Chapter 1. My adopted son; visiting our 'ancestors'.

"Dad? Could you please help me remember the title of your first book about me? I have already set up a new blank page in our text editor..."

Little Harry sat in front of our computer, impatiently fidgeting with its keyboard, staring at John and me with eager eyes.

Feeling full of tender loving care, I looked at my adopted son and little soul mate, the eight-year-old Royal Gypsy Prince and only Heir to the Throne, Harold Janovski Romani.

Everybody always called him 'little Harry'; to distinguish him from me, nicknamed 'Big Harry'; but also because his lithe frame remained a bit small for his age.

However, his playful and extremely clever spirit full of sunshine and happiness certainly was not too small!

John, my thirteen-year-old 'special friend' and little Harry's 'big brother', chuckled at his little brother's eager face, while he left our couch and went to the computer.

For the time being, he was our houseguest; because his mother, Trudy, had a fight with her husband, Eric, and she fled out of town to escape his wrath.

Her other children, Mark and Marrie, joined her; but John wanted to stay here, with his friends, his 'little brother', and me.

After John arrived at our computer, he playfully asked his little brother:

"I thought you wanted to write your OWN series of books, about your growing up as a little Gypsy Prince in the Rumanian mountains?"

"Yes, of course, silly. Soon, I will start writing my own series of books. Only, I promised Dad to help him set up his own book about me first...

"Dad? Please, could you now help me remember your title? I want to write it onto the screen."

"Err... just a moment, please, until I remember... Oh yeah, the title of my first book about you will be: 'Gypsy Monarch - book 1 - Burnt little Prince'."

"Thank you, Dad. I will write your title down immediately."

My little soul mate turned back to the computer keyboard, where he started to look for the first key he needed, the 'T'.

After he found and pushed it, he looked at the screen to verify its correctness, before he started to search for the next key.

It was a funny sight to see him like this, typing character after character, now and then using the backspace to correct an error.

His little tongue hung out of his mouth, while he frantically searched the keyboard for key after key, starting to get irritated because he knew that both John and I could type the words much faster...

Finally, he stopped, and looked at us with a frustrated sigh:

"Please, Dad or John, could you help me? I still don't know how to spell all these difficult words in your language. My own Gypsy language is much easier."

John and I looked at the screen; and chuckled at what our little friend had written so far:

'gipsi monarg - book wan - burnd littel prins'

Despite his extraordinary intelligence and extremely bright brain, it was obvious he had never attended a school or used a computer keyboard.

Up to his sixth year, my little Prince had lived in Rumania, in his secluded Gypsy camp, surrounded by huge mountains and vast forests.

Two years ago, the Royal family had to flee from a nasty witch-hunt; because they were falsely accused of robbing a 'gadjo'.

After they drove through many foreign countries; they finally stopped in this small village, and decided to return home the next morning.

However, that same night, some people who seemed to dislike Gypsies set their caravan ablaze!

Both parents perished in the blazing fire, because they couldn't find the front door through the heavy smoke.

Only their six-year-old son and Royal Prince, the little Heir to the Throne, survived; but he was badly burnt all over his body and face.

Fortunately, the former owner of my house, Jack, rescued the little boy just in time, by rolling him around in the cold and wet grass.

Jack brought the boy to a hospital, where he visited his little friend every day and taught him how to speak our language.

For two years, little Harry lived with Jack, who immediately became his Big Friend and Savior, in what is now my house.

That is, until two months ago, when Jack suddenly died; and his family set his house up for sale.

Now, I have bought this 'nice house with a garden'; to live here in peace and quiet for the remainder of my life, as a retired psychotherapist.

Almost immediately, I befriended my best friend from a past life, who reincarnated as John.

The next day, I met my little soul mate from several past lives, with his terribly burnt face and body full of nasty scars...

Little Harry left our computer, climbed onto my lap, and tried to melt into my aura, as he always did when he craved a cuddle or needed some tender loving care.

I put my arms around his small frame, held him close, and kissed his head; enjoying the pleasant company of my little tenant.

I loved my little Gypsy Prince with all my heart; and I would do everything I could to help him and make him feel happy!

Tomorrow, I would take him to an expensive clinic, where the surgeons would try to cultivate his skin and transplant it onto his burnt face and body.

My little soul mate snuggled up to me even more, while he told me with a sad voice:

"Dad? I want to go to a normal school, as soon as I have my new face. I don't want to feel stupid about not being able to write my new language correctly..."

"No, my dear son; be assured that you are NOT stupid. You only never learnt to write the words down in your new language, that's all."

"I know, Dad. After I left the hospital, Jack started to tutor me for a few hours a day. But, your language is still very difficult to write it down, even after two years of speaking it.

"Jack always called me his 'linguistic miracle'; but he also told me I wrote the foreign words down phonetici... err... as I hear them in my head.
"Then, Jack died, before he could teach me how to write the difficult words down correctly."

"I know you want to be independent, and I respect that; but, maybe, John and I could help you understand our difficult spelling rules a little bit better, like using capitals..."

"Then, John will be my new tutor; and I like that very much. Are you going to pay him for it? I am sure he could use a larger allowance!"

My little imp offered me a broad smile and a big kiss.

Then, he hopped off my lap and returned to the computer.

Impatiently, he beckoned John to join him and help him:

"Come on, John, let's start your tutoring. First, show me how to use those capitals correctly."

A moment later, both boys sat glued to the computer screen, while John showed his little brother how to start every sentence with a capital, and how to write 'one' or '1' instead of 'wan'.

I felt very blessed with my two young friends; and went to the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee for myself, and colas and cookies for my boys.

After I returned, sitting down and sipping my coffee, I started to look back upon my life...

As a freelance psychotherapist, I had been working with troubled children and their parents; until I divorced, became sixty-five years old, and retired.

Having some money to spend, I found and bought this nice 'house with a garden' in this small village.

Within three days, I had a severely burnt little Gypsy boy living in my house, befriended by at least five enthusiastic neighborhood children, including John.

Two years before, John's parents had taken little Harry into their custody; but, in reality, he had been living with Jack, the late former owner of my house and his Big Friend and Hero.

He had his own room in Jack's house; until, two months ago, Jack suddenly died; and little Harry had to share John's room, while Jack's house was put up for sale.

Now, little Harry had his own room back in my house; and his own Gypsy people had allowed me to adopt him and raise him until he would be old enough to be their King and reign.

"Dad? Finally, I understand how to use those strange capitals! In my own language, we never used any...

"But, John and I want to stop for now and have some more colas and cookies."

Both boys disappeared into our kitchen, frolicking and with their arms around each other.

Soon, they reappeared, carrying a tray with a cup of steaming coffee, two glasses of cola, and the refilled cookie jar.

We sat down on our couch, leaned into each other, and enjoyed our drinks and the tasty cookies.

Suddenly, little Harry tilted his head, as he seemed to hear or sense something unexpected.

He seemed to have a 'sixth sense', which let him feel the preceding aura of any known visitor, at least ten seconds before showing up...

With a beaming face, my little 'shaman' announced:

"Here comes Davey!"

He jumped off our couch and rushed to the front door, to welcome our thirteen-year-old mutual friend and my 'third son'.

Again, my little soul mate had shown us one of his extraordinary gifts.

This was only one of his many surprises. He also seemed to be able to read our minds, and he often talked to our 'Ancestors' and 'spirit guides' in his own mind.

John and I heard him open the front door and enthusiastically greet Davey.

My 'third son' had been abused by his own father for a very long time; until, a year ago, his mother found out what was going on.

Now, his father was in jail for a very long time, and Davey had 'adopted' me as his new Dad, with the consent of Mary, his mother.

Because I already liked him very much, I had promised myself to help him overcome his fears of men who were friendly to him...

John went to the kitchen to fetch a third glass of cola, while Davey and little Harry entered our living room.

Davey immediately stormed towards me, trustfully jumping up at me to let me catch his rather heavy frame in midair!

I caught my enthusiastic 'third son' just in time, while he threw his arms around my neck and offered me a big kiss.

Cuddling up to me, he chuckled:

"Hi, Dad. Am I too early? Sorry! What were you doing before I came in? And, do you have any plans for today?

"This morning, I woke up and thought... well, today is a beautiful day, and I think it would be an excellent day to pay our ancestors a visit."

"Hi to you, too; and I'm afraid you are asking me way too many questions at once to answer them all...

"What did you ask me to do; 'pay our ancestors a visit'? What do you mean by that?"

"Of course, our ancestors are the APES, where we human beings originate from! Didn't they teach you that? They live in a huge zoo, about an hour drive from here.

"And, I thought, if you didn't plan anything else for today... Well, it wouldn't do any harm to ask... Could we go to the zoo, please?

"I've already asked my Mom; and she agrees if you agree too, but I have to be back home around nine o'clock."

"Are you sure? I think, with your looks, you had better use extreme caution in that zoo! What if they make a mistake, and keep YOU in an ape cage?

"Then, I have to go home with an 'ancestor', and deliver it to your Mom."

"Oh yeah? Well, I think you had better look out yourself, with your funny monkey beard!

"But, can we? Err... I mean, please, Dad, MAY we go to the zoo today?"

I chuckled at his pleading face and puppy doe eyes, and asked my other monkeys:

"John and Harry, what do YOU think? Shall we take the risk, about the zoo accidentally keeping this monkey in an ape cage?"

Little Harry almost lost his head vigorously nodding 'yes'.

Obviously, he felt very enthusiastic at the mere thought of going out for a whole day!

I even thought this could be the first time he actually visited a zoo...

Fortunately, he now had a rubber mask to hide his badly burnt face.

John got a naughty look in his eyes, while he chuckled:

"Dad, I sincerely hope they will not keep YOU in a cage, thinking you are an old escaped beard-ape, and a danger to everybody around."

Then, he ducked away, before I had a chance to grab his arm.

Now, I started to tickle Davey's ribs, in a futile effort to free myself from my attached monkey and get to John.

My attached monkey only squealed with joy, and immediately started to tickle me back!

Of course, this immediately triggered my other monkeys.

Working together, they floored me and mercilessly started to tickle me wherever they could find a sensitive spot.

Soon, their tickling became too much for my poor old body, and I panted:

"Stop, please, because I'm nearly wetting my pants!"

"Oh yeah? Well, we will buy some diapers and put them on you."

"Stop NOW; or we aren't going ANYWHERE!"

Immediately, they pulled me upright and promised to be good boys for the rest of the day.

Chuckling inwardly, I thought I had already trained them very well, in such a short amount of time...

Or, was I now trying to flatter myself?

Little Harry and John left me and raced to our kitchen, to prepare a wagonload of healthy and tasty sandwiches, to munch on at the zoo.

Davey and I followed them, after getting my old cooler from the hallway closet, to rob our refrigerator and put a pile of ice and lemonade cans into it.

Next, Davey boiled a couple of eggs, John dissected half a head of lettuce, and little Harry went outside to his own garden to fetch some tasty herbs to spice them.

In the meantime, I buttered a pile of sandwiches, and prepared a couple of tomatoes and some cheese.

Now, our little cookie demonstrated another of his extraordinary gifts, by using his spicy herbs to provide our sandwiches with a few exquisite flavors.

He really was an amazing boy, and an excellent chef!

We packed the readied sandwiches into a couple of plastic bags; and I put the bags into my cooler, on top of the lemonade cans.

Next, we went to our living room; and little Harry took his rubber mask from the green model and started to make its inside sticky with some fluid from a bottle.

Wearing his skin-colored mask, nobody would be able to see his terribly burnt face and make fun of him...

He put the now sticky mask onto his face and went to a mirror, where he rubbed it until it fit perfectly around his mouth, nose, and eyes.

Suddenly, he looked just like every other normal eight-year-old boy; except for a couple of scars and colored stains on his unclad arms.

After John snatched my wallet and keys from the table, we went outside and rushed to our car.

John opened its doors and dived onto the front seat, and little Harry and Davey buckled up in the rear seat.

I got the keys from John and started the engine; and we drove off, while Davey told me where I had to go to find the zoo he had in mind.

John scanned our stereo for a cheerful song, and soon found one on some regional radio station.

A moment later, we were singing along with the music, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, now and then raising the roof of our swinging car.

It felt good, to have an unexpected day off; and I felt like a little boy myself, going out on a holiday...

After some time, my three boys got a bit bored, until Davey started to tell a funny joke.

From then on, the boys filled the rest of the driving time concocting all sorts of silly jokes, laughing and trying to outdo each other.

Davey clearly was our comedian, while John always had lots of clever ideas, and little Harry came up with all sorts of witty remarks.

I enjoyed the nice feeling of being their 'old dad'; silently listening to their joyful antics, and basking in our mutual love while keeping my eyes on the road.

A full hour elapsed unnoticed; until, suddenly, an enormous zoo showed up!

I drove our car into its vast parking lot, where we joined the many hundreds of already parked cars.

Obviously, we weren't the only ones who thought this would be a nice day to visit this zoo.

The boys left our car in a hurry and raced towards the entrance, eager to meet our 'ancestors'.

I first locked the car doors carefully, and then followed them at a bit slower pace.

My three musketeers were waiting for me, fidgeting impatiently, to buy our tickets.

After I finally showed up, they started to pull at my arms, jumping up and down with over-enthusiasm.

I grinned at their antics, and let myself be dragged towards the entrance, where we joined the waiting line.

Slowly, all of us shuffled forward, until it would be our turn to pay the zoo, for parking our car in their lot and paying them a visit.

Finally, we were at the front of the line, and I ordered four tickets and a parking coupon.

Now, I had to pay for them, and started to search my pockets.

Where the heck had I left my wallet? I couldn't find it...

Had I forgotten to take any money with me, being an old and forgetful 'grandpa'?

Or, had I been the victim of one of those light-fingered pickpockets everybody always warned us for?

Feeling ashamed of my forgetfulness, I turned around, to face my boys and tell them we had to go back home...

I looked at them; and saw John's face, looking back at me with way too innocent eyes...

Could John be teasing me again, by thieving my wallet out of my pocket?

The devilish monkey! I will get him back for that, as soon as we get home!

Teasingly slowly, John fished MY wallet out of HIS pocket, and paid for our tickets.

Now, I remembered John had snatched my keys and my wallet from our table, before we left.

Yeah, well... this was VERY funny; always teasing me with my forgetfulness...

Of course, all three boys teasingly started to snicker about a certain 'forgetful old man'.

Just wait, until they will be sixty-five-year old and a bit forgetful grandpas themselves!

Then, it will be my time to guffaw and snicker at them, supposed I am still alive at that time.

Impatiently, little Harry and Davey dragged me towards the gate, where John handed all four tickets to the waiting gatekeeper.

The man smiled at the three fidgeting boys, while he teasingly slowly clipped our tickets, one by one...

John started to grumble aloud, while Davey and little Harry nearly threatened to tickle-torture the now chuckling man.

The man tried to look impressed, while he handed the clipped tickets to me.

Finally, we were allowed to enter the zoo and have a look at our 'ancestors'!

My threesome bolted inside, while trying to look everywhere at the same time; almost tripping over their own feet in their sudden hurry.

I put our tickets away in my wallet; and stuffed the wallet into my pocket, next to my keys, before I followed them inside.

The boys were already racing around in the crowd, looking everywhere, beckoning each other to look HERE!

I was visiting this particular zoo for the first time; and, much to my delight, it turned out to be very nice-looking and animal-friendly.

Everywhere we looked, we saw animals; walking around free, behind bars, in water pools, or in enormous cages.

All the walkways were crowded with enthusiastic children; and with their not so enthusiastic parents, desperately trying to tame their little monkeys.

I smiled at the funny sight; while I patiently waited until MY monkeys tamed themselves and came back to me voluntarily, as they always did.

Within a few minutes, they had seen everything around here; and returned to me with enthusiastic faces.

Now, they took my hands, and impatiently dragged me towards the next spectacle.

A smiling man with a professional looking camera approached us, and asked me:

"Sir, do you want a picture of you and your sons? Say 'cheese', please."

The man took a couple of pictures; while telling my boys to surround me and behave a bit more naturally, without posing or staring into the camera.

Within a few hours, he would pin the developed and printed photos onto a board at the entrance, where we could buy them.

Only, my boys weren't impressed at all, teasingly sticking out their tongues towards the camera while making silly faces.

They were already behaving 'naturally', and only wanted to GO ON.

The moment the man finished taking pictures, my threesome dragged me to a huge building that, to their utmost delight, turned out to be the ape house!

They started to cheer, left me, and bolted through the doors to have their first look at our 'ancestors' as soon as possible.

I followed them into a dark and smelly hallway; where they raced up to the first brightly illuminated cage, stopped, and stared at its inhabitants in sudden awe.

All of us felt a bit entranced; looking at several huge and impressive gorillas, sitting on the straw-covered floor or slowly walking around.

The sitting gorillas scratched their behinds, and stared back at us with bored faces...

"Are we looking at them, or are they looking at us?" Davey thought aloud, chuckling while making silly faces at the apes.

"Of course, they are looking at YOU, wondering what kind of a monkey YOU are!" John snickered, teasingly poking Davey in the ribs.

"I think they will easily recognize you. The resemblance is striking!" little Harry teased Davey, poking his ribs from the other side.

Davey turned around and stormed towards our smallest boy, trying to catch him.

However, our little monkey saw him coming, and was prepared for the attack.

He dived away immediately, and ran towards me with Davey on his heels.

He jumped into my arms at full speed, strangled my neck, and shouted:

"DAD! Please, help me. Davey is picking on me."

While trying to loosen little Harry's suffocating arms around my neck, I tried to look sternly at Davey...

However, the imp had a huge smile on his face, waiting for me to tell him he shouldn't pick on the smallest kid...

Chuckling at the funny sight, I winked at him and told him:

"Please, Davey, be a bit more careful, because he is still such a baby monkey."

"Dad, you are no fun!" little Harry shouted and wrestled free, again chased by Davey.

Two seconds later, they forgot their quarrel and stared at the bored gorillas again, with their arms around each other's waists like sworn brothers.

Two smaller gorillas started to chase each other around the cage, screeching while trying to avoid bumping into the others.

Little Harry chuckled at the funny sight, and told Davey:

"That one is you, and the smaller one is me; and you are chasing me around the cage."

"Look HERE!" John suddenly shouted from the next cage, bellowing with laughter.

We all raced towards him; to see what he thought was so funny.

A huge mother ape held her small child in her extremely long arms, while rolling around and around in the straw.

Every time the child screeched and tried to escape, she immediately pulled it close to her again.

Now and then, the child succeeded and ran away; but it returned immediately, to restart its game of being caught and trying to escape.

Both of them were extremely UGLY; at least, to our own prejudiced standards.

We observed our playing ugly 'ancestors' for quite some time, still laughing at the funny sight.

We never thought that monkeys could behave exactly as certain human beings usually do...

Then, John turned around with little fun lights in his eyes, and told the smiling visitors:

"Dear folks; come here, to have a good look at Big Harry and little Harry romping together!"

My little soul mate and I looked at each other with shocked faces, silently reading each other's eyes.

Then, we turned around at the same time, and went after John!

Of course, John saw us coming and escaped into the crowd, on the way sticking out his tongue.

Davey only bellowed with laughter, and refused to help us catch his friend.

Faking a raging anger, I told the still snickering John:

"We will GET you for this, by tickle-torturing you to death as soon as we get home!"

"Oh yeah? You, and whose army of ugly monkeys?"

The visitors started to laugh, and little Harry and I couldn't keep straight faces either.

After another look at our still playing 'ugly ancestors', we slowly sauntered on.

Suddenly, Davey pointed to another cage and shouted:

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

We joined Davey, to have a look at a bunch of smaller monkeys.

All the female monkeys proudly showed off their bright violet and pink colored behinds, protruded and wrinkled.

The male monkeys seemed to be attracted to the females with the hugest and most colorful protrusions, and ran after them to catch them.

Both John and Davey started to roar with laughter; slapping their knees and hiccupping!

Now and then, they turned around, to show the apes their own behinds.

Only, little Harry fell silent, looking at the protruded female apes with sad eyes...

He plucked at my arm, and asked me with concern in his voice:

"Dad? How come their butts look like this? Are they ill?"

I tried to explain that, in this way, nature tries to make the female monkeys even more attractive to the males.

In some way, it is like what our own females are trying to do, putting lipstick and rouge onto their faces to look more attractive to the men...

Little Harry shook his head in disbelief, and suddenly chuckled:

"If my girlfriend ever tries to make herself attractive like this, I will let her wear a rubber mask over her BUTT!"

Both John and Davey fell down onto the floor; rolling around in the dust while bellowing with laughter.

To be honest, I myself couldn't keep a straight face either.

After we calmed down, we left the 'lipstick monkeys', to go on with our visit.

We went through a double door, and entered the reptile house.

Davey pointed at a big anaconda, and chuckled:

"Look, here is the Harry Potter snake! Let's talk to it."

The boys tried to wake the snake by pounding the glass, but the animal didn't react.

It just stared back at us with unblinking eyes, as if it felt extremely bored...

John shook his head and chuckled:

"Of course, you will have to use snake language to talk to it! Only, I forgot my magic wand and my broomstick."

Soon, we got bored, and left the still motionless animal alone.

We shuffled to the next cage, which contained a bunch of wriggling smaller snakes.

Little Harry knocked its glass, but they didn't react and just went on wriggling.

A moment later, he left them, and impatiently raced to the next door.

He opened the door, peeked inside, and shouted:

"Look at this. They have REAL alligators!"

We followed him; and saw a huge crocodile, outstretched on the grass under a warming lamp.

A second crocodile swam around in a muddy water pool, with its mouth slightly opened.

For a moment, as a good parent, I thought about teaching my boys the differences between an alligator and a crocodile...

However, I decided to wait with my lectures until we were home again.

Yet, the boys seemed to be very impressed:

"Wow, what dangerous teeth! Look at those mean eyes! Do you know they eat horses and elephants, next to small boys like Harry?"

The boys shivered at the thought, while we sauntered through the next door.

Little Harry only chuckled, but cleverly kept his mouth shut...

Suddenly, we were outside, squinting at the bright sunlight.

We continued strolling through the huge zoological garden for quite some time.

We stared at all the different animals in their safe cages, in vain trying to get them react to us.

We talked to the parrots, and a couple of them really reacted and talked back to us.

We visited several smaller buildings, containing all kinds of fish, bats, rodents, and creepy insects.

We bought a bag of peanuts; and fed them to the proudly prancing peacocks, trying to get them to show off their beautiful feathers.

We looked at the seals, the sea lions, the bears, the elephants, the zebra's, the tigers, and all the other exotic animals this huge zoo had on display...

At last, my old feet started to feel tired, and I told my three monkeys to look for a nice place to sit down and have some rest and a drink...

Suddenly, they found the playground, and hastily dragged me towards it!

A microsecond later, they were gone in the loudly shouting crowd.

All at once, I was all alone, although surrounded by a huge crowd of playing and shouting kids.

I sat down at a small table on a terrace with some shadow, called a waiter, and ordered a cup of coffee.

Stealthily, I reached down under the table, secretly untied my shoes, and kicked them off.

Yes! That felt a whole lot better, sigh...

Now and then, one of my boys showed up amongst all the other playing kids, enthusiastically racing around while having lots of fun.

They seemed to have the time of their lives, coursing from swing to slide, to climbing rope, to conning tower, to labyrinth, to waterfall...

Feeling happy to be able to sit down and have some rest, I heaved a deep sigh of content, and sipped my coffee.

After half an hour, John suddenly appeared at my table, rubbing his belly and looking hungry:

"Dad, please, could we eat now? We feel starved."

I opened our cooler; and, at the same moment, all three boys surrounded me like magic!

I chuckled, distributed the sandwiches and the cans of lemonade, and told them to sit down.

They did, but only for a mere thirty seconds, hastily chewing and drinking.

Then, they offered me a quick kiss, and again disappeared into the shouting crowd.

I chuckled, sipped my coffee, and nibbled on the only remaining sandwich I had rescued for myself.

Now and then, one of my boys reappeared, taking a fast sip of lemonade before disappearing again.

One time, Davey hugged me, with beaming eyes:

"Thank you, Dad, for everything. It's fun here, and you are the best Dad in the world!"

He turned around, and disappeared through the crowd towards the labyrinth.

Little Harry and John seemed to wait for him; and I thought they could be playing 'hide and seek', a well-known game they often played in our backyards at home.

Soon, they all disappeared into the labyrinth, and I didn't see them back for a long time.

I closed my eyes, and dozed off in the joyful sounds of happily playing children...

Chapter 2. Vanished into thin air; and a daydream.

"Dad? Do you know where Harry is? We've looked for him everywhere, but we cannot find him..."

I woke up, rubbed my eyes, and squinted at the too bright sunlight.

Where was I, in this extremely crowded area full of laughing and shouting children's voices?

Then, I remembered.

My boys and I were visiting a zoo; and I had kicked my shoes off to feel a bit more comfortable before I dozed off after drinking my coffee...

I looked up, and stared at the worried faces of John and Davey.

They were looking around anxiously, searching the surroundings for any signs of little Harry...

John turned back to me, and explained:

"We are playing hide and seek, but Harry disappeared and we cannot find him. Did you see him here?"

"No... As far as I know, Harry hasn't been here for quite some time... Where was he the last time you saw him?"

"Near the labyrinth, around fifteen minutes ago..."

I yawned, stretched my stiffened old muscles, and slowly ducked under the table to put on my shoes.

Then, with a deep sigh, I rose from my chair, and followed John and Davey towards the labyrinth.

For now, I didn't feel too worried about little Harry not showing up.

Of course, nothing serious could have happened to him, here in the relative safety of the zoo.

Besides, our little Gypsy Prince had already proven to be mature enough to be able to fend for himself.

In his own clan, he had been a 'real trapper', allowed to stroll through the vast Rumanian woods all on his own!

He once told me he always knew the way, by just concentrating on where he wanted to be...

Beyond any doubt, his strange but very useful 'sixth sense' would flawlessly bring him back to me in no time.

John and Davey brought me to the children's labyrinth at the back of the playground, where John stopped next to a tree and told me:

"Here, I counted to fifty, while Davey and Harry ran away to hide. I found Davey within two minutes, hidden behind that tree over there; but I couldn't find Harry...

"After searching for a long time, I gave up and asked Davey to help me; but he too didn't know where Harry could be hiding.

"Working together, we looked in all the possible hiding places. We yelled at Harry to show up, but he didn't answer and seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Finally, we gave up, and went to you for help..."

Both boys dragged me to the small labyrinth, where they ducked under a low wooden bar to get in.

I followed them, crawling on my hands and knees, and complaining about my too rusty joints that started to protest.

John and Davey also knew the way out, and they dragged me through the meandering labyrinth towards its cleverly hidden exit.

On our way, we looked into all the blind paths and yelled little Harry's name everywhere, trying to shout beyond the too loud playground sounds.

We saw lots of other kids, playing around and chasing each other through the labyrinth, but not OUR boy.

At the back of the labyrinth, we entered an oblong square, surrounded by a couple of heavily overgrown fences.

This place didn't seem to be very good for hiding, being nearly at the back border of our zoo, showing only one small and rusty gate...

Yet, we looked around the square, and even tried to peek through the abundantly growing vegetation into some secluded yard.

However, the only thing we saw there was a small and seemingly abandoned storage barn, behind the locked gate, with its door closed.

Little Harry couldn't possibly be there, because the gate was locked, so we went back to the very noisy playground.

Now, I started to feel a little bit worried.

This wasn't little Harry's normal behavior!

He had never disappeared like this before, without any warning...

Or, could he be teasing us, cleverly hidden in some bush, waiting for us to give up so he could show up in triumph?

John once told me that little Harry was VERY good at hiding, due to his Gypsy nature and growing up in the woods while catching small animals...

Could he be staring at us at this very moment, chuckling inwardly, waiting for us to break into tears?

I couldn't believe that my little soul mate would tease us like this, without showing any consideration.

This absolutely contradicted his caring nature of always trying to reckon with other people's feelings...

Thinking about it, I could come up with only one logical conclusion: something unexpected had happened to my boy!

Could he be trapped somewhere; maybe in some restroom stall, unable to free himself, waiting for somebody to rescue him?

Or, did he get lost, somewhere in this big zoo, while looking for a hiding place, despite his brightness and his amazing skills?

Ultimately, he WAS only eight years old and a bit too small for his age...

I turned towards my still worried looking boys, and asked them:

"Do you know where we can find the nearest restroom?"

John and Davey nodded, and took me across the playground to a small children's restroom.

Inside the nasty smelling building, I opened all the stall doors, hoping to find at least some trace of our suddenly vanished boy...

Only one stall was occupied by a small boy, looking at us with a bewildered look on his face while hastily pulling up his trousers.

All the other stalls were empty.

Soon, I gave up, left the foul-smelling restroom, and asked John and Davey:

"Do you have ANY idea where Harry could be now?"

Davey just shook his head; but John looked at me as if he thought I could be the dumbest human being on the planet...

Of course, if they had the faintest idea where little Harry could be now; they would have looked in that place at least a century ago!

We went back to our small table, where we tried to decide what we should do now.

Of course, from now on, at least one of us had to be here all the time; in case little Harry would show up at our table.

What other options did we have?

John thought it would be best to go to the zoo's office, and ask a couple of security officers to help find our lost boy...

I immediately agreed! This would certainly be the best thing we could do for now.

The security officers would undoubtedly know where to look for our lost boy, being familiar with every nook and cranny of their own zoo.

I thanked John for his clever idea, and rose from my chair while asking:

"Please, stay here until I am back. I don't want you two to get lost as well..."

"DAAAD! How dim-witted do you think we are?"

I chuckled at John's very indignant face, despite my growing feelings of despair.

Of course, I could always rely on my mature young friend, and I was sure Davey would stay at his side.

I hugged both boys, and promised them to be back as soon as possible.

Now, I tried to remember where the zoo's entrance could be...

I hoped that the office would be somewhere near it, being the most likely place I could think of.

And, of course, I would soon stumble upon one of the many security officers, and ask for their valuable help.

After some thinking, I thought I recognized the walkway we came from, and headed for where could be the entrance...

However, within three minutes, I was totally lost, and didn't have the faintest idea where I was!

Suddenly, all those overgrown walkways seemed to look exactly the same, spreading out into every possible direction...

Unfortunately, I absolutely lacked every sense of little Harry's special trapper gift of always knowing the way.

What should I do now? I didn't even know the way back to the playground...

Feeling very uneasy, I looked around for one of the many security officers.

Only, I still didn't see any.

Where were they, now that I needed them to help me find my way to the office?

Did they all take their coffee break at the same time?

Desperately, I tried to orient myself, by looking at where my shadow pointed to the ground and trying to keep the sun to one side.

Only, all the walkways seemed to twist and meander; and the overgrown vegetation obscured the sunlight almost everywhere...

Suddenly, I saw the small tower on top of the ape house, showing up in a far distance!

Yes! The ape house had been near the entrance, where I supposed the zoo's office would be as well...

Feeling relieved, I started to walk towards the tower, while trying to remember its direction.

I rounded the next corner without looking where I was going, craning my neck while trying to see the slowly nearing ape house tower...

Suddenly, I almost collided with some bright yellow signpost, standing in my way!

Fortunately, at the last moment, I avoided bumping my head into it.

Now, for the first time, I noticed many more of these bright yellow posts, showing up on EVERY crossing!

All of them carried several arrows; pointing to the entrance, the restaurant, the nearest restroom, the snack bar, the playground, and the zoo's office...

This time, I felt VERY bemused.

Hastily, I started to follow the yellow arrows that pointed towards the office, inwardly muttering about being such an old and absent-minded grandpa...

Within two minutes, I arrived at a huge brick building, proudly showing the word 'OFFICE' over its entrance.

I took a deep breath, and entered the building with mixed feelings.

Would really somebody inside be able to help me find my missing little soul mate?

For a moment, my eyes had to adjust to the relative darkness inside the office.

Then, I looked around, and went to a counter showing the word 'information'.

A smiling woman approached it from the other side, and politely greeted me:

"Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?"

"I really hope you can help me! My three boys were playing hide and seek in the playground, and suddenly our eight-year-old little Harry disappeared.

"We have looked everywhere, even in the children's restroom; but Harry seems to have vanished into thin air.

"Now, my other boys are waiting at our table, hoping their little brother will show up while I am away..."

"Don't worry, sir; this happens all the time! Within two minutes, all of our security guards will be looking for your lost boy. Please, could you describe him?"

I described little Harry, while trying to remember which clothes he was wearing:

"Harry is a slim eight-year-old boy; with light brownish hair, bright blue eyes, slightly stuffed cheeks, and a little pug nose.

"As far as I remember, he dressed this morning in a yellow T-shirt, blue denim pants, white or grayish sneakers, and I think he put on his dark or gray socks.

"He has a badly burnt face, and therefore wears a rubber mask to hide his scars. Only the colored fire marks on his unclad arms will be clearly visible.

"And, by now, several pictures of us should be on the photographer's pin board near the entrance."

The woman nodded, took her mobile phone, and started to call several security personnel.

She described the lost little boy, told them about the pictures, and asked them to look out for him and report to the playground.

After ending her calls, she told me:

"This is all I can do for now, sir. From now on, every security guard will look for your lost boy. Within no time, you will have him back, happy and healthy!

"Please, go back to the playground and your other boys, and wait there until one of our guards shows up."

I thanked the nice woman for her help; but felt even more worried than before.

Would the security officers really find little Harry; as the optimistic woman promised me?

Why hadn't my little soul mate found us on his own, by using his phenomenal trapper abilities?

He once told me he only had to 'tune in' to some place he knew, to be able to walk towards it in a beeline...

Why hadn't he 'tuned in' to our small table at the playground, IF he got lost?

To me, it was now clear that something else had happened to my boy, preventing him from showing up...

A very disturbing thought suddenly crossed my mind, making me shudder.

What if somebody else knew that little Harry was a Gypsy Prince, and decided to kidnap him?

Perhaps, that person had the wrong idea about Royal Gypsies being very rich; and wanted a ransom...

Or, what if somebody loathed little Gypsy boys, and today decided to abduct one?

I was absolutely sure that little Harry would fight himself to death instead of surrendering, but he was only eight years old...

Maybe, the same people who once set their caravan ablaze, around two years ago, were here to finish their job?

The police never found them...

However, how would any people know we were here, in this zoo?

Could they have followed us?

I stepped outside the office building, and squinted at the sudden sunlight.

Then, I followed the bright yellow arrows that conveniently lead me back to the playground.

Three minutes later, I entered the playground and went to the terrace; secretly hoping to see my little soul mate running towards me...

