Stephen - 20. Chapter 20

A part of this I'm not getting.The doctor apparently knew that the father was going to try to sell Lukas.So I would think he would tell the authorities about it.We find out later the father wanted to be notified when the boy could go home.If he wants to sell the boy and the Doctor knows that the father shouldn't have the right to be notified.what did I miss?

57 minutes ago, weinerdog said:

A part of this I'm not getting.The doctor apparently knew that the father was going to try to sell Lukas.So I would think he would tell the authorities about it.We find out later the father wanted to be notified when the boy could go home.If he wants to sell the boy and the Doctor knows that the father shouldn't have the right to be notified.what did I miss?

In the US maybe but not sure about Germany. The doctor was repeating a story, hearsay. 

Uh, they just kidnapped a child. I'm pretty sure that's a felony in Germany.  Also, child at death's  door eating ice cream 15 minutes later?   Also, 8 year old being thrown out as a gay? Hard to believe.   Also, Germany has child services and would not return a child 'to be sold', nor would any modern country. This is just not believable. Consider a revision?     I really liked the Michael parts and the first half of the chapter.

19 minutes ago, GanymedeRex said:

Uh, they just kidnapped a child. I'm pretty sure that's a felony in Germany.  Also, child at death's  door eating ice cream 15 minutes later?   Also, 8 year old being thrown out as a gay? Hard to believe.   Also, Germany has child services and would not return a child 'to be sold', nor would any modern country. This is just not believable. Consider a revision?     I really liked the Michael parts and the first half of the chapter.

Good points all of them.I'm sure the kidnapping thing will be dealt with next chapter it has to be.It could be Michael telling them to do this as to leave Lukas would be fatal.

8 hours ago, GanymedeRex said:

Uh, they just kidnapped a child. I'm pretty sure that's a felony in Germany.  Also, child at death's  door eating ice cream 15 minutes later?   Also, 8 year old being thrown out as a gay? Hard to believe.   Also, Germany has child services and would not return a child 'to be sold', nor would any modern country. This is just not believable. Consider a revision?     I really liked the Michael parts and the first half of the chapter.

Remember that Michael is an angel, and surprising things are going to happen when he's involved.

Yes, the young men will probably get into some trouble for absconding with Lukas, but it was hardly against Lukas's will, and I don't know enough about European law to know how much trouble they'd be in.  Lukas's father certainly doesn't deserve to get him back.

In the U.S., crossing a state boundary is problematic.  You can't just be shipped back without extradition proceedings, but fleeing out of state doesn't sit well with the judge in the original jurisdiction when you finally get hauled back into his or her court.  Also, I don't know how good the Jugendamt is in Germany, but in the U.S., Child Protective Services (or whatever they call it in a given state) can sometimes be worse than an abusive family.

24 minutes ago, BigBen said:

Remember that Michael is an angel, and surprising things are going to happen when he's involved.

Yes, the young men will probably get into some trouble for absconding with Lukas, but it was hardly against Lukas's will, and I don't know enough about European law to know how much trouble they'd be in.  Lukas's father certainly doesn't deserve to get him back.

In the U.S., crossing a state boundary is problematic.  You can't just be shipped back without extradition proceedings, but fleeing out of state doesn't sit well with the judge in the original jurisdiction when you finally get hauled back into his or her court.  Also, I don't know how good the Jugendamt is in Germany, but in the U.S., Child Protective Services (or whatever they call it in a given state) can sometimes be worse than an abusive family.

Sure, but there are 4 factors here that are ridiculous.  How many 7-8 year olds 'come out' - ? Even one saying things wouldn't be taken seriously.  Have you talked with a 7 year old recently?  The author can write anything they want but I still think this chapter flew off the rails, badly.     Like I said earlier, the idea of Michael calling them to go and help the child is a super awesome idea but the follow up didn't work for me and I don't think would work for many others.  I guess we will see where this story takes us next.

I knew I was attracted to men at age four.  And even at that tender age, I knew to fear the consequences of making such an admission.  But I might well have made that mistake, if I had trusted my parents more.  I agree that Germany is a much more enlightened society than the U.S. and this reaction on the part of Lukas's father is probably a lot less likely than it would have been in the U.S., but I know first-hand how distorted religious teachings can warp people's minds.

49 minutes ago, BigBen said:

I knew I was attracted to men at age four.  And even at that tender age, I knew to fear the consequences of making such an admission.  But I might well have made that mistake, if I had trusted my parents more.  I agree that Germany is a much more enlightened society than the U.S. and this reaction on the part of Lukas's father is probably a lot less likely than it would have been in the U.S., but I know first-hand how distorted religious teachings can warp people's minds.

thanks