Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 10:32:04 +0200
From: Harry Anders <harry@harryanders.com>
Subject: Little Harry-11

Chapter 11. The zoo, where little Harry got lost and found.

The boys put the chairs back into the hallway closet, and I stored all the
legal papers safely away. We rearranged the furniture and slumped down on
the couch, tired but feeling happy. After a while we started to talk about
all the strange events that had happened. The wise woman who seemed to look
directly into your soul, all those memories about our past lives, the fact
we all seemed to berelated to each other, the fact we were together again
in this life. And who was that Mickey? And why didn't we remember all those
things before?

"I have thought a lot about memories dad," little Harry told me with a
frown on his face.

"A few years ago I was wondering why I couldn't remember the first years of
my life. Sometimes I could FEEL things that happened in the past and I
still reacted to them, but I couldn't remember them. After a while I
supposed everybody has two sorts of memories. There are the memories that
are used by your brain. They can easily fade away, and of course they
disappear when you die. In your next life on earth you get a new body with
a new brain, without any memories about the past, and that's why we can't
remember our past lives through our brain-memory.

"There's another memory, that has to be in your feelings. And I think
that's the memory you take with you from your past lives to your next
life. It's the memory you use when you are not in a body, like
Jack. Through that memory you remember things you can't possibly know, and
through that memory you also could remember things from your past
lives. What do you think about that dad, am I right?"

John and Davey both gawked at Harry, and I was totally thunderstruck. Could
that little boy think! I had never thought about those things, but
everything Harry put forward sounded so logical! Indeed, the times when I
thought I could remember things from my past lives, were the times I didn't
think but just sensed my feelings, and my brain translated them into
pictures. Wow, little Harry really had a point!

"I think you are right son, your memories could really work like you
explained. You are one really deep thinker!"

Harry beamed and threw his arms around my neck. John looked away, deep in
thought; and Davey looked at Harry with admiration in his eyes.

"I still can't comprehend that once you and I were brothers..."

At nine o'clock Davey had to go home, and we all went with him. Mary opened
the door and invited us in. The boys started to relay their adventures of
the day, and now and then Mary asked them some questions. Gradually she
understood that little Harry was a gypsy prince, and his gypsy grandma
invited them all to Romania to visit her.

"Well, I'm not sure... That's rather far away isn't it? Is it really safe
to travel to such a foreign country, where those gypsies are living? Davey
has never been far from home before, and what happens when he gets homesick
again?"

"Awwww, mom... that was years ago in a camp, and it rained all the time!
Now I'm a lot older, and of course I'm with my friends and my new dad."

"I will give it some thought, but I don't promise you anything..."

We went back home, where John and little Harry started a game on the
computer. I went to the couch and thought back about everything that had
happened. I felt rather empty after all the emotions and events of the day,
especially after those remembrances of my past lives. Was everything I
experienced really genuine, or did I make those things up in my brain? Was
I really a former gypsy leader? I still couldn't really believe it, despite
my memories and all the experiences. Suddenly I heard Jack somewhere in my
head.

"I told you, in the end there will be victory and you will be ROYALLY
rewarded. Why do you doubt my words? Your remembrances are genuine, and
your son is right about those two different kinds of memories. Don't doubt
so much..."

His voice faded away and again I started to think. Perhaps I fantasized
that voice in my head by myself? I was such a skeptic...

After a while we went to bed, dead tired from all the emotions of the
day. We showered together, and both boys slept close to me in our waterbed,
as usual. We all slept peacefully and uneventfully, until the next morning
when the sun peeked through the curtains and woke us up. John yawned, but
little Harry seemed to be bright and shining.

"Dad? I never went to the zoo before, and perhaps today is a beautiful day
to visit our ancestors, the apes..."

"You better look out, for perhaps they will make a mistake today and keep
YOU in a cage instead of an ape."

"You're crazy. You better look out for yourself! But can we? I mean, may we
go today?"

"What do you think John, shall we take the risk?"