Alas, he wasn't there; and I slumped down at my table and hid my head in my hands, trying to hide my concern and my sudden tears from a worried looking John.

My young friend hugged me, looking sad and in vain trying to suppress his own sobs:

"Hi, Dad. Are the security officers now looking for Harry? I hope they will find him and bring him back soon! We already miss him...

"In the meantime, Davey and I are taking turns searching for him around the playground; so that always one of us will be here in case he shows up."

Clever boys!

I complimented John, and took my handkerchief out of my pocket to dry our mingled tears.

Next, I told John what the office had told me; that now every security guard in the zoo would be looking for our lost little friend.

They also promised that our lost boy would soon be back, happy and healthy...

A minute later, Davey showed up at our table, looking sad and disappointed:

"I've again looked EVERYWHERE, but I still cannot find Harry..."

Davey crawled onto my lap, oblivious to all the surrounding kids, and started to sob.

I offered him my handkerchief and held him close, while John hugged us from the other side.

Soon, my handkerchief was soaking wet, because it now served all of us.
Why hadn't I brought a few packets of tissues...

However, it felt good, to be able to support and comfort each other like this.

I only hoped that little Harry would soon show up and share our joined cuddle...

After a few minutes, a uniformed man entered the playground, wearing a clearly visible 'security' badge.

He looked around at all the customers, until he saw us and approached our table.

With compassion in his voice, he asked us:

"I think you are the lost little boy's family? He didn't show up yet? Please, could you tell me some more about how he disappeared?"

John started to tell the officer how Harry disappeared, now and then filled in by Davey:

Our threesome had played hide and seek around the labyrinth, until it was John's turn to seek and tag his friends.

Within two minutes, he found Davey behind a tree; but he didn't see Harry.

He sought some more, until he asked Davey to help him find our cleverly hidden Gypsy boy.

Fifteen minutes later, they had looked in every nook and cranny at least three times, but still couldn't find our little trapper friend.

Now, they decided to give up and call him.

They walked around the labyrinth, yelling Harry's name and asking him to show up in triumph!

However, Harry didn't show up, and he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

They started to feel worried, and decided to ask me for help.

The friendly security guard thanked John and Davey for their detailed description.

He took his mobile phone, and asked their headquarters for any news about the lost little boy.

For a moment, he looked disappointed...

Then, he tousled John's and Davey's hair, and told them:

"Don't worry too much; because I am sure your little brother will show up in no time. I think he went too far away, and couldn't find his way back. That happens here all the time.

"All our guards are now looking for him. And, please, don't leave the zoo without telling US first, even when your boy suddenly shows up and you want to go home."

We promised the security guard to keep him informed, in case Harry showed up and we left to go home.

He thanked us again; and went away to have another look at the surroundings, again talking into his phone.

Some time ago, I had thought about buying such a cell phone, but soon discarded the idea.

Why should I use such a thing?

At home, I had my own telephone; and my answering machine would conveniently answer all my calls in case I was away...

Now, I almost cursed myself for being so shortsighted!

Since a few days, I was responsible for two or three growing boys, and I had to live up to that standard.

Inwardly, I decided to buy a couple of cell phones, immediately after we had little Harry back.

I would buy one phone for myself, and one for each of my boys, to carry with them all the time.

That way, they would never again get lost without letting everybody know what had happened.

Today, I felt the full weight of my responsibilities for my young friends, resting massively on my shoulders.

The heavy burden almost crushed me!

John and Davey started to fidget around our table, until John asked me:

"Dad? Davey and I want to search for Harry again. We simply cannot sit still and wait, while he might be in trouble...

"But, we promise we will be back and report to you every few minutes."

"That is okay with me; but, please, be careful not to get lost yourself!"

"DAAAD! You seem to forget that we are thirteen-year-old and very clever boys! Of course, it is impossible for us to get lost here, in this secluded zoo."

"Yeah, well, your little brother is a very clever boy too; and where is he now?

"Besides, have you seen these yellow signposts at every corner? Please, don't forget to use them."

Again, they stared at me with indignant faces.

They were big boys, and not little babies!

Of course, they had seen and used the yellow signposts at least a century ago...

Never underestimate youth.

They offered me a quick hug and a kiss, and disappeared into the crowd.

I was alone again, and slumped back onto my chair with a very sad feeling.

Where could my little soul mate be now?

What could have happened to him, after he tried to hide around the labyrinth and got lost?

Did he really get lost, despite his special trapper gifts?

Or, could somebody have abducted him?

That wasn't likely, because I was sure my proud boy would fight any nasty attacker with all of his might!

He would scream at the top of his lungs, raising hell and the devil, while kicking and punching his assailant wherever he could!

With his enormous Inner Power and Royal pride, he would NEVER surrender.

Only, what else could have happened to him?

Did he get ill, or fainted, all of a sudden?

Or, had he bumped his head against something, and lost consciousness with a concussion?

Only, why did nobody find him, although all the security officers were looking for him?

I thought and thought, but nothing seemed to make any sense...

Unexpectedly, a rather unusual idea popped up in my mind, making me wonder...

Would I be able to send my little soul mate a message, by concentrating on his aura and sending him my love?

I knew that my little 'shaman' always picked up other people's thoughts effortlessly, by just concentrating on their minds.

On the other hand, I also knew that most sensitive people tend to protect their auras against any unwanted 'energy intruders'...

Would my boy recognize my energy, and open up to what I wanted to tell him?

When any new clients felt too uneasy, I always concentrated on their energy, to find out what could be their problem.

Next, I used to send powerful 'waves of love' towards them, to help them feel more at ease.

I didn't know why it worked or where my knowledge came from, but sending them my love always helped!

Would I be able to reach my little soul mate in the same way, by concentrating on his aura and sending him my love?

I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and visualized my little soul mate in front of me.

Next, I opened my Inner Self towards him, and concentrated on his feelings...

Immediately, a huge wave of panic and distress overwhelmed me!

Feeling shocked, I sat upright and opened my eyes, so as not to be drawn into those feelings of despair!

Had I really contacted my little soul mate, or had I unintentionally intensified my own feelings of distress?

I wasn't sure; but at least something very unusual had happened!

What would happen if I did the same thing again, but without opening my mind and making myself vulnerable?

Would I be able to look at my little soul mate from within a deep meditation or an induced daydream?

I didn't know where my unexpected thoughts came from, but they sounded reasonably!

I closed my eyes again; and slowly drifted off into a deep meditation, as I had done many times before.

Now, I forced my mind into a guided daydream, and looked at what could have happened to my playing little soul mate...

Little Harry was playing hide and seek around the labyrinth, looking for an appropriate place to hide.

He entered the labyrinth, went to the exit; and reached an oblong square, surrounded by overgrown fences.

This square didn't seem to be a proper place to hide, but what would be behind that mysterious fence?

Feeling curious, he peeked through the vegetation, and saw a small barn with an open door...

What would be in that barn?

He scrutinized the old fence, and soon found a small gap where the iron netting had rusted away.

Being only a small boy, he worked his lithe body through the gap, and sneaked towards the open door...

Inside the barn, he saw a huge pile of food bags.

What would be in those bags?

Curiously, he stepped through the door and tried to read the labels...

Suddenly, the door moved and shut, followed by a loud click.

Everything went pitch dark; and he was trapped in a small barn, unable to free himself!

Hurriedly, I left my strange daydream and woke up, because I started to panic again.

My lungs were wheezing like an overworked horse, while my overstrained heart tried to pound out of my throat.

Was this for real? Had this happened to my little soul mate?

Was little Harry trapped in some small barn behind a fence, and panicking?

Was that why nobody could find him?

Then, I started to laugh at myself and at my weird experience.

Everybody knows that daydreams are only a product of your own imagination, and nothing more!

Besides, I was sure that the searching security guards would have looked into all the hidden barns and behind all the closed doors.

There was no way they wouldn't have found little Harry, if he really was trapped in some barn and couldn't free himself.

He also would have screamed and pounded the closed door with all of his might, until somebody heard him and freed him...

I couldn't get rid of my feeling of panic; and asked a passing waiter to bring me a glass of water and another cup of coffee.

All the time, the worried face of little Harry wavered in front of me, looking at me with fear and desperation in his eyes...

Was my boy really in a panic, being trapped in some barn and feeling desperate?

WHERE WAS HE?

I thought of Jack, our 'spirit guide'; and of his promise to help us when and wherever he could.

Where was Jack, now that we needed him?

Couldn't Jack help us find little Harry, maybe by pulling me into an 'induced trance' and showing me where I could find my son?

I tried to call Jack in my mind, but he wasn't there; or, maybe, I felt too nervous to hear his faint answer...

Or, had all this talking with my 'spirit guide' been fake, created by my own wishful thinking?

I gulped down the water, burped, and started to sip my coffee.

Time went by; until slowly, almost imperceptibly, the sun started to disappear below the horizon.

Most visitors had already left the playground; and the last ones started to pack their belongings and gather their little monkeys, to go home.

John and Davey were dead tired from their searching, and leaned against me with sad faces.

Now and then, one of the security officers showed up, hoping WE would have any news about the lost little boy.

They told us they had looked everywhere, all around and in the zoo, but so far hadn't been able to find any trace of him...

Suddenly, we were all alone, in what now felt like a totally deserted zoo!

One of the security officers showed up for the last time, to tell us they had done everything that they could.

They were absolutely sure that our lost little boy wasn't here any more.

From now on, we had to contact the police to look for my youngest son, as the zoo would close within ten minutes.

He would ask night security to keep an open eye; in the unlikely event that the boy happened to show up during the night...

He wrote down our telephone number, and promised to call us if he had any news.

He was very sorry, and felt a lot of sympathy for us, but this was all the zoo could do.

It was now up to the police, to find the lost little boy...

I felt devastated, and on the verge of crying out and throwing a tantrum!

How could the zoo send us home, just like that, without our own little Gypsy Prince...

Would he still be wearing his now undoubtedly very itchy rubber mask?

I didn't WANT to leave the zoo without my lost son!

Yet, maybe, the REAL police would be able to find my boy, while the zoo had failed...

Reluctantly, we left the playground, and followed the officer towards the entrance.

To me, it felt like saying farewell to my little soul mate, as if I abandoned him...

Up to the last moment, I hoped to see the little devil, storming towards us, shouting:

"DAD! Wait for me!"

Alas. Nobody showed up at the last moment, to jump into my arms and smother my face with little kisses.

Would my little soul mate still be alive, or could some filthy child molester have murdered him?

At thinking this thought, a hot rage welled up in my chest, and I wanted to fight all the cruel security officers who dared send us away like this!

Involuntarily, I growled and balled my fists...

John seemed to feel my rage, because he looked up at me with concern in his eyes...

Fortunately, that calmed me down considerably.

I HAD to be in control of my own feelings, because I was responsible for THREE boys who needed me!

Taking a couple of deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down and think reasonably.

I had to leave the zoo and go to a police station...

The security officer waited politely, until we had left the zoo and reached our car.

Then, he closed the iron zoo gate, carefully securing it with a huge padlock.

He turned around and sauntered back, towards the office.

HIS case was dismissed.

Secretly, I hoped that little Harry would be waiting for us, in his usual place in our car...

I even thought I saw his little shadow, impatiently waiting for us...

Of course, he wasn't there; and I worked my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the doors.

My two remaining boys and I entered our car in silence and slowly buckled up, still looking around...

I started the engine, looked at the zoo one last time, and drove off.

The security officer had told me where the police station was, and I found it with ease.

I parked our car in its small parking lot; and we got out, crossed the road, and entered the dull looking building.

Inside, two police officers stared at us with bored faces, and one of them told us to sit down and wait for our turn.

Obviously, we weren't the only ones who had lost something...

Then, the other officer offered me a cup of coffee, and both nervous boys got a glass of cola.

After half an hour, a door suddenly opened, and a woman left the police station in a hurry.

Finally, one of the police officers pointed to the open door, and told us to go in.

We entered a small room, where a tired looking officer greeted us and asked:

"Please, sirs, take a seat; and how may I help you?"

I told the officer how we had lost our youngest boy in the zoo, almost choking up from sadness.

Fortunately, John and Davey filled me in; and they told the officer their part of the sad story.

Now, I had to answer several annoying questions like:

Was this the first time the little boy disappeared?

Could he have any reason to run away, maybe without our knowing?

Had he ever been frightened about something, and done unexpected things?

Could he have done something naughty, or be afraid of a punishment?

Could we think of any reason why he would want to leave us without a trace?

Could somebody else have taken him somewhere, maybe without informing us?

Had the boy ever contacted any stranger, maybe through the Internet?

Had he ever talked about wanting to live elsewhere?

The officer wrote all our answers down; and asked for our address and phone number.

Next, he asked me for a description of the lost little boy; and, did we have a picture of him?

I had to sign several papers; and he promised to call me as soon as he had any news.

From now on, every officer on duty would look for our lost little boy...

Finally, he advised us to go home, stop worrying, and wait for the next day.

Most lost children showed up at home within twenty-four hours after they disappeared, voluntarily and unharmed!

Did the lost boy know our telephone number by heart?

Of course, he did.

The officer opened the door, and we shook hands.

Feeling numb, we left the police station and returned to our car.

I unlocked the doors, we went in, I started the engine, and we drove off.

We were on our way home, still feeling uneasy and very sad...

Chapter 3. Our Spirit Guide; Harry is lost and found.

On our way home, all three of us were deep in thought, thinking about our lost little friend.

What could have happened to him, in the relative safety of the secluded zoo?

Where could our little Gypsy friend be now?

Was he dead, or had somebody kidnapped him?

Would we ever see him again, or would we have to pay an enormous ransom first?

I would gladly pay ANYTHING to anybody, to have my boy back in good health!

John and Davey leaned into each other, staring out the windows, now and then sobbing.

I told myself repeatedly to stay calm and keep my teary eyes onto the road, to avoid drifting to the wrong side and ending up in some hospital.

From time to time, my stomach started to rumble, telling me I hadn't eaten anything since noon.

However, how would I ever be able to eat, knowing that my little soul mate could be hungry...

After half an hour, I saw a small restaurant along the side of the road, and slowed down.

Of course, I was also responsible for the well-being of my two growing boys in the backseat!

I knew that my monkeys could be bottomless pits, and they NEEDED to be fed from time to time.

Thus, I turned our car into the small parking lot, and stopped.

I left my seat without saying a word, and just went inside the building.

They were only selling burgers, so I ordered two large ones and one medium one.

On second thought, I added three cans of cola, took my wallet out of my pocket, and paid for everything.

Then, I waited until the burgers were ready; and took everything to our car.

John and Davey started to cheer, when they saw me carrying something to eat!

Then, they fell silent again, looking ashamed...

How could they be hungry; while, at the same time, our little Gypsy friend would be starved?

I looked at their sad faces, and told them:

"Boys, we HAVE to eat something, to be strong and healthy when Harry shows up. It will do him no good, to see us wasted and meager..."

"Okay, Dad, I think you are right. Thank you, for buying us something to eat, because I AM starved! Come on, Davey, let's attack the food."

John and Davey started to stow away their burgers at lightning speed, as usual.

However, after taking a couple of bites, they looked at each other and shook their heads.

They opened the doors, left our car, and threw the remainder of their food into a nearby waste bucket.

After returning, Davey had tears in his eyes while he told me:

"Sorry, Dad, but I cannot enjoy my food while Harry doesn't have anything to eat."

John nodded in agreement; and both boys started to stare out the windows again.

I took a few bites of my own burger; but the boys were right.

The food tasted like cardboard, and I went outside and threw the rest into the waiting waste bucket.

After emptying our colas and adding them to the bucket, I restarted the engine and drove off.

Again, we were on our way home, still feeling numb and sad...

Half an hour later, I parked our vehicle in our driveway and shut off the engine.

John snatched the keys out of my hand, bolted out of the car, and raced towards our front door.

He opened the door in a hurry, and immediately disappeared inside!

Davey and I followed him into the house, where we heard him checking our answering machine.

Alas, the little red light wasn't blinking, indicating nobody had called in our absence, not even a kidnapper...

John even checked our phone line; to be sure everything was working correctly.

Davey had to go home, because it was past nine o'clock.

He asked us to walk him home, but both John and I shook our heads.

We wanted to stay here, in case the police or the zoo officers would phone us about our lost little boy...

Fortunately, Davey understood; and only asked me:

"Dad, may I be back tomorrow, early in the morning, to hear any news about Harry?"

"Of course, you may. Only, please, don't wake us too early, because we need our beauty sleep."

This time, nobody laughed or made any funny remarks about our 'beauty'.

Davey just hugged us, offered me a big kiss, and went home with a sad face and teary eyes.

John and I slumped down on our couch; and immediately put our arms around each other.

We started to sob together, trying to release some of our tension and sadness from this arduous day...

In my mind, I heard the consoling voice of my little soul mate, whispering into my ear:

"Let it go, and don't bottle it up! Within a few minutes, you will feel a lot better..."

Hiccupping from the sudden pain in my heart, I started to cry uncontrollably.

Would I ever hear the so well known boyish voice of my little soul mate again?

Would he ever again crawl onto my lap, and wipe my tears away with a tissue from our table?

I MISSED my boy!

I missed my little soul mate terribly!

For a long time, John and I sat together on our couch, trying to support each other.

Now and then, we wiped each other's eyes, and blew our dripping noses in the many tissues John had fetched from the huge packet in my bedroom.

Despite our sadness about little Harry, it felt good to be together and help each other like this.

We could clearly feel our mutual love radiating between us, since today growing by leaps and bounds!

After some time, we hesitantly started to guess what could have happened to our little friend...

Could somebody have kidnapped him, maybe knowing I had some money to spend?

However, how could anyone know that we would be at this particular zoo?

Or, had little Harry lost his way while looking for a hiding place, maybe going too far away?

John was absolutely sure that was impossible; as little Harry seemed to always know his way around.

He had an infallible 'sixth sense' for knowing where he had to go, and had demonstrated his strange but very useful trapper ability many times!

Could he have bumped his head against something unexpected and lost consciousness?

Only, why didn't the security officers find him, although they assured us they had searched every nook and cranny in and around their zoo?

Would he still be wearing his rubber mask?

It always started to itch terribly after a couple of hours...

John's voice faded away, while I slowly drifted off into a slumber.

My body felt dead tired from all the unaccustomed emotions, and I couldn't keep my eyes open any more...

Soon, a bright light started to surround me, shining everywhere; while many powerful waves of Pure Love engulfed my tired body.

All my sorrows seemed to fade into oblivion, and I started to feel like being reborn.

Was Jack around me, and helping me?

Silently, I basked in the wonderful and consoling feeling of being loved and cared for...

"DAD! I am sure that Harry is alive! I contacted him, and I can feel him!

"...Dad? Are you awake?"

My poor heart almost stopped beating, while John's sudden voice jolted me out of my deep slumber.

For a moment, I had no idea where I was, while John impatiently shook my arm to wake me up...

Then, I mumbled, still feeling numb and sleep-charged:

"Sorry, John. I suppose I fell asleep from tiredness, and your sudden voice almost caused me to have a heart attack.

"But, what has happened? How can you be so sure that Harry is alive?"

"I can feel Harry; but he sleeps. I also sense a dark room with a locked door, but I don't know where it is. Harry has cried a lot and feels dead tired, but he is alive!"

"But... How can you 'feel' Harry? Has Jack told you that?"

"No, Jack hasn't been around me for quite some time; and I am angry with my 'real Dad', for not showing up now that we NEED his help!

"But, I closed my eyes and tried to talk to Harry in my mind, hoping to contact him. Suddenly, I felt him, but he seems to be asleep."

"Are you sure you 'felt' Harry; or is your wishful mind playing tricks with you?"

"I am absolutely sure, Dad! I know how Harry feels, and it IS him. Harry always talks to us in our minds, but it only works when we are thinking of the same things."

Finally, I had the confirmation I had been looking for, for quite some time!

My clever boys WERE talking to each other in their minds!

I had always suspected they did such a thing, but wasn't sure until now...

I put the information away for later, and only asked John:

"Where is your 'real Dad', now that we need his help? He promised me he would always be with us and help us whenever possible; but where is he now..."

At that same moment, I suddenly heard Jack's voice in my head, sounding loud and clear!

This time, I was absolutely sure I hadn't made up his voice in my mind...

His voice sounded frustrated and a bit tired, while he told me:

"Don't worry so much, and go to bed because you need your sleep!"

John stared at me with bulging eyes, while he exclaimed:

"Wow! Did you hear that, Dad? Jack tells us not to worry so much, and go to bed because we need our sleep!

"Thus, my real Dad IS still around us. He didn't forget me..."

Again, my mind was going through a heavy turmoil.

Finally, I had the undeniable proof that Jack WAS our 'spirit helper', and he WAS contacting us!

From now on, I could never again deny his existence; because John had heard exactly the same words!

So-called 'spirit helpers' were a reality, just like getting their messages from 'the beyond'...

Only, why hadn't Jack helped us find our lost little Gypsy friend?

Couldn't we really rely on our so-called 'spirit guide'?

Or, had Jack lost little Harry too, and didn't he know where to find him?

Would that be possible, for a spirit, to lose somebody and be unable to find him or her?

Or, did I overlook something important...

John and I decided to follow Jack's advice, and go to bed immediately.

We were dead tired, and absolutely needed our beauty sleep!

Tomorrow, we had to be bright and shining again, to resume our desperate search for our lost little friend...

We went upstairs and showered together, to be able to go to bed even earlier.

Suddenly, John asked me, showing me his best puppy doe eyes:

"Please, Dad, may I sleep next to you tonight, now that Harry is missing? I am afraid to sleep alone, because I might have bad dreams about my little brother..."

For a moment, I doubted; still feeling afraid of what our 'Big Brother' society might think...

Then, I decided to be there for my young friend, always and everywhere.

From now on, I would never again deny any of my boys the safety and togetherness they so obviously needed!

From now on, our way too meddlesome society could... well, you know what I mean.

Besides, I too missed my little soul mate terribly, feeling lost and lonely without his small frame glued to my side!

Perhaps, tonight, I needed John's togetherness even more than he needed me...

I nodded my consent, and John followed me to my bedroom and dived under the blankets.

I crawled next to him; and John draped himself all over me, heaving a deep sigh of content.

He kissed my cheek, and I returned the kiss onto his wrinkling nose, wishing him goodnight.

Both of us were dead tired, and fell asleep almost immediately.

"DAD! Please, WAKE UP! Our telephone is ringing! Come on, hurry. You have to answer it!"

I woke up in sudden shock; and squinted around at what all the tumult was about...

Obviously, John was trying to drag me out of bed, forcefully shaking my shoulders to wake me up!

Sleep charged and feeling dizzy, I glared at his worried face.

What was his problem?

Why did John want me to leave our warm bed in the middle of the night?

I wanted to sleep some more...

Groaning, I wrestled upright and tried to look at my blinking alarm clock:

"Wassup? What time is it?"

"It's nearly four o'clock, but the telephone is ringing! Come on, please, hurry downstairs. It could be news about Harry!"

Suddenly, I was in a tremendous hurry, now hearing the sound of our ringing telephone downstairs.

I tried to jump out of bed, but had to hold onto a chair until my dizziness faded away and I was able to stay upright without swaying too much.

Then, I staggered downstairs and wavered to the still ringing phone in our living room, hoping it wouldn't be some unknown stranger dialing a wrong number...

I took the receiver, still trying to dispel my sleepy cobwebs, and grumbled:

"What do you want? Do you know how late it is?"

"DADDY! Why didn't you answer my earlier calls? This is the third time I try, and I was afraid I had to wait until tomorrow...

"I am sorry, Daddy, and I can't help it, really. It isn't my fault I couldn't leave that locked barn. Are you very mad at me? Please, don't yell at me...

"Everything was so creepy in that darkness, and I was terrified, and I thought they would never find me and that I would die from hunger and thirst..."

Little Harry started to hyperventilate, while hiccupping and stumbling over his own words.

Then, I heard some scraping noises; and I thought he had let the receiver slip out of his trembling hands...

But, I needed to know where he was, and where I could find him!

I started to yell into the phone, desperately trying to get my little soul mate back on the receiver...

Was he okay?

Where was he?

Was he alone?

Could anybody please help him?

Fortunately, after a few more scraping noises, a chuckling man took over.

He told me he was the night guard at the zoo, and walked his rounds every two hours.

Crossing the playground, he suddenly thought he heard a strange sound, as if somebody could be pounding on a door.

He walked towards the sound, and found a small barn behind a closed fence.

A child seemed to have locked itself in, shouting and pounding the closed door, wanting to be freed.

However, he told the child to wait, because he had to return to the office first, to find the necessary keys.

Five minutes later, he freed a patiently waiting and very polite and grateful looking little boy.

He used his flashlight to look at the kid, and nearly fainted at seeing such a terribly devastated face...

Of course, he thought something horrible had happened to the boy; and he wanted to call for an ambulance immediately!

However, the little imp started to laugh, and assured him that everything was okay and his burns were over two years old.

Now, my son was drinking hot chocolate in the zoo's office; and when could I come and get him?

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

I put the receiver back onto its cradle, and needed a moment to let the message sink in.

Then, John and I looked at each other, and both of us started to CHEER at the same time.

We threw our arms around each other, and danced around the room from our sudden relief.

All our worries were gone!

We had our little Gypsy Prince back, sound and healthy.

Now, let's drive to the zoo's office and take him home.

We hurried upstairs, and donned our clothes in record time.

Within two minutes, we were ready, left our house, and raced to our car.

Only, I had to hurry back to the house, to get the hidden spare key and open our backdoor.

I needed my keys from the kitchen table, to be able to drive our car...

I got my keys and my wallet, closed the backdoor, and put the spare key back onto its nail.

Now panting like the old grandpa I was, I merely walked to our car and unlocked its doors.

John looked at me, shook his head, and chuckled a bit, but he didn't say a word...

He took the front seat, still chuckling; and we buckled up and drove off, again in a hurry.

In no time, we left our small village and entered the long and boring highway.

John yawned a few times, sagged down in his seat, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Of course, I was feeling sleepy too, yawned, and could barely keep my eyes open...

At this unusual time, around four o'clock in the morning, the highway was almost deserted.

The surrounding darkness looked spooky, only now and then illuminated by the blinding headlights of an approaching car.

After a moment, I reached for our car stereo, trying to find some cheerful music.

I hoped some merry melody would help me stay awake until we reached the zoo...

Suddenly, our joyful song reverberated through our car, making John stir in his sleep:

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll."

I chuckled inwardly, and thought this had to be a positive omen!

We had our lost boy back; and, again, everything had turned out for the best.

Only, why hadn't Jack, our 'spirit guide', helped us find him earlier?

Suddenly, I heard Jack's voice in my head, cheerfully humming with the music:

"Okay, here I am! Yes, I know you are driving a car, and it is in the middle of the night, so my friends and I will do our best to keep you awake.

"Please, keep your eyes on the road while I am talking to you. We have been with you all the time; but I wasn't allowed to tell you anything until now...

"First, all of you had to learn some valuable lessons from your experiences, and live them through to the end. Now, I will try to explain to you why that was:

"Your little son had to overcome his remaining fears; to have more faith in himself, and be an even better King in the future. Soon, he will start helping our wrongly evolving earth become a much better place to live on.

"My own son had to be more aware of his growing capabilities as a competent leader; because he soon has to be a close friend and trustworthy assistant to all of you, always helping you with everything that comes up.

"You, my dear friend and brother, had to be more aware of your own responsibilities; to be able to guide your son and many other special friends safely through their youth and spiritual development.

"Your other boy had to feel even more welcome in your company, to learn to trust grown-ups and rely on his own feelings.

"Very soon, a fourth young boy will enter your life, and this little man will bring all of you a lot of joy!

"Now, go get your little soul mate; and, tomorrow, we will help his surgeons to grow a new skin on his scars.

"All our Ancestors and Spirit Friends will always be with you and guide you, where and whenever they are allowed.

"Thank you, my brother and dear friend, for being who you are. May our Supreme Being be with all of you, and bless you!"

Jack's warm voice slowly faded away, again cheerfully humming with the music...

For a long time, I was deep in thought, driving almost on autopilot.

Now and then, my mind tried to doubt; but, then, I refused resolutely to listen to its many 'buts' and 'what ifs'!

I HAD heard Jack's voice in my head, loud and clear, telling me he HAD been with us and helped us all the time.

Thus, we really could rely on our spirit guide!

This time, Jack just hadn't been allowed to intervene, because all of us had to learn our important lessons first...

Fortunately, my sleepiness was nearly gone, making the driving a bit safer.

Just before five o'clock, I parked our car in the darkness of a desolate zoo parking lot.

At this time of the early morning, its surroundings looked spooky, and everything around us was surrealistically silent.

John woke up from the sudden absence of engine sounds, and slowly stretched out at full length.

Then, he smiled at me apologetically, and yawned:

"Sorry, Dad, for being such a sleepyhead. I wanted to keep you company, but the sleep overwhelmed me and I couldn't help it."

"Well, you don't need to be sorry. You are a growing boy, and that means you still need a lot of sleep!

"Now, let's enter the zoo, and try to find our little deserter..."

We left our car, and walked through the darkness towards the closed gateway.

As I already suspected, the huge iron gate was still locked with the big padlock, and all the lights were off...

How would we be able to enter this closed zoo and go to the office?

Did the zoo have a backdoor with a bell, maybe at its backside?

I tried to pull at the closed gate; but, of course, it didn't give way...

Then, John detected a small push button in a pillar next to the gate, and pressed it.

In the far distance, a buzzer sounded; and, after a moment, a few lights were switched on.

A minute later, a smiling security guard appeared, followed by a timid-looking little Harry.

The guard unlocked the gate, let us in, and asked us to follow him to the office.

My little soul mate seemed to be bothered by something, but I couldn't find out what it was.

He didn't look at us, seemed to avoid my eyes, and mainly stared at his feet...

I even thought he could be a bit afraid of me; but he kept his mind shut, so that I couldn't read him like the open book he usually was.

Why was that?

Had something nasty happened to him, and didn't he want me to know about it?

John tried to talk to his little brother, but little Harry shrugged him off without saying a word.

John looked a bit rejected, and came back to me with a questioning face...

I didn't know what to think of it, but decided to give our little Gypsy friend some more space.

In time, he certainly would tell us what was bothering him...

Little Harry walked up front to the zoo's office, and went inside without looking back.

We followed him; and entered a small room, where the smell of fresh coffee welcomed us.

The guard offered me a huge mug of it, and I thanked him abundantly for his hospitality.

Little Harry got another mug of hot chocolate, and John politely asked for some hot milk.

In silence, we sipped our drinks, waiting for our little deserter to come out of his shell...

Now and then, my little soul mate stealthily peeked at us from under his eyelashes.

However, the moment we looked back at him, he immediately resumed staring at his feet.

Why was that? Didn't he trust us any more?

How could I reach him, without forcing him to do anything he didn't want to do?

I decided to send him all the love I could muster, while asking him in my mind to open up...

Immediately, he picked up my love and my thoughts!

Hesitantly, he opened up to me a tiny bit; letting me feel he was afraid of something.

Had anything nasty happened to him, and was he now afraid to talk about it?

Never before had my little soul mate reacted like this...

I continued to send him all my love, while I asked him in my mind to trust me...

A split second later, a frightened little boy threw himself into my arms, sobbing loudly:

"DADDY! Please, don't yell at me... I am so sorry. I didn't do it on purpose, and it really wasn't my fault. Are you very mad at me?"

Feeling happy again, I folded my arms around his trembling little body and held him close, trying to restrain myself from squashing him too much.

Only, why the heck, was my boy afraid I would YELL at him?

I continued to pour my love into my little soul mate from every pore I had; while enveloping him in all the tender loving care I could muster, to make him feel safe again.

For a moment, I was afraid I would drown him, by giving him too much love at once...

Then, I realized that was absolutely impossible; because Real Love can never do any harm to anybody.

After kissing the top of his sobbing head, I asked him:

"Why do you think I would yell at you? I am sure I never did..."

"No, Daddy, you never did, and I know I can trust you. But, Eric always yelled at John, for doing something he thought was foolish...

"Now, I was afraid you would yell at me too, and make me feel horrible."

"Oh, my goodness... My dear son, I sincerely promise I will NEVER yell at you; unless it is for a very good reason, for example to prevent you from being run over.

"Please, never again be afraid of me! Trust me that I will never yell at you for anything you do, even when it might be something foolish. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, Daddy, I believe you. But, I DID something foolish, by sneaking into that barn..."

Still trembling from his remembrances, little Harry started to tell us what had happened:

He had been looking for a good hiding place; until he suddenly saw a small barn with an open door, behind an overgrown fence.

After some searching, he found a small hole in the iron netting, and wormed his lithe body through the abundant vegetation.

He sneaked into the barn, and curiously looked at a huge pile of food bags; trying to read the labels, to find out what could be in them.

Suddenly, the door closed with a loud click, and he was trapped in the darkness!

At first, he started to laugh, and happily fumbled around in the pitch dark until he found the closed door.

He tried to open it by pulling its handle; but the door seemed to be locked from the outside, and it didn't move.

Still chuckling, he started to yell and pound on the closed door, expecting to be freed in no time!

However, after waiting for some time, he grew too impatient, and looked for something to force the lock.

He found an old shovel; and tried to force the door with it, but his young muscles weren't strong enough to break through the lock.

Time went by; but nobody showed up to free him, although he still pounded the door with the shovel.

From a far distance, he heard the muffled sounds of playing children, but nobody heard HIM.

Now, he started to think...

What if nobody found him in this hidden barn, and he died from hunger and thirst?

He yelled and pounded the door again, but his hands started to hurt and he had to give up.

At last, he felt too sad and tired, and just slumped down onto one of the food bags.

Where were Dad, John, and Davey?

Didn't we miss him?

Why weren't we looking for him?

Maybe, we were glad to be rid of him, with his creepy face and his so awfully scarred body...

He broke down at the frightening thought, and started to cry desperately.

One time, he thought he sensed my energy; but he was too emotional to be able to respond to it.

Then, I was gone again, and his powers weren't strong enough to break through my defenses and talk to me.

Again, he sagged down and cried his heart out, afraid that nobody would ever find him in this hidden barn.

Now and then, he yelled and pounded on the door again, but still nobody heard him.

After a long time of waiting, the outside sounds of playing children started to disappear.

At last, everything around the barn went dead silent; and he supposed that everybody had gone home.

Now, he panicked even more, and again pounded and kicked the door and the walls with all of his might.

His mask started to itch terribly, so he peeled it off and put it into one of his trouser pockets.

At last, he only cried and cried, until he fell asleep from exhaustion on the pile of food bags.

He woke up in total darkness; and listened to the distant and strangely spooky sounds outside.

