<sup><h6>Allan took his family to London and the girls tell us he is writing again. Robyn would miss Lynda more than we all do if we allowed her to concentrate on those feelings.</h6></sup>
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<center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur-grafo8/little-cherine-book-07-bpost056">Previous: Book 07 - Post 056</a></center>
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<h3><center>4761</center></h3>
I’m fairly busy, taking Efineh on what is teasingly called a cultural tour. I have let her education slip back a little with all that went on in Freddie and I want to make up for it. First we went to India. We both did a crash course and learnt to speak the language as she would be given a false impression of what their religions teach, the culture of the people, from village to city, from rich to the poorest, from fanatic believers to those who only pay religion lip service, if she learns from what is written for foreigners. Religion is still a big foreign exchange earner for India, even with the coming of aliens. A few comments in public about similarities between their beliefs and what Cherinians believe and tourists arrived there by the thousands. I wanted Efineh to learn how they live compared to what their religion teaches, and then to compare both of them to what we believe and our way of life (actually, more the way we think and feel).

I could not fault her when she complained about the books being boring. We did make a few local friends and when they heard of her problem they decided to lend a hand. Being more Western in their style of dress and living, they understood what would be interesting to us and directed our studies to material that teaches their philosophies without hitting us over the head with lists of their gods and their attributes. They explained much of it in everyday terms and how they thought life would be if everybody followed the true path. I enjoyed listening to them and their company. They might be astute businessmen, but they also have a very gentle way of speaking. Even in their emoting of thoughts.

When I sensed she was becoming bored again I applied for a visa to Tibet. Through contacts (Cherinian) we were invited to various remote monasteries not listed in most tourist guide books. 

“Before we leave, I want to take you somewhere really special. When we went to visit the original home of the Orati, I sensed you were impressed by the mountains. You felt as if we were close to the roof of your world. Just wait until we stand on top of the highest Himalayan peak. Mt. Everest is usually busy when the weather is good, but the Summer climbers have not arrived yet.”

Robbie arrived as the void and carried us to the peak. There he left the two of us alone, not wanting to intrude. The visit would have been a failure as the peaks were buried in thick clouds, but Robbie used his energies to clear the sky for us just long enough for us to see the view. Even with his help we ended up looking down upon clouds that stretched out in all directions for as far as the eye could see. Even that was impressive. I allowed her to feel, for a short time, just how thin the air is.

In the beginning she did not enjoy our visits to the monasteries. I let her have time to herself and she talked to monks on her own. Gradually she became more interested and stopped moaning (in her mind) about the lack of facilities, the food she did not like and so on. She has become good at sensing the emoting of Normals and it was that which captured her attention.

She had met good people in India who are true believers and try to live their lives in line with their beliefs. They tend to stand out because most people do not. Here she felt the majority were devout and lived their beliefs every moment of the day. She came to love the feeling of gentleness and peacefulness they emote. I saw to it that many of the discussions centred on their belief in the sanctity of all life. I had to be very careful. I wanted her to see and understand my dream, but I did not want her becoming captivated by them, so we left for home while she was still looking forward to her meetings the next day.

Efineh has become quite proficient at using the web for digging up all the information she wants and she can always find one of the girls to help her if she gets stuck. She spent weeks studying material on the monasteries of Tibet. The more she read the more withdrawn and thoughtful she became. She questioned me in greater depth now about the changes I was trying to effect on her world. Though she argued many points quite effectively, I sensed that she is holding back. I respected her privacy, willing to wait for her to formulate her concepts on her own.
<br>

Themi, Rose and Natalie invited us and Alki’s family for supper. With a family of our size, being invited for a meal is rare enough to justify my mentioning it, but there was an additional surprise. Since inviting us, the minds of our hosts had been on ‘private’ so there was an element of suspense and excitement the whole evening. What they could not avoid giving away was that it had something to do with Natalie. They made us wait until supper was eaten and they brought out dessert and coffee. They also brought out glasses of champagne and Themi stood up.

“You have all guessed that we have something to announce and that it has to do with Natalie.” He grinned at us. “You all guessed wrong, she is not pregnant.” He waited for the laughter and teasing to end. “Perhaps we can now afford to have a child though. Dominique, Natalie has been your friend since you were teenagers, can you guess her secret?”

“No.”

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<h3><center>4762</center></h3>
“She is a real siganopapadia! She caught all of us by surprise. I am not going to tell you what she did, it would be better I leave it to her.” (‘siganopapadia’ is a difficult word to translate. As we might say, ‘still waters run deep’ and find it difficult to translate the real meaning into another language. Both sort of mean or imply the same)

With her cheeks flaming, Natalie objected, “No. You tell them.”

