Little Cherine Book 11 - BPost059
“You are, but you also love me. Mummy, is it very bad what I do?”She’d never felt her privacy so keenly invaded and was in a rage for a moment until she saw her daughter’s face. “You felt me?” Cherine nodded. “I’m sorry love, it was a shock, I’m not really angry with you.”
“Can you control it?”
“No.”
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“God, the things that must be going through your mind!”
Cherine told her about the rape she’d experienced, cried and fell asleep happy that her mother knew and that she was held in her arms.
The three of them took the train to Omonia and then a bus to Syntagma Square and walked up the hill towards Kolonaki. Robert and Marian talked, she asking him questions about his boss and the likelihood that she’d be offered a job if she needs it. Left to amuse herself, Cherine skipped by their side. She noticed a small boutique on the other side of the road with the most beautiful clothes she’d ever seen for children and dashed across without looking.
With a shout, Robert ran and knocked her to the other side of the road, lost his balance and tottered and then a car, with squealing tyres as the driver tried to stop, smashed into him.
Robert woke up in hospital, lying on a hospital bed in the corridor. He realised he must have been taken to KAT, the government hospital. He’d heard much about the hospital from his Greek colleagues at work and knew he was in trouble. Marian, with Cherine next to her stood by his side.
“How are you feeling, are you in pain?”
“A little. They won’t bother with me for hours, Marian, can you phone Alki, they have to be bribed to help me and I haven’t got enough cash on me.” He gave her the number and she rushed off to find a public telephone while Cherine stayed by his side.
Her eyes were huge with fear. “I can feel the pain in your chest, are you also going to die?” Robert did not notice her two slips.
“No, just a broken rib, I think.”
“I’m sorry I made you not like me and thank you for saving me.”
“Can we talk later love, it hurts too much when I talk.” She took his hand and stood by him silently, praying that he doesn’t die.
Alki arrived with three men in white. They moved Robert onto a stretcher on wheels and took him to an ambulance. The other clinic was close by and the doctors were expecting him. As he went in for x-rays, Alki suggested they go upstairs to the restaurant for a coffee or cold drink. He ordered himself a whiskey.
“I’m not surprised he had the accident, he seems to live in a dream world half the time. It must have been a shock for your daughter.” He gave Cherine a sympathetic look.
“Actually, he was hit saving Cher, she crossed the road without looking for traffic.”
“So, our Roberto is a hero? Your name is Cher?”
“It’s really Cherine, but my mother prefers Cher.”
“Cherine, are you a chicken or did you have a reason?”
“A chicken?”
“You don’t know the joke, ‘why did the chicken cross the road?’, the answer being, ‘to get to the other side’.”
“I saw a shop with lovely clothes.”
He noted how she was dressed and understood, but made a joke of it. “Somehow when a female sees lovely clothes, it is always a male who pays for it.” Marian smiled, mostly because she kept in mind she might need him to be her future boss. “Cherine, don’t worry about Roberto, the doctor told me they are only checking to be certain, but as far as they can see he only has bruises and a cracked rib. He won’t die.”
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As with our Cherine (and all other Cherines), she took to Alki and soon was comfortably chatting with him while Marian was wise enough to let them concentrate on each other without trying to take over the conversation. She wondered about Cherine as she listened to them and saw that her humour and way of talking were instinctively adapted to appeal to Alki. It helped her take another step towards accepting what she’d learnt about Cherine.
They waited until Robert was in bed and medicated to ease the pain. They saw it made him sleepy so they said goodbye. Cherine came to his side. “We’ll come tomorrow.”
“Cher love, I have to go to work, we’ll have to wait for Saturday. I hope you understand Robert.”
Alki cut in. “I’ll be coming to visit. If you like I can have my driver pick her up and we’ll return her directly after leaving Roberto.” Because of the sudden glow on Cherine’s face, Marian reluctantly agreed.
When Cherine arrived with Alki the next afternoon, they found Nicko with Robert. Cherine was introduced and she thought he is very handsome. She showed her fascination and made Robert jealous. Alki astutely missed nothing so he suggested to Nicko that they go for a drink and allow the two some privacy to talk.
