Prologue One

 

          

 

 

This is not a story for the young child but rather for teenagers and adults… especially for those who have gone through this pain and know how painful it is having shingles.

Beltrose is the shingle virus that fluttered into me and inflamed me with a painful burning fire, a fire not seen by others but a pain the sick victim, can feel.

       When Beltrose, the shingle virus, finally found me…. He could at long last live a human life and so the story begins with Beltrose living his short human life. We know that a child goes through many stages of its life. Beltrose also went through his own stages of his life but, because he was a shinlge virus and because this is my story with my imaginations and because this is how he came to me in my mind, he lived his stages very quickly and harshly. And unlike a real human being, who is born young and dies old, Beltrose is born young and grows old… but because of his good and bad shingle deeds, that he does later, he may grow from being old to being young again and then becomes even younger, this is because of me. And he becomes something else. And what is that something else? Well, honey, you have just to read and find out.

 

             

              

                                              Prologue Two

 

                                                       Me

 

 

My name is…. Well, I don’t have a name but I am known as a really awful virus…. Shingles. Nobody can see me with the naked eye…. Only a doctor can and only through a microscope. But they don’t really need a microscope… they just have to look at the terrible red rash around the sick victims… to know that this is the true shingles rash and, man oh man, are we… shingle virus’s… tickled to death and totally thrilled to see this has finally been accomplished, hee-hee-haha.

       But for me it started out quite differently. At first, I was just a little speck of nasty germ and whiling my time in finding an interesting person to torture. So… while I was taking my time… I heard this little ridiculous voice squeaky saying in a teensy weensy way, but clear as a bell, ‘If you wish to go into a poor victim, little Shingles, then you ought to go into this kind lady and then you will see what surprise shall be waiting for you at the end, a mighty big surprise for a little shingles virus like you.’

       I answered the silly little voice in anger, ‘Hey you, I’m not a little virus, I’m a grand and famous virus. I am the ever powerful shingles that gives people endless pain for a long, long time and sometimes, if the victim is old and does not go to the doctor fast enough, the pain I inflict them with will stay in their bodies forever and make them weak….hee-hee-hah!!! How dare you call me ‘little!’ And WHO are YOU with that absurd squeaky voice of yours.’

       ‘Ahhh… wouldn’t you like to know?’

       ‘Yes, I demand an answer, this instant!’

       In a very sweet but truly annoying goody-goody voice it continued saying, ‘Oh dear, what a grumpy, truly grumpy virus you are, uhhhhhhh!’

       ‘Answer, silly squeaky voice!’

       ‘Well OK… If you really knew who I was… you would never call me ‘silly’ or you might simply faint and turn into a yellow blob but we will have none of that because we will be wasting too much time and that is not good… right? So, you can just call me ‘spirit’… OK?’

       ‘Humph, OK. Oh… are you a good spirit or a bad spirit? I don’t like good spirits they drive me insane. Bad spirits are more fun and I can tolerate them better but a good spirit I absolutely cannot abide.’

       ‘Ahhhh…. Well I will not tell you if I am a good or bad spirit… just think of me as a so-so spirit. Oky-doky? However, your victim, this lady that you are about to enter, is very kind.’

       ‘And WHY should I go into a KIND lady? I can’t stand KIND people, you silly, loathsome little worm! Kind people drive me simply nuts-nuts-nuts…. Insanely and maddeningly nuts!!!’

       ‘Now, now honey… no fighting and nasty talk.’

       Man, that voice was sure getting sticky sweet…. I honestly don’t know how I was able to control myself.

       ‘So… why go into the KIND lady? And never ever call me ‘darling’… got it!’

       ‘Got it… no more ‘darling’. As I was saying, you should go into this kind lady because…. Well… I already told you… a big surprise shall await you and for me too.’

      ‘Oh I see… you’re going to be tricky and mystical with me… eh?’

       ‘Yes I most certainly will be…. I am a spirit of trickiness and mysticism, dear Shingles. But…. you know what? Let’s just move on and simply trust me on this. I am not so very fond of wasting precious time… and I really do feel that you are fond of arguing. At the end of your journey… you will thank me for everything and for listening to me and for taking my advice… and I will be able to go on to further travels… just as you will, my dear virus. This lady will never forget us and we will never forget her.’

       ‘And why is that? And give me a straight answer!’

       “You shall see… you shall see.’

