o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o
o --= HIS BALLOON IS WORTH A MILLION =-- o
o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
It's Friday morning and the bus is half empty.
Hank and I are sitting on one of the parallel seats...
and at an angle... across from us...
sits Stoneface.
Hank is reading some kind of brain book...
and I am staring out of the window past Stoneface.
Hank is really engrossed in his book...
and sometimes he glances outside and ponders.
Until... the little fly appeared.
With an amazing speed and agility...
the fly flew around Stoneface's face.
Finally it landed... right on his red nose!
Stoneface's face moved...
as if it was a balloon collapsing...
and the fly took off.
Hank moved his leg against mine...
as if he was trying to make me aware of something.
Barely being able to contain my laughter...
I signaled back.
The fly flew around somewhat... and landed again.
This time it landed on his forehead...
and slowly it crawled down... towards his eyes.
With a speed... incredible for a face of stone...
Stoneface move his eyelids...
and collapsed his balloon again.
This time Hank really moved his leg...
and I diverted my attention with looking in my purse.
I blew my nose... cleared my throat...
and then I looked at Stoneface again.
Stoneface was a miracle all by himself.
His eyes were trying to follow his enemy...
and the expression on his face became worried.
In the process of following the fly...
his mouth opened a bit...
and by golly it looked like a trap.
It sure was a spectacle to behold.
Hank moved his leg again... and started humming.
The little fly kept circling for a while...
and then it made several attempts to land on his chin.
And you know... all of a sudden...
as if by the control of our thoughts...
it flew right into his open gaper...
and disappeared.
Stoneface's expression became... now what...?
Stunned... I guess... he closed his mouth...
and then he took a deep breath through his nose.
For a moment I thought that he would throw up.
All of a sudden then...
the air in his lungs came bursting out...
as if he had a wild volcano down there.
The fly... spit... rumbling sounds...
bursts of air... and what have you...
splurted into the air.
The little fly... dazed...
crawled on his knee.
Before we could figure out what Stoneface would do...
his big hand... like a shovel.. smashed the enemy!
All that was left...
was a little spot on his pants.
And Stoneface... sort of smiled.
Hank very slowly moved his leg again...
and slammed his book shut.
Then he bent over...
and picked up something off the floor.
Triumphantly he presented it to Stoneface...
and said... you know Sir... you are the winner!
But don't lose your dentures in the process.
They're very expensive!
Here they are...
Stoneface... surprised as hell...
turned beet red... and said...
well what do you know... damn it...
I would have never missed that partial plate.
He sort of wiped it clean on his shirt...
and stuck it into his mouth.
Then looking at us... he said...
well... what else can I do?
Thank you for picking it up Sir...
I'm most obliged.
I'd probably figured I'd swallowed the damn thing!
Thank you again.
Hank slowly looked at me...
and knowing that I barely could contain my laughter...
he whispered... the game is over... the fly lost.
Then he leaned over...
kissed me and left the bus.
I looked out and noticed...
that Hank had left a stop too far.
When he past my window... he winked at me...
and the expression on his face was beautiful.
He made a movement with his head... as if to say...
man oh man... was that ever good.
Then he started to whistle like a train.
I could easily hear him inside the bus.
Slowly I took out my hanky and blew my nose.
In the mean time I wiped my tears of laughter...
and before I knew it... I burst out laughing.
Two other ladies in the bus joined me...
and by golly... we laughed and laughed.
We couldn't stop.
At every stop... we lost another laugher...
and finally it was my turn to leave.
When I got up... I looked at Stoneface.
His face was cool as hell...
and then he winked at me... smiling.
I touched his shoulder in passing...
and he said... imagine... such a stupid fly!
I agreed with him instantly...
and I felt that we were friends from way back.
I whispered...
your partial might be a bit loose Sir...
just make sure you take it out at night.
Yah... you bet I will... he said...
thank you miss.
I wished him a good day and left.
- - - - - - -
Sometimes Hank and I talk about Stoneface...
and discuss the sight of his collapsing balloon.
Every time we burst out laughing.
Yah... Hank reminisces...
what a miracle his face really is.
And what would we do without little flies...
Life would be awfully dull.
Most remarkable man... Hank continues...
I sure like him!
HIS BALLOON IS WORTH A MILLION
o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o
o --= YOU WERE THE TREASURE OF MOM AND DAD =-- o
o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Today is Saturday...
and I'm baking cookies for this afternoon.
Hank is coming and he is going to tell me his secrets.
My writing is all caught up...
and I'm ready for him.
