Bork to be King I - My Little Gypsy Prince - 11. Chapter 11

At eight o'clock, our doorbell rang, loudly reverberating through the hallway.
I felt a bit annoyed and angry with myself, for again forgetting to buy a new one!
Maybe, I could try to suppress its too harsh sound, by pushing a wad of paper into the irritating thing?
I decided to give it a try, first thing in the morning...

Little Harry woke up, jumped off our couch, and raced to the front door.
I heard him open the door, cheerfully greet Christian, and politely invite him inside.
Again, I felt proud of my little soul mate and his almost perfect manners.
Obviously, his parents and Jack had provided him with an excellent social education.

Chattering like old friends, little Harry and Christian entered our living room.
Christian had an arm around our almost glowing boy, and greeted me with a warm smile and an even warmer handshake.
Next, he released little Harry after tousling his hair, and appreciatively looked around the room...
Smiling even warmer, he remarked:

"I see that our spirit friends are already preparing the room for our meeting."

"Yes; I thought I sensed something special, as if they were building a huge cathedral around the room, and I also heard some angelic chorus in the background."

"Actually, our friends are carefully screening off the surroundings, although not in our physical reality."

I offered our medium an easy chair, and we sat down and smiled at each other.
I planned to offer our guest a cup of coffee first, but our good-mannered little friend already beat me to it!
He turned towards our guest with a smile, and politely asked:

"Please, sir, may I offer you a cup of coffee, tea, or perhaps something else?"

"Yes, thank you. A cup of coffee would be wonderful."

I rose from my chair and headed for the kitchen, to brew fresh coffee and get some cookies.
Little Harry followed me closely, with a glowing face and seemingly totally in awe.
He leaned into me with an expression of marvel in his eyes, and gasped:

"Did you see that wonderful light? It's shining everywhere around the room!"

"What do you mean by 'wonderful light'? I didn't see anything special, except for the candles and your own glowing face... What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you see it? There's a warm and very bright light in the living room, shining everywhere. It's almost sparkling, and it consists of thousands of lively colors...
"Christian himself has a gorgeous aura full of moving waves. He radiates an enormous amount of love and power. Everything about him makes me feel like crying and laughing at the same time...
"Jack is also here. He smiled at us, and around him are many other nice spirits. All of them radiate the same kind of love, as if they are happy to be here to help us!"

"How come only you can see that bright light and these spirits? I didn't see anything special, except for our twilight lamps, the candles, and the burning incense..."

"Well, I'm not sure... It feels as if I am fantasizing; but, at the same time, I am absolutely sure they are here.
"I can clearly feel their powerful love and see their beautiful auras, even with my eyes closed."

I felt rather confused; and didn't know what to think of my clairvoyant boy.
Could he be a 'spiritual medium' himself; because he saw the bright light, Jack, and all the other spirits?
Would he also be able to hear their messages, just like Christian did?
I remembered seeing this bright light myself, during my 'induced trance'.
Therefore, I was sure he was telling the truth.
Maybe, I was even a bit jealous of my little boy, who was able to see and feel all these things, and I couldn't...

I brewed a pot of fresh coffee and filled the cookie jar.
In the meantime, little Harry placed two cups, milk, sugar, and a glass of cola onto a tray.
We returned to the living room, where we put everything onto the table.
I filled the cups with coffee, and told our guest to help himself with sugar and milk.

Christian seemed to be relaxed, looking around and smiling.
Obviously, he enjoyed the nice and peaceful atmosphere in the room.
Was he already silently communicating with all the surrounding spirits?
I decided not to ask him about what little Harry told me in the kitchen; at least, for the time being...

We drank our coffee in silence, while little Harry sipped his cola and nibbled on a cookie.
He sat next to me on our couch, leaning into me and heaving deep sighs of content.
Now and then, he looked around in awe...

Suddenly, he left my side; and shifted towards the other end of our couch!
At the same moment, I felt Jack, coming up to me, sending me his powerful love and telling me to relax and let myself go...
Feeling surprised, I did as he told me and tried to stop thinking.
Within a second, I found myself staring into space, without focusing or trying to see anything.
A few seconds later, I felt drowsy, and everything in the room started to look misty.

Staring into this vague mist, I thought I saw a very bright light and a lot of movement around us.
A beautiful colored aura built up around Christian, little Harry, Jack, and me.
Our joint auras were made of thousands of vibrant colors, radiating and stretching out in every direction.
Was I really seeing our joined powers of love?
Or, was this how heaven looks?