Neither of them told us. Themi and Rose gave each of us a small gift-wrapped packet. We tore them open and looked at the (I will call it a mini CD since Arthur’s world does not have them yet). When we looked at the list of songs, we saw the name Natalie Aristides under four songs. She had written the lyrics!

The house was filled with screams of surprise and delight and we demanded they play the songs for us to listen to. After we listened to them, Themi explained. “These are not her first, but ‘The Song of my heart’ has reached number five in the top songs of the week, while her other song, ‘Give me your tears’ has just reached number ten. She has two songs in the top ten!”

She received more kisses that night than she would expect to get in a year. After the excited questioning settled down she opened up a bit and talked about the past and how it all started.

“Before meeting Robert and Cherine, when I was still fat and ugly, I had no real friends and spent a lot of time on my own, yearning for someone to see the real me and love me. As many lonely teenagers do, I wrote poems, trying to externalise my feelings that way, hoping the poems would help relieve me of some of my pain. After Cherine turned my life into one of magic and I had my little Samantha, I was too happy to write. When I did, I kept my poems secret for a long time. Themi found them by accident and both he and Rose encouraged me to continue writing. They kept it a secret for me because they knew that if others found out about it I would get embarrassed and stop writing.

Themi sent a few of my poems to a friend of his who composes and he wrote the music for them. Without knowing anything about the songs, but as a favour to Themi, Apostolis gave them to the singer who at that time was singing in his club. When he started getting requests for the songs he decided he should record them.”

Robbie made a comment about the caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly and Natalie was too touched to pretend she was miffed by him calling her old self a worm. When I sat with my mother holding me, despite the excitement and the glow of pride and joy I felt in her, I sensed deep down within her a need and I responded. I changed back to a six month old baby and let my family know I will stay this way for a while.  If not for Cherine’s birthday coming up in three weeks, I might have stayed that way for months. She was not the only one to benefit from holding me as a baby. I too was reminded of what I had missed by growing up too quickly - and it had the effect of ridding my mind of many knots which had been affecting me without us realising it..
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I’m glad we do not include our years in other realities or Freddie when celebrating our birthdays on Earth. Officially our Cherine is now twenty nine years old. Even if she is closer to fifty if we include all the time we have lived; it is remarkable how easy it is to think of her as a child of eight and how difficult to accept that she is an adult. I suppose it is true for most of us. Conversely, even though Dommi spends a lot of her time as an eleven year old, her we still think of as an adult, or at least sixteen.

It seems there are a lot of efficient secretaries all over the world. Greetings and good wishes came in for Cherine from everywhere. We had decided not to make a big thing of this birthday as the next one when she turns thirty has to be a special one. Bruce sent her a beautiful painting by an American artist, from his wife and himself. Hettie was asked by the Chinese whether Cherine would like to have a panda male and female. Our answer was yes and we took them to Freddie. Robbie took a couple of Chinese specialists with to ensure he creates the right environment. He had to alter the climate locally so that the bamboo would grow profusely. Robbie is hoping the pandas will grow in numbers. It would be nice to have a group of about fifty pandas on Freddie. When they have their first young one we will search other realities where there are no people and find an orphaned young one of the opposite sex.

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<h3><center>4763</center></h3>
Hettie passed on a message from all Cherinian aliens. They asked for permission from every government to jump to Earth on the first of May so as to celebrate the Cherinian anniversary in a way that will show to all their gratitude and devotion to Cherine. They want to spend the day healing the sick. By now it is public knowledge that Cherine is a Terran female child. The belief has grown that she is older than most of our elderly, but no one is certain just how old, despite the hint at last years’ birthday party on the moon. What has captured their imagination though is that she will remain a child for all of eternity. The Normals who travelled with us have reported the effects of becoming children again and so it is understood that she is a child, a wise one, but still a child in all ways. It has made it more difficult for those who love to paint doom scenarios with Cherine as the villain, but on the other hand, it has frightened those who see life and the process of living it as being serious, only to be guided by adults who have outgrown their childish impulses and emotions. It does not worry the others, but it does disturb me. I think we have to accustom Normals to the idea that a child-adult is just as wise and serious as a Normal adult.

“I think our Hettie and Eddie should slowly begin to appear younger.”

Robbie grinned. “Well Hettie? Would you like to become young and beautiful for all the world to admire?”