I'm glad he's coming over today...
he has never seen my place.
We'll have a beautiful afternoon...
and naturally all the rest of the day and night.
I like playing house.
As soon as Hank arrives... we'll have tea and cookies.
I want to show him my skill as a baker.
- - - - - - -
It's two o'clock and I can see Hank walking around the back.
I hurry to open the door and welcome him...
we embrace... and something feels different.
There is a pause or hesitation.
I feel strange... and Hank is unusually quiet.
Finally Hank opens up... and says...
first of all Muranda... I love you... I love you.
You are the Smile of the Universe...
all wrapped up in a Beautiful Person...
I am truly in Love with you!
I'm a very lucky and happy guy.
We have tea and my fresh baked cookies...
and slowly the atmosphere loosens a bit.
Hank looks at the pictures of my Father and Mother...
and says... you look like your Mother... she's beautiful.
Finally Hank comes to the point...
what I have to say... he says... is about you... and me!
However... most of it... is about you.
It's awfully difficult to start somehow...
and maybe the best way to do it...
is... to blurt it out all at once!
Well Muranda...
I think that I have known it for a long time...
and maybe even right from the start.
But you see... I wasn't really sure...
and that's why I waited.
And now... now I am absolutely sure.
You were my brother...
you were my Brother Richard...
my Brother who died!
You are him for sure.
You died when you were sixteen years old...
and I was about ten.
You were run over by a car...
and you came back as Muranda.
... and I love you.
My first reaction was to laugh...
and tell Hank that he was nuts.
But then... all of a sudden...
I remembered my dream.
Yes.. my dream... about a brother I didn't have.
My brother the bratty kid!
I looked at Hank...
and there he was... serious as hell...
bobbing his head.
It's true Muranda... he said...
it's true... you were Richard!
Finally I got my wits together...
I looked at Hank and started to cry.
I said... my dream Hank...
my dream about my brother...
you must be my bratty brother!
Yah... Hank said... that's who I am.
When I read your writing about your dream...
I knew for sure that you were Richard.
The puzzle was solved.
So please Muranda... cry all you want...
it must be a shock... and a revelation.
I'm awfully sorry that I was so bratty...
but that's exactly the way I was... and maybe am.
Maybe I should have told you sooner...
but I didn't know how... and I knew you would cry.
I wanted to wait for the right moment.
Finally... I couldn't delay any longer...
and well... I've told you now... and it hurts...
I do not know why... it's very strange.
Please forgive me... for having told you...
but I felt I had to tell you my discovery.
I didn't want any secrets between us... ever!
Hank stopped talking...
and I felt funnier than I've ever felt.
I felt empty and foolish... and embarrassed...
all at the same time.
Finally... I started to speak again...
but I didn't know what to say...
I didn't know how to feel...
except that I cried... and cried.
I remembered my dream from beginning to end.
I felt very confused... and sad.
I remembered talking to my brother and Hank at the same time...
while they were the same person in the first place...
how come I never caught on?
How could I be so stupid?
My dream was so explicit!
I looked at Hank... and he cried...
he said... Muranda... I don't want to be your brother...
I want to be your Lover.
Eventually we embraced...
and we both felt strange... very strange...
because it seemed as if we were brothers again.
How could we circumvent our brotherhood?
I felt as if I was somebody else...
because the sadness was not really mine.
I felt as if I was two people... all at once.
Finally... we had some more tea...
but no more cookies.
Maybe we were only thirsty because of all our sniffling.
We both felt very strange.
I felt as if I had to apologize.
I said... Hank please tell me about myself...
the way I was as Richard... what was I like...
and what happened... why did I leave?
... and here is Hank...
telling me about myself...
as his brother Richard.
- - - - - - -
Well Muranda... it seems complicated somehow...
but really... it's very simple.
It seems complicated...
because of the coincidences...
we think there are.
However... there are no coincidences...
there is only Divine Guidance.
In the Universe...
everything is figured out...
up to the last Mosquito bite!
For reasons... that you and I do not know right now...
you and I are back together again.
Maybe you died as my brother...
to be with me as my Lover.
Maybe you had your dream to enlighten us.
Anyway... I don't really know...
but here we are... together again... for now.
And Life is only Now.
So... who cares? We're here. We're here Now.
The fact that you died as my brother...
and then return as my Lover... and find me on Earth...
is nothing but the Fulfillment of our Plan.
There are no Accidents!
Cosmically... our Souls are One and the Same.
There is but One Soul... and that Soul is God.
What I ought to say however... is...
there is only God... and all Souls...
are but temporary Dreams.