      

       And before I could ask another her or it another question to this ridiculous so-so spirit, I was instantly whisked into the kind lady and…. all at once thrown into a long but journey as a shingles human being. So… turn the page to find out because it was really some journey….. yep.

      

      Chapter Two

 

 

 

 

                                           The Toddler

 

 

 

Before I begin writing about the screaming toddler who was now Beltrose, I would like to tell gentle reader, that is you, that once Beltrose became a human being, living inside and outside of me (please remember that he was once a shingle virus) he was supposed to have given himself and me at least ten years for all his growing stages to firmly adjust to me and my body, as well as my nerves and could have been a little kinder towards my disability. But nope-nope-nope-nope, not at all. No sir, no ma’am, Beltrose was far to excited, agitated, frustrated and, annoyed to be patient and let my wilted body adjust to his wild pain of Lilly white torture. He was simply dying to throw all the pain onto me at once. I guess that is how they are, the shingle viruses, once they have taken a person into their wild and untamed hearts.

       I guess Beltrose had been waiting a very long time to finally be able torture me with his horrendous pain so that he could become human and take his so-called human form. Remember now, Beltrose was not a normal human being….He was a tiny virus who finally had been given his chance to become a human and begin his real treat… Giving me endless pain. Patience was definitely not his thing either. No virus loves being patient, they are not as the saints are. He just popped right into the human stage by first becoming a non-stop screaming toddler to a hysterical teen and, finally ending as a raging, disturbing and, crazy man that he was to become.

       So I will begin with Beltrose, the shingle virus, as a whimpering little fellow, poor little guy thought the baby sitter, always yelling and screaming. Beltrose was, from the start, a very unhappy baby, never having enough of his young parents attention and who were both workaholics. The father worked in a large law firm as a well to do lawyer. His law firm was called, ‘The Sweet & Sweeter & Red Button Law Firm.’ Beltrose’s mother was a true socialite, attending many meetings and entertaining a lot and raising more money for ‘The Sweet & Sweeter & Red Button Law Firm’. They lived in a nice house and the babysitter enjoyed her job but was quite concerned for her own young family. Her husband worked as a janitor in a nice building but there was still never enough money to pay for their small apartment, food, electricity, and for the pre-school that their little girl, Jenasa, would be going to soon. So the young wife/babysitter had found the job of caring for Beltrose from nine AM in the morning until five PM in the afternoon, which was a good thing. Beltrose’s babysitter/young wife loved her job and tended to Beltrose but he was slowly getting on her nerves, he was an awfully fussy little baby, and he was often very troublesome. She thought, ‘I’ve got to get another job nearby… the parents aren’t paying me enough money. He’s not a very handsome or easygoing baby… He’s so big and heavy and slobbery. I know… I’ll get a better paying job maybe at the diner down the street from eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon. I can put him in the crib, it’ll be his naptime anyway and he will have had his lunch… I’ll feed him extra well. Then I’ll just leave him in the crib with a bottle, maybe two bottles, close the drapes, and maybe he’ll sleep longer, and be back by three-thirty or four, just an hour before his parents get home. Beltrose will never know I’ve gone out and neither will his parents ever know. I’ve got to admit, it’s not the best idea but I have no choice. I have to get this job so we can pay for Jenasa’s school. I did tell Beltrose’s parents about how I needed more money but they just did not want to understand.’      

       So this is what began happening and Beltrose’s parents knew nothing of this at first. However little Beltrose did notice the change only too well, he could never tell his parents because he couldn’t talk yet. However he screamed a lot and this time his parents could see and hear very well and would often ask the babysitter why he was screaming so much. But the young mother/babysitter simply replied that she didn’t know why Beltrose was screaming either. Well, the screaming got worse and worse and became quite hysterical. When poor little Beltrose saw his babysitter come to the house in the morning he knew that his parents were about to leave him… again. He began to scream wildly as he wished he could tell his parents what the babysitter might do or might later leave the house and LEAVE him alone… but little Beltrose could not speak and his parents simply told him not to cry and left anyway. When his parents left, Beltrose had to admit that he wasn’t the happiest little guy but his babysitter was there and he often thought, ‘Maybe the babysitter won’t leave me alone this time, maybe if I’m good boy she might stay.’ But after his lunch, which was quickly stuffed into his mouth and a rapid change of diapers and a brisk closing of the curtains he knew this wouldn’t happen especially when he saw the two milk bottles placed in his crib. And he began to give a loud wail, which turned quickly into a murderous shriek. The neighbors could hear this and often thought ‘What in the world is going on with that poor baby!’ Heedless of Beltrose’s howling screams… The babysitter simply said, ‘Honey, I’ve got go now but I’ll be back very soon and PLEASE Beltrose do stop crying, now take a bottle and take a nice long nap like a good boy.’ And with those words having been spoken to little Berltrose, the babysitter left without looking at Beltrose’s sad and unhappy face. But ‘soon’ was hardly ever soon… No, ‘soon’ was more like four o’clock in the afternoon before the babysitter would return and those many quiet hours, with no one there, could be a never-ending time for a little baby.