“What made you think I don’t like you?”
“I know. You only liked me the first day we met.”
“It is not that I don’t like you Cher, I was trying to respect your wishes. You showed you did not like me, so I could not very well impose my wish to be friends on you.”
“Why did you save me?”
He smiled to show he was teasing. “You don’t need to get swollen headed about it Cher, I’d have done the same for any child…even for a few adults. I really love children so I couldn’t allow the car to hit you. Did I hurt you when I bumped you?”
She realised he was trying to be humorous and teased him back. As she saw him react with pleasure when she said something witty or clever she relaxed and enjoyed their sparring. The two men returned and silently listened as the two of them teased each and then Alki told Cherine they have to leave. He promised to bring her the next afternoon.
As they sat in the car she said, “He’s quite nice.”
“Roberto or Nicko?”
“Both. I meant Robert.”
“Unfortunately he’s too nice for his own good.”
She visited again the next day and then Alki took both of them on Saturday. After a few minutes Alki suggested that Marian and he go for a drink to leave the two alone. Marian gave him a sharp look but kept quiet, going for the drink. Afterwards, as soon as she was alone with Cherine, she asked her whether Robert had behaved himself. Giggling, Cherine said he had, but that she had not. “He likes it when I tease him.”
“Maybe that’s why he likes children, he’s just an overgrown child himself.”
On Monday Robert was brought back to his apartment. He still had to be careful as it hurt him when he moved, so Cherine would rush over in the morning to keep him company and do some of the chores for him. Her favourite was making his coffee and toast and going to the local grocer to shop for him. It made her feel grownup handling such sums of money and choosing what to buy.
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Out of curiosity Cherine tried to provoke the feelings she’d felt in him the first time they met, but he seemed to be immune to her. It piqued her and made her determined to succeed, so she did the one thing she was always careful of doing. She began to use her gift to influence him.
Marian could not explain why her libido seemed to have taken off like a rocket and having to subdue her needs without physical relief was getting on her nerves. She became that desperate that she considered the possibility of taking a bus into the country so as to be far from Cherine for masturbating in privacy.
The laws had recently relaxed in Greece and television stations now broadcasted porn movies late at night. Marian could not sleep and getting up for a cup of tea, she put on the television with the sound very low so as not to disturb Cherine. Shocked, as the screen came into focus, she saw a scene of a man and woman having sex. She’d never watched a porn movie before and coupled with her own frustrations over the last weeks she found herself on fire. Cherine moaned and Marian froze. Anger welled up suddenly and with the thought that if the freak was going to spy on her it was not going to stop her, she used her fingers to bring herself relief.
Afterwards, her previous thoughts about Cherine filled her with guilt. The next day she could not concentrate and she tried to think rationally without allowing her emotions to dominate her. She returned to find Cherine waiting for her, her face pale.
“What’s wrong.”
“Nothing. I could feel you, you’re angry with me. What did I do?”
This was the last straw and Marian collapsed on the settee and burst into tears. When Cherine came to hold her she scrunched her to herself desperately. When her sobs subsided, Cherine rushed to make her tea and asked again, what is wrong, is it money problems?
“No love, we’re surviving for now. Cher, you are the problem, but it isn’t your fault. I don’t know what to do.” Perplexed and worried Cherine just stared at her. “Honey, I’m an adult woman, I have my needs, sexual I mean, but knowing that you can sense me is embarrassing and its driving me crazy.”
Need I add that as we shared this part of their history, our Marian realised that Cherine had sensed her during those years they’d lived together and became horribly embarrassed. Alki said something to her in private and she laughed. Cherine rushed to be held on her lap, glad to be let off the hook that easily.
“But Mum,” Cherine said, “I don’t sense you when I’m sleeping and I go to sleep much earlier than you.” She held her fingers crossed behind her back as Marian gave her a penetrating look and then relaxed, feeling foolish for not having thought of that.
Later, Marian asked, “You said you can feel others. What of when you feel something strongly, can you make others feel you?”
“I couldn’t, except for Dad and you a little, but I’ve been practising on Robert. Mum, he is special, he can feel me when I try.”
