a Man loves a Boy

-3- our quickly growing flock

My third famous 'Gypsy Series' book!

- written by a Dutch psychotherapist -

http://www.gypsyseries.com

Chapter 1. My happy threesome, planning to go out.

"Dad or John, could you please help me? I want to set up the first chapter of my own 'Gypsy Series' of books..."

Sitting in front of our computer, my little soul mate looked at John and me with eager eyes, while waiting for our response. Feeling full of happiness and tender loving care, I looked at my newly adopted son, my eight-year-old Gypsy Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne, 'Harold Janovski Romani'. His friends and I usually called him 'little Harry' to distinguish him from me, 'Big Harry', and also because his tiny frame still was a bit too small for his age. However, his extremely intelligent 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 seeing his little brother's eager face, while he left me and went to our computer to help him start up a word processor. For the time being, John was our houseguest; because his mother, Trudy, had a fight with her husband, Eric, and she had left our small village to escape his wrath. Her youngest children, Mark and Marrie, had wanted to join her; but John had wanted to stay here, where he had his own friends, his 'little brother', and me. Helpfully, he explained how his little brother should start up our word processor before he could set up the first page of his own book. Yesterday evening, our Spirit Guide, Jack, who was the deceased former owner of my newly bought house, had asked us to start writing two different 'Gypsy Series' of books. Our little Gypsy Prince would start writing his own series of books about his growing up in their secluded camp in the Rumanian mountains; while I would start writing my own series of books about taking a severely burnt little Gypsy boy into my house, adopting him, and raising him until he would be old enough to take over the reigning and be their next 'Gypsy King Harold the Second'.

Looking from the still empty computer screen to the patiently waiting keyboard, my boy's deep baritone voice asked John:

"Shall I now type the title of my first book about me, 'a Boy loves a Man - book 1 - Gypsy Heir to the Throne'?"

Looking a bit unsure, John hesitatingly responded:

"To be honest, I don't know... Dad? Could you please help Harry set up the first page of his own book?"

Still feeling full of love with my two eager 'sons', I answered:

"I think that typing the title of your first book is an excellent start to begin with. Then, you could go on from there..."

With a happy face, my little soul mate returned to the computer keyboard and started to look for the first key he needed, the 'a'. After he found the correct key and pushed it, he looked at the screen to verify its correctness, before he searched for the next key. It was a funny sight to see my boy like this, typing character after character, now and then using the backspace to correct an error. Soon, his little tongue hung out of his mouth, while he searched for key after key, now and then reacting frustrated because he knew that John and I could type much faster, but he didn't want to give up too soon.

However, after some more typing and correcting, he suddenly stopped and asked:

"Dad or John, could you please help me spell those difficult words in your language, because spelling my own words in my own Gypsy language always was a lot easier..."

Despite his extraordinary intelligence and extremely bright brain, my boy never went to school or typed on a computer keyboard. Up to his sixth year, he had lived in Rumania, in his secluded Gypsy camp, surrounded by huge mountains and vast forests. Two years ago, the Royal family had to escape from a nasty witch-hunt, because the Rumanian police wanted to have a scapegoat and accused them falsely of robbing some unknown 'gadjo'. After driving through several foreign countries while pretending to be on a sightseeing vacation, they stopped in this small village, felt tired of all the traveling, and planned to go home the next morning. Only, that same night, their caravan was set ablaze! Both the Gypsy King and his Queen perished in the fire. Only their six-year-old son and Royal Crown Prince, their little Gypsy Heir to the Throne, survived; but he was severely burnt all over his body and face.

That same night, the former owner of my house, Jack, couldn't sleep and left his house for a walk through the neighborhood. Just in time, he rescued the burning little boy, by rolling him around and around in some wet grass. Jack brought his little friend to a hospital, where he visited him every day, bought him everything that he needed, comforted him with the loss of his parents, and taught him our language. After little Harry left the hospital, he started living with Jack in what is now my house. Two months ago, Jack suddenly died; and his house went up for sale while little Harry had to share John's bedroom. Now, I had bought Jack's former house, hoping to live here in peace and quiet for the rest of my life, as a retired psychotherapist. Almost immediately, I met my best friend from several 'past lives' who had reincarnated as John, and I met my burnt 'little soul mate' from even more past lives who soon got his own room back in my house and started to live here. Then, my boy's own Gypsy people found their little Crown Prince; and they asked me to adopt him because their Wise Woman recognized me as being the incarnation of their 'Beloved Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great'...

My little soul mate started to feel a bit frustrated, because he left the computer, climbed onto my lap, and melted away in my enveloping aura, as he always did when he needed my tender loving care or craved a cuddle. Happily, I folded my arms around his tiny frame and held him close to my chest, while very much 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 feel even happier! Tomorrow, I would take him to what he called his 'face clinic', where his surgeons would cultivate some healthy skin and transplant it onto his burnt face and body. For the time being, I had bought him a flexible rubber mask, to hide his 'freaky' face whenever he wanted to join us outside.

While my little soul mate snuggled up to my chest, he sighed:

"Dad? As soon as I have my new face, I want to go to school, because I don't want to feel stupid any more."

Feeling surprised about my boy's unusual pessimism, I responded:

"No, my dear son, you are not stupid! You only never learned to write those difficult words in our language, that's all."

"I know, Dad. While I lived with Jack, he always tutored me for a few hours a day. Sometimes, Jack called me his 'linguistic miracle', because I seem to have a knack for languages and pick up foreign words very fast; but Jack also told me I tend to write phonetici... err... as I speak the words or hear them in my mind. Even after two years of speaking your language, writing it is still difficult. Unfortunately, Jack died before he could teach me your complicated spelling rules..."

Still wanting to help my boy feel good, I proposed:

"Perhaps, John can help you, by teaching you our spelling rules and make you stop writing phonetically?"

"Then, John will be my tutor! Are you going to pay him for his work? I am sure he can use a larger allowance."

My chuckling little imp offered me a warm kiss and a broad smile, before he hopped off my lap and returned to the still waiting computer keyboard. For a few seconds, he again tried to type a difficult word.

Then, he beckoned John to come over and help him:

"Come on, John, let's start! First, teach me how to use those 'capitals' correctly."

Soon, both boys sat glued to the computer screen, while John showed his little brother how to start every new sentence with a capital, and how he should write 'boy' instead of 'boi' although both words were sounding the same. Feeling full of love and very happy with my two young friends, I went to our kitchen to brew a cup of coffee for myself, and fetch colas and cookies for my boys. After I returned, I sat down on my couch, sipped my coffee, nibbled on a cookie, and started to look back upon my life...

As a freelance psychotherapist, I had worked all my life with troubled children and their often desperate parents, until I retired and divorced. Having some money to spend, I bought this 'nice house with a surrounding garden' in this small village. Within three days, I had a badly burnt little Gypsy boy living in my house and befriended five young neighborhood children, including John. Two years before, as an agreement with CPS, John's parents had taken little Harry into their custody; but, in reality, he lived in Jack's house and had his own room here. Until two months ago, when Jack suddenly died; and little Harry had to share John's bedroom while Jack's house was put up for sale. Now, my boy lived again in this house, I had given him his own room back, and his own Gypsy people had allowed me to adopt him, to raise and educate him until he would be old enough to be their next Gypsy Leader and start reigning.

Suddenly, my little soul mate looked up from his keyboard and told me:

"Thank you very much, Dad, for letting John tutor me! Finally, I know how to use those capitals. In my own language, we never use any, as we always write everything down exactly as we speak it. Now, John and I want to stop and get some more colas and cookies."

Both boys left their computer and quickly disappeared into our kitchen, while teasingly bumping into each other on purpose. Soon, they reappeared, carrying a tray with another cup of coffee, two glasses of cola, and the refilled cookie jar. Sitting together on our couch, both boys leaned into me and very much enjoyed our close companionship, our drinks, and our tasty cookies. Sitting together like this, and feeling our mutual love radiating between us, felt wonderful, despite our obvious differences in age. A few seconds later, little Harry tilted his head as if he sensed something unexpected. As a little Shaman, he had sort of a 'sixth sense' that let him feel the preceding aura of any known visitor, at least ten seconds before they showed up at our door.

With a beaming face, my little Shaman announced:

"Here comes Davy!"

Happily, he slid off our couch and raced to our front door, to welcome our thirteen-year-old mutual friend; while I rose from my couch to greet my 'third son'. His extraordinary 'gift' was only one of my boy's many Shaman surprises. Sometimes, he picked up what we thought, and he could talk with our 'Beloved Ancestors' and 'Spirit Guides' from 'the beyond'... Soon, John and I heard him open our front door and enthusiastically greet Davy. My 'third son' had been abused by his own 'father' from his early youth; until, a year ago, his mother found out what was going on because Davy started to bleed from his anus. Now, his 'father' was in jail for a very long time, and Davy had adopted me as his 'new Dad', with the consent and happy blessings of Mary, his mother.

John went to our kitchen to fetch a third glass of cola, while Davy and little Harry entered our living room. Davy immediately stormed towards me and trustfully jumped up at me, to let me catch his rather heavy frame in midair. I could catch my enthusiastic third son just in time, while he threw his strong arms around my neck, attached himself against my chest, and offered me a big kiss on my bearded cheek.

Cuddling up to me, Davy told me with a happy voice:

"Hi Dad! Sorry that I am a bit early, but I felt bored... Do you have any plans for today? This morning, I woke up and thought... well, today is a beautiful day, and it looks like an excellent day to pay our ancestors a visit! Can we do that, please?"

"Hello son, hi to you too; and what do you mean by 'pay our ancestors a visit'?"

"Don't you know that our ancestors are the apes, where we human beings originate from? School should have taught you that! They live in a new zoo, about an hour drive from here; and I thought, if you didn't have any other plans for today... Could we go to that new zoo, please? I've already asked my Mom, and she agrees when you agree, but I have to be back home around nine o'clock this evening."

Stealthily, I thought that taking a 'day off' certainly sounded good! Especially after yesterday, when we had lived through our powerful emotions of meeting little Harry's own Gypsy people, and they allowed me to adopt their little Crown Prince as my own son...

Trying to tease my still over-enthusiastic 'third son', I asked him:

"What if they make a mistake and accidentally keep you in an ape cage, with your monkey looks?"

Chuckling at seeing my teasing face, Davy responded:

"Then, you better look out yourself, with your monkey beard! But, can we? Err... I mean, please Dad, may we go to that zoo and greet our ancestors?"

Chuckling at seeing Davy's pleading face and dark brown puppy doe eyes, I asked my other monkeys:

"John and Harry, what do you think? Shall we take the risk that this zoo accidentally puts our monkey in an ape cage?"

My little soul mate reacted very enthusiastic at the thought of going out for a whole day, almost losing his head in vigorously nodding 'yes'. Seeing him this happy, I thought this could be the first time my Gypsy boy visited such a zoo. Fortunately, he had his rubber mask to hide his burnt face, so that nobody around us would feel shocked or call him a 'freak' or an 'alien'.

John too started to look a bit naughty, while he chuckled:

"Dad, I hope they don't put YOU in their ape cage, thinking you are an escaped old beard-ape."

Still chuckling, John quickly dived away before I could grab him. Therefore, I first tickled Davy's ribs, in an effort to free myself from my limpet-monkey, who immediately started to squeal with joy and tried to tickle me back. Unfortunately, this triggered my other monkeys. Working together, they easily floored me and mercilessly started to tickle my ribs wherever they could find a sensitive spot.

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

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

Still chuckling, John responded:

"Then, we will ask Kees from The Netherlands to put diapers on you..."

"Stop NOW, or we aren't going ANYWHERE."

Immediately, all three boys pulled me upright and promised to be good boys for the rest of the day! Chuckling inwardly, I thought I had trained my three monkeys very well, in such a short amount of time. Or, was I now flattering myself? My three monkeys already raced to our kitchen, to prepare a wagonload of sandwiches; while I got my old cooler from our hallway closet, robbed our refrigerator, and put a pile of ice and lemonade cans into it. In the meantime, Davy boiled a couple of eggs, while John dissected half a head of lettuce and our little Gypsy Prince demonstrated another of his extraordinary gifts, by fetching some spicy plants from his herbs garden in our backyard. In his own Gypsy camp, he had been their little Chief Cook, because he always searched the surrounding woods for tasty plants or flowers, to spice their roasting meat. Today, my little cookie provided our sandwiches with exquisite flavors from his own herbs garden in our backyard. Next to being a Shaman, mind reader, and medium, he also was an amazing cook and an excellent chef!

When our sandwiches were ready, we packed them into a few plastic bags; and I put them into my cooler on top of the lemonade cans. Now, my boy took his rubber mask from its green model and made its inside sticky with some brown fluid from a bottle. Wearing his skin-colored mask, nobody would see his burnt face and make fun of him. He put the sticky mask onto his face and went to our mirror, where he rubbed his mask to all sides until it fit perfectly around his mouth, nose, and eyes. Suddenly, he looked just like every other eight-year-old boy, except for a couple of scars and colored stains on his unclad arms.

Helpfully, John snatched my wallet and my keys from my desk and put them in his own pockets, before we went outside and trotted to our car. John opened its doors and dived onto the front seat, while little Harry and Davy buckled up in the rear seat. I got my keys from John, gunned the engine; and we drove off, while Davy told me where I had to go to find his new zoo. Soon, John scanned our stereo for a cheerful song, found one on some regional radio station, and we all sang along with the happy music, now and then clapping our hands and stamping our feet while trying to raise the roof of our old car. It felt marvelous to have an unexpected day off; and I felt like a little boy myself, going out on an unexpected holiday.

For quite some time, we sang along with the songs from our car stereo, while John had fun searching for even more nice music. At last, my threesome started to get bored, until Davy told us a funny joke. From now on, my boys filled the rest of our driving time concocting all sorts of silly riddles, laughing and joking while trying to outdo each other. By listening to their happy bantering, I found out that Davy was our always-happy comedian, while John proposed lots of clever ideas, and my little soul mate came up with all sorts of funny remarks. Silently, I very much enjoyed the happy feeling of being the 'old Dad' of my three fine young men, while I listened to their antics and basked in our mutual love. In the meantime, I tried to keep my eyes on the road...

Chapter 2. Visiting a zoo and meeting our ancestors.

From time to time, Davy told me the way; until, after almost an hour of driving, a huge zoo showed up. My boys started to cheer, while I drove our car into the parking lot and joined the many already parked cars. Obviously, we weren't the only ones who thought this would be an excellent day to visit this new zoo... My boys left our car in a hurry and immediately raced towards the entrance, while I first locked our car doors before I followed them at a bit slower pace while chuckling at their eagerness. At the entrance, my three musketeers were already waiting for me to buy our tickets, but we first had to join one of the waiting lines. Slowly, step by step, we shuffled forward, until it finally was our turn to pay for being allowed to park our car in their lot and enter their zoo.

When we finally arrived at the front of our slowly moving line, I ordered four tickets and a parking coupon. The casher told me the price, and I put my hand into my pocket to get my wallet. Only, much to my surprise, my pocket turned out to be empty! Where the heck had I left my wallet? Had I been the victim of one of those light-fingered pickpockets the newspapers always warned us for? Or, had I forgotten to take my wallet with me, because I was only a 'forgetful old man'? I was sure I had seen it this morning, lying on my desk in our living room... Again, I searched my pockets, but to no avail. Feeling ashamed of my obvious forgetfulness, I turned around, to tell my impatiently waiting boys we had to go back home...