In unison we decided to go to the zoo. We first dressed and had
breakfast. After cleaning the plates, little Harry and John went to Davey's
house. They returned with a delighted Davey, throwing his arms around my
neck and nearly suffocating me.

"Thank you dad for taking me with you, you are the best dad in the whole
world!"

I tickled his ribs to free myself, and he squealed with joy. Two seconds
later I was floored with three boys on my stomach, giggling and tickling me
everywhere. That was too much for me.

"Stop boys, for I am nearly wetting my pants!"

"We will buy you some pampers..."

"Stop now, or we aren't going anywhere today!"

They immediately pulled me upright and promised to be good boys for the
rest of the day.

Little Harry and John made a lot of sandwiches to eat in the zoo, while
Davey and I robbed the fridge and put a pile of lemonade cans into a duffel
bag. I helped little Harry with his mask, and we all rushed to the car to
enjoy our day off.

John took the front seat, while little Harry and Davey were both in the
back, giggling and pushing each other. John searched the radio for a
cheerful song, and soon we were all singing along with the music, clapping
our hands and stamping our feet. After a while the boys became bored, until
Davey started to tell a joke. The rest of the drive was filled with all
sorts of jokes and laughter. We parked the car in the parking lot, and I
bought four tickets, with little Harry pulling my hand and John and Davey
impatiently waiting at the entrance. The gatekeeper tore the corners off
our tickets, and at last we were in!

I was visiting that particular zoo for the first time, and it turned out to
be HUGE. Everywhere were animals in buildings, walking around free, behind
fences, in swimming pools, or in big cages. A smiling man with a camera
neared us.

"Want a picture of you and your boys? Say cheese please..."

He took a few pictures and told us that in a few hours they would be pinned
on a big board at the entrance. Impatiently the boys dragged me off to the
first building, which to their delight turned out to be the ape house. Soon
the boys and I were entranced by the gorillas who looked back at us with
bored faces.

"Are we really looking at them, or are they looking at us?" Davey asked,
grinning and making stupid faces.

"Of course they are looking at us, but dad paid them to do that!" John
answered and poked Davey in the ribs.

"Perhaps they will even recognize you, the resemblance is striking..."
little Harry teased Davey.

Davey poked at little Harry, but little Harry was too fast and ran away,
with Davey on his heels.

"Dad, help me, Davey is picking on me!" little Harry shouted and jumped
into my arms.

I ruffled Davey's hair, while holding a writhing little Harry.

"Be careful with our youngster, he is still a baby..."

"You're crazy!" and off little Harry went, again chased by a grinning
Davey.

"Look here!" John suddenly shouted, and we all went to the next cage.

A mother ape and her small child were sitting together on the ground, and
both of them were UGLY, at least to our standards.

"That's big Harry and little Harry sitting together..." John teased us.

I went after John, helped by little Harry, but of course he was too fast
and escaped.

"Next time we will get you back for that!"

Suddenly Davey roared with laughter and pointed to a big cage with several
apes.

"Look at that! Did you ever see such beautiful buttocks before?"

The female apes all had bright violet and pink colored behinds, protruding
and really ugly. The boys roared with laughter and slapped their knees, but
after a while little Harry went silent.

"How come their butts look like that dad? Are they ill?"

I explained this is the way nature makes the female apes more attractive to
the males. Little Harry shuddered.

"If MY girl ever makes herself attractive like that, I will force her to
wear a mask around her behind!"

John and Davey nearly suffocated in laughter.

We passed through a double door and entered the reptile house.

"Look, there's the Harry Potter snake!" Davey pointed at a big anaconda.

The boys tried to wake the snake up by pounding the glass, but in vain.

"You will have to talk to her in snake language!" Davey grinned.

They looked at the snake for a few more seconds and went to the next cage
with some smaller snakes in it. Little Harry went to the next door.

"Look here! They have a real alligator!"

We all went through the door and were amazed by a big crocodile, lazily
outstretched on the grass under a bright lamp. A second crocodile swam
around in the water, with his mouth slightly opened.

"Wow, what big teeth! And look at those mean eyes! Did you know they even
eat elephants?"