       And what did Beltrose do all that time when he was not sleeping? He would have fits of total rage. Often he would not sleep at all but after hours of raging bawls and howls he would become so exhausted with tiredness that sleep would eventually creep up to him. But his sleeps were never long and they were so often very restless. Usually, he would suddenly wake up in the dark room and wonder where he was. Then, very rapidly, he would remember that his babysitter had simply left him there and he would wonder why. He would stand on the edge of the crib and scream so hard for her to come and change his wet, heavy and smelly diaper. As his screams went totally unnoticed he would for a moment stop and drink his bottle because he was so hungry. But both the bottles were now finished and he would in his little baby anger throw both bottles onto the floor, he would again begin his screams but this time really booming loud and thunderous and his face would turn into a horrible color of a pleasant pink-purple…. Then when the babysitter finally returned she would get a nice and good fright when she walked into the nursery. In his raging baby fit, he very frequently threw the soft cuddly bears and warm blue baby blankets onto the floor and managed to rip the bottom sheets off the mattress, using all his wild baby strength. Still the babysitter did not appear. He was furious beyond anything and began tearing and wrenching his clothes off his little body. Poor, poor Beltrose! In his wild fury, he managed to take his diapers off too and make a true disastrous mess.

       Finally after hours of frightening and fearful waiting on his part, the babysitter came to him and saw the terrible and ghastly mess Beltrose had done while she had left him alone. She was very vexed and told Beltrose that he had been a truly naughty boy. Poor Beltrose, all sweaty and hot and scared beyond anything, could not understand why his babysitter didn’t just pick him up and hug him. After all… It was SHE who had left him in the dark room and she should not be doing this to a small child!

       This went on for quite some time. Because Beltrose would often have these raging fits, when the babysitter continued to leave him, he would often just rip off all his clothes and proceed with throwing the blankets and soft, stuffed teddy’s onto the floor… He would often catch a dreadful cold and because of these maddening issues, he developed a terrible and horrendous separation anxiety from his worried parents… who were still so oblivious to their little son’s needs and so very ignorant of what the babysitter was doing to their little boy. Again and again, the fretful parents would ask the babysitter why their son was doing all this and what was she, a young mother herself and with a child too, doing to their son. Was she feeding him enough, singing to him during his naptimes, reading him stories, walking him in the park, playing with him in the playground and going to Miss Moll’s Little School every Tuesday and Thursday? And all the while, the babysitter just nodded her head and said, ‘Oh, yes ma’am, yes sir, I’m doing all these things.’ Really? Mmm…

       Then one day all this changed. Beltrose’s parents became exceedingly concerned for Beltrose and decided, after much discussing amongst themselves, that the mother would come home early from the meeting that same day. That afternoon she came home and was so severely shocked to find her little Beltrose standing in his crib and screaming in sheer fear. The minute he saw his mother he stretched his little arms out to her screaming, ‘Mama, mama!’ Of course his mother instantly ran to him, picked him up and, hugged him wildly saying, ‘Oh darling, Mommy’s hear, Mommy’s here!’ Immediately she noticed his wet and heavy diapers, the room reeked of pure stink from his soiled clothing, the blankets and bottles had been thrown across the floor in total anger, the dark room with its closed curtains send out a feeling of eeriness and she thought at that moment how very frightening this could be for a little child and she saw his torn clothes strewn everywhere. At once she quickly opened the curtains and opened the closed window to let in the light and fresh air and rapidly put some clothes on his cold little body. Eventually poor Beltrose stopped crying but it took him a while. Straightaway his mother yelled out for the babysitter but the babysitter never came. It was then that she began to realize that the babysitter was not there and was very shocked. The mother stared at her little Beltrose saying, ‘Oh, honey, she just left you all alone, how could she do that?! Now I know what has been going on with you.’ Right away she called her husband and they both decided to just let the babysitter go immediately, she was fired! Honestly, how could the babysitter, and a young mother herself, leave Beltrose or any child alone for so many hours?