Then, I saw John, looking at me from a too innocent face but with little fun lights in his deep brown eyes. Now, I remembered that John had snatched my keys and my wallet from my desk, just before we left our house. The impish monkey! Again, he had me... When John saw that I remembered his misdeed, he offered me a broad smile from ear to ear. Then, he fished my wallet out of his own pocket, opened it, and paid for our tickets, while Davy and little Harry started to snicker and told each other 'funny' stories about a certain 'forgetful ancient grandpa'. Yeah, well, just wait until they are sixty-five-years old and forgetful! Then, it will be MY time to guffaw and snicker at them, supposed I am still alive and haven't forgotten their playful antics by then...

Immediately when John got our tickets, little Harry and Davy started to drag me towards the gate, where a gatekeeper already waited for us. The man smiled at my impatient threesome and teasingly slowly clipped our tickets, making John grumble aloud. Then, Davy and little Harry threatened to tickle-torture the chuckling man who tried to look impressed, while he smilingly handed our clipped tickets back to John. Finally, we could enter the new zoo and take a look at our 'ancestors'. My threesome already raced inside, in their eagerness nearly tripping over their own feet. Before I followed them, I first put our tickets and parking coupon away in my wallet and stuffed my wallet into my pocket, next to my keys. In the meantime, my three boys were already racing around in the crowded zoo, trying to look everywhere at the same time while beckoning each other to come over and look HERE!

Much to our delight, this new zoo turned out to be really nice-looking and animal-friendly. Everywhere, we saw happy looking animals behind nearly invisible bars, in huge water pools, in roomy cages, or walking around free. All the neatly maintained walkways were crowded with hundreds of enthusiastic children, and with their less enthusiastic parents who desperately tried to tame their little monkeys. Smiling at the funny sight, I waited until my monkeys had 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 enthusiastically beaming faces. Impatiently, they took my hands and started to drag me towards the next spectacle.

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

"May I please take a few pictures of you and your sons? Say 'cheese', please..."

Within a few hours, he would pin the developed and printed photos onto a board at the entrance, where we could buy them. The man started to take his pictures, but soon asked my boys to behave more naturally, without sticking out their tongues at his clicking camera... Only, my boys weren't impressed at all and again made silly faces towards the frustrated looking man, while John told him they were already behaving naturally and just wanted to go on!

The moment the photographer was ready, my happy threesome dragged me towards a huge building that, to their utmost delight, turned out to be the ape house! Cheering loudly, they left me and bolted through the double doors to have their first look at our 'ancestors'. I followed them at a bit slower pace into a dark and smelly hallway; where my boys already raced up to the first brightly illuminated cage, stopped, and stared at its inhabitants in obvious awe. All of us felt a bit entranced while looking at several huge and impressive gorillas, sitting on their straw-covered floor or slowly walking around. The sitting gorillas scratched their hairless behinds and stared back at us with bored faces.

"Are we looking at them, or are they looking at us?" Davy chuckled, while making silly faces at the bored looking apes.

"Of course, they are looking at you, wondering what kind of a monkey YOU are!" John snickered, while poking Davy's ribs.

"I am sure they recognize you. The resemblance is striking!" little Harry teased Davy, while poking his ribs from the other side.

Davy turned around and stormed towards little Harry, as if trying to catch him. However, our smallest monkey saw him coming and was already prepared for the attack. Quickly, he dived away into the crowd and ran towards me, with Davy on his heels.

Jumping up at me at full speed to let me catch his tiny frame in midair, he shouted:

"Dad, please help me, because monkey-ancestor Davy picks only on the smallest kid."

While I tried to loosen my boy's suffocating arms around my neck, I looked at Davy. My 'third son' showed me a smile from ear to ear on his beaming face, although he also seemed to expect me to tell him he shouldn't pick on the smallest kid any more...

Chuckling at seeing his happily sparkling eyes, I winked at my third son and told him:

"Please, Davy, be careful with our smallest monkey, because he is still such a baby."

"Dad, you are no fun!" my boy shouted with a frustrated sounding baritone voice.

With a surprising agility, he wrestled free from my arms and slid down onto the floor, immediately chased again by Davy. Two seconds later, they forgot their quarrel and again stared at the bored looking gorillas, with their arms around each other's shoulders like sworn brothers. This time, two smaller gorillas were chasing after each other, loudly screeching while trying to avoid bumping into the still bored looking others.

Chuckling at the funny sight, my boy's deep baritone voice told Davy:

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

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

Together, we raced towards the next cage; to find out what John thought could be funny. A mother ape tried to hold her small child in her extremely long arms, while rolling around in the straw. Every time her screeching child tried to escape, she pulled it close to her breasts again. Now and then, her little baby escaped and ran away; but it returned immediately to restart its game of being caught and trying to escape. Both playing apes were extremely ugly, at least to our prejudiced standards. Laughing at the funny sight, we never thought that monkeys could behave as certain human beings usually do...

While getting a naughty look in his eyes, John told us:

"Look, here are Big Harry and little Harry, romping together!"

For a split second, my little soul mate and I stared at each other... Then, we turned around at the same time and went after John! Of course, John saw us coming and easily escaped into the crowd, on his way sticking out his tongue, while Davy bellowed with laughter and refused to help us.

Faking an upcoming anger, I told my snickering young friend:

"As soon as we get home, we will tickle-torture you to death!"

Again sticking out his tongue, John retorted:

"You and Harry and who else's army of ugly monkeys?"

A few onlookers started to laugh, and my little soul mate and I couldn't keep straight faces either. Still chuckling while taking another look at our still playing 'ugly ancestors', we decided to go on.

Suddenly, Davy pointed to another cage and shouted:

"Look at THIS! Have you ever seen such beautiful buttocks?"

We joined Davy, and stared in surprise at a screeching bunch of smaller monkeys. All the female monkeys were showing off their violet and pink colored behinds that were heavily protruded and wrinkled. The male monkeys seemed to be attracted to the females with the hugest and most colorful protrusions, because they constantly ran after them to catch them. Both John and Davy started to roar with laughter, slapping their knees and nearly hiccupping with fun! They also turned around and showed their own behinds to the monkeys, who weren't interested at all. Only my little soul mate fell silent, while looking at the protruded female apes with saddening eyes...

Plucking at my arm, he asked me with concern in his voice:

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

Still chuckling at the funny sight, I explained that, this way, Mother Nature tries to make the female monkeys more attractive to the males. In some way, our own females are doing the same thing, by putting lipstick and rouge onto their faces to look more attractive to the men...

While shaking his head in disbelief, my boy chuckled:

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

At hearing my boy's indignant baritone voice, all of us started to bellow with laughter, while John and Davy fell down on the concrete floor and rolled around in the thick dust. My boy's witty remark was just too funny! Still laughing and snickering, we left our still chasing 'lipstick monkeys' and went on with our visit. Together, we went through another double door, and suddenly entered the zoo's reptile house.

Looking at an enormous anaconda in a huge glass cage, Davy chuckled:

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

All three boys tried to arouse the snake, by pounding its glass cage with their fists, but the animal didn't react. It just stared back at us with unblinking eyes, as if it felt extremely bored and couldn't care less...

After some more tries in vain, John shook his head and chuckled:

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

Soon, we left the motionless animal and 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. Impatiently, he left the snakes to us, raced towards the next door, and opened it...

With a surprised baritone voice, he shouted:

"Look at this. They have REAL alligators!"

All of us followed our little leader into the next reptile room, where we saw an enormous crocodile, lying 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 second, I thought about teaching my boys the differences between an alligator and a crocodile. Then, discarding the idea of trying to be a good parent, I decided to wait with my lectures until we returned home, or to leave their lessons to their schoolteachers once their vacation ended.

Yet, my boys seemed to be truly impressed, while Davy exclaimed:

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

Although my little soul mate shivered at the unwelcome thought, he cleverly kept his mouth shut until we left the crocodiles and went through the next door. All of a sudden, we stepped outside and squinted at the too bright sunlight...

For more than an hour, we continued our strolling through the huge zoological garden. We stared at all the different animals in their cages, in vain trying to get them react to us. We talked to the parrots, and a couple of them reacted and talked back to us. We visited a few smaller buildings, containing all kinds of small 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 take a rest and a drink...

Like magic, my three monkeys found the zoo's playground and enthusiastically dragged me towards it! A microsecond later, they had left me alone and disappeared into the loudly shouting crowd. Feeling tired, I sat down at a small table on a terrace with some nice shadow, called a waiter, and ordered a cup of coffee. Stealthily, I reached down under the table, untied my shoes, and kicked them off. That felt a lot better, sigh... Strangely, I already felt alone, although I was surrounded by an enormous crowd of playing and shouting kids. Now and then, one of my boys showed up amongst all the other kids, enthusiastically racing around while having lots of fun. All three boys 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, sipped my coffee, and looked around at the playing and shouting children around me, while I felt old. How long ago had I visited such a zoo and played around in it? I couldn't remember...

Half an hour later, John suddenly showed up, rubbing his belly while asking:

"Dad, could we please eat now? We are starved!"

I took our cooler from under my table and opened it; and, exactly at that moment, all three boys surrounded me like magic! Chuckling at seeing their hungry faces, I distributed our sandwiches and our cans of lemonade, and told them to sit down and enjoy our meal. Quickly, my boys sat down on hastily gathered chairs and started to chew and drink. Thirty seconds later, they were ready, and again disappeared into the yelling and shouting crowd. Chuckling at their obvious eagerness, I sipped the remainder of my coffee and started to nibble on the only remaining sandwich I had been able to rescue for myself. Now and then, one of my happy looking boys reappeared, to take a quick sip of lemonade before disappearing again.

One time, Davy hugged me and told me with a heated face and happily beaming eyes:

"Thank you very much, Dad, for taking me to this zoo. We are having lots of fun, and you are the best Dad in the whole world! I only wish you were my Dad for real, so that I could be with you and John and Harry all the time..."

Davy offered me a quick kiss, turned around, and again disappeared through the loudly shouting crowd towards the children's labyrinth. In a far distance, little Harry and John already waited for him; and I thought they could be playing 'hide and seek', the game they often played in and around our backyards at home. Soon, they disappeared into the small labyrinth, and I didn't see them back for a long time. After some time, I closed my eyes and slowly dozed off in the joyful sounds of happily playing children...

Chapter 3. My little soul mate vanishes into thin air.

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

Slowly, I woke up from some happy dream, rubbed my eyes, and squinted at the too bright sunlight that initially dazzled my vision. Where was I, in this over-crowded area full of laughing and shouting children's voices? Oh yeah, I remembered. My boys and I were visiting a new zoo, and I had wanted to take some rest and kicked my shoes off to feel more comfortable, before I drank my coffee and slowly dozed off. Still feeling sleepy, I looked up and stared at the worried faces of John and Davy. They were looking around anxiously, as if searching the playground for their disappeared little friend.

When they saw that I woke up and squinted at them, John explained:

"We were playing hide and seek in and around the children's labyrinth, until Harry suddenly disappeared and we cannot find him any more. Have you seen him here, or do you know where he is?"

"Well, let me think... Around half an hour ago, Harry showed up here, emptied his lemonade can, and disappeared again. Since then, I haven't seen him any more, and I don't know where he is now. Where did you see him the last time?"

"While we were playing hide and seek around the labyrinth, about fifteen minutes ago..."

Lazily, I stretched my stiffening old muscles, before I ducked under the table and put on my shoes. Then, grunting with the effort, I rose from my chair and followed John and Davy through the crowded playground towards the labyrinth. For now, I didn't feel too worried about my little soul mate not showing up, because nothing serious could have happened to my boy, here in the safety of this over-crowded zoo. Besides, my little Shaman had already proven to be mature enough to be able to fend for himself, if necessary. In his own Gypsy clan, he was their youngest 'recognized Real Trapper', and their Wise Woman had allowed him to stroll through their dense forest all on his own, without ever getting lost! He once told me he only had to concentrate on where he wanted to be, and to follow its energy that pulled at his aura. Beyond any doubt, his Real Trapper abilities would flawlessly bring him back to us in no time... Then, John and Davy dragged me towards the small children's labyrinth that was located at the back of the zoo's playground.

First, John stopped next to a big tree and explained:

"Behind this tree, I closed my eyes and counted to twenty, while Davy and Harry ran away to hide. First, I tagged Davy who hid behind that big tree over there; but I couldn't find Harry. Then, Davy started to help me because he hadn't seen where Harry went, but he too couldn't find him. Together, we looked in all our usual hiding places and yelled for Harry to show up because he had won, but he didn't answer and seemed to have vanished into thin air. At last, we gave up and decided to ask you for help..."

Both boys dragged me towards the small children's labyrinth, where they ducked under a low wooden bar to get in. Slowly, I followed them, crawling on my hands and knees while complaining about my old joints that started to protest. Of course, John and Davy already knew the way out, and they dragged me through the meandering labyrinth towards its cleverly hidden exit. On our way, they again looked into all the blind paths and yelled our little deserter's name everywhere, trying to shout beyond the noisy playground sounds. Everywhere, we saw lots of other children, happily playing around or chasing after each other through the labyrinth, but not OUR boy.

At the back of the small labyrinth, we entered an oblong square that was surrounded by heavily overgrown fences. Well, this square certainly didn't allow any hiding, being at the back border of the zoo and showing only one iron gate that was secured with a huge padlock... Yet, we tried to peek through the abundantly growing vegetation into its secluded yard. However, the only thing we saw was a tiny storage barn, at a small distance from the locked gate, with its door closed. Little Harry couldn't possibly be hiding here, because the gate was padlocked, so we turned around and went back to the playground.

This time, I started to feel a little bit worried. This wasn't my boy's normal behavior! Up to now, he never had disappeared like this before. Could he be trying to tease us, by cleverly hiding in some thick bush and waiting for us to give up so he could show up in triumph? John once told me that his little brother was extremely good at hiding, due to his Gypsy nature and growing up in the woods while hunting animals. Could he be staring at us, at this very moment, chuckling inwardly while waiting for us to give up and break into tears? Only, I just 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. Therefore, I could come up with only one logical conclusion: something unexpected had happened to our suddenly disappeared boy! Could he be trapped somewhere, unable to free himself and waiting for his friends to rescue him? Or, had he gotten lost while looking for another hiding place, despite his brightness and his amazing Real Trapper skills? Ultimately, he was only eight years old and still a bit too small for his age...

Feeling more and more worried; I turned towards John and Davy and asked them:

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

Quickly, John and Davy took me across the crowded playground towards what turned out to be a small children's restroom. Inside the smelly building, I opened all its 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.

After leaving the foul-smelling restroom, I asked John and Davy:

"Boys, do you have ANY idea where Harry could be now?"

Davy looked back at me with sad eyes and only shook his head; but John stared at me as if he thought I could be the dumbest human being on the planet. Of course, if he had only the faintest idea where little Harry could be now; he would have looked in that place at least a century ago! Together, we returned to my table, where we tried to decide what we should do now. Firstly, from this moment on, at least one of us had to stay here all the time, in case little Harry unexpectedly showed up. What other options did we have? John thought I could best go to the zoo's office and ask their security guards to help us find our lost boy. Of course, Davy and I immediately agreed. This certainly was the best thing we could think of for now. The zoo's own security guards would undoubtedly know where to look for any lost children, being familiar with every nook and cranny of their zoo and its surroundings.

I thanked John for his clever idea and rose from my chair, but first told both boys:

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

Looking affronted and a little bit angry, John curtly rebutted:

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

"Yeah, well... Harry too is a clever boy, but where is he now?"