“And I can’t?”
Suddenly bashful she hid her face behind her hair, looking at the floor. She was also worried, she’d never trusted her mother the way she’d trusted her father, but since she knew of her secret she felt she had to risk it and tell her, not truly aware of how inappropriate her statement would sound. “Mum, I think you’ve been feeling me, that is why sex was driving you crazy. It makes me crazy also.”
“But you’re…!” Her face hardened. “What has Robert been doing to you?”
“Nothing. That’s why Mum. He doesn’t even want me anymore like he did that first day.”
“This is insane! I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. Cher, cut some bread, butter it and bring it here with jam and cheese and I’ll make us some more tea while I think about it.”
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Marian tried to explain to Cherine that she is far too young, so Cherine concentrated on how Robert makes her feel and sent wave after wave of pure lust to her mother. Marian’s arguments died as she felt her body burning. She stared at Cherine in shock. “That’s how he makes me feel Mum, I’m not too young.”
Weakly but desperately she countered, “If he tries to have sex with you, he’ll hurt you. You’re not big enough yet Cherine.”
“Robert won’t hurt me! He’s good.”
“Give me a few days to think about it. Maybe I’ll have to find a vicar for advice.” She laughed wildly. “I can just imagine his reaction. Cher, I must have a few days to calm down and think rationally before I advise you.”
The next couple of days were hell for Marian. Logic warned her she could not control or stop Cherine as she is bound to do what she wants to, now or soon, and she will lie to her if she refuses her permission - and yet her instincts screamed at her that this is the work of the devil. Her imagination conjured all kinds of ugly scenarios, all of them ending with her bent over in grief over her daughters torn body, or else, the other extreme, an older Cherine walking the streets, selling her body. What she did next made no sense to any of us, so we watched with fascination at how different this Marian is. She went to visit Robert on her own.
She made it a statement, her voice almost curt. “You are a paedophile.”
Despite his face betraying him, he tried to keep his cool. “Is that an accusation or a question?”
“Neither, just a fact. Cherine told me.”
His eyes glittered with anger. “What exactly does she claim I’ve done?”
“Nothing. That is not the problem. Robert, allow me to talk without interrupting me and then you can tell me to leave or else help me. I’m at my wits end so I’ll have to trust you to keep Cher’s secret and only do what is right for her.”
As she talked, for the first seconds Robert reacted with anger prompted by fear and the injustice of what he thought had been an undeserved accusation. As she explained about Cherine he felt dizzy with relief and then it hit him. Cherine has psychic powers! Cherine wants to have sex with him! He could not grasp much more than that, too many dreams were coming true. Marian saw from his face that he was overwhelmed and stopped to make tea. Only after he wanted to ask questions did she continue, outlining her moral dilemma and her fears. Robert blushed a bright scarlet and as soon as she stopped talking he went to stand by the window to collect his thoughts.
“All that you’ve told me is such a wild story that I wondered for a moment whether this is some entrapment scheme concocted by you and the police. Marian, too much is explained by what you told me for me to hold on to that suspicion. To be honest, I don’t understand why you came to me, but I do recognise that it must have been incredibly difficult for you. I owe you the same honesty, however it embarrasses me. When we first met I sensed your reservations about me, but it made sense, I was both a stranger and an artist. With time I came to feel that we’d grown closer and were on the way to becoming real friends. I am desperate to keep that friendship and see it grow, but if you don’t try to understand what I’m saying, you’ll turn against me.
As for Cher, her gift is remarkable. I’ve never heard of her kind of empathy being such a strong gift. What a terrifying life she must have lived, the world is full of people with ugly thoughts. Right, I’ll get to me. Marian, I do think of myself as a paedophile. I can’t tell you what I am for certain, as I am a virgin.” She gave a start, surprised. “All I can tell you is what arouses me. Little girls do. Especially pretty girls like Cher.
Cherine is right, that first day I was tempted into introducing myself because of her. She made it obvious she did not like me, so I forced myself to ignore those feelings and I tried to become a friend to both of you. Even being in the company of a girl like her, talking with her and doing things for her, they gave me pleasure.