Obviously, the sounds were coming from many exotic animals in the zoo that couldn't sleep either...

This time, he decided to stop being foolish, and no longer exhaust himself by crying!

From now on, he would use his bright brains, to think of a usable way to get out of this prison.

He took the old shovel; and again tried to force the lock with all of his might, hoping to be able to break its pin.

Unfortunately, the wooden shovel shattered into pieces, and he threw it away with an angry yell.

Suddenly, he thought he heard a couple of footsteps outside, walking towards the barn!

Immediately, he started to yell at the top of his lungs and pound the door again, hoping to be heard.

Then, a grown-up voice outside told him to wait; because he had to return to the office to find some keys...

Never before had he felt so happy.

Finally, he could relax.

Five minutes later, the door opened, and he was FREE.

A security guard aimed a flashlight at him; and the man nearly fainted at seeing his so damaged face.

The very pale looking man wanted to call for an ambulance immediately, to take him to a hospital...

Now, he started to laugh and reassured the trembling man, telling him he was okay and that his scars were over two years old.

He only was very thirsty and hungry...

The guard took him to the office, where he got one of the man's own sandwiches and a huge mug of hot chocolate.

After taking a huge bite of the sandwich and a sip of his hot chocolate, he wanted to phone me first.

He thought I could miss him, although it was in the middle of the night; and that I probably would be waiting for him to call me...

However, my answering machine answered the phone, and the line disconnected automatically after he spoke a few words into it.

The guard thought I could have fallen asleep from tiredness, and told him to give me some more time to wake up.

After a couple of minutes, he phoned me again; but, again, he heard only my answering message...

Now, he started to feel nervous, because he didn't know what could have happened to me.

Maybe, I really felt too disappointed in him, and didn't want to be his Dad any more...

Or, I had moved away to another village, to get rid of him and his foolish behavior...

Or, I could have suddenly died, just like Jack had done, two months ago...

He panicked at the frightening thought, didn't know what to do, and started to cry.

Fortunately, the guard knew how to handle panicking little boys.

The man told him he was sure I missed him terribly; but I needed my sleep after looking for him and being anxious all day...

That calmed him down considerably, and he switched into his 'shaman' abilities to force himself out of his panic.

A moment later, he suddenly wondered why he hadn't thought before of his many abilities...

Immediately, he started to talk to John in his mind, but John was deep asleep and didn't hear him.

Next, he tried to talk to me; but, even in my sleep, my aura was too powerful for him to penetrate.

However, as a little shaman, he could try to wake John, by entering his dream and projecting a ringing phone into his mind...

He forced John to wake up, waited until he was sure that I was awake too, went to the phone, and again dialed our number.

Finally, after some more listening to our answering machine, my grumbling voice took over, muttering: "What do you want?"

Now, almost at the crack of dawn, we finally were here to get him and take him home.

Only, he still was a bit afraid I would yell at him for being foolish...

Eric always yelled at John and called him nasty names, when he thought John should be punished for a stupidity!

Afterwards, John had always cried in his pillow, feeling awful, and thinking about committing suicide...

With a tiny voice, my little soul mate asked me again:

"Please, Daddy, don't yell at me; because I don't want to feel horrible like John always did, wishing to be dead..."

Now, I finally understood why my little soul mate had been afraid of me!

He had seen what Eric's hateful yelling always did to John; and didn't want to feel like another 'bastard child'...

I got tears in my eyes; while I pulled my so powerful, yet so vulnerable, little 'shaman' even closer.

How could I ever yell at my precious son, my little soul mate, the light of my life...

I put my hand under his chin so that he looked up at me, and told him:

"Young children are always curious! They always want to discover their world, and have a close look at everything that catches their immediate attention...

"It is up to us, the grown-ups, to create a safe environment for our children, so that they can be curious without any risk of being harmed.

"Unfortunately, this time, the zoo didn't create a safe enough environment for children, by allowing that barn door to be open.

"That was not YOUR fault! Thus, nobody will ever be mad at you or yell at you, for feeling curious and peeking into that open barn.

"Of course, I am not mad at you; but I was very afraid after you suddenly disappeared; and I even felt guilty for not looking after you properly...

"We have been searching for you until the zoo closed! We even thought somebody could have kidnapped you, and that we would never see you again."

Suddenly, I started to cry, feeling dead tired and totally mellow from all my spent emotions.

I HAD been afraid something terrible could have happened to my little soul mate!

Immediately, little Harry threw his small arms around my neck and whispered into my ear:

"Let it go, Dad, and don't bottle it up! In a few minutes, you will feel a lot better."

Feeling very surprised, I stared into the bright blue eyes of my little soul mate...

I KNEW these words!

I was sure I had heard them many times before!

Could JACK have taught my imp to use this statement, every time somebody cried?

The little monkey...

I started to bellow with laughter, and couldn't stop.

At the same time, I could clearly feel my boy, reading my mind to understand why I was laughing...

Then, after he found out what could be so funny, he started to laugh with me.

Soon, John shared our hilarity and guffawed with us.

The security guard looked a bit surprised, but he started to laugh as well.

It felt good, to get rid of our built-up tension like this!

Then, we wanted to go home.

We thanked the security guard abundantly, for looking after our little deserter.

Little Harry threw his arms around the man's waist and hugged him.

The surprised man hugged him back; and told him to keep his curiosity in check from now on.

Did my son know the well-known proverb that stated 'curiosity kills the cat'?

Of course, he did.

The guard walked us to our car, and waved until we disappeared around a corner.

I was happy again.

I had my boy back.

My precious little soul mate; lost and found...

Chapter 4. An 'anti-anthropoid'; and 'face doctors'.

John and little Harry had their arms around each other in our backseat, yawning and shivering from the cold.

After a minute, they stretched out at full length, entangled into each other, and fell asleep.

Because I felt very tired and sleepy too, I had some difficulty keeping my eyes open and on the road.

Fortunately, the car heater started to work, and soon warmed my cold feet.

An hour later, I parked our car in our driveway and stopped the engine.

Next, I turned around, and woke my still snoring boys.

They squinted at me, yawned, disentangled from each other, and stretched out too loosen their muscles.

Wavering, and still feeling sleep charged, they followed me out of the car and inside our house.

This time, I had to unlock our front door myself!

In unison, we decided to go upstairs immediately, to get some more sleep before we had to go to the clinic.

Both boys followed me into my bedroom, undressed quickly, and crawled into my waterbed without asking me for approval.

Of course, I allowed them to sleep next to me without any protest, after all the emotional turmoil we had gone through!

Almost immediately, I disappeared into dreamland, with little Harry lying on my stomach and John snuggled up to both of us.

A few hours later, the bright morning sun, peeking through a crack in our curtains, woke me up.

At the same moment, both boys started to stir and yawn, obviously unwilling to open their eyes...

However, three hungry stomachs already started to rumble loudly, harshly demanding to be fed!

John was the first one who slowly wrestled upright, grumbling:

"I am happy that Harry is home, but I hope we will never go through such a nightmare again! I still feel tired and sleepy..."

Little Harry opened his eyes, and smiled mischievously while he told John:

"Yesterday, you couldn't tag me, so I WON our game of hide and seek!"

For a moment, John glared at his chuckling little brother, with dark brooding eyes.

I even thought he was going to be angry, and that I had to protect my little monkey...

Then, John burst out:

"You, little pipsqueak monkey! They should have KEPT you in that zoo, in a cage, for the remainder of your life, playing hide and seek with the public!"

He kicked our blankets out of the way; and mercilessly started to tickle his little brother.

My little monkey started to fidget and squeal, while he desperately tried to get away from his torturer.

However, at the same time, he didn't want to leave his cozy place in my arms...

Trying to disappear under the remaining blankets, he yelped:

"Dad, John is only jealous because I won. Please, protect me from that 'antipoid'!"

"Jeez, you little duffer cannot even pronounce the word 'anthropoid'. And now, I will get you for real!"

Again, my little soul mate squirmed around on my stomach, desperately trying to escape John's tickle-torture.

He even tried to tickle John back; but lying prone was a big disadvantage.

Yet, he still didn't want to leave his warm place in my arms...

Suddenly, our doorbell rang; and both boys stopped dead in their movements...

This time, the bell sounded nicely civilized and melodious, now that Davey had repaired it with a wad of tissue.

Only, who the heck would be at our door and wake us up, this early in the morning?

Little Harry shuddered and planted all his nails into my bare skin, while he moaned:

"Nooooo... Please, not again..."

Trembling all over, he desperately tried to disappear into my chest and under the blankets.

Obviously, he remembered the police officers who had arrested us to be interrogated, early in the morning...

John growled a couple of words that sounded like curses, while he jumped out of bed.

HE was ready to attack all the police officers in the world, to protect his little brother and me!

On the way balling his fists, he stomped to our window and looked outside, with fire-shooting eyes.

He scanned our yard and driveway, and even tried to peek around the corner by craning his neck...

Then, he started to laugh and chuckled:

"Nah, this is a false alarm. Of course, Davey is curious about our pipsqueak monkey..."

He left the window and hurried downstairs, to open the front door and let our mutual friend in.

In the meantime, I tried to calm down my still trembling son; who, fortunately, had withdrawn his nails from my skin.
He only left behind a couple of bloody scratches...

Still trembling all over, he told me with a look of horror in his eyes:

"I was afraid the police had returned, to arrest and interrogate us again..."

A moment later, Davey stormed into our bedroom, followed by a chuckling John.

My 'third son' looked at little Harry, and almost started to cry with the sudden relief!

Racing up to us, he exclaimed:

"Thank heaven Harry is back home! I was sooo afraid that something bad had happened to him..."

He threw himself onto the wobbling bed; and wrestled next to little Harry, putting his arms around both of us at the same time.

Now, I had to calm down two emotional boys, both lying on my stomach and trying to disappear into my aura!

That is, until John entered our bed and jumped onto the pile, making the waterbed wobble vigorously.

Unfortunately, my poor stomach wasn't wide enough to carry THREE squirming boys.

Soon, they all fell off me and landed on the bed next to me, in a disordered pile.

Both little Harry and Davey started to protest fiercely, and Davey admonished John:

"Couldn't you wait, until it was your turn to have a morning cuddle?"

John stuck out his tongue, and only laughed at their protest.

However, now, our indignant duo became even angrier!

They attacked John; and mercilessly tickled his ribs, until he almost peed the bed, gave up, and hastily left the battlefield.

Little Harry sat up and stuck out his tongue towards John, while he told Davey:

"This will teach that 'antithropoid' to leave us monkeys alone!"

"Huh? What is an 'anti-thropoid'? Is that sort of an anti-ape? The word sounds funny..."

We all started to laugh; and John teased little Harry:

"Our smallest monkey just discovered a new species of apes, called 'anti-anthropoids'."

With a sly grin on his face, our smallest anthropoid immediately rebutted:

"And John is an inferior species of ape, called an 'anti-funny-thropoid'!"

John wanted to tickle-torture his little brother again, but Davey jumped in and helped him.

Soon, our three musketeers rolled off the bed and onto the floor, squealing and trying to tickle each other wherever they could!

At last, their hungry stomachs rumbled too loudly, telling their owners they had to be fed NOW, preferably immediately!

Our three friends stopped their romping, threw their arms around each other, and marched off towards the shower.

A moment later, I heard them resume their play under the streaming water, now using the soap and shampoo to tease each other...

Fifteen minutes later, three freshly cleaned boys returned into my bedroom and dressed quickly.

I woke up from my slumber, smiled at their bantering, and produced a couple of heartfelt yawns.

Next, I took a quick shower, while our threesome frolicked downstairs to prepare breakfast in advance.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed and hasted downstairs to join them.

My three boys had already prepared a tasty and healthy breakfast, set the table, and even brewed my first cup of coffee!

They were proudly sitting on their folding chairs, impatiently waiting for the 'old grandpa' to show up...

They cheered when I finally entered our kitchen; and John rose and politely offered me a folding chair to sit on.

Now, it was time to feed three little monkeys, and one old and a bit slower beard-anthropoid!

In less than no time, all the food disappeared into three bottomless pits, and the boys burped loudly to thank our food spirits.

Fortunately, I had rescued enough food for myself, to be able to fill my own stomach properly.

After my threesome had cleared the table, Davey suddenly turned towards little Harry and asked him:

"I am still very curious about what happened to you in the zoo..."

With a proud face, little Harry started to tell Davey how he suddenly disappeared.

Vividly, he narrated how he saw a small barn with an open door, and decided to have a closer look at it.

He found a small hole in the iron netting, big enough for him to worm his lithe frame through the overgrown fence.

Next, he went to the barn, stepped inside, and curiously peeked at a huge pile of food bags, trying to read the labels...

Suddenly, the door closed with a loud click, and he was trapped in the pitch dark.

At first, he started to laugh; because he was sure his friends would show up and free him in no time.

He pounded on the door, listened, yelled, and pounded again, but nobody heard him or showed up to rescue him...

After some time, he tried to force the door with some old shovel, but his muscles weren't strong enough to break through the lock.

Now, he started to panic; suddenly afraid nobody would be able to find him and that he would die from hunger and thirst...

At last, he slumped down onto a couple of bags, and cried himself asleep.

In the middle of the night, he woke up, and again started to pound the door lock with the old shovel, hoping its pin would break and set him free.

Finally, a night guard heard him, and freed him after searching for the correct door key.

However, the poor man nearly fainted from seeing his burnt face, and wanted to call for an ambulance immediately!

After he reassured the trembling man, they went to the zoo's office, where the nice guard offered him his own sandwich and a mug of hot chocolate.

He called home three times; until, finally, sleepyheads Dad and John woke up and drove to the zoo to get him...

And, of course, he WON the last game of hide and seek, because nobody had tagged him!

After little Harry ended his story, everybody remained silent.

Then, John started to mutter again, about some little pipsqueak monkey thinking he could win by disappearing...

Davey chuckled at John's muttering, but he told our little friend:

"Ever heard of the proverb 'curiosity killed the cat'? Only, please, a next time, warn us in advance before you start to play cat again!

"I couldn't sleep all night, from worrying about you... Dad should buy us cell phones, so we can call each other if this ever happens again."

I had already thought about buying all my boys cell phones, but didn't want to let them know yet.

They had to be a surprise, next time we went shopping downtown...

We started to prepare for our two hours' ride to the skin transplant clinic.

Little Harry put his hand in a back pocket of his trousers, looking a bit worried.

Obviously, he tried to get something out of it, but it seemed to be stuck inside...

With an unhappy face, he asked me:

"Dad, please, will you help me with my mask? It's stuck in my pocket, and I can't get it out..."

He stepped towards me, and turned around to let me see where his mask was stuck.

Carefully, I tried to get the fragile thing out of his back pocket, without doing too much damage...

Only, the sticky rubber had glued itself to the fabric, and all my clumsy efforts were in vain!

At last, I gave up my efforts, and told him:

"I think you have to step out of your trousers first."

Without protest, little Harry shucked his jeans and offered them to me.

After a couple more futile attempts, I had to get a bucket of warm water and immerse the trousers in it, to dissolve the sticky glue.

Finally, the mask came out of his pocket, looking rather crumpled but relatively undamaged...

Little Harry raced upstairs, to get another pair of trousers and put them on.

Then, he took the brown bottle of sticky substance, and carefully glued his mask on with a little help from John.

Working together, they rubbed the mask onto his face, until all the crumples were gone and it fitted like new.

Still looking a bit sheepishly, my youngest son asked me:

"Dad? What time are we going to my face doctors?"

"Face doctors? Ah, I think you mean the 'transplant surgeons'... Well, we have to be on our way within half an hour."

Davey didn't join us, because he had to go home to do some chores; but he left us with quite a story to tell!

He promised to be back after our visit to the clinic, to find out what Harry's 'face doctors' had told us.

Next, he offered me a big kiss, and again thanked me for taking him to the zoo!

John and little Harry walked him to the door; while I went to my desk for little Harry's identity papers and the address of the transplant clinic.

I returned to the hallway, where little Harry and John had already donned their shoes.

Obviously, boys will be boys, they were now in a sudden hurry, wanting to leave immediately.

Chuckling inwardly, I stepped towards the front door, ready to leave our house and drive to the clinic...

However, John stared at my hand with only a few papers in it, and disapprovingly shook his head!

Then, he snatched the papers out of my hand, and admonished me:

"Old man, you forget again to take your keys and your wallet!"

I really loved my boys with all my heart; but, why did John always have to be right...

Both naughty looking imps started to laugh; while I returned to our living room to get my keys and my wallet from my desk, where I had left them without thinking...

Little Harry snatched the keys out of my hand and raced to our car.

He opened all the doors, and both boys entered the rear seat and buckled up.

I got the keys back from my son, started the engine, and we left our driveway and drove off.

Finally, we were on our way to little Harry's transplant clinic, to meet his 'face doctors'.

Within a few minutes, we left our small village and reached the highway.

I scanned our car stereo for some nice background music... and immediately found our fun song!

Turning the volume high, I let the song resonate through our car:

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

We all started to sing along with the music, loudly clapping our hands and stamping our feet.

Our deafening sound tried to raise the roof, while our old car nearly started to swing at the cadence...

Until an advertisement harshly took over; and I lowered the volume.

After a few minutes, my boys in the rear seat stopped their talking and bantering and fell silent.

I looked over my shoulder at what they were doing, and smiled at the heart-warming sight...

Both John and little Harry had again stretched out over the full width of our car.

They had their arms around each other; and were already sound asleep, snoring together.

Of course, they were still very sleepy after our nightly adventure; and we had at least two hours of driving ahead...

Two hours later, I entered the city where we had to find our transplant clinic.

Both boys woke up to the noise of heavy traffic and the starting and stopping at the many traffic lights.

First, they yawned and rubbed their eyes, to get rid of the sleepy cobwebs.

Then, they looked around in awe at all the concrete multi-story buildings, several green parks, and lots of enormous warehouses.

A moment later, we stopped along a sidewalk, and I asked a sauntering police officer to direct us to the transplant clinic.

The nice officer (yes, they do exist) knew where the building was, and gave me the directions.

I thanked him politely for his help, and drove on.

After some searching, we suddenly saw our clinic; a modern brick building, situated at the edge of a spacious park.

I parked our car in a small parking lot, we all exited, and I locked the car doors and put my keys in my pocket.

Next, we walked to the clinic; and entered through the automatic sliding doors with a feeling of anticipation...

Inside the building, we were welcomed by soft background music, and a very noticeable antiseptic smell.

Little Harry shivered, looked up at me, and silently wormed his small hand into mine...

Obviously, he remembered his many operations, and didn't like the smell.

At the reception area, I told the waiting nurse our names and the name of our surgeon.

She smiled at little Harry, looked up his name on her list, and took her phone to announce us.

Next, she pointed to a small but cozy looking waiting room, and told us to wait there for the surgeon to show up.

Feeling impressed with the obvious efficiency, we sat down on a nice leather bench along the wall, and started to wait.

Little Harry crawled onto my lap, to be held and feel a bit safer; and John started to study a couple of medical magazines from a table.

After a few minutes of waiting, a tall man in his fifties, with a friendly and open face, entered the waiting room.

He smiled at me, winked at John, and turned directly towards little Harry.

With a warm and pleasant voice, he asked my little soul mate:

"I suppose you are Harry Romani? And, you brought your father and your brother? That is good...

"Please, follow me to my office, where we can get acquainted."

Little Harry smiled back at the man; and seemed to like him at first sight.

He hopped off my lap with a happy face; and we followed our surgeon through a few passageways.

Next, we entered his cozy-looking consulting room, where he offered us a couple of chairs to sit down.

We had some small talk about our voyage, and our surgeon was curious how we knew about this particular clinic.

He told us he had contacted Harry's previous surgeons; and they had sent him all the information about his past operations, plus a few photos.

Now, he took a couple of pictures from a folder, and handed them to little Harry.

Smiling at our intently listening boy, he asked him:

"Please, Harry, may I ask you some questions about these pictures, which were taken before and after your earlier skin transplants?"

A moment later, we listened in surprise to my son's astonishing mature and intelligent answers!

He responded to all the surgeon's questions with precise and detailed information, and even added another couple of important things on his own.

He really was an amazingly special boy, and I was very proud of my brave little soldier!

After the surgeon scribbled down all the information, he put his papers away, and told my boy:

"Thank you very much, my friend. You've helped me quite a lot, with your detailed and precise answers! Now, please, may I have a look at your burns?

"And, do you mind if your father and brother stay in the room, as you have to remove all your clothes and will be completely naked?"

"Nah, we always see each other naked in the shower, so that's no big deal. Dad, please, could you help me peel my mask off, because I am a little bit nervous?"

I helped my slightly trembling son remove his sticky mask, and the surgeon looked at it in surprise:

"This mask is a beautiful specimen of craftsmanship! Harry, do you know who made it? I am sure this might be a wonderful solution for a few of our other badly burnt patients!"

"Yes, sir. Peter first made a green mold of my face, and then fit the rubber mask onto the mold. Now, I always glue it to my face with some sticky substance.

"Dad, do you happen to have Peter's address for my face doctor?"

I took Peter's address out of my wallet, and gave it to our smiling 'face doctor'.

With a beaming face, the surgeon told me that many of his severely burnt patients would be delighted and very grateful!

After we were ready and went home, he would call Peter, and greet him from all of us.

In the meantime, little Harry had undressed, neatly folding his clothes onto a nearby chair.

Now, he turned around, and performed a playful bow towards our surgeon.

Our 'face doctor' chuckled at the funny antics of my naked son, and politely bowed back.

Next, he started to examine his so badly burnt body, carefully scrutinizing every single scar and colored stain.

Now and then, he scribbled a few notes onto his papers, before he went on with the next burning.

All the time, my brave little soldier tried to help our surgeon with his examination.

He turned around, flexed his body, and stretched his limbs one by one; assisting his 'face doctor' as a real professional.

Finally, our surgeon put his papers down, smiled happily, and told my boy:

"Thank you very much for your excellent help, and I wish that all my clients would be as helpful and tolerant as you are!

"Now that I have seen your burns, I am sure we can do quite a lot to make your body more presentable; and, even more important, to restore your damaged face.

"Fortunately, all your important nerves are still working sufficiently to be able to reconnect a new skin to all your senses within a very short time.

"Do you know what 'circumcised' means? Or, shall we give your penis a nice new foreskin that covers its top?"

"I want my penis to be just like Dad and John, with a long foreskin. Only, please, don't forget to put a hole in its top..."

"What do you mean by 'put a hole in its top'? Please, could you tell me what you want me to do, because I don't understand your question?"

"Well, sometimes, I have to pee, just like every other kid... And, peeing will be very difficult without a hole in my foreskin to let it squirt through!"

Our surgeon started to bellow with laughter, nearly falling off his chair!

Then, he tousled little Harry's hair, and made his excuses for laughing at this very serious question.

He solemnly promised my son not to forget to create a nice opening in the top of the new foreskin around his little pecker!

Now, they went to a technical looking computer, and sat down in front of its huge monitor screen.

The surgeon asked my son to switch it on, to create the brand new face he wanted to have after his skin transplant...

With a huge smile on his face, little Harry started to control the mouse like a professional.

Enthusiastically, he created face after face, from all the available possible combinations of different noses, lips, and eyebrows.

After playing around, and looking at all the possibilities, he finally became more serious.

He chose a cheerful little pug nose, small eyebrows, and not too thick lips that would nicely accentuate the oval shape of his face.

The surgeon told my proud looking boy he had made an excellent choice!

He printed the face out, handed my son an extra copy, and let him switch off the computer and the monitor.

Next, he went back to his chair, and allowed us to ask him any questions we could have about my son's pending operation and his healing afterwards...

For a long time, our 'face doctor' answered all our questions, while explaining what he wanted to do to help my son.

Little Harry's burns looked very bad at first sight; but, in fact, they were not!

Fortunately, the fire hadn't damaged his important nerves and muscles, because only his outer skin had been burnt away.

Most of his nerves had survived the fire, so that he very soon would grow an almost normal feeling in his new skin.

After a few weeks, he would be able to feel all touch, warmth, cold, and pain, without any restrictions.

Compared to many other burnt victims, he could consider himself extremely lucky!

John and I felt elated at hearing this very happy news, and we nearly started to cheer!

Soon after our little friend had his skin transplant, his body would be 'normal' again, without any restrictions or impediments!

Little Harry himself suddenly raced to our 'face doctor', and offered him an enormous hug and a big kiss!

Smiling from ear to ear, he asked:

"When can we start? I want to have my new face as soon as possible!"

The surgeon chuckled at our overenthusiastic boy, and took his phone to call for a nurse.

Soon, a nurse entered our room, greeted us, and offered little Harry a bright blue gown to put it on.

With a proud face, our beaming boy dressed up into his beautiful gown, suddenly looking like some Foreign Prince...

Striding majestically, he followed the nurse towards the laboratory, followed by John and me.

For a long time, many doctors and nurses were busy around our little Prince.

They made several X-rays, CT-scans, and photographs of his burnt face and body, while patiently explaining what they were doing.

A nurse drew some blood from a vein in his arm, and he had to pee in a cup and transfer part of it into a small bottle.

Then, another doctor listened to his heart and lungs, and tested his reflexes with a small rubber hammer.

Little Harry underwent everything like a real professional.

Obviously, he had lots of experience with the preparation from his past operations...

Finally, after everybody was ready, 'our' nurse took us back to the consulting room and our waiting 'face doctor'.

Little Harry nestled onto my lap, still clad in his princely gown, and John sat down next to us.

The surgeon told us he was very satisfied, because all the tests had turned out to be absolutely positive!

Now, he wanted to discuss what he intended to do with our little friend before his major surgery, three weeks from now...

Today, he would like to peel a couple of thin layers of living skin from my son's body.

The best place would be the insides of his thighs, where the fire hadn't damaged the skin surface.

After the peeling, his thighs would look like reddish scratched surfaces, but they would be almost painless.

Mother Nature would heal everything within a few days, without any visible scarring.

During the next three weeks, the laboratory would stretch and cultivate my son's living skin under special conditions, to let it grow and increase its quantity...

After three weeks, my son had to be back in the clinic, to undergo major surgery and have his new skin.

Under narcosis, the surgeon would remove all of his old scars and wild flesh, and apply the cultivated skin to all of the cleaned places.

He would also rebuild little Harry's nose, and reconstruct his burnt lips and wrinkled little pecker.

After the surgery, an anesthetist would keep my son asleep and sedated for around a week, to keep him immobilized and allow his body to heal sufficiently.

Once awake, our little friend had to stay in the clinic for at least another two weeks, to observe him and monitor his healing process...

Although any major operation implied some risk, our surgeon was convinced that everything would work out for the best, as my son was still young and in perfect health!

Suddenly, little Harry jumped off my lap and enthusiastically embraced his face doctor:

"Thank you very much, for helping me! I want to have my new face before I go to school with John and my other friends. When do we start the peeling?"

"In fact, we can start right now! The nurse will put you to sleep for only a few minutes, while we are peeling a few layers of skin from your thighs.

"Then, we will put an analgesic spray onto the scratches, and you will have to keep the insides of your thighs dry for at least two days. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, of course that is okay with me! Let's do it immediately..."

The surgeon smiled, called a nurse, and instructed her to prepare for a peeling.

Five minutes later, we followed our surgeon to the readied operating room.

Little Harry had to enter a shower, where one of the nurses scrubbed him thoroughly all over.

Next, he climbed onto a stretcher, and laid down with an expectant smile on his face...

Our 'face doctor' handed him a small mask, attached to a nitrous oxide container, and asked:

"I am sure you already know what you have to do?"

Little Harry nodded, took the mask in both hands, and firmly pressed it onto his face.

Without any fear, he started to inhale the sleeping gas, while looking up at us with beaming eyes...

A few seconds later, his eyes slowly closed, his body relaxed, and he fell asleep.

John and I left the operating room and went to the reception area, to wait for our little friend to wake up after the peeling.

However, the receptionist pointed us to a small cafeteria, and suggested to wait there while having a drink.

We thanked her, and went to the small but cozy place; where I ordered a cup of coffee, and John took a glass of cola.

In silence, we waited for our surgeon to be finished with the peeling, while sipping our drinks.

Now and then, we looked into each other's eyes and smiled at each other...

We could clearly feel our mutual love radiating towards each other, and towards our so brave little soldier...

Fifteen minutes later, our nurse showed up again; and we followed her to our consulting room.

The room now held a small gurney, with a yawning and groggy looking little boy lying on it...

Slowly, our little soldier woke up some more, until he was able to sit upright and lift his bright blue gown.

Proudly, he showed us a couple of reddish stripes along the insides of his thighs, covered with a silky film...

After we had admired his scratches, he put his gown back down and told us with a sleepy voice:

"Jack and I cuddled all the time, until I had to go back into my body and woke up. Jack had looked at the print of my new face, and told me I have made a perfect choice!

"He also asked me to greet John and you from him. Now, the insides of my thighs are itching, but the doctor told me not to scratch them..."

Our nurse offered him a glass of water and a small pill, and he swallowed the pill and gulped the water eagerly.

Still looking very drowsy, he slid off the gurney and slowly wavered towards me.

Helpfully, I lifted him onto my lap; where he settled down against my chest with a happy sigh.

Nearly falling asleep again, he yawned:

"My stomach is hungry!"

The doctor smiled at him; and told us, while tousling his hair:

"Don't worry. Within ten minutes, he will be his joyful self again. You have a wonderful son, and I am sure this special boy will achieve extraordinary things in his life!"

He took his schedule, to plan the skin transplant, and we set a new appointment for little Harry's major surgery, three weeks from now.

Then, our surgeon left us to the nurse, to go on with his next appointment for the day.

We would see him again in three weeks...

John and I helped our still drowsy little friend with his dressing.

Next, we took his mask from the table, and helped him put it onto his face.

Fortunately, its inside was still a bit sticky.

I lifted my boy onto my shoulders, and he clamped his small hands around my forehead to keep his balance.

Followed by John, we went to the small cafeteria, to eat something substantial before we went home.

Soon, our brave little soldier started to laugh and joke again, as if nothing had happened.

John and he ordered copious amounts of delicious junk food; and wolfed it down at lightning speed, as befits healthy growing boys.

In the meantime, I nibbled at some meat sandwich and sipped my next cup of coffee.

However, this sandwich absolutely lacked my son's superbly tasting herbs!

After some time, little Harry started to pluck at his thighs, trying to remove his trousers from the wounds:

"The itching is worse now, and it feels like it sticks to the fabric..."

Feeling a bit worried, I took him to a bathroom, to have a look in case something would be wrong.

However, his reddish scratches didn't show any visible blood, and nothing in that region looked extraordinarily sticky...

Feeling reassured, I pulled up his trousers, while I told him:

"I think it's only the unusual feeling. After we get home, I will have another look at it."

After another cup of coffee for me, and colas for my boys, we decided to go home.

First, we said our goodbyes to the receptionist; and little Harry told her he would be back after three weeks, to get a brand new face.

The nurse smiled at his enthusiastic face, and reassured him he would be welcome any time!

She would look out for him...

Little Harry asked for my keys, and proudly led the way to our car.

John and I followed him, chuckling at seeing him walk like a little rodeo rider, keeping his legs wide apart...

He opened the car doors and got in, carefully, still grimacing while plucking at the insides of his trousers.

He almost forgot to give me my keys back; and I had to ask him for them, to be able to drive off...

On our way home, I switched our car stereo on, and we started to sing along with the cheerful music.

This time, our well-known fun song didn't pop up.

After a couple of minutes, both boys fell silent.

Again, they stretched out along the backseat, and threw their arms around each other.

Within a minute, they were sound asleep and snoring softly...

I chuckled inwardly, and helpfully lowered the stereo volume.

Chapter 5. Harry's new friend; and what is a 'homo'.

After two hours of driving, we reentered our small village.

I parked our car in our driveway, turned the engine off, and we were home.

The sudden silence woke my boys; and they sat up and looked at me with sleepy eyes:

"Are we home now? What time is it? I feel terribly thirsty... I have to pee badly..."

"It is nearly four o'clock; and yes, we are home now."

Little Harry snatched the keys out of my hand, jumped out of our car, and galloped to our house.

John and I followed him at a bit slower pace, chuckling at his sudden hurry.

Our little friend had to find the correct key, and then hastily opened our front door.

He hurried inside, raced to the kitchen, and immediately started to gulp a lot of water to quench his terrible thirst!

John had to pee first and went to our toilet, while I patiently lined up for my turn...

A moment later, my youngest son reappeared from the kitchen and raced past me.

He scampered to our toilet, while clamping his boyhood with both hands...

However, he had to wait until it would be his turn, because John heard him coming and locked himself in!

Little Harry started to pound on the door, now jumping up and down, while begging:

"John, please, hurry, or let me in! I'm nearly peeing my pants..."

"That's your own fault, after drinking so much water. Ask Dad to put diapers on you."

However, little Harry now started to squeeze his boyhood, while frantically kicking the door:

"John, you are mean! Please, let me in, before it's too late!"

Finally, John flushed the toilet, and teasingly slowly opened the door...

Little Harry nearly ran him down in his terrible hurry, with his pants already halfway down to his knees.

He left the door wide open, and we heard him sigh with relief while he blessed the ceramic god!

Then, he showed up again, still looking offended at his chuckling older brother...

Now, it was my turn to relieve myself, taking all my time.

John disappeared into our living room, because he wanted to phone his mother.

He promised to greet her from Harry and me; and wanted to tell her everything about the clinic and our nice 'face doctor'.

In the meantime, I went to our kitchen, to brew myself a nice and strong cup of coffee.

My little soul mate cozily leaned against my side, while he asked:

"Dad? Please, can I go outside? Now that I have my mask, I want to have a closer look at our neighborhood."

"Of course, you may go outside; but, don't you want to wait for John?"

"Do I have to wait for John? I know the way, and I promise I will not behave like a 'curious cat' again..."

"In that case, have fun! Only, please, be back before dinner."

"Okay, Dad. I will be back in time, to help you with cooking. And, I love you very, very much!"

My son offered me a big kiss, shouted bye to John in the living room, and went outside.

Again feeling very proud of my brave little soldier, I stared at his disappearing frame...

My shy little boy certainly had changed quite a lot since I first met him!

Inwardly, I admired his newly found courage; and I really hoped he would enjoy himself outside, being all alone.

I drank my coffee, rinsed the empty cup in the sink, and decided to be a good parent and tidy our kitchen.

Next, I rearranged our refrigerator, and made a list of the many things we needed to restock.

John returned from the living room, and immediately started to help me.

Working together, we went upstairs, where I cleaned the bathroom and changed the bed sheets.