“Youth and good looks would get in my way Robert. I would have to work twice as hard to convince them that my opinion counts.” She smiled, “I change often when Eddie, the kids and I are alone. Since the kids usually appear to be older than me, they enjoy themselves pretending to boss me around. Can you imagine how those I have to negotiate with, would react if they could see us?”

“Sam, it looks like no one is going to listen to you this time.” Now he really grinned. “I know, why don’t you take on a public role and convince them through your brilliant mind that an eleven year old is just as smart as an adult?”

I do think I have grown a little wiser. Not too long ago I would have fallen for it and accepted the challenge. 
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Anyway, to get back to the offer-request by the aliens. Most governments were publicly all for the idea, but privately they expressed their concerns. Mainly they were worried that the crazies will come out of the woodwork and there will be many attempts to assassinate our friends. They feared this could damage our relationship. Robbie suggested to Eddie that he propose we consider this an experiment. The aliens will record how many attempts to take their lives are made. Perhaps the records can be analysed and the would-be killers questioned, so that we find ways to reduce any underlying fears still felt.

References were made by the media to our anniversary, playing on the customs of Earth, many of them either stated as a fact or asked as a question, ‘21 Years. Cherinianism comes of Age (?)’. What did need explaining was the fact that our years count from the date of the public anniversary and not from the date our family celebrate, on the thirtieth of May. The obvious had to be explained; our anniversary is a private one for our family only.
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Alki (and Elia) have their ear closer to the business community than any of us, so it was not surprising that he found out first. How they have managed to keep it secret from us for so long we cannot imagine. Perhaps it just goes to prove that we do respect our own rules and do not mentally spy on Normals.

Since the governments know who we are and where we live, it was only to be expected that they also know where we like to go. Our favourite social area, for a coffee or just to walk around is Kefalari. For commercial reasons Kefalari was becoming spoilt by those who wanted a business address there. Hotels were being bought and converted to offices or colleges. It was decided by the European Community that they would help finance the Greek government so that they keep Kefalari exactly as we enjoy it. This meant that special incentives and rules had to be put in place so that hotels revert to being hotels and restaurants and coffee shops remain coffee shops. The owners of all media were advised of what is being done and they agreed not to publish or air any disclosures that would give the game away.

Unfortunately this means we are under a microscope, in a manner of speaking. Every word we speak aloud is noted and reported (I bet it did not do them much good and puzzled the hell out of them). We decided not to allow the knowledge to spoil it for us and continue to frequent our favourite shops and our club.

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<h3><center>4764</center></h3>
It is now official. There were sixty eight assassination attempts. Of those, twenty three were identified as being mentally sick, in the conventional sense and they are being treated. The rest were for religious or political reasons. None of them had official backing, not even from the extreme political parties. Five years ago we would have been dismayed, whereas now we accept it as being inevitable in a world of Normals and the Anadir say they consider the number very small and not at all indicative of how Terrans think. Unfortunately there were huge protests held in many parts of the world, mostly attacking their own governments for allowing so many aliens to land on Earth. The truth is that even the governments had been surprised by the number of aliens that came. They’d expected a few thousands whereas millions came. Now that the day has passed and the aliens are gone, everyone agrees it was a nice gesture and the world is a much healthier place. The aliens who are on Earth, for healing or other reasons, are now greeted as friends by more people.

Cherine has decided that we should celebrate our anniversary in the reality of another Cherine. She correctly pointed out that it is not nice of us to expect them to jump to us every time. The question is, which one?
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Oh, I just have to mention here one of the weird (funny) proposals Eddie or Hettie received from a company. They have drawn up detailed plans (must have cost a lot!) for building the first inter-reality luxury cruiser. They also created a virtual reality mock-up of the ship and we spent hours exploring it. If they could build it, if there was a good financial reason for them to do so, it would be the most gorgeous cruiser ever built! We really felt sorry for the people who dreamt it up and wished there was a reason for it to be built. I forgot two important points. The first is that Robbie is an artist and appreciates beauty. The second is that Robbie is Robbie. He felt us and became determined to have such a cruiser built. Those of us with some common sense tried to talk him out of it, but he refused to listen. He arranged for a meeting with the directors of the company. I just had to go with! Robbie decided to take Cherine and Goldi also.

The group of companies are a mix of Chinese, Japanese, Peruvian (!) and Indonesian with their head office in Hong Kong. Although the Mandarin is no longer the top hotel, we wished to stay there for sentimental reasons. A limousine picked us up and took us to their office. The Directors were waiting for us inside the lobby of the building so as not to attract attention. After a short welcoming speech they introduced themselves and we went directly to their boardroom.