Anyway... whichever way you look at it...
all Souls or Godbeings are in constant communication...
and they communicate as easy as you and I do now.
In other words...
what you and I are doing on this Earth...
has all ready been determined by our Soul-Selves.
This however does not mean...
that you and I have no free will.
We are this Soul-Self... we are the Creators of the Plan.
We create this Plan... Knowingly and Unknowingly.
You see... when we are executing or living the Plan...
the Plan seems to be a Mystery.
Because you and I in our Bodies are intoxicated and drugged...
by our Body and Senses.
We are deluded and half asleep!
That's why we cannot remember our Plan.
As soon as we become fully intuitive however...
the Plan is an open book.
To be fully intuitive...
means to be fully in Tune...
with the God we are.
Anyway... you and I... and everybody...
are taken care of... whether we know it or not.
We are in Good Hands... Our Hands.
The Hands of God... and we can't miss.
You see my Love...
your Plan... my Plan... and Everybody's Plan...
it's all One Plan.
We only think that there are separate Plans.
We think so... because we live in the Plane of Separation.
The Plane of Illusion.
We have become so used to Separateness or Apartness...
that it has become almost impossible to think differently.
We live in the Plane of Illusion...
and every time we open our eyes...
we see Division and Separation.
We are slaves of our Senses...
and they have imprisoned us in Bodies.
All Division or Separation is a Total Illusion.
Yes... it is Real...
But it is a Real Dream...
To awaken from this Dream... is finding Oneness.
So... our Plan then... yours and mine...
are part and parcel of the Universal Plan for the Earth.
And here we are... loving...
I think it is absolutely beautiful.
The Powers of the Souls on Earth...
control and guide whatever happens to us.
And what happens to us...
is created by us because of our thinking.
We create our Destiny.
To know how and what to think...
is the Trick.
For Spouses or Lovers to live together...
for more than one lifetime is quite common.
We are each other's Teachers or Unteachers...
until we quit dreaming.
Anyway my Love...
what you really would like to hear I suppose...
is what kind of guy Richard really was.
Well... let me tell you...
you were quite the guy.
YOU WERE THE TREASURE OF MOM AND DAD
Richard always talked about Nature and Fairies.
He was very mystic and sometimes he would write poems.
He called them Tales of Thought.
I tried to read them sometimes...
but they didn't make sense to me.
When I was ten years old...
Richard was hit by a car.
He lived for two days but never woke up.
He died peacefully.
The so called accident... or whatever it was...
occurred very suddenly and was over in a second.
He just walked in front of this car...
and voila... it was fatal!
He never suffered one bit for he was completely unconscious.
Some people saw it happen...
and they told Mom and Dad that it was just unbelievable.
It seemed as if he was in a trance.
He stepped off the sidewalk in the middle of the block...
the driver of the car had no chance whatsoever.
I was only ten years old when it happened...
and I cannot remember things too clearly.
I tried to forget about the whole thing...
because I was deeply hurt.
Little did I know...
that I would try to recall everything later on.
When Richard left...
Mom and Dad packed all his stuff in a big box...
and I don't know what happened to the box.
I was not supposed to touch it... they said.
Many a time...
Richard would tell me what he had written.
It always sounded like Fairy-land to me.
He knew a lot of things and I listened often.
Once in a while he would tease me...
and tell me what Hell was all about.
Yah... he would say...
you were born in the Dungeons of the Mind.
That's why your tongue...
looks like a red banana.
I would look in the mirror...
and tell him that he was lying...
because it was pink.
Sure... he would say...
it's only pink when your mouth is open...
but it is red when your mouth is closed.
Often he would laugh out loud...
because I kept looking in the mirror...
opening and closing my mouth.
Mom told him to stop laughing at me... but he never did.
Somehow... Richard was not an ordinary guy...
he was special to me... and very special to Mom and Dad.
He was a friend and a brother...
and he was very wise for his age.
Everybody liked him...
because he laughed a lot.
He had red hair.
Sometimes we would go into the woods.
We would just wander around and swim in the river.
Many of the things he told me... I forgot.
But I know that he made me think a lot.
Girls... he used to say...
girls are the other half of you.
The find the right half is the trick.
Sometimes... he said... any half seems to fit...
but later on... when you need them most...
they fall apart on you.
To find the right half... or right girl...
you have to listen to your stomach a lot.
If it's noisy... you've found a dud!
I never knew whether Richard was joking or whether he meant it.
Anyway... to me he was the greatest.
He was a real pal to me.
I tried to read some of his books after he died.
