Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:25:14 +0200
From: Harry Anders <harry@harryanders.com>
Subject: Little Harry-21

Chapter 21. Openness, and everything is so NORMAL here.

I looked at the email with the descriptions that little Harry's people had
sent me. 'When see mountains, drive path to hotel at foot and sleep there.'
Well... I hoped I could find that hotel! What if we took another route, and
didn't arrive at the foot of the mountains where we should be? So far only
one way seemed to be leading to the mountains in the distance, a small
winding path full of potholes. Carefully I drove the van into the small
junction.

"Yes dad, I remember we always took this path! Be careful, there are very
steep hills."

"Do you know about a hotel somewhere?"

"Yes, we always got coffee there. It's about an hour's driving from here,
just before you have to climb the mountains."

For the next hour I navigated around potholes, drove the van along hills,
avoided boulders, and guided the van through narrow windings. Slowly the
path broadened until we entered a natural court, at the foot of the
mountains, surrounded by steep ravines. There was our hotel, a small
three-story building built against a wall.

I parked the van, and we went to the hotel, an enthusiastic little Harry
leading the way. He opened the front door, and we entered a small hallway,
where a woman greeted us with a big smile on her face. We couldn't
understand the language, but we certainly could feel her welcome. Little
Harry spoke a few words, and immediately her eyes brightened. She took
little Harry into her arms and nearly crushed him. Little Harry threw his
arms around her neck and beamed.

"She recognizes me dad! She knows who we are and why we are here. She wants
me to tell you we all will always be welcome here."

The woman put little Harry down and took Nicky into her arms, also trying
to crush him. She put Nicky down and took John into her arms, and then she
took Davey into her arms. She turned around and yes, she took me into her
arms, trying to crush me too! She told me a few words in her language.

"She knows you once were a gypsy leader, and she is honored to have you in
her hotel. Everything will be free for us, we don't have to pay."

"Tell her I am honored too, and I certainly will not forget her. She can
ask me anything she wants at any time."

Little Harry translated my words, and the woman beckoned us to a small café
where we got coffee for me and drinks for the boys. Little Harry chattered
along and seemingly told her everything that had happened in his young
life. The woman listened in awe, sometimes asking short questions, now and
then getting tears in her eyes.

A man approached us and spoke a few words, translated by little Harry.

"Dinner's nearly ready dad. We will go to another room now."

We followed the man to the dining room. Soon we were overwhelmed by the
diversity of the foods. It looked like a king's feast, and it tasted
delicious. More food came from the kitchen, and after a while we all were
stuffed to the brim. I thanked the woman and the man, and little Harry
translated everything.

"They say only the best is good enough for a gypsy king, his little prince,
and his other sons. And tomorrow our guide will arrive from the mountains."

The hotel had five free rooms, so we all got our own room. First we brought
our possessions from the van to our rooms. Then we took a little
rest. After a while we went outside to scout the surroundings. Little Harry
knew the way and had us climb a steep path between two huge rocks. Suddenly
we were on a small platform, with a beautiful view of the mountains and the
descending sun. We all felt very small and vulnerable under the charm of
Mother Nature. I sat down, little Harry and Nicky took their place between
my knees, John and Davey leaned into my sides. We sat there for a long
time, enjoying the splendid play of light and dark between the mountain
tops and all the different colors of the vegetation and the snow on the
tops. I felt at HOME, and totally in harmony with nature and with my
boys. I think we all felt the same. We belonged here, this was our land.

At last we went back to the hotel, in silence, still overwhelmed by the
beauty of nature. We got another drink and a tasty snack, and after a while
we decided to call it a day. We went to our rooms and divided the
beds. Nicky wanted to sleep with little Harry and me, and John and Davey
wanted to sleep together in another bed. But the beds were rather small...

