The Peacock 834

 "You said that African family left the house precipitously."

"And you want to know if there's a story there."

"Brilliant deduction, my dear Watson."

"Sheila and Michael are the only Watsons here, I'm afraid.  And yes, there is a story here.  Ugandan family.  The husband was the ordinand and didn't take at all well to having to work under a priest who is also a transwoman."

"Given the conservative and homo and transphobic culture in that country and with the Anglican Church in Africa, I can hardly say I'm surprised", says Carl.  "What's your opinion?"

"About a transwoman Anglican priest?  I say, why not?  They´re all pretenders, anyway."

"Fair enough.  Let's go help make dinner."

The Peacock 833

 "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"We should leave right after breakfast.  We can take the van, but it needs servicing.  I figure we can get it serviced in Vancouver, Monday, after spending the night either in your apartment or the house, Tuesday morning we'll pick up your friend at the airport, and spend the night at your father's house since there'll be more room there.  Wednesday morning we will get Mom and her friends and from the airport head straight home again."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Or, we could put everyone up in your house for a few days more and just enjoy being away from here for a while."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Mom will want to come out here right away."

"What will you want to do?"

"I want to leave this monster house behind forever.  I can't because I have responsibilities here.  But, Chris, I badly want out of here.  I've had more than enough of this place.  The craziness, the isolation, the constant drama and intensity.  I'm tired."

"Let's go downstairs and help with dinner...."

The Peacock 832

"But with your wealth, with your assets, you could buy yourself a very lovely home, anywhere, even in hideously expensive Vancouver."

"I don't want to live alone.  Especially not in a big beautiful house.  But I don't want to stay here.  I can't stay here.  I will happily cede this place to my mother if she wants to start a new community here.  Melissa can do what she wants, but she would probably want to stay with Mom.  She is very loyal to her, even if she does drive her crazy. 

"She drives you both crazy."

"Well, she is our mother.  Would you like me to come and live with you?"

"I don't see why not.  But let's start with my father's house at UBC."

"I will pay all your property tax."

"That is generous of you.  It's a pretty ordinary house, by the way, not big.  Could you get used to that?"

"I 've lived in small places in Amsterdam and in Zurich.  This wouldn't be an adjustment."

"Do we have a timeline in mind?"

"I say we wait till at least September", says Carl.  "First we have to figure out what mother plans to do with her two little friends.  "And by then, your Swedish friend will need to be settled there for his studies....

The Peacock 831

 I am woken by a knock on the door  It is 4:35.  I have been sleeping for two hours, at least.  Again three knocks, and Carl's voice.  "Chris, are you there?"

"Yeah, come in."

He sits in the comfy chair.  

"Am I needed for dinner?"

"There's no hurry".  He pauses and looks at me quizzically.  "You been sleeping all this time?"

"Pretty much.  I was trying to read, but I just couldn't focus on anything.  I think all the food has made me tired."

I hoist myself up against the pillow.  I was feeling groggy, but now curiously and fully alert.  There is a gleam in Carl's eyes, and he is poised in the chair rather like a wild animal that is getting ready to leap.

"I find it an odd coincidence that suddenly, just as you and I are preparing to go to Vancouver tomorrow, that your house is now vacant and available."

"It's a message from God."  Then I stare at him focussed and challenging.  "When are we moving?"

"First we have to take care of my mother and her two friends.  And, of course", he says swallowing, "You're ex brother in law."

"Yes.  Eric.  He could be a problem."

"The three of us will all live in your family home.  It's at the university.  Perfect for him."

"Are you sure.  You haven't met him."

"I am absolutely sure.  Chris.  I have to get out of here..."

The Peacock 830

 It means that I will have to sell either the house or the condo because I am not paying property taxes and strata fees.  The condo has to go.  I don't want to lose the family home.  It's all I have left of my father.  And Carl will come to live with me.  There is no alternative.  We haven't exactly discussed it, but this appears to be quite understood between us.

This character, Martha, went by Matty as a younger woman in the small town where she lived in South Africa, or, I think Southern Rhodesia, Now Zimbabwe?  Whatever.  Matty was like an acquired self to help her hide who she was and simply get by in the everyday.  And in the anonymity of the big city of London, she can simply be who she really is, Martha.  And I have just taken the reverse direction, from Christopher to Chris?  I have accepted as costume the person of Carl's baptism?  Time will tell, I guess.  I think I will go on reading.  This looks interesting.