In the meantime, John vacuumed all the rugs in the bedrooms, the hallway, and the stairs.

Finally, feeling proud of our work, we returned downstairs and got another coffee and a cola.

A moment later, our doorbell rang; and I went to the front door and opened it, expecting to see Davey...

However, to my surprise, I saw a small boy I had never seen before, pushed forward by my proudly beaming little soul mate!

This boy had white hair and sparkling emerald green eyes, looking up at me from a curious and open face.

He seemed to be of around the same age as my still proudly beaming son, and I liked him immediately.

Little Harry jumped up at me to let me catch him in midair, offered me a quick kiss, and told me:

"Dad; this is my new friend, Nicky, and we want to play a game on your computer because he hasn't got one himself."

I smiled at my son's patiently waiting new friend, and told him:

"New friend Nicky, welcome into our humble home, and a friend of my son is a friend of mine! Do you want a drink?"

Nicky showed me a huge smile, looking up at me with a trustful face.

Without thinking, I stretched my hand out, and ruffled the white hair of the boy I already liked very much...

Unexpectedly, he leaned into me, with his arms around my waist and his firmly built body resting against my stomach!

Wow! This little boy certainly wasn't shy or distrustful, although I still was a total stranger to him...

Little Harry grabbed Nicky's hand, and impatiently dragged his new friend inside our house.

Nicky left my stomach, and followed his friend obediently into our kitchen, where he looked around curiously.

Little Harry went straight to the refrigerator, opened it, and asked:

"Do you want Coke, orange juice, milk, hot chocolate, soda water, or maybe water from the tap?"

"Err... You make hot chocolate? That's my favorite drink."

Little Harry chuckled, while he took the bottle of milk to the kitchen table.

Next, he took a folding chair, and clambered onto it to get a pan, two mugs, and the chocolate powder.

Nicky took the milk from the table, and helpfully poured some into the empty pan.

At the same time, my son took two spoons from a drawer, and pushed his chair towards our electric cook top.

Nicky gave little Harry the pan, and Harry put it onto the cook top and waited until the milk was hot enough.

In the meantime, Nicky put two helpings of chocolate powder into each of the empty cups...

I stared at them in surprise, trying to understand what was happening.

All the time, they did everything without saying a word or even looking at each other!

Had they done this before, or were they reading each other's thoughts?

Or, could my little shaman be talking to his new friend in his mind, just like he always seemed to do to John...

Both new friends took their steaming drinks to the living room, slurping them while walking shoulder to shoulder.
Still feeling very curious, I followed them from a short distance...

Nicky entered our living room, stopped, and slurped another sip of hot chocolate while looking around with curious eyes.

After a moment of silence, he nodded approvingly and told little Harry:

"It feels nice here! Your house is much cozier than ours, and your Dad is REALLY neat."

I started to blush involuntarily; while I hastily withdrew to my sanctuary, our couch...

The two new friends emptied their drinks, put the empty mugs onto the table, and went to our computer.

Giggling, while joyfully smiling at each other, they wriggled their bodies into the same armchair!

Little Harry switched our computer on, while explaining to his new friend why they had to wait until the screen showed up.

Next, they looked through the games, deliberated for a moment, and decided to play one of Davey's newest racing games.

Little Harry started the game, while explaining all the different driving movements to Nicky.

Nicky seemed to pick up his explanations very fast, and soon started to play enthusiastically.

A moment later, both boys were totally immersed in their racing game, frantically wriggling and jumping up and down in their shared chair.

Suddenly, Nicky roared with laughter when his car broke down and collapsed into a huge fire!

Now, they started to push each other's cars off the tracks and into the banks, teasingly wrecking them while having lots of fun...

John sat next to me on our couch, groaning while staring at the little newcomer with an angry face.

Obviously, he didn't like what he saw, but I had no idea what could be his problem...

Could he be a bit jealous, because his little brother had gone outside without waiting for him?

Suddenly, John turned towards me and whispered:

"Why is Nicky here? He is the little brother of Jason, who kicked Harry off his skateboard. I don't like that family, and his father is just as big a bastard as his son!"

Feeling shocked by John's venomous outburst, I turned towards him and asked:

"John, please, think first before you judge! Are YOU a bastard, because Eric might be one? Or, is Davey a bastard, only because his father is such a... bad person?"

John started to argue with me, but suddenly kept quiet with a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a moment of thinking in silence, he slowly shook his head and started to blush.

He stared again at the two young friends, who sat squeezed together in the same armchair, jumping up and down...

It was obvious that they already liked each other very much, and they certainly had lots of fun!

Slowly, John's facial expression changed, and he mumbled:

"Sorry, Dad; I didn't think straight. You are right... Davey is a good boy; and, of course, he cannot help it if his father is such a beast.

"Nicky seems to be really nice to Harry; and he too cannot help it that his father is such a bast... err... grumpy alcoholic.

"I will have to learn to think first, before I open my big mouth and talk nonsense..."

John got some tears in his eyes and nearly started to cry, while he tentatively leaned into me.

I put my arms around his firm frame and held him close, to let him feel we were still good friends.

I only hoped he had learned this valuable lesson, and would remember it from now on...

Trying to distract his thoughts, I asked him:

"How is your mother doing, and Mark and Marrie?"

"Mom was pleased to hear from me, and she told me she misses me. Now and then, I miss her too; but not too much, because I like it here very much, with you and Harry.

"I told her about the zoo and the clinic, and she is very glad she wasn't here while Harry went missing! She is also happy to hear that Harry will get his new face so soon.

"Eric tried again to get Mark and Marrie; but Mom told him to stop all his efforts, or she will sue him for abandoning us. Now, hopefully, he will leave us alone...

"By the way, Mom invites all of us to visit her next week and have dinner at my Grandma's house."

Suddenly, Nicky jumped up and overturned their shared chair, in his abundant over-enthusiasm.

Little Harry stumbled and fell onto the floor, while Nicky threw his arms high into the air in triumph!

After taking a deep breath, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Whooahhh! GOTCHA! This time, I WON!"

Then, Nicky fell down as well, landing on top of his chuckling friend.

John and I started to laugh at the funny sight; while little Harry poked his new friend in the ribs.

Of course, Nicky immediately turned around and playfully poked him back.

Two seconds later, they were wrestling on the carpet, trying to pin each other down.

Little Harry started to tickle Nicky's ribs, and Nicky squirmed around and desperately tried to escape from his torturer!

Our clever boy seemed to have found Nicky's weak spot, and easily won the wrestling match.

In triumph, he pinned Nicky down, straddling his chest and telling him:

"Say 'uncle'!"

"Aunt..."

"Not 'aunt', but 'UNCLE'!"

"Nephew..."

"Now, say 'uncle', or I will ask Dad and John for help."

"Grandpa..."

"Dad, please, help me. I won our wrestling, but Nicky won't say 'uncle'..."

"Well, why should he? You have already said 'uncle' for him, four times in succession."

Little Harry looked perplexed, and forgot to hold onto Nicky...

Nicky immediately threw his hips high into the air, and wrestled free from under his torturer.

Now, they started to tickle each other again, rolling around while shrieking with laughter...

Suddenly, Nicky stopped, sat upright, and blushed:

"Sorry, but I think I've peed my pants."

He got up, looking ashamed, showing a dark and dripping wet spot in the front of his blue jeans.

Stealthily looking into my direction, he cringed when he suddenly saw me looking at him.

Staring back at me with sudden fear in his no longer sparkling eyes, he started to tremble all over...

Little Harry only roared with laughter, while he teased his trembling friend:

"Ah, poor little baby, did you forget to put on your diapers?"

Nicky didn't answer his teasing friend; but he seemed to be paralyzed, still having the same fear in his eyes...

I didn't understand why Nicky would be afraid of me, all of a sudden...

As a therapist, I knew that many young children have weak bladders, especially when they are tickled.

Could it be that Nicky's own father always punished him too fiercely for wetting his pants?

I smiled at the trembling little boy and winked at him, to reassure him and show him that I understood it had not been his fault.

Then, I pointed upstairs, and asked my still laughing little soul mate:

"Harry? Please, take your friend to the shower to wash up; and could you lend him a pair of your own trousers?"

Little Harry nodded, took Nicky's trembling hand, and just dragged his paralyzed friend out of the room and up the stairs.

On their way towards the shower, we heard them again giggling and teasing each other, as if nothing had happened.

John started to chuckle; and mused aloud:

"Nicky surely didn't look too happy, after he wet his pants! I think his drunken father has been a bit too harsh with punishing his kids...

"Dad, are you in for a racing game on our computer, while the toddlers are changing their diapers?"

Of course, I was in for a racing game against my young friend!

A moment later, John and I were mock wrestling for the best place in front of our computer.

Unfortunately, we didn't fit together in our armchair, although we really tried...

Then, John slaughtered me!

Every time I thought I could be winning, he pushed my car to the sideline and passed me, leaving me with a wrecked car on fire.

I even thought he let me pass on purpose, to tease me...

A sixty-five-year-old man was racing against a thirteen-year-old young boy... and having my driver's license was NOT an advantage.

Never underestimate youth!

After being wrecked for the umpteenth time, I gave up and sighed:

"I think I am too old for these lightning fast games."

"Ah, senile old man... Shall I get you a soft pillow, to sit more comfortably?"

Feeling offended, I turned towards my chuckling young friend and poked him in the ribs.

Still chuckling, John rose from his seat and effortlessly pushed me off my chair and onto the floor.

Now, we started to wrestle on the carpet, desperately trying to pin each other down.

This time, I absolutely refused to let John win; and, being slightly stronger, I finally pinned him to the floor!

Proudly sitting on his chest, I told him:

"Say 'uncle'."

"Aunt..."

"Not 'aunt', but 'uncle'."

"Nephew..."

"Say 'uncle', or I will ask Harry and Nicky for help."

"Then, I will pee my pants too. On purpose!"

"Ah, you poor little baby..."

Now, both of us almost wet our pants from laughing too much!

I left John's chest and raced to our toilet, immediately followed by John.

Still chuckling, we relieved ourselves; trying to cross our streams without splashing too much.

Of course, that went awfully wrong; and we had to clean the floor and the splattered walls...

However, we had the fun of our lives!

On our way back to the living room, John suddenly halted.

He looked upstairs, listened, and turned towards me with a suspicious face...

Still listening, he whispered:

"What are our toddlers doing up there? They are too silent..."

Indeed, the only sound we heard was the soft splashing of a shower stream, and nothing more...

Feeling curious, I tiptoed upstairs, closely followed by John.

In our hallway, everything was dead silent, except for the steadily streaming water...

What were my boys doing, after all their loud bantering and frolicking?

Slowly, I opened the door and peeked inside, still closely followed by John...

Then, chuckling inwardly, I clearly remembered my own early youth.

I used to do exactly the same thing, lying under the splashing shower water, lazily playing with my little 'thingie'...

Now, my little soul mate and his new friend were lying under the splashing shower water, with their eyes closed.

Both were lazily playing with their little peckers, having blissful smiles on their serene looking faces!

They were a beautiful sight, and I motioned John to be silent...

He nodded and leaned into me, while I put my arms around his firm frame and held him close.

I was relatively sure that John was doing the same thing in the shower, whenever he had a chance...

Silently, we went inside and tiptoed to the shower stall.

Suddenly, little Harry stirred, and I thought our little shaman could have felt our approaching auras.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked at us with sparkling eyes...

Getting a huge smile on his beaming face, he chuckled:

"Hi, Dad and John! Are you spying on us?"

At hearing Harry's happy voice, Nicky opened his eyes and looked around...

Suddenly, he saw me, cringed, and stared at me with a shocked face!

He went pale as a ghost, and started to tremble all over...

Then, jumping upright, he tried to escape... but he stumbled over little Harry's legs and fell on his knees.

With his small hands in front of his face, as if protecting himself, he begged:

"Please, don't kick me down the stairs! I did nothing bad. We were only playing a game..."

He started to look around like a trapped animal, desperately trying to escape the inevitable...

I felt very confused, and didn't know what to think of Nicky's sudden panicking...

Why, for heaven's sake, was Nicky afraid I would hit him, or 'kick him down the stairs'?

That didn't make any sense!

What was his problem?

'Tuning in' into Nicky's mind, I tried to understand what could be bothering him...

Immediately, I felt a huge wave of panic and fear, almost choking me!

This boy was terribly afraid that I would punish him, but for what?

I looked at John, but my young friend seemed to be as bewildered as I was...

Next, I looked at my little soul mate, but little Harry only stared at his new friend with a questioning face...

Obviously, he didn't know what to think of this strange reaction either.

What should I do now?

I opened my heart, and silently sent the scared little boy all my love and compassion...

Suddenly, Nicky jumped up and tried to dive past me, copying what Davey once did when he felt frightened.

Fortunately, I caught him in my arms, before he could escape and alarm our nosy neighbors!

I wrapped my arms around his wriggling small frame, and held him close.

Desperately, he struggled to free himself, crying:

"Noooo... Don't kick me off the stairs. I did nothing bad. Please, let me go."

For a moment, I started to doubt...

Here I was, holding onto a naked eight-year-old little boy who seemed to be scared of me.

What would our society think of me, if they ever heard of this?

What would his own father think of me, if he ever heard of my assaulting his frightened son?

Wouldn't the man immediately inform the police, or come here to kick ME down my own stairs?

Fortunately, Nicky seemed to calm down; now that I hadn't done anything to confirm his fears.

He stopped his struggling, and just sagged down into my enveloping arms.

Only, his little body still trembled all over...

Tentatively, I tried to loosen my grip on him; and, fortunately, he didn't run away any more.

What should I do now?

I kissed the wet top of his little head, and softly asked him:

"Why are you so scared? You did nothing wrong; and you are NOT in trouble..."

Suddenly, his emerald green eyes looked up and pierced into mine; looking directly into my soul.

He seemed to be very surprised, not knowing what to think of my unexpected kindness...

With a trembling voice, he stuttered:

"I... I was afraid you would be angry at me, and kick me down the stairs..."

"Why do you think I would be angry at you, or kick you?"

"For being a homo..."

This time, I was totally out of words, and didn't know how to respond!

This was the very last thing I expected to hear from an eight-year-old little boy I just met...

Who the heck had ever told the poor child such a crazy thing, supposed he knew the meaning of that nasty word 'homo'?

Or, had something unexpected happened in the life of this boy I didn't know yet...

I looked at John for help, but my wise young friend only shrugged.

Yet, I suspected that he knew exactly why Nicky was afraid, but didn't want to talk about it in his presence...

Feeling reassured, I deliberately took some more risk, by leaving Nicky alone and turning around.

Fortunately, Nicky didn't try to run away.

I went to my chest of drawers, and took a couple of soft and dry towels.

First, I offered one towel to John, and another one to little Harry.

Then, I approached Nicky, and wrapped his firm little frame into my third towel.

I started to dry his still slightly trembling body, and he just leaned into me without protest.

At the same time, John helpfully started to dry a fidgeting little Harry.

At first, my son just let him do, until John reached his scratched thighs...

Now, he protested fiercely, and yelped:

"Look out for the scars inside my thighs! I forgot to keep them dry."

"Then, stand still. You squirm like an eel in a bucket of snot!"

Total silence fell over our shower room...

Then, all of us started to bellow with laughter, including Nicky!

Most of the built-up tension vanished, and the atmosphere changed noticeably.

Still chuckling, John and I finished drying our youngsters, and told them to get dressed.

Little Harry went to his room, and returned with yellow snoopy briefs and blue jeans for Nicky.

Two minutes later, everybody was dressed and ready to go downstairs.

Suddenly, little Harry raced back to the shower stall, and rummaged around.

He fished his mask somewhere from behind the soap, and tried to straighten the crumples.

Looking a bit guilty, he mumbled:

"Sorry, Dad. I will clean it up in the kitchen..."

Chapter 6. Nicky's brother; and meeting Big Jason.

Nicky followed his new friend towards the stairway, still looking a bit pale and shivery.

Suddenly, they both raced downstairs, again shoulder-to-shoulder and playfully bumping into each other!

John and I followed them down the stairs at a small distance; chuckling at their renewed antics.

Our youngsters went straight to the kitchen; where little Harry got a pan of warm water and the liquid soap.

He immersed his rubber mask into the water and started to clean it, immediately helped by a very curious Nicky.

Of course, Nicky started to ask him thousand-and-one questions about the mask and his so badly burnt face.

Little Harry happily answered them all; while Nicky helped him dry his mask and put it onto the green model.

In the meantime, I brewed a cup of coffee, while John filled a tray with glasses of cola and the cookie jar.

Together, we went to our living room; where little Harry placed his masked green model onto my desk, in plain sight.

I switched off the still running computer, and we went to our couch and sat down to have a drink.

John put the filled tray onto our table; and plopped down next to me, leaning against my side.

My little soul mate climbed onto his usual place on my lap, leaned back, and tried to melt into my chest.

Nicky stepped towards me and hesitated, looking at me with a longing in his emerald green eyes...

Then, he just plopped down next to me, and trustfully leaned his head against my side.

Tentatively, I put my arm around his firm little frame, not knowing how he would react...

Immediately, while heaving a deep sigh of utmost content, he melted into me!

My fourth boy had found his place in my life...

Unexpectedly, I remembered Jack's warm voice, when he told me:

"Soon, a fourth young boy will enter your life, and this little man will bring all of you a lot of joy!"

Could Nicky be the 'fourth young boy' my Spirit Guide had talked about?

And, 'Nicky', didn't this name sound like 'Nikki', the name of my oldest son and Crown Prince, when I was a Gypsy King in one of my past lives?

Was that why I immediately liked little Harry's new friend a lot, and at first sight?

Or, was I now thinking nonsense...

Nevertheless, first, I wanted to have a serious talk with my new little friend!

Nicky had told me he was afraid that I would think he could be a 'homo', whatever that word might mean in his idea...

Apart from that, he also had been afraid that I would 'kick him down the stairs'...

Now that my initial shock subdued, I was very curious from where he got this strange thought!

I tickled his belly, to make him laugh, while I asked him:

"Why were you afraid I would kick you down the stairs? Didn't you trust me?"

Nicky tensed up immediately, staring at me with his emerald green bottomless orbs...

Then, he sagged back into my arm, shuddering from his overwhelming emotions.

With a sad voice, he started to tell:

"A year ago, my Dad came home unexpectedly, and caught Jason with his friend. They had asked me to look out for them, but I couldn't warn them in time...

"Dad started to swear and kicked Carl down the stairs, throwing him his clothes. Then, he nearly beat Jason to death, calling him a 'filthy fag' and a 'homo'.

"Jason was brought to a hospital with two broken ribs; but he told the doctors he fell down the stairs, because he felt too ashamed to tell them the truth...

"When he returned home, Dad told him he would never tolerate a 'homo' in his house; and, next time, he would castrate Jason, by cutting his balls off!

"Since then, Jason is mean to everybody, and he is always in a bad mood. I think he hates me now, for not warning him in time..."

Nicky started to cry, but tried to hide his face behind his hands, while he buried himself into my side.

At my other side, I could feel a shocked John, tensing up while heaving a frustrated sigh of regret.

Again, my young friend had to learn a valuable lesson, of never judging somebody from the outside...

Little Harry stared at his crying new friend, with an unreadable face...

Then, he hopped off my lap, turned towards me, and stared intently into my eyes.

Suddenly, I knew exactly how my little soul mate always 'talked' to others in their minds!

I didn't hear his voice in my head, but felt his energy and just KNEW what his intentions were!

Without saying a word, he asked me to take his sobbing new friend into my arms and help him...

While sending my little soul mate my pride and love, I lifted Nicky off our couch and pulled him onto my lap.

Little Harry plopped down onto Nicky's vacant place, while sending me back his love and gratitude.

He cuddled up to me, working his small head under my free arm while heaving a deep sigh of content.

My heart almost burst with love for my so soulful little Gypsy boy with his enormous heart full of love!

To me, he had absolutely proven to be a real Royal Prince and an excellent Future King!

Nicky just slumped down onto my lap, buried his face into my chest, and started to cry his heart out.

Tenderly, I put my arms around his small frame, held him close, and continued to send him all my love.

Then, I waited patiently, until my new little friend had emptied his huge bucket full of sadness and sorrow...

A moment later, little Harry peeked from under my arm, and told his sobbing friend:

"Let it go, Nick, and don't bottle it up! In a few minutes, you will feel a lot better."

Nicky seemed to listen to his friend, because he nodded his head and started to sob even more.

John rose from our couch, went to the kitchen, and returned with a fresh packet of tissues and a glass of water.

He put everything onto the table, sat down, and waited until our sobbing new friend would be ready.

My little soul mate had a smile on his face, as if he knew that everything would turn out for the best with his new friend.

I just continued to hold Nicky close, while sending him all the love I was able to muster...

Five minutes later, Nicky slowly started to regain his composure, and his heavy sobs diminished.

Now, John took a couple of tissues from the packet, helpfully dried Nicky's eyes, and let him blow his nose.

Little Harry left his cozy place under my arm, helped John, and finally offered his new friend the glass of water.

Looking a bit bashful, but also grateful, Nicky gulped the water, with his teeth chattering against the rim of the glass.

All the time, I continued to cradle him, until he calmed down and started to look around with puffy eyes.

With a sad face, he started to talk again:

"My Dad always warns me that real boys don't cry; but I can't help it, because I just feel too sad. I still love Jason, and I miss my big brother terribly...

"We always did everything together, even after Jason met Carl and they started to do things with each other. Carl was always very nice to me too.

"Of course, I knew what they were up to, but I couldn't warn them in time when Dad suddenly showed up and went straight to Jason's room...

"After Carl disappeared, Jason stopped being my big brother. Now, he is a real bully, and always tells me to piss off when I need him.

"I think that Jason still loves Carl, and misses him badly. But, I also think that Jason hates me for not warning him in time...

"After Jason kicked Harry off his skateboard and called him nasty names; I fought with him and told him not to hassle Harry any more.

"Of course, at that time, I didn't know that Harry would become my friend; but I just couldn't let Jason pester a boy with a burnt face...

"Now, Harry is my best friend, and I wish YOU could be my Dad and John my big brother."

Nicky clambered upright on my lap, and spontaneously put a wet kiss onto my bearded cheek!

Feeling very surprised, I returned the kiss onto his still wet little nose; making him snicker while his green eyes started to sparkle.

He hopped off my lap, promised me to be right back, and went to the kitchen to wash his tear-streaked face, immediately followed by his new friend.

This joyful little man surely was working himself deeply into my heart!

Within a minute, Nicky returned into the living room, followed by the inseparable little Harry.

He looked at the clock, showed a disappointed face, and told his friend and me he had to be home on time...

Else, his father would be very mad at him and forbid him to visit us ever again; and he didn't want to take any risk in that department!

First, little Harry took Nicky upstairs to get his wet clothes.

He helped his friend put them into a plastic bag from the kitchen.

Then, Nicky threw his arms around my neck, and again offered me a wet kiss:

"Thank you, for everything! I like you very much; and, tomorrow, I will bring Harry's clothes back."

Little Harry spontaneously decided to walk his new friend home, without even thinking about his mask!

The inseparable friends just threw their arms around each other's shoulders, and immediately started to giggle again.

Frolicking and playfully bumping into each other, they wrestled through the front door and disappeared outside.

It was clear that my little soul mate had found himself a friend for life!

John hadn't left our couch, and still stared into empty space with a sad face...

When I returned into the room, he looked up at me with tears in his deep brown eyes.

He waited until I sat down, and silently climbed onto my lap, obviously wanting to be held and comforted.

Groaning inwardly under his rather heavy weight, I put my arms around my dear young friend and slowly cradled him.

After a moment of silence, John heaved a frustrated sigh and mumbled:

"I feel so ashamed... I never thought that Jason would be in so much trouble. Now, I feel sorry for him, and I wish I knew how I can help him..."

"Maybe, you first had to learn this valuable lesson, of never judging a person from the outside..."

John nodded vigorously, while trying to bury his head into my chest.

He HAD learned his lesson.

Five minutes later, our doorbell sounded, and John went to the front door to open it.

He returned with a very happy looking little Harry, still carrying the same plastic bag.

My little soul mate dropped the bag onto the floor, crawled onto my lap, and told me:

"Nicky changed his clothes, so that I could take mine home immediately. His father wasn't home; and they don't have a mother in the house.

"Jason recognized me, but he only looked sad and didn't say a word. I think he feels unhappy because he misses Carl, and I wish I knew how I can help him...

"Nicky wants to come back tomorrow. He says he likes it here very much, and he wished you could be his second Dad, or his grandpa."

What? Nicky wanted me to be his 'grandpa'?

Did I really look THAT old?

Suddenly, I realized how old I actually was!

At least, in the eyes of such a small boy...

We went to our kitchen, where little Harry rummaged around in the refrigerator and the various cupboards, with a little help from John.

Again, he prepared one of his tasty meals, with the help of his famous herbs from his own small garden.

Within twenty minutes, he was ready; and, again, our food tasted more than delicious, as usual.

Filled to the brim, we licked our fingers clean, and complimented our little chief cookie with his extraordinary skills.

We did the dishes, cleaned our kitchen table, and returned to the living room.

Of course, we started to talk about Jason, who seemed to miss his friend and was angry with everybody.

How would we be able to help Jason?

John thought I should try to talk to his father, to explain what the man was doing to his own son, in his righteous ignorance...

My clever little soul mate thought that would do no good, as long as Nicky's Dad continued to hate what he called 'homos'.

Just look at what the police officers did to us, when they arrested and interrogated us, without listening to our answers...

Some people just think they are always right, and they blatantly refuse to listen to anyone else who disagrees.

Couldn't we concentrate on Jason and his Dad, and send them our combined love?

I stared at my little soul mate in wonder and reverence...

Was this wise boy really only eight years old?

Suddenly, my wise boy sat upright and tilted his head, as if he sensed something unexpected...

Looking a bit surprised, he announced:

"Here comes Davey, but I am sure he is not alone."

Ten seconds later, our doorbell sounded; while John already went to the front door to welcome our guests.

He returned into the living room, closely followed by a beaming Davey...

Could my little shaman be wrong, for the first time since I knew him?

Then, Mary, Davey's mother, hesitantly entered our living room.

Again, little Harry's amazing skills turned out to be absolutely right!

Davey raced up to me, deposited his rather heavy frame into my lap, and offered me a big kiss.

Chuckling inwardly, I thought that my poor lap had to endure quite a lot of weight today...

I put my arms around my beaming third son, and returned the kiss onto the top of his head.

In the meantime, John and little Harry disappeared into our kitchen, to fetch some drinks.

Mary smiled at Davey and me, while she got tears in her eyes:

"I am so happy that Davey found you! For the first time in his life, he is a happy boy! Thank you; thank you very much, for being there for my son."

She took a tissue from our table, and wiped her eyes before she went on:

"When I saw you for the first time, I didn't know what to think about you being so close with my abused son... but, now, I am sure you will never harm him.

"If you wish, you can take him to those Gypsies in Rumania; and I will pay you for his lodging, and sign every paper you need for the customs.

"Next week, we will go downtown, to get him his own passport and buy him new clothes. Just tell me whatever else I need to buy...

"From now on, I accept you as his new father, without any restrictions; and I am very grateful that you allow my son to call you 'Dad'."

Davey's beaming face almost lit up the room, while he told his mother:

"Mom, I love you very much, and you are the best Mom in the world! Can I really go to Rumania and Harry's mountains? When are we going?"

I chuckled at his eagerness, and answered:

"Well, we ARE invited to visit Harry's own people, but they didn't tell me when we are expected. So far, I don't even have their address..."

John and little Harry returned into the room; carrying a tray of coffee and colas, and the cookie jar.

They put everything onto the table, and settled down on both sides of Davey and me.

Davey turned towards little Harry, and teased him:

"From now on, you will have to wait until I leave my cozy place on Dad's lap!"

"No problem! After you are back home, I can sit on Dad's lap for as long as I like it; and John has to wait for his turn."

Unexpectedly, our doorbell sounded, producing its soft and melodious sound!

Both John and I looked at our little shaman, wondering why he didn't announce our new visitor in advance...

Maybe, his clairvoyant abilities didn't work every time?

However, my clever boy had already picked up my thoughts!

Smilingly, he left his cozy place under my arm, and followed John towards the front door.

I thought he could have felt our visitor in advance, but just didn't want to leave our conversation and his cozy place...

Soon, John and little Harry returned into our living room, followed by a beaming Nicky.

Nicky first went to Mary, and politely shook her hand.

Then, he pushed Davey out of the way, and offered me a wet kiss.

Looking up at me with sparkling eyes, he told me:

"I can be here until eight o'clock; but only if you allow me. And, my Dad wants to talk to you, maybe this evening!"

"I am happy to have you here until eight o'clock; and, please, tell your Dad he will always be welcome in my humble home."

"Okay, I will tell him your message. Harry, shall we set up a new racing game? I want to crash you again!"

Walking together, my two youngsters frolicked to our computer, where they joyfully wriggled into the same chair.

Sitting closely together, they waited impatiently until the computer had loaded and started their favorite game.

Then, they immediately started to cheer and shout enthusiastically, as before...

Trying to act as a good parent and look a bit stern, I admonished them:

"Harry and Nicky, please, muffle your voices! And, this evening, tickling or wetting pants is strictly forbidden."

Both boys turned around at the same time, and stared me down in obvious disdain!

Then, they just turned back to their racing game and ignored me completely.

However, they tried to muffle their voices considerably...

John chuckled at their indignant faces, and asked Davey:

"Davey? Do you want to lose a game of checkers?"

Davey nodded, offered me a quick kiss, and hopped off my lap.

John got my board from the hallway closet; and they settled down at the table.

Soon, they were totally immersed in their game.

Mary left her chair, joined me on the couch, and whispered:

"This was the first time ever that Davey let a MAN look at his scars! Even in the hospital, only the nurses could wash him, because he was afraid of every man...

"You have earned a VERY special place in Davey's heart, and he trusts you absolutely. He told me you helped him and put some oil onto his itching scar?"

I nodded, blushing at remembering Davey, trustfully asking me to help him because his 'scar' started to itch.

I thought he would show me some itchy wound; until he shucked his briefs, pulled his legs towards his shoulders, and showed me where he had his scar...

Much to my dismay, I suddenly saw how his beast of a 'father' had torn his own son open, because his big penis didn't fit into Davey's tight hole!

Involuntarily, I shuddered again, while I continued to listen to Mary's whispering:

"Being with you is the best thing that has ever happened to my boy! Finally, he has a chance to grow up in a caring and loving environment, and feel safe around a man.

"He even told me that he wants to be here as much as possible! Therefore, he asked me to marry you, so that he could be with you all the time..."

Feeling a bit shocked, I fell silent, trying to think over Mary's new information.

Could there be a hidden message in what she told me?

She WAS very nice, although I never considered courting such a relatively young woman...

How old could she be? I estimated her to be around thirty-five, or maybe forty years old maximum.

After listening to my own heart, I decided to trust her intentions, and asked:

"May I invite you to join us, next time we go downtown? Davey would be delighted."

"Oh no, I don't want to invade your life! I like you very much, but I'm clinging to my own social circle of people.

"Besides, to be honest, after the disaster of my marriage, I feel quite happy without a man in my life...

"I am only glad that you want to look after my son, and you will always be Davey's special Dad!"

Fortunately, Mary didn't concoct any plans to help me out of my lonely existence...

After my own marriage and divorce, I still felt quite happy without a woman in my life!

At least, up to now...

Who knows what the future brings?

We drank our coffee and had some small talk; until our wall clock crept towards eight, and I warned our youngsters:

"Nicky? I think you have to go home, because it's nearly eight o'clock."

"Thank you for warning me; and can I come back tomorrow, please? I like it here very much."

"You MAY come back here any time you wish, but only when your parents agree."

"It's just my Dad, Jason, and me. My Mom died when I was still little; and my Dad already agrees, now that he knows where I am.

"Harry, will you please walk me home again? My Dad will be home by now, and you can meet him if you wish..."

Of course, little Harry wanted to walk his friend home.

Nicky said goodbye to Mary, John, and Davey, and offered me a wet kiss before he went away.

My little soul mate followed him to the front door, again without thinking about his mask.

They frolicked out of the door, again walking shoulder-to-shoulder and bumping into each other.

At a quarter past eight, our doorbell sounded.

John left his game of checkers and went to the front door, to let his little brother in.

However, he returned into our living room, followed by a beaming little Harry AND a proudly grinning Nicky!

Directly behind them, a really HUGE man slowly entered our living room.

The enormous giant had to duck his head, to pass through the doorway...

He looked around the room, and greeted us with a booming voice:

"Hello, Mary and Davey, it's good to see you here! Hi, John! And, hello, sir; I am happy to finally meet you, after all the wonderful things my son told me about you...

"Please, may I first have a talk with you, preferably in private? By the way, my name is Jason; but everybody calls me BJ, that is short for 'Big Jason'."

After greeting BJ, Mary rose from her chair and beckoned Davey to follow her:

"Hello, BJ! It's good to see you again, but we have to go home. Thank you, Big Harry, for your hospitality and for listening to me."

Davey raced up to his mother; and asked her, showing her his best puppy doe eyes:

"Mom, may I sleep here tonight, with Harry and John?"

Mary smiled at her son's pleading face, ruffled his hair, and looked at me:

"You may spend the night with your friends, but only if Big Harry agrees..."

"Of course, I agree! Davey is a well-mannered boy; and, so far, he has been easy to manage..."

Davey beamed at me; and joked with an impish smile:

"Just wait until I get loose! Thank you, Dad, for letting me sleep here. And, Mom, you are the best Mom in the world."

Mary shook hands with everybody, and then asked me:

"May I invite you and your boys, to have dinner at my house tomorrow evening?"

Of course, we immediately agreed!

Nicky and little Harry raced to our computer, and again joyfully wriggled into the same chair.

John and Davey went back to the table, and resumed their game of checkers.

I beckoned Nicky's father to follow me to our kitchen, where I asked him:

"BJ, would you care for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?"

BJ told me he was addicted to coffee; making me chuckle while I switched on my coffee machine and told him:

"You are a man after my own heart!"

BJ lowered himself onto a folding chair; but he did it slowly, and seemed to be in pain...

Wincing, he waited until I had brewed our coffee and joined him at the kitchen table.

Then, he took a sip of his coffee; and started to tell me, trying to lower the sound of his booming voice:

"I have to apologize first! A few days ago, my sixteen-year-old son, Jason, complained that four big children suddenly attacked him, without any reason.

"They ran him over with their skateboards, a huge boy beat him up, another big boy kicked his groin, and a girl like a panther punched him a bloody nose!