Eventually we shoved two beds together in one room and two beds in another
room, and we zipped two sleeping bags together to serve as blankets. The
bathroom held a real bath, so John and Davey bathed first, then Nicky and
little Harry bathed, and eventually I bathed, accompanied by my little soul
mate who wanted to help me wash my back.

We kissed goodnight and crawled under the sleeping bag blankets. I felt
little Harry crawl onto my stomach, and was gone before I could utter a
word.

I woke up with a softly snoring boy on my stomach and a softly snoring boy
in my right arm. I tried to look at my watch, and immediately little Harry
opened his eyes.

"Yawn... what's the time dad?"

"Seven thirty, and I have to go to the toilet."

"Coming with you..."

He jumped out of the bed, bright and shining, and impatiently waited for
old me, being a bit stiff. Together we went to the toilet and crossed our
streams, giggling like little children. We peeked around the corner of the
other room, where John and Davey were entangled into each other. Little
Harry attacked the pile under the blankets.

"Attack of the Resurrected Gypsy Prince!"

John groaned and tried to push little Harry off the bed, while Davey looked
around with watery eyes.

"What's up? Where are we?"

At that moment Nicky appeared and immediately helped little Harry.

"Attack of King Nicky The Great Green Dragon!"

Soon the two beds were a mixture of boys, pillows, and blankets, all flying
through the air and landing again. I laughed and went back to my room to
stretch my old muscles a bit.  After a while we washed our faces, dressed,
and went downstairs, where again we were greeted as kings. Breakfast was
ready, and the boys attacked the food. In no time the table was emptied,
but the man brought more food from the kitchen, until everybody was
satisfied and stuffed.

The door opened, and a huge gypsy man appeared in the room, wearing a gray
fur coat. Little Harry jumped up and threw himself at the man with an
Indian howl.

"Michail!"

The man looked surprised, lifted little Harry off the ground and held him
at arm's length. He looked at little Harry, and slowly a big smile grew on
his face.

"Harold?"

"Taj!!! Michail..."

They tried to suffocate each other and danced around the room, turning
around and around and both grinning like crazy.

"That's the man who always looked after me when my parents had to do other
things, dad. He's like my second father..."

The huge man put little Harry down and embraced me, nearly crushing my
ribs. He spoke a couple of words in a strange language.

"Michail tells you he is proud of you, because you raised me to the fine
young man I am now."

"Tell him I am proud of him, because he helped you to be the fine young man
you were before I met you."

A smile from ear to ear lighted Michail's face, and again he nearly crushed
me. He lifted all the other boys from the ground and one by one greeted
them by kissing them on their noses. Nicky kissed him back, and they
immediately seemed to like each other.

We sat down and talked for a while, while little Harry translated
everything, now and then looking for the right words. Michail seemed to
help him, and soon he started to speak the language more and more
fluently. He hopped from Michail's lap to my lap, and back to Michail's
lap, sending his love to both of us. He hopped back to my lap, and this
time Nicky climbed onto Michail's lap, beaming. Michail threw his big arms
around him with a broad smile, and Nicky melted into him, also displaying a
broad smile.

Michail told us, translated by little Harry, that he would guide us to
their hidden camp in the mountains. He would drive at a slow pace, so we
could follow him. Nicky looked at me.

"Pop, I want to accompany Michail during our drive."

Little Harry translated, and Michail nodded his consent. We went to our
rooms and brought our belongings to our van. We thanked both hotel owners,
and promised to visit them again before we returned to our country. Nicky
climbed into Michail's truck with a little help, and we entered our
van. Waving at the hotel owners, we drove off.

Within ten minutes we hadn't the slightest idea where we were. There seemed
to be no road at all. We drove through a dense forest, along steep ravines,
climbed, and descended. Suddenly we entered a beautiful valley, bathing in
the sunlight, surrounded by thick bushes and huge mountains. Little Harry
sat glued to the front window, trembling.

"I'm home dad! Here's where I used to live."