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Marian, society uses only one word for men who find children sexually arousing. Paedophile. There should be more words, for we are not all the same. There are the molesters, the rapists and others even worse. Then there are those like me. We truly love everything about children. Not just their bodies, but also their minds and hearts. That is the trap I’m in. I can only love a child and I have my physical needs, but should I find a child willing to have sex with me, I cannot destroy that which is part of all I love in children just for ten seconds of pleasure. That is why I did not persevere with my interest in Cherine and that is why I never expect to know what it is like to sleep with the one I love in my arms.
All the scenarios I’m certain you imagined, they are not real Marian. I’ve read a lot about child sex and when the adult is careful and considerate of the child, even with some penetration she is not damaged. I have no interest in penetration, even should sex between us be acceptable to you and her. All I’d want is to caress her and maybe pleasure her with oral sex.” She looked into his eyes to try and fathom how true his words were and she saw a great sadness in them. He explained. “Have you thought of what it would be like for me or have you only worried for Cher? Let us say that you gave your permission and she came to my bed. Marian, I could not just use her, I’d grow to love her more deeply than I’ve ever loved, I can sense she will have that effect on me. However, as she matures she’ll want boyfriends of her age and it is likely I will not be as attracted to her physically. The love I feel will remain, but she will leave my life. How many years of happiness do I have and how many of yearning and pain?”
“I hadn’t thought of all that. You’ve only complicated things for me, now I really don’t know what to do.”
“Should you allow me those few years, trusting that I will not do anything to harm her in any way, I’ll happily bear the rest of the years. At least I’ll have known what it feels like to love and be loved. Even to just hold her in my arms will be pure bliss.”
“I need more time Robert. This is just too weird!”
“I’m not pressing for an answer Marian, only informing you that I’m willing to stick to your rules, whatever they are, and I’m giving you my promise that I will never hurt, trick or coerce her. Only what she wants and finds joy in will happen.” He paused. “Have you given any thought to her psychic gifts? What do you plan - do you intend going public or will you keep it a secret?”
“Tomorrow Robert, I can’t think!”
“Before you decide, please talk to me about it.”
Cherine was mortified when her mother told her that she’d discussed the matter with Robert and ran to hide in her bedroom and cry. Now she was too embarrassed to face Robert again and she felt her mother had betrayed her confidence.
Marian forced herself to wait until she could not hear any more sobbing. She entered Cherine’s bedroom and Cherine turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow.
“I wish you were a telepath. You couldn’t have been with me when I went to Robert, but as a telepath you could have watched us. You should have seen his face when I started off by telling him that he is a paedophile!” She talked, outlining what was said by both her and Robert, with the dual purpose of making her laugh and arousing her curiosity - which she knew is strong in her daughter.
“He really did say that? He wants to have sex with me? He actually told you that!?” She’d long since given up hiding her face and her anger with her mother had been replaced by awe and excitement.
Marian pulled a face. “Well…he certainly wasn’t talking about doing those things to me!” They both giggled. “What do you say we go back to the livingroom and I’ll make us some cocoa to drink while we talk? Cher, I know that what I did was a shock to you, but I can’t tell you how the decision you’re asking of me terrifies me. Perhaps if I listen to what you have to tell me about the…gift you have, I’ll understand enough to stop being so afraid?”
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Cherine’s empathy forced her to see her mother’s viewpoint so she hugged her and confided, “I’m also scared Mum, I like Robert, but I don’t love him yet.” She looked up at her mother, her little face very earnest. “I know that I will, something inside me tells me it has to happen, but I don’t think he’ll love me unless I make him.”
“Come here.” She led her to a sofa, sat down and looked her in the eyes. “Sweetheart, love doesn’t come from making love, it happens the other way around. If you wait until you love each other and then he makes love to you, it will be a hundred times better…you’ll feel as if you’ve gone to heaven. This way, the way you want to do it, you’ll feel dirty…cheated.”
Cherine surprised her by not protesting as another child might have, thinking about what she’d said first. “I’ve felt lots of people make love without loving each other and they feel the way you say. How can I make him love me, he’ll never love me if I don’t.”
