I had intended to leave this story after Part 6, but Part 7 was largely written, so rather than cutting off the story part way through I have uploaded it. I know the number of readers have been dropping steadily. That is understandable, but I do hope that many of you who have persevered have enjoyed the stories.
Claire, Nigel, Stephanie, Graham and Jen squeezed into Nigel’s Estate for the journey to the outskirts of London. They had texts from Seraphena and Jake at regular intervals and the excitement in the whole party grew as they parked and waited for what seemed to be an interminable time at the Underground station for a train. The chatter that had been obvious during the journey down became muted. Everyone wanted to see what Sylvia had managed to achieve in a week.
Eventually at just before 12:30 they saw Seraphena and Jake waving. Hugs and kisses were shared, and even Claire and Nigel were drawn into the hug fest.
Very quickly the three Owners were passed through security, and the four visitors had their ID checked and were soon bedecked with one time passes to the 26th Floor.
The lift up to Floor 24 was quick and being a weekend, there was less noise from the offices behind tall oaken doors. Their feet made no noise on the thick carpet that led to the Executive lift.
As usual the lift knew that they were coming and opened in anticipation.
When they arrived there was the sound of muted work from the team updating the apartment. Sylvia was there to welcome them and show the progress that had been made. She was both the designer and project manager. They found out later she had more or less slept on the job.
Three and Four emerged from their apartment as the lift door opened.
Much to the young people’s surprise, they were not using their walking frames.
“We don’t know what is happening to us, but shortly after you left our balance seemed to improve and we called in the doctor. She said that our bodies were those of eighty year olds rather than almost 110. If that is the effect of you being here for one day, then we hope the effect continues.”
Three suggested that Seraphena and Jake look at Apartment C, but explained that apartment A would be available shortly, when the belongings of Seven and Eight had been removed into storage.
Seraphena and Jake disappeared into the apartment to loud expressions of “Look at that view.” or these rooms are huge compared with our little flat in Pimlico. Three had come with them and explained what they could do to the apartment and they could instruct Sylvia whilst they were here if they finally decided to become members of the Committee.
After the tour of what might become their home, they went to see what had been done in Stephanie, Graham and Jen’s apartment. There were more “Oohs” and “Aahhs” as they looked round and both wondered at the design that Stephanie had created on what seemed to be the spur of the moment.
Seraphena and Jake excused themselves went into what would be their apartment. They closed the door and sat cross legged looking at each other, then turned round and sat back to back looking out of the picture window of what would become their lounge.
“If we move here we will need to be clear that this will probably be a final move. We will work from here and entertain and be entertained here. We will need to get on with the other residents. It seems as if Three and Four are overjoyed to have our friends here, and I already feel close to Stephanie and Graham. Jen is a bonus.”
“I think you are aware that a large part of our contribution will be in setting up a small school during the children’s early years.”
“Would that be a problem?”
“No, not at all. We will have to see what else we are expected to do.”
“I understand that our business skills would be useful in guiding the Master Trust of the Community but that isn’t going to take all day.”
“We, or I, got used to helping people transition. I think there may be some work there. There is also the possibility of finding pairs who are too distant to find each other. When a person is ready to transition they emit a sort of high pitched hum. I used to call this ‘ringing’. If a ringer has no one born on the same day in their neighbourhood then it is up to someone of the Committee to sense where there is another person who is also ringing even if they are in different countries. They then have to contrive a way for them to get close enough together to bond.”
“How often do you sense a ringer?”
“In the past I had a very limited range of only maybe a hundred miles. If we took on this job it is likely that it would be world wide.”
“Wouldn’t that mean a lot of travel?”
“Possibly, but it is better to get someone local to do the leg work.”
“I think we are talking ourselves into this job, don’t you think?”
“Three … are you listening in?”
“We think this job is made for us, and we would like to become members of the Committee with all it entails. Is that what you would wish?”
“Absolutely. I had reckoned that I knew you better than you knew yourselves and have had your Owners tags made. From Now on you, Seraphena will be O4 and Jake will be O5.”
“Now we have to decide on the colour scheme for our apartment so Sylvia can get stuck in as soon as she has finished Stephanie’s home.”
“I think we should use green where Stephanie chose blue. Although London is a huge city, it has lots of green spaces like Green Park, Hyde Park or Regent’s park or even Kensington Gardens.”