A couple of naked children surrounded our van, laughing and cheering,
trying to peek inside. Michail parked his truck under a big tree, and I
parked our van next to him. Little Harry jumped out of the van, and was
immediately surrounded by a couple of children, touching him and asking
questions. They tried to take him with them, but he turned around and went
to me.

"Dad, my friends want to take us to our own playground. Am I allowed, and
may Nicky, Davey and John join us?"

I nodded, and little Harry threw his clothes somewhere into the van. Naked,
he beckoned Nicky to do the same. A moment later they joined their friends,
both naked and their arms around each other, hesitantly followed by John
and Davey, still dressed. They disappeared into the bushes.

There I was, in a strange country, amongst people I couldn't understand,
not knowing what to do now. My only hold, my little gypsy boy, was gone
with his friends. What now?

Michail seemed to understand my feelings. He smiled and guided me to a big
square, surrounded by caravans, with a smoldering fire in the middle. We
entered a caravan. I had to wait until my eyes were used to the darkness,
and then I saw our interpreter! He embraced me like an old friend.

"Welcome to our clan! Would you like to change your clothes now? We have
something special for you."

He showed me a beautiful black and gold garment, with lots of buttons and
decorations. It looked like a King's robe.

"This will be your ceremonial clothing. You will need it to officially
greet your people, within half an hour. Now I will accompany you to your
own caravan. Please follow me."

He guided me to a huge black-and-golden caravan, decorated with flowers. He
opened the door, and I went inside. He handed me the garment and was gone.

I looked around, and for the first time in this life I saw the inside of a
gypsy caravan. I was surprised, it looked so roomy. A sitting room with
three couches around a table and a fireplace, two bedrooms with double
beds, a shower, a small kitchen, and lots of small lockers and
cupboards. Everything was clean and cozy.

I went to a bedroom and dressed into the garment, which fit perfectly. How
did they know my sizes? I sat down on one of the couches and looked
outside, where a few men attended the smoldering fire. More people appeared
and took their places around the fire. A violin player appeared and started
to play a slow and sad gypsy song. Suddenly I felt HOME. This was my land,
and they were my people. Slowly I rose and went outside.

Immediately the interpreter approached me and took me to the circle forming
around the fireplace. The playing children appeared from the bushes, John
and Davey now both with their clothes under their arms. Another man
beckoned my four boys to our black-and-golden caravan. They disappeared
inside. A small boy approached me, tanned all over his body, and climbed
onto my lap. Another small boy climbed onto my lap from the other side, and
they started to compete for the best place. I smiled and took them into my
arms.

More people joined the circle, and there were my boys, all four of them
clad in beautiful black-and-golden garments, just like my own. They looked
gorgeous! They sat down next to me, with proud faces. Little Harry
whispered a few words to the two small boys on my lap. They both kissed me
and went to two other men, where they crawled onto their laps.

"After the ceremony they will be back, dad. They seem to like you! What do
you think of our new clothes?"

"They are beautiful! You all look like princes."

"You look like a king, and you are our king."

A second violin player joined the circle, and they started to play
together, a harmonious melody that deeply touched my heart. I got tears in
my eyes and furtively wiped them away. Old feelings welled up in my soul,
hovering just below the surface. I felt strong and mighty, as if I really
WAS their king.

The circle was full now. The violin players let the music fade away and
took their place amongst the others. Little Harry's grandmother rose and
spoke, translated by the interpreter.

"We welcome you all amidst our and your people. We greet you, Harry, who
once was our beloved king, and now you are the guardian and the father of
our little prince. We greet you, Harold Janovski, our beloved prince and
heir to the throne. We greet you, John, the brother and friend of our
beloved prince. We greet you, Davey, the friend of our beloved prince. We
greet you, Nicky, the best friend of our beloved prince, and once our
beloved king. We offer you our love and our protection. Let the king
speak."