“We thank you for agreeing to meet with us at such short notice. The reason we are here is because you have designed something far too beautiful for it to be allowed to remain a concept only. Regrettably I must start off by warning you that it has no practical use. We do not have any kind of engine that could transport matter across realities. To add to such an extent to the mass I would have to carry when transporting a group of people would probably tax my abilities. Now that we have disposed of the negative aspects, let us consider what can be done with such a cruiser. I notice you only provided engines for anti-gravity and internal needs, such as electricity.”

Before they could speak, Cherine piped up. “You will also have to change the name.”

They had named the  vessel ‘Empress Cherine’.

I had to ask. “How much will it cost?”

“In American Dollars? Our first estimates are twenty three point eight billion.”

The three of us felt the instant change in Robbie. He’d instantly thought of how much good that amount of money could do and was now dead set against the project. I wondered, hadn’t he given any thought to the cost earlier? Cherine looked at me and I knew what she wanted. How was I to convince him? Perhaps it says something about me that I love the two most stubborn men I know.

“Would you mind my speaking a few thoughts of mine while Robert considers ways to make the project viable? First of all, I think this cruiser should be representative of every country on Earth. Would you mind allotting shares to investors internationally so as to achieve that? My second thought is that Robert was right in a sense, this is too beautiful a concept for us to allow it to die. My reasons for saying so differ from his though. He speaks as an artist, I speak as a citizen of our planet. We need something this beautiful to symbolise the changes we have brought to our world. As Cherinians we are not wealthy enough to make a grant substantial enough for it to reduce the cost to our planet, but we might be able to help in other ways. I will ask of our allies that they contribute the anti-gravity engines free of charge. You will need atmosphere regenerators, which are also produced by them. We will supply those. I am guessing that a substantial part of the cost is in providing suitable accommodation for a number of species? Taking into consideration what I’ve just told you, can you produce a new estimate?”

Cherine asked, “How do you expect to earn money from the ship? What would a ticket cost?” The plans did show they expected to be able to carry fifteen thousand passengers and crew. As I’d talked, I’d felt Robbie giving in, changing his mind, but when Cherine asked what the cost of passage would be he reversed himself again. The three of us simultaneously sighed. I had to start over again. I made a weak attempt.

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<h3><center>4765</center></h3>
“Whatever the price is, would you agree to setting aside twenty percent of it for us to buy food and equipment to help less fortunate realities? I am not talking only of other Earths.”

Robbie chuckled. “Are you going to allow them to answer you before you ask more of them?”

The Chairperson is a Chinese woman with silvery hair, even though she looks too young to be grey. She looked at her Board and then spoke for them. “We expected to spend our time trying to convince you that the project is a good financial investment and will bring honour to our planet when it visits other realities. We have heard of how Mr Teller carried to your ship Freddie millions of tons of earth, rocks and water so we did not expect it to cause him problems to carry the ship across realities. Once in the other reality, the ship can travel short distances and maintain orbit with its anti-gravity engines. You have given us much to think about and we need more time to re-calculate our costs. May we meet again, at your convenience, in about one month?”

I did not expect to meet them again in anything less than six months, as I knew they had not planned for alien guests and would have to make substantial changes. I wondered at their ability to spend large amounts on such a speculative project. We learnt later on that they asked Noelle, through Hettie, to help them with the designs for providing accommodation for various alien races. 

Arthur, I have tried something but I am not certain it will work. I created a hyperlink here and attached a copy of the virtual reality program. I have had to ask that it be converted to a format available in the year 2000.
https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWxTZt9rmP8KiFBAHpHY4wMfXTe13BsDCiMNBZ5T4p2wm/Attachment%20failed,%20Bk07,%20p4765.png
(Inserted here, with the above: Arthur, it was silly of me. I should have known it would not work since our embedded photos do not come through.)
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The following comments are just for future historians.

Since it became known on Earth that we Cherinians exist, it would have been expected that the openness of Western society and the higher level of education, would have helped them accept us. What acceptance there was, I see now was mostly out of fear. Western governments have been working with us ever since our debut, while a majority of their people still think of us as monsters, freaks, mutants. Even our alien friends are often referred to as monsters, bugs and so on. This leads us to the conclusion that even those who work with us, do so because of the responsibility they bear and if we should show any weakness, most of them would go for our throat.