Jack waved his hands, while looking at us with a warm smile.
Streams of sparkling golden light left his hands, engulfing all three of us with even more powerful love.
Slowly building up, I saw several other spirits surrounding us; all of them having beautifully colored auras and smiling warmly.
Was this the same vision my clairvoyant little soul mate had seen?
This WAS heaven; and I was looking at several angels, although they didn't have any wings...

I sat a bit more upright, trying to have a better look at all these beautiful spirits.
At the same moment, the vision vanished; and the light and vague mist disappeared completely.
I tumbled back into our 'normal' room with a slight shock, feeling utterly disappointed.
Obviously, and unknowingly, I had broken my own 'induced trance'...

Immediately, my confused mind started to doubt again.
Was this for real?
Had I really seen the same lively auras little Harry told me about?
Or, had I made them up myself, unwittingly drowsing away in a daydream?
Had my imagination played a trick with my mind, knowing that I was a bit jealous of my little soul mate and his special gifts?
I wasn't sure...

Christian put his empty cup onto the table, and yawned.
He shook his head as if trying to dispel some cobwebs, and smiled apologetically.
He closed his eyes; and frowned as if he heard something and listened intently...
Next, he opened his eyes, turned his chair towards me, and started to speak:

"The spirit of a recently deceased person is here. He is the former owner of this house, and he passed away around two months ago.
"He tells me that YOU didn't know him in his last life, but your son certainly did. He regrets that he had to leave the earth and his little companion so soon; but his time was up, and he had to go home.
"He wants to explain why you, your son, and your young friend, are brought together in this life; so that you might understand why all of you are meeting once again."

Christian paused, took a deep breath, and relaxed some more.
He stared into space; looking intently, as if he tried to listen again...
After a few seconds, he nodded to some unseen person, and continued:

"Your spirit friend tells me that you DID know him, some fifty years ago. Once, he was your little brother; and, at a very young age, he played with a candle, burnt his face and his hands, and died.
"He reincarnated immediately, to be able to fulfill his last task on earth. He also wants to tell you that nobody can blame you for anything that happened.
"Nothing was YOUR fault; so, please, stop feeling guilty!"

I stared at Christian in shock, taking in the confirmation that Jack really WAS my little brother, Joshie!
That is why I always felt so much in harmony with him...
Little Joshie returned to the earth as Jack; and he took care of little Harry until I would meet him and take over...
Had Jack really arranged our meeting?
I looked at my little soul mate, and he looked back at me with love and pride in his eyes.
He shifted back to me and nestled into my arms with a deep sigh of content.

Christian smiled warmly, and went on:

"Two months ago, your brother's physical task on earth ended; and now he is home permanently. From within his own spirit realm, he will continue to guide and advice you.
"He brought you to this house, helped by a couple of spirit friends, to let you have it as a present. He also brought you into contact with your former son and with your best friend from a past life.
"From now on, it will be your task to guide them and be their mentor. Soon, you will meet a couple more young friends; and you are asked to help and guide them as well."

Christian paused, and turned his chair to face little Harry:

"My friend, what do you remember about where you originally came from?"

Little Harry looked surprised, but answered Christian with a sad voice:

"Sorry, Sir, but I still cannot remember very much about my past. At first, I only knew my name and date of birth.
"I am Harold Romani, and I was born on March the third; but, everybody here calls me 'little Harry'.
"Two years ago, a caravan fire killed my Mom and my Dad, and the burning pain wiped out almost all my memories..."

"Yes, your spirit guide told me everything about the fire. However, he also tells me that, recently, a couple of memories came back into your mind?"

"That is true, but I still can't remember very much. The doctors told me my brain tried to shut down the pain from my burns; but, at the same time, it also wiped out all my memories from my past.
"I remember vaguely living in a secluded place in a forest, surrounded by huge mountains.
"We had a big circle of caravans around our campfire; and our parents made a living from setting traps and trading goods...
"Suddenly, a whole bunch of police officers showed up, trying to arrest my parents and me. We were innocent and hadn't done anything illegal, but they thought we had robbed somebody.
"Fortunately, we escaped with our spare caravan. We traveled through four or five foreign countries; waiting for the witch-hunt to calm down so that we could go home safely.
"Now and then, we tried to stay in the same place for a couple of days; but the police always chased us away, and we had to go on..."