Huh? They wanted ME to speak? Why had nobody warned me? What did they
expect of me now? Why didn't I get the time to think about what I should
tell them? But they all looked at me with expectant eyes... Suddenly I felt
that same power return, strong and mighty, and royal. I rose, and looked
around.

"My soul remembers, and is deeply touched. I send you all my love and my
strength. We will be one in our thoughts, in our feelings, and in our
souls. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to help,
protect, and guide my son and our little prince, until he is strong enough
to be our king. I deeply respect you, and I love you all. I send you my
blessings."

The circle was dead silent until the two violin players took their
instruments and started to play, a melody full of joy. Everyone started to
clap along with the music. Soon they started to dance and cheer, and all of
a sudden a couple of men took me onto their shoulders. In triumph they
carried me around the circle, until I reached my place where they sat me
down.

The violin players stopped, and everybody sat down again. Little Harry's
grandmother rose and spoke: "Let the prince speak."

Little Harry rose without hesitation, and someone offered him a wood
block. He climbed onto the block and looked around. He was a beautiful
sight, with his black-and-golden clothes, his light brownish hair and his
deep blue eyes that now radiated pure royalty. He WAS a prince. My prince,
my precious little soul mate. My son.

He started to speak, with his high-pitched boyish and melodious voice, and
everybody was dead silent. The interpreter translated his words to us in a
soft voice.

"Thank you, my people. I love you all. I don't use many words, for I am
only a snot nosed eight-year-old boy. But someday I will be your king, and
I promise you that I will do everything I can to prepare myself for my
task. My dad already promised me to help me with everything, until I am old
enough and wise enough to lead you. You can rely on me!"

He jumped off the wood block and climbed onto my lap. I threw my arms
around him and kissed him, while the violins started to play and everybody
started to clap. I rose and lifted him onto my shoulders. In triumph we
rounded the circle, where everybody touched his feet and my shoulders. We
sat down, and little Harry resumed his place between the other boys.

Little Harry's grandmother rose again. "Nicky, once our beloved king, do
you want to speak?"

Nicky looked at me, and I nodded. He rose and someone lifted him onto the
wood block. There he stood, a vulnerable little boy with clear greenish
eyes, fumbling with his clothes. He looked around and blushed. Then his
demeanor changed and the royalty started to shine through. He straightened
his shoulders.

"Like my best friend Harry, I'm also a snot nosed eight-year-old boy. But I
love your prince, and I will do everything I can to help him. And when I am
a grown-up, I will still love him, and I will always do my best to be a
good friend. Thank you for letting me be here. I love this place, and I
love you all. I don't remember being a king, but my best friend is a
prince."  He jumped off the wood block, and I took him onto my
shoulders. The violins played, the people clapped their hands, and I
carried my little friend around the circle, where everybody touched our
shoulders. We sat down and Nicky resumed his place, still blushing.

Little Harry's grandmother rose again. "John, the big brother of our
prince, and once a respected member of our people, do you want to speak?"

Hesitantly, John stood up and climbed the wood block. He looked around, and
then looked at me. I sent him my love and now he smiled.

"I want to thank you for inviting us. It's wonderful here, and I feel
totally at home. I want to thank my real dad, Jack, who's in another place
now. He taught me a lot of things. I also want to thank my second dad for
helping me and guiding me. And I love my little brother, your prince. I
promise I will do everything to help him and to protect him. That's all."

The violins started to play, the people started to clap, and I took my dear
friend onto my shoulders. We rounded the circle, and everybody touched his
arms and my shoulders. He sat down, a bit shy, and leaned into me.

Again little Harry's grandmother rose. "Davey, once a respected member of
our people, do you want to speak?"

Davey climbed the wood block without hesitation and with a beaming face.

"I never thought I would be here with you. My own father abused me for many
years, and I thought I never would trust a man any more. Until my second
dad turned up in my life and let me see how a REAL dad behaves. I want to
let you know how much I love him, and I trust him totally and
absolutely. He's a wonderful dad! I'm also delighted with my three
brothers, and I hope I will be able to pay them back once for what they are
giving me now. I am proud of my new family, and I thank you all for
inviting me here."

