I never cease enjoying the loud cries of wonder and awe, the startled sounds of surprise, the cries of fear for those they see threatened, all verbalised as is the custom of both the Roulans and the people of the Orati reality.
Haven whispered, “You took your time!” but then spoke loudly, congratulating him for being so enlightened. Meesartus smiled as he caught my eye and then asked questions about the asteroid of those close to us.
Orgg walked by and only then did I realise that Jeskine had gone for a walk with Robbie and Cherine. Orgg had Ivgos sitting on his shoulders and Goldi holding his one hand and little Cher the other. I was enjoying watching everyone and sensing how right everything was and their happiness or warm feelings of comfort, but decided I was tired of being on the outside and joined Orgg and his little group. Ivgos happily leant down to give me his hand. I caressed it against my cheek for a moment and then let it go as it was not comfortable for him leaning down like that. The conversation was light-hearted and even bordered on the silly at times, making us laugh, and somehow the magic happened and I felt entirely like a child of eleven with no worries or cares for a while.
We returned to the damaged Earth five hundred years in its future and Freddie put it on our screens. What a sight! Five Inguel ships in orbit with their space trees and hundreds of different kinds of specialised plants for terraforming moving around in a well orchestrated dance of healing. They have not undone the changes but have made new changes so as to minimise their effect on the global climate. A lot of the new mountains have been scooped down to form new land to either side, allowing the air currents to return to what will be normal, hence allowing the rest of the world to revert to the climates they enjoyed before. We were told that bringing back the ocean currents to something resembling the past streams of warm and cold water was far more difficult. Ice and snow have started gathering at the two poles, but it was suggested we wait another five hundred years before re-stocking the planet. We jumped to the past, to a period before mankind evolved into Homo sapiens and began transferring some of each species of all the kingdoms of nature, making certain we do not affect the local conditions, allowing them to multiply within the niche provided in the Sparkler World. This is the first time the Kabetu have helped save one of our alternate Earths and it is doing much to bolster their self confidence.
Re-stocking Earth is not as simple as replanting the vegetation and carrying animals, birds, insects, fish back to the areas they were taken from. Amongst all we collected there are a huge number of species that were extinct at the time the planet was destroyed. Planning what we bring back and where they should be situated can only be ‘calculated’ by the Inguel. We returned five hundred years after our previous departure and the Inguel warned us that the planet is under quarantine. We waited for them to visit us in Freddie.
“We are faced with an ethical dilemma Robert. The asteroid that collided with this planet had microscopic life locked within the center of the ice. By the time we noticed it, it had spread and began to diverge, new forms of simple life evolving. While it is the only life on this planet we can control it and if it is so decided, we can sterilise the planet.”
He hesitated and Robbie was quick to understand. “I presume you are faced with a number of hard choices. I’ll start off by re-stating, in case it needs to be said, the planet belongs to the life native to it, not to life coming from a different solar system. That having been said, let us examine various options. At present we do not know under what conditions the asteroid was originally formed and whether the life it carried was unique to it. If it comes from a solar system that was rich in life then the question must be asked - for a system to have developed life it must have existed for a long period in a stable condition. What then caused the asteroid to break free of the system? Was there some cataclysmic event that destroyed all life? If so, the life that came here is precious and must be preserved at all costs.
I can appreciate the strong feelings of curiosity your people must have about this lifeform. For it to be evolving this quickly, it must be strong and will probably teach us a lot. You would like to give it time to evolve, but to do so would then give the various creatures that come into existence a right to this planet, which would be wrong. An-Kipy, to remove the existing life and sterilise the planet so that we can re-seed it with life that belongs here not only feels unethical but also loses us an opportunity to learn and, maybe, future friends. Your feelings are that you could take samples and create environments for them to grow in, but the environments will not be the same so their evolution will be affected. The environments would have to be planet sized so that whatever evolves from what exists now has a world of its own. It would not be ethical to replicate them in a Sparkler World. First of all, for the future of any species to depend on the continuing existence of another species is wrong - even should that range of species never include one that becomes sapient. Secondly, no other species has the right to ask for permanent refuge in a Sparkler World if it is capable of replicating itself. Can you guarantee that they will not multiply without control?
Claudia added, “We can follow the asteroid back to its point of origin. I’d like to know what happened and maybe there are people who need help.”
As the representatives of this Earth, we asked Robert and Cherine to agree to a delay so that the suggestion by Robbie be carried out. Since the Inguel will be returning to this reality far in the past to give themselves time to terraform another planet, it will only take a century or two to transfer all the life from here. Cherine, looking a bit bewildered, left it to Robert and he agreed.
