Only love is allowed to change him, not our convictions that we are right.”
“The same way you changed me?” She bit her lip but did not answer. He laughed. “I’m glad you did, no need to become defensive with me. We’ll do it your way Cherine.” He touched her cheek softly in a caress. “At times, my love for you hurts.”
Bobby did panic, for he could sense ‘others’ doing things to him while Cherine held him. She did all she could to calm him, sacrificing more of her soul to his acid motes. Just before he was connected, she concentrated and sent a wild and powerful stream of love motes to him and then let go. He sank into his body and Cherine returned to hers. As she moved, the agents who’d been watching over them withdrew.
The instant Bobby opened his eyes he jumped away from Cherine and then screamed at her. Fascinated she tried to make sense, for this was no usual snarl, he was shouting in anger at her and she was convinced that the various noises signified an attempt at conveying a message to her. She gave up and sat back, waiting for him to calm down. He jumped off the rock and faster than she could imagine he rushed to the bottom and up the other side. Within a minute of him disappearing she heard him snarling and he ran back.
Jumping onto the rock he stood by her side, glancing at her as if asking what she is going to do about the men he’d found.
“Calm down Bobby, they won’t harm us and they’ll soon be gone.” She patted the rock. “Sit Bobby, sit down.”
Suspiciously he looked at the rock she’d patted, stared at the opposite hill, sniffed the air and then stared at her again. He made a sound and Cherine had to fight herself to prevent her showing her glee. The sound was not really recognisable, but it held the same pattern as the word ‘Bobby’. With encouraging smiles and pleased tones in her voice she repeated his name again and again. She stretched out her hand to indicate he is Bobby and he snatched at it. She allowed him to retain control of her hand, despite his baring his teeth and pulling her fingers towards his mouth. He pretended to bite her fingers, watching her keenly as he did so. She smiled and talked to him. Gently he let her hand go and turned his back to her.
“I guess you need time to think about it; take all the time you need Bobby, I’ll be here for you. My Bobby, my precious little Bobby.” With a backward glance he jumped off the rock and waited for her. He led her back to his home and went to check the offering stone. Attacking the meat he caught it with his teeth and dashed off to be alone while he eats.
“Robert, I cannot leave him alone every night, I’ll have to stay there for a while.”
He looked down at the house and Bobby who was staring at them. “Do you think he would object to my staying with you?”
“I think he needs time alone with me.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. He should get used to having to share you right from the start - otherwise he might refuse to learn later.”
She put her arms around him. “It would be nice having you here. Our walks have to be for him only, you can’t come with until he invites you.”
“I’ll wait for a card.” Laughing, they walked down the hill.
Robert spent most of his time when with them, concentrating on his painting. Now and then he’d succeed in achieving an effect he’d strove for and he’d mutter with pleasure. Bobby would glance at him, but otherwise seemed to do a good job of ignoring him. He made no such pretence at night. When he and Cherine lay in their room, if he so much as put his arm around her they’d hear Bobby snarl. After making patience for a week he decided to ignore Bobby and he pulled her to him, they kissed, despite the snarling, and then, as he fondled her, Bobby’s voice rose into offended screeching. Cherine called out, ‘stop that Bobby’ and he ran out of the house.
For most of the next day he stayed hidden, only appearing to grab his meat late that afternoon. He reverted to his normal routine the next day, but Robert noticed he always crouches at a position where he would be between him and Cherine. She was amused and refused to take Robert's concern seriously. However, she did make a point of kissing him at least once a day in front of Bobby.
Robert was bored so he decided one morning that he’d go for a visit to the city that had captured him. Bobby kept on looking around until he was satisfied that Robert was gone. He stepped closer to Cherine and lifting himself so that he only crouched on his back legs he stared her in the eyes and made a sound. This time it was far more definite, he was trying to say ‘Bobby’. Cherine repeated what he said, as closely as she could and then spoke his name clearly, pointing at him. He repeated himself and when she lavishly praised him he ran in circles and then dashed off among the rocks. When he returned, he crouched as before and waited. She said his name but he snarled at her. After a few further attempts by her, his arm rose, pointing at her.
She pointed at herself. “Me? I’m Cher. Can you say my name? Cher. Cher.” She thumped her chest as she repeated her name. It took him two days to find the way to speak her name.
She could only think of one way to celebrate. As he pointed at her she moved forward and took hold of his hand. Ignoring the filth, she placed his curled fingers in her mouth and pretended to bite. When she let go he screamed at her, jumped up and down and then giddily tore in a run around her. She laughed and laughed, collapsing on the ground as she did. Suddenly he was sitting on her chest, glaring down at her. “Tse.”