A couple of men stood up, with strained faces, and one of the men addressed
Davey, translated by our interpreter.

"Do you want us to punish that man that abused you? We will be glad to
serve you."

"NO. I want you to send him your LOVE. He's already punished for what he
did, and I want him to change, so that in his next life he will be a better
and more caring man."

The circle was dead silent, until the violins started to play. Everybody
stood up as one man and clapped their hands, faster and faster, until they
all started to cheer and carried Davey around on tens of careful
hands. They kept on cheering long after Davey sat down again.

Little Harry's grandmother rose. "We all are PROUD to have you in our
middle. We all send you our love and deep respect."

I didn't know what happened, but suddenly I rose and everybody went
silent. I spread my arms, like an eagle spreads his wings, and started to
send everybody my love. I could feel Jack, stepping into my body with his
arms along my arms and with his hands matching my hands. My hands started
to glow, and an intense power radiated into the circle, touching
everybody's soul. I felt like a mountain, filled with Mother Earth energy,
reaching out and enveloping my people. My mouth formed words.

"This is a greeting from your ancestors to you. You are all blessed. Your
next king will be known all over the world. He is predestined to fulfill
grandiose deeds."

The glowing faded away, and I heard Jack's voice in my head: "Thank you. I
guided you, but these were your own powers."

The wise woman rose to her feet: "This is real and genuine. I saw this
beautiful spirit, and I felt his enormous powers. He is one of us."

They all bowed their heads for a long time, until the violins started to
play again, a beautiful melody of hope and longing. Slowly all the people
rose to their feet and went to their caravans.

I went to my black-and-golden caravan, followed by the boys. We were all
deeply impressed, and sat down in silence. Little Harry climbed onto my
lap, while we all stared at the empty circle and the smoldering fire. Now
and then a man appeared and threw a branch onto it, and for a while small
flames licked at the branch, until it disappeared into the glowing ashes.

Our interpreter and Michail appeared from the corner of another caravan,
carrying a huge basket. They neared our caravan and knocked on the
door. Nicky opened it and greeted Michail by throwing his small arms around
Michail's enormous waist. Michail grinned and lifted him into the air,
kissed his nose and sat him down onto a couch. He put the basket on the
table.

He spoke a few words and the interpreter translated. "We wish you all a
good appetite."

They left the caravan, while little Harry seemed to thank them in his own
language.

John curiously opened the basket, and we all looked in awe at all kinds of
delicious things to eat, drink and munch. We sat down and put everything
onto the table, setting the basket aside. We took the golden platters and
the boys filled them to the brim. Little Harry explained what a couple of
the foods were made from.

"This small loaf of bread is made of barley, and that's baked from rye. The
pate, I'm not sure about, but it could be hare. Those eggs are filled with
ginger and a mixture of spices. The drink is made out of fermented
mushrooms with salt and pepper. The meat is lamb, and those crackers are
made of rice."

Everything tasted excellent, with the exception of the filled eggs which
had too strong a flavor for our taste. Soon we were stuffed and put the
remainder back into the basket. John and Davey washed the platters, and
dried them before putting them back. Davey grinned.

"Never in my life could I have imagined I would be eating from golden
platters!"

We heard soft voices outside the caravan, and somebody knocked on the
door. Outside a whole bunch of naked children were asking for
'Harold'. Little Harry answered them and turned around. "May we play
outside, dad?"

Of course they were allowed, and after a moment my four now naked boys
joined the impatiently waiting gypsy youth. They disappeared through the
bushes, giggling and pushing each other. I smiled and neatly folded their
ceremonial clothes before putting them away in one of the lockers. I went
outside and joined the men that sat in front of another caravan.