Life is pernicious; it creeps into the tiniest cracks and works its way down into pockets far below the surface. It sinks for miles to the bottom of oceans and adjusts to the pressure and darkness. To collect all life, to the tiniest one celled organism, it would not be enough to send Sparklers in their billions. Not even as souls could we achieve that much more than them. To a large extent we would have to depend on the technology of the Inguel, Anadir, Unation and Muyzith. It took time to adapt what they have and then it took time for them to search every centimetre, capturing life in all its guises. Finally the planet was proclaimed to be free of life. That was when the sterilisation of the planet began and it took a few years, with us jumping forward in three month periods so as to provide repair facilities and update the data banks. The day arrived when the planet was declared pristine and ready for life to be reinstated.
While everyone had a great time re-stocking the planet (borinnngg - see what you feel like after planting your ten thousandth tree) I found an excuse to return home for a ten day break. Robbie was not impressed when another thirty nine of our loves declared they have to accompany me so that I don’t get lonely. We told those who stayed behind that we envied them as they would have Robbie to themselves while we’re gone. (
With that great sense of timing us Cherinians are famous for, we returned to Freddie the day after they finished (I love Solomon, he kept his word and sent us a Sparkler to let us know we should come back). The next part will also be hard work but much more fun; we are returning to collect the people. We have housing ready for everyone, the granaries are full and the supermarket shelves are crammed with food. Libraries, museums and art galleries are waiting to house all that can be brought forward. Unfortunately we can only take everything from the past in the last few minutes so there are hundreds of thousands of volunteers waiting to transfer just the art works. If you add to that the numbers needed to kidnap all the Terrans, plus their pets; this is one of those massive operations where each person is glad to have been of help, but each of us feels we didn’t really achieve much - but that we were part of something wonderful.
There are some interesting differences between this Earth and all the others we know. For instance, they have seventeen countries less than us. They have television in most countries, but not one station is run privately, they all belong to the state. Internet has not taken off amongst the general population - neither is the concept of freeware popular amongst programmers. It costs a lot to create and run a site so mostly the governments and large corporations use the internet. The differences in how the internet is run have held them back from discovering other spinoff technology and I’ll be interested to see what happens once more people jump realities (both ways).
We only snatched the people at the very last moment as we did not want to change the past of Robert and Cher. They were delivered directly to the Sparkler World in an area that superficially resembled what they had been snatched from. Within a minute they were then returned to their home planet - where everything was now totally different. Sparklers brought back all those who committed suicide. It seems that far more priests, of various religions, killed themselves. (They have not been told about Arthur, so he is not to blame). Mostly it was due to them learning about the Sparklers…and hence, about the existence of the void. Since they were told that in our reality all the religions are still thriving, it cannot be said that we were responsible for the masses turning away from religion and looking for reasons to justify their existence elsewhere.
“We’ve known for some time that your lives have been very different from ours, but it might help us understand your world if you tell us your story?”
He nodded, “Prime Robert, I cannot tell our story in the way Melina and the rest of your family tell it. Since you can sense our emoting, may I presume it will help make my words come to life?”
“It would. Robert, if you allow my Cherine to share from you, it would make it even clearer for us.”
“I’m not ready for that. I’m sorry.”
Robbie smiled and spoke to Cher, “Would you be jealous if my Cherine opens her mind to him? I know, why don’t both of you enter her mind?” Cher was curious and eager. She entered the mind of her Robert and the two of them went to visit our Cherine. We quickly realised there would be no telling the story of their lives that day, for both of them were enchanted and when Cherine offered to take them to the world she still carries within her, we guessed they’ll be gone for hours. We decided it was real sneaky of Robbie and showered him with kisses.
“I was not born in Nairobi. My mother had been to South Africa and to her the cities were astounding and, so she thought, the same as New York, London or Paris. As a young teenager her parents had emigrated to Kenya via South Africa and had travelled there directly from Ireland, which explains her ignorance. When she fell pregnant with me and my father wished to marry her, she spoke so enthusiastically of Johannesburg and the lush farms she had seen surrounding it that he finally agreed it sounded a better environment for their unborn child. They travelled to Durban from Mombasa on a Union Castle liner and they arrived in time for me to be born in Durban. A week later they moved to Pretoria and a few weeks later we settled on a small farm my father bought, north of the city. We had a small herd of cows, always between forty to seventy and the milk and butter helped cover a large slice of our costs in the early years. We had peach, apricot and a few sour cherry trees. As luck would have it, we had a strong stream of water from two wells and we illegally supplied a big neighbouring farm with water, which helped cover a part of our running expenses. When I was about ten years old my father decided to add chickens and built cages for fifteen thousand chickens. At first it was fun for me, but I quickly grew to hate the smell of chicken crap, as I was expected to handle it for converting to fertiliser for our fruit trees. After three years of not making much of a profit for us, the chickens got sick and all of them died within days.