"Of course, I believed Jason and was mad as hell; because his nose was still bleeding, his balls were bruised, and his new trousers were ruined.

"Thus, I took Jason to our police station and asked for recompense. The officers heard Jason, accepted my complaint, and promised to start an investigation...

BJ took another sip of his coffee; before he went on, looking a bit guilty:

"Two days later, street gossip told me that the police had arrested a man, together with two small boys who were living in his house and spent the night there.

"Now, I started to think... They had arrested a man and two small boys; and not three big boys and a girl like a panther? I started to ask around, about your household...

"Much to my surprise, the 'huge boy' turned out to be Eric's thirteen-year-old son, John; while the 'big boy' was twelve-year-old Thomas; and the 'girl like a panther' was little Chrissy!

"And, apparently, Jason was 'run over' by Harry, John's eight-year-old little Gypsy brother with his burnt face... Well, I assure you that I had a good talk with Jason!

"Then, Nicky told me what he had seen from behind our windows, and that he stuck up for the assaulted Gypsy boy and had told Jason to leave the poor kid alone...

Again, BJ fell silent and sipped his coffee, before he went on:

"Of course, I took Jason back to the police, to tell them the truth; but the officers assured me that everything had already turned out for the best.

"You had full custody of both boys, your household never caused any problems, and your conduct had been proven to be beyond any reproach!

"Then, I discovered that our habitual street blabber-mouth also had a hand in it... Well, I assure you she will never again spread any gossip about you!

"From now on, our entire neighborhood will stand up for you, and they will help and assist you whenever they can. And, of course, you can always count on me as well...

"Yesterday, I had a talk with Mary about her abused son, Davey. Do you know that Mary thinks the world of you? And, Davey even wants you to marry her and becomehis new Dad!

"For the first time in his life, Davey feels loved and happy, and he is finally losing his mistrust. Unlike my own flesh and blood, my sixteen-year-old son, Jason..."

BJ worked a huge handkerchief out of his pocket, and bashfully wiped his tears away.

I rose from my chair, to pour us two fresh cups of coffee, and we drank them in silence.

Although I felt an urge to put my arms around BJ's shoulders and comfort him, I didn't dare to touch him...

What if the man turned out to be a real homo hater?

After drinking his coffee, BJ stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket, and went on:

"Today, Nicky came home with a beaming face and totally in awe. He told me he had met a new friend; and the boy's father was the nicest person he had ever seen!

"Only, after his new friend started to tickle him, Nicky accidentally wet his pants. Unfortunately, that happens now and then, because he has a weak bladder...

"Much to Nicky's surprise, you didn't throw a tantrum, as I would have done... You only sent both boys upstairs, to take a shower and get some clothes from your son.

"In the shower, his new friend suddenly peeled the skin off his own face, and Nicky nearly fainted! Then, he recognized the little Gypsy boy who had been assaulted by Jason.

"Now, they are best friends! They already promised each other to be together for all eternity... They dawdled a bit, and enjoyed the warm shower water on their bodies...

"Suddenly, you showed up; but, again, you didn't throw a tantrum for being lazy, as I would have done... You just took a towel and dried Nicky, while John dried Harry.

"Now, you are Nicky's hero! He thinks you can walk on water! I even heard him say he wants you to be his second Dad, or his Grandpa..."

BJ took his handkerchief, and again wiped a few tears away before he went on:

"I think I never was a good father to my boys, after my spouse suddenly died. At that time, Jason was only eight years old, and Nicky was still a little toddler.

"After the burial, I started to drink, to forget my pain. Soon, I drank too much; and I became a real bastard, always bad-tempered and shouting at my boys for nothing...

"Two years ago, I found Jason and a friend, butt naked and playing homo with each other. My entire hetero world shattered into pieces, and I went completely berserk!

"Feeling utterly betrayed, I threw the little fag out of my house, and kicked Jason two broken ribs. Jason had to visit a hospital, but he told the doctors he fell down the stairs.

"After that incident, Jason changed quite a lot; and, now, he even bullies his little brother he once was so fond of... He has become a total jerk; and I am afraid that it is MY fault.

"I've tried to talk to him and make my excuses; but he never listens and just shrugs it off. Then, I am too impatient, and always start yelling and calling him names again.

"I think that Jason is afraid of me and of my too big mouth; and I also think that he still misses his 'boyfriend', Carl, even after two years of separation...

"I desperately want my son back, because I still love him; but I just don't know how to reach him, or how to make it up to him and to his friend..."

BJ started to cry; and blew his nose in his handkerchief before he went on, sounding a bit shivery:

"A few months ago, I felt tired and had pain everywhere in my body; so I went to a doctor. He sent me to a hospital, where they told me I have cancer in the last stage.

"Probably, I will die within a few months, or maybe even earlier. Unfortunately, I don't have any close family or good friends, because everybody is afraid of me...

"Of course, that is my own fault! That is why I've stopped drinking; and I'm now seriously trying to better my life, by talking to everybody and being only nice to them...

"I even want to contact Jason's friend, Carl, and ask him to forgive me. Only, nobody seems to know where his family lives, after they moved out of town."

BJ stopped again, and stared into empty space for a long time, until he went on:

"I know that I am way too forward; but I want to ask you for a favor. Please, can you take my youngest son, Nicky, into your house and raise him, after I am gone?

"I know that he adores you, and I am sure you will be a much better father to him than I have ever been! Just look at how much John, Harry, and Davey love you...

"I regret everything bad I did to my boys, and I wish I had done better; but that is too late now, and I have to live with the consequences...

"Now, I want to go home, because I have too much pain; but I hope you will consider my request and help Nicky. I don't want to send him to an orphanage."

"Yes, I promise I will seriously consider your request! Only, what are you going to do with Jason?"

"Jason is nearly seventeen; and I am afraid that nobody wants to take him into their house. I suppose he has to rent a room somewhere, and fend for himself...

"I only wasn't sure where Nicky could go. Can he stay with you tonight, to get used to being here in advance? I think both he and Harry will like that very much."

BJ wrestled upright, winced from the pain, and slowly ambled home without waiting for my answer.

Chapter 7. Using the Magic Word for Growing Kids.

After BJ went home, my first thought was a selfish one: 'If this goes on, I have to buy a bigger car!'

My next thought was unrelated to BJ as well: 'Where will everybody sleep tonight?'

I had to house little Harry, John, Davey, and Nicky; in only two bedrooms and two folding beds...

Of course, little Harry and John could sleep next to me in my waterbed again.

Only, I was afraid that Davey and Nicky would be jealous of their friends, and want to join them.

My waterbed certainly wasn't big enough to accommodate me plus four growing boys!

Still thinking, I brewed myself another cup of coffee, and returned to our living room.

Little Harry and Nicky were again racing and wrecking all types of roaring cars, while John and Davey watched some film on TV.

Obviously, they were too engrossed in their own businesses to see me enter the room...

Then, Nicky looked up and noticed me, standing in our doorway and watching them.

His face lit up when he saw me, but he immediately started to look around for his father.

When he didn't see BJ, he asked me:

"Where is my Dad? Are we going home? Sorry, Harry, I have to go..."

He left the game to his friend; and started to wrestle out of their shared chair, while asking me:

"Can I come back tomorrow, please? I like it here; and I like you too, very much!"

"Thank you, my friend; and I like you too, very much! Would you like to spend the night here, and go home tomorrow?"

"Can I really sleep here tonight? YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH. Then, I want to sleep next to Harry!"

Okay, the first half of our sleeping arrangements seemed to be settled.

Nicky and little Harry were certainly small enough to fit into one shared folding bed...

Maybe, John and Davey could share the other folding bed, because it would only be for one night?

Tomorrow, I would go downtown and buy two bunk beds, to have a double bed in every bedroom...

Nicky wrestled back into their shared chair; and little Harry and he resumed their racing game.

Still smiling at Nicky's enthusiastic reaction; I joined John and Davey on our couch, and tried to catch up with the film.

However, every time, my thoughts went back to BJ and his pending death, within a few months from now...

Had BJ already tried to get a second opinion for his lethal illness?

Perhaps, some advanced doctor could cure him with some newly discovered medication?

Of course, in case Nicky's father really died, I would happily take little Nicky into my house...

Yet, I still hoped that Nicky could keep his OWN Dad, next to having me as his 'grandpa'!

And, what about sixteen-year-old Jason?

What if nobody else wanted to take a cranky teenager into their house; or into an orphanage for older kids?

Maybe, I could take Jason into my house and give him his own room?

However, my house had only two bedrooms, next to mine...

On the other hand; Jack, our spirit guide, once asked me to 'guide many other special friends safely through their youth and spiritual development'.

Could Jason be one of those 'special friends', who needed my guidance?

Then, I had to hire a contractor, to lift the roof of our attic and create two more bedrooms!

And, I also needed to buy a much bigger car!

After the film ended, and my boys started to yawn loudly, I told them:

"I think it's time for you to go upstairs, shower, and prepare for bed."

Without protest, all four boys left our living room and raced upstairs.

There, I heard them chasing each other across the hallway, and frolicking under the water stream in our shower stall.

After they calmed down and seemed to be ready, I went upstairs, to wish them good night and tell them where they should sleep...

However, to my surprise, they had already decided for themselves!

I entered little Harry's bedroom; where I looked at two boys with beaming eyes, jumping up and down on their folding bed.

When they saw me, they immediately jumped up at me, to have a shared cuddle in my arms!

After they were satisfied, Nicky told me, with sparkling eyes:

"I wish I could live here for always, with you and Harry and John!"

"That would be nice, but wouldn't your own Dad miss you terribly?"

"I don't know... Dad IS much nicer to me, now that he stopped drinking. Only, he still shouts at Jason and calls him a 'fag'...

"I wish he would be nicer to Jason too; but I think he is too ill to care, and Jason is still mad at him for throwing Carl out of the house."

How the heck did Nicky know that his Dad was ill? Did he also know that the illness was lethal?

I decided not to ask him about it, and just tossed both boys back onto their folding bed.

Trying to act as a good parent and look a bit stern, I told them:

"Now, crawl under the blankets, and go to sleep. And, please, no more talking; else, I will have to separate you."

My stern words didn't seem to make much of an impression.

Both boys smiled at me while they disappeared under their blankets; putting their small heads brotherly next to each other on their shared pillow.

Suddenly, I saw one very healthy and utterly boyish little face; peacefully lying next to one terribly burnt face with a severely damaged nose and wrinkled lips...

Now, I felt all mushy inside, and got tears in my eyes from my welling emotions.

Silently thanking our Supreme Being, I felt VERY grateful that Nicky and my little soul mate had become such good friends!

After kissing both boys goodnight, I left their room and went to John's bedroom.

John and Davey had already crawled under their blankets; and they were softly talking to each other.

When they saw me, John pushed himself up and muttered:

"Hi, Dad! I hope this narrow arrangement is only for one night... Please, could you buy us a double bed, for when Davey wants to sleep here again?"

"Are you a mind reader? I've already decided to buy two bunk beds, one for Harry's room and one for yours. Then, our folding beds can go back to the attic."

"Thank you, Dad; but I think Harry will be very unhappy with your decision! Nicky and he could be Siamese twins, attached to each other for all eternity..."

"Well, of course, they can still sleep together in one single bed, if they wish. A bunk bed only gives them a choice."

John and Davey wanted to talk some more; so I asked them to lower their voices.

Smilingly, they promised to be good boys, reckon with our Siamese toddlers, and go to sleep soon.

We kissed each other good night; and I left them, tiptoeing, to have another look at my Siamese twins.

Chuckling at the funny sight, I saw that our toddlers now had their arms around each other.

They were already deep asleep, with blissful smiles on their happy looking faces.

I straightened their blankets, kissed their foreheads, and tiptoed out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

First, I went to our shower stall, and took a hot and refreshing shower.

Then, I tried to sleep alone in my double waterbed, hugging my pillow and feeling abandoned...

Much to my surprise, I missed my heat-radiating little soul mate!

Obviously, I was so used to feeling him next to me, that it distracted me and prevented me from falling asleep...

After lying awake for some time, I even thought about going to his bedroom and bringing him here, to let him sleep next to me.

However, how would Nicky react, if he woke up and suddenly missed his friend?

I didn't want him to tell his Dad that his new friend slept in my bed!

One can never know how other people react, especially homo haters...

Suddenly, my little soul mate opened the door, and entered my bedroom!

Yawning, and looking sleepy, he slowly wavered towards me.

Could he have picked up my selfish and unrealistic thoughts, of missing him next to me?

Or, had I unwittingly woken him up, by thinking about bringing him here...

Now, I felt a bit guilty. Luring him towards me had not been my intention!

However, my son only scratched the insides of his thighs, while he complained:

"Dad? It itches terribly now, where the face doctor scraped my skin. I forgot to keep it dry in the shower..."

Feeling less guilty and much happier, I told him:

"Then, come here, and let me have a look."

Happily, he jumped onto the bed and stretched out next to me, to let me have a look at the insides of his legs.

His thighs looked slightly reddish and a bit swollen, but they didn't bleed and seemed to be alright.

I took my bottle of massage oil, put a few drops onto the scratches, and carefully rubbed the oil into them.

He heaved a happy sigh, yawned again, and told me that the itching was gone now.

Then, he started to crawl onto my stomach, as he always did when he slept in my bed...

After a moment of hesitation, I decided not to act on my desires, but to play it safe!

I took my yawning son into my arms, and carried him back to his own bed.

Carefully, I lowered him onto his folding bed, next to Nicky.

Nicky seemed to feel our presence, because he opened his eyes, and smiled when he saw us.

My little soul mate snuggled up to him; and Nicky threw his arms around his friend and closed his eyes again.

Almost immediately, they fell asleep and started to snore.

I tiptoed out of their room, and slowly ambled back to my own bed.

Again, I hugged my pillow...

Ten minutes later, a sleepy looking Davey showed up in my bedroom and yawned:

"Dad? I cannot sleep, because my scar is itching. Please, could you put some oil onto it?"

Again, I took my bottle of massage oil; while Davey shucked his briefs, lifted his hips onto a pillow, and pulled his legs towards his head.

Much to my delight, his now slightly reddish scar seemed to look quite a lot better than it had done last time!

I put some oil onto the stitches, and carefully massaged it in, until Davey told me that the itching was gone.

Next, he crawled into my arms and closed his eyes, obviously wanting to sleep next to me for the rest of the night...

However, again, I decided not to listen to my own loneliness, but to play it safe.

I told Davey to put on his briefs, and that I would bring him back to his own bed to sleep there...

Trying to spare my rusty back, I lifted his heavy frame into my arms, and carried him back to his folding bed.

There, he snuggled up to John, closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately.

At long last, I finally started to yawn and slowly fell asleep, still feeling alone and hugging my pillow.

Halfway through the night, I suddenly woke up to the sounds of an opening door and whispering voices.

Who could those whisperers be, and what were they up to?

Pretending to be asleep, I peeked through my eyelashes at the faintly lit doorway...

Then, I started to chuckle inwardly.

Two small figures cautiously tiptoed towards my bed, but one of them seemed to hesitate...

The other figure impatiently pulled at his hand, while whispering:

"Come on; get into the bed. I sleep here every night."

"Yes, but he is YOUR Dad..."

"Shush... don't wake him up! Just get in. He doesn't mind."

The impatient small figure waited, until the hesitating figure cautiously entered my bed and disappeared under the blankets.

Then, he walked towards the other side, jumped into the bed, and immediately crawled towards me.

A heat-radiating small body happily glued itself to my side, draped an arm around my waist, and heaved a deep sigh of utmost content!

My little soul mate had recaptured his own true and duly place in our own waterbed.

The other small figure hesitantly crawled towards me, until he felt my side.

Now, he tentatively snuggled up to me, cautiously putting an arm around my waist, touching little Harry's arm...

Finally, his heat-radiating body firmly glued itself against my side; heaving a deep sigh of content while trying to melt into my aura.

Suddenly, I could no longer pretend to be sleeping.

Feeling very happy to have their unexpected company, I threw my arms around both boys and held them close!

Now that Nicky wanted to sleep in my bed voluntarily, and it had been his own decision, I wasn't afraid any more of what BJ would think of me.

Obviously, both boys were craving for a cuddle and a feeling of safety; and I was more than willing to give it to them.

From now on, our so meddlesome Big-Brother society could... well, I didn't want to use any bad words on them.

Nicky stirred when he felt my arm around his waist, and whispered to his friend:

"Shit. Your Dad is awake!"

I decided to tease him a bit, to bring him some more out of his shell, and told him:

"Please, don't shit in my bed! Our toilet is downstairs, and wash your hands after you are done."

Total silence fell over our bedroom...

Then, both chuckling boys sat upright and started to shriek with laughter!

Nicky almost hiccupped from enthusiasm, while he tried to wrestle me down to take revenge.

I only hoped his weak bladder would be strong enough to withstand the pressure...

Little Harry started to hiccup in reality; and he raced downstairs to drink some water, immediately followed by his concerned looking friend.

After they returned, I tried to tease Nicky some more:

"I hope you are not going to wet our bed, after all that laughing..."

"Duh! Of course not! That happens only now and then, when somebody tickles my sides. Are you now mad at us, for sneaking into your bed?"

"Duh! What do you think? To be honest, I felt a bit lonely without anybody next to me, so I feel happy that you want to sleep here!

"Now, let's try to have some nice dreams. Night, boys; I love you very much, and sleep well."

"Night, Dad, and I love you very much too!" sounded into my left ear, followed by a big kiss on my left cheek.

"Night, Pop, and I love you even more!" sounded into my right ear, followed by a wet kiss on my right cheek.

Again, I started to chuckle inwardly.

Today, Nicky seemed to have promoted me to be his 'Pop'; and I always thought that 'Pop' was synonym to 'old grandpa'...

At last, rascal Thomas turned out to be right.

I happily accepted my new status; feeling rich with, and marveling in, the love and acceptance of my boys!

Slowly, I drifted off into dreamland, still holding both already snoring friends in my arms...

The next morning, I suddenly woke up from some freaky dream.

Two dangerous 'lipstick monkeys' with brightly colored behinds were crawling all over me; while I tried to get away from their combined attacks.

Shuddering with fear, I started to look for something appropriate to defend myself against both attacking animals.

How would I ever be able to send these anthropoids back to the ape house, before they locked me into their own cage and escaped?

I didn't want to become an old beard ape, and play hide and seek with the chuckling public for the remainder of my life...

I woke up some more, and suddenly realized that I was only having some very strange dream!

Switching into my 'therapist mode', I tried to find out what could be the hidden message in this nightmare.

Never before had my unconscious mind sent me such a weird puzzle.

Slowly, I opened my eyes...

Then, I stared into two bright deep blue eyes on my left, and two sparkling emerald green eyes on my right!

Both little Harry and Nicky had crawled onto me, causing me to feel attacked by two nasty monkeys in my dream...

Both little monsters were now wrestling and pushing each other, playfully competing for the best place on my stomach!

They started to chuckle when they saw that I opened my eyes and squinted at them in sudden surprise...

One monkey offered me a wet kiss, while his happy sounding voice told me:

"Good morning, Pop. I thought you would never wake up!"

Immediately, another happy sounding voice protested:

"Hey! That is MY text! That is what I tell him every morning, to tease him when he wakes up!"

Little Harry started to tickle his chuckling friend mercilessly, trying to look angry.

Nicky started to squeal, squirming around on my stomach, while trying to get away from his torturer...

Because I didn't want him to wet our bed, or my stomach, I told my little soul mate:

"Please, Harry, have mercy with our little monkey. He didn't realize that he is a plagiarist."

"Huh? What is a 'playgitarist'? Does Nicky play a guitar? I never knew he has one..."

Chuckling at the sudden Babylonian confusion, I explained:

"A 'plagiarist' is somebody who uses someone else's text, as if it were his own creation..."

"Aha! I KNEW it... Nicky, you are a playgiaristic antithropoid! Now, go back into your cage immediately, and stay there!"

Nicky stared at his chuckling friend, with a bewildered look on his questioning face...

Then, he just pushed him off my stomach, dived on top of him, and started to tickle his ribs mercilessly.

Now, little Harry squealed, while squirming around and trying to get away from his torturer!

In the meantime, he desperately tried to reach Nicky's sensitive spots...

Suddenly, Nicky looked a bit stressed, while he mumbled:

"I have to pee badly!"

He jumped up, slid from the bed towards the floor, and raced downstairs to empty his weak bladder.

Immediately, little Harry dived off our bed and went after his friend in need.

Chuckling, I decided to follow them downstairs, to bring my own morning offer to the ceramic god.

Slowly, I left my bed, put on my slippers, and ambled down the stairs.

Next, I had to wait in the hallway, until my monkeys were finished crossing their streams and playing sword fighting...

A few minutes later, both little savages turned up, again playfully bumping into each other.

They smiled broadly when they saw me waiting; and playfully bumped into ME!

Of course, I had to prove to them that I was the oldest person here and had first rights...

I pulled them close, tickled their ribs, and hasted inside before they had a chance to tickle me back.

Outside the door, I heard them whispering to each other, obviously hatching sinister plots to get me back...

Whistling, so that they wouldn't think I could be afraid of them, I emptied my bladder and flushed the toilet.

Next, I hesitantly reopened the door, not knowing what they were up to...

Immediately, two little towboats dived to the floor and attached themselves to my legs!

Groaning with the combined effort, they dragged me into the hallway.

There, they pulled my legs into two different directions, thus effectively tackling me to the floor.

Now, they jumped onto me and started to tickle my ribs mercilessly, trying to find all my sensitive spots!

At first, I just granted them their bit of innocent fun; until I started to wheeze and pant, and almost had to pee again...

Now, I rose from the floor, with a lot of effort, and pulled both little devils together into my arms.

Trying to spare my old back, I swung both writhing and squealing boys across my shoulders.

Next, I dragged them upstairs, and just dropped my wriggling bundle onto the floor in the hallway.

For a moment, they sat up and glared at me...

Then, they jumped up and attacked me again, again trying to find my sensitive spots.

This time, I just sat down, and pulled both boys onto my lap and into my arms.

I immobilized them, until they calmed down and stopped their futile efforts of getting away.

Finally, Nicky beamed at me, while he told me with sparkling eyes:

"It is FUN to be here! My own Dad never plays with us; and Jason always used to romp with me, until he lost Carl and became depressed.

"I really wish I could live here, with you as my new Dad and Harry as my brother, to have fun every day..."

Little Harry immediately assured us he would LOVE to have Nicky as his brother!

Then, we decided to have a quick shower, dress, and get some food in the kitchen.

Our stomachs were already rumbling loudly, as if they wanted to be fed immediately!

I wrestled up from the floor, with both boys hanging onto my arms as if they didn't want to let me go.

Trying to walk together like this, we staggered to my bedroom and opened the door...

In the doorway, we stopped dead in our tracks, staring in surprise at two moving and giggling lumps below our blankets.

For a moment, my little monkeys fell silent, until...

"Attack of the Creepy Alien!" little Harry suddenly shouted, leaving my arm and jumping onto the first lump.

"Here comes the Nickering Dragon!" Nicky immediately followed his friend, throwing himself onto the second lump.

Immediately, four fiercely wrestling boys were in a heavy confrontation!

Arms, legs, blankets, pillows, and bed sheets were all whirling around in a vast tornado.

Now and then, a grinning face showed up from the twister, and disappeared again into the pile.

They shouted and screeched at the tops of their lungs, while their deafening sounds tried to raise our roof.

At last, they were too exhausted to continue, and stopped their playful war.

The whirling pile collapsed; and four panting and wheezing boys showed up, grinning apologetically.

They looked floored; and just slumped down onto the bed, trying to catch their breaths.

After some time, John showed us his responsibilities as a competent leader, by using the Magic Word for Growing Kids:

"Now, come on! Let's hit the shower and go downstairs, where we can EAT."

Immediately, all four boys jumped out of bed and raced to the shower, pushing each other trying to be first.

This time, after some wrestling noises, Nicky seemed to be the winner, because he uttered a loud sheer!

In the meantime, as a responsible parent, I made the trashed bed a bit more presentable, by straightening the crumpled sheets and blankets.

Then, I went to my frolicking boys in the shower, to look at what they were doing.

Smiling at the funny sight, I looked at four enthusiastic boys, trying to wash each other in our overcrowded shower stall.

John was shampooing little Harry's white hair; while Nicky told Davey to kneel down, to be able to rinse his brown hair.

To speed them up, because I felt hungry too, I decided to try out the Magic Word for Growing Kids myself.

I told them that downstairs, in the kitchen, would be something to EAT...

Immediately, they were in a tremendous hurry!

After quickly washing and rinsing each other, they grabbed a couple of towels and helped each other with drying.

Then, they raced to their bedrooms, to dress and hurry downstairs.

Chuckling at the sudden effect, I took a quick shower, before following them.

When I appeared in our kitchen, little Harry was already performing his tasteful herbs magic with a pan of scrambled eggs.

John had set the kitchen table with five plates and the necessary cutlery, and was brewing the obligatory coffee for me.

Davey and Nicky were buttering huge piles of toast, working together while teasing each other.

They all started to cheer when I showed up, and little Harry grinned:

"You are the slowest grandpa I have ever seen!"

Then, he ducked away under the table, to escape from my wrath.

He showed up at the other side, teasingly sticking out his little tongue.

Well, I will get him later on, maybe after breakfast...

Soon, everybody sat down and attacked the pile of nicely smelling food.

In no time, four plates were empty; and four boys licked their fingers clean and scrutinized the pan for the last crumbs.

Fortunately, I had rescued in advance another toast and a second helping of scrambled eggs for myself!

Now, four impatient boys had to wait for me, while John poured me my first cup of coffee.

Did I really hear him mumble something about a certain 'slow and senile old man'?

Fortunately, for John, my old ears were too deaf to be absolutely sure...

After finishing our meal, I took my shopping list from our refrigerator, and looked it over.

Next, I asked John and little Harry to have a look at it; to be sure I hadn't forgotten anything important...

Little Harry looked at the list, dived into the refrigerator, and rummaged around.

Soon, he reemerged, and asked me to add some more garlic, onions, and fresh carrots to our list.

And, oh yeah, could I please add a fresh fillet of salmon, or some other tasty fish?

In the meantime, John had looked into all our cupboards.

Now, he told me I had forgotten to add four important things: sugar, salt, salad oil, and macaroni.

Then, Davey had a bright moment, and asked me if we had enough tissues left, after all the crying...

Finally, Nicky piped up, anxiously asking if we hadn't forgotten to add some cookies...

Everybody started to laugh, but Nicky WAS right!

Little Harry went to our living room, and returned with his green model and the brown bottle.

He put everything onto our kitchen table, and sat down.

Carefully, he lifted his mask from the model, and started to make its inside sticky.

Of course, Nicky sat glued to his side, curiously looking at what his friend was doing!

John helpfully brought them a mirror, and Nicky helped his friend attach the mask to his face.

Working together, they rubbed it in every direction, until it fit perfectly.

Nicky stepped back, and stared at his friend in awe while he thought aloud:

"You could be from a fairy tale, where the ugly frog turns into a handsome Prince..."

Little Harry chuckled, while he mused:

"I only hope I don't have to kiss a Princess; because I am way too young to marry her!"

Everybody laughed, while we went to the hallway to put on our shoes.

Then, I went back to the kitchen to get my shopping list; and I went to the living room to get my keys.

At last, I hadn't forgotten to take our keys with me!

Feeling very proud of myself, I went to the front door and stepped outside...

However, John started to laugh, while he asked me:

"Old man, aren't you again forgetting something important?"

What the heck...

I stared back at my laughing young friend, not comprehending what he could be talking of...

To go shopping with our car, I needed my keys, my shopping list, and... what else could I need?

Then, it slowly started to dawn upon my old and forgetful mind.

I forgot to take my wallet; and I needed it to pay for our purchases!

I turned around to get it from my desk, but John already beat me to it.

He hasted inside, and returned with my wallet in his hands.

Triumphantly, he showed it to me, before putting it away in his own pocket.

Why did John have to be always right, time and again...

I ruffled his hair, and told him:

"Fortunately, I'm still having you, as my reliable personal memory."

I handed my keys to little Harry; and we went to our car, entered it, and buckled up.

John sat shotgun, and immediately searched our car stereo for some nice background music.

Nicky, Davey, and little Harry sat crowded together in our small back seat.

Soon, they complained about not having enough room and sitting squeezed together...

Yeah, well... they would have to wait, until I had bought a bigger car!

I started our old but still reliable car engine; and backed out of our driveway.

John told me where I had to go; and we drove off and headed for the highway.

Again, we were on our way to a supermarket...

Chapter 8. Supermarket; 'bastard child'; golden van.

My three boys in our backseat were already panting and wheezing demonstratively.

Of course, they exaggerated terribly; but they WERE squeezed together in our too small car.

Soon, both Nicky and little Harry opened a window, so that they could get some fresh air.

Only, poor Davey sat sandwiched in the middle, complaining:

"On our way back, I want to switch places with John!"

John looked over his shoulder and chuckled, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the supermarket, and I parked our car in its huge parking lot.

Vividly, I remembered the last time we were here, when my little soul mate proudly decided to join us inside!

Today, his mask effectively hid his burnt face with all the nasty scars and stains, so that he had nothing to fear.

Happily, he hopped out of our car, and immediately held up his hand to get a coin:

"I want to drive our shopping cart again; and Nicky can help me."

Nicky stepped next to his friend, and two pair of expectant eyes looked up at me...

Chuckling at the funny sight, I put my hand into my pocket, to get my wallet and give them a coin.

However, where the heck could my wallet be?

I started to search all my pockets, but couldn't find it...

Could I have left it home, because I really was becoming an old and forgetful grandpa?

Feeling ashamed of my forgetfulness, I turned towards my boys, to let them know we had to go back home.

Then, I saw John, looking at me with a way too smug grin on his face...

Suddenly, I remembered what had happened before we left, and where John had put my wallet.

Dammit! John got me again, now chuckling openly!

Trying to look as innocent as possible, I asked my young friend:

"John? Could you please give Harry a coin, to drive our shopping cart?"

Still chuckling, John fished my wallet out of his back pocket, and handed little Harry a coin.

Whistling and looking innocent, but with a sly grin on his face, he put my wallet back into his own pocket...

Well, from now on, I only had to remember who always carried it, before panicking again!

Little Harry and Nicky raced towards the sliding doors; and John, Davey, and I followed them at a bit slower pace.

Inside, I took my chopping list out of my pocket, and handed it to John.

Soon, we were busy checking our chopping list and filling our cart, adding many other things we thought could be useful.

Our shopping experience went by quite uneventful.

Nicky helped his friend push the soon rather heavy cart forward and steer it through the aisles.

When we were ready, our cart was once again filled to the brim, and we went to the cash registers to pay for our purchases.

After counting heads, we decided to choose the shortest waiting line...

Only, what seemed to be the shortest line, soon turned out to be the slowest one as well!

Muttering inwardly, we waited for our turn, slowly shuffling forward and pushing our filled cart along.

Finally, we arrived at the front of our line, and the boys put all our purchases onto the slowly moving caterpillar band.

Next, I had to pay for them; but, this time, I clearly remembered where my wallet was!

I turned towards John, and held up my hand without saying a word.

Again whistling and looking innocent, he opened my wallet and took my credit card out.

He offered me the card, but again stuffed my wallet back into his own pocket, with a sly grin.

Looking at his sparkling eyes, I realized that John enjoyed our innocent teasing just as much as I did!

Nicky and Davey were too busy frolicking and teasing each other, to see what happened between John and me.

Only my little soul mate seemed to feel something; because he stared intensely at us, with curious eyes...

Suddenly, I sensed that the little devil was reading our minds!

I started to chuckle, while I tried to send him a picture of a little devil with a green face and fire-shooting eyes...

For a moment, little Harry looked shocked, while he immediately retreated from our minds.

Then, the little shaman started to laugh.

A split second later, I had a picture back of an old and crippled grandpa, leaning heavily on a walking stick!

Wow! Up to now, I had never thought I would be able to receive and transmit pictures to my little friend!

Was I really becoming a psychic, or a mind reader?

Or, was my past life as a powerful shaman waking up...

Tentatively, I tried to read little Harry's mind...

"Sir? Do you want to pay now? Please, the other customers are waiting!"

Waking up, I grinned sheepishly at the impatiently waiting girl behind the cash register.

While trying to dispel the still disturbing cobwebs, I entered my pin code and confirmed our purchase.

The girl was already counting the next line of purchases, while she mumbled:

"Thank you, sir, and have a good day."

"Thank YOU, for being patient with an old man like me!"

The girl looked appraisingly at me, and then told me with a smile:

"You are not old! Maybe a bit distracted; but certainly not old enough to be old."

That made my day!

Smiling happily, and almost striding, I handed my credit card to John, who put it back into my wallet.

Next, I followed my boys outside, while John and Davey got a few cardboard boxes from the huge pile of litter.

Nicky and little Harry pushed our heavy cart, panting and wheezing; while John and Davey walked up front, carrying the empty boxes.

Suddenly, our filled cart drifted off the sloping sidewalk, and overturned onto the road with a loud rattle!

All of our purchases rolled across the street; forcing an approaching car to brake with screeching tires.

My little soul mate held his hand over his mouth, and stared at the turmoil with shocked eyes.

Nicky yelped in sudden panic, while he desperately ran after the falling cart and tried to stop it...

John and Davey stopped dead in their tracks, looked at the sudden mishap, and raced back to us.

John glared at little Harry and Nicky, while he snarled at them:

"What the heck are you doing? Is it so difficult for you baby-toddlers to steer a cart properly?"

I grabbed John's arm, and forcefully pulled him towards me:

"JOHN! Are you in charge here? What gives you the right to reprimand the others? Now, step back, and let ME handle this."

Nicky started to cry, probably because he expected to be punished for being careless, as his own father undoubtedly would do...

Immediately, little Harry went to his trembling friend and took him into his arms.

Glaring at John with an angry face, he told his sobbing friend:

"This isn't OUR fault! Why didn't John HELP us; instead of shouting at us afterwards, with his big mouth?

"He should have SEEN that our cart drifted off that slope, as we are only small boys and not strong enough to keep up with it."

Another car showed up, behind the waiting first car, and its impatient driver hit the horn a couple of times.

Then, two more cars appeared around a corner, and drove towards us from the other side...

Now, I became a bit nervous, and shouted at my boys:

"Please, stop quarreling, NOW, and start clearing the street. We are obstructing all the traffic."

I pulled our fallen cart upright, and started to collect our purchases.

They had spread out everywhere, and I started to sweep them towards our cart using my hands and a foot.

Fortunately, Davey came over to help me, putting some fallen groceries into a cardboard box.