Marian relaxed, feeling she was on more familiar ground (even though she’d expected to have at least another six to seven years before having to handle it) and talked until Cherine half-heartedly gave in and agreed to wait. Marian couldn’t hide her joy so she gave in slightly.
“I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll go to him together and I’ll tell him what we’ve decided. I’ll tell him that if you tell me you both love each other, I’ll not stand in your way. Cher, he won’t react the way you fear, he’ll be grateful for the opportunity I’m offering him. You can continue to visit him and as he comes to know you as I do, he won’t be able to help himself, I’m sorry to say he’ll fall madly in love with you.”
Robert was surprised to see mother and daughter at his door the next afternoon. He realised Marian had confided their conversation to Cherine, for she would not look at him and was obviously embarrassed and flustered. He listened with unbelieving joy and sexual excitement mounting in him as she spelt out their decision and the reasons. Cherine was monitoring him and she regained her courage as she sensed him.
Marian ended off by saying, “In some ways Cher is wise, but she is a child and you are the adult. It would be easy for you to convince her not to wait. I expect you to honour the conditions we’ve set, even should Cher be the one who uses her gifts to influence you. If you don’t, I swear I’ll call in the cops and charge you with rape of a minor, even if it means I also go to prison.”
“No threats are needed Marian, you’re asking for what I want.”
“A grown man admitting he wants a child of eight to fall in love with him - you’re sick!” Robert, luckily, glanced at Cherine to see how she was reacting to what her mother said and she looked up and gave him the strangest and cheekiest smile he’d ever seen, obviously amused by her mother’s threats. He sucked in his breath, lost to the emotions that flooded him and Marian glanced at her daughter to see what had affected Robert.
Almost stuttering, Robert said, “She’s right Marian, I don’t stand a chance.” Cherine’s face lit up because his words confirmed what she’d sensed and Marian sighed, realising she had not bought as much time for her daughter as she’d hoped.
The next couple of weeks were heaven and hell for Robert. From the very next day Cherine was convinced they’d achieved the conditions her mother had set. As she’d felt Robert's love growing, her own heart was freed from her fears and she realised she loves him and refused to wait, trying everything she could think of to break his resolve to wait long enough for Marian to believe them. He tried taking her out of his apartment so that they’d be in public, but the truth is, Cherine was not affecting him with her body as much as she was by swirling their feelings, which she did wherever they were. Finally Robert realised he could not hold out any longer.
“Marian, I’m sorry to take up your lunch break, but I had to talk to you without Cherine present.”
With her face drawn and pale, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“She’s found a way to take my emotions, add hers to mine and send them back to me. With the love, she sends her needs. I’m not in control anymore Marian, she is.”
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“I need something strong to drink!” They sat at the closest coffee shop and she ordered a whiskey. “I feel like crying but I can’t - I’ve never been able to cry in front of others.”
“Marian,” his eyes filled, “I’ll ask for unpaid leave and go to London for a month. I can’t love Cherine knowing I’m causing you so much suffering.”
She gulped the whiskey down. “No, your leaving will only hurt her. I don’t need a month or two, I need five years or more.” His face blanched and her shoulders straightened, her face hard. “Since I don’t have a choice, I will not allow my feelings to spoil it for her. Robert, I don’t care how you feel, but Cher can sense my feelings, I will spoil it for her. If I have to give in to the inevitable I must find the courage to do it with joy for her.”
Robert had an inspiration. “Marian, there is a way for you to rejoice! Ask Cherine to share what she is feeling when she is with me. I think you’ll be happy for her when you feel her.”
“You mean, while the two of you are making love?” He nodded and she blushed. “I can’t - you’ll have to ask her.”
“I’ll do so.” He gave a small grin. “It will have to be at a time you are at home, if she affects you as strongly as she affects me, it could turn out embarrassing for you if you’re at the office.”
The decision having been made, it was impossible for Robert to defer the moment even one more day. He held on until he knew Marian was home (he asked Cherine to tell him) and then he pulled her to him, gave her a long kiss and then asked her to share with her mother so that she knows that he hasn’t harmed her. Cherine found it embarrassing but funny, so she reached out to her mother.