Despite my growing sense of despair, I chuckled at seeing John's still indignant face. Of course, I could always trust my mature and reliable young friend, and I was sure that Davy would stay at his side. After promising both boys to be back as soon as possible, I walked away and headed for where I thought I could find the ape house and the zoo's entrance, hoping its office would be there too, as the most likely place that I could think of. Besides, of course, I would soon stumble upon one of the many security guards my boys and I had seen during the day! Only, much to my dismay, within a minute, I was totally lost and looked around in despair, because I didn't recognize anything any more. Suddenly, all those overgrown walkways were looking exactly the same, meandering around and spreading out into all different directions. Very obviously, I absolutely lacked any sense of my boy's Real Trapper gift of always knowing his way! What should I do now? From where I was now, I couldn't even find my way back to the playground were John and Davy waited for me...

Feeling more and more uneasy, I again started to look around for one of the many security guards. Only, where were they, now that I needed their help to find the zoo's office? Were they all taking their coffee breaks at the same time? What should I do now? Desperately, I tried to remember my own past life as a powerful Shaman, but I was too nervous to remember anything at all. How would my own little Shaman do that, always finding his way by just concentrating on where he wanted to be? Hesitantly, I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the zoo's entrance. After nothing happened, I tried to force my enveloping aura to stretch out and contact the zoo's office... but the only thing that happened now was an upcoming headache. This clearly did not work!

Would I be able to orient myself by looking at where my shadow pointed to the ground, and trying to keep the sun to the same side? Only, because all those overgrown walkways were twisting and meandering, their heavy vegetation obscured the sunlight nearly everywhere... Then, much to my delight, I suddenly saw the ape house tower, showing up in a distance! Well, the ape house had been near the entrance where I supposed the zoo's office would be! Feeling relieved, I started to walk towards the again disappearing tower, while trying to remember its direction. Without looking where I went, I rounded the next corner, while craning my neck to see the ape house tower again... OUCH! Because I didn't look out where I went, I suddenly collided with some bright yellow signpost that stood in my way. Much to my surprise, I now saw that it carried several colored arrows that pointed to the entrance, the restaurant, the nearest restroom, the snack bar, the playground, and the zoo's office. I also saw that the zoo had placed many more of these helpful signposts, on nearly every crossing! Now really feeling like an old and absent-minded grandpa, I started to follow the colored arrows that pointed towards the office. Within a minute, I arrived at a brick building with the word 'OFFICE' over its entrance, and stepped inside with mixed feelings. Would really somebody inside this zoo's office be able to help me find my missing little soul mate? Hesitantly, I went to a small counter that carried the word 'information'.

A smiling woman showed up from its other side and politely greeted me:

"Good afternoon sir! How may I help you?"

Inwardly hoping for the best, I told the still smiling woman:

"My three boys were playing hide and seek around the playground's labyrinth, until my youngest boy suddenly disappeared. Since then, we have looked for him everywhere, even in the children's restroom, but he seems to have vanished into thin air. My two older boys are waiting at our table on the playground's terrace, still hoping their little brother will show up while I am here to ask for help..."

Smiling professionally, the woman reassured me:

"Don't worry, sir, this happens all the time. Please, could you describe your youngest boy, and what is his name? As soon as I've informed our security guards on duty, they will start looking for your lost boy, and you will have him back in no time."

I tried to describe little Harry for as far as I could, although I wasn't sure about the clothes he was wearing:

"Harry is an eight-year-old small boy with unruly blond hair, bright blue eyes, slightly stuffed cheeks, and a funny pug nose. I think he dressed this morning in a yellow T-shirt, blue denim pants, and white or grayish sneakers, but I am not sure. Besides, my boy has a severely burnt face and therefore wears a rubber mask to hide his scars, so that only a few colored fire marks on his unclad arms will be visible. And, I think that by now a couple of pictures will be pinned onto the photographer's board near the entrance."

Immediately, the woman took her mobile phone and called several security officers. She described little Harry, told them about our pictures on their photographer's pin board, and asked them to report to the playground's terrace where his Dad and two older brothers would be waiting.

After ending her calls, the no longer smiling woman told me:

"This is all I can do for your lost boy, sir. From now on, every security guard in our zoo will be looking for him. In no time, you will have him back in good health! Please, return to the playground's terrace and wait there until one of our guards shows up..."

Although I thanked the woman for her help, my inside felt even more worried than before. Would really the zoo's security guards be able to find my lost boy? Why hadn't my little soul mate found us on his own, by using his outstanding Real Trapper abilities? He once told me he only had to 'tune in' into some known place to be able to walk towards it in a beeline. Why hadn't my boy 'tuned in' into our own small table at the playground's terrace; that is IF he got lost and couldn't find his way back to us? To me, it was now clear that something else had happened to my suddenly lost boy, which prevented him from showing up at our table or contacting one of the many security guards...

Suddenly, another disturbing thought crossed my mind, making me shudder with its implications. What if someone else knew that my little soul mate was a Gypsy Crown Prince, and had decided to kidnap him? Perhaps, they had the wrong idea about Royal Gypsies being rich, and wanted a ransom? Or, what if somebody loathed little Gypsy boys and had decided to abduct one? Although I was sure that my proud Gypsy boy would fight himself to death instead of surrendering, he was only eight years old. Could the same people that once set their caravan ablaze, around two years ago, have arrived here to finish their job? The police never found them... Only, how would any stranger know we were here today, in this particular zoo? Had they followed us towards here?

After leaving the zoo's office, I first waited until my eyes got used to the suddenly dazzling sunlight. Then, I started to follow the colored arrows that conveniently lead me back to the playground and my waiting boys. Within three minutes, I entered the playground's terrace, while secretly hoping to see my little soul mate running towards me... Alas, only a worried looking John greeted me, while I slumped down at my small table and hid my head in my hands, trying to hide my concern and my suddenly welling tears from my young friend.

While trying to hide his own tears, John asked me:

"Hi Dad... Are the zoo's security guards now looking for Harry? I hope they will find him and bring him back soon. While you were away, Davy and I have taken turns searching, so that always one of us was here in case Harry suddenly showed up."

Clever boys they were! I complimented John with is inventiveness, while I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and dried his and my tears. Then, I told John about my visit to the office, and assured him that every security guard in the zoo would be looking for our lost little friend. Soon, we would have him back, happy and healthy... Then, Davy showed up, still looking disappointed.

With a very sad voice, my third son explained:

"Hi Dad... I've again looked everywhere, but I still cannot find Harry."

Still looking at his feet, Davy climbed onto my lap, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding crowd, and started to cry. Trying to comfort my third son, I dried his eyes for him and held him very close to my chest, while John leaned into me from the other side. In no time, my handkerchief was soaking wet, because it now served all three of us. Why hadn't I thought of bringing a few packets of tissues? Yet, it felt good to support and comfort each other like this. I only wished that my little soul mate could be here to join our shared cuddle...

Chapter 4. The zoo's security guards, and the police.

After some time, a uniformed man entered our terrace, wearing a clearly visible 'security' badge and looking around at the chattering customers, until he saw my sad looking boys and me and quickly approached our table.

With very much compassion in his voice, he asked us:

"I suppose you are the lost little boy's family, and your boy hasn't shown up yet? We are still looking for him... In the meantime, could you please tell me some more about how he suddenly disappeared?"

With again welling tears in his eyes, John told the guard what had happened, now and then filled in by Davy:

After trying out the playground's facilities and having very much fun, they started to play their usual games of 'hide and seek' around the small labyrinth. For quite some time, they had fun finding more and more good hiding places, until it was John's turn to tag his friends. Soon, John tagged Davy who cleverly hid behind a big tree, but he couldn't find Harry. Because Davy hadn't seen where Harry went, he started to help John. Together, they looked again in all their known hiding places, until they had searched every nook and cranny at least three times. Now, they gave up and walked around the labyrinth while shouting Harry's name and telling him to show up in triumph. However, when Harry didn't show up, they started to feel worried and went to Dad for help...

The security guard thanked John and Davy for their detailed description, took his mobile phone, and asked their headquarters for any news about the lost little boy. After listening to their answer, he seemed to feel disappointed...

Then, he tousled John's and Davy's hair while telling them:

"Don't worry too much, because I am sure your little brother will show up soon. I think he just went too far away and couldn't find his way back, because that happens here all the time. In the meantime, all our security guards are still looking for him. Please, don't leave this terrace without informing us first, even if your lost boy suddenly shows up and you want to go home."

Of course, we promised the security guard to keep him informed in case Harry unexpectedly showed up and we wanted to go home. He promised to keep us informed, and walked away to have another look at the playground, while talking into his mobile phone... At seeing him using his mobile phone, I suddenly cursed myself for being too shortsighted! Although I had thought about buying a cell phone for myself, I had discarded the idea. Why should I buy such a modern thing? At home, I had my telephone, and my answering machine would answer any unexpected calls in case I was away, unless I forgot to switch it on. Now, I wished that my boys and I had our own cell phones, so that we could call each other in case something unexpected happened. I was now responsible for at least three growing boys, and I had to live up to that standard! Feeling angry with myself, I made a mental note to buy a few cell phones immediately after we had little Harry back and returned home. Then, each of us would have our own phones, to carry with us all the time. That way, nobody would ever again get lost without the possibility of letting the others know what had happened. Why hadn't I thought of this before? Today, I started to feel the full weight of my grownup responsibilities resting on my shoulders, and the heavy burden almost crushed me!

John and Davy still fidgeted around our table, until John wheedled:

"Dad, Davy and I want to start searching for Harry again. We simply cannot sit still and wait, while my little brother might be in trouble. Of course, we will return here and report to you at least every few minutes..."

Because I didn't want to lose my two remaining boys as well, I answered:

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

Looking offended, John immediately responded:

"DAAAD! You seem to forget that Davy and I are already thirteen years old and very mature for our age! Of course, getting lost in this secluded zoo is totally impossible for us, especially with all those searching security guards around us."

"Yeah, well, Harry is very mature for his age too, but where is he now? Besides, did you see these yellow signposts at nearly every corner? Please, don't forget to use them if needed, as they also point to this playground...."

This time, they only stared me down, with indignant faces. Again, I had forgotten they were big boys and not little babies. Of course, they had seen and used those yellow signposts at least a century ago. Never underestimate youth! After offering me a quick hug and a kiss, they turned around and immediately disappeared into the crowd... Again feeling abandoned, I slumped back on my chair with a sad feeling. Would really John and Davy be able to find their little brother, while even the zoo's trained security guards seemed to fail? Where could my little soul mate be now? What could have happened to my boy while playing hide and seek around the labyrinth? Had he really lost his way, despite his outstanding Shaman abilities and Real Trapper gifts? Or, had really some kidnapper abducted him, knowing I had some money to spend and hoping to get a good ransom? What else could have happened to my boy? I was sure he would fight any attackers with all of his might; screaming at the top of his lungs and raising hell and the devil, whilst kicking and punching his assailants wherever he could! With his enormous amount of Inner Power and Royal pride, he would never surrender, unless they had surprised him and immediately gagged him... Or, had he bumped his head against something unexpected and lost consciousness with a concussion? Only, why hadn't one of the zoo's many security guards found him and brought him to me? I thought and thought, but nothing seemed to make sense.

Suddenly, a strange idea popped up in my mind that made me wonder... As a reincarnated Shaman, would I be able to send a message to my boy, perhaps by concentrating on his aura and sending him my Love? I already knew he could pick up my thoughts effortlessly, by concentrating on me and reading my mind. On the other hand, I knew that most sensitive people tend to protect their vulnerable auras against any 'energy intruders'. Would my little soul mate recognize my personal energy and be open to what I wanted to tell him? As a psychotherapist, if one of my clients felt uneasy, I always concentrated on their auras and sent them my Universal Love, to help them calm down and feel more at ease. Although I didn't understand why it worked, sending them my Love always helped. Perhaps, I would be able to contact my little soul mate by using my Universal Love?

To try it out, I sank back on my chair, closed my eyes, and visualized my little soul mate in front of me. Next, I opened my Inner Self towards my boy and concentrated on his feelings... Immediately, a huge wave of panic and distress overwhelmed me! Feeling shocked, I quickly opened my eyes. Had I really contacted my little soul mate's feelings, or had I intensified my own despair? I wasn't sure, but at least something unusual had happened! What would happen if I did the same thing again, but without opening my aura and making myself too vulnerable? Would I be able to look at my boy's energy field from within a guided meditation or through an induced daydream? Although I didn't know where these unusual thoughts came from, they sounded reasonable...

Again, I closed my eyes; but, this time, I drifted off into a controlled trance, as I had done many times before. Next, I drifted into a guided daydream, and tried to 'remember' what could have happened to my little soul mate. This way, I could look at my boy from a distance, without getting involved. Feeling fascinated, I suddenly stared at my little soul mate who was playing 'hide and seek' around the labyrinth, while looking for an appropriate place to hide. At the backside of the labyrinth, he entered a small oblong square surrounded by overgrown fences. This square didn't seem to be a proper place to hide, but what secrets could be hidden behind the fences? Feeling curious, he peeked through the dense vegetation and saw a small barn with an open door. What would be in that open barn? After some searching, he found a tiny gap in the fence where its iron netting had rusted away. Being only a little boy, he worked his lithe body through the gap and tiptoed towards the open door. Inside the mysterious barn, he saw a huge pile of food bags. What would be in those bags, and what animals would eat this particular food? Curiously, he stepped through the open door and tried to read the labels... Suddenly, the door shut with a loud click. Everything inside the barn went pitch dark, and my boy seemed to be trapped and unable to free himself!

Hurriedly, I woke up from my controlled daydream, because my brain nearly started to panic. My lungs were wheezing like an overworked horse, and my overstrained heart tried to pound out of my throat. Could this be for real? Was this what had happened to my little soul mate? Was my boy trapped in a barn behind some overgrown fence; and was that why even the zoo's trained security guards couldn't find him? I was sure I had seen such a barn behind a fence in an oblong square, with its door closed... Unfortunately, I couldn't leave my table to take a look at that barn, because John and Davy expected me to be here when they returned from their quest. I also had to stay here in case my little soul mate showed up unexpectedly...

Suddenly, I started to laugh at my own silly expectations. Everybody knows that daydreams are only a product of your own imagination, and nothing more! Of course, my daydream had shown me only some recent pictures from my own memories, as dreams always do. Besides, by now, all the zoo's security guards would have looked in all their hidden barns and behind all their overgrown fences! There was no way they wouldn't have found the lost boy, if he had been trapped in some barn and couldn't free himself. Of course, he also would have screamed at the top of his lungs and pounded the closed door with all of his might, until finally somebody heard him and freed him... Still trying to get rid of my lingering feelings of panic, I asked a passing waiter to bring me a glass of water and another cup of coffee. All the time, the panicking face of my little soul mate continued to waver in front of me, looking at me with fear and desperation in his bright blue eyes. Could this be genuine, and was really my boy thinking of me in desperation? Well, even if he was desperate, this fact proved he was still alive and kicking! I also thought of Jack, our 'Spirit Guide', who had promised to always be there for us and help us when and wherever he could. Only, where was Jack now that we really needed him? Why didn't Jack help me find my boy, by pulling me into his 'induced trance' and showing me where I could find him? I tried to call Jack in my mind, but my inside felt too nervous to hear any faint answers...

Time went by; while slowly, nearly imperceptibly, the afternoon sun started to disappear below the horizon. Most visitors had already left the playground, and the last ones were packing their belongings and gathering their little monkeys, to leave and go home. Both John and Davy were dead tired from all their searching, and had slumped down at our table, while still looking around with sad faces. Now and then, one of the security guards showed up, hoping WE would have any news about our lost little boy. Every time, they told us they were still looking everywhere; but, so far, they hadn't been able to find him.