I am hoping that someone can shed some light on what it is about the Chinese culture that has made us acceptable to their people. The Chinese see us as saviours and heroes, almost deities in a sense. As for our alien friends, they are welcomed with hardly any derogatory comments.
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The Kinytians were right. By giving Chantel all the time she needed, she has gradually grown able to feel love and passion without it upsetting her original programming. Themi says it now only acts as a substitute for a subconscious in our terms. There is a certain feeling of purity about her thoughts and emotions that none of us have. Robbie adores her and we wonder how he will handle his feelings when she begins to show the spirit he admires in females.

Roula went through a phase of changing herself, making her skin lighter and giving it the same pigment as Cherine’s. She also moulded her features to get rid of any that hinted at her mixed ancestry - which mostly only she could see. The day she reverted to what she had been, though an idealised version, we all flooded her with so much love that she no longer feels the need to deny who she is and if she meets a person of African heritage, she proudly tells them she is quarter African.
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“So Roberto mou, you have totally given up on trying to earn your livelihood? I have not had one design or painting from you in a long time.”

“With the prices you were paying me I had to find a new patron.”

“Oh yeah? And who would that be?”

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<h3><center>4766</center></h3>
“Who else my dear Alki - my wives.”

“Then I will have to sue them for stealing my artist.”

Robbie was lounging, a beer in his hand and his feet up on a stool as they teased each other, his attention being diverted by Candy who was busy painting his toe nails, each a different colour. She was enjoying his pleasure at her childish play and concentrated fiercely on his toes so as not to giggle.

I know Alki and Tania won’t mind me disclosing something personal in here. Alki was in a good mood because he had finally given in the previous night and made love to her - with the blessing of Marian and Julia. After fighting it for so long he now felt relief and held her on his lap as he sipped at his whiskey. We knew his relief would not last long, for Julia intends pressuring him within a few days. She feels she has waited long enough.

Alki, unlike Nicko, is not someone we can tease about this sort of thing, so he and Robbie joked about other things. Speaking of Nicko, his daughters are also putting pressure on him, though with them he has indulged in sexual play, only refusing to complete their play with penetration. He had discovered an old book that was meant for doctors who dealt with children who have been abused and showing us the photographs, he insists it is wrong. Here is a picture that does help show why sex between an uncaring adult and a child can be so damaging to the child. If anybody tries to claim that the photo is porn, I feel they will only be showing that they, themselves are the sick ones.
https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYJhF2fYk6kJTV4P11ic4FsueGPhmp4ZNTbgT9zeztBtM/Damage%20to%20child,%20Bk07,%20p4766.png

 As for Nicko, he knows he is going to lose the battle and is actually looking forward to loving his two little angels. We then have to convince him to marry them. Pearl, Alexis and their mothers pleaded with Dominique to help convince him that he has to since they all love each other so much.
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Robbie still worries whether his giving in and having sex with us is the reason so many other children want to have sex and marry their parents.  I think what set off all the kids so that Alki and soon Nicko will have to marry their kids are the following two events. First of all, Percy and Jonathan had a daughter, Eloise, and they gave in, allowing her to share their bed and have sex with them before she was one year old. They have formed their own Kaleidoscope World and it will not surprise anyone if they marry her soon. The second event has been evolving for some time. With Irakli being born of Agapi and Gianni, things then got more complicated when Stella and her son had Andrianna and then, to top it all, Tasso and Andrianna had Mirella. 

Tasso bought a farmhouse just outside of Athens and spends his free time planting, pruning and caring for his fruit trees and loves taking his family for long walks. Since it is easy for them to jump to town, they are all happy. By the way, the Club Cherinián is often used as an arrival point for those jumping to Athens.
   
I’ll give an update on the rest of our friends and family some other time.

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<h3><center>4767</center></h3>
I am puzzled by Efineh. She got on so well with that young man, Peter Dobson while in Freddie and yet now she will not call him. He has no way of contacting her, so I know he has not said or done anything to upset her. Where she used to be very open with me, I now cannot sense what she is thinking or feeling. Both Rose and Marian reassure me that it is normal for a teenager of nearly fourteen. I can’t help feeling a little depressed about it. I’ve grown to love her as a daughter during a time when I mostly was an adult and being eleven now has not changed the way I feel. I suppose it is only natural that she does not see me as a mother anymore because I look younger than her. Because body age had never affected our relationship with Gina I forgot to take into account that Efineh is not a born Cherinian. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either I become an adult for Efineh or I stay a child for Robbie and myself.

