Ultimate Justice

by Ultimate Justice (epub)

  Jalli laughed. “You know that?”

  “Every time you moved the legs rocked. It was especially distinct when you were talking. I don’t think about this most of the time. I just build up the scene from the clues I get. But as you and he were speaking I was thinking about what I knew and why. How wrong am I?”

  “You ‘saw’ more than I did! You’ve got nothing wrong as far as I can tell… So, what you are saying is that you do not need to see with your eyes again?”

  “Well it might help to see light and shapes – but it’s the trade off that worries me. How much would I lose of the acuteness of the rest of my senses?”

  “And you think you will?”

  “That’s why I asked what I did. I think it is bound to. The doctor knows that too, but he doesn’t know how much or in what way. That’s why I’m the perfect striped mouse. I could stand to lose a lot. The real benefit is for them – what they will learn from me for their research.”

  “So, what are you going to tell them?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m going to have to sleep on it. But my immediate instinct is that I am alright as I am. But then, I don’t just want to be taking the easiest option… or the selfish one. It’s not what’s in it for me. If I thought I could be able to see enough to be able to see our children, I might think it worth all the hassle, but I won’t be able to. As it is, in the end, it won’t be me but science that gains – and other people, but that’s a good reason for saying yes.”

  “Jack. I… I don’t want you to have any operation that can’t make things better for you. It’s a big risk.”

  “As I said, let’s sleep on it.”

  “But we’re going back today, you said so. We mustn’t leave the kids and Nan too long.”

  “We will go back. Before we do I’ll ring the doctor and say I’m sleeping on it. I’ll explain that if he doesn’t hear from me within, say two weeks, then the answer’s a definite ‘no’ because it means we haven’t been able to get back. In the end, it may not be that the decision is in my, I mean, our hands… Do you want another cup of bru?”

  “How do you know I have finished this one?”

  “Beca-ause,” said Jack playfully, “you always put the cup down more firmly when you’ve finished and kind of move back a bit in you seat. You always do.”

  Jalli laughed. “OK. You’ve really got so used to being blind haven’t you? Jack, I just want you to be happy. If you are, I am.”

  “I know. I can’t say I like being blind. It is very frustrating at times. I miss not seeing you and the children. I’d love to know what they really look like. And it’s hard work whenever we go somewhere new. I really have to concentrate as I build up the pictures. I find myself counting steps all the time. And I couldn’t do so much without you or someone to guide me. Around home it’s fine – most of the time… but right now, I would very much like a second mug of bru.”

  “You like this stuff?”

  “It reminds me of Grandma.”

  “I know,” said Jalli thoughtfully.

  “There’s the frustration. I doubt I could get a cup on my own and I’d have no chance with this money. I’d be alright after a couple of times, but I can’t remember an instance when I didn’t have you or someone to help me.”

  “That’s to do with your charm, kind sir,” teased Jalli. “We’ll have another and then it will be time to walk through the park to the Bandi’s.”

  ***

  “You’re so brave,” said Pammy over lunch. “I’ve not heard you complain at all about being blind.”

  “Oh, I did at first, believe me, but I haven’t of late… mostly. Not so much since I got my Jalli back.”

  “But don’t you ever think that what happened to you wasn’t fair… I mean, don’t you question God?”

  “The whole universe is not a fair place. Unfair things happen all the time. I guess you could question why God made it that way, but I don’t believe working out whether we should blame God or not gets us anywhere. The question I ask is, ‘Is God trying to do something to make things fairer?’ and, in my opinion, the answer to that is definitely yes.”

  “But things keep going wrong.”

  “They do. And the Creator keeps working to build people up again. But not everyone lets Him. That’s the main problem. That was my problem. But now I see over and over again how God finds a way through. Another question to ask is, ‘Does God think things are fair when they aren’t?’ I am sure He doesn’t any more than we do. He knows exactly how unjust they are – and wants to change them. And He can, if we let Him; and He can’t if we don’t.”

  “Like finding this doctor to make you better?”

  “Maybe. But he has already given me all I need. I already have so much more than most people. Of course I want to see again, properly, but the doctors can’t really do that yet. This procedure is very much in it’s infancy.”

  “So what are you going to do?” asked Mr Bandi.

  “Phone the doctor from here, if I may, and tell him I’ll sleep on it.”

  “A very good idea,” stated Mr Bandi. “Big decisions should never be made in a hurry.”

  ***

  It might not have been more than mid-afternoon when Jack and Jalli reached their white gate but they were tired. It had been an emotional day.

  “What an exciting time we’ve had,” said Jalli. “Wonder what the weather’s doing in Woodglade?”

  They stepped through and were immediately conscious of the sweet gentle Joh air… and Kakko and Shaun sitting on the garden bench.

  “Wow! Cool shorts, Mum,” said Kakko.

  “Yeah,” agreed Shaun. “Bet that turned them all on in… where was it you went?”

  “It did,” said Jack, “and we’re tired. Move up.” He and Jalli sank down on the bench between their children.