“Green work surfaces in the kitchen and darker green tiles. Cream work surfaces and like Stephanie. a marble pastry and bread table.”
“Shades of green and cream for the bedrooms and two work areas in the third bedroom. Carpeted throughout I think. A six foot bed will be enough.”
Seraphena carried on listing all the things she decided would make their apartment into a home, but Jake was thinking ahead.
“Do you think that there is any possibility that the five of us will end up in bed together? We already have a strong empathy and it doesn’t seem terribly strange to me, even though I love you absolutely.”
“It is food for thought. I can see it happening. Should we go for the Super King size bed instead?”
“I don’t want to go too quickly, but I think it could happen as well. Yes, lets go for the Super King.”
Stephanie and her family were still going round with Sylvia, so Seraphena and Jake went into the gym. There were twelve pieces of apparatus. All looked very new. “I don’t suppose that the old Committee were young enough to make the best of these?”
Seraphena (O4) stepped onto a treadmill. The machine lit up. “Hello O4, I will take you through a warm up exercise.
“Not today, but soon.” Seraphena spoke to the machine.
“Very soon I hope.” the machine said as its lights went off and it powered down.
They moved on to the pool. It was 20m long and had three lanes. As they entered the lights went on including underwater lights.
“Welcome O4 and O5”. The pool said in a melodious feminine voice. There are towels in the locker to your right and disposable bathing caps in the drawer above.
“We have no costumes.”
“No one wears costumes here, the fibres clog the filters. It is why we need you to wear caps.”
Serephena and Jake, didn’t need a second offer. They stripped off at the poolside and were soon playing in the water splashing each other.
On hearing the noise, the rest of the party came from their discussions.
“We do bathe without swimsuits. The pool AI is correct in that, but not usually with the workmen and women refurbishing the apartments!”
“Serephena and Jake, were cowed and blushed, but Sylvia said. “The pool is partitioned from the workplace so no one can see you. I suggest you enjoy your dip, and come and join me in ten minutes or so to give me your instructions.”
When O4 and O5 had dressed they joined Sylvia and explained that everything was perfect in Stephanie’s design except that they would like the emphasis to be shades of green to match the hues of the London parks.
“The artworks should be modern reproductions of the works of famous abstract painters where the picture had another colour to act as a counterpoint to the room colour.”
“You have made it easy for me with your plan, but the apartment you have chosen is a mirror image of theirs. Everything will be reversed.”
“Will that be a problem?”
“No, no problem, it will just take a little bit longer to get the components.”
“We have our little home in London. It will not be a problem to stay there until everything is finished.”
“Come as often as you like to see the progress that has been made.”
The lift was working and Simon, the IT manager emerged. He held two Owners tags. He smiled as he gave the first one to Seraphena ” (O4) I believe”, and gave the second tag to Jake. (O5) Please put these on now. Do not wear them on the outside of your clothes. They should be hidden from view, even a gaping shirt can show the tag. It is easier with the girls, because the tag can be hidden in their cleavage. Boys can tuck them in the waist band of their underwear. The lanyard is long enough to go round your waists. He sat them down and explained about the security that was there to protect them. They were also given a very large memory stick to use to clear their own computers. Delete anything personal. I suggest that you don’t do anything personal on your school computers. Even a chatty email or WhatsApp message can give away information, also be very careful about using the Internet function on your phones.”
O4 and O5 put the tags on. Serephina tucked hers into her cleavage and smiled to the two men as she did so. Jake pulled the shirt tail out of his jeans and the lanyard went round his waist and tucked the tag into the elasticated waistband of his underpants, before tightening his belt and refastening his fly.”
“Well done.”, Simon said. They are indestructible. You can do anything in these tags, even jump up and down on them.”
“When you live here I suggest you have an implant. It is not dissimilar to the chips that are used for domestic pets, but it will set off an alarm if your tag is more that two metres away from you. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of maintaining the security of these Master Tags.”
“We will look after them very very carefully. The two new Committee members acknowledged.”
Just at that moment there was a flash of reflected sunlight from the building opposite. It was a suspicious flash that just caught the corner of O4’s eye. She turned towards it.
“There is someone with powerful binoculars in that building opposite. They are trained on us.”