Now it is fully raining out there and my stomach is full of food and the page no longer holds my attention.  I have to lie down for a while...

The Peacock 829

 Back in my room, I open again the Doris Lessing novel The Four-Gated City, and have decided to start again from the very beginning.  This thirty year old woman from South Africa, Martha, in London around 1949 or so and she is sitting in dingy tearoom in working class London, on a rainy day.  How inspiring.  I reach for my laptop.  Another email from deacon Jenkins.

"Hello again Christopher

You might find rather interesting some of the details behind the decision of Victor, our Ugandan ordinand, to vacate.  He apparently had difficulties with the priest of the parish church where he was to start his practicum.  As you may know, the Reverend Karen Wilson is our first ever transgender, male to female, cleric, and is a woman of great faith and dedication and pastoral skill and compassion.  Victor would not even speak to her.  He simply insisted on knowing her previous male name and would only refer to her by the male gender.  Of course this was unacceptable and after a great deal of controversy, he took his family, without further notice, with him back to Uganda.  Of course you are most welcome to reclaim your family home.  But please bear in mine that the Diocese will only subsidize you for the property taxes until December of this year, as stipulated in our contract.

I hope you will be okay with this.

best

Rev. Jenkins.

The Peaock 828

 "This is all pretty sudden, I guess.  I mean, here I just got the news and already we're about to set up house together."

"Well, why not?  First there is going to be my mother to take care of.  And your ex brother-in-law from Sweden.  But one brick at a time, eh?

"I guess I should let you get back to your work.  What are you writing?"

"I'm drafting out an article about our friend Amanda."

"Did you get her permission?"

"Oh yes, this morning before we left for lunch.  I am cc-ing to her everything I write about her, because this has to be with her full collaboration, and I'm not in the mood for having tea with lawyers.  She just has a really interesting story, don't you think?"

"No argument there.  Well, the weather looks kind of shitty, so I'm going to hole up in my room with a book."

"Sounds excellent.  Will you be on hand to help with dinner?"

"No need to ask", I say getting up.  "What time should we leave tomorrow?"

"Right after breakfast..."

The Peacock 827

 I can't settle to do anything until I have spoken to Carl.  Melissa and Carol are both in the reception room, reading quietly.

"Where's Carl?" I ask.

"He's in his room, working", says Melissa, and I am gone in a flash.

I knock at his bedroom door.

"Who is it?"

"Chris."  Yes, it looks like from now on I am going to be Chris and simply Chris.

"Come in."

He is in one of the comfy chairs with his laptop.  "Sit down", he says, motioning to the empty chair.  "You look like you have something urgent to say."

"My house is now available", I blurt.

He looks briefly at his scree, then glances up at me.  "Tell me."

"I just got an email from the deacon who was renting it out to a family from Uganda.  They have suddenly gone back to Africa, and now the house is ours if we want it."

"Ours?" says Carl, as though tasting the flesh of a strange animal.

"We can stay there while we're in Vancouver."

"And beyond...?"

The Peacock 826

 This is one sea change I was not expecting.  I am, one would say, gobsmacked.  But I already know what my reply is going to be.

"Hello Deacon Jenkins

That is a surprise.  I am prepared to take immediate occupancy of the house, so please do not let it to anybody.  I am returning tomorrow to Vancouver and will have a look at the place at that time.  I will keep you informed.

best

Chris

And now I have pressed Send.  Funny, that is the first time I have voluntarily signed off, not as Christopher, but as Chris.  I am going to have to tell Carl about the house.  We can stay there.  much better than the apartment downtown.  Now I can't focus to read anything.  I have to tell him.  Now....

The Peacock 825

 It looks like the rest of the day is going to pass unscripted, and I am good with that  So good with that, that I have just escaped to my room.  I have badly been needing, and missing, time by myself.  This is, after all, despite all intents and purposes, supposed to be a retreat.  This might also be a good time to catch up on my reading.  I have barely touched any of the three novels that Robert Griffin gave me to read while here.  I suppose it could also be said that right now I am living in a novel.  Aaron's great unfolding saga of magic realism.  I wonder what he's really up to.  Instead of lying stretched out on my bed, I have opted to sit in the comfy chair with my laptop.  I have an email.

