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<sup><h6>Gianni, son of Tasso, added, “I’d love to eat, I’m starving after all the adventures of my dreams.” . . . . </h6></sup>
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<p><center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur.grafo/little-cherine-book-02-post255">Previous Post 255</a></center></p>
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<p><h3><center>1345</center></h3></p>
<p><h5>“Akleet watched the fast-island approach and realised that it is different trying to glide from the slow island and that if they did it exactly the same way as they’d used for coming here, the fast-island will be long past their own island by the time they are swinging around the fast-island. If they glide out to wait for their own island to draw closer, the additional speed it travels at could make their approach dangerous. He was not clear as to whether they would have a problem or not, but he did know that he does need more time for allowing himself to sense the best timing, methods, directions and speeds (what he meant by ‘allowing himself to sense’ is that his mathematical gift must first calculate all the factors so as to ‘see’ clearly the entire process).<br>
Reveena had similar feelings, so she did not get upset. She did insist they return to the other side for her to re-plant the flower seedlings. As she knelt down to do so, Akleet watched her for a few minutes and then was distracted by the sight of the fixed-island above them. Soon he was lost in odd imaginings, which is not what he usually does.<br>
‘Onn-Revee, I have a strange picture in my mind. Try to imagine what I tell you, without calling me a fool. This is what I am seeing. Our people farm this island and because this side has more water, the best food is produced on this side. Because it is the best land, the land is too precious to waste on towns and houses. It is decided that it would be far quicker to live above, on that rock, and glide there each evening and back in the morning to work the land.’ He gave a shy smile. ‘Would you like that? Would you share such a strange home with me?’<br>
She was about to tell him she liked the idea, but then she paused to think it through. ‘But what of when I am carrying? It would not be safe to glide and the weight is wrong for helping me give birth.’<br>
‘Then we’ll have two homes. One for when you want to work and the other for when you cannot.’
‘We are not wealthy, how will we afford it?’<br>
‘While we wait for the fast-island to be in place, we can mark out the best land for ourselves. I do not wish to be too wealthy, but we will be able to afford all we need.’<br>
In her heart, Reveena rejoiced that her parents had been wise enough to choose her such a wonderful brother.”</h5></p>
<p>Laura said, with a wide grin, “Dommi, we say that Robert is also our son and that we wives are also each others sisters. Does that mean Robert is also our brother?”</p>
<p>With a smile, Dommi assured her, “He is.”</p>
<p>“You see, Candy, your mother, Wendy, was also a wise parent, she chose you the best brother ever.” This was one of those times that only us, the family, truly appreciated the humour and laughed.</p>
<p>Later that evening, we gathered to listen and Meli continued.</p>
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<p><h3><center>1346</center></h3></p>
<p><h5> “Akleet and Reveena spent more of their time gliding over the land they were thinking of claiming. They searched for signs of water spots under the plants and measure the amount of sunlight. Once they had marked the areas which get the most sunlight, they searched that area so as to claim whichever part of it has the most water. Having narrowed their search, they landed and examined the land by foot - remaining wary of root-roofs which could collapse under them and areas they could sink into the mud. As Reveena had worried, some of the land was too swampy for cultivation, so they added an equivalent amount of land at the perimeters to compensate.<br>
‘The Arketha farm was allowed to exclude from their claim, land that could not be cultivated, so they should find our claim reasonable.’<br>
Akleet asked, ‘What of foods which can be grown on swamp land, will it not be said our reasons are specious, beget out of desire to claim more land?’<br>
Reveena gestured impatience - with those who would make such a claim, not with Akleet. ‘This is not our island, here there are large caverns under the root-roof and to fall into such a cavern in a water-filled area is going to cause the death of the person falling in. I shall ask that those who make such claims walk and dig in such areas before slandering us.’<br>
He grinned. “I love your fiery spirit. Onn-Revee, you would agree to them having a rope tied around their waist so that we can rescue them?’<br>
‘A rope, I agree - but not around their waist, around their neck would be more satisfying.’ She laughed at his look and gathered him fondly to her as she reassured him, ‘I was not being serious, around their waist would do well enough, but do not blame me for any slight delay in pulling them out - my shock at seeing them disappear will be responsible.’”</h5></p>
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<p>Meli had to pause as Cherine burst out laughing. “I like your Reveena.”</p>
<p>Only Marian dared to respond on our behalf, “You would!”</p>