Dommi came back home with a gift for Robbie. We could tell it was clothing and wondered what she had found that she felt will suit him. As the wrapping came off we saw it is a tee-shirt. Robbie does not wear tee-shirts so we were puzzled. He picked it up so that we can see the front and he burst out laughing. We don’t know if he will wear it often, but we do know he will treasure it. It is not that often he is given the opportunity to enjoy Dommi’s sense of humour. The tee-shirt has writing in front and it says, “I’ve been saved by Jesus” and on the back it said, “Jesus loves me”. I wonder if he’ll dare wear it when Jesus is with us. https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmP5H1D6xHL3i4tMsYdnzH9X8Ge4FwtMKer3TbPFoX178a/LC-smilie_reg-grey.png

The days and weeks go by pleasantly. We go out, we stay at home, we meet friends or lounge around playing or talking among ourselves. We make love often, but there is no urgency to it, no wildness of uncontrollable passion. It is as we see sex described among couples who have been together for many years. It is not that we wish to settle for what we have. The problem is that we do not wish to disturb the equilibrium Robbie has found. 

Robbie was at a meeting and Dommi was braiding Rosie’s hair. She looked back at her mother. “Is this what it was like when the two of you were alone with Robert and he was happy?”

“No.” She considered it. “I don’t think Robert is happy, he is at peace.”

“Do you think he will be at peace for long?”

Everyone looked at Dommi as she replied, “I hope so” but I was looking at Cherine and saw a tiny smile of mischief appear briefly. She glanced at me, acknowledging I’d seen her, shrugged and went back to her reading. I on the other hand found myself wondering, why is it that we do not enjoy having our Robbie happy, or at peace, as Dommi said. I wasn’t taking it too seriously until a specific question came to mind. Robbie is our protector. As our protector, he should be ‘on his toes’ all the time, relentlessly searching for possibilities of harm or danger to us. It was not as if we live in a safe environment. There are probably thousands out there who wish us dead.

Once I had identified part of the problem, I turned my thoughts to the why and how. Why doesn’t he worry and how did this happen to him? The what was obvious. Jesus. That day he took him away and brought him back to us like this was too obvious a clue to be missed. Why and how did he change him? Did he place a spell on him, or did he explain something to Robbie, taking away his anxiety?

I went to the bedroom and ageing myself, dressed as an adult. Efineh quickly got ready and was waiting for me as I walked out. Taking her hand in mine we walked out onto the street. As we wandered around I explained to her what is bothering me. She made an observation that almost made me forget the problem of Robbie.

“I also felt how he has changed. I thought to myself, this is what our Samantha wants for our people, she plans to make us all happy like him. What Dommi said, that he is at peace, I liked it, for I thought of our world full of happy people at peace with themselves and all others. Now you say it is wrong. I see all his wives feel that way. Why?”

I took my time thinking about it before answering her with a question. “Why do we keep ourselves as children?”

“You said it makes him love you more.”

“No. I did not say that and it is not true. Efi, it is not how much he loves us that changes, it is how! Why is that?”

The answer is obvious so she did not bother giving it. “That is why you are worried?”

“Yes and no. If the protector in him came to the conclusion that the universe is safe for us and he was at peace, we would accept it. We both know that is not the case. What did Jesus do, how did he change him?”

“He would not do it for a bad reason.” I walked, staring ahead, without answering. Her tentative, “Would he?” brought me back to her.

“No, he has saved us too many times for us to have doubts about him now. Why do I worry what his reasons were then, can you tell me?”

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<h3><center>4768</center></h3>
I knew my question was unfair to her; I doubt most of my wives could have answered it. They will not be representing all Cherinians one day - not that I know of, Efineh has to learn to search deeper, look for hidden motives. I let her flounder around for a while. When she exclaimed that there was no bad reason, I glanced at her without saying anything and she worried at it, certain now that I was disappointed in her.

“Let’s sit and have a cold drink. It’s too hot to keep walking.”

She relaxed as we waited for our drinks and looked around. I feigned distraction, my thoughts apparently elsewhere, when I asked her, “If there was no bad reason, what good reason could there be?”

“Good?” Her thoughts floundered for a moment. “You mean a good reason that is bad?”

I smiled, pleased. “Now you are beginning to think. Tell me, when we first arrived in the land of the Orati and they attacked, was it for a bad reason? Were they not obeying their mother, the land, as they understood her to be?”

“I, I see.” She thought about it. “Maybe he wants everybody to be happy and at peace and did it thinking he is helping Robert?”

I could not help grinning. “So my little barbarian princess, what do you think of us now? Your Samantha a plain little girl who is not so special, and Robert and Cherine, both as children compared to another. Are you beginning to see the clay feet?”