It is from Deacon Jenkins from the church, who was also managing the affairs with the family home.  Unlike the other clergy, this one stands on formality.  No first name basis here.  And he's not even that old.  Hardly fifty.  Let's see what he has to tell me: The subject line doesn't say a lot, just "tenants."

"Hello Christopher:

I hope this day finds you well.  I understand that Father Robert Griffin arranged a retreat for you and I hope it is going well.  Here, unfortunately, I have some rather sad and sudden news.  The Ugandan ordinand who was staying in your father's home with his family has suddenly vacated and without notice.  No clear explanation has been given, but he said in an email that he cannot abide the moral laxity of the church in this diocese, has changed his plans, and has returned, immediately, with his family, to Africa..  I understand that they were scheduled to stay until December of this year, and we do know of another family that would like to stay there until that time.  Of course, the house and its affairs are all in your name, and this of course will be respected.  

Do enjoy your time away, especially with this horrible pandemic.

All the best, with blessings

Deacon Jenkins

The Peacock 824

 "The important thing is that I have my memory back.  And will no longer be doing historical dramas."

Carol appears to accept that the subject, for now at least, is closed , and redirects her gaze at Melissa.  

"What is the plan before dinner", she asks, as though she cannot wait for her next opportunity to feed herself.

"I don't know", she says.  "Carl, what are we doing for the next three or four hours."  

"I was going to see who I could pressgang to do some more yard work and work on the new trail, but it looks like it's starting to rain."

Glen comes in and sits down on the chair next to Carl.  "How was your lunch?" he asks.

"Simply divine, brother Glen.  Simply divine.  When are you going to join us?"

"Maybe in a few weeks.  You're going away?"

"Tomorrow Chris and I will be going into Vancouver to meet his friend at the airport Tuesday, and then our darling mother and her sidekicks on Wednesday, then bring everyone out here to paradise."

"Why not wait till Tuesday, then?"

"Chris and I want to spend time hanging out in Big Bad Vancouver for a couple of days.  Don't we, Christopher?"

"I have a condo downtown where we can stay."

"So much the better, brother, so much the better."

The Peacock 823

 "His name is Jason", says Carl, plopping down in a comfy chair.

"Would you care to explain?" says Carol

"You don't have to put yourself through this again", says Carl, checking his friend with a wave of his hand. 

 "I could summarize, if you want."

"Yes, please do."

"The thing is", says Jason, "I no longer have to lie or cover up.  And I do apologize for not being entirely honest or transparent with all of you.  "The thing is, I used to be an actor, stage, was very good at it, but some trauma occurred and I went through some major identity issues.  I ended up in a particularly strange place around twenty years ago, mostly which I forgot, but I believe I was in consistent contact with the Divine, and the trauma affected my memory and my mental health.  That said, for the first time in more than two decades, I can remember everything. including my real name, Jason Egerton, and my mother was not a ballerina from Russia, but an office worker, divorced, and now retired and living in an apartment in Toronto."

"What exactly?" says Carol.
"Later, please", and now he is being stagey again.  "I need time to digest this..." 

The Peacock 822

 We have left the conversations in the diner.  This will be one of the quieter rides back to the house so far.  Jason, formerly Adam, and Lazarus are  in the back with Sarah.  Amanda is in the front, seated at my right.  Back at the house, as she gets out of my car, she says, "I have really enjoyed meeting all of you.  Does this mean I can come back sometime?"

"Our door is always open to you, Amanda", says Carl as he slams his car door.  "In fact, we have an extra space for dinner."

"What time?"

"Six-thirty."

"I'll be here", she says, climbing into her SUV.

In the house, Melissa and the others await us in the reception room.

"How did it go?" says Melissa, looking up from her phone.

"I would say, uncommonly well", says Jason.

"You are looking uncommonly well, Adam", says Carol, taking him in with a single look.  "And you are smiling."

"My name is Jason."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My name is Jason."

 "You don't say..."

The Peacock 821

 "Two pure boys", says George, snickering.  "But yes, dear Lazarus, your wishes will be respected."

"And mine", says Jason.  "That was entirely inappropriate, you guys, and it certainly has nothing to do with the beauty, or the purity of the person I saw in that house, or of our time together.  If it was indeed the Son of God, and I for one believe that he was the Son of God.