We had a small tractor and my father gave me the responsibility of growing about thirty hectares of lucerne for feeding our cattle. He saw this as a way of decreasing the cost of our milk so that he can increase the size of our herd, as he was planning to go into partnership with another two farmers and bottle and market our own brand of milk, cream and butter. That business lasted eleven years and never made much money, but all the partners walked out of it with some good money in the bank when they were bought out by a major dairy. By then I was gone from the farm and not on talking terms with my father.
I left the farm to stay in a suburb close to the city as I wanted to go to university. My father approved and covered most of my costs and by working in a pub I earned enough to survive fairly comfortably. The pub was in a business area and had many hours when we had almost no customers. I did not care to use the time for studying and picked up a hobby that kept me busy during the dull hours. Soon I was earning money from sketching our patrons.” He chuckled. “It came about by accident. There was one man who came almost every day and he was well liked by the waiters as he was always polite, did not drink himself into a stupor and tipped well. I was idly sketching so I did a cartoon of him, making fun of him by exaggerating his features. My knowledge of him as a person helped me show something of his personality also. The waiters saw it and were amused, but one of them, wanting to get me into trouble, told the man. He asked to see it and had a good laugh. He offered me money for it and that led to my becoming a drawcard for the pub as people heard about my funny sketches and came to have themselves sketched.” He grinned. “The more outrageous I was, the more I exaggerated their ugliest features, the more popular I became.”
Later, Robert continued. “I had finished my second year at university when a friend and I decided to fly to Europe and backpack through it, taking odd jobs wherever possible to augment our funds. We arrived in London, had a good time, worked for two weeks but were told to get lost when it was time for us to be paid. There was no point in going to Paris or Amsterdam, so we went across to Belgium by ferry, earned enough to get to Frankfurt and from there we worked our way to Italy. At Savona, my friend was invited to a party in San Remo. I did not want to wait as I’d been offered a job for ten days at a coffee shop in Genoa. Three days later, my friend sent me a message that he had hooked up with a rich girl and would be spending the rest of his holiday on her yacht.
North Italy was not very kind to me, but as I worked my way south, my sketches sporadically earned me a few extra lire, giving me the funds for adding a carafe of wine to my pizza now and then. I was happy and often avoided hitching, glad to be walking in the countryside, smelling the grapes and olives as they were picked and crushed. People in villages did not pay me for my sketches, but I got offered many a glassful of vino with bread, cheese, salami or prosciuto. In northern Italy I had a couple of two to three night affairs, but I was quick to realise it would not be wise of me to do the same in the south. I liked the people, I liked their hard ways and simple lives that surprisingly allowed them to be hospitable, even if only to share a tomato and a piece of bread with some raw wine. On a hot day I accepted a ride that took me to Brindisi. The driver was Greek and we got on very well and he stood me a meal and I sketched him. His name was Niko and he was a bit of a playboy and he casually invited me to stay with him all the way to Athens, where he offered to put me up until I move on to the islands. I laughed and told him I’m not much of a swimmer, so I doubted I would go to the islands. He told me the islands are not for swimming, they are for enjoying a casual style of life that I’ll never find anywhere else. In Athens, he took me to his home. His parents accepted me without questions and I wondered at how naïve they are. Niko told them I am an artist and I quickly qualified his introduction. They saw my sketches and told me I have talent and should take it seriously. Two days later I was embarrassed by them when they brought me all the materials an artist could want. They waved off my thanks and more or less ordered me to get down to work so that I can produce real works of art instead of ‘cheap’ sketches that will never earn me a good living or make me famous. By now I had given up on my idea of studying law, so I took their strongly worded suggestions seriously.
The father was very critical of my paintings so on the day that he asked to buy a painting I’d made of some beggar children at a traffic light with the indifferent faces of the motorists staring at them coldly, I considered his request a real compliment and tried to convince him to accept it as a gift - after all, he had given me a room in his home, fed me, and Niko had paid every time we went out. He told me to stop being stupid, that if I am to be a successful artist, I must never part with a painting unless I am well paid. He explained that self confidence in my talent will inspire the same confidence in others.
To me, Athens was not the clubs Niko took me to. Nor was it the many ancient ruins. Dutifully I did the rounds and was awed by them, but it is the way of life, the hard lively faces at the vegetable market where they try to cheat you, but smile and laugh when you don’t let them get the better of you that meant more to me. I saw so much that I wanted to paint!