Little Harry stopped, took another sip of his cola, and continued:

"Finally, we arrived in this small village. We were all sick and tired of traveling; and decided to go back home early in the morning.
"But, in the middle of the night, our caravan was set ablaze! I woke up when a couple of red and yellow flames burned my face and body.
"I was lucky to sleep next to the door and escaped just in time; but my parents couldn't find the door, and both of them died in the fire...
"Jack found me, still burning like a torch, and immediately rolled me around in the wet grass to extinguish the flames and cool me off.
"He waited until an ambulance arrived, all the time telling me to be brave and survive! Next, he accompanied me to the hospital.
"He visited me every day, cheered me up, and taught me his language. He was like a second father to me; and I started to love him very much.
"He was my savior and my hero, and he promised to take me home as soon as the hospital released me..."

Little Harry sniffled a bit, got a tissue, blew his nose in it, and went on:

"The same morning I was allowed to leave the hospital, Margaret from 'See Pee Es' kidnapped me. A doctor sedated me, and she took me to an orphanage.
"All the kids laughed at me and called me a 'freak' and an 'alien'. In the evening, I tried to run away, but the police caught me and locked me up in a madhouse hospital...
"Three days later, John's parents took me into their custody, and they allowed Jack to take me home and tutor me. Finally, I felt like I was somewhere where I belonged!
"Since then, I have lived with Jack in this house, and I had my own room here with all my stuff in it; upstairs, second door to the left.
"Jack taught me everything I had to know about the habits of the people I'm now living with, and he always told me to stop worrying and be proud of myself. That is, until two months ago...
"Jack suddenly died, and I had to leave his house and share John's room, until my new Dad showed up and took me home. Now, I am living here again, with my new Dad."

Little Harry seemed to be exhausted from his emotions, and crawled onto my lap.
He held on to me with both hands, started to sob, and tried to bury his head into my chest.
Obviously, reliving the sudden loss of Jack had been too much for him...

I held him close, sent him all the love I could muster, and whispered into his ear that it was okay to cry.
At the same time, I was delighted to hear my boy calling me 'my new Dad'.
Was this how he already thought of me, after such a short time of being together?
This was a lot more than I had hoped for, despite my own memories from our past lives.
I felt grateful and full of love for my little son, and again decided to do everything I could to adopt him and be his real Dad!

Soon, I felt him perform his special magic of pulling himself together and regaining his strength.
He stopped his sobbing, released his death grip, looked up, and bashfully smiled at Christian and me...
Again, I saw the same aura of aristocracy I had seen a couple of times before.
This seemed to be quite natural for him!
Who was my little soul mate in reality?

I worked my handkerchief out of my pocket, and let him blow his nose.
Why didn't I use one of the tissues from the table?
I don't know... Maybe, I really was becoming an old man, and a creature of habit.
I stuffed the wet handkerchief back into my pocket, again without thinking.
Suddenly, my little imp started to laugh, and chuckled with twinkling eyes:

"Dad? Now your pocket is full of my snot!"

For a split second, Christian and I looked at each other with shocked faces.
Then, both of us started to bellow with laughter, and our little scoundrel joined us immediately.
This certainly was a welcome interruption, after our built-up tension!
I even thought I heard Jack and his friends, guffawing from within their own realm...

We laughed until we were totally out of breath and had to stop.
We dried our eyes, this time using some tissues from the package on the table...
Little Harry brought the used tissues to the kitchen and dumped them into the trashcan.
He returned, and crawled onto my lap again.

Christian closed his eyes, and seemed to listen to our spirit friends...
After a moment, he reopened his eyes, with a very surprised face.
This time, he looked at my boy with a lot more respect:

"Your spirit guide, Jack, wants to help you remember your youth. He hopes that, by helping you, your memories will come back easier. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, of course that is okay with me. I know that Jack helps me; but I can also see a witch doctor, and I can feel him poking somewhere inside my head. It tickles a bit..."

"One of your ancestors is a very powerful shaman, and he tries to wake up your faded memories. Is he allowed to do so, or do you want him to leave?"

"Of course, he is allowed! I know he only wants to help me, so he is welcome to do as he wishes. I only hope I'm not going to laugh at the tickles..."

Christian smiled at little Harry, nodded, and closed his eyes again.
He took a deep breath, sat more back in his chair, and seemed to fall asleep...
After a couple of seconds, he started to speak again:

"Your spirit guide shows me a solitary Gypsy camp, situated in a secluded valley, surrounded by huge mountains and vast forests, in a country that is far from here.
"Its inhabitants belong to a huge group of around forty million people, consisting of several very close family clans, all of them living on their own but being bound together at the same time.
"Almost no one outside their clans seems to like them; and, wherever they go, they are chased away, mostly accused of theft, robbery, or even worse.
"Nobody knows for sure how they are living, and they always keep far away from any stranger or foreigner..."

