Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 19:31:36 +0200
From: Harry Anders <harry@harryanders.com>
Subject: 'Little Harry' 6. We are all related to each other, even Jack.

'Little Harry'
Chapter 6. We are all related to each other, even Jack.

Unnoticed the atmosphere in the room changed to one of stillness and
peacefulness. I sat on the couch, while little Harry stretched out with his
head on my lap. I draped my arm around him and softly stroked his hair. He
melted even further into me, as he sighed with a contented and peaceful
smile on his face.

Gradually the room fell silent, as if all sounds were damped. I thought I
noticed the subtle fragrance of flowers in the air. In my feelings a huge
cathedral surrounded us, and I could almost hear a chorus singing in the
background. I savored the wonderful feelings, even though I was not a
religious person, and never attended church or really believed in a supreme
being.

At precisely eight o'clock the doorbell rang, and Harry rushed to the
door. He enthusiastically greeted Christian and escorted him into the
living room. Christian looked around and smiled.

"I can feel our spirit friends have already arrived."

He took an easy chair, and Harry again leaned onto me with beaming eyes.

"Perhaps I might offer you a cup of coffee first?" I suggested.

"Yes please, that would be wonderful. No milk and two lumps of sugar
please."

I went to the kitchen, followed by little Harry who was totally in awe and
still gasped.

"Did you see that light dad? It's everywhere!"

"What light are you talking about? What did you see?"

"Well, there's a very bright light in the room, shining everywhere. And
mister Christian is radiating so much love and power... He makes me feel
like crying and laughing at the same time. Jack is there too, together with
a lot of other spirits. I can clearly see them, and they are radiating that
same kind of power."

"How come only you can see that light and those spirits? I didn't see
anything..."

"I don't know. It's like I am making it up, but at the same time I know
they are really there. I even can feel them with my eyes closed."

Now I was really confused, and I also was a bit jealous of little Harry who
obviously saw things I couldn't see.

I brewed a pot of fresh coffee, while Harry placed two cups, a glass of
cola, and a cookie jar on a tray. We returned to the living room where
Christian relaxed with a smile on his face, obviously enjoying the peaceful
atmosphere in the room. Silently we drank our coffee, and Harry sipped his
cola. After a few moments Christian spoke.

"There's a deceased person's spirit in this room, a man who passed away a
few months ago. You didn't know him in his last life on earth, but your son
certainly did! He regrets he had to leave earth so soon, but his time was
up, and he had to go home. Now he wants to transfer his responsibilities to
you. He also wants to explain the reason why, so that both of you will know
everything you have to know for now."

Christian paused and took a sip of his coffee, staring intently as if
listening to someone. After a few seconds he nodded and continued.

"You DO know him. You knew him as a little boy, and at a very young age he
severely burnt his face and his hands. After a few months he died, but he
came back to earth, to fulfill here the rest of his task. A few months ago
his task on earth ended, and he went home, totally aware of his
surroundings and of his powers. He guided you to this house and to this
little boy, with the help of others in the spirit realm, for you had to
meet your son to be his father again in this life."

He paused again, took another sip of his coffee and turned his chair
around, facing little Harry.

"What is your name my friend?" he asked.

"I'm Harold Romany," Harry answered with a lot of pride in his voice, "but
everybody calls me little Harry."

"Do you remember where you lived before you arrived here?"

Little Harry frowned and closed his eyes.

"I remember a couple of caravans in a circle around a campfire, and people
dancing and making music. Suddenly there was a lot of police yelling and
shouting. We escaped, and went away to a foreign country. Sometimes we
stayed in one place for a couple of weeks. I made friends with a few
children, and they taught me a couple of words of their language. But most
of the time the grown-ups chased us away, and we had to go on. Then our
caravan suddenly burnt down, and I was taken to a hospital. A very nice
man, Jack, visited me there every day. He comforted me and taught me the
language. After a while I started to live with Jack, and he taught me all
about the habits and the manners of the people I am with now. Until two
months ago he suddenly died..."

Harry sobbed quietly as tears filled his eyes. I offered him a Kleenex and
Christian patiently waited until he dried his eyes and looked up
again. After a while Christian continued.

"Our spirit friends show us a picture of two people, a man and a woman,
both of royal heritage. They belong to a big group of people with very
close family clans. Nobody seems to like them, and everywhere they are
chased away, accused of stealing, robbery and worse. Nobody really knows
who they are and how they live, and they keep themselves far from every
stranger or foreigner. The man is what we in our country would call a king
or a president, but without a crown on his head, a palace to live in, or a
throne to sit on. He is very important to his people, and they always
protect him wherever they can.