Simon spoke into a wrist microphone. “Pervert or officialdom I wonder?”
“Whoever it is, we will make sure they don’t observe you again. I know from having been in that building that they are lower than us, and the angle of the floor means that they cannot see anything below neck level.”
O4, was clearly thinking.
“That person is ringing.”
Simon was not familiar with the term.
“What do you mean about ringing.”
“They are unpaired people who would be Community members if they could find their pair.”
Simon spoke into his microphone again.
“Use facial recognition to identify the person in the building opposite.”
“It only took three or four minutes before a call on Simon’s phone confirmed that the person was a Detective Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police called Garth Parsons. He is 32 and was born on 17th January 1993.”
“Do we have any ringers born on that date?”
“There are none we know of.”
O4 called everyone together in the Community Room. Simon, Claire and Nigel looked on as the members of the Committee all held hands and when instructed to do so concentrated on finding a pair for the Detective Sergeant. He was still using his binoculars rather fruitlessly across the divide between the two buildings.
The participants felt as if they were in a swirling mist but eventually a figure of a young woman appeared. She was working in a café in the tourist resort of Rethymnon in Crete.
As the mist seemed to evaporate O4 asked - “There is the answer to our question.”
“The only question that remains is. How do we get them to meet.”
Claire asked. “How can they speak to each other if she is Greek.”
O3 answered. “If they do a mind swap, then each can speak the language of the other as if they had been born there.”
“Do we have any contacts in Crete, Simon.?”
“We have a bonded pair in Athens and one in Thessaloniki, but no one on the island.”
“So, ideas, everyone, please.”
“We have several contacts in the Metropolitan Police. We would never ask them to do something illegal, but we could suggest that Garth Parsons is sent on a mission of some sort to Crete.”
“There was a woman who went missing some time ago on Crete. Is the investigation of her disappearance still ongoing?”
“I think it might be better to get our Athens bonded pair to profess to having some information to share with the Police, and to send Mr. Parsons to interview them in Crete.”
“Would anyone believe them?”
“Who cares. As long as Garth sits in that café and is served by Athena the rest is unimportant.”
“Simon, please put this in motion. Apply a bit of pressure to our Met contacts and we will contact the pair in Athens. I hope the contacts speak English.” (Note - The Met is the abbreviation for The Metropolitan Police)
“I am assured that they do.”
“Make sure that our contact in the Police knows that we will contribute again to the Police Benevolent Fund if this is arranged.”
“Will do.”
Shortly afterward, it was clear that the snooper was on the phone, and shortly after that he disappeared, and a confirmation call was made to Simon that Garth Parsons would be on a plane to Rethymnon the following day. The fact that there was only one flight a week at that time of year meant that Garth Parsons would have to stay in a hotel for a whole week in the Cretan sunshine was designed to sweeten the pill.
O4 and O5 concentrated on the Athenian couple mind to mind.
The situation was explained. Money for return flights to Crete and hotel expenses provided and they were on their way later that day. They also carried a ticket for a single flight to London from Rethymnon in the name of Athena Giorgiou.
The following day the Athenian couple arranged to meet Garth at the Acropolis café and the rest is history, as the saying goes.
Seraphena and Jake were back in their home and due to go to work the following morning when a message was received from Rethymnon that the mind swap had taken place and two rather bemused young people had been guided to Garth’s hotel room where everything had been explained. A fictitious account of the meeting was provided to keep Garth’s superiors happy and the couple spent the next five days exploring the island and each other, before flying to London to start a new life together.
Garth in the form of Athena, had some inkling that something had changed in the rather attractive body he now inhabited, and that something was a new life, although it took some weeks to have that confirmed.
Athena had relatives in London as many Cretans do. The wedding was arranged by sundry aunts and cousins who embraced the event with great enthusiasm. Athena’s parents flew in for the celebration.
No one seemed to query how Athena had fallen for this English policeman so totally at first sight, but as she was 32 and seemed to have been left on the shelf. The event was seen as fortuitous and joyous.
Garth embraced his feminine self. Their wedding dress would have graced a Greek goddess. The soft white chiffon was gathered at the shoulders leaving their arms bare. The bodice ended just above the curve of their breasts showing substantial décolletage only covered by a panel of antique lace that had once graced their grandmother’s wedding dress. The dress flowed like waves from the waist removing any risk of a small bump showing. White slippers and a bouquet of meadow flowers from her supposed homeland and a garland of the same flowers encircling her raven tresses, completed her ensemble.