  “So what’ve you been doing?” urged Kakko.

  “Give us a chance!” said Jalli.

  “Welcome home. I’m putting the kettle on,” called Matilda from the front of the cottage.

  “Good idea,” called Jack.

  ***

  That evening Jack led a family debate on the question of his treatment. They all sat around the kitchen table and he went from person to person allowing them to say everything that they could think of. Then he took small pieces of paper and got them all to write down all the ‘fors’ and all the ‘againsts’ – each on a separate piece of paper. Then he told them to put all the ‘fors’ in one pile and all the ‘againsts’ in another.

  When they had all finished, the pile of ‘againsts’ was the bigger one. Jalli said, “That seems pretty conclusive, Jack. But it’s your decision.” She read out all the comments. For themselves and the family, the decision was pretty much that they couldn’t imagine Jack being any happier than he was. Even Matilda was nervous about the outcome of interfering with what she thought was working. Jack was a good son, husband and father. He had a steady job and brought stability to a household that had already gone through a lot recently. Bandi made an interesting observation. While it might help the development of a new treatment for people in the future if Jack could see, even just a little bit, it would change things in his school. It would be harder for the students to look up to him if they thought his dad was, as he put it, ‘cheating a bit’.

  Jack thanked them all and declared he would sleep on it as he had told the doctor. Kakko sighed. Tomorrow sounded a long way off. Jalli said, “Your father’s right. ‘Big decisions should never be made in a hurry’.” Kakko relaxed. Her mum and dad were no doubt right – but it was pretty obvious to her which way the decision was going to go.

  ***

  The following morning Jack was up early. The white gate was still there.

  “Definitely your decision, Jack,” said Jalli

  “I know. I was hoping that the decision would be made for me.”

  “God doesn’t seem to work that way. I think He’s neutral on this one.”

  “Jalli, if I say, ‘Thank you, but n
o’, do you think I am letting anybody down?”

  “No. I’ve thought about that. It is important for them that they have someone who really wants to go through with it. Someone with determination – someone properly frustrated. They’ll find someone else that’s more suitable.”

  “Then I am not their man. As long as I have you…”

  “I’m not going anywhere as long as I have anything to do with it.”

  “I know. I am so lucky. Let’s go to Wanulka after breakfast and contact the hospital. Then we can do whatever we like.”

  “I’m glad we have been back to Wanulka. It has put so many things right. But now I want to move on. If you’re sure about the doctor.”

  “Certain.”

  “Then let’s go and tell him your decision, ring and thank the Bandis, and then come straight back here.”

  ***

  The doctor quite understood. He was not surprised. He acknowledged that the procedure needed a high degree of interest on the part of the participants for them to put up with all the challenges that it posed, and Jack should not become a striped mouse unless he really wanted to go through with it. However, should Jack ever change his mind all he needed to do was phone. He wished Jack well, and Jack thanked him for his work. He really wanted to encourage him and wished him success.

  ***

  The moment Jack and Jalli re-entered the cottage garden the white gate melted away.

  “Any regrets?” asked Jalli.

  “No. More like relief really. What about you?”

  “I’m happy Jack. I feel just so free! Mended.”

  “And I do too. I have not just accepted my lot, I have now embraced it.”

  20

  As the weeks passed Kakko slowly recovered from her broken bones. Not, of course, as quickly as she would have wished. The days in the pot had dragged by, but the hospital was pleased. One doctor commented that she had good healing properties. “Excellent progress,” he told her. It didn’t feel like that, but Kakko ‘had her tail between her legs’, as Matilda kept saying, and she was remarkably patient with the doctors. Her nan did not mean to be rude. Apparently on Earth One the expression was a metaphor that referred to a dog trying to keep a lower profile in the pack, at least whilst injured. Guess that’s true, thought Kakko to herself. I don’t want to make a fool of myself. She wondered if it would always be like that. Would she ever get another chance at a white gate for instance? Anyway, one good thing had come of it: Tam. He really cared for her no matter what, and her opinion of him had changed. Her enforced retreat was helping her to see that he had many qualities she hadn’t noticed before. Behind his outward quiet persona, there were many hidden treasures.

  But gradually things began to improve for Kakko. The plaster came off. Her ribs felt less sore. And, to her amazement, the climbing coach from the Sports Centre actually came all the way to Woodglade to check on her, and to invite her back into the fold when she was given the say-so from the doctors. He had decided that she was probably going to be safe in the future. She said she would consider coming back. She hadn’t given it a thought because she had assumed he had banned her for good. “What about Tam?” she had asked. Coach said he was welcome back too.

  She phoned Tam. “Would you really come back to the Sports Centre with me? You never actually enjoyed it.”

  “I didn’t enjoy learning to swim, either, but some things are useful to know how to do. If you’re going to go on climbing then you might need me on hand to help you.”

  “To rescue me, you mean.”

  He laughed. “Perhaps. But I hope not. I don’t want to go through all that again.”

