
Her eyes bored into mine. “You have brought joy to so many children on your world? You have lessened the hunger and misery so many of them live with?”
“No. I have spent most of my time fighting to survive and help my people grow. It is taking much longer than I originally expected.”
“It means you are not ready.”
“Mama Jo, I do not remember things clearly, but Robert is not telling you the truth. He and you have helped thousands of children. What he meant is that those children were not of this world. They are from other planets.”
She nodded at Cherine and stood up. “Go back to your hotel. I will come tomorrow.”
2715
We took our time returning, tempted by a lagoon empty of people. By the time we returned it was for a quick shower and supper with the others. Cher was full of glee when she heard what we have done. She knows Mama Jo as a large green woman, but loves her. I wondered how they will survive her. She can have quite a devastating effect with those horrible teasers of hers. I hope she will understand that her role is different; it is more the comfort of her love that they will need.
Rob and Cher went to sleep early so we sat with Dimitri while he had a cognac and smoked a small cigar. “Tell me about this other one who is me.”
I teased. “How can I tell you about you? You should tell me.”
“He is a good man?” He looked at Cherine. “It is a pity you have come after such damage. If Cherine knew him and spoke of him I would believe her words.”
“Dimitri, it does not matter whether you believe us. What our Dimitri is like has nothing to do with anything. This is an alternate world and that means it is likely you will not be the same as him. We did not rush over to Dar to save you, because of you. We came because of the man we know and love. Even if you were evil, we would have saved you.”
He leaned forward and the smoke from his cigar covered his face and he put his hand over his eyes. He sat back a moment recovering and then looked at us with watery eyes.
“I’m sorry. What you are telling me Robert is that he is not on trial, I am. It does not alter the fact that I am curious about him. I have had a difficult and lonely life and there have been times when I hung in balance, facing choices that tested me. It would have been easy for me to have made the wrong decision at least once.”
“I’m certain there are countless copies of you who have. Just as there are many who did not. Dimitri, who do you have in this world that cares about you? Apart from Eddie, is there one man or woman who will miss you if you die?” Cherine was horrified at what she thought of as my brutality and tried to emote her feeling of caring. His thin leathery hand reached out and touched hers, but his eyes remained on mine.
“None. It would be stupid to grieve because I succeeded in getting what I want. If I’d had friends and supporters they would have been victimised, so I had to be alone. That kind of life grows on you and I am too old to change now.”
“That sounds very brave. Why is it I get the feeling it is not? Whenever I find someone has turned his or her back on love, whatever their reasons, I feel they were wrong.”
“That is nasty Robert.” Cherine was really distressed. Dimitri was not. Why he thought I had the right to examine his life and criticise him I do not know, but he did and I did.
I asked of Cherine. “Do you believe that if you know love for you may cause problems, you should not allow anyone to love you? If you did allow them, actively encouraged them to, would you say that is selfish and not a sign of a good heart?”
“Of course.” As she said the words she looked at me suspiciously; that quickly my love is learning to distrust me. It would have been selfish of me to disappoint her.
“I see. Then you must be a very selfish girl. You must have guessed that because of your gift whoever loved you would have their world turned upside down.”
Her eyes were two dark wounds that stared at me. Now Dimitri was distressed, but he did not know what to say. I had to speak quickly before the two of them established a rapport.
“My love, you turned my life upside down, I’ve had to grow in new directions and change. So what!! Anybody who loves goes through that. Anybody who is truly alive does so. Change, loss, they are all part of what we gain from loving. So, I suffered in many ways because of you, but what have I gained!! Your love demanded sacrifices from me, but it also gave back to me so much I would never have experienced otherwise. Because you dared to love, I live with a heart that is full. Dimitri tried to protect others, but at the same time he deprived many of the opportunity to love him, care and fight for him. They have gone through life poorer, because they did not experience that love. Whatever their sacrifices, they would have been richer.”