The marriage at St Lazarus and St Andrews church in Forest Gate in East London was a great success. Stephanie and Graham were able to attend the ceremony by slipping in at the back of the church. There was no Met guard of honour with crossed swords. Apparently they didn’t do that sort of thing any longer.
Athena used Garth’s memories to work as a Detective Sergeant. Garth used Athena’s memories to set up a small café selling strong Greek coffee and very sweet Greek deserts in what had been a small shop near their new home. She was able to continue to serve her predominantly Greek customers with little Apollo on her knee. He was a delight to the old men who frequented the café for the most part. Their grizzled and characterful faces showed the bucolic start to their lives in Crete until moving closer to family in old age. The ability to chat in Greek, and to play dominoes with others, gave a familiarity they needed. Eventually Athena got a licence to sell Ouzo and Metaxa and her clientele increased more and she was able to stay open into the evening.
Every time an opportunity opened up the money was made available. The shop next door closed and Athena knocked the two shops through and a small shop selling Cretan or Greek food was opened with an array of sugary Greek deserts like Baklava, Kataifi, and Galaktoboureka were available and the freezers contained Moussaka, Dolmades and Souvlaki. Tins of Feta and boxes of Halva and Loukoumi filled the shelves.
People loved the ambiance, and being able to take home some of the food they could taste in the café that was now called Athena’s Taverna.
… but that was several years ahead.
In the the penthouse still rang to the sounds of refurbishment.
O1, O2 and O3 had moved into their new apartment, and their house had been altered subtly and anonymised to become a safe house for various agencies to use.
Jen arranged to meet her manager and requested a move to the London office. This was immediately refused. As a fluent French speaker she was too valuable for the local office to lose.
As she left the office disconsolate at the thought of having to resign from a job she liked, the phone rang in her manager’s office. She looked up, but there was nothing unusual in his phone ringing.
A few minutes later she was called back into the office.
“I don’t know how you have contacts in head office. I have never spoken to the Chairman of the Board of Directors before, and I cannot see how the affairs of a worker here in a small office is of any interest to someone so important, but it was made clear to me that if I continued to prevent you moving to London, then my severance pay would be in my account by tonight.”
“I have never been given a verbal instruction backed up by the force of law before. I don’t like it, but cannot refuse. Your IT log in will remain active. Take gardening leave until Monday when you will be expected to attend for work at Head Office.”
Jen only fist bumped when she got back to her desk. It took no more than five minutes to clear her locker and desk drawer, and to dump the cardboard box of her effects into a taxi, and she was off.
“I wonder who the Guardian Angel was in getting me the transfer. Almost in response her phone announced a delivery of an email with several attachments.”
She returned to find Stephanie and Graham getting stuck into books recommended by LSE for an introduction to Macro and Micro economics. It was hard work, but they constantly needed to remember that it would be the Committee’s and the Community’s money that they would be dealing with. They hadn’t been told how many Billions, but if they could buy several small countries outright, then the money must be in the billions or trillions. It was a salutary thought.
Eventually the little house was emptied of all their personal possessions and the boxes of Michael’s possessions had been put into a self-storage locker. Three month’s rental had been paid (The minimum) and Michael’s mother had been informed by text where it was and how to access it.
When they got to London with the last of their possessions the keys were handed over to Sophie and various contracts signed and witnessed.
Three and four were swimming! They both looked about 60, rather than the 108 they actually were.
“We haven’t swum in the pool for ten years or more. We can even get in and out with the ladder. The hoist has gone into storage. I don’t know how you young people are affecting us like this but we have been on the phone to Nine and Ten. They are returning now the refurbishments have been largely completed. They have shown no signs of age regression.”
“You don’t look anything like your ages. Four looks very vigorous and his penis is showing that he is glad to see us! Your breasts are far less saggy than you would expect for someone of your age. I think it is brilliant.”
Three’s skin looked taught as she emerged from the pool. Everything looked right for a fit woman in her sixties or even late fifties.
“Nothing wrong with you, Four, that a bit of vigorous sex will not cure.” laughed Stephanie.