They all looked rather impressed. After a while we went through the next
door, and the sudden sunlight blinded us for a moment.

For two hours we strolled through the garden, looked at all the different
animals, visited small buildings with all kinds of fishes, bats, rodents,
and insects. We looked at the seals, the sea lions, the bears, the
elephants, and the zebra's.

Suddenly the boys found the playground, and they left me on my own. I took
a seat at a small table and ordered a cup of coffee. Now and then I saw one
of the boys, running from swing to slide, to climbing rope, to conning
tower, to labyrinth, to water bridge... until John suddenly appeared with a
big smile on his face.

"Do you have something to eat dad? I'm starved."

I opened the duffel bag, and all of a sudden they were all there, like
magic. I distributed the sandwiches and the lemonade. The boys sat down for
a mere thirty seconds, chewing and drinking. Still chewing they went off
again, leaving me on my own... I sipped my coffee and nibbled at the
remaining sandwich, filled with tomato slices and cheese. Now and then one
of the boys reappeared and took a fast sip of his lemonade before
disappearing again. Once Davey hugged me, beaming.

"Thanks dad, it's really marvelous here! I'm so glad I was allowed to join
you!"

Off he went, somewhere to the labyrinth, where little Harry beckoned him,
while John waited for them in the background. They all disappeared, and I
didn't see them back for a long time. I dozed off in the bright sun and the
joyful sounds of playing children.

"Dad, do you know where Harry is?"

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and looked at the worried faces of John and Davey.

"We were playing hide and seek in the labyrinth, and all of a sudden Harry
disappeared. We've looked all over the place three times, but we can't find
him. Did you happen to see him?"

"No, he wasn't here for a long time. Perhaps he went to the toilet? Where
was the last time you saw him?"

They pointed to the labyrinth in the distance. I followed them, a bit stiff
and not too worried. What could have happened to little Harry, here in the
relative safety of the zoo?

We went to the labyrinth, and the boys dived under a bar. I followed them,
complaining and nearly on my knees. They seemed to know the way, and
dragged me to the exit on the other side of the small labyrinth. Again they
couldn't find little Harry, and now I started to be a bit worried. Where
could he be? Had something happened to him? Was he astray somewhere?

"Do you know where the children's toilets are?"

They took me with them, and I probed all toilet doors hoping to find little
Harry there. I called his name a few times, but there was no response;
except for a small boy with a bewildered look on his face and his pants
down, hesitantly opening his door to have a look at all that noise. But we
found no trace of our little gypsy prince. Where could he be?

"Do you remember the last time one of you saw little Harry? Where was he
and what was he doing?"

"Harry and Davey were hiding at the back of the labyrinth, and I was
looking for them. I tagged Davey, but I couldn't find Harry. After a while
Davey helped me to look for Harry, but he seemed to have totally
vanished. We looked everywhere, and after a while we went back to you for
help."

"Do you have any idea where he could be now?"

They looked at me as if I was the dumbest ass on the planet...

I parked John and Davey at our table in the playground to wait there for
little Harry, hoping he would return after a while. They promised to stay
where they were until I came back or until little Harry showed up.

I started to walk in the direction where I thought the entrance would be,
but after a while I got lost. Where was I, and where could I find someone
who belonged to the zoo, and who perhaps could help me to find my lost boy?
I walked and walked, and now I started to feel really uneasy. Where was
that damned entrance?

Suddenly I saw the small tower of the ape house, somewhere in the far
distance. Relieved I started to walk towards the tower, hoping the zoo's
office should be there too. Finally I detected small pickets on every
corner, with bright yellow arrows, pointing to the entrance, the snack bar,
the playground, and the office. I felt really stupid...

I followed the yellow arrows pointing to the office, and soon was greeted
by a young lady behind a ticket window.

"Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?"

"My little boy suddenly disappeared. I'm here with my three boys, and they
were playing in the playground. After a while we missed our youngest boy,
eight-year-old little Harry. We looked for him everywhere, even in the
toilets, but so far in vain. Now the two other boys are waiting in the
playground, hoping he will show up..."