2716
“You are looking at it from a different perspective Robert. Under the conditions at the time, friends would have risked going to prison, losing their jobs or business. I decided to fight the government and it would not have been right to allow them to share the risks.”
“You fought because you believed you were right. When people find someone who is willing to fight for something like that and they are allowed to be part of it, at whatever risks to themselves, their lives take on meaning. That is what gives life value Dimitri. How many of us ever have the opportunity to stand up for something important? Those of us who do and accept the challenge, when the day comes and we lie dying, we can look back and say, that was a good life, it had some meaning.”
“I look back and see a stubborn fool. It would have been far better that I pack my suitcase and leave the country. I could have made a new life for myself.”
“Can you see so clearly then? Your resistance did not make those in power hesitate or hold back from destroying other lives?”
Dimitri did not come to agree with anything I said and Cherine found it difficult to understand my arguments, but her pure devotion to me made her decide that I have a good reason for what I am doing and she stopped fearing that I am out to hurt Dimitri. I would have preferred she understand, but it is a bit much to expect a child to do so.
“Through no wish of mine I have become the leader of a new people. Because of our gifts we are forced to consider many nuances that Normal people often ignore. I have also had to ask people I love to risk their lives on my say so. Perhaps my arguments are an attempt by me to justify for myself the pain I put my loved ones through.”
“I am only beginning to see some of the potential of your gifts Robert. You are fighting to provide all men the opportunity to become something better than we are. All leaders have had to ask that some make sacrifices to make it possible for others to have a brighter future. If the glimmering of an understanding that I’m beginning to have is right, it would be worth suffering and dying for.”
“You meant that well but you are wrong. No Cherinian would ask of another that they sacrifice themselves, not for them and not for the general good of all Cherinians. We differ, or try to, in that way from Normal people. Remember that each of us feels any pain any other Cherinian does. How can I ask of you what I do not give myself? However, if you feel that way, then look at your Cherine and Robert. Stop seeing their youth and inexperience. Look instead at what they represent. No Cherine, in any reality, is just a child. Thanks to the empathy she is born with, by the time she is old enough to walk and talk she has already experienced all the emotions man is capable of. They have already felt the pain and suffering we all inflict on each other. No Cherine has turned dark and bitter. Instead their soul shines with their need to help and bring love to all. See her that way and you will see that in that tiny body lives a soul far older than yours.”
The next morning we lazed, staying in bed until it was too hot - even that is early for me, but I had a little girl who wanted to be up and about. We walked and climbed the rocks I’ve clambered upon as a child. She was poking around, totally unconscious of danger and I had to keep alert. It is not that she does not fear falling, just that she trusts me to care for her. It made me realise how much I have grown to depend on the protector.
Mama Jo arrived after lunch and we sat by the beach, ice-cold drinks in our hands helping to keep us cool as we talk. When she arrived, she’d been greeted enthusiastically by little Cher and somehow ended up carrying her, while Cher wrapped her arm around her shoulder.
“Are you really coming to stay with us?”
“I hope so, otherwise I’ve just given away my home and have nowhere to stay.”
“Of course you’ll stay with us.” Rob said. “I think it is very kind of you to agree to join us.”
I cleared my throat without saying a word. She swung round on me. “If you use words, they might be softer than your thoughts.”
“You can read my mind?”
“Of course not, but I do not need to. Spit them out and let us hear why you are amused that I stay with them.”
2717
“I’m not. I just don’t think you should.”
“You are changing your words of yesterday?”
“No. Mama Jo, they need you, but they are also a young couple learning to live together. Nobody should be living with them. I would prefer to get you an apartment near them. That way you can be together, but also have your moments of privacy.”
“Lord’s sake young man! Did you think I was to be their mama? You are right though, it would be better.” Rob snuck across a soft ‘thank you’ and I grinned at him.
*Do you think Cher will link to her soon?* I asked Cherine. Her eyes stared at me, huge with her shock. Then tentatively she tried an answer. *Yes. You can speak to me in my mind?* I put my hand to her cheek. *You have not been feeling that we are one? I can sense you in my mind my love. We’ve had this gift for a long time.* Her eyes blurred with tears.