At last, only my boys and I stubbornly stayed in what now felt like a totally deserted zoo. Again, one of the security guards showed up, this time to tell us they had done everything that they could. Probably, our lost boy had already left the zoo! Therefore, he advised us to ask their local police for help, as the zoo would close within ten minutes. He would ask night security to keep an open eye, IF our lost boy would happen to show up during the night. He was very sorry and felt very much sympathy for us, but this was all the zoo could do. It was now up to the local police to take over and find our lost boy...

This time, I was on the verge of both crying and throwing an enormous tantrum! How in the world could the zoo's security guards send me home, just like that, without first bringing my boy back to me? I didn't WANT to leave this zoo without my little soul mate at my side! Would he still wear his rubber mask that would feel very sweaty and itchy by now? Feeling more and more devastated, I forced myself to stop despairing and start thinking logical. Perhaps, the REAL police would be able to find my lost boy, where the zoo had failed... Reluctantly, my remaining boys and I left the playground and followed the officer towards the zoo's entrance. Leaving like this felt like saying farewell to my little soul mate, as if we were abandoning our dearest friend...

Up to the last moment, we hoped to see my boy storming towards us, shouting:

"Dad and John and Davy, wait for me!"

Alas, my boy didn't show up at the last moment, to jump into my arms and smother my face with kisses. Would he still be alive, or had some filthy child molester murdered him and dumped his dead body in a trashcan? At that thought, a hot rage welled up in my chest, as if I was ready to fight all those cruel security guards who dared send us away like this! Involuntarily, I growled and balled my fists... Fortunately, John sensed my rage, because he looked at me with very much concern; and that calmed me down. Of course, I had to stay in control of my own feelings, because I was still responsible for two other boys who needed me! While quickly taking a couple of deep breaths, I forced myself to shut down my feelings and to think reasonably.

The security guard waited politely until we had left his zoo. Then, he closed its iron gate and secured it with a huge padlock. He turned around and slowly sauntered back, probably towards his office to get some coffee. HIS case was dismissed... Unwillingly, my two boys and I sauntered to our car, the only one that was still in the empty parking lot. Secretly, I hoped that my boy would wait for us in our car. I even thought I saw his shadow, jumping up and down while impatiently waving at us... Alas, my boy wasn't there, and I saw only a shadow from a nearby tree. Feeling very sad, I worked my keys out of my pocket and unlocked our car doors. My remaining boys and I entered our car in silence and buckled up, still looking around and hoping to see their little brother. I started the engine, stared at the zoo one last time, and slowly drove off towards the local police station, to report our missing boy...

Fortunately, the security guard had told me where we could find the local police station. After I parked our car in its small parking lot, we crossed the road and entered the dull looking building. Inside, two police officers stared at us with bored faces while telling us to sit down and wait for our turn. Clearly, we weren't the only ones who had lost something! They offered me a cup of coffee, and both nervous boys got a glass of cola, while we impatiently waited... Finally, after nearly half an hour of waiting, another door suddenly opened and a woman left the police station in a hurry. One of the still bored looking 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, take a seat; and how may I help you?"

Still feeling very sad, I explained how we had lost our youngest boy in the zoo's playground, and even the zoo's security guards could find him any more. At that moment, I nearly choked up from sheer sadness and almost couldn't talk any more. Fortunately, both John and Davy jumped in. Filling in each other, they continued to tell the police officer their part of our sad story.

After I calmed down, I had to answer several annoying questions like:

Was this the first time the little boy suddenly disappeared?

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

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

Could he have done something naughty, and was he now afraid of a punishment?

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

Could somebody else have taken our boy home, perhaps without our consent?

Had our boy ever contacted any unknown people, perhaps through the Internet?

Had he ever talked about wanting to kill himself, or about wanting to live elsewhere?

The officer wrote our answers down, asked for our address and phone number; and did we have any pictures of our lost boy? Fortunately, I still had a picture in my wallet, taken by Peter after my happy looking boy got his rubber mask and proudly showed it off. Next, I had to sign a couple of papers, and the officer promised to call us as soon as he had any news. From now on, all their officers on duty would look out for our lost boy. For now, he advised us to go home, stop worrying, and wait for the next day before we started searching again. Most lost children showed up at home within twenty-four hours after they disappeared, mostly voluntarily and unharmed! Did the lost boy know our telephone number by heart? Of course, he did!

Then, our time was up. Another officer walked us to the door, and we shook hands. Feeling numb, we left the police station and returned to our car. I unlocked its doors, we buckled up, and I drove off. Again, we were on our way home, still feeling sadder than ever...

=> To get the printed book, click on http://www.gypsyseries.com/e-discount/ <=

Chapter 5. John feels Harry's energy; he is still alive.

On our way home, my two boys and I were deep in thought, still thinking about our disappeared little friend. What had really happened to our lost little Shaman, in the relative safety of the secluded zoo? Was he dead, or had somebody kidnapped him? Where could he be now? Would we ever see him again, or would we have to pay a ransom first? Of course, I would gladly pay anything to anybody, to have my little soul mate back alive and in good health! Repeatedly, I told myself to stay calm and keep my eyes on the road, to avoid drifting to the wrong side and ending up in a hospital. Behind me, in the backseat, John and Davy leaned into each other, staring out the windows, now and then sobbing while trying to comfort each other. From time to time, my empty stomach rumbled, telling me I hadn't eaten anything since noon. Only, how would my boys and I ever be able to eat, knowing that our smallest friend could be hungry or worse?

Halfway through our way home, I saw a small restaurant along the side of the road and decided to stop. Of course, my two remaining monkeys in the backseat were still bottomless pits that needed to be fed from time to time, and I was still responsible for their well-being! Therefore, I just turned our car into its small parking lot and stopped. Without saying a word, I left my seat and went inside the building. At this time in the evening, 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. Patiently, I waited until our burgers were ready and I could take our food and drinks to our car. John and Davy started to cheer and rub their empty stomachs, when they saw that I had something to eat! Then, they fell silent again, suddenly looking ashamed... How could they ever be hungry while our little Gypsy friend could be starved?

Looking at their again saddening faces, I tried to cheer them up:

"Boys, we really have to eat something substantial, to be strong and healthy when Harry returns home. I am sure it will do both him and us no good to see us wasted and meager when he shows up again in good health..."

After some thinking, John hesitantly responded:

"Dad, I think you are right, and I really feel starved! Come on, Davy, let's attack those burgers."

Both boys immediately started to stow away their burgers at lightning speed, as usual. However, halfway through wolfing down their food, they suddenly looked at each other and shook their heads. Looking deeply ashamed, they opened the doors, left our car, and threw the remainders of their burgers into a nearby waste bucket.

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

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

John sadly nodded in agreement, and both boys started to stare out the windows again. Hesitantly, I took a few bites of my own burger, but my boys were right. The food tasted like cardboard, and I too went outside and threw it into a waste bucket. After drinking our colas and adding the empty cans to the bucket, I restarted the engine and drove off. Again, we were on our way home...

Half an hour later, I parked our vehicle in our driveway and stopped its engine. Immediately, John snatched my keys out of my hand, bolted out of our car, and raced towards our front door, where he opened the door in a tremendous hurry and disappeared inside. Davy and I followed him into our living room, where John quickly checked our answering machine. Alas, the red light didn't blink, indicating nobody had called in our absence. John even checked our phone line; to be sure everything was working correctly. then, because it was past nine o'clock, Davy had to go home. He asked us to walk him home, but John and I shook our heads. We wanted to stay next to our telephone, in case any police officers or the zoo's security guards phoned us about our lost boy...

Fortunately, Davy understood, and only asked me:

"May I please come back tomorrow early in the morning, to hear any news about Harry?"

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

This time, nobody laughed about our so-called 'beauty' or made any funny remarks. Davy just hugged John, offered me a big kiss, and went home with a sad face and again teary eyes; while John and I slumped down on our couch and put our arms around each other. Within a few seconds, we started to sob together, to release our built-up tension and cumulated sadness.

From my memories, I heard the consoling voice of my little soul mate whisper into our ears:

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

Nearly hiccupping from the intense pain in my heart, I started to cry uncontrollably. Would I ever hear my boy's deep baritone voice again? Would he ever again crawl onto my lap, to wipe my teary eyes and let me blow my nose? I already missed him! I already missed my little soul mate terribly! Where was he now? Was he asleep, or was he still awake and feeling just as sad as John and I were? For a long time, John and I tried to support each other. Now and then, we wiped each other's teary eyes, or we blew our dripping noses in the 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. Again, we could feel our mutual love radiating between us, since today growing even more, by leaps and bounds.

At last, we calmed down and started to guess what could have happened to our youngest 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, perhaps by going too far away? John was absolutely sure this was impossible, as his little brother knew his way around always and everywhere. He had an infallible 'sixth sense' for knowing where he had to go, and had demonstrated his Real Trapper abilities many times before! Or, had he bumped his head against something unexpected and perhaps lost consciousness? Only, why hadn't the zoo's security guards found him, although they assured us they had searched every nook and cranny in and around their zoo? Would our boy still wear his rubber mask to hide his scars? It always started to itch terribly after a couple of hours...

Slowly, John's voice faded away, while I drifted into slumber. Feeling dead tired from my unaccustomed emotions, I just couldn't keep my eyes open any more. Soon, an unearthly bright light started to surround me, while powerful waves of Cosmic Love started to engulf my tired body. My sorrows seemed to fade into oblivion, and I started to feel like being reborn. Silently, I thanked Jack for helping me with his waves of Pure Love, while basking in the wonderful and consoling feeling of being loved and cared for... Until John's voice brutally jolted me out of Jack's induced trance, making my shocked heart almost stop beating! For a couple of seconds, I had no idea where I was or what could be happening, while John tried to wake me by forcefully shaking my arm...

With very much relief in his voice, my young friend told me:

"Dad? I am sure that Harry is still alive and kicking, because I can feel his energy! ...Dad? Are you listening?"

Feeling numb and sleep-charged, I woke up some more and mumbled:

"Sorry, John, for falling asleep; and your sudden voice almost caused me to have a heart attack... Are you really sure that Harry is still alive and kicking? How did you feel Harry's energy? Has Jack helped you?"

With a still happy sounding voice, John explained:

"No, I haven't felt Jack around for quite some time, and I am still angry with my 'real Dad' for not showing up now that we need him. But, I closed my eyes and tried to talk to Harry in my mind. Suddenly, I could feel his energy, but he seems to be asleep. I also sensed a dark room around him, but I don't know where that dark room is. Harry cried a lot and feels dead tired, but he IS alive!"

"Are you sure you really felt Harry's energy, or is your wishful mind playing tricks with your perception?"

"I am absolutely sure, Dad! I know how Harry feels from when he talks to me in my mind, and it IS his energy. Now and then, I can talk back to him, but it normally only works when we are thinking of the same things."

There was the unexpected confirmation I had been looking for! Although I still didn't know how they did it, my boys WERE talking to each other in their minds! I had always suspected they could be doing such things, but hadn't been sure until now...

While putting the newest information away for later use, I asked John:

"John, do you have any idea where your 'real Dad' can be, now that we need his help to find Harry? As our Spirit Guide, Jack once promised he would always be around us and help us with everything whenever possible; but where is he now..."

At that same moment, I heard Jack's warm and soulful voice in my inside, sounding loud and clear. This time, even my meddlesome analytical brain was convinced that I hadn't made up this voice in my mind!

Jack's warm voice seemed to sound a bit tired, while he told me:

"Please, don't worry any more and go to bed, because you will need your rest!"

With a very surprised face, John stared at me while he exclaimed:

"Did you hear that, Dad? Jack tells us not to worry any more and go to bed because we will need our rest! Yippee, my real Dad is still around us and he didn't forget me!"

Looking elated, John worked himself back into my arms and happily snuggled up to me. In the meantime, my analytical mind was going through a heavy turmoil; because, from now on, it could never again deny Jack's existence, as John had heard exactly those same words! Therefore, our 'Spirit Guide' really was around us, and I really could hear his messages from 'the beyond' in my inside! Finally, I had some undeniable proof that Jack really was our 'Spirit Guide', because he had contacted both John and me at the same time! Only, why hadn't Jack helped us find our lost little Gypsy friend? Couldn't we really rely on our 'Spirit Helper'? Or, had Jack lost little Harry too and didn't he know where my boy was? Would that be possible, for a 'spirit', to lose somebody and be unable to find him or her?

Although I wanted to know a lot more about this phenomenon, I decided to do what Jack had advised and go to bed early. Both John and I were dead tired from our turbulent emotions, and we absolutely needed our beauty sleep! Tomorrow, we had to be 'bright and shining', to wait for Davy who would show up early, and immediately resume our desperate search for our lost boy...

Turning towards my young friend in my arms, I told him:

"John? Let's do want Jack advises and go to bed immediately. Okay?

While showing me his best puppy doe eyes, John wheedled:

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

For a second, I again was afraid of what our 'Big Brother' society might think of me... Then, I decided to stop worrying and, from now on, just be there for my young friends, always and everywhere. From this moment on, I would never again deny any of my boys the safety and togetherness they so obviously craved! Our meddlesome society could... well, you know what I mean. Besides, I too missed my little soul mate terribly, and I too was afraid of feeling lost and lonely without having my little 'octopus' glued to my chest! Probably, I would need John's togetherness at least as much as he needed mine... Therefore, I nodded my consent, and we went upstairs immediately. John followed me into my bedroom, dived under the blankets, and I crawled next to him. He glued himself against my left side, we wished each other goodnight, and we closed our eyes and tried to get some beauty sleep. Fortunately, both John and I fell asleep almost immediately.

Halfway through the night, John's worried sounding voice suddenly urged me:

"Please, Dad, WAKE UP! Our telephone rings and you have to answer it!"

Although I woke up in sudden shock, I just couldn't understand what all the tumult was about. Next to me, John still shook my shoulders to wake me up. When that didn't help, he even tried to push me out of bed! Still feeling sleep charged and dizzy, I glared at John's worried face. Why should I leave our cozy bed this early? I wanted to get some more beauty sleep first...

Slowly, I wrestled upright and squinted at my worried looking young friend, while I groaned:

"Wassup? What are you doing in the middle of the night, and what time is it?"

"It's four o'clock, but our telephone rings! Come on, Dad, you have to answer it. It could be news about Harry!"

At that same moment, our telephone downstairs started to ring again. Immediately, I was in a tremendous hurry and jumped out of bed. For a few seconds, I had to hold onto a chair until my dizziness faded away and I could stay upright without swaying too much. In the meantime, our telephone had stopped; but soon it started to ring again. As fast as I could, I staggered downstairs and trotted towards my again ringing phone in our living room, inwardly hoping it wouldn't be some stranger dialing the wrong number...

Still trying to dispel my sleepy cobwebs, I took the receiver from its cradle and grumbled:

"What do you want, in the middle of the night? Do you know how late it is?"

The receiver almost slipped out of my trembling hands when I suddenly heard a well-known deep baritone voice exclaiming:

"DADDY! Finally, you are there! All the time, I've been dialing your number, but every time your answering machine took over and I was afraid I had to wait until tomorrow before you woke up... I am very sorry, Daddy, but nothing is my fault and I cannot help it. Suddenly, that barn door shut and locked, and I couldn't leave it any more. Are you now mad at me? Please, don't yell at me... Everything was so creepy in that darkness, and I thought nobody would ever find me and that I would die from hunger and thirst..."