I asked the parents of Niko whether it would be possible for me to get an extension of my visa so as to stay for the winter. I told them that I would get a job as long as I could earn enough to rent a room and feed myself, with time enough left for painting. The father, Elias, arranged for me to get a work permit by offering me a job in his shipping company and, basically, paid me far too much for doing nothing, as long as I showed him I was working hard at producing new works of art. Niko left for London when summer ended so I could stop going to clubs and concentrate on my painting.”
“You didn’t meet Dominique? Doesn’t she exist in your reality?”
That first winter in Greece was a strange one for me and represented a total change in my attitude to life, in my ambitions and my social expectations. I rarely saw the Spiropoulos family as they often travelled to London to be close to their son or for business reasons, but Elias wanted to be certain I did not slack off so he arranged for a friend of his to visit me once a month to view my new work. As you’ve probably guessed, that man was Alki. It is strange how our lives could be so different and yet, travel in certain ways in parallel lines.
With me, Alki was friendly in a polite way - you know, the way that shows you he does not really want to be friends. He examined my paintings, asked a few interesting questions and then left. He remained that way for two months, but on his third visit he stood before a painting I’d painted while in a dark mood. He frowned as he stared at it and then told me, ‘This could have been a brilliant work of art, but you indulged yourself, gave free rein to your emotions by dramatising them. Emotions are what give meaning to art, but not if they are allowed to run away with the message. Learn to control the emotions that inspire you so that you can use your emotions instead of allowing them to use you. Try to paint this painting with more control and it might be worth something.’ Until he’d spoken, I’d been in love with that painting, thinking I’d created something outstanding, a work of art. Suddenly seeing it through his eyes crushed me, for I saw a childish display of emotion that overstated what I had wanted to convey. It took me weeks before I found the determination and courage to start that painting afresh. When Alki next came he ignored the painting on the easel, but it seemed to me his friendly manner was more genuine. At his next visit he took one look and asked me what the price is. I thought to myself, 'you Greek prick, I’m going to make you pay for making me feel so bad' and asked for two thousand dollars - far in excess of what I thought it was worth. He smiled and told me to wrap it up as he was taking it. He then invited me out for some food and a bottle of wine. When we had eaten and finished the wine and were enjoying a cup of coffee, he leant forward and said, ‘I’ll pay you two thousand pounds, not dollars. Roberto, I do not want the painting because it is art - I want it so that I can look at it someday and say, there is proof Alki that you helped one artist discover his talent. Remember this my young friend, you can never become a great artist if you are not a harsh critic of your work. Do not rest easy because others tell you that you have talent, make each painting prove itself to you.’ Maybe the old Robert would have taken exception to his high-handed manner, but the Robert I was now did not and after that, every time he visited he insisted we go out for a meal and drink. I enjoyed those evenings because he showed a real interest in learning about me, the real person, not the one I show to acquaintances. His comments about my paintings were never meant to limit me and helped me grow. My proudest day was when, seven months later he bought a small painting because he liked it.
Apart from Alki, that winter saw me without friends, living most of the time without a soul to speak to. It turned me inwards and I became even more introspective and moody. My hours of painting were often feverish and I often despaired of the work I was producing. I got into the habit of leaving my apartment in the early hours of the morning and walking until the sun came up, bitterly thinking of the fact that I had given up everything to become an artist without having the talent to become one. I walked so often that even the cops stopped questioning me and started to greet me like we were friends. It was at this crucial part of my life that a certain little girl walked into my life, changing it in ways I never could have imagined!
The first time I met her was not the first time I saw her. She had moved into an apartment with her mother about a month ago and I sometimes saw them in the early evening at the local souvlatsidiko, a tiny restaurant that specialises on making little souvlas on a stick. They are cheap and popular since a couple of them with pita bread and a beer are filling. Her mother had placed an order and was waiting by the counter, when the little girl stood by my chair and asked me, ‘Are you really an artist?’ Due to the way I was feeling about myself, her question seemed funny at that moment and I answered that I don’t know. She asked, ‘Are all your paintings angry like you are all the time? Would I like any of them?’ Probably not, I answered her, not smiling anymore. Her mother called her and she gave me a cheeky look and a strange smile and said, as she started walking to her mother, ‘My name is Cherine’.