The interpreter joined us, and for the next few hours I narrated my life
story in my own country, with its oddities and strange habits -- at least
in their eyes. The wise woman joined us and complimented me with my strong
and hearty spirit friend. She told me she was a bit jealous...

"You are such a beautiful soul yourself, and it feels like you two belong
to each other and are complementing each other's powers."

I heard Jack's voice, somewhere in my head: "We haven't even started. We
WILL change the world. Just go on writing your book..."

Again I was in doubt: did I fantasize that voice in my head, or was this
really Jack speaking? I decided to ask the wise woman about my doubts.

"How come every time I hear the voice of my spirit friend in my head, I
think I'm fantasizing that voice myself?"

"That's quite simple. Spirits are thought forms, and they communicate with
us through the channel we call 'imagination'. We are thought forms
ourselves, only we are trapped within a body, while spirits don't have such
a body and are totally free. Indeed we are ALL spirits, with or without a
body. The problem comes from the fact that our OWN spirit can create
thoughts as well, and we 'hear' our own thoughts through that same
imagination-channel. So when you 'hear' a thought, you will never be
absolutely sure whether it is a thought from one of your spirit friends, or
whether it is your OWN thought you are hearing, which people call
'fantasy'."

"Thank you, now I understand. How come you can see Jack clearly, while I'm
always thinking I'm fantasizing what I see?"

"That's the same, just substitute the word 'hear' by 'see'. All you see is
the same 'imagination'; which can be created by yourself, or imprinted by
your spirit friend."

"Could you tell me something about that enormous power we all felt in the
circle?"

"There's infinite power in the Universe, only the 'voltage' is too high to
be usable for us human beings. Fortunately some people have the 'gift' to
be 'transformers'. They transform the high voltage into a lower voltage,
that we can use to heal ourselves or others. Those people are called
'healers'. You are a forceful healer, and the spirits can use you as a
powerful transformer to send their too high voltage through you to
us. That's what happened in the circle today. It was a spectacular sight,
with all kinds of colors and swirling vortexes."

The door of one of the caravans opened, and two small naked whirlwinds
tumbled over each other and climbed onto my lap, competing for the best
place. Obviously they were back from their afternoon-nap. I smiled and
threw my arms around both of them. With a sigh they melted into me. More
children appeared and found themselves a lap to sit on. I was surprised by
the friendliness and carefulness of the grown-ups. They all seemed to like
children, and no harsh words were spoken. Most boys chose a male lap and
most girls chose a female lap to sit on.

Even more surprising was the openness of the children, who didn't seem to
have any inhibitions at all. They all looked totally content and happy,
with satisfied faces and curious eyes. I could get used to the sight!

The interpreter approached me. "We are all going for a -- what's the right
word -- shower. Are you going with us?"

Of course I was going with them! But a shower, that was big enough for all
of us, in this place? The grown-ups disappeared in their caravans and soon
came out naked, even little Harry's grandmother. Quickly, I went into my
caravan, threw my clothes into a corner, and joined them, now very
curious. What was going to happen?

We disappeared into the bushes and entered a small path through the
mountains. In the far distance I could hear the sound of fast moving
water. So THAT was where we were heading... After a while we descended into
a ravine. And there we saw a beautiful waterfall, sparkling in the
sunlight.

Lots of children were frolicking around and chasing each other. Among them
I saw John and Nicky, so I assumed Davey and little Harry would be there
too. We went to the waterfall and everyone dived under the splashing
water. At first the water felt very cold, but after a few seconds my skin
went red, and then the feeling was really nice.

Two men, who had carried a basket, distributed big lumps of a yellowish
substance I assumed could be soap. We started to lather up, and all the
children chose a grown-up to help them. I saw Nicky look around and choose
Michail, with a broad smile on his face. The two small boys approached me,
smiling from ear to ear and expectantly looking up at me. I ruffled their
hair and nodded. They leaned into me and I started to wash them. In a
distance I saw little Harry, waving at me, lathered up by another man I
didn't recognize.