Obviously, my little soul mate started to hyperventilate, because he nearly stumbled over his words. Then, I heard some scraping noises, as if he let the receiver slip out of his hands and it fell onto the floor. Only, I needed to know where my boy was and where I could find him! Therefore, I started to yell into my phone, to get my boy back on the receiver. Was he okay? Where was he? Was he alone? Could anybody please help him? Fortunately, after some more noises, a chuckling man took over. He told me he was the night guard at the zoo and walked his rounds every two hours. While crossing the playground, he suddenly thought he heard a sound as if somebody pounded on a closed door. Quickly, 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. Only, he had to return to his office first, to find the necessary keys and unlock both the padlocked gate and the closed barn.

Five minutes later, he freed a very grateful young child that nearly cried from happiness. He used his flashlight to look at the kid, and almost fainted at seeing a small boy with a terribly burnt face! Of course, he thought something horrible had happened, and that he had to call for an ambulance immediately. Only, the little imp started to chuckle at seeing his worried face, and quickly assured him that everything was okay and his burns were over two years old. Now, my little son was drinking hot chocolate in the zoo's office; and could I please come over and take him home?

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

First, I needed a moment to let the message sink in. Then, I put the receiver back onto its cradle and started to cheer loudly, immediately joined by a very relieved looking John. We threw our arms around each other and started to dance around the room from sudden relief. Instantly, all our worries were gone. We had our lost little Gypsy Prince back, alive and kicking! Quickly, we went upstairs and donned our clothes in record time. Within two minutes, we were ready, left our house, and raced to our car. Then, I had to go back to get the hidden spare key and open our backdoor. Of course, I needed my keys to be able to drive our car to the zoo! After I got my keys and my wallet, I put the spare key back onto its nail, raced back to our car, and quickly unlocked its doors. This time, John only shook his head and chuckled, but he didn't say a word. He just took the front seat, and we buckled up and drove off.

In no time, we left our small village and entered the highway, where John started to yawn, sagged down in his seat, closed his eyes, and fell asleep. Of course, I was sleepy too and could barely keep my eyes open. Around four o'clock in the morning, the long and boring highway was almost deserted. The surrounding darkness looked spooky, only now and then illuminated by the blinding headlights of an approaching car. Desperately, I reached for our car stereo, hoping that some merry melody would help me stay awake until we reached the zoo's parking lot.

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

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

Chuckling inwardly, I thought this HAD to be a positive omen! Again, everything had turned out for the best...

Chapter 6. We have little Harry back, lost and found.

Humming with the happy sounding music from our car stereo, I tried to stay awake while keeping my eyes on the boring road. In the meantime, I started to think. Fortunately, everything had turned out for the best, and I would soon have my little soul mate back alive and kicking! Only, why hadn't Jack, our 'Spirit Guide', helped us find our lost boy earlier? Couldn't we really reckon on him?

Suddenly, I heard Jack's warm and soulful voice in my inside, explaining:

"My dear brother, I know you are driving a car and it is in the middle of the night; therefore, my friends and I will do our best to keep you awake while I am talking to you. Of course, we have been around you and your three young friends all the time, but we couldn't intervene or tell you anything important until you had learnt your valuable lessons first. By living your lessons through to the end, you are now even more aware of your responsibilities, so that you are able to guide not only your three sons safely through their spiritual development, but soon even more young friends. Our little Crown Prince had to overcome the last bits of his remaining fears, so that he will have even more faith in himself and can be an even better Gypsy Leader in his future. My own son had to be even more aware of his growing capabilities as a competent leader, so that he will be a good friend and trustworthy assistant to all of you, always helping you with everything that comes up. Your 'third son' had to feel even more welcome in your company, so that he starts trusting his own feelings. Soon, a fourth young boy will enter your life, and this little sunshine will bring all of you a lot of joy! Now, go get your 'little soul mate'; and, soon, his surgeons will put new skin onto his burns. We, your Beloved Ancestors and Spirit Friends, are always with you, to help and guide you whenever we are allowed. Thank you, my brother and dear friend, for being who you are. May our Supreme Being be with your steadily growing family and bless you all!"

Jack's warm voice slowly faded away, while I desperately tried to stay awake and keep my eyes on the road. Fortunately, Jack's spiritual influence soon disappeared completely, so that my own consciousness could take over and keep me awake. For a long time, I remained deep in thought, while driving on autopilot. Now and then, my too analytical mind started to doubt, but I silenced it immediately and refused to listen to its annoying 'buts' and 'ifs'. Jack HAD been around us all the time; therefore, we really could rely on our Spirit Guide! We only had to learn our important lessons first... Fortunately, my sleepiness started to disappear, making driving my car a lot safer.

Just before five o'clock, I parked our car in the darkness of a desolate zoo parking lot. At this time of the morning, its surroundings looked spooky and surrealistically silent. John woke up from the sudden absence of engine sounds, and first stretched his limbs out at full length to loosen his stiffening muscles. Then, he yawned a couple of times and smiled apologetically.

Looking a bit guilty, my young friend told me:

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

"Well, there is no need to feel sorry. You are a growing boy, and that means your body still need lots of beauty sleep, although its beauty may be wasted on you. Come on, let's go to the zoo's office and collect our little deserter before you fall asleep again."

"Dad, you are no fun! Just wait until I am more awake and able to think straight again..."

Chuckling and bumping into each other on purpose, we left our car and walked through the darkness towards the desolate zoo. Unfortunately, its iron gateway was still locked with the huge padlock, and all the lights were off. What should we do now? Where could we enter this closed zoo and go to its office? Could this zoo have some backdoor with a bell, perhaps at its backside? Tentatively, I pulled at the closed gate; but, of course, it didn't give way. Fortunately, John found a small push button in a pillar next to the gate, and pressed it. In a far distance, a buzzer sounded; and, after a few seconds, a couple of lights were switched on and suddenly flooded the gateway. Then, 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 his office.

Much to my surprise, my little soul mate seemed to be extremely timid, although I couldn't find out why. He didn't look at us, seemed to avoid our eyes, and mainly stared at his feet. I tried to read his protective aura, but he kept his mind shut so that I couldn't read him like the 'open book' he usually was. Why didn't my boy trust me any more? Had something nasty happened to him and didn't he want me to know about it? John asked him a question, but his little brother only shrugged it off without saying a word. Now, John felt a bit rejected, because he looked at me with a questioning face... Although I didn't know what to think of it, I decided to give our little deserter some more personal space. In time, he would open up and tell us what bothered him...

My boy walked up front to the zoo's office and just went inside without looking back. We followed our little leader, and entered a small room where the invigorating smell of fresh coffee already welcomed me! The friendly guard offered me a huge mug of it, and I thanked him for his hospitality. Little Harry got another mug of hot chocolate, and John politely asked for only hot milk. In silence, we sipped our drinks, while waiting for our little deserter to come out of his shell. What could have happened to our boy that made him this clammed up? Now and then, he peeked at John and me from under his eyelashes. Only, the same moment we looked back at him, he immediately resumed staring at his feet. Why did he do that; and how could I reach him without forcing him to do anything he didn't want to do? I knew how proud and stubborn he could be! Tentatively, I asked him in my mind to please open up...

Immediately, my little Shaman picked up my thoughts! Hesitatingly, he opened up to me only a tiny bit, to let me sense he was afraid of what I could do to him... Only, what had happened to him that made him this afraid of me? Never before had my little soul mate reacted like this! All the time, I continued to send him my love, while I again asked him in my mind to please trust me and let me know what bothered him...

Suddenly, a frightened small cannonball jumped up and threw himself into my arms, now sobbing loudly:

"Please, Daddy, don't yell at me. I didn't do it on purpose, and it wasn't my fault. Are you very mad at me for being such a nuisance?"

Immediately feeling happy again, I folded my arms around my boy's trembling little frame and held him very close to my chest, while trying not to squash him too much. Only, why the heck was my boy afraid I would YELL at him for 'being a nuisance'? For as far as I could remember, I had never yelled or even shouted at any of my boys, or at any other young child... Therefore, I just continued to pour as much tender loving care as I could muster into my frightened little soul mate, to make him feel safe and loved again. For a second, I was afraid I would drown him in too much love... Then, I realized that was impossible, because real love can never do any harm to anybody!

While kissing the top of his still trembling little head, I asked my boy:

"Why are you afraid I would yell at you? For as far as I know, I've never even shouted at you or at any other young child..."

Two teary bright blue eyes hesitantly looked up at me, while my boy sobbed:

"No, Daddy, you never yelled at me because I never was a nuisance to you or did any too foolish things. But, Eric always yelled at John for being a nuisance or for doing things he thought were foolish. Afterwards, John always cried while he felt horrible and only wanted to die. Therefore, I was afraid you would yell at me and make me feel horrible and wanting to die too , because you are now my official father..."

Great goodness, this was the very last answer I ever expected! During the time my boy had been living in John's house for two months, he had seen how John's 'official father', Eric, always treated his 'official son', and how devastated John always felt afterwards. Although my boy was extremely mature for his age, he also was only eight years old and his primary emotions still reacted accordingly... Only, how would I ever be able to explain this to my boy?

Feeling more and more angry at Eric who really didn't seem to have a heart, I gasped:

"My dear son, John's 'official father' never really loved John; while I love you dearly, both as your 'official father' and as your adopted Dad, with all my heart, my mind and my soul! Therefore, I sincerely promise I will never ever yell at you unless it is for an extremely good reason, for example to prevent you from being run over by a too fast car. Cross my heart and hope to die! Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, Daddy, I do believe you. But, I DID something foolish by sneaking into that barn..."

While his sobs slowly diminished, my boy started to tell us what had happened:

During their last game of 'hide and seek', my boy had tried to find a better hiding place behind the labyrinth, where he entered an oblong square. Feeling curious, he peeked through an overgrown fence and saw a small barn with an open door. After some searching, he found a hole in the rusty iron netting and worked his lithe little body through it. Silently, he sneaked towards the barn and saw a huge pile of food bags in it. Still feeling curious, he stepped inside and tried to read the labels... Suddenly, the barn door closed with a sharp click, and he was trapped in the darkness! At first, he only laughed, and happily fumbled around in the dark until he found the closed door. He tried to open it by pulling its handle, but the door had locked itself and didn't give in. Still laughing, he started to pound on the locked door, expecting to be freed in no time. When nothing happened, he again fumbled around, found an old shovel, and tried to force the door, but his muscles weren't strong enough to break through the lock. He started to pound the door with the shovel, but nobody showed up to free him. From a far distance, he heard the muffled sounds of happily playing children, but nobody heard HIM...

After a long time of yelling and pounding on the door, his dry throat started to hurt and his arm muscles started to cramp, forcing him to stop and take some rest. Now, he started to feel worried. What would happen if nobody found him in this closed barn? Would he finally die from hunger and thirst? Soon, he started to yell and pound the door again, but his hands started hurting and he had to give up. At last, he just slumped down onto one of the food bags and started to think. Where were Dad, John, and Davy, now that he needed them to open the locked door? Why didn't we show up to free him? Didn't we miss him? Perhaps, we were glad to finally be rid of him, with his creepy burnt face and his so awfully scarred body... Suddenly feeling frightened at such an awful thought, he broke down and started to cry his heart out. What should he do now?

One time, he thought he could sense my energy, but he felt too emotional to be able to respond to it. Soon, my energy was gone again, and his upcoming Shaman powers weren't strong enough to break through my own Shaman defenses and contact me. Again, he sagged down on his food bag 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 or came over to rescue him. Slowly, the sounds of playing children started to disappear; until, at last, everything around the barn went dead silent, and he supposed that the zoo's visitors were going home. Panicking, he 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. Then, he only cried and cried, until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion...

Sometime during the night, he woke up from his restless sleep and listened to the distant and strangely spooky sounds that came from all those exotic animals that couldn't sleep either. Again, he started to feel frightened, until he suddenly decided to stop being foolish and no longer exhaust himself! He knew he had an extremely bright brain, so he decided to put it to good use and find a way to get out of this barn. Again, he took the wooden shovel and tried to force the lock, hoping to be able to break its pin. Until the old shovel shattered, and he threw it away with an angry yell. Suddenly, he thought he heard faint footsteps! Immediately, he started to yell at the top of his lungs and pound the door again, hoping to be heard. Finally, a grown-up voice outside told him to wait, because he first had to return to the office to find some keys... Never before had he felt so happy. Finally, somebody would free him!

Five minutes later, the door unlocked, and he was FREE. A security guard aimed a flashlight at him, but the shocked looking man almost fainted at seeing his so terribly burnt face. The paling guard even wanted to call for an ambulance... Until my boy started to laugh and told the trembling man he was okay and that his burns were over two years old. He only was very thirsty and hungry. The nice security guard took him to his office, where he got one of the man's own sandwiches and a huge mug of hot chocolate. After he took a bite of his sandwich and a sip of his drink, he wanted to call me. Of course, I would miss him terribly and probably wait next to my receiver... Only, every time he dialed our number, my answering machine took over and asked for his name and number! The guard thought I could have fallen asleep from tiredness, and that my boy should give me some more time to wake up...

While giving me some 'time to wake up', he again started to feel nervous, because he didn't know what could have happened to me. Perhaps, I wasn't home yet, or I really felt too disappointed in my 'little soul mate' 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 had suddenly died, like Jack had done two months ago... He panicked at the frightening thought, didn't know what to do, and again started to cry his heart out. Fortunately, the nice guard knew how to handle frightened little boys. The man assured him that his Dad really missed him terribly, but needed his sleep after looking for his son and feeling anxious all day. Probably, my boy would have to wait for the next morning, until his Dad woke up and listened to the messages on his answering machine! That calmed my boy down considerably, and he switched into his Shaman abilities to force himself out of his panic. Suddenly, he wondered why he hadn't thought before of using his powerful Shaman skills...

Immediately, he tried to talk to John in his mind, but John was deep asleep and didn't sense his little brother's aura. Next, he tried to talk to me; but, even in my sleep, my own protective aura was way too powerful for him to penetrate. After some deep thinking, he thought he could try to wake John by entering his dream and projecting a ringing phone into it! Quickly, he worked himself into John's dream, projected a loudly ringing phone, waited until he was sure that both John and I were awake, returned to the guard's phone, and again dialed our number. Finally, he heard my sleepy sounding voice while I muttered: "What do you want, in the middle of the night? Do you know how late it is?"

Now, he still was afraid I would yell at him for being a nuisance and acting foolish; because Eric always yelled at John and called him nasty names when he thought John had been foolish and should be punished. Afterwards, John always went upstairs to his bedroom, where he slumped down on his bed and cried in his pillow to muffle his sounds, while feeling awful and thinking about committing suicide...

With a tiny baritone 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, and I also don't want to die any more now that I am freed from that locked barn and can go back home with you and John... Hey, where is Davy? Did he get lost too?"

While John explained that Davy slept at home and would join us again the next morning; I now understood why my little soul mate had been afraid of me. He had seen what Eric's hateful yelling had done to John, and he also didn't want to feel like another 'bastard child'... With sudden tears in my eyes, I pulled my vulnerable little son even closer to my chest. How could I ever yell at my precious boy, my son and little soul mate, the light of my life...