“I think I will like becoming what I was. Robert, all my dreams came true?”
“Some of them honey, not all. Neither of us were planning on a large family.”
Rob laughed. “Cherine, every time he met a little girl he could not resist loving them.”
“That is not true! I cannot resist them if they love me.”
Little Cher turned to Cherine, her face delightfully cheeky. “You tease him that he has a little girl magnet.”
“Is that a gift you have Robert?” Dimitri asked.
“Not a Cherinian one Dimitri, so I’m sorry, I can’t pass it over to you.”
We all laughed when his face went a bright red. “I did not mean it that way…” he looked at us and shut up. He was trying to imagine himself with a little girl in his arms and was not doing too well. He prefers the voluptuous body of a mature woman. He’d also realised that a vehement denial could be construed as insulting me. I have become a little more thick skinned on this subject, out of necessity, so I was only amused.
A cool breeze had blown in from across the brilliant blue ocean and the afternoon had mellowed. None of us were eager to leave, only Mama Jo did not seem to notice, her attention more on her Rob and Cherine. I knew that her reaction to them is bound to be different to the one her counterpart had felt towards us, for these two are not troubled in the same way we had been and their natures are far more gentle. I idly wondered what she will want to bring out in them, for I know that she has no interest in changing them, only in bringing out what is the best in them. My thoughts, to tell the truth, were soft and hazy because most of me was enjoying the feelings in my Cherine. Being in her mind was like swimming in the azure tropical waters in front of us, warm as I floated in them with a myriad colourful flashes of life under the surface. She was beginning to shyly visit my mind, no longer just her ability to taste my emotions a part of me, but her mind also, the part that is able to be judgmental, and I was pleased to find that mostly she is happy with what she is finding.
It is a very strange feeling having someone who knows me so well and is so close to me suddenly having to ‘rediscover’ me. That she approves is a great comfort, for it means she had not ‘grown’ into liking what I am now. At such times that I do not like what I am, it will be a great comfort.
“I sense a new vigour in you Eddie.”
“You returned my reason for living. Hettie, this is Robert. That one is the Robert of this world.”
She curtsied. “I am grateful sir…”
“Please, my queen has not knighted me yet. Plain Robert will do.”
“Queen Elizabeth!?” my Cherine asked, her eyes wide. She’d actually thought I meant it, so convinced was she that I deserved it. I laughed and hugged her.
“No my love, I was referring to you.” She blushed and hid her face against my chest.
2718
“Eddie told me you brought me back to life. That is true?”
“In a way.”
“Why? Since it was you who killed me?”
“I’m sorry Robert, she has been insisting that you killed her. I tried to explain…”
“She is right Eddie. I cannot claim to understand how time works. When I met you, she had died from an accident. That was as far as you knew. To save her I had to go back in time. As her soul left her body I collected it and brought her here to the body I had prepared for her. How can I know for certain that she would have died if I had not interfered? Perhaps she would have returned to her body and lived. With the ability the two of you had of taking over other bodies, she might have been alive today in some other body.
Was she dead when I arrived here because I had gone back into the past and brought her soul to this time? I cannot answer that question with any certitude, but I do not see that I had any choice since I wanted her here for you. Hettie, if I did kill you, it was not deliberately meant to happen. I have grown to know your alternate and though it took many years for us to become friends, she has opened up and turned into a wonderful Cherinian. I did not want to let you stay dead, both the Cherinians of this world and your Eddie need you.”
She glanced at herself in the mirror. “It is better this way. The other bodies, they were never the same as it is in my own body.”
“You will be leaving us soon?”
“Correct Alki.”
“I have discussed the proposition with Elia and Eddie. It is one of those rare business deals where it is known from before that the profits will be astronomical. The three of us will fund it and we propose to give Roberto forty percent with the three of us having fifteen percent each. Are you agreeable?”