I didn't like them one bit...
and Mom put them back in the box.
I was too young I think.
After Richard left...
Mom and Dad were heartbroken for years.
They were very... very sad for a very long time.
I cried a lot afterwards.
When I think of him...
the way I remember him...
I smile inside... yet I feel sad.
I truly loved him.
Mom and Dad were crazy about Richard...
he was their only natural son...
for I was adopted.
They were married when they were older...
and they were possibly too old...
to have more children of their own.
I was adopted the day I was born.
To see them cry after Richard died...
and then look at me...
made me feel as if I was not sufficient or good enough.
The first two years were very difficult.
They would fuss over me something fierce.
I guess I got twice as much attention as before.
Maybe I was even spoiled.
I tried to help them in their grief.
I have some pictures of Mom and Dad...
and I have also two pictures of Richard.
Someday I'll show them to you... if you like.
You and Richard... look like relatives...
you have his eyes... and his hair...
yours is more beautiful however...
it's fuller and darker.
And your eyes... well...
your eyes are the Soul I love.
After Richard...
it seemed as if Mom and Dad died as well.
They became very quiet somehow.
Our home had lost its Happiness.
Mom and Dad just couldn't forget Richard...
and living at home made me feel very strange sometimes.
And you know Muranda...
because they were so attached...
that's why it happened...
that's why Richard left.
Richard's death provided a valuable lesson...
Mom and Dad had to learn to overcome...
their attachment.
The lesson was very difficult...
and they worked on it for the rest of their lives.
Richard's death had to be transcended somehow.
Anyway... since life at home...
was too quiet and even empty maybe...
I probably married Susan sooner than I would have otherwise.
All things worked out perfectly however...
for I found you.
Three years ago...
when Mom and Dad were on holidays...
their plane crashed and they were killed.
I miss my parents... and sometimes I cry...
because I loved them.
I'm the only guy left in that family...
and I wasn't even a real member.
I have no Aunts... no Uncles... or any relatives.
Even my son Michael left.
Yes... I have my friends in the next Dimension...
and they talk to me... but you know... it's not the same.
I'm a loner in this world...
all I have is you Muranda...
Beautiful you!
Forgive me my Love...
telling you all this makes me cry...
please help me... I need you a lot.
The world is a big place...
and often I am very much alone...
you are my only friend... and I love you.
- - - - - - -
Hank cried for a while...
and I dried his tears.
And naturally I bawled myself.
We sobbed for a long time...
and then we smiled in tears and quivers.
We had some coffee... and we laughed again...
yet... we were really mushy... and vulnerable.
Finally Hank continued...
and I listened with mixed emotions.
- - - - - - -
Muranda my Love... my brother Richard...
the Soul that was him... or lived in him...
is the same force that lives in you.
You are the Continuation of the same Great Light.
The feelings I had for Richard...
are the same feelings I have for you...
I call it Love.
Deep down I not only love you...
because of your Beauty...
but I feel that our Souls are the True Lovers.
It's a Love deeper than we can imagine.
I feel it right here... where my heart is...
it's a very sweet feeling... a feeling of Goodness.
I feel that you are my other half.
The right half!
In you my Love... I see myself... but more Beautiful.
However... from now on...
I would like to forget about the past.
You and I are the Future... right Now!
So... let me hold you...
and be what I am the most...
a Lover of Beautiful you.
I am nothing without you...
for you fill the emptiness I am.
You are such a Divinely Beautiful Person.
That's why I sometimes cry...
for I know you love me.
I cry because of Happiness.
- - - - - - -
Hank never left that night...
and we spent time in timeless activity...
and entered paradise.
We also cried a lot...
for feelings expressed in tears are Heaven.
And to know the Sphere of Love...
that can exist between two Souls...
is knowing Ecstasy.
When we finally fell asleep...
I dreamed about wandering in the woods.
I would wake up suddenly...
and Hank was there... holding me.
Then I'd cry again...
and Hank would hum softly... loving me.
Soon I'd fall asleep again...
and the morning came too soon.
The whole Sunday we stayed together...
and talked endlessly... making plans for the Future.
Late Sunday night Hank left and went home.
- - - - - - -
The next morning we met at the bus stop...
and Hank said... you know Muranda...
over the weekend I was in Heaven... Alive!
I was God in Action... and I loved it.
That day at work...
my mind kept thinking about the weekend...
and once in a while I had to wipe my tears.
My friend the doctor told me...
Muranda you have been touched...
by a dis-ease that is healthy.
It's called Love.
o o o o o o