"Could you describe your little boy for me please?"

I described little Harry, a slender boy with brownish hair, deep blue eyes,
slightly stuffed cheeks, and a cheerful pug nose, dressed in a blue sweater
and long denim pants. I also told her he was severely burnt in his face,
and therefore wore a plastic mask to hide the scars. She took a mobile
phone and called a few security people to look out for him.

"That's all I can do for now sir, every security guard will look out for
him from now on. Go back to your other boys in the playground and wait
there until he shows up. From time to time one of our security people will
contact you. Don't be too worried, it happens all the time, and eventually
they all show up sooner or later."

I followed the yellow arrows, and soon I was back in the playground, where
a sad looking John greeted me. He and Davey were taking turns looking in
different directions, and after a while they changed places. Clever boys! I
complimented John and assured him that now the security guards were looking
for little Harry everywhere. He nodded and leaned against me, obviously
looking for strength.

Davey turned up, looking disappointedly with tears in his eyes.

"Again l looked everywhere, even in places we never went before, but he
seems to have vanished..."

He leaned against my other side and started to sob.

A tall man, wearing an uniform with 'security' on it, showed up and looked
around the playground. After a while he neared us.

"You are the father of the little lost boy?" he asked me, with a concerned
voice. "Please will you tell me everything I should know about him, even
the slightest details?"

John told him everything, filled in by Davey. They were playing hide and
seek, and it was John's turn. Within two minutes he found Davey, hiding
behind a big tree, but he couldn't find little Harry. After a while they
both started to look everywhere, until they became too worried and asked me
for help.

The security guard took his mobile phone and relayed the new information to
a few others.

"Don't worry. I think he went too far away while seeking for a nice place
to hide, and couldn't find the way back. All security officers are looking
for him now, and they will call me as soon as they have found him. I will
be somewhere in the neighborhood, looking for him too, and now and then I
will show up."

I never felt the urgency to buy one of those mobile phones myself. Why
should I? I was always home, where I had my telephone and my answering
machine. But now I cursed myself for being so short-sighted. I decided to
buy a couple of those things, first thing in the morning. One for myself,
and one for each of my boys, to carry with them all the time! That way they
never could get lost again without the possibility of contacting me. Now I
really could feel the full weight of responsibility on my shoulders. It was
crushing me!

John and Davey went searching for little Harry again. They promised me to
return every few minutes, and of course not get lost themselves! I pointed
them to the yellow direction arrows, but of course they had already seen
them a century ago. Never underestimate youth!

I closed my eyes and tried to be little Harry, hiding myself from the
tracing eyes of John. Davey hid himself behind a big tree, but where should
I go this time? In my fantasy I walked away from the playground, until I
saw a small barn with an open door. Curiously I entered the barn, and
suddenly the door shut. Everything went dark, and I was trapped!

A wave of panic overwhelmed me, and shuddering I opened my eyes. What a
strange daydream... had this happened to little Harry? Of course the
security guards would have looked into all barns and behind all closed
doors by now. There was no way they shouldn't have found him...

I couldn't get rid of the panic, and I saw the worrisome face of little
Harry wavering in front of me, looking at me with fear in his eyes. Where
was he?

I thought of Jack. Where was Jack, now we really needed him? I tried to
call him in my mind, but he didn't answer. He promised us to be our
guardian angel, but where was he now? Or was he with little Harry now? Or
was everything a fake, perhaps wishful thinking?

Time went by, and slowly the sun disappeared below the horizon. John and
Davey were dead tired from searching everywhere and all the emotions, and
the security people couldn't find a trace of little Harry. At last they
told us they were sure our little boy wasn't in the zoo any more. From now
on we had to contact the police for further investigation, as the zoo
closed within half an hour. They promised to ask night security to keep an
eye open, in case Harry showed up during the night. Again they wrote our
telephone number down.

We were devastated. Slowly we walked through the entrance, looking behind,
hoping to see little Harry run towards us with a big smile on his face:
"Gotcha!"