"Jesus is also recorded in Luke's Gospel, at the age of twelve", says Jennifer, "Conferring with the scribes and doctors of the law in the temple in Jerusalem."

"To the consternation of his mom and dad", says Sarah.

"Mom and adopted dad", says Michael.  "Hey, there's this joke.  Joseph comes into Jesus' bedroom and tells him to clean up the mess, and Jesus replies, I don't have to, you're not my father."

"Not bad", says George, giggling.

Jason, instead of dignifying that with a reply, simply says, "Yes, the person I saw there, he would have been just like young Jesus in the temple telling his anxious parents, Why are you so worried about me, should I not be in my Father's house?"

"How are you now?" says Lazarus.

"Fine.  I remember everything.  I think I've recovered.  For now, anyway."

Amanda has been talking briefly on her phone and says, "I am needed at the shop right now.

"Okay, we can go", says Carl...

The Peacock 820

 "Did he have zits on his face?" asks George, smiling.

"His skin was flawless", says Jason.  "And radiant."

"Hm", a teenager without pimples", says George.  "Either that wasn't a teenager, or it could only have been Jesus."

"But how can we know that he never had zits?" says Carl.

"I want to know how he dealt with his developing sexual urges", says George.

"Oh you would, Mr. head in the gutter", says Jeffery, not appearing terribly amused with his husband right now.

"Oh, he must have jerked off occasionally, at least", says Michael.

"You guys", says Sarah, "That is truly enough."

"But Jesus was sexual.  Otherwise he would not have been fully human", carps Michael.

"But he probably had it all under control", says Sarah, with attempted patience.

"That's easy for you to say", says Carl, "you're a girl."

"Woman."

"Semantics.  But what young male has never found himself jerking off in the privacy of his bedroom at night.?"

"I for one", says Aaron, suddenly appearing at the table...

"Where have you been?" says Carl.

"In front of my laptop.  I still am, actually, while recording your conversation, but please let me weigh in, if I may.  Not all teenage boys are out of control pigs when it comes to their sexuality.  And I was one of them."

"You're lying", says Michael.

"As you wish", says Aaron, "but if I could go through adolescence without staining the sheets, I'm sure it is not a far stretch to imagine similar of the Son of God."

"You guys", says Sarah, "That is way too much information."

"I concur", says Lazarus, "And I think this is completely disrespectful to Jason and what he has to tell us right now, as well as an unnecessary distraction.  And if truth be told, I also went through my teenage years unsullied, and now we are changing the subject!"

The Peacock 819

 It could only have been Jesus", says Sarah.

"It could only have been Jesus", says Carl

"But a teenage kid?" says George.

"And why not a teenage kid?" says Francois.  "Our Lord, after all, did go through adolescence.

"I have sometimes wondered what kind of puberty He must have experienced", says Jeffery.

"Those are things we will probably never be privileged to find out", says Jennifer, smiling.

"But why a teenager?" says Michael.

"Well, why not", replies Carl.  "He wasn't always a dude with a beard.  And besides, maybe seeing him in that form made him somehow more accessible."

"And less threatening", says Sarah.  "Dude with a beard, you know."

"Gotta look out for those dudes with beards", says Michael.

The Peacock 818

 I must have lost consciousness, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up, face down in the sand of the beach near the place of the Transfiguration, and there was Chris, crouching down next to me to see if I was okay.  And also there was the box of the Faberge eggs.  I don't know why, or how, but I had the idea that they were a family treasure given me by my mother who had been a ballerina with the Kirov, and that we had escaped from Soviet Russia when I was a small child and we lived many years in London.  All romantic nonsense, because I have long recalled my mother is a retired divorcee, former office worker, living in a small apartment in suburban Toronto.  My father died last year from a heart attack.    And I have a sister, Mary, three years older who lives in Winnipeg with her husband of twenty years and their three teenage offspring."

"So", says Carl, "Where did those eggs come from?"

"And that", says Matthew, "I would especially like to know, since I got to sell them and retire on the surplus.

"My only guess is that the old people and the kid must have given them to me"

"Who was that kid, anyway?" says Amanda.

"Why, who do you think it was", says Francois, incredulous....

The Peacock 817

 Jason, formerly Adam, suddenly goes silent, his eyes squeezed shut, as though recalling something that he does not want to have to reckon with. He appears to be wavering, almost trembling, then starts shaking his head.  There are tears streaming down his face.  "Oh no", he is saying, "Oh my God.  oh...My ...God.""  I can tell he is not dramatizing any of this.  He is having a traumatic recall.  Lazarus is gently massaging his back and shoulders.