In the country where they lived was a witch hunt; the man had to flee, and
he lost all contacts with his people. He had to disappear for a while, so
he went into a foreign country with his wife and with his little son,
planning to go back within a couple of months. The day he decided to go
back his caravan burnt down, and he and his wife both perished in the
fire. Only their little son survived..."

Silence fell over the room. Little Harry looked at me, and I looked at
little Harry. He nodded and humbly bowed his head.

"I KNEW it. I just knew it... I have to help my people when I'm a
grown-up. That's my task..."

He tried to disappear into me, and started to sob. I tried to comfort him,
while Christian went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of
water. Eagerly little Harold Romany swallowed half of the water in one long
sip.

"That's why Jack told me to be proud of myself. He repeated that every
time... I think he knew!"

He looked at me with desperation in his eyes, but also with a lot of pride.

"Will you help me to grow up dad? Please?"

"I promise. Cross my heart!" I answered him with the children's promise,
bringing a feeble smile to his face.

After a while Christian continued.

"Our spirit friends now show us a picture of a hunter in a forest. He goes
to town and takes himself a wife. After nine months a little boy is born,
but his wife dies in the childbed. From that time on he and his boy are
inseparable. He nurtures the boy, takes him with him everywhere, and
teaches him how to hunt, how to set up a trap, and how to skin a
deer. After a couple of years they are heading for their cottage, when
suddenly they are attacked by a wounded bear, and they both die. Today I
see both that man and that boy back, here in this room."

"I remember dad! I remember everything! That bear attacked me, and you
tried to rescue me with your knife..."

I remembered everything too. Again I saw that enormous grizzly heading for
my boy. Without thinking I jumped in between to rescue him, with only a
small knife in my hand. Everything returned into my memory, I could even
smell that bear! Again I felt his enormous claws rip my body open. Within a
few seconds everything went black, and I collapsed onto the floor.

Slowly my mind returned to the present. I blinked my eyes and frantically
looked about the room. Where was I? What had happened? Is this how dying
felt? Christian offered me Harry's half emptied glass, and I gulped the
rest of the water. Little Harry sat on the floor across of me, with a look
of concern in his eyes.

"Feeling better now dad?"

Unable to speak, I took him in my arms and held him close to me. My boy! He
really is MY BOY! I really AM his father! My poor little baby, mangled by a
grizzly bear and I couldn't rescue him... but now I have him back. That's
why he started to call me 'dad'... That's why I had that strong feeling we
belong to each other... My little soul mate. I promised I would protect him
with my own life, and I would do it again...

We both sat back on the couch, and Christian continued.

"Our spirit friends show us a picture of another lonely hunter, who lived a
couple of miles away. He was a wonderful person with a lot of love in his
heart, and he was a very good friend to both of you. Every time you had to
go to town, to sell pelts and to buy goods, he took care of your little
son. He was devastated by your death, and he killed that bear with his own
hands. But the bear severely wounded him, and after a while he too
died. This morning I saw your friend back in the supermarket, and again he
will be a dear friend to both of you. In the near future you will have to
take him into your house for a while, like in the past he took your little
boy into his house to help both of you. Do you have any questions?"

Did I have any questions? I had a zillion of questions! But my overwhelmed
mind could not formulate even one. They were all hiding just below my
consciousness. There was just too much information at once; I had to sort
things out first...

"How about my face?" little Harry suddenly asked, "That man, Peter, is
making a mask for me to hide my scars, and I am very glad he is, but when I
am a grown-up and return to help my own people, I want to have a normal
face..."

"Within two days your question will be answered. Your spirit friend will
guide you, and help you wherever he can. Don't be afraid, everything will
turn out for the best. Your friend already contacted both you and your
father a few times, and he showed you a couple of ideas and directions. You
should never try to contact him on your own, for that could be
dangerous. You always have to wait until he is contacting you. That is not
always possible, so you will have to be patient, and wait until he
eventually shows up. Now and then he will enter your dreams, or give you
some thoughts, or you will think you heard his voice somewhere in your
head. Most of the time you will doubt, thinking it's your own fantasy, or
you will be afraid you are making everything up yourself."

I went to the kitchen and brewed some more coffee, while Christian chatted
with Harry. We drank our coffee, and then Christian decided he should go
home. We both accompanied him to the door, and waved until he disappeared
around the corner.