I passed through the usual things kids do, like loving my Superman comics, my Captain Marvel (Shazam), Dan Dare and so on. As I matured I graduated to space operas and then I discovered my first good science fiction and I was hooked. People of my planet do not like mutants, not even in their fiction, so when a mutant was written about, the mutant would always be the freak and the villain and he or she would have to die so that the good guys can live and mankind, pure, wholesome and in the image of God, survive for all time. Any paranormal powers can only belong to mutants or are gifts from Satan, so to write otherwise of a mutant would be evil. In the last ten years, since television became cheap enough to be popular, the Satan part is not generally quoted anymore - only by a few hand-clapping preachers. However, science tells us that men and women with paranormal powers don’t exist, but if they do, they are mutants and should not be allowed to spread their mutations by marrying normal people and having children. The prejudice writers catered to sometimes angered me, but it is difficult to consciously take a step outside of your society, to live there, so I was not that much more honest than them.
And I had found a mutant child and…I liked her!
I knew that I had to be very careful, but I was enchanted by the idea of Cherine being gifted. By ‘careful’ I mean that her parents would be extremely wary of a stranger knowing the truth about their daughter plus, for Cherine’s sake I had to be extra careful I did nothing to betray her to others. Luckily, when something is deemed horrendous and does not bear thinking of, most people are blinded by their fears and ignore the subtle hints. I did not want to be the one to open anyone’s eyes to those little clues.
I decided the best way to behave would be to pretend I do not know and try to become their friend. I chose a stupid way to go about achieving my aims. I spent the next two weeks painting a portrait of her. I struggled to capture the essence of her cheeky smile and the look of mischief in her eyes. Even now I cannot, but I had done the best I could when Alki came for a visit and without asking, never having required an invitation, he walked into my studio and saw the portrait. He stared at it, examined it from various angles and then offered me three thousand pounds for it, once it is finished. I told him it is not for sale and with a look of amusement in his eyes he offered five thousand. I was flattered, but I explained I intended giving it as a gift to the girl of the portrait. He asked where I’d met her and, without thinking, I told him. I don’t know whether I showed my dismay at having told him or whether he was just curious, but he turned up at the little shop that evening. He found an excuse to introduce himself and when he learnt that they would have to leave because the father needs to return to his job, he asked Cherine whether she would like to stay in Greece. Like most kids her age, she hummed and hawed, not wanting to commit herself, worried that either answer would upset someone, Alki or her parents. He chose to interpret it his way and offered the father a job with a good salary. He returned to my apartment that night and told me of what he had done - for my sake.
If life has not been harsh and good things happen, it is easy to be stupid and accept them as being normal. The act of benevolence and thoughtfulness by Alki was far too outré for me to blithely accept it as normal, but I did not know how to question his motives without sounding ungrateful. In the end I had to make do with the one word I loved during my childhood, ‘Why?’ He took hold of me by the elbow and steered me out onto the verandah where it was darker and we could stare at the lights of ships instead of at each others’ faces. ‘Roberto, you look at me and see a short hairy Greek who has made more money than anyone could possibly need and you think my heart and mind are coarse like my body. I’ll tell you a secret, inside me is a mind that craves for what it can never be.’ He waved his hand before me. ‘I would give up all this if I could be an artist, have the gift of creation. Whether it would be the gift of painting or of writing. Since it can never be, I have to settle for something that is second best. When and where I find a deserving artist who needs my help, I keep an eye on them and help where it is needed or guide when they are straying from developing their talent so as to settle for money. The way you live, it is not good. It leads to new depths if indulged for a time, but beyond that lies sterility. The Muse, she does not kiss those who do not love life and people. You need friends and I think this family are to be what you need, so I employ the father. It is a small thing I do in the hopes they help keep your heart open.’ I tried to argue that it is not a small thing, spending so much money every month for a long time, and he laughed, telling me he expects the man to work for his salary.
Cherine complained it did not look like her and her parents told her it does. I made tea, gave Cherine a cold drink and putting some music for background noise, we chatted for a while. When it was time for them to leave I wrapped up the painting and gave it to Eric. They protested, even offered to buy it, but I insisted it is a gift for the Cherine of the future. ‘Some day when she is an adult and has a child of her own she can show the painting so that her child can see what her mother looked like.’ I pulled a face. ‘It is a funny thing, which I do not understand. Old photos make people look outdated, old fashioned, but oil paintings often have a timeless quality to them.’
Summer had arrived and it was not long before we took to going to the beaches close by. I do not enjoy being amongst thousands and wished I could afford a car to travel further out and search for private beaches. Niko returned to Athens and it was nice having someone the same age for company and I could feel that the rapport from last year had survived our separation. He was visiting when the Blakes arrived to agree the time for us to share a taxi to go to Vouliagmeni. Niko must have been sensitive to me for he kindly offered to take us and suggested we go further out where it would be less crowded. From that first day Niko watched me with curiosity, for he was quick to realise that the child interested me more than the parents did. I did not have to worry about it, for Cherine liked him and was soon monopolising him.