“No.” I had wanted to move on with Cherine to the next world, but I’d forgotten one important detail. I explained to them about Allan. “Alki, the funding of this will be a small cost. The return on other worlds has been over one hundred million dollars and the sales continue. The cost, even with what you will need to advance to Allan, will not be over three million. I would suggest the following. Allan gets fifty percent. It is his idea after all. The rest is divided in the proportions you suggested. From what Robert and Cherine get they will place in a fund to be administrated by you a quarter of what they get. That fund will be for assisting any Cherinian who needs to be supported or assisted.”
“That is too much for us Robert!! Our share would come to fifteen million!!”
“Slightly more. Robert, you are thinking in terms of how you live now. You will soon find the money is not enough. Please agree with your Cherine from now how your family is to grow. The first thing you will have to do is buy property and build yourselves a house that will be suitable for a large family. It will take a substantial chunk out of your earnings.”
Cher looked delighted. “We can have a bedroom like yours?”
“If it suits you my love. You don’t have to copy what I did.”
“But then I can have a baby!!”
“That is for the two of you to decide. Rob, you are aware of the mathematics? Good. Make certain Cherine understands.”
“Robert, would you mind if I find and contact our Allan?”
“That would suit me just fine. I think I need some time alone with my love to explain to her about Allan, she does not know.”
“I do not understand. You said you could get back her memories, why have you left her incomplete then?” Hettie was not only genuinely puzzled, but also sounded annoyed, as if she felt I am deliberately doing something harmful to Cherine.
2719
I did not answer directly. “When you came back to life in your original body, were you pleased to find your Eddie as you remembered him at the age of sixteen? Would you have preferred to join him as he was, in another body and growing old?”
“What has that got to do with my question?”
“You think about it and tell me.”
Mama Jo spoke to Hettie. “When the heart is filled with love and memories, it becomes a place of longing for what was. Sometimes it is the only reason it continues to love, because it clings to what was in the past.”
“Oh.” She turned to me. “Are you going to keep her this way?”
“No. I miss the person she has grown into. I might have been selfish, but I could not pass up the opportunity to have the Cherine I first met and loved, even if it was only for a short time.”
Appeased she turned her attention to other matters and taking my love I went out to the garden to explain more fully about Allan. I was slightly irked to find Mama Jo following us, but I did not show it. They both listened as I talked about our Mr ‘A’ and how we had found his alternate. I did not mention his death.
“I find this difficult to believe.”
“I have proof Jo.”
“You mean his messages? That could be some spirit of your world playing a prank.”
“You would prefer one improbable answer to another? No, that is not the proof I meant. Meli is my proof.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Gillians. They too have a history, remembering grandparents who are long since gone. This from when Meli was only months old. The dolphin people on our Kaleidoscope World. Memories that are of another world. Jo, they only existed in the minds of their authors, they are characters in a book and yet Meli brought them to life. Hell! I even married one of them, my sweet Gilli. She lives in my world and is as real as any of us.”
“If you could bring her to your world then he should be able to bring you to his.”
“We thought of that. He says that his world is too fixed on what is possible. They do not have people with the gifts our Cherine has brought to us. There is no Eddie either. The only proofs they’ve had of any extrasensory talents have been very weak. Even with our Allan we had a problem; it seems he is more like his original than the people of our world. Still, we do have to find a way to contact him and if possible bring him to our world. We want him as a Cherinian.”
“It might not be possible. If he does not believe it is possible, then it will not be.”
“When we bring him to us he will see it is possible.”
“You misunderstand me. If you, we, are creatures of his imagination, he will accept it is possible for us, but he will not believe it is possible for him.”
“Jesus! You’ve hit the nail on the head Jo!! No wonder Allan refused to become a Cherinian!”