After the grown-ups had washed the small ones, they started to wash each
others back and hair. Eventually we were all washed and dived into the
waterfall, frolicking like little children. We chased each other, splashed
more water, were attacked by small gangs of children, and had the best time
in our lives. John suddenly appeared and tackled me, sticking out his
tongue. I chased him, but of course he was too fast and disappeared into
the mass. I will get him later on! Davey suddenly pushed me, and I stumbled
over a kneeling Nicky, while little Harry laughed at the sight of poor me,
laying on my back in the stream, with my legs high into the air. I will get
them too!

One by one we went back to the camp, dead tired but happy. The two small
boys hung onto my arms, while my four boys surrounded me and excitedly told
me everything about all their adventures with the other boys. They had
chased a pig through the woods, but couldn't catch it. In the meantime the
sun and the wind dried our bodies.

Back at the camp, the men had a surprise. They had raked up the fire and
were roasting a sheep, turning it around on a big skewer. We found a place
around the fire and waited until our meal would be ready, in the meantime
softly talking with each other. The boys were very enthusiastic and wanted
to live here for the rest of their lives.

"Everything is so NORMAL here, dad! Nobody is bothering anyone else, no one
is telling you what you have to do, everything is allowed unless you are
harming somebody else. You can choose to wear clothes or not, depending on
the weather. You can embrace a friend without everybody calling you a
'homo'. It doesn't matter how you look or who you are, you are always
totally accepted and taken into the community. Men are living with men,
women are living with women, and nobody has any problems with it. I wish
the rest of the world were like this!"

I totally agreed with them, and we all hugged each other for a long time,
even the two small boys who seemed to have adopted me. I asked little Harry
who they were.

"Don't you know? They are Michail's sons. They were only toddlers when I
lived here, and sometimes I played with them. But then they were too small
to really have fun with."

After hours of gently talking, translated by our interpreter, and enjoying
the feeling of being together and having all the time in the world,
eventually the sheep was ready to be eaten. The men had used lots of herbs
and oil, of course painstakingly observed by little Harry, and a delicious
scent filled the air. They divided the sheep into chunks and sliced the
chunks. We all got a slice of sheep to munch, and to me it was the most
delicious meat I ever tasted. Even little Harry nodded approvingly.

"Not bad, that's the taste of home I missed so much. They could have used
some more garlic however."

I was glad they hadn't, but I didn't tell him. I helped the two smaller
boys by dividing their meat into smaller pieces, and they looked at me with
grateful eyes and filled mouths, the fat dripping from their chins. I used
a handful of grass to clean their faces. Michail approached me, grinning,
and translated by little Harry.

"If my sons are a nuisance to you, just send them away, and I will take
care of them myself."

I assured him I could handle them, and he ruffled their hair before
retreating, still grinning. I wondered where their mother was, so I asked
little Harry.

"She died when they were very small, and Michail never married
again. That's why he doesn't have to work for a couple of years, and could
look after me too."

I marveled at the thought of a community that's totally self-containing and
looks after everybody, regardless of who he or she is or what happened.

Slowly the sun set, and here and there people disappeared to their
caravans. Michail took his boys with him, and we went to our caravan. We
prepared the two double beds for the night and decided to call it a
day. John and Davey slept together in one bed, and Nicky and little Harry
slept with me in the other bed. Soon we were all deep asleep.

In the middle of the night a fidgeting Nicky woke me up. "Pop, I have to
use the toilet. Where is it?"

I showed him the way to the small cabin and got a roll of toilet paper from
one of the suitcases. He did his thing, washed his hands in the small
kitchen sink, and crawled into bed, being very cold now. I warmed him for a
while in my arms, and again we drifted off into a deep sleep, until the
morning sun and sounds from the outside woke me up.


Harry AnderS, alternative writer.

Thank you for reading my stories, and thanks to Nifty for hosting them.
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