I was almost paranoid about not letting her parents know that I know about Cherine, but her gift made her aware that something was wrong, that I was excited and afraid at the same time. She became curious and tried to sense more deeply. Cherine had never done anything like this before so she did not realise that the deeper she dug into my mind, the stronger was the bond she forged between us. The hours I was not with her I’d think of her constantly. When I was with her I barely paid attention to the rest of the group, making it far too obvious that I was fascinated by her. Niko tried talking to me, tried warning me that my infatuation with a nine year old child would destroy me, but I denied any interest in her, apart from those of a friend, so Niko gave up and stopped visiting. Then the entire family became unavailable and avoided the places we used to frequent. I could not understand why I was in such a despair - it felt like I was going crazy. What I did not know was that Cherine was suffering as I was.
Cherine’s misery and pleas to meet with me showed Eric he had no option, that he had to tell Marian about the psychic gifts of their daughter. It took a full day for Marian to accept the truth and she then blamed me and swore she would never allow Cherine to meet me again. Eric had known the truth for years, but the accusation by his wife provided him with a scapegoat and he took a sharp knife from their kitchen and came to me. I opened the door, saw he was alone and turned away, obviously slumped by despair. I went to the sofa and sat down, not bothering to look up as he stood over me. His hand lowered until the knife was before me and when I did not react he dropped it on the table. ‘Dammit! She did this to you?’ I don’t know how, but I felt that Cherine was drawing closer so I looked up at him, recovering some of my spirit. ‘She is coming. Eric, all I want is to help you protect her from the rest of the world. I don’t want her hurt in any way.’
He sat down opposite me and waited for Cherine. She knocked on the door and with a look at him I opened it for her. She threw her arms around my waist and I could feel her trembling, gasping for breath. I picked her up and went to Eric, ready to hand her over if he wanted to take her from me. He started to talk without indicating he wanted to take her, so I sat opposite him with Cherine prudently placed next to me.
‘I realised Cherine was not a normal child from when she was about three years old. I fought the knowledge and only accepted it when she was four and she was making her powers too obvious for me to pretend they don’t exist. Fear for her, for what the world would do to her if they find out, forced me to think about it and search for ways to advise her so that she learns to be cautious about letting anyone know. To a large extent I succeeded, but she did not hide herself from me, needing that she be accepted for who and what she is by at least one person. She trusted me Robert, but I let her down. One day it all became too much, I felt overwhelmed and abandoned my baby girl.’
Cherine stared at him with enormous eyes, the hurt obvious. I could not bear to feel that she was in pain. ‘Eric, it grew too much for you because you love her, not because you don’t. You were alone and afraid and had nobody to talk with. Please, if only Marian and you will trust me, I’ll be there for all three of you so that we share the responsibility of keeping her safe.’ He stared at me without talking for a moment. ‘She got to you, she did it, didn’t she?’ I looked down at her and she must have felt me for I saw love that was close to adoration in her eyes. ‘I’d say we did it to each other Eric. I think the two of us are fated to be together for the rest of our lives.’
I still count the weeks that followed as being among the most difficult I’ve experienced. Both Eric and Marian tried to be tolerant of my almost perpetual presence, but there would be times their anger would spill over and they’d say something to hurt me. Our constant need to touch each other angered them the most. I never saw or was with Cherine without them being present, so it is not that they suspected me of doing anything improper, but still, seeing us touching riled them. I believe that without either of them being aware of it, they were sensing our need for each other and that the love that was growing so strong was beginning to make other demands on the two of us. If Cherine had been but a handful of years older I would not have held back, for Cherine was not only driving me crazy with her presence, her tiny but delectable body, her own aches and needs were being broadcasted at me, compounding my own. One of our happiest days was the day Cherine realised that I was sensing her emoting. It convinced her that she is not a freak, or, if she is, I am too.” We all chuckled and Robert crushed his little girl to him.
“You won’t believe what changed their attitude towards me. Summer had gone, exchanging the dry brown grass for those autumn spear-shaped lilac coloured wild flowers growing by the side of the road and whatever was left of our tans had to be hidden beneath bulky sweaters and, Niko my friend was no longer my friend and he had left for London, leaving me without the opportunity to win him back. We’d discovered a small Italian style restaurant with a big fireplace and the four of us went there almost every Friday night. We had ordered and I was glumly lost in my thoughts and Cherine was watching me with a worried look. She would not tell her parents what was wrong so Marian shook my arm and asked. I told her. Marian looked shocked and then she burst out laughing, a shrill laugh. ‘Niko is angry with you because he thinks you are in love with Cherine - and you told him you are not?’ I nodded. ‘Well, that Greek boy is smarter than I thought!’ Cherine was wide open and I sensed that if I repeated my denial I would hurt her. I put my finger under her chin and made her look at me as I told her, ‘I guess I’m pretty dumb hey? I am in love with you and I hope you love me when you are old enough to be my girl.’ Cherine threw herself into my arms and her parents looked at each other, glanced around to make certain nobody is close enough to hear and Eric said, ‘It would be no good telling you to fly to London, there is nothing you can say to make him stop thinking of you as a pervert unless we all come with and confide in him the truth. Robert, Cherine has vouched for him, she says he is nice and really cares for her. What do you say, do we expand our secret circle?’