"What is it Jason.  You can tell me", he says gently, tenderly, as though soothing a frightened two-year-old, "You can tell me...I'm here with you, love...You can tell me..."

"It was my last and final meeting with them, before I left the island.  We were all in the physick garden, this time in the centre, by the sundial.  There were four benches surrounding the canal of water around the sundial.  I was seated on the bench, and they were all standing in front of me.  The old man towering on one side of the boy, the old woman on his other side, his left, I think.  Suddenly the kid lifted up his hands and showed me his palms.  they were bleeding, bright red blood running from their wounds and dripping onto the paving stone.  He simply said, "These are the wounds of my love for you"...And that is the last thing I remember....

The Peacock 816

 " Adam", says Sarah, suddenly.  "Or, sorry, I mean, Jason.  Jason, this will be the second version you have given us of your time in that place.  With all due respect, which please is the correct version?", and now she stares at him as though trying to recognize the face she is looking at.

"The one I'm telling you right now."

"And how can we be sure.  We hear so many different things from you."

"Sarah", he says with tested patience, "I have never once intentionally lied to any of you here.  But I am always confused, because my memory has always been uneven, and then I forget.  But the difference is that this time, now, I am not forgetting, or omitting anything.  For the first time I feel really myself.  Not that I am drifting between delusions and hallucinations. This is me, authentically telling all of you, in my authentic voice and with my authentic memory.  This is the first time in twenty years, and shit, man, does it feel good."

The Peacock 815

 This just went on, day after day.  I don't remember really thinking about anything, but I did feel that I was being transformed through the process, especially the afternoons spent in the physick garden, and of course the boy's perpetual presence with me.  Then one day, in the library, I had a meeting with the boy and the elderly couple.  They were dressed as always in the tweeds of English country gentry, and the woman's white hair was as wild as ever, flying in all directions, as though energy was emanating from her head.  She asked me if I knew yet who they were.  I said no.  Then she said that they were representatives of the Millionth Council, an angelic hierarchy that is responsible for the wellbeing of our planet.  They said that I was abducted because I was about to rise to a pinnacle of fame as a stage and film actor almost never seen in the history of the stage and film arts.  That had I tarried a moment longer in that nightclub, I would have met and become the lover of a man who would see to my rise to fame, and they showed me in my mind, it was as though it was all unfolding before me as a film, but in my head somehow, that ten years later I would be playing a role in a science fiction trilogy of a master of worlds that would somehow influence an impressionable and highly talented young man from a family of wealth in a Middle Eastern country, and that this influence would facilitate his rise to power and tyranny that would unleash a whole chain of events that would see to global nuclear annihilation.  They had stopped me just in the nick of time, and that I would have to be somehow contained and confined for many years to come.  They also told me that I myself was a descendent of renegade members of their angelic hierarchy, also known as Nephilim, which meant that I held a lot of power that I was completely oblivious to...

The Peacock 814

So, that was my routine, for, I don't know, two or three weeks?  He never left my side.  He never seemed to take any time for himself.  It was really creepy, in a way, but it didn't feel at all creepy.  This boy's presence was so benign, so peace and comfort inducing that I didn't think to protest, nor did I want time alone.  In fact, I didn't want him to leave.  I felt completely and absolutely safe with him.  But I also felt incredibly vulnerable and naked around him.  As though there was not one single thing, not one secret of mine that could stay hidden from him.  Yet I still felt accepted and loved.  Unconditionally loved by this kid.  Following a beautifully appointed dinner and time in one of the many rooms of the extensive library,  where we would sit and read together, we would go up to bed.  Then in the morning, after breakfast, we would take a long walk in the gardens, then have a rest, followed by lunch.  Then in the afternoon we would sit together in the physick garden into the late afternoon.  Then dinner, then I would climb into bed, he would tuck me in, then turn out the light and sit in the corner chair to watch over me.  We seldom exchanged words, but we always seemed to be communicating by thought, or telepathy.  There was very little physical contact.  Only when he would tuck me into bed, then lightly kiss me on the forehead.  I always fell asleep almost immediately after, just after he took his place in the armchair...