  “But, if you don’t enjoy it, it might be more dangerous.”

  “Maybe, but let’s see. If you go back to it, I’ll give it a try.”

  “You really love me, don’t you? I can’t imagine why.”

  “Don’t give up on yourself, Kakko. No-one else has. Not even Coach it seems. And, yes, I do love you.”

  “Thanks. Do you want to come round?”

  “Sure, later. But first I must finish my essay.”

  ***

  Tam came over to White Gates Cottage later that day. As he walked through the gate, though, he spotted another to his right. It was clean and white and crisp against the dark green hedge. He went over to it and touched it. Oh dear, he thought to himself, it seems like the Creator hasn’t given up on us either. Well, at least not on me.

  At that moment Kakko came out of the door and called over to him.

  “You can see it too then?”

  “Yes. So it’s you and me. Anyone else?”

  “No. I thought of texting you, but I knew you were on your way. Anyway, it wouldn’t have gone away in fifteen minutes.”

  “You’ve slowed down then?”

  “I guess so. I have to prove to Mum and Dad that I’m not ‘impetuous’ as they put it. I wish they wouldn’t keep using that word – it’s as if it was only invented to describe me.”

  “Well, they can’t use it this time you’ve seen a white gate can they?”

  “No. But, Tam, I guess now I’ve made the point we’d better get going!”

  Tam laughed playfully. “Let me phone my mum.”

  “She won’t be happy – especially if she knows you’re going with me. Come inside. Then when you’ve told her, you can get my mum to talk to her. It might help.”

  “Are there any things we should take?”

  “Not that I can see. I guess what we’ve got on is all that we’re going to need.”

  Inside the cottage Tam rang his parents. To his surprise they were less antagonistic than he had anticipated. He passed the phone to Jalli who chatted on to his mum and said she was sure that they would be sensible this time. It was unlikely to be rock climbing again. She did not tell her about the times when she found herself in a war zone or aboard a spacecraft about to be boarded by hostile space pirates, or, indeed the exploding arms factory. Jalli knew from her own experience that you can’t protect your children when they get to eighteen, or in her case seventeen; you just have to let them go like her grandma had done her. What a wonderful woman Momori had been. She must have been so brave. Jalli hadn’t really appreciated it at the time. Now she had learned that simply letting children go bit by bit at the right time was a part of parenthood that took courage and a lot of patience. It was also painful, a kind of bereavement.

  ***

  Kakko and Tam took their leave and stepped through the gate with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. The apprehension disappeared in a wave of excitement as they found themselves inside a large hall with seating around a brightly lit stage. There was a big banner in the centre-rear bearing words in zany letters that they could not read. They found themselves in a line of young people like themselves dressed in a huge variety of casual clothes – the girls in tights, trousers, shorts or skirts with every description of top from skimpy to fully covered; the boys in baggy jeans or narrow legs and T-shirts. Whatever you were wearing was fine it seemed, and Kakko and Tam felt not at all out of place. An attendant gave them each a single sheet folded programme written in what looked like the same script as the banner.

  “I reckon it’s a pop concert,” said Kakko. The line led them into rows of seats and they filed in and sat down. As they waited, loud recorded pop music emanated from large speakers front, side and back. The atmosphere was buzzing with expectation. This was a real groovy place to be.

  “Cool,” shouted Tam in Kakko’s ear. “So what’ve we got to do here, then?”

  “No idea. Enjoy ourselves I guess.”

  “Go with the flow?”

  “You got it.”

  “Just sit.”

  “Just do what the rest are doing.”

  After everyone was seated, a compère in a posh suit appeared on stage-left with a mic. The audience cheered and whistled.

  “Is anyone out there?” he asked in a hugely amplified voice. The audience made an even louder noise. Working up this crowd wa
s not going to be difficult; they were already hyped to the brim.

  “Oh. Hi!” thundered the man on the stage. “Welcome to the Galuga Talent Competition!” More cheering. “Tonight we have for you twelve of the best talented unknowns in Galuga. And who gets to choose the winner?”

  “We do!” shouted the audience in unison. It was clearly an established formula.

  “How you gonna do it?”

  “On our zap-pads!”

  “Yoo-u got it. ‘One’ for ‘yuk’, ‘eight’ for ‘ace’! Just score each act out of eight on your keypads.” Tam and Kakko located theirs on the back of the seats in front of them. “When you hear this you’ve got ten seconds.” A loud cymbal-clash followed by nine drum-beats thumped through the speakers. The audience counted down: “nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero!”

  “OK. First up, we have the Fuggs, a talented boy band that’s going to tear your hearts apart…”

  “Ugh,” groaned Tam. But Kakko had bright eyes. She appeared to be up for a sexy boy band that would ‘tear her heart apart’!

  Actually, they weren’t that bad – musically – and Tam gave them a six. Funny, he thought as he saw Kakko give them a five. Clearly not up to her expectations. But the people around them were all clapping and whistling and the lads took their bow with satisfaction.