We went to the car, hoping to see little Harry's face waiting for us behind
the windows, but he wasn't there. We entered our car with a feeling of
desperation. Where was our little gypsy prince? What had happened? I
started the car, looked behind one last time, and we drove to the police
station, which fortunately wasn't far away.

The police officers looked bored, obviously we weren't the only ones who
had lost something. I got my second cup of coffee that day, and both boys
got a glass of cola. We told the officers our story and answered several
annoying questions. Was this the first time little Harry had disappeared?
Could he have any reason to run away? Was he frightened about something?
Was he afraid of a punishment? Could I think of any reason why little Harry
would disappear without leaving a trace? Could someone else have taken him
somewhere? Did we know of any person little Harry had contacted during the
last days, or perhaps through the Internet?

The officers wrote our answers down, and promised us to do everything they
could to find the little boy. We had to sign all papers, and they wrote our
telephone number down, promising to call us as soon as they knew more about
the lost boy. They advised us to go home and wait there. They opened the
door, we shook hands, and again we were outside.

What now? We went to the car and I started the motor. In silence we drove
off, John and Davey softly sobbing on the backseat, me behind the steering
wheel with tears in my eyes. Where was my little soul mate? For heaven's
sake, what had happened to my boy? "Jack, JACK, where are you..."

On our way home we bought some fish and chips, but after a few bites we
threw them away. How could we be hungry whilst perhaps our little friend
was in despair? After an hour we entered our village. First we took Davey
home, promising him we would let him know as soon as we heard something
about little Harry, even in the middle of the night.

Mary invited us in, but we politely refused, promising to pay her a visit
as soon as little Harry was with us again. I parked the car in the
driveway, and we went straight to the answering machine in the living
room. Nobody had called us. I even checked the phone to be sure everything
worked...

That evening John and I sat together on the couch in the living room, arms
around each other, softly speaking, and guessing where our little friend
and soul mate would spend the night. Where was he? What happened to him?
Would he be frightened? And what if his mask started to itch after a few
hours? Would he still wear it? We both drifted off...

"DAD! I am sure Harry is alive! Suddenly I felt him, and he is sleeping
now. He is in a dark place and the door is closed, but I can't see where
the place is or who brought him there. He cried a lot and now he is dead
tired. But he is okay."

"How do you know? Did Jack tell you something?"

"No, I don't feel Jack around, but I tried to look for Harry in my
mind. All of a sudden I felt him..."

"Are you really sure, or do you make things up in your mind?"

"I am absolutely sure dad, but don't ask me how. I just know..."

"Do you know where Jack is? He promised us to protect little Harry..."

Suddenly I heard Jack's voice in my head, loud and clear:

"Don't worry and go to bed. You will need some sleep!"

"Did you hear that dad? Jack tells us not to worry and to go to bed for we
need some sleep!"

To say I was totally flabbergasted isn't strong enough... even John could
hear him?

We showered and went to bed. John draped himself all over me, with his head
on my shoulder. We were dead tired and fell asleep almost immediately.

"DAD! Wake up! The telephone is ringing! Come on! Hurry up!"

John forcefully shook me and nearly dragged me out of bed. Sleep charged, I
looked around.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly four o'clock, but the telephone is ringing! Come on, hurry!"

I staggered downstairs, nearly falling, and hurried to the ringing phone in
the living room.

"Hello?" I told the receiver in a sleepy voice.

"DADDY! I am so sorry! Are you mad at me? I climbed a fence and went into a
barn, and suddenly the door shut down, and I couldn't open it because it
was locked, and I started to pound the door but nobody heard me, and I
screamed and yelled, and it was so dark, and everything was so creepy, and
I was so terribly afraid..."

Little Harry nearly suffocated, stumbling over his own words. He started to
cry, and a man took over. He told me he was the night guard at the zoo. Ten
minutes ago he suddenly heard somebody desperately pounding a door,
somewhere in the darkness. After a lot of searching he found a hidden barn
behind a fence, with a crying person who had locked himself in. He had to
collect the key from the office, so he first reassured the crying person he
would be back within a minute.

