Jalli saw the blue sea on her left and the red roofs of the villa in front of them.
“We asked the children what it should be called and they all wanted to keep the name ‘Paradise’, so we call it ‘Paradise House’ to distinguish it from the centre. Would you like to visit it?”
“Certainly,” said Jack.
“We’ll go there when we get back.”
They topped the rise and saw Zookas’ villa in front of them. Pero drove the van into the courtyard and they got out and Jalli took in the view. The town and harbour were down below them.
“That’s Lona Island,” said Mr Pero, pointing out a large island some distance towards the horizon.
“Pero!” exclaimed a man behind them, coming out of the house. “Welcome!” Zookas was a big man and not a shy one. He engulfed his friend in his bear-like arms and patted him on the back. Jalli was half wondering if that was going to be her fate too. But not this time. After they had been introduced, Zookas just took their hands in an enthusiastic handshake. The hugs were to be kept for the next meeting.
“Come! Come!” Zookas conducted them through the front door into a courtyard with a view of the sea. He motioned them to sit on an upholstered bench behind a metal table from which sprouted a large, brightly-coloured sunshade.
Jalli led Jack to the bench as he took stock of his new surroundings. She knew he was conjuring up a site plan in his mind, so turning in the direction of the view in a way that he could feel, said, “What a marvellous view you have. Right across to the island.”
“Indeed, I have.”
A servant appeared with a tray.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Oh. Something simple, and cold,” said Pero.
“Local beer?”
“Good,” said Pero.
“Same for me,” said Jack.
“And for the lady? How about the local red wine?”
Jalli nodded and forced a smile. She wasn’t sure, but Mr Pero didn’t seem to think it was out of order, so she relaxed.
“Bring us a bottle of the eighth year vintage,” said Zookas to the servant.
“Eighth year!” exclaimed Pero. “You still have some of that? The best vintage ever.”
“I have a few bottles.”
“I am honoured,” said Jalli, thinking that it would probably be wasted on her.
The conversation began with the latest news of the Paradise Centre and Paradise House, which Jack and Jalli couldn’t really follow. But they ascertained that Zookas was interested in the details.
Then Pero brought up the whole intriguing business of the white gates. There were the usual questions of how it worked. Interestingly, Zookas accepted without question the fact that it didn’t happen for everyone. Often people asked the question why only some and not others, but this fact didn’t seem to bother Zookas. Later Jack reflected that that might be because he was used to privilege. In his world, the fact that only some are permitted was not a strange concept. He followed with the question of Jack’s blindness, complimenting him on how he managed and asking him how it came about. Jack gave him his stock answers, including the explanation of a mishap with a baton. Again, Zookas accepted it at face value. Perhaps baton swinging was a regular hazard in this place.
What Zookas seemed more interested in than anything else, was their children. He wanted to know all about them. After taking in a brief resume of each from Jalli, he said, “I expect you are very proud of them.”
“Of course. They are good young people. I’m not saying they’re perfect…”
“But their imperfections are small… I am afraid I cannot say that about my four.”
“But, Zookas,” said Pero kindly, “you do everything you can for them.”
“Too much. They’re spoilt. My eldest, all she can think about is spending money on clothes and luxuries and going about with her friends. She left me all on my own when I was ill. And the others are going the same way I’m afraid. I shouldn’t have let them take the boat today. They’ll most probably get drunk and cavort half naked, if not more, and it’ll get all over the papers…”
Jack and Jalli were alarmed. “But they have all the children!” said Jalli with some force. “They will have to look after them.”
“Oh. I expect they’ll leave the kids to your three and the volunteer leaders and go off on the back beach or something… and then they’ll be exposed to the paparazzi with their telephoto lenses!”
Mr Pero made noises of disagreement. But, secretly, he agreed. Allowing the Zookas youngsters and their friends the boat may have been a mistake. It was as if Zookas didn’t seem to have the choice any more. Giving in to his children had become a habit. Jack and Jalli were relieved that at least Zookas felt their three would stay with the children. She didn’t doubt that Bandi would, but to be perfectly honest, she wondered if her extrovert and impetuous daughter would find herself in deeper water than she cared to think. As for Shaun, who knows? He wouldn’t look for it, but if Kakko was going he might go along for the ride. Mind you, she thought, that might not be a bad thing because him being there might provide some protection for Kakko. The thought of it all being photographed was really scary – even if it was on a planet on the other side of the universe. Once pictures had been taken you never knew…
Jalli was lost in thought and realised the conversation had moved on. They were going to get a guided tour of the villa.
Her immediate impression of the place was to wonder how anyone could live in such a large place. Jack thought likewise. He had given up trying to map it in his mind.
“I’d never find you if we lived here,” he said to Jalli.
“Oh. And I was just thinking I might like a place just like it on Joh.”
Jack squeezed her hand.
“I can recommend it,” Zookas was saying, taking Jalli’s tease at face value. “If you would like a copy of the architect’s drawings you are welcome.”
“Thanks, but we don’t have the resources,” smiled Jack politely, “and in any case, with not seeing I have to keep things simple.” Zookas took his arm.