The Peacock 813

 Flanking the wall were several stone benches.  He led me to one where we sat down side by side.  "Here, I will be bringing you every day of your stay with us. This is the garden of the healing of memories."  Then he went silent, and we sat, while I inhaled the fragrances mingled of lavender, thyme, basil, comfrey, wormwood, fennel, and many other mingled fragrances of every fragrant herb imaginable and inimaginable.  I heard the shrill whistling of two eagles soaring in circles overhead, and then the call of a raven.  From the nearby forest, and the gardens sang a whole variety of birds.  There was no other sound, but for the distant crashing of waves on the rocks down below.  Until then, I had never had the ability to sit still in silence for longer than a few seconds.  Now, I seemed to be absorbing it like a thirsty camel drinking water after a trek across the Sahara.  I couldn't have enough of this blessed and beautiful silence and stillness.  But I didn't fall asleep either.  I don't know how long we sat there, but by the time he signaled that it was time to leave, the shadows were already much longer.  We returned to the house for dinner...

The Peacock 812

 The manicured estate this sprawling mansion is on must cover a good part of the island.  The boy led me along various paths and walkways, past flowerbeds and through groves and fruit orchards and gardens.  We also bypassed a large maze cut out of cedar hedges.  He forbade me from going in, warning me that I would find myself lost in there for an awfully long time.  We came out onto a gigantic herb or physick garden  There were herbs both culinary and for healing, and perhaps also for purposes of divination, but that was one of many questions I was simply too afraid to ask him.  In the centre, was a circular stone wall.  He took me in through the portal.  There were smaller beds of herbs arranged in a clock pattern, twelve triangles in a circle radiating out from a huge sundial in the centre.  The sundial was not on a stand, but set in the ground with a circle of water surrounding it....

The Peacock 811

 It was a light lunch.  A cheese and tomato sandwich with a glass of milk and a chocolate brownie for dessert.  We ate together.  I assumed that there were servants or hired help in the house as the food had already been prepared and was waiting on the table for us.  Or perhaps the old couple had done it.  I was afraid to ask because, simply, I just didn't want to know.  There was also music coming from somewhere.  It sounded like a lute interpretation of some renaissance compositions.  It was lilting and beautiful.  Again, I simply had not the presence of mind to ask.  I was about to gather up our dirty plates and carry them to the kitchen, if I could find it, but he forbade me with his hand, and assured me that it would be already taken care of.  He rose up from his chair.  Without saying where we were going and I simply was not able to ask, he led me out of the house, onto a broad sheltered terrace, then down the steps....

The Peacock 810

I must have gone immediately to sleep.  I don't know for how long, but it must have been for a couple of hours.  It was hard to say, because there were no clocks anywhere to be seen, plus, my wristwatch had ceased to operate. The boy was still in the armchair, and appeared to be dozing since his head was bowed down.   I didn't feel like moving, so I studied him for a while.  He had very beautiful hair, a bit long, slightly curly, and an almost shining tawny gold colour.   I said he looked around sixteen, but there was something about him that suggested an incredible wisdom and integrity.  His eyes opened, and he raised his head.  "I trust that you slept well", he said smiling.  "Incredibly well", I replied.  "And how about you?"  "Very  well", he said.  "You know", I said, "if you are ever tired, you are always welcome to sleep beside me on the bed here."  he smiled serenely and replied, "Thank you.  That is not going to be necessary..."Then, impaling me with a very inquisitorial stare he said, "For you to heal, you must sleep alone.  But take comfort, because I will always be with you.  Now, let's go  downstairs for lunch..."

The Peacock 809

 "And I am servant to all", said the boy.  "I will not be leaving your side during your time here.  But I can see that you are getting tired and we shall return to the house for you to rest for a while. "  And I was feeling tired again.  I really didn't have the energy or presence of mind to form any questions, but I could see I was in a truly beautiful place .  Then I asked if he could take me on a tour of the gardens.  The boy answered, "First you must rest, then you will eat something for lunch,  After that I will take you to the gardens.   The four of us walked back to the house together.   The old couple saw us to the bottom of the stairs, which was a super huge and elegantly carved wonder of polished wood, oak I think.  The old couple each held me in a warm embrace.  Then the boy led me up the stairs and then up another flight of stairs and along various corridors till we arrived at my room.  I took off my shoes and climbed onto the bed, and he sat down in the armchair, from where he would watch over me.