However, John had his back towards us; and little Harry still tried to comfort a sobbing Nicky.

Suddenly, an impatient driver steered his car past us; crushing a bag of oranges while giving me the finger.

Another car showed up behind him, tried to dodge our ravage, and almost hit John.

Now, I became really angry with the impossible situation, and shouted at John:

"JOHN! Come here immediately and help us, dammit! This is not a good time to mope!"

Reluctantly, John turned around and started to put some purchases into one of the cardboard boxes.

Little Harry left his sobbing friend, and started to help Davey fill the other cardboard box.

Nicky dried his tears with a sleeve of his shirt, and started to help me, as a brave little soldier.

Finally, working together, we collected most of our purchases and put them into our cart and the boxes.

Next, we swept the crushed oranges and some too soiled vegetables into the gutter.

In silence, I wheeled the heavy cart to our car, where we put everything into the cardboard boxes in our trunk.

Nicky and little Harry volunteered to bring the empty cart back to the shop, and disappeared.

John entered our car and slumped down onto the backseat; still moping, and staring out of the windows.

Davey slumped down onto the front seat, next to me, and slowly buckled up.

In silence, we waited until our youngsters returned with the coin.

Of course, I wasn't feeling happy with this awkward situation.

For the first time since I met him, I had been angry with John; and that didn't feel right.

As a trained psychotherapist, I already had a fairly good idea about what could have happened...

Up to now, John's denouncing 'stepfather', Eric, had always shouted at his 'son' and belittled him for every single thing that ever went wrong.

This was the 'normal behavior' he taught John; and now, not knowing any better, John behaved exactly the same way Eric would have done!

That is why John snarled at little Harry and Nicky...

At the same time, next to being a therapist, I was also a normal human being, having my own feelings of pride.

I certainly didn't like the fact that John tried to take over my task, and started to reprimand my boys!

But, I regretted shouting at John, thus acting exactly like Eric would have done...

Now, John projected all his built-up anger and frustration about Eric towards me!

Today, I was John's scapegoat, and I deserved it.

Nicky had cried because he admired John, as if John were his own big brother...

Only, John turned out to act exactly the same as his real big brother, Jason, undoubtedly would have done!

This fact amplified Nicky's fear of being punished for his carelessness, thinking of his own short-tempered father...

Fortunately, Nicky seemed to recover fast.

Within two minutes, two sad-looking little boys returned to our car.

They handed me my coin, and silently clambered into the rear seat.

There, they propped up against the car door, trying to avoid touching a still angry looking and moping John...

How should I go on from here?

Lord, please, help me...

I turned around, and told my still moping young friend:

"John? I am sorry! I didn't want to shout at you; but I felt frustrated, and the words just slipped out of my mouth."

"Really? Well, I don't like people who twist my arm and curse at me! Just bring me back to my Mom. I want to go home..."

Suddenly, my little soul mate turned towards John, and forcefully punched his arm!

With fire-shooting eyes, he stared John down, until John's face turned a deep red and he averted his eyes...

Still staring intensely, my little shaman admonished his bigger brother:

"Ungrateful pig, how DARE you argue with Dad! He rescues you from Eric, and is only nice to you, and what are you doing in return? Shame on you!

"This is YOUR fault, because YOU shouted at Nicky and me! Now, apologize for your stupid behavior, or I don't want to be your little brother anymore."

"You little pipsqueak, what do YOU know about feelings? Dad CURSED at me, and I don't want to be cursed at by anybody! I am NOT a bastard child!"

"What I know about feelings? Well, I lost my Mom, and my Dad, and Jack, and my own folks, and half of my nose... Isn't that enough feelings for a little pipsqueak?

"Still, I know that Dad cursed at you, just like Eric would have done, and that triggered your anger. Only, Dad is NOT like Eric; and you should know better!"

Suddenly, at hearing the so loathed word 'Eric', John looked at me.

His deep brown orbs pierced into mine, touching my soul, and showing me his desperation and self-loathing.

Then, he started to cry, and mumbled:

"I am such a worthless piece of shit... I am always doing the wrong things, with my big mouth. Now, you are sad, Harry hates me, and Eric was right that I am a bastard...

"Dad, I don't want to lose you. You are the only living person in the world who still loves the 'bastard child' and accepts me as I am, in spite of my silly behavior...

"Sorry, Dad, for being such an ass. Please, forgive me, and I will try to better myself."

John rose from his backseat, threw his arms around my neck, and started to cry.

I put my arms backwards, folded my hands around his head, and tried to hold him close...

Little Harry bent over towards his older brother, and whispered into his ear:

"Let it go, John, and don't bottle it up! In a few minutes, you will feel a lot better."

At hearing this so well-known saying again, John started to chuckle, despite his tears:

"I know you stole those words from Jack! But, thank you for using them, and can we please be friends again?"

"Of course, silly, we still are! I never stopped being your friend, although I was terribly mad at you for being so stubborn.

"Besides, this morning, Dad already told Nicky and me that we are... err... 'playgitarists'? Sorry, I forgot the correct word for someone who steals a text..."

"I think you mean 'plagiarists'. Well, you surely are one; but I love you anyway."

Suddenly, a concerned voice piped up from the rear of our car:

"The tissues are on the bottom of a box, and I can't get them out..."

Nicky's small head showed up from the trunk of our car, looking at us with a worried face...

Everybody started to bellow with laughter, even Nicky himself, while he clambered back onto the rear seat and sat down.

The tension faded away, while I worked my handkerchief out of my pocket and gave it to John.

John dried his eyes with it, blew his nose in it, and then wanted to give it back to me...

However, little Harry pulled at his arm and admonished him:

"No, John, don't do that! I am sure that Dad doesn't want to have your snot in his pocket! Just throw it into one of the cardboard boxes."

Again, we bellowed with laughter; while John did what his little brother told him.

I started the engine, backed our car out of its parking spot, and we drove off to go home

Davey switched on our car stereo, and searched for some nice background music.

Soon, we were singing along with the happy sounding music, feeling much better, and certainly much closer to each other!

Again, we were on our way back home.

After a few minutes, John told his little brother:

"I was surprised to feel you so much stronger! Since you are living with Dad, I can no longer defeat you, even when I am stubborn and mad at you.

"You just broke through my anger, and showed me the truth by making me feel ashamed. Thank you again, for being my younger brother and my friend."

Little Harry didn't answer, but just crawled onto John's lap.

Sitting together, I could clearly feel the powerful love radiating between them!

John had once been little Harry's son, in one of their past lives; and, now, they were brothers and best friends...

Half an hour later, I parked our car in our driveway, and we were home.

Little Harry snatched the keys out of my hands, and raced to our front door to open it.

Of course, his inseparable friend, Nicky, immediately followed him inside.

John and Davey lifted one of the heavy cardboard boxes out of the trunk of our car, and dragged it to the kitchen.
I followed them at a much slower pace, carrying the second box that fortunately was less heavy.

In the kitchen, both little Harry and Nicky helped me restock our refrigerator.

Meanwhile, John and Davey put the remaining items into the appropriate cupboards.

Next, I brewed myself my second cup of coffee of the day, and poured four glasses of cola for my boys.

After filling our cookie jar with Nicky's fresh cookies, we sat down at our kitchen table, sipping our drinks and feeling happy.

After a little bit of small talk, John suddenly asked me, showing me his best puppy doe eyes:

"Dad? Yesterday evening, the TV weather forecast told us that the forthcoming days would be sunny and VERY hot.

"Then, a commercial popped up, with a cheap inflatable swimming pool... Please, could you buy us one, to cool off a bit when we get too hot?"

Immediately, three more puppy-dog-eyed boys surrounded me, trying to look hot and desperate!

I chuckled, felt all mushy inside, and threw my arms around my herd for a quick cuddle.

Then, I decided to tease them a bit, and told them with my best thoughtful face:

"Well... It's too bad that our car is too small to transport all of us plus a swimming pool."

Four boys started to look VERY disappointed...

Then, I sensed one little devil, secretly invading my mind and trying to read my real intentions.

Before I had time to send him a misleading picture, he saw right through my joke!

Smiling broadly, my little soul mate lectured me:

"Dad, you are only teasing us! Of course, we can tie our swimming pool onto the roof, as we did with our desks. Come on, let's go to a store and buy one."

"Did you read my mind again? You little devil! Only, I am disappointed in you, because you didn't read everything!"

For a split second, little Harry looked stunned, as if he didn't expect me to detect his secret ability...

Then, he probed my mind again, now openly entering my head and searching my thoughts.

I tried to show him a brick wall; but he only chuckled, dived under it, and immediately found out what I planned to do!

Wow, what an extremely powerful shaman was he, at such a very young age!

I would have to train myself quite a lot more, to be able to stop this little devil...

My little shaman started to jump up and down with enthusiasm, while he shouted:

"REALLY? You are serious? You really want to buy a bigger car? Come on; let's look for one on the Internet!"

He turned around and stormed towards our living room, immediately followed by his inseparable friend.

John and Davey looked at me for clarification, but then decided to follow the 'toddlers' and look at what they were up to...

When I entered our living room, they already crowded around our computer, impatiently waiting for a search engine to show up.

Then, Nicky typed in: 'used car'...

Would my boys really be able to find a decent second hand car on the Internet?

Chuckling, I decided to let them have their fun, turned around, and returned to our kitchen.

Trying to be a good parent, I started to clean the table and the sink.

Suddenly, Davey shouted from our living room:

"Dad, look here! We found a beautiful one!"

Feeling curious, I hasted back to our living room, to have a look at what they found...

Much to my surprise, my boys appeared to be very clever merchants!

They had detected a nice site with several pictures of not too expensive used cars.

Enthusiastically, they pointed to a huge yellow van, sparkling in the bright sunlight with a golden glow!

This enormous vehicle would certainly be big enough to transport all of us, plus quite a lot of extra gear...

Nicky clicked on the picture, and an extensive list of details showed up.

The golden van appeared to have two nice looking seats in its front, next to five removable sleeping seats in its interior.

Four removable seats could be placed into a square, while the fifth one could be folded down as a small table in the middle...

I felt absolutely impressed by their clever choice, and told them:

"Wow, that seems to be a really nice vehicle! Only, what about its price?"

"Aw Dad, that's no problem for you. You can always use your credit card..."

I smiled at little Harry's youthful naivety, but didn't dare to disappoint him.

Maybe, afterwards, I would explain to him how a credit card works, but not now.

Besides; I DID have some money to spend, even after paying for my son's expensive skin transplant...

I ruffled his unruly hair, and chuckled:

"Then, let’s have a look at our new van. Do you know where it is?"

Immediately, four loudly cheering boys jumped up at me, and floored me!

Suddenly, I tumbled backwards, while four enthusiastic boys piled up on my stomach.

Their heavy weight almost suffocated me; but what a lovely way of passing away...

Then, John fought himself free from the pile; and cleverly pick-pocketed my keys out of my pocket.

He raced to the door, and shouted over his shoulder:

"Come on, lazy slackers, let's GO. What are you waiting for?"

Everybody left me and followed John outside, leaving poor old me lying on the floor...

Well, of course, they had to wait for me to look at the van; unless John would be able to drive our car.

Slowly, I stood up, stretched my old back, and rearranged my crumpled clothes.

Okay, let's get my wallet with my credit card, and have a look at our new conveyance!

I looked around the room, but where had I left my wallet?

I always put it on my desk, or on the table, next to my keys...

Only, this time, my keys had been in my pocket, from where John pick-pocketed them.

Could John have pick-pocketed my wallet as well?

Then, I remembered the supermarket, where John had put my credit card into my wallet.

That is why he just raced out of the house, without teasing the 'forgetful old man'...

This time, he had me without doing anything...

Chuckling, and feeling rich with my teasing young friend, I left our house and ambled towards our old car.

Inside our car, four impatiently fidgeting boys started to cheer when I showed up.

John had retaken his place on the front seat, while the others again sat propped up in the too small rear.

They had already buckled up, waiting for their lazy old grandpa...

I smiled, entered our car, and asked John:

"John? Do you have my wallet and my credit card?"

"Ah, old and forgetful grandpa. Can't you find it? Shall I help you look for it?"

"Don't tease me again, mate, or we will stay home!"

Immediately, three upset boys in the rear protested fiercely!

They threw their arms around John's neck; and forced him to give me my wallet back, or else...

Grinning, John took it out of his back pocket, and ceremoniously handed it to me.

Case dismissed.

I started the engine of our old car; and we drove off, to inspect our new golden conveyance.

John thought he knew where the car company was, and told me where I had to go...

After twenty minutes of driving, and a lot of searching, John gave up and thought the company could have moved away...

Fortunately, Nicky suddenly saw a huge signboard with 'Used Cars', pointing towards one of the side streets.

Yelling at the top of his lungs, he screeched into my ear:

"HERE IT IS! Pop, you have to turn left!"

"What? I can't understand you, because somebody deafened me..."

Nicky started to chuckle sheepishly, and repeated his words a bit less loudly.

Laughing at his reddened face, I turned into the side street he had pointed out.

Surprisingly, we entered an enormous sales yard, filled with all types of used cars!

I parked our car in an empty space, and switched the engine off.

Four impatient boys bolted outside in a sudden hurry, and immediately started to look around...

"There she is!" John pointed to a huge van with a beautiful metallic golden color, sparkling in the bright sunlight.

"WOW!" Davey exclaimed, with beaming eyes, and obviously totally in awe.

Little Harry and Nicky were unusually silent, evidently feeling very impressed too.

They had their arms around each other's shoulders, and stared at the huge golden van open-mouthed...

A smiling sales vendor approached us, and politely asked:

"Good day, sirs! May I help you?"

"Please, could we have a closer look at that van over there, and maybe have a test drive?"

"Yes, sir; of course! I will open it up for you. Just a moment, please."

The man disappeared into his office, and rummaged around.

Soon, he returned, with a small black box in his hand.

He showed it to my curious looking boys, and told them:

"Now, I will let you see some magic. Just look..."

The man pushed a little knob on the box; and all the van lights flashed two times, as if winking at us.

"Now, all the doors are unlocked, and the alarm is off. Isn't that magic?"

The boys chuckled politely, and raced towards the van to have a look inside.

Soon, they were discovering all possibilities of the removable chairs, and trying them out.

Nicky found out how you could turn the front seats around; to create a conference room, with six seats arranged around a folding table in the middle.

Little Harry pressed the horn, making the van respond with a nice and civilized hooting sound.

John and Davey were discussing whether we would be able to sleep inside this van, or not...

All the boys were VERY impressed and over-enthusiastic, while they started to try out all the different sleeping positions.

I just let them; feeling rather impressed myself, but trying to behave as if I were not very interested.

I thought that, if I acted too enthusiastic, my behavior certainly would inflate the price of the van...

Suddenly, I thought I heard Jack's warm voice in my head, mentioning an unbelievable low price.

Nah, of course, I was fantasizing that price; because I was sure this beautiful van would cost much more...

After some time, I told my enthusiastic boys to turn the seats into their starting positions, leave the van, and wait outside.

A moment later, four fidgeting boys surrounded the smiling car vendor and me.

They still looked at the golden van with yearning eyes, silently begging me to buy this beautiful vehicle...

However, I first wanted to know how much money I would get back for my old car, before making any decisions.

The excitement of my boys tempered considerably, when I asked the vendor about the price minus the value of my old car.

He looked thoughtful, walked around our old vehicle, shook his head, thought again, and then named the final price I had to pay...

Much to my surprise, he told me exactly the same low price Jack had mentioned a few minutes before!

Although I was very surprised, I still tried to keep a straight face, while asking to be allowed to test drive the van first.

Supposed its behavior on the road was not to my liking, or it turned out to be moody and unreliable...

The still smiling vendor just took a key out of his pocket, and handed it to me.

My four boys bolted back into the van, and swiftly rearranged four seats next to each other.

Next, they sat down with expectant faces, and even fastened their seatbelts!

The vendor took the front seat next to me, and showed me how to operate the various knobs and handles.

Then, I started our golden van, and slowly drove off for our test drive...

Immediately, I felt like a King in our new golden conveyance, and the boys were utterly ecstatic!

They jumped up and down in their seats, and craned their necks to look everywhere at the same time.

Soon, they started to discover several nice facilities:

"In here, we can talk to each other without having to raise our voices!"

"Dad, we have built in little cabinets in the backs of all our seats..."

"Look, you can switch the front ceiling lights independent from the back ones."

"I bet that, when you put the backs down and shift all the seats together, you can create one big bed."

Suddenly, I realized that this van was exactly the nice car I had always dreamt of, but never bought!

Now, it felt as if I already owned it, feeling totally at home in it, while driving around and listening to the friendly sound of its softly humming engine.

However, soon, my mind took over, and I started to doubt.

Why was this beautiful van for sale, for this extremely low price?

Was this vehicle reliable, or could it have some hidden defects?

Should I let it be examined by a car professional first?

Unexpectedly, I heard Jack's happy voice in my head, telling me:

"Please, accept this golden van as a present from us. You will need her!"

A moment later, little Harry leaned onto my shoulder, and whispered into my ear:

"Dad? Jack asks me to tell you that our new van is a present from our Spirit Friends, and she is very reliable!"

Was this for real?

Had Jack put the idea into my mind, to look for a bigger car?

Or, had Jack steered my little soul mate, to search for this van on the Internet...

Whatever it had been, I was VERY content with our reliable golden van!

Silently, I thanked Jack, and all our other spirit friends, in my mind for their beautiful present.

Almost humming from happiness, I drove us back to the sales yard.

I followed the vendor into his office, where I paid him with my 'inexhaustible' credit card.

In exchange, he handed me all the papers, the spare keys, and the small remote transmitter.

Then, I returned to our old car, to enter it for the last time...

The boys swiftly moved our possessions from our old car to our new golden van.

Then, I handed the vendor all its keys and papers.

For the last time, I looked at the small car, which had offered me a reliable means of transportation for many years...

Finally, I turned around and ambled to my new van, without any feelings of regret.

I used my new key to start her engine, and drove off without looking back.

Soon, John climbed onto the front seat, and started to try out our built-in modern digital stereo.

Almost immediately, our cheerful song reverberated loudly through our new van!

Only, the song sounded much warmer, with a deep booming bass:

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll."

We all started to sing along with our well-known song, already feeling at home in our new golden van.

As a good parent, I told my boys to sit down, put their seat belts on, and postpone the playing until we weren't on the road.

However, they didn't really listen, because they were way too busy trying out all the new and interesting things; and who cares?

They were just too enthusiastic.

Thus, I let them go; and drove a bit more carefully...

Chapter 9. Swimming pool; and Davey's sleepover.

After we reached the highway, I asked John:

"John? Do you know where we can find a shop that sells small inflatable swimming pools?"

"Of course, Dad, and I'll show you the way! At the next crossing, turn right."

John guided me to an enormous two-story shop, in the center of a nice looking town I had never been to before.

I parked our huge van in its parking lot with some difficulty, because she was much bigger than our old car had been.

Expertly, or was it luckily, I did not to hit one of the other parked cars...

We left our beautiful new van, and I used the magical remote transmitter to lock her and put her alarm on.

Obediently, she winked at us with her lights; and the boys loved it and asked me to do it again!

Now, all of them wanted to try out the transmitter a few times; until they got bored and wanted to look inside the shop.

Crowding together, we entered the huge building, and looked around in awe.

They seemed to sell everything you could ever use outdoors... Only, where was the pool department?

After some searching, I asked an approaching vendor if they sold swimming pools.

The smiling vendor politely asked us to follow him, and guided us to a side wing of the shop...

Suddenly, we were in a semi-tropical surrounding, where they had set up several indoor and outdoor pools!

Immediately, my boys raced to the largest outdoor pool there was, enthusiastically jostling each other to be there first.

They stopped at a dark blue inflatable pool, nine by eighteen feet (3x6 meters), with an electric air pump and a huge water filter.

John told me, with sparkling eyes and a beaming face:

"This one is big enough for all of us, Dad, even when Thomas and Chrissie are back from their vacation."

I looked at four pairs of yearning and begging puppy-dog eyes, and started to laugh.

Chuckling, I thought I should have known this in advance...

Boys will be boys; and, of course, they would immediately go for the biggest pool!

Well, would it be a very bad thing to spoil my brats a little bit?

I cleared my throat, and asked them:

"Will you be careful not to punch a hole in the inflatable canvas? Then, let's buy this pool."

The sound raised the roof and all the windows rumbled, when all four boys started to cheer loudly!

Obviously, I was making them very happy.

After they calmed down, I followed the happy looking vendor into his office, where I used my 'inexhaustible' credit card to pay for our purchase.

Then, the vendor asked my boys to help him fetch three heavy packages from the stock room.

Soon, they returned; driving a cart carrying one huge package, two smaller ones, and a couple of ropes.

Little Harry pick-pocketed the remote transmitter out of my pocket, and proudly unlocked our van.

With sparkling eyes, he looked at how she winked back at him with her headlights, twice...

Now, working together, we used the ropes to tie the huge package onto the roof of our golden conveyance.

Both smaller packages easily disappeared into her enormous trunk, behind the removable seats.

Within twenty minutes, we were back home.

I parked our golden van in our driveway, and listened to her melodiously purring engine before I stopped her.

For a moment, I sat still, marveling in the nice feeling of being the proud owner of such a nice vehicle.

Then, I left my seat and joined my boys; who again walked around her, admiring her sparkling golden countenance.

Davey even used a sleeve of his shirt, to wipe away some invisible stain...

John stared at her with pure adoration in his eyes, while he thought aloud:

"I already like her very much, and she is the most beautiful van I have ever seen!"

Nicky nodded, while caressing her tenderly, but he also asked:

"Why is our new van a 'she', and not a 'he' or an 'it'?"

Suddenly, we were in a heated discussion about our new van being male or female...

John thought our van had to be a 'she', because she clearly looked female.

Davey told John his explanation wasn't a valid criterion, because it was a personal taste and not a fact.

Little Harry declared he couldn't care less, as long as our golden van turned out to be functional and reliable.

I mused that calling our golden van a 'she' would pay some more homage to her beautiful aura...

Finally, we decided to vote about which word we were going to use in the future.

After voting, the word 'she' won with five to zero!

After drinking some water, John and Davey started to untie the heavy package and lift it off her roof.

Nicky and little Harry helped them, by collecting the fallen pieces of rope and putting them into the trashcan.

Next, they helped me lift the air pump and the water filter out of our van and unpack them.

In the meantime, John and Davey unpacked the huge deflated pool and laid it out.

Now, all the things we needed were set out on our driveway, ready to be turned into a huge swimming pool.

Together, we went to our backyard, to decide where we would set up our new pool.

Of course, it had to be in some shadow, easy to reach from our house, and difficult to see from the street...

Soon, we had found the ideal spot, in the shadow of a couple of big trees, next to little Harry's herbs garden.

Only, little Harry protested fiercely; because he was afraid we would trample his precious herbs, or drown them in too much chlorinated water!

At last, he agreed; on the condition that we would keep our swimming pool at least three feet away from his white cobblestones.

Enthusiastically, John and Davey started to outline where we would put our new pool, using four wooden stakes.

Even little Harry agreed, after carefully measuring the distance between the stakes and his white cobblestones...

Next, working together, we dragged the huge and heavy blue canvas object to its place, and unfolded it.

Sweating and panting, we pushed and pulled it between the stakes, until it was exactly where we wanted it to be.

Now, I went back to our driveway, to get the air pump and the water filter.

Little Harry and Nicky raced into the house, to look for a long electric cord.

John and Davey went to our garage, to put two water hoses together into one long one.

Finally, I attached the huge air pump to the pool's air inlet, and connected the electricity.

I switched the pump on; and, slowly, the huge inflatable started to take shape and turn into an enormous dark blue swimming pool!

In the meantime, John attached the extended water hose to our outdoor water tap, and dragged its other end towards us.

Now, we only had to wait, until the blue canvas was sufficiently inflated...

Slowly, the blue object started to look like an enormous swimming pool.

John went to the water tap and turned it on, to fill our pool with water.

At the same time, Davey took the other end of the hose, and put it into our dry pool.

However, nothing happened, and we all looked a bit surprised...

Where was the water?

Had our old and wrinkled plastic water hose a kink in it, or could it be clogged?

Davey took the end of the hose out of the pool, stared into its opening, and shook it forcefully...

All of a sudden, a forceful water stream started to spout, straight into Davey's shocked face!

Davey yelped from the sudden shock, jumped back, and angrily threw the spouting hose into the pool.

Of course, we all started to roar with laughter, while poor Davey coughed and spluttered...

His revenge was sweet.

Before we knew what was happening, he took the hose again, and pointed it at us!

Suddenly, it was our time to yelp and jump out of the way; but to no avail.

The forceful water stream just followed us, wherever we went!

This time, it was Davey's turn to roar with laughter.

After putting the water hose back into the swimming pool, we went inside, to change out of our soaking wet clothes.

The boys hurried upstairs, and swiftly put on their own, or hastily borrowed, swimming trunks.

They raced back to the backyard, where they immediately plunged into the still nearly empty pool.

There, they started to splash, laugh, and have lots of fun with the spouting water hose...

I went upstairs at a bit slower pace, and put on some dry clothes.

Next, as a good parent, I gathered the boy's wet garments, and put them into the electric dryer.

Subsequently, I went back to the kitchen, to prepare enough food for four hungry growing boys plus myself.

I boiled a couple of eggs, sliced some tomatoes, and even used some of little Harry's tasteful herbs...

The backdoor opened, and my dripping wet son appeared in the doorway:

"Dad? Please, could you keep my mask for me? It doesn't stick in the water."

"Yes, of course. I will clean it for you and put it onto the model. Do you have any fun with our new pool?"

"Oh, sure, LOTS of fun! Thank you very, very much, for buying us such a marvelous swimming pool!

"We are waiting until it contains enough water to swim properly. When do you join us?"

"I will think about that. Now, go back and have fun, while I take care of your mask."

My little soul mate offered me a soaking wet cuddle and a dripping kiss.

Then, he turned around and disappeared into the backyard, where I heard him plunge into the water with a loud shout.

Chuckling about being wet again, I started to clean his mask, as I had promised.

After putting the mask onto its green model, I went into our backyard, to have a look at what my boys were doing.

I also carried a tray with a huge pile of healthy sandwiches and five drinks, to feed my small army and myself...

All my soldiers were playing, yelling, having lots of fun with the water hose, and bouncing up and down in our now halfway-filled pool.

Feeling rich, I looked at my six happy children, chuckling at their funny antics...

What? SIX happy children?

I counted the heads again, while trying to recognize them, in spite of their wet hair.

John... a small girl... Davey... little Harry... a somewhat bigger girl... and finally Nicky...

Much to my surprise, I really counted SIX playing children, instead of the four I expected!

What the heck...

My household was growing fast!

John looked up from the pool, and waved at me with beaming eyes.

Then, he noticed that I carried a filled food tray!

Immediately, he jumped up and shouted:

"Dad has something to EAT."

At hearing the Magic Word for Growing Kids, all the kids turned their heads towards me.

At lightning speed, they left the pool and raced towards the filled tray, almost slipping on the wet grass.

Within a split second, six dripping wet children surrounded me, looking as if they felt starved...

The bigger girl, around twelve years old, asked me:

"Hello, sir; are we allowed to swim here? The boys said it wasn't a problem..."

"Well... Did you pay them at the entrance?"

The girl looked a bit timid, blushed, and stared at her feet...

However, the youngest girl, obviously her sister, seemed to see through my little joke.

She winked at me, while she declared:

"Of course, your boys have to pay for us!"

"In your dreams!" little Harry laughed, while he dived towards the food tray.

As a good parent, I told them to sit down, so that I could distribute the food and drinks.

Soon, they were wolfing my sandwiches down, while I went to the kitchen to fetch two more drinks.

Fortunately, I had made enough sandwiches to feed them at least partially.

After I returned, the youngest girl confessed:

"I didn't recognize Harry, until his mask slipped off. He looks very nice without his mask, but he is really handsome when he wears it!"

Little Harry started to blush fiercely, while he took another bite of his sandwich.

Then, he coughed, and nearly choked on the too big mouthful.

Immediately, the youngest girl was all over him, patting his back and telling him to relax.

My suddenly shy son started to blush even more, jumped up, and raced towards our kitchen to drink some water...

Chuckling at his sudden shyness, I returned to the kitchen with the empty tray.

I was still hungry, because the kids hadn't left anything edible for poor old me...
Therefore, I made myself an extra large sandwich, filled with double helpings of everything I liked.

It felt nice, to take good care of myself like this, and feel a bit naughty about it...

After finishing my huge sandwich and drinking a cup of coffee, I ambled to our living room.

From our backyard, I still heard lots of laughter, splashing, and joyful yelling.

Everybody outside seemed to have the time of their lives!

Chuckling, I switched my computer on, and absently sorted the few real e-mails from all the unsolicited spam.

Then, I finally started to write the first chapter of my series of books about my little Gypsy Prince, called 'My Gypsy Prince'.

Soon, the words were flowing from my brain to my typing fingers, while I vividly remembered how I met John and my little soul mate for the first time...

Now and then, I just sat still, basking in my powerful feelings of love for my little Gypsy boy and all the other special friends.

Although we had been together for only a couple of weeks, we already had a lot of quality time!

I really hoped that my future readers would appreciate reading my stories, at least as much as I liked writing them...

Time flew by; until the sun started to descend the sky, and the living room became noticeable darker.

After I finished the paragraph I had been working on, I saved this first part of my book, and switched the computer off.

Then, I sauntered to the backyard, to have another look at my playing children, and tell the two girls to leave our pool and go home.

My boys and I had to prepare for dinner; because Davey's mother, Trudy, expected us...

I opened our backdoor, and was greeted by a real cacophony of all different sounds from my laughing and yelling children!

Chuckling, I stepped closer to our newly bought swimming pool, and enjoyed the funny sight of all these frolicking kids.

They jumped up and down in the water, spouted at each other with the water hose, or playfully chased and dunked each other.

My nine kids really seemed to have the time of their lives!

What? Did I really see NINE playing kids in our swimming pool?

Feeling very surprised, I counted them again.

Indeed, one new girl and two small boys had joined our steadily growing group in my absence!

They were frolicking and splashing just like the others, as if they felt totally at home in our pool...

Suddenly, I realized that having a swimming pool in my backyard was an enormous attraction to ALL the neighborhood kids!

At the same time, I also realized that it was very good for my little soul mate, with his burnt face and body, to have a lot more friends!

It would certainly boost his self-esteem, when everybody accepted him just as he was and wanted to be his friend.

I ambled to our crowded swimming pool, and told the playing neighborhood children:

"Sorry, kids, but it is time to go home. We have to dress and prepare for dinner."

Reluctantly, our visitors started to climb out of the pool, looking a bit disappointed...

Still dripping wet, they slowly started to gather their clothes.

Little Harry's small 'girlfriend' came up to me, and pleaded:

"Sir? Can we... err... Sorry, MAY we come back tomorrow, please? It's fun here, and I like to tease Harry!"

"Of course, you may come back, but only when I am here to keep an eye on you! Please, never use our pool, if nobody is present to supervise."

"Of course, sir; and thank you very much! Harry, see you tomorrow..."

She and her older sister went home, accompanied by the other neighborhood girl who seemed to be a bit shy.

All three of them were clad in only their wet panties, with their dry clothes in their hands.

Now, both small boys took their clothes and followed the girls across the street, but they were still completely naked!

For a moment, I started to doubt, staring at their wiggling little bottoms...

What would my nosy neighbors think of me now?

Would they again be suspicious, and inform the police about my questionable conduct?

Would they again complain, about me 'collecting vulnerable innocent boys'; this time by luring them into a swimming pool?

Then, I decided to try not to worry about what could happen.

I turned around, went inside, and told my boys to go upstairs and dress for dinner.

Nicky jumped up at me, threw his arms around my neck, and offered me a big wet kiss:

"I have to go home, Pop, to do some chores; but thank you for this marvelous day. Can I... err... may I come back tomorrow, please?"

"Nicky, you may come back any time, because you are one of MY boys now! Please, greet your father and Jason from me, and see you tomorrow."

Nicky started to beam all over, and quickly offered me another wet kiss.

Smiling from ear to ear, he left us and went home, skipping all the way, and waving until he disappeared around the corner.

My remaining threesome and I went upstairs; to dry and dress up.

This time, I helped my son with dressing and attaching his mask to his face, because he felt a bit tired after all that swimming.

Ultimately, he was still a little boy, and a bit small for his age...

In the meantime, John and Davey shucked their swimming trunks and put on their clothes.

Then, acting as a caring parent, I sent them back, to comb their still tousled hair!

Chuckling at my stern face, they turned around and did as I told them.

We were ready to go to Mary and Davey's house, where we would have dinner.

This time, I remembered to take my keys and a bottle of wine, without any help from John!

I lifted little Harry onto my shoulders; and he clamped his hands around my forehead, while his legs dangled free.

Involuntarily, I smiled, remembering the first time I took him home on my shoulders, as a trophy snatched away from Eric...

Then, I looked around our street for any suspicious eyes, but no nosy neighbors were in sight.

In no time, we arrived at Davey's front door; and Davey fished his key out of his pocket and let us in.

We went straight to the nicely furnished living room; where we sat down and waited.

Soon, Mary entered the room and came up to us, acting a little bit nervous.

We greeted her, and Davey offered her a hug and a big kiss.

I handed her the bottle of wine, and told her:

"Thank you very much, for inviting us! Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"You could help Davey set the table... but, let's have a drink first. What do you want: a glass of your own wine, coffee, cola, or juice?"

I decided to have a glass of wine, while the boys wanted to have colas.

Davey followed his mother into the kitchen; and they soon returned with our drinks and some cookies.

Then, Davey started to tell his Mom about all the events of our joyful day...

He described our new golden van with seven movable chairs, and our inflatable swimming pool with an air pump and a huge water filter.

Vividly, he told her how he took revenge, by spraying us with the water hose until we were soaking wet.

He joked about their girl friends, who wanted to join them in our swimming pool but refused to pay at the entrance.

Then, another girl and two small boys showed up, shucked their clothes, and just jumped into the pool as if they were at home!

He also told her that Harry had played in the pool without his mask; and his girlfriend told us that Harry was handsome...

Suddenly, he muttered: "OUCH!", when my little soul mate forcefully punched his arm!

Grinning, while rubbing his sore arm, he went on:

"I've missed you, Mom. I had a lot of fun today, but I wish you could have joined us."

"Don't bother about it, son. I've enjoyed myself today with cooking a special meal, and that was very much fun!"

Mary ruffled her son's hair, and went to the kitchen to look after her cooking.