Putting my hand under his small chin so that he looked up at me, I explained:

"Please understand that young children are curious by nature. They always want to discover their world, by looking at and exploring everything interesting that catches their attention. Therefore, it is up to us, their parents or wardens, to create a safe environment for our children, so that they can be curious without any risk of getting harmed. Unfortunately, this zoo did not create a safe enough environment, by allowing a hidden barn to be open. That was not your fault, and nobody will be mad at you or yell at you for feeling curious and peeking into that barn. Of course, I am not mad at you, but I WAS terribly afraid after you suddenly disappeared, plus I felt guilty for not looking properly after you... All day long, John, Davy and I have been searching for you, until the zoo closed and we had to leave. We even thought somebody could have kidnapped you and that we would never see you again..."

Suddenly, I started to cry my heart out, probably because I still felt dead tired and totally mellow from all my fears and spent emotions. Indeed, I had been terribly afraid that something bad could have happened to my precious little soul mate...

Immediately, my boy threw his 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."

In sudden surprise, I stared into my boy's bright blue eyes full of love. As in a flash, I knew that Jack had taught him and his friends to use this statement, every time somebody cried their heart out! Suddenly feeling a lot better, I started to laugh and couldn't stop any more. Soon, I felt my little Shaman reading my mind, to understand why I laughed... When he found out what was so funny, he started to laugh with me, while John shared our hilarity and laughed too. Although the security guard looked surprised, he too started to laugh. It felt wonderful, to be able to get rid of our built-up tension like this!

Then, we wanted to go home. First, we thanked the security guard abundantly for looking after our little deserter, while my boy threw his arms around the man's waist and hugged him. The surprised looking man hugged my boy back, but then warned him to keep his curiosity in check from now on. Did he know the well-known proverb that stated 'curiosity kills the cat'? Of course, he did! The nice guard walked us to the still open gate and towards our car, and waved us out until we disappeared around a corner... I was happy again. I had my boy back. My precious little soul mate, lost and found...

Chapter 7. Anti-anthropoid; and teasing each other.

On our way home, both John and little Harry stretched out at full length and entangled into each other in our backseat, yawning and shivering from the nightly cold. Soon, they fell asleep and started to snore, while our car heater finally started to heat up and nicely warmed my cold feet. Of course, I felt tired and sleepy too. Therefore, I turned the sound of our car stereo a bit up to help me stay awake, hopefully without hindering my two peacefully sleeping boys too much. Of course, they still needed their beauty sleep, after living through their own emotional turmoil. Trying not to yawn too much, I just kept my eyes on the still pitch dark and boring road that only now and then showed an approaching car on its other side.

An hour later, I parked our car in our driveway, killed its engine, and tried to wake my still snoring boys. John woke up immediately, but little Harry just went on sleeping and only mumbled some. Therefore, I opened his door and gently carried his tiny frame out of our car, while John helped me by keeping the door open. Still looking sleep charged, John got my keys and opened our front door, while I carried my little soul mate inside and immediately went upstairs, followed by an again yawning John. In my bedroom, I quickly undressed my still sleeping boy, while John shucked his clothes and dived under our blankets without asking for approval. Well, I didn't mind any more, while I put my boy under our blankets and joined my two sons. Suddenly, my boy turned around, adeptly crawled onto my stomach, and 'octopussed' himself onto my chest while putting his little nose in my left armpit as usual. After heaving a deep sigh of content, he soon started to snore again, while John snuggled up against my left side and wished me a good night and happy dreams. Soon, all three of us were deep asleep, fortunately without getting any nasty dreams or frightening nightmares.

Way too soon, the bright morning sun started to peek through a crack in my curtains and woke us up. Still feeling sleepy, I tried to get away from the irritating sunbeam, while my boys two started to stir and yawn and unwillingly opened their eyes. This morning, being a bit early was a good thing, because we had to shower and dress into our neatest clothes, to drive to what my boy called his 'face clinic'. Besides, our hungry stomachs were already rumbling loudly, because we hadn't eaten anything substantial since yesterday noon.

Soon, John left my side and wrestled upright, while he grumbled:

"I am very happy that Harry is back home in good health, but I hope we will never have to go through such a terrible nightmare again! I still feel tired and sleep charged after yesterday's turmoil and collecting Harry from that zoo in the middle of the night. Everything started happening after we played another game of hide and seek around the zoo's labyrinth and Harry tried to hide too well..."

Looking mischievous, my yawning boy on my stomach teased John:

"Well, you couldn't tag me, so I've WON our last game of hide and seek!"

For a few seconds, John fell silent. Then, he suddenly turned around and glared at his little brother with a face full of disbelief and brooding eyes that seemed to radiate fire and brimstone. For a moment, I was afraid that John was going to attack his little brother, and that I had to protect my too cheeky little monkey against attempted fratricide...

Then, John started to chuckle while he told my boy:

"You cheeky pipsqueak monkey, how dare you! They should have kept you in that zoo, not in that barn but in a real ape cage, for the remainder of your life, playing hide and seek with the public!"

Still chuckling, John kicked our blankets out of the way, dived onto his little brother, and started to tickle him wherever he could find any sensitive spots. Of course, my little monkey immediately started to tickle John back, while desperately trying to get away from his merciless torturer. Only, at the same time, he also didn't want to leave his cozy place on my stomach...

While trying to retrieve his blankets, my boy's deep baritone voice teased John:

"You are only jealous because I've won. Please, Dad, protect me from that 'antipoid'!"

At hearing his little brother's semantic error, John chuckled:

"Jeez, this cheeky anthropoid cannot even pronounce his own parentage correctly. You really think you've won our last game of hide and seek? Then, I will let you feel who is winning our newest game of tickle-torturing!"

Again, John started to tickle his little brother who still didn't want to leave my cozy stomach, but only squirmed around while trying to escape John's ferocious attacks. Of course, lying prone was a disadvantage... Until our doorbell suddenly rang, sounding nice and civilized now that Davy had repaired it with a wad of tissue. Only, who the heck could be at our door this early in the morning? Could our 'very disturbed lady' have informed the police again, after seeing the same young boys frequenting my house?

My suddenly trembling little soul mate planted his fingernails into my bare skin, while he moaned:

"Nooooo... Please, not again those stupid police officers with their 'improper' sex things..."

Clearly, he thought of the police officers who arrested us early in the morning and took us to their police station, because some 'very disturbed lady' had called them about Davy suddenly leaving our house naked and crying. At my side, John growled something that sounded like a curse, while he left our bed and stomped towards our window. Again, my young friend was ready to defy all the meddlesome police officers in the world, to protect his little brother and me from them! Involuntarily balling his fists, he tried to look outside, with a grim face and fire-shooting eyes. For a few seconds, he tried to scan our front yard and driveway, and he even craned his neck to look at our front door...

Then, he started to bellow with laughter, while he told us:

"Nah, Davy is a bit early, probable because he wants to see our lost and found pipsqueak monkey..."

Quickly, John left the window and hurried downstairs, to open our front door and let our mutual friend in; while I tried to calm down my still trembling son who already withdrew his nails from my skin, although my chest now showed a couple of bloody scratches.

While using his powerful Shaman abilities to pull himself together, my boy muttered:

"I was afraid those oversexed police officers had returned to arrest and interrogate us again..."

In the meantime, Davy stormed up the stairs and bolted into our bedroom, probably because he still didn't know if the zoo or the police had already found our little deserter... When Davy saw my little soul mate lying on my chest and smiling at seeing his 'younger brother from a past life' showing up with a worried face and concerned eyes; he stopped dead in his tracks. For a few seconds, he only stared at my boy as if he suddenly saw a ghost... Then, he nearly started to cry with the sudden relief.

Sniffling and furtively wiping his teary eyes, Davy exclaimed:

"Thank heaven you are home again! All night long, I was sooooo afraid that something bad had happened to you... Where the heck have you been, so that nobody could find you? We've been looking for you everywhere, until the zoo closed and we had to go to the local police..."

Quickly, Davy shucked his shoes and kicked them into a corner. Then, he threw himself onto our wobbling waterbed and dived next to little Harry on my stomach, so that I could give him his own cuddle. A few seconds later, John threw himself onto the pile, to join his friends and have his own share. Only, my body wasn't wide enough to carry three squirming young boys, and all three of them tumbled off my overloaded stomach and landed onto the wobbling bed next to me, in a disordered pile.

My little soul mate protested fiercely, while Davy admonished John:

"Couldn't you wait until it is your turn to get Dad's morning cuddle?"

Chuckling at seeing two indignant faces, John stuck out his tongue and laughed at their combined protests. Only, that made both boys even angrier! Working together, they attacked John and started to tickle his belly and ribs mercilessly, until he almost peed our bed, wrestled free from their combined attacks, and hastily left the battlefield.

Little Harry sat up and stuck out his tongue towards John, while he told Davy:

"This will teach that cheeky 'antithropoid' to leave us monkeys alone!"

With a suddenly questioning face, Davy responded:

"Huh? What is an 'anti-thropoid'? Is that someone who hates apes? The word sounds funny..."

We all started to laugh, while John teased his little brother some more:

"Our pipsqueak monkey just discovered a brand new species of apes that is called 'anti-anthropoids'."

With a sly grin, our pipsqueak anthropoid immediately rebutted:

"Then, you are an inferior species of apes that has to be called 'anti-funny-thropoids'!"

John tried to tickle his little brother again, but Davy jumped in and defended his 'brother from a past life'. Together, they rolled off our fiercely wobbling waterbed and onto the carpeted floor, squealing while trying to tickle each other wherever they could. Until their hungry stomachs started to rumble too loudly because they wanted to be fed NOW! Immediately, our inseparable friends stopped their romping. Davy shucked his clothes, and my three musketeers threw their arms around each other and marched off towards our shower, where they started to use our soap and our shampoo to tease each other even more.

Fifteen minutes later, three freshly cleaned boys returned into my bedroom and quickly dressed. While I took my own shower, my happy threesome already frolicked downstairs. Ten minutes later, I was ready and joined them in our kitchen; where my three boys had already prepared a healthy breakfast, set the table, and even brewed my first cup of coffee. Proudly sitting on their folding chairs, they waited impatiently for their 'ancient grandpa' to show up. They cheered loudly when I finally entered our kitchen, and John rose from his chair and politely offered me my own folding chair to sit on. Now, it was time to feed three young monkeys and one old 'beard-anthropoid'. In no time, all the food had disappeared into three bottomless pits, and three naughty looking boys burped loudly to thank our food spirits. Fortunately, and just in time, I had rescued enough food for myself, to fill my own stomach properly.

After my threesome cleared the table, Davy turned towards little Harry and asked him:

"I still want to know how you suddenly disappeared during our game of hide and seek..."

Happily, my boy started to tell Davy how he suddenly disappeared. Vividly, he narrated how he saw a barn with an open door, and decided to have a closer look at it. He found a small hole in the rusty iron netting, big enough for him to worm his lithe frame through the overgrown fence. Next, he went to the open 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 only started to laugh, because he was sure his friends would show up and free him in no time. Therefore, he just 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 an old shovel, but his muscles weren't strong enough to break through the lock. Now, he started to panic, because nobody freed him and he was afraid that he would die here from hunger and thirst. Feeling very uneasy, he slumped down onto a couple of food bags and cried himself asleep.

After a couple of hours, he woke up and again started to pound the door lock with the wooden shovel, hoping its pin would break and set him free, but the old shovel broke into pieces. Fortunately, a night guard heard him and freed him. They went to the zoo's office, where the man gave him his own sandwich and a mug of hot chocolate. From time to time, he tried to call home; but, every time, Dad's answering machine took over. At last, he concentrated on John's dreams and projected a ringing phone into them. Finally, sleepyheads John and Dad woke up, answered his calls, drove to the zoo, and took him back home, where they resumed their beauty sleep. And, of course, because nobody had tagged him, he had WON their last game of hide and seek!

My boy's proud declaration made John mutter in protest:

"That pipsqueak 'anti-fun-poid' still thinks he has won our game by just disappearing..."

John's muttered protest made Davy chuckle:

"Let's change our playing rules, before our pipsqueak 'anti-thropoid' decides to feel curious again. Next time, please think first of the proverb 'curiosity kills the cat' before you want to play cat again, because I couldn't sleep all night from worrying about you! Dad should buy us cell phones to carry with us all the time, so we can call each other in case anything unexpected ever happens again..."

Well, I had already thought about buying a couple of cell phones, one for myself and one for each of my boys, but I didn't want to let them know yet. They had to be a surprise, perhaps next time we went shopping downtown. For now, we had to prepare for our two hours' ride to my boy's skin transplant clinic, where my boy's surgeon would take a first look at his burnt face and body.

Therefore, I told my bantering three musketeers:

"Boys, we have to drive to Harry's 'face clinic' within half an hour from now; so let's start preparing for our two hours' trip. Harry, where is your rubber mask, and do you want to wear it during our voyage? Then, please, put it on now."

Surprisingly, my little soul mate only put his hand into a back pocket of his trousers, where he had put his mask after it started to itch too much. With a suddenly worried face, he tried to get it out, but it seemed to be stuck and didn't want to show up.

With a very unhappy face, my boy asked me:

"Dad, could you please help me get my mask out of my pocket?"

Hesitantly, he stepped towards me and turned around, to let me see where his mask was stuck. Indeed, he had folded the floppy thing and put it into his back pocket while it was still sticky! Carefully, I tried to pull the fragile rubber mask out of his back pocket, without doing too much damage. Only, the sticky thing had glued itself to the fabric, and all my clumsy efforts were in vain.

Soon, I gave up my futile efforts, and asked my boy:

"Please, step out of your trousers, so that I can have a closer look at your mask."

Without protest, my boy quickly shucked his jeans and offered them to me. After a few more vainly attempts, I finally immersed his trousers in warm water, to dissolve the glue. Fortunately, that helped and the mask reappeared, looking a bit crumpled but undamaged. Little Harry first raced upstairs, to get another pair of trousers and put them on. Then, he took his bottle of sticky substance and glued his crumpled mask onto his face with a little help from John. Working together, they rubbed it into all directions until all its crumples were gone and it fitted like new.

Still looking a bit sheepish, my youngest son asked me:

"Dad? What time are we going to my face doctors?"

"Huh? What the heck are 'face doctors'? Ah, I think you mean your 'transplant surgeons'. Well, we have to be on our way within ten minutes from now. Davy, did you already tell your Mom where we are going today?"

Davy couldn't join us, because he had promised his Mom to do some much needed chores, but he left us with a happy face and quite a story to tell. He promised to be back after our visit to Harry's 'face clinic', to find out what his 'face doctors' had told us. John and little Harry walked him to our front door, while I went to my desk to gather my boy's identity papers and the address of our transplant clinic. In our hallway, little Harry and John had already donned their shoes. Boys will be boys, and they now were in a tremendous hurry, wanting to leave immediately! Chuckling inwardly, I stepped through our front door, ready to leave our house and drive to my boy's face clinic. Only, John looked at my hand with only a few papers in it, and shook his head.

While he snatched the papers out of my hand, he admonished me:

"Old grandpa, you forget again to take your keys and your wallet!"

Both boys started to laugh at seeing my offended face; while I returned to our living room to get my keys and my wallet from my desk, where I had left them without thinking. My smallest imp snatched the keys out of my hand and raced to our car. He opened its doors, and both boys entered its rear seat and quickly buckled up. I got my keys back, gunned the engine, and we left our driveway and drove off. Finally, we were on our way to little Harry's 'face clinic', to meet his 'face doctors'. Within a few minutes, we left our small village and turned into the highway. Happily, I scanned our car stereo for some nice background music... and almost immediately found our own fun song!

Turning the volume high, I let it resonate through our car:

"You are soooo beauuuutifuuuullll..."