“Yes Bobby.”
Carefully, as if greatly daring, his fingers touched her face. “Tse. Tse. Tser! Tse.”
Just as carefully, she touched his face as she repeated his name. He then began chanting, ‘Tse, Bu-ibbi, Tse, Bu-ibbi.”
The next morning Arthur appeared on the brow of the hill, standing without calling until Cherine noticed him. She called to Robert and they both ran up to Arthur.
“We decided to show the recordings last night. We took it from the moment the camera recorded the appearance of his body on the rock and then edited to sequences that showed how your relationship has been developing. With that love fest of yesterday, him sitting on your chest calling out both your names, we ended the show and asked people for their comments. Cherine, it seems the whole world is in love with Bobby.”
“You came out here to tell us that?” Robert asked.
“You are becoming too astute - or too cynical. I had to get away as they are asking how Bobby came back to life. Why don’t you handle it Robert?”
“What’s Bobby doing?” Robert asked. Cherine swirled to see and then ran down as fast as she could. He was lying on the ground, wailing and snarling softly to himself. As she drew closer she softly called to him and then reaching she raised him to her chest, patting his head and pressing it to her shoulder. He was violently trembling and it took her a long time to calm him. She sat rocking him, speaking softly, her one hand tenderly caressing him until she thought he’d fallen asleep. He surprised her by pulling back and staring into her eyes with his blue eyes icy cold with more hatred than she’d ever seen from him and then he placed his head against her shoulder and neck again, his arms clasping her as tightly as he could.
“God, what do I do? How could such a mutation come about? How will he ever fit in with any kind of society, the more he loves me the more virulent his hate seems to be.”
“He’ll have to spend his life with us Cherine. We’ll have to make the mansion our permanent home and limit visitors to those who prove they understand him. Those are problems we can solve, what is more important is that he learns how to speak.”
Cherine gave a sort of laugh. “He also has to learn how to keep himself clean, he stinks!”
“Take him for a walk and I’ll have an outdoor shower installed. If you turn it into a game he just might join you.”
Cherine ignored advice that she should concentrate on teaching him to speak by remaining in one place. She took him (or he took her) for long walks and she used that time to teach him words. Despite his outward shows of negative emotion, he bashfully took her hand in his now and then, and when they sat somewhere high to enjoy the view he’d sit next to her or upon her lap.
For the first couple of weeks he refused to join her under the shower and tried, at night, to destroy it. He’d yip in surprise, offended, when she flicked water at him as he stood close by watching her, but she gradually tricked him into joining her.
Two months later Cherine led him to the wall of his home and patting it repeated ‘Bobby home”. She then raised him and holding him against her told him to shut his eyes. She teleported to the mansion and told him to look. She patted the wall, ‘Cher home’. Once she saw he understood, she asked him, “Bobby, Bobby home and Cher, Cher home or this,” and she patted the wall again, “Bobby and Cher home?”
The next day she repeated the exercise and when he finally showed he understood, she called for Robert to join them. “Bobby, Cher and Rob home. Cher love Bobby and Rob. Okay?’ That took far longer for him to understand and accept. Robert bought a ball and taught him to throw and a few days later, how to catch. Gradually Bobby learnt to relax with him, accepting Robert as part of his life with Cherine.
Within days of them moving permanently to the mansion, the skies darkened and it rained for two days. It terrified Bobby and he kept on asking for ‘Bobby home’ so Cherine took him back. The rain had been briefer there, but the ground was still muddy. He looked very lost when Cherine took him in her arms again, and did not protest when they returned to the mansion. He never asked to return to his home again.
Dear visitor, if you only joined us now, at post 24, welcome.
I think you have missed some beautiful parts of the story of Cherine and Robert.
This is a reminder, you can go to the top of this page and use the link to return to Post 01.
Thereafter, each post has the next link at the end of the story. Or else, from post2 onwards, all you need to do is alter the url, increasing the post number by one.
If you do enjoy the story, I do not ask that you resteem or upvote; those to me are just bonuses, a sign you enjoyed reading Boxee. All I really want as encouragement is that you recommend the story to all your friends; those you think would enjoy such a fantasy story.
I would like to add a personal note, which is also a hope of mine. You may or may not enjoy my way of keeping my writing simple where I can; you may or may not enjoy the style of the adventures experienced; but, I am very confident you will each grow to love at least one character.
Is that character going to be Cherine, Robert, Arthur, Bobby, the Fire Woman or her daughter, or one of the others you will come to know? I will not even try to guess, but I know you will, for I have loved each of them and written of them with love :)
Thank you.