Christian coughed a bit, cleared his throat, and went on:

"In this camp, I see a tall and dark-haired man with an enormous mustache. The man is a King; but without a crown on his head, a palace to live in, or a throne to sit on.
"He is very important to all the Gypsy people on earth; and all of them are bound to help him and protect him with their own lives, if necessary.
"The man marries a blond-haired woman with blue eyes from a Northern country. She too is of known Royal Heritage, and everybody accepts her as being their own Gypsy Queen.
"Soon, they have a son, the new Heir to the Throne. He is very intelligent and has a powerful spirit; and everybody is very fond of their joyful little Prince.
"Now, I am looking at a nasty witch-hunt, based solely on presumptions and false accusations. Several detachments of police officers are crowding the camp, looking for a King and his blond son.
"The King and his Queen are able to escape towards a safer country, accompanied by their little son, the Royal Prince.
"They travel through several countries, carefully keeping incognito all the time as a precaution, and planning to return to their own country after the witch-hunt finally subsides.
"After a few weeks, they are tired of all the traveling and decide to go back home. That same night, their caravan is set ablaze and burns down.
"Both the King and his Queen perish in the fire. Only their six-year-old little son, the Royal Prince and only Heir to the Throne, survives..."

Christian heaved a deep sigh, and slowly woke up from his trance.
He yawned a few times, opened his eyes, and looked at us.
Then, total silence fell over the room...

For a moment, I didn't know what to think of this unbelievable story.
My precious boy, my beloved little soul mate, was of Royal Heritage?
He was a Prince, the only Heir to the Throne, the future King of forty million Gypsy people on earth?
For heaven's sake, why had this special boy chosen ME to be his Dad?
Why had our spirit guide, Jack, chosen ME to guide this Prince and be his mentor?
I couldn't cope with it, didn't know what to do, and shook my head in denial...
This was too much for me!
Couldn't they have warned me in advance?
I was only an old and retired therapist, and certainly not capable of educating a future Gypsy King!

Little Harry turned around on my lap to face me.
He stared into my eyes, burning deep holes into my very core, searching my soul...
Then, he threw his small arms around my neck and held on to me with all his might.
He started to cry, buried his face under my chin, and mumbled:

"I KNEW it was you! Two years ago, my Ancestor told me I would meet a new Dad. He would help me, teach me all the important things, and prepare me for my final task.
"Now, I see why Jack always told me to be PROUD of myself. He repeated it over and over. I think that Jack knew what I am, and tried to help me until I could meet my new Dad...
"Dad, will you please help me now? I am still too young to understand all these difficult things on my own. This is why I NEED a Big Friend in my life..."

Christian went to the kitchen, and returned with a glass of water.
Carefully, I peeled my sobbing boy off my chest, and Christian handed him the glass.
My little Heir to the Throne, the young Prince Harold Romani, started to smile again.
Eagerly, he emptied half of the glass in one extended gulp.
He spluttered some, burped loudly, and grinned apologetically.
Next, he looked at me intently, silently letting me know that he was still waiting for my answer...

I tried to find the right words to express my confused feelings...
This time, I wanted to be honest with my little soul mate.
He had the right to know exactly how I felt!
I cleared my still choking throat, and told him:

"Sorry, but I am too confused to think straight... Of course, I know you are a very special boy; and I love you dearly...
"However, I am NOT of Royal Blood! How will I ever be able to educate you properly, to prepare you for your future task as a Gypsy King? I don't know anything about your people and their habits...
"I think you will have to educate ME first, and help me understand what your task on earth will be...
"However, I sincerely promise I will always be there for you. I will help you with everything in your life, as much as I can. Cross my heart and hope to die!"

My little Prince listened to me intently, staring into my eyes and seeing right through me.
My solemn answer, followed by the silly children's promise, brought a feeble smile to his face.
He stretched out to reach my face, offered me a big kiss, and told me:

"Thank you, Dad, and I love you with all my heart! I know I can count on you."

He turned around to face Christian, and seemed to wait for any more revelations.
I put my arms around my son and little Prince, and had to be careful not to squash him!