That night my Cherine did a naughty thing. As we loved each others’ bodies and our senses were mingled and swirled she allowed them to expand and touch the others in the house. Cher and Rob did not mind and joined in; Dimitri was badly confused, but Cherine had the shock of her life with Jo. She slammed her mind shut, throwing the emoting by Cherine out. It was as if someone had slammed the door shut on her when she was already partly through. She cried out. I had to hold her trembling body as she cried. When she told me what had happened, I was upset.
“You had no right to do that Cherine. Those were our feelings, private to you and me.”
“But it felt so wonderful, I wanted the others to also be happy.”
2720
“You should have discussed it with me, since I was part of it and if I’d agreed, then you should have invited them to join us. You must apologise to them in the morning.”
She dreaded it and did not sleep well that night. I had time to reflect and realised I was being silly. This is not an eight year old child I have to guide so that she will turn into a decent adult. I can afford to spoil her rotten and I will.
“I’m sorry, we got carried away last night and forgot to prevent you from feeling our joy.”
“It was not…”
“It is alright Cherine love, we’ve apologised and it is over. Are you going to have some toast or are you going to fill your belly with that sugary cereal?”
“Robert, I don’t want them to think it was your fault.”
“Ok. Guys, it was her fault. You happier now?” Everybody by now was grinning at our efforts to take the blame. Dimitri put his hand over hers.
“Thank you. It helped me see that what you two share is beautiful. It will help me understand my own Cherine and Robert and I am grateful to you.”
“Cherine, I locked you out because what you were sharing was private. Dimitri is right, I too have been upset at the idea of the two of you having sex. The little that got through showed me that where there is love there is beauty.” It was very unlike Jo to speak this way, but I guessed she did it out of consideration for Cherine - because she is a child, I doubt she would have been that forgiving of me.
“Robert, on your world, have you encountered much hatred because of you loving children?”
“A fair amount Dimitri. Mostly in the beginning though. I am more careful and less fearful now. Those that matter to us accept our strange lifestyle and are no longer critical. They also know that they also face the same situation happening to them. As they have babies they find their children bond to them and when they travel to the void their children need to be held and loved. It may not always be this way, we are an evolving species, learning about ourselves. Perhaps one day…”
“I wonder.” Rob was thoughtful. “We’ve spent time on your world with your Cherinians. It was wonderful not having to hide from them. We were free to look at each other with love, to touch and kiss within the same boundaries any adult couple would respect. If the Cherinians do evolve, is it likely that they will revert to the same intolerance we find among Normal people?”
“I don’t think so. Intolerance only exists where there is no empathy. A hundred years from now, if you feel the love and needs of a child, do you truly think you could judge it as abnormal?”
His face lightened. “No. You are right, only those who cannot feel can afford to be so narrow-minded.” Cher was sitting on his lap and she’d been looking up at him as he spoke. He softly kissed her. “I’ll always love you, whatever your age.”
I felt it was time for us to move on. Cher did not want us to leave yet.
“Please Robert, you must first tell them about me.”
“Tell them what my love?”
“How you found me.”
I knelt and put my hands on her shoulders. “Don’t tell me you are still worried about that?” I only needed to look into her eyes to see that she was. Why is there this fear of being different? “It is not imperative that they understand love. It is more important that you do.”
I lifted her and my Cherine and sat on the sofa. “On my world there are a number of girls, all of my family, mostly now my wives, who were not born. There is one who was found within the mind of my Wendy. She represented Wendy as she was at five years old. I grew to love her so much that finally I had to find a way for her to become my Candy. Another time my wives made a stupid mistake. They took what is the best loved by me in each of them and putting it all together created my Diana. Years later I still find myself breathless when I look at her. They only thing they forgot to share with her was the cheekiness of my Cherine. Another time I wished to play a trick on everyone and created what I thought was an illusion. It backfired on me, for she turned into a real girl - an exact copy of myself, but as a little girl. She has the same instincts to protect and has saved my loves a couple of times. Little Jade is not only loved by me, all the girls adore her.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)9th November, 2019
- posted on Steemit: 9th November, 2019
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