“Sorry about that, but I feel better than I have for years.” Four replied.
“Don’t be. I am sure we will be in the pool together often and it is quite normal for a man to show his interest in women. When I was a boy I had an erection most of the time. In the end I ignored it and it came and went as it chose!!”
Graham laughed. “That penis is now my penis. It does have a mind of its own, and it is impressed with Three’s new shape!”
“You flatter me. I am still look old enough to be your grandmother.”
Jen added that she would have loved to have had such a voluptuous grandmother when she had been a boy.
“Lets dump our stuff in our suite, and join Three and Four in the pool. “
“We were just about to get out and dry off in a sun lounger, but don’t let us stop you.”
Five minutes later the three younger Committee members emerged wearing only their tags and jumped in.
Graham and his two partners spent more time in a close embrace than in swimming, but Three and Four clearly enjoyed the view until they were dry and stole away to get dressed.
“Are they going to dress as very old people or as spry sixty year olds?”
“I would guess that they have had a delivery of clothes, and yes. Two weeks ago they would never have dressed as they will now. I would describe them as stylish or even snappy dressers.”
Three was wearing a dress that was more mini than knee length. She had no bra on and clearly did not need one. Her sandals had a four inch heel and her legs were tanned and the varicose veins that were there before had disappeared.
Graham noticed that there was no pant line under her dress.
“She isn’t wearing knickers he whispered to Jen” as she was nearer, and as if Three had heard him, she bent over a her unfettered bosom was very obvious, and it was clear that knickers were seen as optional.
“I like being risqué she said laughing. I always was in my younger days and I want to be again.”
“Nothing wrong with your hearing is there?”
“No, both our hearing aids are in the dresser drawer."
“That’s great, Stephanie said as she dived into the pool.
Four was equally fit. He had a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned half way down and his pendant hung there visible.
Nine and Ten emerged from the lift looking very elderly and frail. Both used walking frames. Seraphina and Jake had met them on their slow progress up the building and were carrying their cases and other belongings.
Three and Four went over and hugged the newcomers.
“Welcome home.”
“Nine, just stood and stared at the Three and Four and the newcomers.”
“You told us over the phone that you had become invigorated. I didn’t really believe it, but you both look amazing.”
“We hope that now you are home, that the same thing will happen to you two, then we will be back to nine on the Committee with one apartment to spare.”
“Do we need to fill the last apartment?” Graham asked.
“We recognise that as we got older various things got left out. We were not invulnerable, but perhaps we thought we were. It is not a mistake we will make again.”
“Have you any suggestions as to who should be added to the Committee?”
“Not yet, but when we have a Master Trust meeting we can do a mind search to see if any couple fits the bill. We also need a meeting because there is one thing that needs to be revealed to you, and you need to have a better idea of the finances of the various trusts.”
“When do you suggest?”
“I know that nine and ten will be better in the mornings and with the weekend coming up, O4 and O5 will not need to go to teach. I suggest Saturday morning at 10am. I will ask two branches to put together a presentation to show how they operate and their balances. I think Mumbai and Sydney are due for a review.”
“Will they manage that in a couple of days?”
“They always have the data to hand. It will just be a matter of the time zones.”
“Saturday morning it is then.”
Jen (O3) had time on her hands and spent much of it in the pool as she was not due to start her new job until Monday.
Friday came and went, and at 10am on Saturday morning the nine participants sat in the community room of the penthouse.
Four took the chair. Everyone had a large folder in front of them.
“Meeting of the Master Trust of the Community. Dated Saturday 18th. Year as attached.
“Those present” - and he listed those present.
“Four read out the Minutes of the last Meeting held May 24th. It gave an account of the assets of the Committee, and the Community. The fixed assets in all the locations where the Committee operated was beyond £1.20 billion, and the assets held in Stocks and Shares was half a trillion pounds.”
“Do we accept the Minutes from the last Meeting?”
Only the previous members were able to vote and all those voted to accept the Minutes.
Four then went through various costs and donations to members that had been suggested by other members. These were all accepted and the supporting members asked to arrange for the payments to be made.
Finally the two rather nervous heads of the Mumbai and Sydney offices were asked to give a report. Both had fifteen minutes to explain their investment strategies and the changing value of their investments.