In the meantime, we helped Davey setting the table and putting five chairs around it.

Davey took a couple of candles and a box of matches out of a drawer; and little Harry and John helped him light the candles.

Together, they looked for some nice background music, and Davey put the CD into the player and switched it on.

Then, Mary returned from the kitchen, carrying a huge tureen of steaming soup.

We sat down around the table, and each of us got a bowl full.

Little Harry tasted his soup, frowned, savored again, and nodded approvingly.

Smilingly, our little cookie asked Mary:

"This soup tastes good, but what did you put into it? I can taste oregano, onions, celery, parsley, but there's something else in it I don't recognize..."

Mary started to laugh, ruffled his hair, and told him:

"Sorry, but I don't know. This is just a can of soup from a supermarket."

We started to bellow with laughter, while our little cookie colored a deep red and tried to disappear under the table.

After the soup, Mary served us an excellently tasting meal.

First, we had grilled steak, baked potatoes, all sorts of vegetables, and a delicious sauce.

Then, we got a big ice sorbet with a mixture of fruits, to 'fill our empty holes'.

Finally, Mary and I took a cup of coffee, while the boys got freshly squeezed orange juice.

At last, we were stuffed to the brim, and thanked her abundantly.

Next, all three boys burped loudly, to thank the food spirits, as little Harry had taught them to do...

Mary looked a little bit distracted, but then started to smile at their naughty faces.

Davey threw his arms around Mary's neck, and smiled:

"Mom, I never knew you could cook so well."

"Son, this is the first time in many years that I really enjoyed cooking. Thank you for the nice compliment!"

The boys took the remainders to the kitchen, did the dishes, and cleaned the table.

Then, they settled down in front of the television, and started to watch some funny cartoons.

Mary told them to calm down and muffle their voices...

Then, she took a handkerchief out of her purse, wiped her eyes, and told me:

"I am so grateful you let Davey join you today. I can see in his eyes how much he enjoyed your company!"

"Well... I enjoyed Davey's company too. He is a nice boy with a good heart, and I am happy to have him around."

Davey looked up at me with beaming eyes, while he told me:

"Dad, I love you very much! I am so happy you are my new Dad, and I hope I will never lose you."

He crawled onto my lap, tried to melt into me, and told me with sudden tears in his eyes:

"Finally, I have a REAL Dad to cuddle; and, for the first time, I am not afraid!"

Now, I got tears in my own eyes, while I kissed the top of his head.

Finally, I was reaching my goal, of helping this so terribly abused young child get rid of his fears.

Davey would always be my special son, as Mary had foretold.

Again, I kissed the top of his head; and he squeezed my arms to let me know he loved it.

After some more cuddling, Davey asked his mother:

"Mom? Could John and Harry sleep here tonight? I never had a real sleepover, and I think it will be fun..."

"Are you sure? Where do you want them to sleep?"

"In my room, of course; on the old inflatable air mattress from my summer camp."

"Oh yeah; that is a double one. Okay, but only if Big Harry agrees..."

Of course, Big Harry immediately agreed!

I clearly remembered my own sleepovers, and how much fun that always was.

That is, until my little brother burnt himself and died...

Trying to suppress the painful memories, I told my boys:

"Of course, I agree! Have fun, and be good boys and listen to Mary."

That assured me of three big kisses, and an approving smile from Mary...

Next, our three musketeers teasingly told ME to be a good Dad, and not demolish our house in their absence!

I tried to grab them, but they just ducked away and stuck out their tongues...

Chuckling, they raced upstairs, to arrange their things for the night and inflate Davey's old air mattress.

I thanked Mary again, for her tasty dinner and for letting my boys spend the night here.

Then, I went home, after yelling 'goodbye and have fun' towards the second floor...

Outside, the warm and humid summer night was pitch dark.

I didn't see a moon, but thousands of little stars were twinkling in the black sky.

For quite some time, I stared at the Milky Way, tried to recognize the Polestar, and wondered about a reddish planet I thought could be Mars.

Now and then, a star suddenly blinked; and I even saw a few falling stars, shooting along the horizon.

This time, I felt very small and vulnerable, and shivered involuntarily.

Who was I; and what was I doing here, on this strange planet called 'Earth'?

Would there be any other planets in our universe, with residents on them wondering why they were on their planet?

What was the real meaning of this life?

Was there really a 'God', who had created this strange universe in only seven days?

Feeling a bit melancholic, I slowly sauntered home.

Five minutes later, I entered a silent and empty house, and decided to go to bed immediately.

After taking a quick shower, I went to bed, hugged my pillow, and tried to force myself to go to sleep.

I already missed my boys, especially my heat-radiating little sleeping buddy next to me.

What was he feeling now, sleeping in a strange house on an old inflatable air mattress?

Would my little soul mate miss me too?

Then, I started to laugh at myself, for being such a nostalgic old grandpa.

Of course, my boy was having lots of fun with his friends, probably lying awake and joking with each other for hours...

Until, at last, a perturbed Mary would show up, threatening to separate them if they wouldn't be silent immediately!

Slowly, I drifted off into a restless sleep, hugging my pillow and still feeling abandoned...

In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke up to the sounds of whispering children.

I sat upright, switched the lights on, and looked at three pairs of squinting eyes and yawning faces.

What were my boys doing here?

Had Mary chased them out of her house?

What horrible things had they done, to be sent away?

With a stern voice, I asked them:

"What the heck are you doing here, in the middle of the night? I thought you would sleep in Davey's room?"

"Sorry, Dad, but Davey's old air mattress seems to have a leak. At first, all of us slept on it, with Harry in the middle, because we thought that would be more fun.

"But, after some time, I suddenly bumped onto the floor when I turned around. We searched the mattress for a leak, but couldn't find any. Thus, we inflated it again.

"Soon, the mattress went flat again, and Harry crawled onto my stomach. But, I couldn't sleep on the rigid floor with him as a blanket, and Davey started to complain too.

"Then, we crawled into Davey's bed, but his bed is too small for us. Davey couldn't sleep because he hit the wall every time he moved, and Harry felt squeezed in between us.

"After I fell out of bed for the third time, we finally decided to dress and go home. Davey first told his Mom, but she only laughed at him, and told us not to wake you up...

"Harry got the hidden key and opened the backdoor, and here we are. Please, can we sleep here tonight?"

They just started to shuck their clothes, without waiting for my answer!

What should I do now, while trying to be a good parent?

Should I tell them to go to their own bedrooms, and sleep there?

Only, before I could think of an answer, they had already entered my bed and dived under the blankets!

Little Harry crawled onto my stomach, closed his eyes, and immediately started to snore.

John and Davey threw their arms around me, from both sides, and glued themselves against my sides.

Well; obviously, it was now too late to send my boys to their own rooms, without feeling guilty...

I switched the lights off, draped my arms around my three boys, and felt on cloud nine.

Chapter 10. Every day is a birthday; meeting Jason.

I woke up to the bright morning sun, shining through a crack in our curtains and waking me up.

Slowly, I stretched out, yawned, and opened my eyes...

The first things I saw were two sparkling bright blue eyes, hovering over my face and radiating lots of love!

Little Harry chuckled when he saw me awake, and immediately teased me:

"I thought you would never wake up!"

"Oh yeah? Why would you think such a thing?"

"I am only TEASING you, silly."

"Then, I think you have earned another morning tickle torture!"

I started to tickle his ribs; but he only writhed some while tickling me back, trying to reach my sensitive spots.

Even in his being not ticklish, my little soul mate was mature far beyond his young age.

At both sides of me, John and Davey started to moan and protest, obviously wanting to sleep some more...

Suddenly, my little soul mate sat upright, as if he heard or felt something.

His eyes started to beam even more, while a broad smile lightened his face.

He jumped out of bed, nearly tripping over the legs of a groaning John, while announcing:

"Here comes Nicky!"

Within ten seconds, we heard him open our front door; while, at the same time, our doorbell rang.

How the heck does my little shaman know it in advance when somebody plans to visit us, ten seconds before they actually reach our door?

He HAS to be a clairvoyant; next to being such a powerful little shaman...

The joyful voice of Nicky sounded through the house, teasing his friend:

"How come you are still naked? Doesn't your Dad buy you enough clothes to get dressed?"

"You never heard of a 'birthday suit'? Every day I live here feels like my birthday!"

"Then, that yields you three-hundred-and-sixty-five birthday presents a year; and one extra during a leap year..."

Both friends started to laugh, while they stormed upstairs.

They bolted into our bedroom, again frolicking and pushing each other as usual.

Little Harry jumped onto our bed and disappeared under the blankets, shouting at Nicky:

"Come on, Nick! Shuck your clothes and join us."

For a moment, Nicky hesitated, looking at me for approval...

His face started to beam when I invitingly lifted the blankets.

A microsecond later, he had thrown his clothes onto a chair, and shouted:

"Attack of the Nickering Dragon!"

He jumped onto the bed and disappeared under the blankets, on top of little Harry and me.

Then, his head popped up again, and two sparkling emerald green eyes stared into mine, next to my son's blue orbs.

Showing me a huge smile, Nicky told me:

"Pop, I am allowed to be here all day, but only if you agree."

"Well, I've already told you that you are always welcome here!"

"Yes, I know. And, Pop, since yesterday, I am pretending you are my Dad for real."

I felt a warm tingling in my chest, and my heart leapt up with a feeling of pure joy.

Could this marvelous little boy full of life really be my oldest son, once, when I was a Gypsy Leader and he was our Crown Prince?

Even his first name sounded like my oldest son, 'Nikki'...

Nah; that would be TOO much of a coincidence...

Four stomachs started to rumble loudly, indicating it was time to feed the hungry monkeys.

After another quick cuddle, everybody jumped out of bed and raced to our bathroom, to have a quick shower and dress.

Being clever boys, they decided to put on their swimming trunks immediately, because the day promised to be very hot again.

Davey borrowed trunks from John; and thoughtful Nicky had already brought his own, in a small plastic bag.

After they were ready, they raced downstairs to make breakfast, while I took a quick shower and dressed into something casual.

Still feeling full of love for my four boys, I descended the stairs and entered our kitchen.

Little Harry was already cleaning and slicing a couple of his famous herbs.

Davey had already set the table, and was buttering a huge pile of toast.

John had poured four glasses of milk, and was slicing some tomatoes.

Nicky was boiling a couple of eggs, while enthusiastically chattering with everybody at the same time...

I ruffled his white hair, went to our cupboard, and brewed my first cup of coffee.

Soon, we sat down at our kitchen table, and savored Harry's extraordinarily tasty breakfast.

Again, our little cookie had outdone himself preparing something very special!

Nicky nearly swallowed his fingers, and carefully licked them clean while mumbling:

"This is really delicious! Wow, Harry, I am sure you are the best cook in the world."

Little Harry beamed, and gleefully took another helping of nicely smelling food.

After we were ready, I squeezed a couple of oranges, to have some fresh and healthy juice for my growing boys.

They emptied their glasses in a sudden hurry, thanked me, and raced outside to have some more fun in our swimming pool.

Chuckling at their youthful hurry, I cleared the table, and then decided to have a look outside.

The sun was again shining abundantly, promising to provide us with another very hot day.

I stepped outside... and was almost run over by two impatiently waiting little neighborhood boys!

Enthusiastically, they raced up to me, this time clad in brightly colored tiny swimming trunks.

The oldest boy, of around six years old, told me, with a beaming face and sparkling eyes:

"Mom told us to put on our swimsuits, because she didn't want us to walk around without any clothes on again.

"And, she told us to ask YOU first, before using your pool. Yes, please? Can we?"

His smaller brother, of around five years old, punched his arm and whispered:

"Say 'MAY we'! Saying 'can we' is very impolite."

Chuckling at their brotherly quarrel, I told them:

"Yes; you MAY use our swimming pool, but only when at least one of the older boys is around. Okay?"

"OKAY! And, may I thank you politely..."

Both little boys ran up to our swimming pool, and immediately jumped into the inviting water.

Panting from the sudden cold, they jumped up and down to regain their stalled breaths.

Then, they started to partake in the games, almost outdoing my own boys in splashing and shouting!

A moment later, two young girls showed up in our backyard, already clad in their bikinis...

Chuckling, I thought about setting up a cash register at the entrance, to get some extra allowances for my boys.

Wondering how many more kids would show up today, I went inside, ambled to our living room, and switched my computer on.

For a second, I glared at the fresh pile of unsolicited spam e-mails, until I deleted them unceremoniously.

When would somebody finally invent a spam filter that really worked?

I started my word processor, opened my manuscript, and went on with the next chapter of 'My Gypsy Prince'.

Soon, I disappeared into the story, and was no longer aware of my surroundings.

Some time later, four over-enthusiastic boys stormed into the living room and surrounded me:

"Dad? Nicky has a VERY good idea. He thinks we can easily build a tree house, in those birches in the corner of our backyard.

"Where can we find some used boards, a hammer, a saw, and a couple of nails? Nicky has already sketched a preliminary design..."

John and Davey were jumping up and down like little children, with heated faces and expectant eyes.

Little Harry and Nicky frantically waved at me, with a small piece of paper and a pencil in their hands...

Never before had I seen them this enthusiastic!

I chuckled at their pleading faces, and told them:

"Nicky's idea certainly sounds like a lot of fun! Only, I don't have any used boards; and I think we will have to buy some equipment first.

"Maybe, you could try to find some old wood or lumber, somewhere around our neighborhood?"

Nicky stepped forward, leaned into me, and told me with a thoughtful face:

"We are still keeping a lot of used lumber in our backyard, from Jason's old tree house... Only, can I ask him to give his stuff to us, because it has been Carl's idea?"

"Well, I think you might give it a try, but don't press Jason too much. It is HIS stuff, and it is very okay for him to say no."

From now on, Nicky was the day's hero; and he was loudly cheered at by all his friends!

First, they danced around him like crazy, patting his back and ruffling his white hair.

Then, they all hurried upstairs, to get dressed, before going to Nicky's house and ask Jason to be generous...

The boys raced downstairs and outside, didn't even say goodbye, and little Harry totally forgot to put on his mask.

Ten minutes later, four enthusiastic boys returned and raced up at me, cheering:

"Dad, we can use all Jason's wood and equipment; but only if we let him help build our tree house."

Behind them, a bigger carbon copy of Nicky hesitantly entered our living room, timidly looking at his feet.

He looked exactly like his younger brother, but was twice as tall and had slightly darker hair.

Nicky impatiently pushed him forward, joyfully beaming at me:

"Pop, this is my big brother, Jason; and we can use all his stuff from our backyard!"

"Then, Jason is very generous! You can be really proud of such a good-hearted big brother.

"Hello, Jason! I am 'Big Harry', to distinguish me from 'little Harry' over here. Do you want a drink first? Then, please, follow us to the kitchen."

I extended my hand; and Jason hesitantly shook it, still staring at his feet.

For a split second, he looked up, and I almost choked up from sudden compassion.

This poor child seemed to be VERY hurt and distressed!

His eyes showed me an almost unbearable pain, while he desperately tried to keep his feelings under control...

Slowly, he followed my boys and me to our kitchen.

In the kitchen, little Harry asked his friends:

"I've heard that a hot drink fends off the summer heat... Thus, do you want something cold, or hot chocolate?

Immediately, Nicky and Davey voted for hot chocolate; but John didn't like it and voted for hot milk.

They all seemed to trust their little leader blindly...

I went to my coffee machine, and brewed myself my next cup of coffee.

John dived into the refrigerator, and carried a bottle of milk to the table.

Davey gathered five drinking cups from one of the cupboards, and set them out.

Nicky knew where Harry and he had put the fresh packets of chocolate, and took some to the table.

Little Harry took a pan and the milk... but he hesitated, and asked Jason:

"Jason? Do you want hot chocolate too, or do you prefer a cold drink?"

Jason stealthily flashed a look at me, while he mumbled:

"May I please have a cup of coffee, just like your Dad?"

I smiled at the shy carbon copy of Nicky, and told him:

"You are a boy after my own heart! Do you want milk and sugar in your coffee?"

"Please, could I have it black, with two lumps of sugar?"

"Just like me! I don't want to spoil the taste with milk either."

For a moment, Jason stared at me, with a surprised face.

Obviously, he didn't expect me to be so nice to him, after what he had done to little Harry...

Silently, I opened my heart and sent Jason my love; while I turned around and brewed a second cup of coffee.

My inside told me I had to be very patient with this hurt boy; totally unlike his happy younger brother...

We sat down at the kitchen table, and enjoyed our hot drinks.

Would they really help us fend off the summer heat?
Little Harry crawled onto my lap, and proudly showed me their tree house design.

From what I could see, the little drawing looked workable, and I complimented Nicky for his sketching abilities.

Nicky beamed proudly; but confessed that he remembered the old drawings from Carl...

Suddenly, my little soul mate turned towards Jason, and stretched his hand out:

"Jason, I KNEW that you could be nice too! Please, let's forget the past, and be friends..."

Jason turned deep red, got tears in his eyes, and I thought he was going to cry...

Then, he reached forward and hesitantly shook little Harry's outstretched hand!

Furtively, he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, again looking at his feet...

Never before have I been so proud of my little soul mate, with his beautiful heart full of love and forgiveness!

Again, he showed that he was a Real Prince; and I was sure he would be an excellent King in the future.

Then, Nicky asked me:

"Pop? How do we bring Jason's stuff here? Could you please help us?"

"Well, that depends. How much stuff do you have? Can we transport it on the roof of our van? Jason, what do you think?"

Jason still looked very uneasy, while he mumbled:

"My friend and I collected quite a lot of lumber... We wanted to build a really big tree house, until my Dad..."

Suddenly, he broke off, realizing he was giving away way too much information...

He started to sob silently, obviously remembering his happy time with Carl; but hid his face by turning away...

I opened my heart towards the poor boy and sent him even more love, while I told him:

"I understand why you are sad, Jason. Your Dad told me everything about Carl and you. Harry, please, could you get Jason a tissue?"

Jason looked up and stared at me, wide-eyed, while he exclaimed:

"My Dad told you EVERYTHING?"

"Yes, Jason, I know everything. Can we drive our van into your backyard, or do we have to carry your stuff to the front?"

"Sniff... Sorry... Cough... I think you can drive quite nearby, but do you have any ropes?"

Little Harry offered Jason some tissues; and he wiped his eyes and blew his nose in them.

Again, he stared at his feet, looking ashamed, maybe because he was made believe that 'big boys don't cry'...

Spontaneously, I rose from my chair, stepped towards him, and ruffled his blond hair.

Much to my surprise, Jason trustfully leaned into me, just like Nicky had done so easily when he met me for the first time!

Then, he seemed to feel shocked about his 'childish behavior', and pulled away from me.

John and Davey went to our garage, to collect a couple of ropes.

Little Harry and Nicky asked me for the remote transmitter, to open our golden van.

They wanted to arrange the movable seats into two rows, so that everybody had an unrestricted view to the front.

Jason and I went to our swimming pool, to tell our five happily splashing guests we would be right back.

Fortunately, one of the girls seemed to be old and mature enough to supervise the others for a couple of minutes.

Then, we went to our golden van, sat down in the front seats, and buckled up.

John and Davey returned with their arms full of ropes; and put them into our trunk.

Now, we drove off to BJ's house, while Nicky proudly told me the way, two blocks from ours.

Driving slowly and carefully, I reversed our van into their small driveway.

Then, I stopped next to a huge pile of wood, which was neatly stacked under a plastic sheet.

For the next two hours, all of us were very busy!

We sorted the lumber, piled the boards and timbers onto the roof of our van, and fastened them with the ropes.

We drove home, unloaded everything into our backyard, and went back to fetch even more wood.

After two hours of work, we finally loaded the last pile of wood onto the roof of our van and fastened it...

Then, Jason told us to wait, and went inside their garage.

Soon, he returned with a couple of boxes, filled with all sorts of nails, screws, and clamps.

He went to the garage again, and returned with an electric saw and a couple of hammers, pincers, punches, and screwdrivers.

Feeling very impressed, the boys loaded all his equipment into our trunk.

For the last time, we drove home, unloaded the wood, and brought all the equipment into our own garage.

I felt dead tired from all the unaccustomed work, and slumped down onto a kitchen chair.

However, my inexhaustible boys immediately scooted upstairs, to jump into their swimming trunks!

They raced downstairs, bolted outside, and dived into our swimming pool to cool off.

Soon, they were splashing and yelling again, teasing the girls and being cheerful as always...

Chuckling at their happy antics, I asked a still sad looking Jason:

"What do you think; shall we have another cup of coffee?"

"Err... Please, may I first have a glass of water? I feel thirsty, after all the sweaty work."

"Well, then you better take a cola! There is a full bottle in the refrigerator; so, please, help yourself."

Jason hesitated, while he stared at me with an expression of disbelief on his face...

Then, he ambled to the refrigerator, and returned with the bottle of cola.

In the meantime, I put an empty glass onto the kitchen table, in front of his chair.

Jason sat down at the table, stared at the glass, and absently poured some cola into it.

Hesitantly, he started to sip his drink, now looking into empty space...

Suddenly, he turned towards me, and asked me with teary eyes:

"Why are you so nice to me? Do you know that I kicked Harry off his skateboard, and lied to my Dad?"

"To answer your first question: I am always nice to everybody. About your second question: Yes, I know everything."

"Do you really know EVERYTHING? Did my father tell you what happened two years ago?"

"Yes, Jason, your Dad told me everything, and also that he regrets what he did to you... Jason, what happened to Carl?"

Suddenly, Jason sat upright, almost overturning his half-emptied glass.

For a long time, he stared at me; with a shocked face, probing my eyes for any signs of rejection or loathe...

Then, he started to sob:

"...Sniff... They brought Carl to I don't know where... I'm afraid his parents murdered him, after they heard what happened..."

This time, I really couldn't help it.

I reacted purely on my instinct as a psychotherapist, plus on my inner feelings of compassion for the desperate child...

I took Jason's trembling hand, and unceremoniously pulled him onto my lap!

For a second, he resisted; probably because he thought he was too 'big' for such a 'childish' behavior...

Then, he broke down, clamped himself onto my chest, and started to cry his heart out.

Suddenly, I had a lap full of a sixteen-year-old sobbing and sniveling Jason.

For a moment, I doubted about doing the right thing...

What would my boys think of me, if they unexpectedly entered our kitchen and saw us like this?

Then, I realized they would only be very happy for Jason; and offer him some tissues to blow his nose!

My little soul mate would whisper into his ear: "Let it go, Jason; and don't bottle it up!"

All my boys had hearts of gold; and they would never be jealous.

Jason cried for quite some time, thus releasing a lot of anger and frustration.

All the time, I helped him, by pulling the negative energy out of him and sending it to Mother Earth.

She would gladly convert the negativity into positive energy, and send that back to him.

This always helped; and I did it mostly automatically, without thinking.

Finally, Jason stopped sobbing and started to pull himself together.

I took a couple of tissues from the kitchen table, and helped him dry his eyes and blow his nose.

He looked at me, grinned bashfully, and tried to take the tissues out of my hands...

However, I grinned back at the shy 'big boy', and told him:

"Do you know how many times my own daughters cried on my lap, and I helped them blow their noses? Is there any difference?

"I always wanted to have a son, but never got one. Now, as an old grandpa, I got four lovable boys to help and pamper; and you are the fifth one!

"Now, sit still, accept my love, let me pamper you, and please tell me what really happened with you and Carl..."

"...Sniff... I was assigned to help Carl when he showed up at our school for the first time; and we connected immediately, although he is one year younger.

"I know you will hate me for it, just like my Dad does, but I cannot help being who I am. I really don’t want to be a 'homo'; but I love Carl, and Carl loves me...

"From the first day on, we had to hide our true feelings; because both his Dad and my Dad are homo haters, and they are always going on about those 'filthy fags'...

"Therefore, we wanted to build a tree house, where we could be together without any fear. We worked our asses off, to collect all that wood and save up for our equipment.

"One day, my father wasn't home, and Carl and I started to cuddle. Stupidly, we did it in my bedroom, relying on little Nicky who would warn us in time if anybody showed up...

"But, my Dad came home early, and surprised Nicky and us. He threw Carl out of the house; and called me a 'worthless fag', threatening me he would castrate me.

"Then, he kicked me down the stairs, and I had two broken ribs and a lot of bruises. I told the hospital doctors I only fell down the stairs, but they didn't really believe me...

"However, I just couldn't tell them the truth; that I fell in love with my friend, and my little brother didn't warn us in time when my Dad suddenly showed up and found us naked.

"After I returned from the hospital, my Dad started to yell again. He called me a 'worthless homo'; and promised me to cut my balls off, if he ever saw me with another boy.

"Of course, I tried to find out where Carl lives now, but I just cannot find him. His parents sold their house, and then they just disappeared into nowhere..."

I let Jason blow his nose again, and he mumbled under his breath:

"I am such a crybaby... just a worthless fag."

"No, Jason. I can see that you are a wonderful boy, with a lot of love in your heart!"

"Huh...?"

"Jason, do you still love Carl?"

Jason nodded vigorously; while he started to sob again, choking up and being unable to speak...

"Shall I try to help you find out where Carl lives now?"

This time, Jason's emerald green eyes burned deep holes into mine; and I saw such a hope and longing in them...

For a second, he continued his stare, as if he couldn't believe that I would ask him such a question...

Then, he gasped:

"Would you really do that for ME?"

"Yes, my lovable and worthy friend, I will do that for YOU! Do you have Carl's full name, last address, and old telephone number?"

We went to our living room, where I handed Jason a piece of paper and a pen.

He sat down at my desk, and wrote down what he remembered from two years ago.

Then, he went back to the kitchen to wash his tear-stained face; and I took my phone from its cradle...

My lawyer was surprised to hear from me again, and we had some small talk.

Next, I told him about a fifteen-year-old boy, Carl, who suddenly disappeared from our village, around two years ago.

My lawyer promised to trace down the lost boy immediately; and he would call me as soon as he had any news.

I relayed all Jason's information, and he wrote everything down.

Before hanging up, my lawyer suddenly grinned:

"Are you opening a shelter for lost boys?"

"Maybe... I'm thinking about adopting another eight-year-old boy, and you will hear from me soon."

I put the receiver back onto its cradle, and turned around...

Jason sat upright in one of our easy chairs; listening intently at my part of the conversation.

From the doorway, little Harry and Nicky stared at me, with questioning eyes and puzzled faces...

Then, my little soul raced towards me and asked me:

"Dad, who do you want to adopt this time? It isn't me, because you cannot adopt me twice..."

"Well, aren't you a little bit nosy? You know that curiosity killed the cat!"

"Aw, Dad, you never kept any secrets from me before..."

Suddenly, Nicky pushed his friend aside and stared at me, wide-eyed.

His emerald green eyes burned deep holes into mine, probing into my very core.

Could Nicky be reading my mind too, like my little shaman always did?

Then, Nicky shouted:

"Will you really adopt me, after my Dad dies? I thought he would send Jase and me to an orphanage..."

Jason jumped up from his chair, staring at his younger brother with a shocked face.

All the blood left his skin, and he suddenly looked pale as a ghost...

Trembling with sudden agony, he stammered:

"Is Dad DYING? Is that my fault, for being such a worthless fag? Then, let ME die, instead of him. My life is over anyway..."

He stared around the room; like a trapped animal, desperately searching for an escape...

How the heck did Nicky know that his Dad would die soon?

Had he been eavesdropping, yesterday, while BJ talked to me in our kitchen?

But, first, I had to reassure poor shocked Jason:

"No, Jason, nothing is your fault. Your Dad has cancer, and he will probably die in a couple of months. But, that has nothing to do with you.

"He really wanted to tell you. Only, he didn't know how to reach you; and he was afraid you would still be angry with him for kicking Carl out of the house...

"Nicky, how do YOU know about your father?"

"Dad told Davey's mother, while I was in the kitchen. I heard him tell her that he would die soon, and he didn't know where to put Jason and me..."

Nicky leaned against me, put his small arms around my waist, and started to sob.

I really didn't know what to say; and just put my arms around his small frame, holding him close.

Suddenly, Jason told his little brother:

"Sorry, Nicker, for being such an asshole all the time. I didn't really mean it, and I still love you, even after you couldn't warn us in time...

"I think I was jealous. Dad still looked after you, but I didn't exist any more. To him, I was only a worthless homo, after he found me with Carl...

"From frustration, I started to be a bully, and I didn't know how to come out of it. I have been so terribly alone..."

Jason started to cry again; sobbing loudly while hiding his face in his hands.

Suddenly, Nicky left me and raced up to his big brother.

He jumped onto Jason's lap, kissed his teary face, and assured him:

"It's okay, Jase; and I know you couldn't help being a bully. I missed you too. You didn't play with me any more, and I didn't exist to you either...

"With Carl, we always had a lot of fun. Remember how I tried to help you design your tree house, and had measured everything wrong?

"Sorry that I couldn't warn you in time when Dad showed up. He surprised me by coming home early, and went straight to your room.

"I have felt terribly lonely too, after Dad kicked Carl out of the house, but I didn't know what to do to be your little brother again..."

My little soul mate and I looked at each other, and we had a conversation without words.

Silently, we took each other's hand and tiptoed out of the room; leaving the two brothers alone to reacquaint...

Chapter 11. Two detached soul mates are reunited.

My little son and I ambled to our backyard; still holding hands.

Of course, our swimming pool was crowded again, with lots of yelling and splashing neighborhood children.

John and Davey had smartly constructed sort of a slide, from a few boards and a piece of plastic sheet.

Now, everybody had tremendous fun, sliding down and plunging into the water.

Clever boys they were, always up to something new!

Little Harry left my hand, raced towards the pool, and shouted:

"Here comes the Crazy Gypsy!"

He cannonballed himself into the water with an enormous splash, emptying half the pool.

Everybody started to laugh and yell at him, but he only grinned back and went to the slide.

Davey hurried to the water tap and turned it on, to refill the pool and have some more fun with the hose.

Grinning, he started to squirt a forceful water stream at a couple of yelling girls...

First, the girls tried to escape his torture, by swimming under the surface until they had to reemerge for air.

Then, they tried to let me help them, by begging:

"Please, sir, tell your boys to leave us alone..."

However, their heated faces and beaming eyes betrayed them!

Obviously, they enjoyed the water attack very much, next to all the attention they got from my boys...

Suddenly, they seized John and dunked him mercilessly, yelling at Davey:

"Leave us alone, or we will drown your boyfriend!"

Davey chuckled, and again attacked them with the water stream:

"MY boyfriend? Dream on! You are only jealous."

Little Harry tried to distract the girls, in a futile attempt to rescue John...

However, John didn't appreciate his help, and told his little brother to leave him alone!

Then, he turned against him, and mercilessly dunked our surprised looking friend.

Little Harry came up spluttering and coughing; and now told the girls to drown John, to teach him a lesson!

I left them alone, grinning about the ageless and immemorial spectacle of boys and girls trying to impress each other.

In our kitchen, I brewed myself another cup of coffee.

From the living room, I heard Jason and Nicky, still talking about how much they had missed each other.

It felt like the two brothers had settled their quarrels, and now were reacquainting...

Of course, I decided to leave them alone; and I took my coffee to our backyard.

Avoiding being splashed too much, I sat down at a safe distance, enjoying the joyful sight of all the playing kids.

Now and then, I recognized some of them...

The two small boys were still there, and the three girls from yesterday, plus three more naked kids I hadn't seen here before.

How long would it take, before ALL the neighborhood kids had discovered our swimming pool?

And, what would my neighbors think of me now, luring all these innocent children into my backyard, not bothering about them being naked...

Suddenly, Nicky appeared from our backdoor, looked around until he saw me, and shouted:

"Pop, hurry up, your lawyer is on the telephone!"

I put my coffee down, hurried inside, and trotted to the living room where Nicky politely handed me the receiver:

"It's your lawyer, and he tells me he has GOOD news!"

I laughed, ruffled Nicky's hair, and answered the phone.

My lawyer complimented me for my polite little operator, who had taken the call as a real professional!

Then, he told me he had some good news about the lost boy, but unfortunately some sad news as well.

The good news was that he had found fifteen-year-old Carl, who was put up for adoption in a nearby orphanage.

The sad news was that Carl's parents hadn't survived a car accident, two years ago. Their car slipped off the highway, and collapsed into the banks.

The boy was catapulted out of the car, and that saved his life. However, he didn't have any known relatives, so the authorities had put him into an orphanage.

So far, nobody had taken him, because all the interested candidates only wanted to adopt younger children...

The orphanage was very strict; and they didn't allow Carl to contact anybody outside until he was at least eighteen years old.

Trying to speed things up, my lawyer had taken the liberty to tell the orphanage that I was relatively rich and would be a trustworthy candidate...

Now, Mister John Dragon, the headmaster of the orphanage, had granted me permission to take the boy for a couple of days, to get acquainted with him.

Mr. Dragon had even hinted at the possibility of an accelerated adoption...

I thanked my lawyer abundantly for his valuable help, and wrote the address and phone number down.

Much to my surprise, the orphanage turned out to be quite nearby!

My lawyer chuckled at my eagerness, and teasingly told me to wait until I received his bill...

Yeah well... He had done some very good work and certainly earned his money.

I thanked him again; and decided to contact the orphanage immediately.

Thus, I phoned them, and asked the operator for 'Mister John Dragon'.

After a long time of waiting, a gloomy voice asked me what I wanted...

"Hello, sir. My lawyer tells me I could invite fifteen-year-old Carl to stay at my house for a few days?"

"You are that rich parent with a sudden interest in Carl? Do you know him?"

"Not yet, but somebody else does. Please, could we see Carl this afternoon?"

"That could be arranged. What time do you have in mind?"

I told Mr. Dragon we would like to see Carl within half an hour, if possible.

After a moment of hesitation, Mr. Dragon promised he would prepare Carl immediately for our meeting.

I thanked him, and put our receiver back onto its cradle; but with a weird feeling...

Was Mister John Dragon hiding something from me?

What would he want to 'prepare' Carl for?

What was that gloomy man up to?

I was already sure I didn't trust him at all!

I went to our swimming pool, and told the frolicking neighborhood children to go home.

Of course, they started to protest, telling me they had too much fun to leave so soon...

However, as a good parent, I told them I didn't want to leave them in the water unattended!

Reluctantly, they left the pool and started to collect their clothes, promising to be back as soon as I would be home again.

Both little boys came up to me, clad in their tiny swimming trunks, and unexpectedly offered me two very wet kisses!

They cuddled up to me, leaving me with two wet stains on my trousers...

Then, the three girls wanted to kiss me as well, shyly giggling why playfully pushing each other.

Finally, three naked and dripping wet new boys also kissed my bearded cheek, with their clothes in their hands...