808

 "And, who are you?" I asked them.

"We are the guardians of this place" said the lady.  "It is a doorway to many dimensions, and we also give refuge to those who need us."

"Why am I here."

The gentleman replied, "You were about to become harmfully entangled with a certain young man you were about to meet towards the conclusion of your debauch.  Instead, you were intercepted by one of our watchers, who brought you to us.  I cannot reveal to you here nor at this tine the full chain of events that would have unfolded, but the liaison that was just aborted would have brought about an inevitable global catastrophe.  You will know more when it is time."

"And, who is he?" I asked, gesturing with my head towards the boy.

"He is your servant and your lord." said the lady.

"And he is also our lord", said the gentleman... 

The Peacock 807

 That was when two very old looking people approached.  What I found remarkable was two things: their height. and despite their age, how well they carried themselves.  They were wearing tweeds like an English country gentleman and his wife, and yes, they were also wearing sensible shoes.  The man wore an English cloth  cap, had a white moustache and very blue and very penetrating eyes.  The woman had the wildest white hair I have ever seen in my life.  It simply flew in all directions, as though under a perpetual windstorm.  They both directed on me very warm and welcoming smiles.  They stood before us, towering.  "Welcome", said the woman.  "yes, welcome indeed, young man."  and yes, they both sounded so very and so properly English.  "And your name would be?" said the gentleman.  I couldn't answer.  I honestly didn't know my name, nor had I the presence of mind to ask them theirs.  "I see you have drunk from the fountain", said the lady.  "Yes, he drank from the fountain", said the boy.  "Then", said the gentleman, "Until you have remembered your name, and learned your true name, young man, your name shall be Adam..."

The Peacock 806

 We sat together for a sumptuous breakfast.  There was a huge bowl of prepared tropical fruits, granola, cheese, whole grain bread and various cheeses.  With coffee of course.  We ate in silence.  I didn't seem to have any questions for this kid.  I already accepted that this was now where I lived.  After breakfast, we washed the dishes, then walked outside together. We paused at the fountain.  "This, he said, is the fountain of forgetfulness.  You drank of the water when you arrived last night.  Your whole memory is erased and this is where your new life, your new birth begins.  The gargoyle from which water trickled did look truly menacing.  We sat together on a bench.  It was a lovely morning, just a few wispy clouds in the sky, just a little bit warm and breezy...

The Peacock 805

 For some reason, after my shower, I walked out of the bathroom wet and naked.  The boy fully towelled me dry.  This by the way had not one single sexual connotation.  It was all completely innocent.  Then he led me to the closet where I pulled out a pair of jeans, then to the drawers where I found a green t shirt, socks and underwear.  He actually dressed me from head to foot.  I felt completely under his care, and for some reason knew that I could trust him absolutely.  He even put my shoes on my feet for me, pulled my wallet and keys out of my dirty pants pocket and gave them to me.  After that, he led me through the labyrinthine corridors and down two flights of stairs back to the dining room.  I would have gotten completely lost had I tried to get there on my own...

The Peacock 804

 I was awoken by someone knocking at the door.  I said feebly, "Come in."  It was the boy.  He came in without a word, then sat down in the comfy chair in the corner, facing the bed where I was lying."I trust you slept well", he said.  I felt too weak and groggy to respond.  Then I realized there was no clock in the room, and I wasn't wearing my watch. "What time is it", I asked.  He replied, "It is morning  "Yes but what time  of the morning"  "Early.  That's all you need to know.   You did sleep the night through.  You will probably want to have a shower now and get dressed.  Breakfast will be downstairs in the dining room.  I will show you the way."  He remained in the chair, as though waiting for me to get up and shower.  "Where is the bathroom", I asked.  He pointed to the door across from the bed.  I waited.  And he waited.  Then he said, "Take your shower now.  There are clean clothes for you in the closet and in the drawers here.  For some reason it occurred to me that this boy was not going to leave my side.  I wasn't sure about being naked in front of him, then realized that I already was, or might as well be naked in front of him, and it still wouldn't matter.  I struggled out of  bed, stripped off my shorts, making no effort to conceal myself.  The boy seemed completely indifferent to my physical charms.  He gestured to a basket in the closet where I could put my shorts.  I went in the bathroom and took a shower,  I don't think I even closed the door...