As tenderly as if she were a baby, Robert kissed and caressed Cherine and then carried her to his bed. As he slowly undressed her she stared up at him with butterflies knocking themselves silly in her tummy - the moment had arrived! She couldn’t believe it.
She found new cause for disbelief when Robert turned her over and began to massage her. She felt him so she did not protest, even the adoration he was emoting was a dream come true for her.
Marian felt Cherine flooding her with her feelings and realised what was happening. In shocked disbelief she sat down heavily, tears filling her eyes. She never did work out whether the tears she found on her cheeks afterwards were from sorrow or ecstasy, for Cherine’s feelings overwhelmed her and she lost herself within the storm of passions, delight and, at the final moments, pure lust that were blasting Cherine. When she came to she did weep, but it was not for Cherine, it was for herself, for she’d never had such a moment of loving and her heart cried out at the injustice of it.
Robbie is not like some men who turn away with disinterest after their climax, he needs time to hold and caress and whisper words of love. This Robert is the same and he was upset when Cherine left the bed and hurriedly dressed herself. She told him, as if he should have understood without needing her to tell him, that her mother needed her. His emotions were all that Cherine needed to sense for her to walk out with eyes gleaming in the dusk.
Three years of love included fights between them and with Marian. After the fifth time of sharing with her, Marian told Cherine not to share anymore and in return to respect her privacy. During the first year they met with Nicko and his family a number of times and Marian was forced to pretend she had a relationship with Robert. She laughed inside her when she felt Cherine respond with jealousy, so she made a game of it, sitting with her hand in Robert's, pushing his hair off his forehead when it fell in his eyes and other small gestures of tenderness. Before Cherine could formulate a way to get her revenge, things changed.
During that first year, Alki was notified that his company had been submitted by a well known magazine for a prestigious award because of their beautiful and practical web sites and he almost ordered Robert to go out with him for a night of celebration.
Wednesdays and Saturdays were the days Marian allowed Cherine to stay with Robert until eleven at night and he treasured those hours of feeling her lying in his arms, her head upon his chest. He was pleased by the news, but resented losing a night with Cherine. Alki saw there was a problem and asked him what it is.
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“I’ve already invited Marian and her daughter for supper, I can’t just cancel, children don’t understand about work, she’ll feel hurt.”
“Ainte malaka! Any other man would be excited by what this means to his career and all you can think of is the child. Fine, invite them to join us - the more the merrier and I must admit the mother is an interesting woman.” He grinned. “You baby-sit while us adults enjoy each other’s company.” He burst out laughing when Robert showed he was happy.
Marian was pleased. Thanks to Cherine spending so much time with Robert she had evenings to herself, but she had no friends to share them with. She liked Alki and when Robert told her what he said, adding that he thought the old man was interested in her, she went to dress and daub some scent on and her thoughts turned to Alki. She very much liked the fact that he is wealthy, but she also found him very masculine and his craggy features almost seemed to make him handsome. She tried to imagine herself in his arms and found she liked the image.
Alki did not choose a high class eating establishment. He was in the mood for some wild exuberance and chose a bouzouktzidiko (clubs where they play Greek folk songs - laika - that foreigners lump under the heading bouzouki). The music was heavy, almost Turkish, and the crowd were rowdy and danced and smashed plates. Some were drunk as it grew late, and one man threw a plate forcibly and a piece shot out and cut Cherine’s brow. Aghast, Robert heard her scream and saw the blood instantly well. Before either Alki or Marian could react he pulled her to him and he pressed his paper napkin to her forehead, trying as hard as he could to reach into those parts of his mind Cherine had opened.
Marian pulled Cherine away from him and peeled the bloody paper away. She thought the lights were to blame when she could not see a wound and peered from close and then rubbed at the blood. She turned and looked at Robert and then screamed hysterically. Alki paid quickly and they left.
Alki was mystified when Marian shouted at Robert that he is to blame, that he is just like her daughter, that he is a freak and that he healed her. He turned Cherine’s face to the light and saw what was left of the blood, but could not see a wound. He turned to Robert with a question in his eyes, but waited silently. Robert was still shell-shocked, so he blurted out the truth.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of a scar and wished I could do magic and heal her. I did not expect to succeed.”