Wow! I didn't know that this 'old grandpa' would attract so much love and trust...

Feeling a bit mushy inside, I totally forgot to worry about what our nosy neighbors would think.

At that moment, they could... Well, I am sure you know what I mean.

Still glowing from the nice feelings, I told my own boys to go inside, because we had to discuss something important.

In rank, they followed me into our living room, looking at me with curious faces...

They propped together on our couch; while Jason and I took easy chairs and sat down.

Inwardly, I chuckled, thinking that I would have to buy a bigger couch as well...

Next, I started to tell my boys a few things I thought they should know about Jason and his missing friend, Carl.

I told them that, two years ago, Jason's friend suddenly disappeared into nowhere.

Since then, Jason had looked for Carl everywhere, but to no avail...

Today, my lawyer found out that Carl's parents had died in a car accident, and only Carl survived.

The authorities had put him into an orphanage, but he wasn't allowed to contact anybody outside the building.

The orphanage where Carl lived now, was less than half an hour's drive from our house...

Suddenly, I had again a lap full of Jason, sobbing from happiness:

"Please... are... we... go-hing... to see... Carl... now?"

"Yes, Jason. We could go to the orphanage now, but only if you REALLY want to see him."

Jason couldn’t talk any more, but he almost lost his head in nodding vigorously!

He threw his arms around my neck, and started to cry earnestly.

Of course, my little soul mate went to Jason, and whispered into his ear:

"Let it go, Jason, and don't bottle it up. In a few minutes, you will feel a lot better."

In the meantime, John and Davey stormed to our kitchen, to get a fresh packet of tissues.

Only, they bumped into each other in the doorway, and staggered down onto the floor, looking sheepish...

Davey wavered back to our couch and sat down; looking confused and rubbing a lump on his head.

John went on to the kitchen, got the packet of tissues, and handed it to Jason before rubbing his own lump.

Soon, Jason stopped his sobbing and happily pulled himself together again.

He took a few tissues from the packet; and dried his eyes and blew his nose.

Then, he looked around and stammered:

"I am such a worthless f... Err... Oops, sorry... I mean, I am such a wonderful boy, with love in my heart..."

We started to laugh at his comical face, and that broke the tension.

Even Jason laughed with us, looking more and more happy...

Nicky went to his big brother, and told him:

"I love you very much, my wonderful brother with your loving heart!"

"I love you very much too, my Nickering Dragon!"

Finally, we knew where Nicky got his strange 'attacking yell'...

Could he have this nickname due to his emerald green eyes?

Jason went to our kitchen, to wash his tear-stained face.

My boys went upstairs; to shuck their swimsuits, put on some clothes, and comb their hair.

Of course, they wanted to make a good first impression on the headmaster!

Little Harry pick-pocketed the remote transmitter out of my pocket, and raced outside.

Proudly, he unlocked our golden van; and everybody got in and buckled up.

Jason sat shotgun; and my other boys arranged four seats around a folded table in the middle.

We drove off, while John instructed Jason to push the big knob to the left on our car stereo.

Immediately, a happy song reverberated through our van; and my boys started to sing along with it, as usual.

Only Jason remained silent, obviously feeling more and more nervous.

Well, I could imagine he felt a bit distracted, after two years of living in hope and fear about his lost friend...

Consolingly, I put my hand onto his trembling knee, and reassured him:

"Don't be afraid, Jason. Everything will turn out for the best, and we will be there for you."

"Thank you, sir, but Carl hasn't seen me for nearly two years. Perhaps, he doesn't recognize me; or, he has found another friend and doesn't want me any more..."

"Only time will tell... In the meantime, what are you going to do, when you see Carl?"

"I don't know... For now, I feel more worried about what Carl does, when he sees ME! Maybe, he is mad at me, and tells me to leave immediately...

"Please, sir, could YOU meet him first, to ask him whether he still wants me? I think I am too nervous to make a good impression..."

"All right. I will talk to Carl first, and ask him what he wants. In the meantime, you will wait in our van. Okay?"

Jason looked very relieved, and simply nodded his agreement.

After twenty minutes, we entered a small town, and John directed me to where he thought the orphanage could be.

Two minutes later, a huge monumental building showed up, surrounded by a heavy iron fence...

There was our orphanage... but it looked more like a restricted army base, including a bored looking guard!

Was this fenced building really an orphanage for growing young children?

We stopped at the iron gate; and the yawning gatekeeper ambled up to our car and looked inside.

He shook his head at seeing five fidgeting boys, and asked me:

"Where are you going, sir?"

"Good afternoon to you too, sir! I have an appointment with Mister John Dragon."

The man took his cell phone, spoke a few words, and pointed to an abandoned parking lot:

"Sir, you may park your car over there, and Mister Dragon will meet you at the main entrance."

The disapprovingly looking guard stepped back, while John leaned into me from behind and shivered:

"Dad, it feels like a prison here! No wonder Jason couldn't find Carl..."

I nodded, and reversed our van into one of the empty spots, ready to drive away immediately if necessary.

Then, I turned around, and told my boys I would be right back, hopefully accompanied by Carl...

My boys promised to be good, wait for me, and not demolish our van in my absence.

Having a strange feeling of entering a real prison, I exited, and walked to the main entrance...

I climbed a couple of huge marble steps, until a monumental wooden door blocked my way.

Again, I had a strange feeling, as if they were still living in the stone ages here!

This door even had an old-fashioned pull bell, looking very out of date...

I pulled the bell knob, and a couple of loud clangs reverberated through the corridors.

At least, the bell worked...

After what felt like a century, the wooden door opened majestically.

A sulky looking man, of around my age or maybe slightly older, showed up and stared at me.

For quite some time, he scrutinized me from head to toe, as if I could have arrived from another planet.

Then, shaking his head, he beckoned me in, mumbling:

"You are that foster parent with an interest in Carl? Then, follow me..."

Feeling rather uneasy, I followed the strange old man into the darkness...

Was I really entering the Middle Ages here?

Mr. Dragon shuffled across the pitch dark hallway towards a closed door, and stopped.

Slowly, as if hesitating, he opened the door, and beckoned me to enter the uninvitingly dark room...

He waited until I stepped inside, and slowly closed the door behind.

I still needed some more time, to adjust my eyes to the gloomy darkness.

For heaven's sake, where had I landed, and on which strange planet was I now?

Was I now trapped in some time machine, and sent back to the Stone Age?

I blinked my eyes until they adjusted, and tried to look around the room...

Then, I saw Carl, standing next to the only window the room had.

He was about the same height as Jason, but looked fragile and extremely thin.

His golden brown hair was cut short; and he stared at me with dark eyes in a ghostly pale face.

I really wondered whether the orphanage was feeding him properly, being a growing young boy!

Or, could Carl be starving himself, as some depressive teenagers try to do to have a sense of control...

Nervously playing with his long fingers, he stared back at me, without any sign of recognition.

I took a few steps towards him, and tried to break the ice by being nice:

"Hello, Carl! I have looked forward to meet you. Of course, you don't know me yet, but everybody always calls me 'Big Harry'."

I offered him my hand; but he just stared at it and did nothing...

Well, my first efforts didn't bring us much further!

Obviously, Carl didn't trust me at all...

To him, I was just another visitor who was looking for a child to adopt; and I would soon turn my back to him and look for another one...

How should I go on from here?

How would Carl react if I told him a few things about Jason?

I decided to use a little shock therapy, to wake him from his lethargy, and told him:

"Shall we sit down? I want to tell you a few things that I am sure will make you VERY happy."

Carl sauntered to a nearby chair, and sat down with slow and mechanical movements.

I took another chair, and dragged it in front of him, so that I could see his eyes a bit better.

He had very dark eyes, nearly black, in an unnaturally pale face.

I was sure his eyes had once been beautiful; but, now, they were lifeless and empty...

I had seen these same eyes before, in patients who had been locked up in solitude for many years.

This boy had given up all hope, and was just waiting for his glum life to end...

Maybe, he really tried to starve himself; figuring it was the only thing he could do to take his fate into his own hands...

Crying inwardly, I opened my heart towards the poor boy and sent him all my love, while I told him:

"Today, I've met another wonderful boy. He is sixteen years old, and he told me quite a lot about YOU. His name is Jason."

Suddenly, Carl's legs shifted, as if he tried to sit more upright!

His face lit up; and I saw a glimmer of hope and a deep longing in his eyes.

Then, he slumped back onto his chair, and his eyes went empty again.

I thought of a trapped animal, longing to escape, but knowing he would be slaughtered nevertheless...

Still sending him as much love as I could muster, I continued:

"Jason still loves you, and he still waits for you. He told me about your tree house, and he wants you to help him build it...."

Suddenly, Carl bolted upright from his chair, and his black eyes pierced into mine!

His face started to glow, like the bright sun suddenly shining through heavy thunderclouds...

For a second, he let his mask down, and I saw tears welling in his eyes.

Now, I was sure that Carl still loved Jason!

I rose from my chair, to be at the same height, and asked him:

"Carl, Jason waits for you, in my car. Do you want to meet him?"

Again, Carl's dark eyes pierced into mine, this time searching my soul.

Could I be sincere?

Was I telling him the truth?

Then, he lowered his head and stared at his feet...

With a hoarse voice, full of emotion, he mumbled:

"I don't know... Of course, Jason doesn't want me any more, after such a long time. I am sure he has another friend..."

"Jason feels desperate, just like you! He is very lonely, and YOU are the only real friend he ever had. Shall we go outside and meet him?"

However, Carl only shook his head, while he mumbled:

"They will never let me go..."

"Please, Carl, trust me, and follow me. Do you remember who Nicky is? Nicky is here too, together with his big brother. Shall we meet them now?"

This time, much to my relief, Carl slowly nodded; but he still hesitated:

"Mister Dragon will never let me go. He hates me too much, because I am a homo..."

"Well, let's talk about that later. For now, just trust me and follow me outside. Okay?"

Hesitantly, I took Carl's hand, and dragged him towards the door:

"Come on; let's go! Jason and Nicky are waiting for you."

Suddenly, Carl clamped onto my hand with all of his might, like a frightened little boy.

He let me drag him towards the door, waited until I had opened it, and shuffled after me into the hallway.

Fortunately, Mister John Dragon hadn't locked the door from the outside, as I involuntarily expected...

Carl looked around the hallway with frightened eyes, trembling all over, like a hunted deer trying to escape his hunters.

Fortunately, nobody showed up; and, involuntarily, I heaved a deep sigh of relief...

I dragged Carl to the entrance, and pushed the massive door open with some difficulty.

Then, in a rebellious mood, I decided to leave it wide open!

This glum building could definitely use some fresh air...

For a moment, I squinted in the sudden daylight, waiting until I could see a bit more.

Then, I pointed Carl to our beautiful golden van, waiting for us in its parking lot...

Reinforcing my grip onto his hand, to play it safe, I told Carl:

"Look, Carl; inside our van, Jason and Nicky are waiting for you."

For a split second, Carl pulled at my hand and tried to run away, just as I had foreseen.

Then, he started to tremble all over with nervousness, almost collapsing from his heavy emotions.

My goodness... What had Mister John Dragon DONE to this poor frightened boy?

I decided to wait for a few seconds, until Carl had pulled himself together again...

Suddenly, the door of our golden van opened; and a whirlwind stormed at us with a loud Indian shout:

"CARLLLLL..."

Jason raced towards us; threw himself at his trembling friend, and immediately embraced him with another loud yell!

Now, I let Carl's hand go, because I was sure that nature would take its course...

Jason hugged Carl, kissed him, patted him, danced around him, and kissed him again.

Then, he started to cry and laugh at the same time, while squashing his lost and found friend in his arms.

He released him, held him at arm's length, looked at him, and again hugged him, still laughing and sobbing...

Slowly, Carl's dark clouds started to vanish, some life returned into him, and his inside sun tried to break through.

Hesitantly, his eyes started to beam, until they began to look like the beautiful black orbs they once were...

Then, a faint smile crossed his lips, and a hoarse whisper escaped his throat:

"Jase... Are you really here? I've missed you so terribly..."

Now, Carl started to cry, while Jason held him close and tried to comfort his sobbing friend.

In the meantime, all my boys surrounded our two friends, enjoying the beautiful sight of their happy reuniting!

"It is really Carl!" Nicky whispered, leaning into me with tears in his eyes.

Suddenly, Mister John Dragon turned up, seemingly sneaking towards us out of nowhere.

He looked at both hugging boys with barely hidden disdain, shaking his head...

Without even trying to be polite, he growled at me:

"You have to sign his papers first!"

He turned around without saying another word, and went to the still open door...

Well, I surely wanted to leave this obscure place as soon as possible, taking Carl with me!

Thus, I told my boys to wait, and followed Mr. Dragon into the gloomy building.

This time, we went straight to his office, where he had already filled in all the necessary paperwork.

Staring at me as if he saw a dangerous child molester, he growled:

"Do you really want to adopt Carl?"

"Yep! Just tell me what I have to do..."

"Sign all the papers, and hand the copies to your lawyer."

I signed the bundle of papers without reading them, and carefully stuffed the copies into my back pocket.

Next, I turned around, and left the building without uttering another word, again leaving the door wide open!

Inhaling deeply, I welcomed the fresh outside air into my lungs...

I went to my waiting flock, put my arms around them, and started to chuckle from happiness:

"Come on, boys, let's go HOME!"

However, Carl stared at our golden van with a frightened face, and whispered:

"Do you bring me to another home?"

"No, Carl, I am taking you to OUR home. From now on, you are living with us!"

Carl nearly started to cry from frustration, while he sobbed:

"Mister Dragon will never let me go! He told me I have to wait until I am eighteen years old, and I am only fifteen..."

"Well, look at these papers! I have already signed them all! From now on, you and Jason are together again, for the rest of your lives if you wish."

"I know he will never let me go... He didn’t even let me write a letter to Jason! He read it, tore it to pieces, and told me I was a 'homo' and had to be taught a lesson...

"Then, he threw my paper and pen away. He locked me in, and gave me only one tiny meal a day. He told me he would thoroughly root out all my 'abnormalities'..."

At hearing Carl's desperate story, I involuntarily balled my fists from sudden anger and frustration!

In my flaring fury, I turned around, to beat the living shit out of 'hetero' Mister John Dragon...

Fortunately, John saw what I intended to do, and quickly unclenched his own fists...

Then, he raced towards me, and put his arms around my waist to prevent me from walking away.

At the same moment, my little soul mate came up to me and pulled at my arm from the other side!

With tears in his frightened eyes, John admonished me:

"NO, Dad! Please, remember what you taught me: 'think first, and never judge somebody from the outside'. That man isn't worth the trouble...

"Just let it go, take a deep breath, get your keys out of your pocket, and let's go home."

While I slowly unclenched my cramping fists, my inside almost burst from love and pride!

Here were MY BOYS; my precious little soul mate, and my best friend and powerful 'assistant' with his golden heart!

Although I was sure I had looked dangerous and frightening to them, they had stopped me nevertheless.

Today, John and little Harry had rescued me from going to prison for committing first-degree murder...

With both boys still hanging onto my arms, I turned around and ambled to our golden van.

Jason took Carl's hand, and gently dragged him inside.

Carl followed his friend; hesitantly, swaying on his feet, looking like a forlorn puppy, and moving on autopilot.

Obviously, after being locked in for such a long time, all these new things were happening way too fast for him.

Jason helped his trembling friend buckle up; and took the seat next to him, to keep a very close eye on him...

I started our van, forced myself to smile, and drove past the gatekeeper towards Carl's freedom.

We were on our way HOME.

Chapter 12. Carl's beautiful dream; and Moby Dick.

Little Harry scanned our car stereo, until he found some nice sounding background music.

Then, he settled back in his seat, listened to the music, and stared out of the windows with a content face.

After some time, I could almost feel him think about something that seemed to bother him...

Finally, he lowered the volume a little bit, and asked me with a frown:

"Dad? Is Carl with us now? Where will he sleep tonight? Our house has only two bedrooms, plus yours..."

"Well, I haven't thought about that yet. But, I know you are a clever boy; so, could you come up with a solution?"

"Okay, let me think... We need an extra bedroom for Carl, another one for Nicky, and maybe one for Davey. Of course, we could clean up our attic...

"Or, you could buy a bigger house! Yeah, that is it. Dad, I found the solution! Let's look for a bigger house on the Internet."

"You really want me to move again? Besides, I hope you don't think I'm sort of a millionaire, or do you?"

"Nah; you can buy everything you want, with your credit card..."

"Really? Then, I have a question for you... When I am paying somebody with my credit card, where do you think the money comes from?"

My little soul mate started to formulate an answer; but suddenly halted, with a stunned expression in his eyes.

He frowned, again opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, and closed his mouth again.

Then, he sat back in his chair and pulled his knees up to his chest, holding them with his arms.

Chuckling inwardly, I could almost feel his little brain working overtime.

For a long time, he stared into empty space, obviously still thinking about where credit card money comes from...

Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion, and told me:

"Sorry, Dad, you are right. I never thought about this before, because I'm only eight years old. I think I still have to learn quite a lot about banking and such...

"Of course, your credit card contains only your own money, from your own bank account. Only, how does the bank know when you buy something with your card?"

Again, I felt VERY proud of my little deep thinker!

Happily, I told him my little bit I understood about credit card numbers, expiration data, and a secret personal pin code.

Of course, my little brainiac immediately had a next question for me:

"I didn't know the bank had thought out such a clever security system! But, what happens when somebody figures out your code, by trying out all the possibilities?"

"Well, after three false tries, the bank computer automatically blocks your credit card!"

"Oh..."

This time, my clever deep thinker seemed genuinely impressed!

For a moment, he retreated into his own little boy's thoughts, leaning back into his seat.

Then, he told me with an impish grin:

"We still don't know where everybody sleeps tonight. That means YOU have to come up with a solution!

"But, my stomach is hungry... Please, could you stop somewhere, to get us something to eat?"

Immediately, my other boys perked their ears up, at hearing the Magic Word for Growing Kids.

They leaned forward, groaned, and rubbed their stomachs, to demonstrate they were VERY hungry!

I chuckled at their playful antics, and told them to hold out until we found a restaurant...

Five minutes later, Davey's enthusiastic voice echoed through our van:

"OVER HERE, Dad! Here we can eat!"

Chuckling at my suddenly ringing ears, I stopped at a nice looking fast-food restaurant along the road.

Of course, my regular foursome immediately bolted out of our van, and hurried inside to find an empty table.

I stopped the engine, and turned around to look at my remaining boys...

Jason tried to pull a resisting Carl out of his seat, telling him:

"Come on, Carl, let's follow the others! I am sure you are hungry too!"

However, Carl seemed to be frightened, and only desperately clamped onto his seat.

Obviously, he didn't want to leave his safe environment, to enter a threatening building he didn't know yet...

After a few more tries, Jason started to react impatient; and I decided to take over.

I left my seat, climbed into the rear, and took a seat in front of my trembling new boy.

Carl looked up, and glared at me with frightened eyes; as if he felt betrayed and didn't trust me any more...

What was he thinking?

I took his hands into mine, and tried to reassure him:

"Carl? Please, remember what I told you. You are one of MY boys now; and I will never let you go, unless you want to leave me voluntarily.

"We are only going inside this restaurant, to eat some food and take a necessary leak, before we drive home. Are you hungry?"

Slowly, Carl's piercing eyes lost their glare, and his shaking hands stopped trembling.

However, his black eyes still pierced into mine, searching my soul for any signs of betrayal...

Then, he heaved a frustrated sigh, and told me with a trembling voice:

"I was afraid my beautiful dream had come to an end; and that you would hand me over to another orphanage, as they did before...

"I don't want to be locked up again and feel hungry all day, to have my 'abnormalities' rooted out..."

Again, I cursed Mister John Dragon inwardly, for doing such a terrible thing to such a young and vulnerable orphan.

Didn't that man have a heart?

I put my arms around Carl's trembling shoulders, and promised:

"Carl, I will NEVER hand you over to anybody else, unless you ask me for it, and that is a promise. Cross my heart and hope to die!

"Now, let's go to the restaurant; and join our hungry friends before they start consuming the furniture."

My little joke brought a feeble smile to Carl's lips.

Hesitantly, he left his seat, took Jason's outstretched hand, and let himself be dragged out of our van.

Walking together, we entered the restaurant, and looked around for the others.

Our clever foursome had already put two empty tables together, and gathered seven chairs around them.

They started to cheer when they saw us, and admonished us to hurry up, because they were HUNGRY!

John even chuckled:

"Hi, Dad! A long time has passed, since we had the pleasure of seeing you the last time."

"Hi, son! Please, stop teasing me, unless you want to get a spanking, for the first time."

"Promises, promises..."

I tried to grab John, but he dived under the tables and popped up at the other side, in between a grinning Davey and Nicky.

From there, he laughed at me and stuck out his tongue.

Well, the next time, I will get him for that!

Ignoring my teasing friend for now, I asked everybody:

"Are you boys big enough to order a 'healthy' meal all by yourselves?"

Everybody nodded, and stormed towards the service bar; trying to be the first one to order a meal.

That is, except for Carl; who again didn't move, and only stared at his feet...

A now very hungry looking Jason desperately tried to pull his friend towards the waiting huddle.

However, Carl refused to follow him, while he started to look more and more frustrated.

Finally, he pulled at my arm, and admitted in a low voice:

"Sorry, sir, but I don’t have any money..."

"Well, I do! Today, you may order anything you want, and I will pay for it with my credit card. Okay?"

Carl seemed to feel relieved, and slowly rose from his chair.

However, he still looked around, as if this was the first time in years that he entered a roadside restaurant...

It probably was.

Trying to help him overcome his hesitancy, I asked him:

"What would you like to eat, Carl? Or, shall we let Jason order for you?"

Now, Carl looked grateful; and he even started to smile!

Trustfully, he followed Jason to the service bar, like a faithful puppy following its master...

My bottomless pits were already ordering their copious meals, joking and teasing each other.

Soon, everybody returned to our tables, carrying overflowing trays of the most delicious junk food.

Obviously, this was their idea of eating a healthy meal...

I chuckled, and went to the bar, to order a cup of coffee and a 'healthy' burger for myself.

In no time, all the trays were emptied, and all the boys looked stuffed and rubbed their filled tummies.

Then, they hurried outside, letting me pay for everything with my 'inexhaustible' credit card.

Feeling in a good mood, I took revenge, by ordering another cup of coffee.

Sipping slowly, I enjoyed my rare moment of peace and quiet...

From the windows, I saw my boys, teasing each other and impatiently kicking small pebbles around.

They cheered when I finally showed up; and John muttered something about a 'too old and too slow grandpa'.

Pretending I hadn't heard anything, I just smiled at John, and handed little Harry the remote transmitter.

With a proud face, our smallest boy opened our golden van from some distance, making her blink twice.

We entered her, buckled up, and drove off towards home.

Soon, I parked our van in our driveway and stopped her engine.

We left our seats, and were immediately greeted by a happy-looking Thomas and a giggling Chrissy!

They had waited for us to show up, sitting on the porch steps...

Now, they raced towards us, shouting to their friends and enthusiastically greeting me.

They had returned from their vacation; and were sun tanned and honestly happy to see us.

Thomas peeked through the tinted side panes of our new golden van, and remarked in awe:

"Wow! This is a really neat car, and certainly big enough to take all of us to the beach..."

I laughed at his hidden invitation, ruffled his hair, and entered our house.

My six friends were happy to see each other, and crowded together on our couch to exchange their adventures.

Jason took an easy chair, and silently listened to their stories.

Carl looked around in our living room; and then hesitantly took the other easy chair, close to Jason.

Next, he started to half-listen to the enthusiastic vacation stories, still looking timid...

I sat down at my desk, absent-mindedly sorted my mail, and started to think about what I should do.

Since today, I had a small army of children around me; and most of them were more or less dependent on me...

Little Harry was my adopted son; and he had his own room in my house.

Oops... sorry... he had his own room in OUR house.

John was in my custody; and he too had his own room here, waiting until his mother returned and claimed him back.

Davey still had his own room in his own home; but he called me 'Dad', and enjoyed every moment of being here.

Nicky was still living in his own home; but his father had already asked me to adopt him and take him into my house...

Today, Jason suddenly entered my life, opened up to me, and where would he end?

Now, Carl had shown up here; and I had already promised to adopt him and take him into my house.

Thomas and Chrissy had their own home, but they liked to be here and play with their friends.

Add at least three neighborhood girls and five little neighborhood boys, who liked to play in our inflatable swimming pool...

My little soul mate could be right.

I had to buy a much bigger house, preferably with a huge swimming pool, and soon!

"Dad? My mask starts itching, and my face feels a bit swollen. Will you help me take it off, please?"

My little soul mate climbed onto my lap, and trustfully turned his masked face towards me.

Carefully, I started to peel his sticky mask off his too sweaty and a little bit puffy face...

Suddenly, I heard a suppressed groan, coming from one of the easy chairs...

Carl stared at little Harry and me, with bulging eyes, and trembling all over!

This time, he looked even paler than he had been before, panting for air and almost fainting...

Gawking at my peeling off little Harry's rubber mask, he gasped:

"Why do you peel Harry's skin from his face? Is this for punishment? I don't want to be here any more..."

All the kids, except Carl, started to bellow with laughter at seeing his frightened face!

Only, Carl seemed to think he could be the next victim; because he jumped out of his chair and dived for the door...

Fortunately, Jason caught him just in time, dragged him back, and told him to sit down and stop being stupid.

Nobody in this house would ever peel some skin, and Carl only had to trust his best friend and listen to Harry's sad story!

Hesitantly, and still trembling all over, Carl slumped back onto his chair, now clamping onto Jason's hand...

Showing him his burnt face, my little soul mate told Carl everything about their caravan on fire and his many skin operations.

Vividly, he told how everybody called him a 'freak' and an 'alien', until Dad bought him this beautiful mask to hide his burns.

Now, he wore his mask every time they went outside; but it started to itch after a couple of hours, and then he had to take it off...

However, Dad and he had already found a nice skin transplant clinic, where he soon would get a brand new real face!

Carl had listened to my son's story open-mouthed; until he heaved a heartfelt sigh:

"Did I think I had a difficult life? Compared to you, I am living in paradise!"

"Well, I AM living in paradise; and every day here feels like my birthday!"

From our couch, Nicky chuckled:

"That yields him three-hundred-and-sixty-five presents a year; and one more during a leap year!"

Again, everybody started to laugh, this time including still pale-looking Carl.

Little Harry hopped off my lap, and went to the kitchen to clean his mask and put it onto the green model.

Immediately, Nicky left our couch and followed his inseparable friend, to help him.

Frolicking and bumping into each other, they disappeared into the hallway and closed the door behind.

Now, John and Davey enthusiastically told their friends about our new inflatable swimming pool in our backyard...

Suddenly, everybody was in a tremendous hurry!

Thomas and Chrissy raced home, to put on their swimming trunks.

Nicky raced home, to get swimming gear for Jason, Carl, and himself.

John went upstairs; to get swimming gear for little Harry, Davey, and himself...

Soon, everybody returned, and hastily changed in our kitchen, piling their clothes onto a chair.

Then, they bolted into our backyard, and immediately cannonballed into the inviting water.

Even our timid Carl raced outside, clad in borrowed trunks, following Jason at a short distance...

I chuckled at their happiness, went back to our living room, and switched on my computer.

First, I sorted the few real emails from all the unwanted spam, and answered them.

Then, I continued to work on my first manuscript about meeting my little Gypsy Prince, called 'My Gypsy Prince book 1'.

Soon, I disappeared into the story, and forgot everything else around me...

Half an hour later, a dripping wet John entered our living room and approached me:

"Dad, can we, err... may we use the water hose? The pool is half emptied; but we don't want to use too much water, because it costs so much money."

"Well, according to your little brother, I am rich, with an inexhaustible credit card! So, don't worry about the money, and just have fun with the water hose."

"Okay, Dad; and thanks a lot."

John hugged me, by fiercely pressing his wet body against mine.

Then, he hurried back to the pool, chuckling at leaving me soaking wet...

Grrrrr...

I love that boy with all my heart; but, now and then, I could MURDER him!

Ten minutes later, Carl appeared in the doorway, still looking timid:

"Sir, may I use your bathroom, please?"

"What will happen to my carpet, if I say 'no'?"

Carl only stared at me with his black orbs, looking puzzled...

Obviously, he wasn't used to a grownup teasing him like this.

I smiled at his shyness, and asked:

"I suppose you are not used to grownups teasing you?"

Carl shook his head, slowly, still trying to grasp the hidden meaning behind my words...

Involuntary, his hands pressed against his groin, while he started to fidget.

In the meantime, a little pool of water had already formed under his dripping wet body...

Chuckling again, I told him:

"Now, hurry to the bathroom, before you wet my carpet even more!"

Still looking puzzled, Carl rushed to the toilet, where I heard him lock the door before sighing in relief...

I rose from my chair, went to the hallway, and waited until he was ready and showed up again.

Then, I pulled him into a bear hug, and reassured him:

"Carl, you are now one of US. This is YOUR home, and you never have to ask permission to use the bathroom, or anything else around here."

Carl's eyes filled with tears, while he clamped onto me like a frightened child and mumbled:

"I don't know... Of course, this is only a beautiful dream. After I wake up in the orphanage, I will feel hungry again, and sadder than ever..."

"Well, be assured that you are NOT dreaming! And, as you can see for yourself, I am not Mister John Dragon. From now on, there will always be plenty of food for you.

"Just trust me on that! I'm even planning to fatten you up some... Now, go back to the rest of your family, and have fun."

Carl looked up at me, and his timid eyes showed a glimmer of hope while he mumbled:

"I really hope you are right, and that this beautiful dream will never come to an end!"

I let him go; and he sauntered back to the swimming pool and his frolicking friends...

Around six o'clock, Davey had to go home for dinner; but he promised to be back the next day.

Jason hugged Carl, told him to be a good boy and always listen to Big Harry, and promised he would be back early in the morning.

Then, he and Nicky went home; because BJ would be waiting for them around this time, to eat together.

Thomas and Chrissy decided to follow them and go home too; again giggling and teasing each other.

Suddenly, our house felt almost empty...

Little Harry and John wanted to help me prepare a healthy dinner.

They told me they needed some proper food, after all the junk food they wolfed down earlier...

Good boys!

My little soul mate also thought that skinny Carl needed to grow some more meat onto his bones...

Even skinny Carl chuckled, while he followed us to the kitchen.

Of course, our little cookie took over immediately.

He climbed onto a chair to overlook our preparations, and instructed us what we had to do.

Soon, he turned out to be a very critical chef, admonishing us:

"No, Dad, don't slice those potatoes too thin, make fatter slices!

"Carl, don't smash those lettuce leaves. Be more careful, and drape them neatly onto the plates.

"John, put the onions into the buttered pan first; and add a little bit of salt while slowly browning them.

"Can I leave you alone now, to get some herbs from my garden?"

After another critical look at our ministrations, our little chef jumped off his chair and hasted into the backyard.

Soon, he returned, carrying a handful of herbs and a few colored pods.

He washed them, and sliced them into small pieces with the help of my old cutting board and sharp kitchen knife.

Next, he pulled a chair towards the electric cook top, pushed John aside, and put his mixture into the sizzling pan.

Then, he ordered:

"John, could you get me the olive oil, from the left cabinet above the sideboard? And, bring the pepper with you. Oh, and I forgot the curry.

"Dad, could you please hand me the sliced potatoes now? And, I want to add some more salt..."

A few minutes later, little Harry's heavenly scenting baked potatoes were ready.

Our little cookie jumped off his chair, and draped the potatoes around the already readied lettuce on the plates.

Next, Carl added some more frittered herbs and a little bit of mayonnaise onto each plate.

Finally, John added some grated cheese, and helpfully put the plates in front of our chairs.

Again, our little cooking magician turned out to be a more than superior chef!

This time, our meal tasted slightly outlandish, with an aftertaste as if we were sitting around a glowing campfire...

Carl almost swallowed his own fingers in his eating frenzy; now that he finally could eat as much food as he wanted!

Chuckling at his enthusiasm, John teased him:

"Carl, I sincerely hope you will soon grow some more meat onto your bones..."

Carl just smiled at John, while he gleefully took another helping of lettuce and baked potato...

After everybody finished their meal, we all licked our fingers clean, and carefully scraped our plates for the last crumbs.

Then, we complimented our proudly beaming little cookie with his amazing cooking skills.

Our little chef bowed slightly, while he answered:

"Thank you very much! Today, I've tried to copy the taste of our regular Gypsy food; but something is missing, and I don't know what it is.

"Dad, do you remember the Chinese food we had in that palace? Do you know where we can buy some of that stringy green snot?"

Suddenly, Carl looked at little Harry with a confused face, while he asked:

"You were in a Chinese palace, where they had 'stringy green snot'? Yuck..."

For a split second, everybody was dead silent...

Then, we all started to roar with laughter, leaving Carl even more confused.

Chuckling Davey started to cough, and had to drink lots of water to free his throat.

John grabbed a tissue from the packet and offered it to Davey, while he snickered:

"I think the Chinese milk their stringy snot from a green dragon with the flu."

Carl laughed, but also still looked bewildered, while he mused:

"I will never again eat Chinese food, for the rest of my life!"

Now, it was chuckling John's time to cough and drink a lot of water.

Finally, we told Carl about our visit to a 'Chinese palace', where little Harry carefully tried out all the spices first...

I offered my boys some freshly squeezed healthy orange juice.

Then, we washed the dishes, tidied the kitchen, and went to our couch in the living room.

Little Harry crawled onto my lap, John pushed his head under my left arm, and Carl sat down at my right side.

After a moment, Carl looked at John and little Harry, and suddenly leaned against my right arm!

Of course, I draped my arm around his thin frame, and pulled him close.

Heaving a deep sigh of content, Carl cuddled up against my side, while he mumbled:

"I hope my beautiful dream will never end..."

"You can be sure of that! And, I hope you will join us for a very long time."

My fifth boy had found his place in my life.

Or, could Carl be my sixth boy, counting Jason as number five?

Who would be next...

Little Harry looked at Carl and me, and started to think aloud:

"Dad? I am only a little boy, and so is Nicky. Thus, now that Carl lives here, I can easily sleep next to you, and Nicky can join our bed when he sleeps here.

"That way, Carl can use my old bedroom, and invite Jason for a sleepover; and John can keep his own room, and invite Davey if he wishes.

"When are you going to buy bunk beds for us, as you promised? Or, shall I look for a bigger house on the Internet?"

My impatient little soul mate hopped off my lap, and enthusiastically raced to our computer!

Of course, I told him to wait until things had settled down some more...

Reluctantly