We returned to the couch and started to talk. We talked and talked... We
talked about our dreams, about what we remembered of our past lives, about
our future, about our best friend John, about Harry's operations and his
new mask, about him calling me dad, and about my little brother Joshie, who
returned on earth as the former owner of our house Jack. At last everything
was talked over, and we both felt totally drained. We went to bed in the
middle of the night, deadly tired, but never in our lives had we felt so
good.

That night little Harry and I laid down in our bed, face to face, our faces
less than one inch apart, our arms around each other, looking into each
other's eyes, drowning in each other's love, rubbing our noses together,
grinning at each other like crazy; sometimes kissing, sometimes tickling,
sometimes just melting into each other's warmth. We both felt like making
love to each other.

At last we both fell into a deep sleep, still with our arms around each
other and our faces together on one pillow. We both enjoyed a deep and
dreamless sleep, until in the morning the bright sun shining through a
crack in the curtains woke us up.

Little Harry yawned, and lazily stretched himself out as far as he could.

"Time to make me breakfast dad. Yesterday I made us breakfast, so today
it's your turn."

He turned around and grinned at me, with a twinkle in his eyes and a broad
smile on his face.

"What time is it?" I grumbled, "I am too old for that! I need my rest!
Couldn't you bring me breakfast in bed today?"

Little Harry started to tickle me, but I turned around, straddled him and
mercilessly tickled him back until he surrendered.

"Stop dad! I'm wetting the bed!"

"I will buy you some pampers."

"You're crazy!"

The doorbell suddenly rang, and little Harry wrestled himself from beneath
me. He hurried downstairs to open the front door, and much to my surprise I
heard a female voice. Tripping over his own feet little Harry hurried back
and dived for his clothes.

"It's John's mother, and she is crying..."

I threw myself out of bed and dressed quickly. We ran downstairs to the
hallway, where Trudy patiently waited with tears in her eyes, sniffing into
her handkerchief.

"May I have a word with you please?"

"Of course! Please come in! Harry, could you get a glass of water please?"

Little Harry went into the kitchen, and Trudy collapsed onto a chair, still
sobbing.

"He left me, that son of a bitch. He wrote me a letter. He wants a
divorce. And he wants our two youngest children. I don't know what to
do... This is too much for me. I want to go to my mother for a couple of
weeks..."

Trudy started to cry again, and I tried to comfort her. Little Harry
returned with a glass of water, and consolingly put his small arms around
her neck.

"It's okay mum, just let it go." he whispered into her ear, "Don't bottle
it up. In a few minutes you will feel better."

After a while Trudy pulled herself together and told us her story. Fourteen
years ago she met a very nice and warmhearted man, who lived on his own in
a small house in the village. They started to talk, drank some wine
together, and suddenly they found themselves into each others arms. After a
few days she knew for sure she was pregnant. She was too ashamed to tell
the nice man the truth, and too concerned about what her parents and the
neighbors would say. So she seduced an unmarried friend, Eric. A few days
later she told him she was pregnant, and they married in a hurry. Eight
months later John was born. Two years later they had another boy, Mark, and
after another year they had a girl, Marrie.

Eric never knew John wasn't his own child, until two days ago. After little
Harry and I left their house, they had a fight. In desperation Trudy told
Eric the truth, that John wasn't Eric's descendant! Furious and swearing,
Eric left their house.

Trudy collapsed again and started to sob. Crying loudly, she screamed the
truth, for the first time in fourteen years.

"John is Jack's child! Jack never knew the truth, and now it's too late to
tell him. John's father is dead, and now Jack will never know..."

Somewhere in my head I heard Jack's voice: "I DID know the truth, I just
never told anyone..."

After some time Trudy pulled herself together and timidly looked at us.

"I never told this to anyone, except you, and I want to keep it a secret,
until John is old enough to understand. I already phoned my mother, and I
am going to live with her for the next weeks. I will take the two youngest
children with me, but John asked me to leave him here, with you and with
Harry. Here he can play with his friend Thomas, and he is also very fond of
both of you. If I am imposing too much I am very sorry, and then I have to
take John with me, but I promised him to ask you first. I am sure I can
trust you..."

I looked at little Harry, and little Harry looked at me. Without words we
knew exactly what the other was thinking. I nodded.

"Of course you can leave John here! He is always welcome in our house, and
we will even give him his own bedroom if he wishes. He can bring his own
things with him, and you can be sure I will treat him as my own child!"