We started to sing along with its catchy melody, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, while our deafening sound tried to raise the roof of our old car that almost started to swing at the cadence. Until a dull advertisement took over, and I lowered the volume. After some time, my boys stopped their bantering and fell silent. I looked over my shoulder to see what they were doing, and smiled at the heart-warming sight. Both boys laid stretched out over the full width of our car, with their arms around each other and happily snoring together. Of course, they felt still sleepy after going through our nightly adventures, and we had two hours of driving ahead! Helpfully, I lowered the volume of our car stereo even more, while trying to keep my eyes on the road...

Chapter 8. My boy's face clinic and our 'face doctor'.

Two hours later, I entered a big city where we had to find my boy's transplant clinic. Soon, both boys woke up to the noise of the heavy traffic and the starting and stopping at the many traffic lights. Still yawning, they rubbed their eyes to get rid of the sleepy cobwebs. Then, they started to look around at all the concrete multi-story buildings, several green parks, and lots of enormous warehouses. A moment later, I stopped along a sidewalk and asked a sauntering police officer to direct us to the 'transplant clinic'. The nice officer (yes, they do exist) knew where the clinic was, and gave me its directions. I thanked him politely for his help, and drove on. After some searching, we finally saw our clinic that turned out to be a modern brick building, situated at the edge of a spacious park. I parked our car in its parking lot, my boys and I exited, and I locked our car doors and put my keys in my pocket. Together, we walked to the clinic's glass entrance and stepped through its automatically opening sliding doors, with a strange feeling of anticipation.

Inside the building, we were welcomed by soft background music and a very noticeable antiseptic smell. Little Harry shivered, looked at me, and silently worked his small hand into mine. Obviously, he remembered his past operations and didn't like the strong 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 our surgeon to show up. Feeling very impressed with the obvious efficiency, we sat down on a nice leather bench along the wall and started to wait. My boy crawled onto my lap to be held and feel a bit safer, and John started to study some medical magazines from a table. After only 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 then turned towards little Harry who suddenly looked a bit unsure.

With a warm and pleasant voice, the surgeon asked my little soul mate:

"I suppose you are Harry Romani? And, you brought your father and your brother to support you during your physical? That is good. Please, follow me to my private office, where we can get acquainted."

My boy seemed to like his 'face doctor' at first sight, because he immediately started to smile broadly. Quickly, he hopped off my lap, and we followed the friendly man through a long passageway towards his cozy-looking consulting room, where he asked us to sit down. We started with some small talk about our voyage, and our surgeon was very curious how we knew about this particular transplant clinic. He told us he had already contacted my son's previous surgeons, and they had sent him all their medical information about his past operations, plus a couple of pictures. Smilingly, he took a couple of colored photos from a folder, and handed them to my intently listening little soul mate.

Again smiling at his little client, he asked him:

"Please, Harry, may I ask you a few questions about these pictures that were taken before and after your last skin operations?"

The surgeon started to ask my boy a couple of medical questions; and both John and I listened in sudden surprise to his astonishing mature and intelligent answers. All the time, he answered with precise and detailed information, and he even added a couple of relevant things all on his own. He really was an amazingly special boy, and I started to feel even more proud of my brave little soldier!

Our surgeon scrabbled down some new information, put his papers away, and told my boy:

"Thank you very much, my young friend, because you've helped me quite a lot with your detailed answers and extra information. Now, please, may I have a closer look at your burns? And, do you want your father and your brother to stay with us in the room, as you have to remove all your clothes and will be clad only in your 'birthday suit' for quite some time, until all the tests are ready?"

"Nah, we always see each other naked in our shower stall every morning and evening, so that's no big deal. Dad, could you please help me peel my mask off, because I feel a little bit too nervous to do it myself?"

While I helped my son remove his sticky mask, our surgeon looked at it in marvel and exclaimed:

"Wow, this flexible rubber mask is a truly beautiful specimen of craftsmanship! Harry, do you happen to know who made it? I am sure that such a mask will be a wonderful solution for at least a couple of our inoperable or too badly burnt patients..."

With a very proud face, my boy responded:

"Yes, I certainly know who made it! Peter first made a negative mold of my face, and then fit my mask onto the positive mold. I always glue it to my face with some sticky substance from a bottle. Dad, do you still have Peter's business card in your wallet?"

Fortunately, I had Peter's business card in my walled, because it held the address of our transplant clinic. Happily, I dictated Peter's address and phone number to our 'face doctor' who wrote it down immediately. Again, he told us that some of his badly burnt patients would feel delighted and very grateful. Immediately after we were ready and went home, he would call Peter and greet him from us. In the meantime, my boy had undressed and neatly folded his clothes onto an empty chair. Now, he turned around and performed a playful bow towards our surgeon. Our 'face doctor' chuckled at the funny antics of my now naked son, and politely bowed back. Then, he started to examine my boy's burns, one by one, while carefully scrutinizing every scar and colored stain. Now and then, he scribbled a few notes onto his papers, before he went on with the next burn or scar. All the time, my brave little soldier helped our surgeon with his examination; by turning around, flexing his body, and stretching his limbs, assisting his broadly smiling 'face doctor' as a real professional.

Finally, our happy looking surgeon put his papers down and told my boy:

"Thank you very much for your professional assistance, and I wish that all my clients would be as helpful 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 burnt face. Fortunately, all your important nerves are still working sufficiently to be able to reconnect your senses to your new skin within a short time. By the way, do you know what 'circumcision' means? Or, do you want me to give your burnt penis a nice foreskin that also covers its top?"

With very much determination in his voice, my boy responded:

"I certainly know what 'circumcised' means, but I prefer my penis to stay undamaged, just like my Dad's and John's are, with a foreskin that covers their entire penis. I only hope you don't forget to put a hole in its top..."

With a suddenly questioning face, our surgeon asked:

"What do you mean by 'don't forget to put a hole in its top'? Could you please clarify your question some more?"

"Well, I have to pee from time to time; and that will be difficult without a hole in the top of my foreskin to let my pee squirt through."

This time, our surgeon started to bellow with laughter, while he nearly fell off his chair from sudden fun! After he recovered, he tousled my boy's unruly blond hair and made his excuses for laughing at such a serious question. Solemnly, he promised not to forget to create a nice opening in the top of my boy's foreskin. Together, they went to a technical looking computer and sat down in front of its enormous monitor screen. After switching everything on, our surgeon asked my boy to start creating the brand new face he wanted to see in a mirror after he had his skin transplant...

With a happy smile on his so terribly burnt face, my boy started to control the computer mouse like a real professional. Enthusiastically, he created face after face, by choosing items from all the available combinations of different noses, lips, and eyebrows. After playing around and trying out all its possibilities, he became more serious and finally chose a cheerful little pug nose, small eyebrows, and not too thick lips that would nicely accentuate the oval shape of his head. With a questioning face, he turned around and looked at John and me...

Both John and I were pleasantly surprised; and we assured our proud looking boy he had made an excellent choice, which our impressed looking surgeon confirmed. He also instructed my boy how to save his new face into a newly created map, and let him print his new face out on an attached color printer. After handing my son an extra copy, he let him switch off the computer and the monitor. Finally, our surgeon went back to his chair, sat down, and told us to ask him any questions we could have about our boy's pending skin transplant and his healing afterwards.

For quite some time, our 'face doctor' answered all our questions, while explaining what he wanted to do. Although my son's burns and scars looked bad at first sight, in fact, they were not that bad! Fortunately, the fire hadn't damaged any important nerves or muscles, so that only his outer skin was burnt away and all the underlying tissues were still intact. Therefore, my son would very soon have an almost normal feeling in his transplanted new skin. After a couple of healing weeks, he would be able to feel all the important things like touch, warmth, cold, and pain, almost without any restrictions. Compared to many other severely burnt victims, he could consider himself extremely lucky! Soon after my son had his skin transplant, his renewed body would feel almost 'normal', without any serious restrictions or impediments.

Of course, both John and I felt more than elated at hearing such extremely good news, while my boy raced towards his 'face doctor' and offered him an enormous hug and a big kiss on his cheek! Our surgeon started to blush from sudden emotion and even got tears in his eyes. Furtively, he wiped them away with a tissue; while my boy left him and happily climbed onto my lap.

Still smiling from ear to ear, he asked his still blushing face doctor:

"When can we start? Now that I know I will be normal again, I want to have my new face as soon as possible!"

Smiling back at our over-enthusiastic boy, the surgeon took his phone and called for a nurse. Soon, a friendly looking nurse entered our room, greeted us, and offered little Harry a bright blue gown to put it around his unclad body. With a proud face, my boy dressed up into his beautiful gown that made him suddenly look like a Foreign Prince! Striding majestically, he followed the nurse towards the laboratory, followed suit by John and me. For quite some time, several doctors and nurses were busy around our little Prince, making X-rays, CT-scans, and photographs of his burnt face and body, while patiently answering my boy's many questions and 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. Another doctor listened to his heart and lungs, and tested his reflexes with a small rubber hammer. All the time, my boy underwent everything like a real professional. Obviously, he had lots of experience with the preparations from his past operations...

Finally, 'our' nurse took us back to the consulting room and our 'face doctor'. Little Harry nestled onto my lap, still clad in his bright blue Princely gown, and John sat down next to us. Our surgeon told us that, so far, all the tests had turned out to be absolutely positive. Therefore, he now wanted to discuss what he intended to do with his young friend before he got his major surgery, probably around three weeks from now. Today, he would like to peel a couple of thin layers of living skin from my son's body. He thought the best place would be the insides of his thighs, where the fire hadn't damaged his skin. After the peeling, the insides of his thighs would look slightly reddish, like scratched surfaces, but they would be painless; and Mother Nature would heal the scratches within a few days, without any visible scarring whatsoever.

During the next three weeks, the laboratory would stretch and cultivate my boy's peeled skin under special conditions, to let it grow and increase its quantity. After three weeks, my son had to return to the clinic to have his major skin transplant. Under narcosis, the surgeon would first remove all of his old scars and wild flesh, and then apply the cultivated skin to all of the cleaned places. He would also rebuild my boy's nose, and reconstruct his burnt lips and wrinkled little pecker. After his surgery, their anesthetist would keep him asleep for at least a week, to keep him immobilized and allow his body to heal sufficiently. Once awake, he had to stay in the clinic for around another two weeks, to allow his doctors to observe him and monitor his healing process. Although any major operation always implied some risk, our surgeon was convinced that everything would work out for the best, as my son was both very young and in perfect health.

Looking more and more enthusiastic, my boy exclaimed:

"Yes, I can have my new face even before I go to school! When do you start the peeling?"

"Well, we could start right now. Our nurse will put you to sleep for a few minutes, so that I can peel a few thin layers of living skin from the insides of your thighs. After the peeling, I will put some analgesic spray onto your scratches, and you will have to keep the insides of your thighs dry for at least two days. What do you think, shall we now go to our operating room for your peeling?"

"Yes, please, let's do it immediately; and thank you very much for everything!"

In rank, we followed our surgeon to his operating room. First, my boy had to enter a shower, where our nurse scrubbed him thoroughly and applied some disinfectant to the insides of his thighs. Then, my brave boy climbed onto a stretcher and laid down, with an expectant smile on his beaming face.

Our nurse handed him a small mask that was attached to a nitrous oxide container, and asked him:

"I am sure you already know what you have to do now?"

My boy nodded, took the mask into both hands, and firmly pressed it around his mouth and nose. Without any fear, he started to inhale the sleeping gas, while looking up at John and me with beaming eyes. A few seconds later, his eyes slowly closed, his body relaxed, and he tumbled into a deep sleep. Our boy really was a remarkable brave little soldier! Silently, John and I left the operating room and went to the reception area, to wait for our little friend to wake up after his peeling. Only, before we sat down, 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, while sipping our drinks. Now and then, we looked into each other's eyes and smiled at each other. Again, we could clearly feel our mutual love radiating towards each other, and certainly towards our sleeping brave little soldier.

Fifteen minutes later, our nurse showed up and asked us to follow her to our consulting room, that now held a gurney with a yawning and groggy looking little Harry on it. Slowly, our little soldier woke up some more, until he sat upright and lifted his bright blue gown. Proudly, he showed us a couple of reddish stripes along the insides of his thighs that were covered with some silky film. After we had admired his scratches, he put his gown back down.

With a still sleepy sounding voice, he told us:

"Jack showed up in my dream and we cuddled all the time, until I had to return into my body and woke up. Jack had already seen the print of my new face, and he told me I have made a perfect choice! He also asked me to greet both John and you from him. Now, the insides of my thighs start itching, but my face doctor told me not to scratch them for at least two days."

The nurse offered him a glass of water and a small pill, and he swallowed the pill and gulped the water eagerly. Still looking drowsy, he slid off his gurney and wavered towards me. I lifted him onto my lap, where he settled down against my chest with a happy sigh.

Because his stomach suddenly started to rumble, he joked:

"My stomach tells me it is hungry! Where can we eat?"

Our smiling surgeon tousled my boy's unruly hair, while he told me:

"Feeling hungry is a good sign; and, within a few minutes, your son will be his joyful self again. You have a wonderful child, and I am sure this extremely special boy will achieve many extraordinary things during his long and busy life! Now, I have to leave you to our nurse, because my next appointment is waiting, but we will see each other again after three weeks from now."

After our surgeon left, the nurse took his schedule to plan my boy's skin transplant; and we set a new appointment for his major surgery, three weeks from now. Next, John and I helped our still drowsy little friend with his dressing. I 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, with his little legs dangling free. Together, we went to the clinic's cafeteria, to eat something substantial before we drove home. Soon, our brave little soldier started to laugh and joke again, as if nothing special had happened. Both John and he ordered copious amounts of delicious junk food and wolfed it down at lightning speed, as usual, while I nibbled at a meat sandwich and sipped my coffee. Chuckling inwardly, I thought that, although my sandwich tasted reasonable, it absolutely lacked my son's tasty herbs! In the meantime, my boy started to pluck at his thighs, as if trying to remove his trousers from his fresh wounds.

After a moment of struggling, he complained:

"Dad? My itchy scratches feel like they are sticking to the fabric..."

Feeling not too worried, I took my boy to a bathroom, to have a quick look at his wounds in case something would be wrong. Fortunately, his silky scratches didn't show any visible blood, and nothing in that region looked extraordinarily sticky.

While I pulled up his trousers, I reassured him:

"I am sure it's only the unusual feeling. When we get home, I will have another look at it."

Before we went home, we said our goodbyes to the receptionist, and my boy told her with a proud face he would be back within three weeks from now; to get a brand new face an new cultivated skin on his burns! Smiling back at him, she reassured him he would be welcome any time, and she would look out for him. Now, my boy got my keys and led the way towards our car. John and I followed him, chuckling inwardly at seeing him walk like a little rodeo rider with his legs wide apart... My boy opened our car doors, and got in while still 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; but, this time, our fun song didn't pop up. After a few minutes, both yawning boys stretched out along the backseat and threw their arms around each other. Soon, they were sound asleep while softly snoring. Feeling full of love for my two sleeping imps, I helpfully lowered the stereo volume some more.

Chapter 9. Harry goes outside and gets a new friend.

Two hours later, we entered our small village, and it felt good to be home again. Soon, I drove into our own street, backed our car into our own driveway, and turned its engine off. For a few seconds, I just sat still and enjoyed the sudden silence, while my two boys slowly woke up from their sleep, yawned, sat upright, and started to look around with surprised faces.