Without asking them, Alki drove them to his house. He made something hot for them to drink and sat opposite. “It is not you that has the power, it is Cherine?” He turned to Marian. “Do not fear me, if I have understood correctly, for me it is a miracle and I’ll use my money and power to protect her.”
Robert was dismayed when Marian confided in him, telling him everything. Robert did not need to be Cherine to feel the waves of contempt and disapproval Alki was emoting, but he had no way to fight back. Not so with little Cherine. Her mind blazed with her fury and she directed it at Alki. Robert and Marian felt Cherine, yet they were petrified by fear when they saw Alki begin to shake and then fall over. Robert screamed at Cherine to stop as he knelt to hold Alki’s head.
When Alki recovered, he called a taxi without speaking to them. For the following weeks he avoided Robert, barely greeting him if they passed each other in the office. Robert began to make plans to move to London and checked what jobs are available. He found out he would be earning about five times as much. He went to see Marian at lunch and confided his situation to her.
“Marian, most of my work depends on inspiration. With Alki reacting the way he has and having to face him almost daily, my inspiration has deserted me. I have to find another job and from the feelers I’ve put out it seems Alki was right, I have made a name for myself and I’ve had some very tempting offers. I’ll be earning enough to rent a big house and pay for Cherine to go to one of the best public schools. Marian, you won’t have to work, but you can if you wish, just please say you’ll both come with.”
“I need to think about it. Robert, Alki is not angry with you, he’s afraid of Cher. To tell you the truth, so am I.”
“She only did it to demonstrate to Alki that I’m not the monster he was picturing me as. I don’t understand what came over you, why did you have to tell him about me and Cherine?”
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Her voice was cold and distant, with just a hint of anger. “We’ll talk tomorrow, I have to go somewhere after work and I may be late coming home. Keep Cherine by you until I return - no, it may be better she stays the night.”Marian phoned Alki and demanded he meet her that evening. Surprisingly, he agreed. He picked her up as arranged and drove to a small taverna in Glyfada. As they ordered they politely chatted.
“No more small talk Alki, I’m very angry and disappointed in you, I expected better of you.”
“Her power was a shock.”
“She only did it because she felt the way you were blaming Robert. I tried to make clear to you that neither of them are to blame, but you ignored me and thought of Robert as a monster. She loves him so she risked showing you how her feelings can overcome your own. In reaction you turned against them. You are not the man I thought you are!”
He shrugged, “None of us meet the expectations of others. I come from a village where such powers were spoken of as being from the devil. I’ve tried to separate myself from that superstitious child, but it is never possible to entirely rid oneself of the past.” He leant forward. “I meant what I said, your daughter must be protected. If any government becomes aware of her powers she’ll disappear so that they can train her to work for the secret service. She must never demonstrate her powers to strangers again.”
Marian felt faint from fear as he spoke, but she retained her common sense and answered, “After the way you have acted these last weeks, I doubt that either of them will trust you again. You’ve made it impossible for Robert to work for you so don’t be surprised if he resigns.”
He surprised her. “We’ve said enough. Let us enjoy our meal and then we’ll phone Roberto to let them know we are coming to speak to them. I don’t like speaking of others when they are not present.”
“It’s Mum.” Robert gave her a smile and answered.
Sternly she ordered him, “Get decent, we’ll be there in half an hour - Alki wants to speak to both of you.”
Wide-eyed, Cherine watched Robert panic. As he rushed to air the apartment, make the bed and tidy up she grinned. “Mum was feeling smug. I bet she frightened him.”
Alki stared at Marian, amused by her stern tone when she spoke to Robert. “Do you enjoy frightening those that love you?”
“Of course, after the hell they’ve put me through, how else would you expect me to act?” Because of the beauty of her smile, he did not believe her.
As they waited for the doorbell to ring, Robert asked, “Cherine love, when Alki is here, could you make him feel our love instead of the anger he’s felt?”