Niko met us, we told him we needed to speak privately and from the fear in his eyes I realised he thought I’d been caught making a move on Cherine and was in trouble. It made me accept he truly is my friend, so it was easier to confide to him our secret once we were in his apartment. His relief helped him accept the fact of Cherine being a mutant and he was happy to hold her on his lap and give her a few hugs. Marian and Cherine went to do some shopping so as to give us men an opportunity to chat.
Eric understood his daughter better than I did and he’d studied all the material he could find on paranormal powers and psychology, so he did the talking. ‘Niko, the four of us are bound to have a difficult time dealing with Cherine, for she is a child in her thinking, despite her powers. If you are to be of some help to Cherine - but mainly your friend Robert - you need to understand what the powers of Cherine are. You have sensed that she can influence your emotions? Good, I am glad you did not resent her for that. It is important we name her gift so that you clearly see there is no reason to fear her. Cherine has the gift of empathy.’ Eric explained in detail and Niko was not the only one fascinated and both of us fell in love with the Cherine he painted for us. ‘She can never use her powers to hurt others or for selfish reasons, for her empathy will prevent her, so never fear her when you see her manipulate others or yourself. She might make mistakes because of her youth, for even empathy requires of us an understanding of what it is like to be in the shoes of another. She also may not understand what the consequences will be because she is hoping for consequences that will not happen. She will soon grow wiser so we only need to watch out for her for a few years. That was the general stuff, now we need to deal with matters that you’ll find distasteful. Niko, Cherine is affecting Robert and as he bonds with her, so does his own mind flower. If we are lucky, his first gift will also be empathy. Understand this Niko: should we try to stand between the two of them, it will turn their gifts sour and not only will it harm the world, it will savage their own hearts so that they become cold and hard. Marian and I have accepted that we must allow what is about to happen - perhaps even encourage it. Cherine and Robert love each other and they must become lovers. To assign blame to either will only make what is of love and beautiful, ugly, and it will scar them. Face your own devils on your own Niko before you join us as the guardians of Robert and Cherine. Come to us and them with love.’
Robbie chuckled. “I am amazed. You have shown a far deeper understanding of your Cherine than I did at your age.”
Our Cherine spoke for the first time since Robert started speaking. “Their story is very different from ours. I think that the support and love they had from others made their problem worse for them.”
Cher’s eyes filled and her Robert pulled her back onto his lap as she asked, “You saw it?”
“Yes.” She went to stand before them and lightly touched them so that they would sense her directly. “You had a duty to save yourselves and by being successful you have saved all those who loved you and stood by you. There is no need for you to feel guilty about leaving them to die - you tried to include them, but you were not strong enough and that was not because you did not love them enough. If you are not honest enough to accept it, you’ll only end up punishing those you love and then you will be guilty for what you do to them.”
Robbie added, his voice tenderly soft, “As they are being punished at this moment. They are wondering why you are staying away from them - don’t you think they have suffered long enough?”
There wasn’t much more to their story, for it was at that time that the unofficial announcements of an asteroid approaching them on a collision course were made. As the world began to panic, so did Robert. He was determined to find a way to save Cherine and he concentrated all his efforts on opening his mind to hers so that he can learn how to uncover other powers. It almost felt ironic to him when it was Cherine who turned out to be the one to discover how an energy shield could be created. In a way, it is a pity they discovered that ability first. If they had not, I believe they would have learnt how to teleport and the shield would have come naturally after that. Since they did not learn how to teleport, they could not jump fresh air into their energy sphere, so they had to make it big enough to provide them with air for at least six months. At least Robert was clever enough to ask an expert how many cubic metres of air would be required for two people to survive six months. No wonder they could not create a sphere big enough for more people. Despite them slowing their metabolism, since they could not jump the stuff, they had to include a container for their waste. The air (fug) stank pretty badly when it was first released.