Yawning and talking at the same time, my little soul mate asked me:

"Are we home already? What time is it? I am very thirsty, but I have to pee first..."

"It's four o'clock in the afternoon; and yes, we are home already."

My boy snatched my keys out of my hand, left our car, and galloped to our house; while John and I followed him at a slower pace, chuckling at again seeing him walking like a little rodeo rider with his legs wide apart. Inside our house, he first raced to our kitchen and eagerly gulped a lot of water, while John entered our toilet and I lined up to wait my turn. A few seconds later, my boy appeared while clamping his little boyhood with both hands. Only, he now had to wait his turn to bless our ceramic god, because John heard him coming and quickly locked himself in!

Impatiently, my boy started to pound on the closed door, while begging:

"John, please let me in! I'm nearly peeing my pants..."

Chuckling at his little brother's sudden hurry, John responded:

"That's your own fault after drinking so much water. Ask Dad to put diapers on you."

My boy started to look more and more frustrated, now kicking John's door while shouting:

"John, you are mean! Please, let me in before it's too late!"

Finally, John flushed the toilet, waited a few more seconds, and then teasingly slowly opened the door. His desperate little brother nearly ran him down in his hurry, with his pants already halfway down to his knees. He left the door wide open, and we heard him sigh with relief when he finally relieved himself. Within a minute, he reappeared, and sent a murderous look at his still chuckling older brother before he disappeared into our living room. Now that it finally was my turn, I slowly went inside, closed the door, and took all my time. When I showed up in our living room, John asked me if he could phone his mother. He wanted to tell her everything about the zoo where Harry suddenly disappeared, the clinic where Harry got his physical, and that Harry's 'face doctor' would give him his new face in three weeks from now. He also promised to greet his Mom and Mark and Marrie from Harry and me. To give John some personal space, I took my little soul mate with me and went to our kitchen to brew my first heavenly smelling cup of real coffee.

My boy cozily leaned against my stomach while he wheedled:

"Dad? Now that I have my mask on, I want to take a closer look at our neighborhood. Can I please go outside?"

"Of course you may go outside whenever you want; but don't you want to wait for John?"

"Do I really have to wait for John, because he always hangs on the phone for at least an hour? I promise I will not again play 'curious cat' and disappear into some silly barn that suddenly locks me in."

"In that case, have fun! Will you be home before dinner?"

"Yes, I will be home in time to cook; and I love you very much!"

My boy offered me a big kiss, shouted 'bye' to John in our living room, and disappeared outside to take a closer look at our neighborhood. Again, I felt very proud of my brave little soldier. My shy boy certainly had changed quite a lot, since I first met him! Inwardly, I admired his newly found courage, and I hoped he would enjoy himself outside, although this was the first time in two years that he went outside in plain daylight and all alone. Feeling full of love and very happy with my three boys, I drank my coffee, rinsed the empty cup in the sink, and decided to act as a good parent and start tidying our kitchen. I also rearranged our refrigerator, and made a long list of the many things we needed to restock.

Half an hour later, John returned from our living room and immediately started to help me. Working closely together, we went upstairs, where I cleaned our bathroom and changed our bed sheets. In the meantime, John vacuumed our rugs in the bedrooms, the hallways, and the stairs. Feeling proud of ourselves, we returned into our kitchen and got fresh coffee for me and cola for John. While we sipped our drinks, our nicely sounding doorbell rang; and I went to our front door and opened it, expecting to see Davy. However, much to my surprise, a firmly built young boy with snow-white hair and emerald green eyes looked up at me from a curious and open face full of sunshine and happiness. I estimated him to be around the same age as my little soul mate and liked him at first sight, although I had never seen him before. Behind him, my little soul mate showed up, smiling at me with a proudly beaming face.

While trying to push the new boy past me and into our house, my son explained:

"Dad, this is my new friend! His name is Nicky, he lives a few blocks away, and we want to play Davy's games on our computer because Nicky's Dad doesn't have enough money to buy one. Is that okay with you?"

Smiling at seeing my son's enthusiastic face, I responded:

"Of course that is okay with me! Nicky, you are very welcome in our humble home, and any new friend of my sons is a new friend of mine! Would you first care for a coke or perhaps another cool drink?"

Nicky nodded enthusiastically, while looking up at me with a trustful face and sparkling emerald green eyes. Without thinking, I reached out and ruffled his snow-white hair. Immediately, he leaned into me and threw his arms around my waist, with his firm body pressing against my stomach. Wow! This young boy certainly wasn't shy or distrustful, although he had never seen me before... A few seconds later, my little soul mate joined our cuddle and pushed himself against my side to get his own hug. Then, he grabbed Nicky's hand and impatiently dragged his new friend into our house. Reluctantly, Nicky left my stomach and obediently followed his new friend into our kitchen, where he started to look around with curious eyes.

My boy went to our refrigerator, opened it, and asked his new friend:

"What kind of drink do you prefer? Coke, juice, milk, hot chocolate, or perhaps water from the tap?"

"You can make hot chocolate? That is my favorite drink!"

Chuckling, my son took a bottle of milk and put it onto our kitchen table. Then, he took a folding chair and clambered onto it, to get a pan and two mugs. While he got our chocolate powder from one of the cupboards, Nicky took the milk and helpfully poured some into the pan. My son pushed his chair towards our electric cook top, Nicky gave his friend the pan, and my son put it onto our cook top, switched it on, and waited until the milk was hot. In the meantime, Nicky put two helpings of chocolate powder into each of the cups... In total surprise, I stared at both silent boys, while trying to understand what could be happening. All the time, they were doing everything without saying a word or even looking at each other! Could they have done this before, or were they reading each other's thoughts? I knew that my little Shaman could talk to John in his mind, but that worked only when they were thinking of the same things... Soon, both friends took their steaming drinks to our living room, slurping them while walking shoulder to shoulder. Still feeling 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."

Involuntarily, I started to blush, while the two new friends finished their drinks and brought their empty mugs back to our kitchen, before they went to our computer. Joyfully smiling at each other, they happily wriggled their small bodies into the same armchair. Little Harry switched our computer on, and explained to his new friend why they had to wait until the screen showed up. Next, they paged through Davy's games, deliberated for a moment, and decided to play one of Davy's 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 friends were totally immersed in their racing game, while 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 fire! Now, they started to push each other's racing cars off the tracks and into the banks, trying to wreck them while having very much fun.

In the meantime, I went to our usual couch and sat down next to John. My young friend softly muttered under his breath, while he stared at little Harry's new friend with an angry face. Clearly, he didn't like what he saw, but I had no idea why that was. Could John be jealous because his little brother went outside without waiting for him? Or, was John jealous of Nicky who suddenly became little Harry's best friend?

While both new friends again roared with laughter, John turned towards me and whispered:

"What is Nicky doing here? He is the little brother of Jason, that big boy who kicked Harry off his skateboard and called him a 'freaky alien'. I don't like that family, because his drunken father is just as big a bastard as his oldest son!"

Feeling shocked by John's venomous outburst, I whispered back:

"John, what are you doing now? Please, try to think first before you start judging! For example, are you a 'bastard' only because Eric might be one? Or, is Davy a 'bastard' only because his father has been such a... let's say a bad person?"

For a few seconds, John only stared at me, as if he wanted to argue but couldn't find the right words. Then, he got a thoughtful expression on his face. After some more pondering, he shook his head and started to blush. Again, he stared at both new friends who sat squeezed together in their shared armchair. Obviously, they already liked each other very much, and they certainly had lots of fun together!

Slowly, John's facial expression changed towards shame, until he looked at his feet and mumbled:

"Sorry Dad. Of course, you are right again, and I will have to learn to think first before I open my big mouth and start talking nonsense. Davy is a good boy, and he cannot help it if his father has been such a beast. Nicky seems to be very nice to Harry, and he too cannot help it if his older brother behaves as a dork and his always-drunken father is such a bast... err... such a grumpy alcoholic."

Hesitantly, John leaned into me, while he slowly got tears in his deep brown eyes and nearly started to cry. Obviously, my young friend already regretted his too harsh words; and I hoped he had again learnt a valuable lesson. Gently, I folded my arms around my young friend's firm frame and pulled him even closer to my chest, to support him and let him know we were still good friends.

Trying to distract John from his feelings of shame, I asked him:

"How is your mother doing in your grandma's house, and Mark and Marrie?"

Looking relieved, John cuddled up to me even more while he responded:

"Mom was very pleased to hear from me, and she told me she already misses me. Of course, I miss her too; but not too much, because I like it here even more, with you and with Harry and Davy. I told her what happened in the zoo and in Harry's face clinic; and she answered she is glad she didn't know that Harry went missing! She is also very happy to hear that Harry will get his new face so soon. Eric tried again to take Mark and Marrie to a juvenile home; but Mom told him to stop his efforts, or she will sue him for leaving her without any money and for abandoning his own children. Hopefully, he will leave us alone from now on... By the way, Mom invites all of us, including Davy, to visit her next week and have dinner at my grandma's house."

Exactly at that moment, Nicky suddenly jumped up and overturned their shared chair in his exuberant over-enthusiasm! Both boys fell onto the carpeted floor, while Nicky threw his arms high into the air in exaggerated triumph.

At the top of his lungs, Nicky shouted:

"GOTCHA! I WON, so I am the greatest!"

Chuckling, Nicky fell down on top of his new friend. John and I started to laugh at the funny sight, while my little soul mate playfully poked Nicky in the ribs. Of course, Nicky immediately turned around and poked his new friend back. Now, they started wrestling on the carpet, trying to pin each other down. Soon, little Harry started to tickle Nicky's ribs, making Nicky squirm around while desperately trying to escape from his torturer. My clever boy seemed to have found Nicky's weakest spot, and easily won their wrestling match.

In triumph, my boy straddled Nicky's chest and told him:

"I am the real greatest! Therefore, say 'uncle'."

"Aunt..."

"Not 'aunt', but 'UNCLE'!"

"Nephew..."

"I warn you! Say 'uncle'; or I will ask Dad and John for help."

"Grandpa..."

"Dad and John, please help me. I won our wrestling, but Nicky refuses to say 'uncle'..."

Chuckling at my boy's antics, I teasingly responded:

"Why should Nicky say 'uncle'? YOU already did that for him, at least four times!"

For a split second, my boy looked perplexed. While counting the 'uncles' in his mind, he totally forgot to hold onto Nicky. Immediately, Nicky threw his firm hips high into the air and easily wrestled free from under his torturer. Cleverly, my boy started to tickle Nicky's sensitive ribs again, making Nicky roll around and around on the carpeted floor while trying to escape from his relentless torturer...

Suddenly, Nicky stopped wrestling, sat upright, and blushed:

"Sorry Harry, but your tickling made me pee my pants..."

Looking ashamed, Nicky slowly rose from the floor, indeed showing a dripping wet spot in the front of his blue jeans. Suddenly, he cringed when he saw me looking at him. Looking back at me with lots of fear in his no longer sparkling eyes, he started to tremble all over...

In the meantime, my little soul mate teased his new friend:

"Ah, poor baby, did you forget to put on fresh diapers?"

However, Nicky didn't respond any more to his teasing friend. Trembling all over, he still had the same fear in his eyes, as if something terrible had happened... As a psychotherapist used to working with young children, I knew that some kids have weak bladders, especially when they are ticklish and start laughing uncontrollably. Could Nicky's father have punished his own son too fiercely for wetting his pants? Some fathers tend to see such behavior as an unwanted weakness in their son that has to be rooted out... Therefore, I smiled at my frightened and still trembling new friend, to reassure him and let him know I understood it had not been his fault, and that I still liked him very much.

While pointing upstairs, I asked my still laughing little soul mate:

"Harry? Could you please take Nicky upstairs to let him shuck his wet clothes and wash up; and could you also lend him a pair of your own trousers, until his are washed and dried and he can wear them again?"

While nodding his consent, my boy stopped laughing, took Nicky's hand, and dragged his relieved looking friend out of our room and up the stairs. On their way towards our shower, we heard them giggling and teasing each other again, as if nothing had happened.

Chuckling at hearing their renewed antics; John mused aloud:

"Nicky surely didn't look happy after he wet his pants! I think his drunken father has been too harsh with punishing his sons... Dad, are you in for a quick racing game on our computer, now that our toddlers are changing their diapers?"

Of course, I was in for a quick racing game against my young friend! Immediately, John and I were wrestling for the best place in front of our computer. Unfortunately, we didn't fit together in the same armchair, although we absolutely tried it out... Within a second, John started to slaughter 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 even more... 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 John saddled me with another wrecked car, for the umpteenth time, I just gave up and sighed:

"Sorry, John, but I am way too old for such lightning fast computer games."

"Ah, senile ancient grandpa... Shall I get you a soft pillow, to sit more comfortably?"

Pretending to feel offended, I turned towards my chuckling young friend and teasingly poked his ribs. Unfortunately, my action made John rose from his own seat and push me off my chair, so that I tumbled down and landed on the carpeted floor. Quickly, John dived on top of me, to pin my arms down onto the floor... but, this time, being the strongest one, I WON!

Proudly straddling John's chest, I teased my young friend:

"Now, I am the greatest! Therefore, say 'uncle'."

"Aunt..."

"Not 'aunt', but 'uncle'!"

"Nephew..."

"I warn you! Say 'uncle', or I will ask Harry and Nicky for help."

"Then, I will pee my pants, on purpose!"

"Ah, poor baby, did you forget to put on fresh diapers?"

This time, both John and I nearly wet our own pants from laughing too much! Hurriedly, I left John's chest and raced to our bathroom, followed suit by John who groaned loudly because he had to wait for me. While I blessed our ceramic god, John continually pounded on the door, until I flushed the toilet and he nearly ran me over in his tremendous hurry. Fortunately, for him, he was just in time...

Chapter 10. What is a 'homo'; and Jason is in trouble.

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Although these nine chapters were only a short introduction to get acquainted with our beautiful stories, they are NOT the end of our ongoing adventures! To read on, please BUY this book, by clicking on one of the following links:

To buy the e-book for only $ 2.99, please click on this link.

To buy the printed book for only $14.99, click on this link.

In the FOURTH book of our 'Gypsy Series', which is called 'a Man loves a Boy -4- my boy gets a new face', Little Harry and I are surviving many more funny, sad, nasty, and powerful adventures. We visit his parent's graveyard and buy them a beautiful marble gravestone. Our burnt little Gypsy Prince finally gets new skin and a brand new face in his expensive transplant clinic; but, after he returns home, nobody recognizes him any more...

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Together with me, my little soul mate has started writing his OWN 'Gypsy Series' of books, about his growing up as a little Gypsy Crown Prince until he meets me! In the first book of his OWN series, which is called 'a Boy loves a Man -1- Gypsy Heir to the Throne', our little Prince grows up in a secluded site in the Rumanian mountains, surrounded by steep ravines and dangerous forests. He is a 'wise old soul', an upcoming Shaman, and way too intelligent for his own good. His Inner Wisdom already knows he has to fulfill a very Important Task on Earth, assisted by all his Cosmic Friends, Beloved Ancestors, and Spirit Guides; but his too witty brain is always in the way and confusing him with its many questions and annoying 'buts' and 'ifs'...

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Please visit our Internet site http://www.gypsyseries.com to stay informed about our newest 'Gypsy Series' books; and please send us a stimulating email... I am a retired Dutch psychotherapist, living in The Netherlands, and still writing many powerful 'books with a message'. May our Supreme Being always be with you, bless you, and give you lots of Love and Happiness in your life!

Aad Aandacht, retired Dutch psychotherapist and writer.