“That is not true! You are not plain and you are special. Everyone says so. They even said that Robert would not be so good if he did not have you. You force him to be good.”

I was genuinely amused. “Whoever said that does not know Robert. Shall we discuss that while we think about Jesus? The world, you, my wives - except for Cherine, see me acting bossy, forcing Robert to do what is right and that is all you can see. Everybody keeps on forgetting the most important aspect of Robert. Efineh, he is the protector. He is Vincent, Vincent is Robert. Nothing is more important to Robert than our safety. If he had to make us all hate him so that we are safe, he would do so.

He is aware that as the protector, he could be killed. That is why he chose me. He wants us to have someone who holds us together and plans for our future should he die. He might have done better by choosing others, but the fact is he chose me. He knew he was stealing from me my childhood, thrusting leadership on me almost from the day I was born, but it had to be done.

You think he makes wrong decisions that make me act bossy? Efi mou, what he does is corner me, force me to use my brains, teach me to look deeper. He does not do it deliberately, so it is difficult to explain. Let me give you, as an example, what was said about him before I was born. It was said that even when he is wrong, what he does ends up being good for all Cherinians. Perhaps he does things that are wrong because they force me to become stronger, better and that is potentially good for all Cherinians.”

“Are you also right when you are wrong?”

I could see why she was asking but I had to be honest. “When I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. I’m not Robert.”

“Are you wrong about Sebura and me?”

I was so proud of her I felt like kissing her. Though I kept my face serious I’m certain she saw the look in my eyes. “I’m both wrong and right. Efineh, you have the right to love whom you will. On the other hand, I do not have the right to allow him to gain a position of strength through you and me. Do you know what is my biggest problem? I need to see you happy. I’ll give you a rather silly example, but it should help you understand what I mean. Let us say you wanted to have a relationship with Peter and I thought he was the wrong man for you. I would say, let her have her moment of love and happiness and when he leaves, or she cannot stand to be with him, I will be at her side. With someone like Peter you can walk away from the relationship, with Sebura, you cannot. He will never let you go Efi.”

“Then I must be sure he is the right one before I marry him.” In almost a coquettish way she asked, “Do you really think Peter is wrong for me?”

“I might be too harsh in my judgement of him but, yes, I think so. I don’t think he knows how to love as deeply as you can.”

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<h3><center>4769</center></h3>
“You think I can’t make him love me?”

Was I right to do what I did? I don’t know. Knowing the effect of my answer, I replied, “Yes.”

“Do you think Jesus did magic to change Robert?” I swore I would be there for Peter, to help him when she drops him.

“I don’t think he cast a spell. The magic he used is his personality, his way of talking. He must have found the right words to draw from him the pain he was going through. Why or how that affected the protector side of him, I cannot guess.”

“How will you find out?”

“It may not be necessary. All he might need is to feel we are in danger.”

“Can I ask you something?” I nodded. “Is Cherine ever going to link me?”

“She has been dying to, I’ve been holding her back. I wanted you to be ready first.”

She laughed, nervously. “How do I get ready?”

“Are you certain you want to be a Cherinian? There is much that is beautiful in being a Cherinian, but you also take upon you the pain of others. Health and immortality you will have from me or any of us, so be certain you want to be a Cherinian. Don’t want it for what you see as powers. Let me give you an example.” I sent her the pain and misery of an old man in a house nearby. She felt his terrible loneliness, the way his mind was falling apart, the knife-like jabs of pain in his joints and tears filled her eyes.

“You feel everyone?”

“In self defence you learn to block a lot of it, but sometimes someone is hurting so badly that you can’t. We don’t spend all our time helping everyone, we need to live our lives also. We do remain aware of them though. Can you imagine what it was like for Cherine before she met Robert? Alone and having to keep secret her ability to feel everyone.”

“Is there more pain among my people Samantha?”

“Why do you think Samuel tried to stop me from changing your people? There was less pain there my love. There is a difference when those who hurt are stoic about their pain, accepting it as part of life. On this world we are taught to think of perfect health as our right because of our advanced science, so people are more childlike in their expectations and their ability to bear pain. The pain of loneliness, I think that is found more often in cities.”