“You told me that I should never use my gift to get what I want!” She gave him a few seconds to fumble around in his mind for an answer and then continued, her face stern. “Anyway, to make him feel it, I would have to feel it. We’ve had sex, now I just want to go to sleep.”
He fell for it. “Are you saying that after sex you don’t love me anymore? Your love is dictated by your sexual needs?” She burst into laughter and they were horsing around when the bell rang. Quickly they tidied up and opened the door.
7640
Alki took charge and apologised to Cherine. She could feel that he was still afraid of her, but she also sensed his strength and a strong feeling of determination. As he spoke of helping and protecting her, she accepted what she felt as being proof of his intentions. She still lacked the refined abilities of our Cherine and had yet to learn how to share thoughts. If she had known that his determination reflected his fear that she could grow into a danger for all of mankind unless he controls her and her environment, the opportunity their misunderstandings presented them would have been lost. Alki knew that if a government agency got hold of her they would hone her powers to be of use to them and someday she would be powerful enough to rid herself of their hold over her and then no one would be able to control her. He’d decided that the sole opportunity mankind has is for her to be influenced now that she is still a child by positive emotions, such as the security his money and influence can offer her and the love of Robert and Marian, while he sees to it that she also learns and acquires the morals and ethics that lead her to caring for all of humanity. He was partly influenced in his thinking by the fact that the word empathy sounds too much like the Greek word empathia which has the opposite meaning and partly out of his own experience from their last meeting.
Cherine, being a child, acted impulsively. She quickly sat herself on his lap before he could even think of repulsing her and stared into his eyes as she spoke. “I was angry because you were hurting my Robert. Can I please show you how I really feel?” Without waiting, she sent to him her love for Robert, his love for her and her love as she added hers and sent it back. Cherine did not think to take it further, satisfied and pleased by the feelings in Alki, she allowed her sending to gradually fade. Alki sat silent for a long moment as he fought to regain control of his heart.
“Did you both feel her?”
Robert laughed. “She does that to me every day; do you wonder I cannot resist her? I am her Odysseus and she is my siren that no wax can protect me from.”
“Theé mou! I’ve made a mistake…I need to…excuse me.” He moved her off his lap and walked out onto the balcony, lost in his thoughts and the turmoil of emotions that were tearing at his reason.
Cherine stared with a frown at his indistinct form as he stood in darkness. “I think what he is feeling is good.”
Cherine’s sending had also affected Marian, so she blurted out without thinking, “Cher, he is a good man.” Cherine and Robert looked at each other with a smile as they realised Marian is in love with Alki.
We watched the next two years hardly able to credit what we shared. Cherine only rarely pressed for full intercourse, but did not sulk or fight Robert when he refused. He only took her virginity once she was eleven years old. As for Alki and Marian. Her love for him grew and he also loved her and they became lovers, but he held back, refusing to give his heart freely because of lingering fears and doubts about Cherine. Robert learnt how to use his healer more effectively, but his mind was not pressured by events as our Robbie had been, so it did not unfold and give him new psychic resources. They did not learn how to teleport and though the two of them, sometimes even with the other two, could sense the thoughts of the other, they never truly developed the gift of telepathy.
At the end of three years Marian’s contract was not extended and she had to leave Greece. She was not willing to even consider working for Alki, so Robert had to make a decision. Lose Cherine or give up his job and home in Greece. He chose to move to London and found a job with a high salary but without the job satisfaction and freedom to make his own decisions as he’d grown accustomed to with Alki. Cherine had just turned twelve when the visitors from our reality and the new one of magic arrived. They were careful to ensure that Cherine never met them, explaining that if Robbie finds out and arrives hell-bent on revenge, he will not attack Cherine if she did not know. Despite their spells and logical arguments and their promises that he would be back within hours, he still found a moment alone with Cherine to confide in her. He told her he has to help as it is an alternate of his harming so many people. Cherine was not convinced, she did not see how any Robert could be that powerful, but she sensed she had to let him go or else she’ll destroy what makes him the man she loves so much. Again she showed she is different from us, she did not attempt to pressure him to take her with.
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.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)- posted: 16th Jly, 2020
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