“I understand. I completely understand. The worse thing about having wealth is that children grow up with it. If ever things change for them I worry they won’t cope. There are downsides to being rich. I wanted my children to go to the local secondary school but I was warned they could be bullied because they were different – they just wouldn’t fit in. So they went to the boarding school and now think those who go to the local school are beneath them.”
***
On their way back to town, Pero said that he thought the way Zookas’ children were turning out was probably one of the reasons their father was so keen on the Paradise Centre.
“When he comes to us,” he said, “the children are pleased to see him. He gets more appreciation from the street children than he does from his own. He sometimes sits on the floor with them.”
***
Paradise House was great. Every effort had gone into allowing the children to own it. You could see the young people were very proud of it. The children had decided on their own rules in addition to cleanliness and being at meals. They had an elected house council. The chief member of staff called herself ‘Service Manager’. She saw herself in charge of the running of the house and the other staff members, rather than directing the children whom she called residents.
“But don’t they have problems?” asked Kakko.
“All the time,” she said, “but for that we have several care-workers to whom they can turn. We encourage them to talk to them, but if they don’t want to they don’t have to. They are here voluntarily after all.”
“And do any of them choose to leave?”
“Occasionally. But in every case so far, except one, they have come back within twenty-four hours. The other children see it as their job to persuade them to come back. They know, however, they can’t just come and go as they please. If they want to be here they still have to be at every meal. The thing is
that all of these children have spent time at the Paradise Centre. Many of them lived there for years. We don’t accept teenagers from the street here. We can’t because we are overfull with our own children from the centre.”
“What happens to homeless teenagers, then?”
“There are some over-night shelters. We are a small organisation and we can’t do everything, and we have to accept that. That is one of the rules we set ourselves, as care-workers we must not beat ourselves up about the things that remain undone. Nobody can do everything; there will always be children out there whose needs are not being met. What we have to do, is do as much as we can without compromising on the standard of care we give. My motto is: ‘Do what you can well, and leave the rest to God’.”
It was quiet in Paradise House. Most of the children were at school. They were given a short tour and then invited to stop for lunch. There they met two girls who had no school that day – their school had a day off for some staff training, they explained. It was amazing. They treated them with so much respect. Visitors were accorded the highest honour. It was hard to imagine that they were once living on the streets. Neither of them had any family apart from Paradise.
Jack thanked them for allowing them into their home.
“You are welcome,” they said. “Tell us about your home.” So they told them all about Joh, White Gates Cottage and Matilda and Momori.
“That’s three generations!” said one of the girls. “Your children are so lucky.”
“They are,” agreed Jalli. “Actually, it’s four generations because I was brought up by my grandmother. My parents both died when I was three.”
“But your grandmother wanted you?”
“Absolutely. She lost everyone on the same day – her husband, her brothers and sisters and her children. Her house, her whole village disappeared. I was all she had.”
“That is bad. She must hurt. But she had you. She loves you.”
“She does. Sometimes it only takes one person to love and look after you. She loves me very, very well. She always wants the best for me – even if it would mean letting me go. ”
“But she didn’t have to. Now she has a whole house full! And you.”
“Yes. And I am ever appreciative of it… even if I worry about my children sometimes.”
“You worry? Why?”
“I worry that, maybe, they might find… bad friends.”
“No! Your children will never make friends with bad people. You love them. They will know when people don’t love well – it tastes different.”
10
“We need a quiet activity for fifteen minutes,” said Kloa to the volunteers. “We can’t play games right on top of this feast.”
“Would you like me to tell them a story?” Kakko offered.
“Doubt they will sit still for fifteen, but you can give it a try.”
Kloa stood up.
“OK everyone, listen up!” But the noise was so great no-one heard. Kloa looked over to the captain who smiled and went to his little bridge and sounded the horn. It worked.
“OK. Listen up. I want you all to gather round Kakko… when I say Jeno – wait… Kakko’s got a story from her world to tell you. But before she begins, did you all enjoy the food?” (A huge cry of, “Ye-eee-s”.) “So let’s say thank you to Mr. Zookas. He’s not here but if you shout loud enough he might hear you. Are you ready? One, two, three…”
“THANK-YO-OU!!!” they screamed together.
“OK, go and find a space near Kakko and sit down… That’s it but don’t crowd her… Jeno, sit down… Right down… on your bottom.” Kloa stood beside Kakko with her hand in the air. “Put your hand up like me,” she called. Kakko did the same and then slowly one by one everyone followed suit, including Adnak. There was silence.
“Now, over to Kakko.”
“Hi, everyone.”
“Hiiii,” replied the kids.
“OK. Shhh. This won’t work unless you are all listening…” She raised her hand and silence was restored. “So this story doesn’t come from my planet, but my father’s. He told it to us when we were kids and I liked it. So here goes.
“Once upon a time there were three bears. (Bears are big furry animals that, like, live in woods). There was a daddy bear, a mummy bear and a baby bear. Well, they had this house in the middle of the woods. They were bears, but they were kind of, like, people, because they slept in beds and sat on chairs and ate porridge for breakfast…”
“What’s porridge, miss?”