Much of the report went over the heads of the Committee members but Jake was able to ask two relevant questions, and these were asked very succinctly by the Heads of each office.
It remained for Four to thank the Branch Heads for their reports and the business continued.
The whole meeting was in Camera, with the minutes being encoded before being stored.
“We need to see if there are any other candidates to occupy the remaining apartment here. To do this we need to join hands and make a mental search for any couples who might fit the bill.”
With heads bowed each person thought the same thought. Their one thought became a joint thought and it was powerful enough to circle the globe.
The couple had to be bonded, and have no dependent parents or other relatives, or dependent children. They also needed to have a skill set that was relevant to the work of the Master Trust.
The thought travelled at some incredible speed and found no one.
The Committee looked up and mentally shrugged.
“Where do we go from here?”
Stephanie was still looking down. Thinking.
“I have a sense of someone, but it is not a bonded couple. It is a child of about three who lives with her parents in Asia somewhere, Bhutan I think.”
“How is a three year old child of any importance to us?” Four asked.
“The parents are academics at a University in Thimphu and the little girl has high potential of eventually being on the Committee.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can sense her presence even now. She knows that I am watching her. She keeps looking round to see me, and asking her parents who I am. They have no idea what she is talking about.”
“Who do we know in or near Bhutan?”
“We have members in North India. It would only take about half a day to reach this child and her parents.”
“Lets see if more of us can ‘see’ her, but only perhaps three of us so we don’t frighten her.”
Stephanie, Graham and Jen sat together and concentrated on the mental trail that Stephanie had established.
Through the child’s eyes they saw a mountainous area with wooden houses dotted round and large very furry animals peacefully grazing in wild flower bestrewn fields. In the distance snow covered mountains decorated the horizon and nearer than that, forests covered the hills. It was summer and the young girl in a brightly coloured kira was sitting and playing round her parents’ feet.
“Are those Yaks?” Graham asked as the three appeared in the girl’s mind.
Her face took on a worried look and she stood and stepped up to her mother for reassurance.
O1, O2, and O3 stayed silent. They were able to understand the conversation through this child.
“What are you seeing?”
“I see three people with pale skin dressed in the clothes tourists wear.”
“Point to them.”
The child pointed to Stephanie and the others.
“Ask them who they are.”
“They say that they can see me. They are in a very big house a long, long way away from here.”
“I am going to speak to you using words you will not understand. I want to know if they do understand. Just listen to me.”
“I am Yangmo. I am Deki’s mummy. Deki means Joy in my language.”
“Deki, please tell your mummy that we know you are a very special girl. We want to be friends with you and your mummy and daddy. Two people will visit you soon from far away.”
(Or in Dzongkha language of Bhutan (Mgyogs pa rang mi gnyis 'ong ni în. Ga ci byung yodp in na khong gis bshad ‘ong. Tsha gyang lang ma dgo.)
The message seemed to get through, and the family from Bhutan faded away.
“I don’t understand why we are arranging a visit for this child. We haven’t had any bonds formed with children, particularly with three year olds. I think we should just keep eye on her until she is at least a teenager.”
“I think the point is that this child could be the most powerful mind swapper we have seen. She can already communicate with us from half way round the globe. Stephanie only got a slight sense of her from that distance.”
“I am already thinking that it would be best if Deki and her parents came to live here, and the parents were found jobs in one of the London universities.”
“SOAS offers a degree in Asian Studies and this includes the Bhutan region. Might we sponsor a lectureship there for Yangmo?”
“OK. If we think it is practical we need to get ahead with this.”
“Do we have a contact with SOAS?”
“Yes, one of the lecturers is a bonded member. Ask if SOAS would like a sponsored lectureship in Bhutan and Himalayan Studies starting in the new year?”
“Stephanie. I know you are heading off to LSE in three weeks, but we need someone on the ground. I think it needs to be you. You will fly to New Delhi and then on to Paro International Airport to meet up with our contacts. Our staff here will book the flight and arrange your Visa. We will know the situation with SOAS as well by then. I do hope you have a passport with at least six months to run; or at least Graham had a passport that you can use.”
“Yes to both. Can Graham come too?”
“I don’t know. This is a small girl we are talking about it a rather authoritarian community. I know they live in the Capital Thimphu, but clothing, behaviour and religion are closely monitored and restricted.”