"Thank you, that takes a load off my mind. You are a wonderful friend. I
will tell John as soon as I get home."

Half an hour later three children entered the house, with a load of boxes,
bags, a camp bed, two skateboards, and a lot of games. A very happy John
hugged me nearly to death and went to his new bedroom to put away his
belongings, accompanied by a beaming Harry. Mark and Marrie left us after a
glass of cola, and promised to write us a postcard now and then. Trudy came
by to say farewell, and all of a sudden I had two boys living in my house.

After a while I heard a loud booming noise, sounding like two heavy
elephants descending the stairs in a hurry; and two very happy boys tumbled
into the living room, laughing and pushing each other.

"Do you have something to eat?" they asked me in stereo.

"Growing boys need a lot of food, especially when they want to be as big
and strong as me?" I laughed.

I ruffled their hair, and Harry jumped onto my back, while John melted into
my arms. Together we went to the kitchen, where my own rumbling stomach
told me I hadn't eaten myself this morning. Totally forgotten...

John dived into the fridge, while Harry took the cereal to the table. No
tasty cooking this morning. They poured themselves a glass of milk and a
bowl of cereal, while I treated myself to a cup of fresh coffee.

"What did that psychic medium Christian tell you yesterday?" John suddenly
asked little Harry.

"I am a gypsy prince! My father and my mother were of royal
herit... herit-something. But they had to flee from the police in a
witch-hunt, and they came to this country with their little son, that's
me. After a few months they decided to go back to our own people, but our
caravan burnt down and only I survived. That's why I am living here with
dad and with you now. But I have to go back to my own people, when I am old
enough."

"WOW! You really are a PRINCE?"

"Yes, I always knew I had to help other people as sort of a task, but I
didn't know why. Now I know my people are waiting for me, and I will be
their leader when I am a grown-up. But I don't know where they are living."

"Wow! So I should call you Prince Harry from now on?"

"You're crazy! Don't you DARE! We have to keep this a secret from
everybody, until I am big enough!"

"Is this really the truth mister? Or is he making things up..."

"He is really telling the truth!"

"Wow..."

"Christian told us a lot more. Dad's little brother, who was burnt just
like me but he died, returned to earth as Jack! That's why dad is living in
Jack's former house, for Jack asked a couple of spirits to guide dad to
this house. Dad and Jack once were brothers! But there's still more. In my
past life I was dad's real son, and he tried to rescue my life with only a
small knife in his hands, but a bear killed both of us. You were our very
best friend, and you killed that bear on your own with your bare hands! But
you died too, and now you are back on earth, as the son of your mother and
Jack..."

Suddenly little Harry clasped his hands over his mouth with a shocked
expression on his face.

"I was not allowed to tell you that. It was a secret..."

John looked from Harry to me and back to Harry, with sudden comprehension
in his eyes. He thought for a while, and then slightly nodded his head.

"I always suspected Eric wasn't my real father, but I never knew for
sure. Mark and Marrie both look like him, but I look different. And he was
always picking on me, and never on Mark. Now I understand why!"

We were silent the rest of the meal. Harry stared into his bowl with a
blushed face, now and then eating a spoonful of cereal. John was deep in
thought with a frown on his face. I was contemplating on how to
proceed. Should I explain everything to John? Was this my fault? How would
John react when the full significance of this revelation dawned on him?

Suddenly a voice inside my head said: "He had to know the truth!"

After the meal the boys put away the cereal and milk and washed the
bowls. We went into the living room, and the boys settled down on the couch
while I took my usual chair. We stared at each other for a few minutes, and
then John threw himself onto my lap.

"Can I call you dad please? I understand in reality you are my uncle, but I
don't like that word."

I looked at little Harry, and again we had a conversation without words. He
nodded his consent.

"You may call me dad for as long as you are here, but please never tell
this to your father. Ok?"

"He isn't my father!" John answered with a lot of bitterness in his voice.

"I wish I had known this before. That's why I always felt so at ease with
Jack, and I even looked like him. Fortunately now I have you!"

He threw his arms around my neck and kissed me full on the lips, passionate
and at the same time with a lot of tenderness.

Suddenly I could feel Jack around, looking at us with tears in his
eyes. Ten seconds later little Harry claimed his share. I felt wonderful,
loving and loved, caring and cared for, father, friend, educator and
responsible helper all in one. I had found my purpose in life!


Harry AnderS, alternative writer.


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