Christian smiled at us warmly, closed his eyes again, and continued:

"Jack now shows me a picture of a lonely trapper in a huge forest. He builds a log cabin, goes to town, and takes himself a wife.
"After nine months, a little boy is born; but his mother dies in childbirth. From that time on, the man and his little son are inseparable.
"He raises his boy on his own; and teaches him how to sneak through the forest, how to set traps, and how to skin animals.
"Eight years later, his son is playing outside, when a hungry grizzly bear wants to have him for a snack. The bear attacks him, and kills both him and his father.
"Today, I am seeing both that man and his son again, here in this room..."

Little Harry almost overturned our couch, in his sudden hurry to get up.
He jumped off my lap and turned towards me, while his bright blue eyes started to sparkle.
Forcefully, he threw his arms around my waist, while he shouted:

"NOW, I remember you, Dad! I remember everything from our past life! That bear tore me to pieces, while you tried to rescue me with only a knife in your hand."

Fort a moment, I didn't understand what happened to me, and shuddered.
Suddenly, I remembered everything about that life, as if it happened yesterday!
My body started to tremble all over, and I felt paralyzed.
Again, I saw that enormous bear, attacking my loudly screaming son.
Without thinking, I jumped in between them to rescue my boy, with only a small knife in my hand.
I felt its enormous claws ripping my body open, while I desperately tried to stab the growling monster.
I even smelled its stinking breath, while darkness engulfed me and my son stopped screaming.
Everything went black, and I slid down from the couch and collapsed onto the floor...

Slowly, our living room returned to normal; and the darkness faded away.
What had happened to me?
Had I died and been revived?

I tried to sit more upright, blinking my eyes and squinting at the twirling room.
Had I remembered my sudden death, after a hungry bear tore me to pieces?
Was this how dying feels?

Christian offered me little Harry's half-empty glass, and I gulped the rest of the water.
My body was still shaking with emotions, while my horrendous memories slowly faded away.
I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to sit even more upright while the room slowly stopped spinning...

"Feeling better now, Dad?"

I tried to answer my worried son, but was still unable to utter any intelligible words.
Thus, I only nodded, pulled him into my arms, and almost squashed him.
He really IS my son!
My little soul mate really is MY OWN SON.
I AM his father, and we are together again!
My poor little baby, mangled by a nasty grizzly bear, and I couldn't rescue him.
But, now, he is back, and I will never let him go again.
I am so happy!

Now, I finally understood why my boy started to call me 'Dad'.
Now, I knew why I had such a strong feeling that we belonged to each other.
He HAD been my own little son before, in our past life.
I WAS his real Dad.
I had tried to rescue him with my own life, and I would do it again, without any hesitation!

Slowly, we disentangled from each other.
Little Harry crawled onto my lap again and melted into me.
I held him close, smelling his hair and again savoring the special aroma of MY boy.
I kissed his head, and he squeezed my arms and tried to melt into me even more, letting me feel that he had the same warm feelings towards me.

Christian closed his eyes again, and looked at the next scene:

"Jack shows me another trapper, living in the same forest. He is a wonderful person with a lot of love and warmth in his heart; and you and he are best friends.
"When he finds your dead bodies, he is devastated! He kills the grizzly bear with his bare hands. However, the bear wounds him severely, and your brave friend dies as well.
"This morning, I saw your friend in the supermarket, helping you with the groceries. Again, he will be a very dear friend to both of you, always helping you whenever he can.
"Soon, you will be asked to take him into your house for some time...
"Do you have any questions?"

What? Did I have any questions?
How could Christian ever ask such a thing...
Of course, I had at least a zillion questions!
Only, my overwhelmed mind wasn't able to formulate a single one.
They were all hiding just below my consciousness...

Everything I ever believed in, had turned upside down in just a few days.
All the things I always took for granted, had been shattered to pieces, just like that.
I had seen spirit helpers, remembered past lives, met my own son, relived my own death, and recognized John as our dear trapper friend...
I needed a BREAK!

Little Harry had a pensive look in his eyes.
Slowly and tentatively, he raised his hand and touched his burnt face.
One by one, he traced his scars, his halfway gone nose, and his distorted lips.
Tears welled up in his eyes, but he bit his tongue and didn't cry...
He turned towards Christian, and asked with a quivery voice:

"Please, could you tell me some more about my burnt face and my scars? Will I ever look normal again?
"Peter is making a mask for me, to hide my scars; but I would prefer to have a 'normal' face before I meet my own people..."