<p>Meli grinned and then told Cherine, “You should see her when she grew older, especially after having children. She had no patience for people with small minds and would verbally slash their pride, so that few dared to cross her - not even Akleet dared. And yet, she remained tender and caring and whenever a family faced a disaster, she was first among those who gathered to help. She also forced Akleet to do something which is rare among their people. A family, mother and father who were working their land, fell into a newly created water hole and drowned. Family should have adopted the child, but the only kin were a poor family with three children of their own, so Reveena met with them and negotiated a small compensation for depriving them of the child and she adopted it.”</p>
<p>I asked, knowing that Meli is usually precise in her words, “Why did you say Cherine <i>should</i> see her when she is older? I though you said she and Akleet existed a long time ago?”</p>
<p>Meli sobered with a look of dismay on her face. “I betrayed myself. Sam, anyone allowed to visit my worlds could choose to arrive there at any time they wish. I do not wish it to be so, but I cannot make it be impossible, so I can only say that anyone who does alter their time of visit, I will block them from ever jumping to any world of mine. I will not have the histories of any of the peoples living on any of my worlds altered by some careless tourist or busybody.”</p>
<p>Perikli reassured her, “And none of us would, especially now that you have told us. Melina, if anyone does, let us know and you may rest assured all of us will punish that person.”</p>
<p>All of us eagerly also attempted to reassure her and promised we will not. </p>
<p>Ordinx and Solomon waited silently until we had stopped.</p>
<p>Ordinx asked her, “Is there a way for you to sense if anyone time jumps into your mind worlds?”</p>
<p>“Yes, even if I do not sense them enter my mind, I would sense them the instant they enter a world - however far back or forward in time they go.” Her words electrified us, but we had to wait, this was a conversation between her and Ordinx and we did not have the right to interrupt.</p>
<p>He controlled his interest in following the exciting lead, placing the worries and safety of Meli before his curiosity. “I am pleased that you have some protection, but I must point out to you that it is critical that you and we do not share this information with anyone else, apart from Robert and Aganthi when they return. Melina, no race are all good - apart from the Sparklers, until proven otherwise - and I cannot vouchsafe all Anadir will act honourably at all times, so, I will do what I would have considered unbelievable an hour ago and undertake to never inform my own people of the possibility of time jumping, if everyone else also makes the same pledge.”</p>
<p>All of us were happy to make the same pledge, and then Meli went and spoilt it for us. “I cannot, Ordinx. I really appreciate what you are offering to do for my worlds and me, but I cannot make the same pledge.”</p>
<p>“To tell the truth, I had not considered it necessary you make the pledge alongside with us, but you are right, as your statement has shown, without yours also, ours are pointless. Why Melina, why can’t you?”</p>
<p>“May I address my answer to Cherine and Dommi without slighting you? Thank you. Cherine, Robert has been asking us to tell our story to others and with time I see it as growing, becoming something that we not only do to please new friends, but also for explaining ourselves to those who may be suspicious of our declared intentions. Until now, we have told the story as Robert would want us to, even those parts he considers embarrassing. It is the only way we may tell it - we must always, without exception, disclose the full truth, keeping nothing back, or else the story we tell becomes a lie.</p>
<p>The pledge you offered would have provided peace for me and I needed it, but I cannot accept it. I can only agree that all of us promise not to speak of it lightly to anyone who does not already know.”</p>
<p>I cut in. “Meli, I disagree - with regard to the storytelling. At first consideration you argue well and your reasons for disclosing all are honourable, but there may be times that we are forced, for the sake of our audience, to not tell them everything. As long as we do not lie, I agree that we tell them everything they need to know, whether they realise it or not. Let me ask you something - you’ve seen that as we meet a large number of people who are not Cherinians, we also come to know some of their private details. Surely speaking of them just because it impacts on our story would not be correct?”</p>
<p>We felt Meli grieving; she truly had wanted our storytelling to remain pure in all aspects, but she felt I had made some important points she could not argue with.</p>
<p>I turned to my friend. “Ordinx, I accept your pledge on behalf of our family and friends - in other words, on behalf of all Cherinians, of the present and the future…at least of those who love Cherine and Meli. However, I do so on one condition. You must speak of what you learnt to the entity of your world and then tell it that we rely on its wisdom as to whether it withholds the information from the rest of the entities and Anadir people, or not.” I sensed him agree.</p>