When I’d seen Cherine’s smile, I’d thought she planned on doing something to shake up Robbie. As I saw more clearly, I realised her smile was because of me. She knew I would try to understand what is happening and find a solution. I did see a solution. I must do nothing. The minute danger or even possible danger becomes imminent, the protector in Robbie will shake off its lethargy, ready to fight for us.
<br>

Three days later Efineh got dressed up (after I aged her to about eighteen), I made certain she had enough money, but not enough to appear too flash, and I dropped her off in London at the Burnt Almond. I’d never been there before and I found it interesting, full of young people. I sensed a number of Cherinians and they looked around, wanting to identify me. I sent them a ‘smile’ and quickly walked away.

I thought I might as well enjoy myself while in London, so I went to the Tate Gallery in the hopes of seeing a few paintings by our alternate of the young man who would not pay for Jade’s work. Robbie had said he is one of our best British artists, so I was curious. They did not have any of his paintings on exhibition, but I walked around anyway. I saw a crowd staring at pictures so I entered. Again I sensed some Cherinians, but they were so engrossed in what they were looking at that they hardly noticed me.

The whole wall only had four paintings. They were originals of The Kaleidoscope World series! The paintings are behind a sheet of bomb-proof plastic and I saw two armed guards. There was a small placard stating that the paintings have been lent by Mr Alki Georgiades on behalf of the (unnamed) owners. Within minutes Cherine walked in, her face flushed with excitement.

<br>
<h3><center>4770</center></h3>
“I felt you and had to come! Why didn’t Alki tell us?”

“I checked. He wanted to surprise us with the reviews. I bet he was going to keep it a secret if the reviews are not favourable.”

“Dommi wanted to change before coming, she’ll be here any minute.”

“Have you noticed that most of the people here are Normals?”

<p>Cherine had come as an eight year old so I stayed for her to appear to be with an older person. She was hugging herself and was lost in memories. The way she felt I just knew Robbie had to come and he did not disappoint me. He grinned when he saw the paintings and then picked up Cherine and held her to him as they stared at the paintings and communed silently. I decided to let them enjoy it alone and started to walk out.<i> *Stay with us Sam. We’ll go for a milkshake afterwards.* </i>After all these years and he still loves his chocolate milkshake!</p>

With Dommi came all of the girls. I subtly suggested they stick with me and leave the three alone with their memories. Robbie had different ideas about that and insisted we all share the moment and the memories it called forth so poignantly. It was amazing sharing his feelings as he sat sketching and also feeling how Cherine and Dommi felt as they watched him, their planned night of sex temporarily forgotten. What the three of them did was make it so that the rest of us were there and it became part of our memories.

A Cherinian man recognised us from Freddie, but he pretended not to, only sending us a greeting by mindspeak. He must have picked up our emoting and realised this was a precious moment for us.

When the girls asked to go to the Burnt Almond I refused, demanding they respect the need for privacy Efineh undoubtedly has. She spends all her time being overshadowed by the family, she must have some time alone with someone who makes her feel she is special and the centre of his thoughts.

We went for Robbie’s milkshake and then he walked across the street to buy our favourite Belgian chocolates. He was in a teasing mood and swopped with Rosie, taking her champagne chocolates. She indulged him with a smile, but he had succeeded in bringing that memory back for her and he then cuddled her and told her how glad he is she had been so snotty, bringing about the situation where he got to marry her twice.

Robbie suggested, since it was a lovely sunny afternoon, that we go to Oxford for tea and scones with strawberry jam and fresh double thick cream. We wasted half an hour looking for a side street without any people so as to jump. Cherine teased him, “You see? If you were Superman you’d only have to find a telephone kiosk.”

He had a good laugh. “Cherry baby, there haven’t been any telephone kiosks for years!”

At Oxford everyone wanted to take a walk along the river so I let them go and lying down on some soft green grass daydreamed. Some time later I felt a blade of grass tickling in my ear and then it trailed across my lips, tickling me.

“How does it feel letting your little girl go off for her first date?”

“I’m being very careful not to even monitor her emoting. If he makes my baby unhappy I’ll tear his tongue out.”

“Hmm. Should my protector instincts be worried?”

“Your meeting was boring?”

“What makes you think so?”

“Why else would you be listening in to us?”

“In the Bible it says that Jesus went into the desert where he had to fight the temptations of Satan. As a child I wondered about that. What could Satan tempt the Son of God with?”

I grinned, keeping my eyes closed. “I doubt that he tempted Him with little girls.”<br><br>
<center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur-grafo8/little-cherine-book-07-bpost058">Next [Book 07] - Post 058</a></center>
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<h5><i><b>I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.</b></i></h5><br>
<br><br>
<h6>Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου<br></h6>(Alexander Zenon Eustace)<br>
<sup>16th January, 2020</sup>
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* posted: 16th January, 2020<br>
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