“Get Simon up here, I want to know whether we can get access to the King and make it clear that this lectureship is good for his country, and get his blessing with regards to documentation for Deki and her family.”
Three was clearly in her stride. Regressing 50 years of age was doing marvels for her determination.
Simon appeared, tablet in hand.
Three rattled off her expectations. Flight, visa, contact for representatives in India etc, etc.
Simon smiled. “Glad to have you back in post, Three”
“Glad to be back.” Three replied.
That evening Stephanie was on her way by overnight flight to New Delhi where she would meet up with the Indian couple, and then they would all fly up to Paro the following morning.
The Indians did not speak English, but mind to mind contact did not need language. If the other passengers in the small plane saw the three passengers who were animatedly silent, they did not notice. The landing at Paro was an experience in itself. It is a very challenging airport to land at, but the pilot was masterful in dealing with the height, deep valley setting and the light cross winds.
Visa were stamped in passports, but with only small planes the delay at Passport Control was minimal.
After a night in a hotel getting a bit used to the altitude, the three people caught a cab to the relevant ministry for the Kingdom. After half a day of detailed negotiations, and confirmation that SOAS would accept a sponsored lectureship, the party came away with an acceptance that Yangmo and Drake would have the King’s blessing and exit visas would be forthcoming.
The Indian visitors had found the address of Deki and her parents, and had phoned in advance.
Yangmo Tensin and her husband Druk Tshering were home from work, and Deki was home from Paradise Kiddie, the Childcare Centre for the University.
It was useful that Yangmo Tensin and her husband both spoke good English because they had been to British Universities on Scholarships from their king.
It was left to Stephanie to explain the relationship Deki could have with the Community, and how both parents would be able to work in Britain with Indefinite Leave to Remain. After the five years of the sponsored lectureship was up, they could choose to move back to Bhutan, stay in Britain or move anywhere else in the World.
The main question the parents had, not surprisingly was how Stephanie could communicate with their daughter when they were thousands of miles apart and did not share a language. Would it be safe for them in London and was there a hidden agenda with this group of rather strange westerners?
Stephanie tried to explain as best she could. Good English is not the same as nuanced English learned from birth. She had to explain things slowly and carefully several times, then had to assure the parents over and over that this opportunity did not conflict with their Buddhist beliefs. She showed them the document giving Royal approval, and the offer of a teaching appointment for them both in Britain. There were no ulterior motives in the philanthropy being shown to them.
The final question was why Deki was important?
Stephanie had thought hard about this question on the long flights over. She explained it that Deki was part of a community. She had a very powerful voice that could be heard through people’s minds a long long way away. Stephanie and her friends wanted to teach her how to use her voice, but not to shout or scream across the World. The fact that the parents couldn’t hear this voice made it even more difficult for them to understand.
In the end, the free apartment, the well paid jobs, the Royal permission, the free transport, free medical and dental treatment and free schooling for Deki became the deciding factors.
The family had to tidy up their affairs, and get a passports for all of them, so it was another month before Stephanie could go to Heathrow and pick up the family after their long flight from New Delhi. Deki was understandably fractious and the whole family stood out in their Bhutanese dress.
All three fell asleep on the journey into Central London in the Uber minibus.
As they approached Central London Yangmo woke with a start, and was full of apologies for falling asleep. It would be about 10pm at home for you now. It would be bed time, and you have had very tiring flights. Think nothing of it.
They were all wide eyed as they were processed at reception then ushered up to the Penthouse and introduced to the other residents, before collapsing into bed exhausted, even before having a meal.
It will do to eat in the morning.
Stephanie was snuggled up with Graham and Jen when she felt Deki stir, and get up. She found the girl looking out of the lounge window at the sun rising over the London skyline. Deki had not seen how high they were the night before and was feeling a bit uneasy as she looked down 26 stories. Stephanie’s arm crept round the girl’s shoulders to comfort her and both enjoyed the warm feeling and ideas drifted between them without words.
Three got up a minute or two later and looked on with a broad smile at the two young people looking at the sunrise. She noticed that beside the two, there appeared to be a small cloud! The cloud had no face but seemed to be looking at the sunrise as well. There was a feeling of contentment that emanated from them. Three waited until the sun had risen before speaking so as not to spoil the moment.