<p>I went to kneel before Meli and took her hands in mine. “My love, what we have just spoken of, it is no more than a small part of the dream of Robert, and yet, if we made the wrong decision, for instance, that we lie when we think it is necessary, this tiny part of his dream would have killed the entire dream. What we have discussed here today and the decisions we made, they are not entered as laws of Cherinianism, immutable unless due process is followed, as governments of this world do. All we have done is taken our first tottering steps in deciding how we want to live and interact with the universe. Time will teach us many things and as we learn, and hopefully grow wiser, so will many of those rules we think of as absolute, be argued and turned on their head. For now, accept that the pledges stand and perhaps by the time we next do a storytelling, we will have grown just a touch wiser and can decide then?”</p>
<p>Cherine burst into tears.</p>
<p>When she let us know why, I desperately wished the floor, like a root-floor, would open up and swallow me as everyone emoted their feeling for me - even the damn kids, like Klo and Agapi and their brothers!</p>
<p>She said, “Robert would have been so happy if he could have been here and heard what Samantha said. She is becoming just as special as he said she will be.”</p>
<p>Of course, then everyone felt they had to add something about me - and just as I was feeling I must jump to the beach in Cyprus and to hell with the spider, little Cherine told everyone, thinking to compliment me, “Samantha should have been the protector, she’s brave and clever.”</p>
<p>Alki then chose to speak like a pappou. “Brave, yes she is, our Samantha is a pallikari. As for clever…not yet. Not for as long as she thinks she is clever - smarter than our Roberto.” His pissed me off because I only saw the criticism, until I sensed he’d helped return the emoting to levels I can bear.</p>
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<p>Since everyone was in a fairly relaxed mood, Dommi asked Honey to create a sketch of a spider with a big head, but to leave the face blank. She tore up a few pages before she created something she was pleased with. Dommi looked, nodded, and asked Alexis to make sixty copies on Robbie's printer. Irene rushed to bring us pencils - she had to give out mostly pencils of different colours, since we did not have that many black pencils.</p>
<p>“Robert asked that everyone try to relax, meditate, close your eyes and allow the true face of the spider to appear in your mind and then let it be drawn by your hand, without you consciously trying to influence what you are drawing. You will feel a bit stupid when doing it, as you’ll think you are only imagining what you are drawing - that is how it works, so allow yourself to imagine, nobody will laugh.”</p>
<p>We all took much longer than we should have, but this was the first time we were trying anything like this and we had to wait for us to be very relaxed. I could hear others muttering in the background, but tried to ignore them as I felt a picture slowly forming, as if out of the misty parts of my mind. What I saw did not make sense to me and I only drew the face because of Robbie and Dommi insisting I draw whatever comes to me. As I finished, I sensed many others were facing the same disbelief - some of them could not get past that mental barrier and gave up.</p>
<p>The sketches were handed to Dommi and Cherine by us and they began to collate them in two piles. One for the failures and the other for those which showed a face. The second pile, of thirty four sketches, showed the face of a female. With small differences, mostly due to the ability to sketch a face, seventeen of them were of the same woman; we all saw her as a middle aged woman, rather on the plump side and very kind looking.</p>
<p>It shocked all of us. Of all that we could have imagined, this face was not something we could have pictured. There was a funny side to it, now that the moment is past. All females were careful not to let the males know we could sense how seeing her face slightly deflated them. Imagining you are fighting a powerful man gives men a feeling of pride, whereas seeing the enemy is an old, kind looking woman knocks the pride out of them. I was tempted to ask how they would feel if they were forced to fight Cherine and they managed to hold their own, but I didn’t - there are times, as I am often told, when it is smarter to keep my mouth shut.</p>
<p>That night, Cherine chose to cling to me. She says I love her too much, so she did not choose me because she needed to make me love her. She chose me because she wanted to tease me. She waited until I was getting drowsy, and then she told our loves, “I was thinking we should declare the mind of Samantha <i>a Place of Cherinian Interest.</i>” If those sleeping in other rooms could sense us and wondered what was making us laugh and play, I’m not planning on explaining.</p><br>
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<p><center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur.grafo/little-cherine-book-02-post257"> Next Post 257</a></center></p>
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<p><h6><center>I hope you enjoy reading this long, long story of fantasy, adventure and love.</center></h6></p><br>
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<h6>Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου<br></h6>(Alexander Zenon Eustace)<br>
<sup>4th June, 2019</sup>
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* posted on Steemit: 4th June, 2019<br>
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