When he eventually freed little Harry, he was shocked by the look of a
totally devastated face. But the little fellow assured him his face was
burnt two years ago, and there was no need to call an ambulance. Now both
of them were waiting in the zoo's office, and please could I come over and
collect my son?

"I'm on my way! Please wait for me, and don't go anywhere!"

John and I embraced each other and together we danced around the
room. Still grinning we hurried upstairs, dressed and went to the car. Two
seconds later I hurried to the backdoor, to enter our house with the hidden
key, as I totally forgot to take my own keys with me and couldn't start the
car...

John fell asleep in his seat next to me, and I could hardly keep my eyes
open. The streets were deserted, and everything looked spooky, with only
now and then the bright headlights from an approaching car. I searched the
radio for some music to stay awake. Suddenly our song was there: "You are
soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

I grinned and silently thanked Jack. I could feel him around, grinning too,
and his voice sounded somewhere in my head.

"Keep your eyes on the road! I couldn't help you, as you all needed this
experience. Your son had to overcome his fears, to be a better king in the
future. You had to be aware of your responsibilities, to be able to safely
guide him through his boyhood. My son had to wake up, to be more aware of
his capabilities as a leader. The other boy had to be welcomed into your
company, to feel more safe in his life. Now go get your little gypsy, and
tomorrow the clinic will help him to get new skin on his scars. God bless
you all..."

I parked the car in the darkness of a desolate zoo parking lot. John woke
up and yawned a few times. Together we went to the closed entrance, but
what now? The door was shut, and all lights were off... Fortunately John
had better eyes than me, as he detected a bell in the darkness and pressed
it a few times.

In the distance we heard the sound of a buzzer. After a few minutes the
guard appeared, followed by a very timid-looking little Harry. The guard
opened the entrance and let us in. He guided us to his small office, where
we were welcomed by the smell of fresh coffee. Little Harry got a second
cup of hot chocolate milk, and John asked for hot milk without the
chocolate. We all looked at each other... suddenly little Harry threw
himself onto me, trembling all over his body.

"Are you mad at me daddy? I am so sorry. I didn't do it on purpose..."

I cuddled him and tenderly kissed his face, wet with tears. I got my
handkerchief and carefully dried his eyes. After a while his tension faded
away, and he melted into me with a deep sigh. He closed his eyes and nearly
fell asleep, until a curious John asked him what happened. Yawning little
Harry told us his story.

They played hide and seek, but every time they detected him first; so he
decided to look for a better hiding place. He went further away and climbed
a small fence. Behind the fence he saw a barn with an open door, and of
course he was curious. He looked into the barn and saw a pile of food
bags. He looked at the bags to see what was in them, and suddenly the door
closed and everything went dark. He panicked and tried in vain to open the
door. He pounded the door and yelled, but nobody heard him. After a while
he sat down on the pile of bags and waited. Of course we would miss him and
come over to rescue him...

But nobody rescued him, and now he started to cry. He cried for a long
time, and eventually he fell asleep on the pile of bags. When he woke up
everything was dead silent and spooky. Again he started to pound the door,
and suddenly a voice told him to wait a minute, as he had to get the
key. The nice security man rescued him, and now he was afraid I would yell
at him and punish him, like John's father always used to do with John...

"I will never yell at you, and I will never punish you for something that's
not your fault! You are a small boy, and small boys are curious, and it's
not your fault you are a small boy. So you did nothing wrong. But I was
very afraid, just like you. I was so afraid they had kidnapped you and I
would never see you back..."

Now I started to sob from all the emotions. Little Harry threw his arms
around my neck.

"It's okay dad, don't bottle it up. Just let it go. In a few minutes you
will feel better..."

Did Jack teach him to say that? Suddenly I started to laugh. The little
devil...

We thanked the security guard and went home. Both boys slept on the back
seat, entangled in each other's arms. I switched the radio on, and again I
heard our song.

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

I was happy again. I had my boy back, my little soul mate. Lost and found.


Harry AnderS, alternative writer.


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