Robert was disguised and, on his own, he visited and arranged for her parents, his mother, Alki and the family of Niko to meet at the home of Elias (they all have small homes, the same as the rest of the population, but because of their family being the largest they had more rooms than the others). His Cherine was teleported into the house and it turned into a tearful re-union. Since everyone had memories of being saved, the existence of aliens was no secret, even though Freddie kept himself invisible, so they told them that the aliens are looking after them as the governments warned Robert and Cherine to stay away. They pleaded with them to visit them. Robert (and our Robbie) tried hard not to show his hurt when his mother was the only one to refuse. He took her back to her home in South Africa and then they brought their family and friends into Freddie.
Our Marian tackled her alternate immediately. “How could you agree to your daughter having a sexual relationship with an adult!” Alt-Marian stood with mouth agape, speechless. Meeting a mirror image of herself was a big enough shock without having to deal with such a question. It is very rarely that our Marian shows a sense of humour and it amuses us that when she does, it is still as sharp as a razor blade. Eric stood next to his wife without reacting, also in shock, so it was funny seeing Niko step in. He tried to speak gently, for he was nervous, not knowing what to expect of us (though he was already eyeing us), but when he saw that piercing glare of Marian he lost track of what he was trying to say. The look on his face as he desperately looked around, from face to face, made Allan and Alki burst out in laughter, spoiling it for Marian. Our Cherine (who looks like an eight year old) moved to stand by her mum and gave the other Marian and Niko a grin.
“Hi. Wait until my mother tells you that I’m a mother and grandmother! Then it will be your turn to have fun.”
“It is time a full telling is done for you, for afterwards there will be hard decisions to be faced. We were told not to allow your Robert and Cherine to return to your home world as they are not wanted. It is now time, after you understand what is at stake, for you to discuss between you and with us what you wish to do. Whatever your decision we will stand by you, so do not let fear be your guide. Keep in mind these important facts - each reality has a Robert and Cherine of their own and should you choose to live in the reality of another, each home can only belong to one family; you will have to remain lesser than you can be so as not to divide the reality and its people - while condemning your reality to remaining apart from all of life, never to be a part of where Cherine, The Light, is taking us. Think of children starving, being abused and used in wars, think of your reality being the only known reality that endures sickness and death.”
Robbie asked for the most detailed and comprehensive telling ever, for he has felt that our guests fear and he hopes that understanding what being a Cherinian is will help them find the courage they lack at this time. During such discussions, it is extremely rarely that Campbell speaks, but we remain aware of him watching, listening, doing all he can to sense from everyone what they really mean and feel. When I feel it is so, it pleases me. This time he decided to speak. “May I ask a question or two and perhaps make a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“First of all, let me point out a fact, to ask them to make such a complex decision when they are so weak in gifts and number of Cherinians is not fair to them. Cherine, why have you not linked anyone but your Robert?”
“I didn’t know I was linking Robert, I thought it was just our love that made us feel so close, like we are one. Then the fear of the asteroid started and all I could think of was him.”
Arthur nodded understandingly. “Hold off on linking the others until you’ve seen enough of the telling to understand what it means. The next question, which I’ll ask of our Robert - where are their Eddie and Hettie? Even if they did not follow the same course and died before the asteroid, you should have brought them; the Cherinians, even if they are all linked, are too few, they’ll need their experience and practical wisdom.”
Robbie put out his cigarette. “You’re right, I’m going back to find them.” He felt us and grinned. “Not much point in all of you coming, but how about Theresa, Lucy, Latreia and Goldi coming with?”
As soon as they were gone, I asked alt-Alki, “Would you like to meet Jesus? We’ve got two of them if you want.” The looks on their faces was real precious, so Vincent dashed off to invite them. We barely had time to tell them we are not joking when the three of them returned. Vincent gave me a wink as he sat by Kirsten, pointedly leaving it to me to make the introductions.
Not much later, Robert chuckled. “It’s just as well my mother refused to come. Being a devout Catholic, seeing the two of you would have paralysed her with fear, probably made her catatonic.” Even our Rose is now able to think his comment was funny, but our two friends politely ignored it.
Not much later, Robbie and our loves returned and we let out a silent (mental) victory whoop when we saw the Mansfield couple with them. It took a few seconds for it to register that they were in their original bodies. Another moments’ thought and I realised that since they had not existed when we collected everybody, they must have died earlier and there was no way we could guess as to whether they died wearing their natural bodies or bodies stolen from children.
We told everybody to take it easy for the next day, invited our two magic friends to visit us at home the next morning and left. As soon as we were alone we clamoured to be told whether they’d had an adventure. It turned out that the adventure they’d experienced had nothing to do with the Mansfield couple. Before going for them Robbie took the girls to another reality for them to have some nice meals, go to see a play and buy some music for Wendy. They confirmed that this couple have never stolen any bodies and had been dead for over a century. No wonder the poor dears had felt so lost.