“I don’t know. Never had it – we don’t eat it at home. But on Planet Earth they cook it for breakfast and it gets real hot. So this porridge was too hot to eat. It was a nice day and they thought they would all go out for a walk while it cooled down. So they put their boots on and headed off into the woods. Well, while they were gone, along came this girl with blonde hair… a bit like Kloa’s here. Her name was Goldilocks because of her hair being yellow. Anyway, she went into the house and smelled the porridge. She was hungry. Goldilocks could have waited for the bears to come back and asked for some, but she was not going to. She was not a good girl. So she saw the big bowl, which was Daddy Bear’s, and tried some. It was still too hot. Then she looked at the medium-sized bowl – this was Mummy Bear’s – but Mummy Bear puts salt in her porridge and Goldilocks didn’t like it. So then she tried Baby Bear’s which was not too hot and had lots of sugar… and she ate it all up. But while she was doing it she was sitting on Baby Bear’s chair and it was too small for her and it broke, but Goldilocks didn’t care. Then she saw the beds and thought she would have a lie down. There were three beds. There was a big one for Daddy Bear. She tried it but it was far too hard. Then she went on Mummy Bear’s bed, but that was too soft. Finally, in the corner, she spotted Baby Bear’s and got right in under the covers, and it was so comfy she went straight to sleep.”
The children were all quiet and attentive, but some of them were getting sleepy, so Kakko decided not to drag the story out.
“Well, then the bears got home and there was trouble. Baby Bear’s porridge had been gobbled up and his chair was broken. Daddy Bear noticed that someone had been in his bed and said, ‘Who’s been sleeping in my bed?’” Kakko used an appropriate deep, gruff voice. Some of the children laughed. “Then Mummy Bear noticed her bed had been slept in too.” Kakko spoke in a lighter voice, “Who’s been sleeping in my bed?” Then, with a high pitched squeal, she made the children jump, “‘Help! There’s someone in my bed!’ It was Baby Bear. The bears all looked and saw Goldilocks’ hair on Baby Bear’s pillow. She had been fast asleep but Baby Bear’s squeal had woken her up. She looked up and saw the three bears… and then she shrieked. She was no match for three bears! She leaped out of the bed and out of the door as fast as she could. But the bears ran after her and caught her!”
The children gasped. What would the bears do to her?!
“They carried her back to the house and sat her on the floor. ‘Tell us where you live,’ demanded Daddy Bear. ‘No-where,’ she answered.” Kakko put on a wistful expression. “‘No-where?’ said Mummy Bear. ‘But you have to live somewhere? Where are your mother and father?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Goldilocks truthfully. She had never known her mother or her father.”
The children were all ears. Those who had been nodding off were now wide awake. What were these bears going to do with this street kid? Each of them was thinking of his or her own history.
Kakko continued, “‘I haven’t got a mother or a father,’ said Goldilocks, ‘or even a grandma, or anyone.’ ‘So,’ said Daddy Bear, ‘whose been looking after you?’ ‘When I was little there were these kids. But then the kind one died and the others bullied me, so I ran away, and now I eat and sleep where I can.’”
Kakko put on her soft Mummy Bear voice, “‘Well, why didn’t you tell us you haven’t got any parents instead of coming into our house and stealing?’ ‘Because most people just throw things at me, and tell me to go away,’ replied Goldilocks. ‘Well, we a
ren’t like that,’ said Daddy Bear. ‘Are you still hungry?’ Goldilocks said she was, and do you know what? Daddy Bear let her eat all his porridge, which was now cool enough, and Mummy Bear made some more for him and Baby Bear. Then they got out another bed just for Goldilocks and she went to sleep for a long time.”
The children looked happy and relieved for her.
“But do you know what the worst thing was?”
“Noo-oo,” sighed the children expecting a sad ending after all.
“They made her wash! All over. She felt funny being clean. But today her yellow hair is as bright as the brightest sunflower and she’s happy,” said Kakko in a voice that indicated the story had come to an end.
‘Happy’, thought Adnak. A good word to end a sentence with. He found himself asking himself whether he was happy.
“What’s a sunflower?” asked Jess.
“Oh. It’s a flower that turns towards the star that shines on the Earth. Exactly like yours here. They call their star the ‘Sun’.”
“Miss,” asked Jess. “Have you been to Planet Err…”
“Planet Earth? Earth One to give it its full name – there is more than one planet called Earth these days. No, I haven’t. I’ve only been to one other planet apart from yours and Planet Joh where I live. But my parents have been to lots of places.”
“Do you like going to other planets?”
“Oh, yes. I like adventures.”
“How do you get here… from other planets with other stars?” asked Adnak.
“That,” smiled Kakko, “is a mystery even to us. The Creator makes a special gate. We are very, very privileged.”
“What’s ‘privileged’, miss?”
“It’s what we are when we meet all you here and we can have fun with you.”
Ultimate Justice Page 7