"Your spirit guide tells me that your question will be answered within two days.
"Your future has been planned carefully; but many things are still dependent on the free will of others, so you will have to be patient.
"About you, sir... Now and then, your spirit guide enters your daydreams, by making you drowsy; or he mingles his own thoughts with yours.
"Unfortunately, he always has to use your own channel of imagination to be able to reach you. This means that, if you think you feel or hear Jack, you COULD have fantasized him yourself.
"In time, you will learn to sense the difference between making it up yourself, or feeling your guide imposing his thoughts onto yours.
"For now, his advice is: don't doubt so much, and trust your own feelings. He IS guiding you and your son, always and everywhere; and he simply will not allow you to make any serious mistakes!"

Christian yawned, excused himself, and went to the bathroom.
In the meantime, little Harry and I went to the kitchen, to brew some more coffee and have another cola.
Soon, Christian returned into the living room and sat down again, looking tired.
He thanked us for the coffee, and absent-mindedly added some milk and sugar...
Then, he wanted to go home.

We thanked him abundantly, for spending his precious time with us and offering us his valuable help.
I told him he could always count on us, in case he should ever need our help in return.
We accompanied him to the front door, and waved him out until his car disappeared around the corner.

My son and I returned to our couch, and immediately entangled into each other!
Then, we started to talk.
During the remainder of the evening, we talked and talked.
We couldn't stop, and talked on and on; until we couldn't think of any more things to talk about...

We talked about our dreams, and about everything we remembered from our past lives.
We talked about our shared future, about our best friend John, and about little Harry's past and pending operations.
We talked about me being his new Dad, and about my little brother, Joshie, returning to earth as Jack and now being our spirit guide.
We talked about his new mask; and I decided to tell him about the future image Jack had shown me in my daydream...
Immediately, his hope flared up, and he couldn't sit still any longer and danced around the room with enthusiasm!

Finally, we were completely drained, and too tired to utter any more words.
We dragged ourselves upstairs around midnight, and decided to go straight to bed without showering.
We were dead-tired, but never in our lives had we felt so good.

I took my newly found son to his own room, and helpfully undressed him.
He purred like a little kitten, crawled under the blankets, and started to yawn.
I smiled, kissed his forehead, and wished him a good night and many wonderful dreams.
He smiled back, put his small arms around my neck, and kissed me back:

"Thank you, Dad, for being my new Dad; and I love you very, very much!"

He left my neck, yawned again, and turned onto his side.
Within a minute, he drifted off into a deep and sound sleep and started to snore.
Feeling wonderful, I tiptoed out of his room and switched the lights off, leaving a small night-light on.
I had tears in my eyes and felt very blessed, for having such a marvelous son.

I went to my own bedroom and slowly undressed, purposely leaving my briefs on.
In this so prudish and mistrusting world, one could never know...
I crawled under the blankets, hugged my pillow, and heaved a deep sigh of content.
Almost immediately, I felt drowsy and started to dream.

To my surprise, I drifted off into a very strange state of mind.
Everything around me disappeared, but I didn't lose consciousness and was fully aware of what happened.
From where I was, I looked at a surprising scene, unrolling itself like sort of a Technicolor film...

I saw a secluded valley, surrounded by vast woods and huge mountains with beautiful snow-clad tops, glowing in the sunlight.
An enormous campfire glowed faintly; now and then raked by a bunch of naked children, who were roasting small animals on wooden stakes.
Several men and women were sitting on wooden benches around the fire, talking to each other and looking at their busy children with love and pride in their eyes.
Many cozy looking Gypsy caravans surrounded the circle.
Suddenly, I looked at myself, sitting amidst all the other Gypsy people.
I didn't look any different from the others, yet I was sure I was their uncrowned King, the Beloved Leader of all forty million Gypsies on earth...
In my dreamy state of mind, I thought this had to be the secluded place little Harry told me about when he remembered his own youth.
I recognized the vast forest, the huge mountains with their glowing tops, the circle of caravans around a campfire, and many naked kids roasting their caught animals over a campfire...
Then, I recognized little Harry himself!
Here, he was an adult, my best friend, and my trusted vice-leader; always taking over when I had to be somewhere else to perform my duty as their uncrowned Leader...

I woke up in shock, and needed some time to realize where I was...
For a long time, I didn't know what to think of this strange dream.
Had I really seen one of my past lives, showing me that I once had been a Gypsy King myself?
Had little Harry really been my trusted vice-leader, and my very best friend?
Was this why Jack chose ME, to mentor my little Prince and Heir to the Throne?

Suddenly, I started to laugh at my own irrational thoughts.
Of course, this had only been a very strange dream, and certainly nothing more...
Everybody knows that dreams always are misleading, even the ones in Technicolor!

Slowly, I drifted off again, this time into a sound and dreamless sleep.