 

Chapter Three  

 

 

 

 

 

 

                             The Teenager

 

 

 

 

Well, his life was one big jolly mess, as you will see. As I have already mentioned, Beltrose grew up having great fear of dark rooms, being left alone and, always having to see people he dearly loved always leaving him behind… this was one of the hardest things for him to accept in his young life. These were terrible problems he faced but the biggest problem was his being a teenager. He absolutely loathed this stage of his life. Not only was being a teenager a truly difficult task for him but also no one in his family seemed to understand him too well. Everybody was just plain ignorant, dimwitted or, downright non-understanding towards him as far as he was concerned. The only person he had ever truly loved in his family was his great Aunt Tillie and his dog, Rock. But Rock had died of old age and his Great Aunt Tillie had moved away. After that he became sad and very depressed, despondent and, devastated. His poor parents were very concerned for his well being but he wouldn’t talk to them at all about anything and when the parents asked Beltrose if he would like to see a doctor, he simply yelled, ‘Guys, are you crazy? No!’ Whenever his parents had to leave for an evening they would get the next door neighbors eldest daughter to come and stay with him. Beltrose was shocked, when he heard this and yelled, ‘Hey, Mom, Dad, are you nuts?! I’m not a baby anymore!’ As you can well see, he was not too friendly with his parents.

       And with that said, he would go to his room and slam the door. Then his parents would sigh and call Uncle Louie to come over and stay with Beltrose while they went out for the evening. Oh my. When Beltrose heard that Uncle Louie was coming to stay with him Beltrose screamed lividly, ‘Are you kidding? No way, I can’t stand him and the guy just whines about his arthritis, his hair getting white and he smells pretty bad, really Mom-Dad you must be pure nuts. The guy’s a kuk! Dad, you’ve got to talk to him!’

       And again Beltrose marched into his room slamming the door, good and hard. His poor socialite mother would start crying,

       ‘Oh, what are we going to do… We can’t just call Aunt Tillie, she lives miles away!? And Beltrose just loved her… he would do anything for her and she was so good to him and loved him so much no matter what he was like. He can’t seem to stand anyone else and she was the only one he loved! Oh dear, oh dear. We have to leave in a ten minutes, darling!’

       ‘Don’t worry, honey. He’ll just have to stay home alone… he is a big boy.’

       ‘But darling… he hates being alone!’

       ‘Sweetheart there’s nothing we can do and we’ll be back before ten tonight. He’ll be fine. Come on we have to go.’

       The father would give an unbearably heavy sigh and began the long ascend, with a dull and weighty heart, up the stairs and walk to the front of Beltrose’s locked door. Not wasting another moment of this drama Beltrose’s father would say through the locked door,

       ‘OK, have it your way, son. We have to go and you’ll just have to be alone until we get back before ten o’clock…. OK…. we tried to get someone to stay and we know you are not a baby anymore but we also know that you don’t like to be alone…. OK… so we have got to go…. see we’ll be back in a few hours…. we love you, son.’

       I am afraid to say, this happened all too often. Most teenagers would have been delighted beyond anything to have a few hours to themselves in the house but not Beltrose.

       School? Ah, Beltrose did very well in his many subjects, the teachers often raved about him saying that he was an outstanding and brilliant young man, but his manners towards the other teenagers in school were extremely rude. Being alone too much had made him quite harsh and rough to others. He not only grew up far too fast but continued to loath dark rooms, weak people, although he loved them too (remember he was a tremendously complicated young man) he strongly opposed brave and valiant and good people, and detested having his parents leave him so many times… although they were beginning to get on his nerves. He did not enjoy having to get up early in the morning and go to school. Though he both loved and hated school, remember he was a tremendously knotty and bewildering fellow, he was very extremely brilliant at all his subjects, such as math, history, science and, algebra. Algebra was his great expertise. He was excellent at creative writing, especially complicated stuff, and drawing and painting. The teachers discovered that he had to be kept busy at all times for then he was an OK young man and had no time to bully others. However this was exhausting for the teachers as they had many other students to think about.

       His poor parents would so often be surprised, when they went to the parents-teachers conferences and heard from his teachers how Beltrose did so splendidly well in his many classes and studies but was not at all nice or friendly at interacting with other teens. He was very often a tyrant, especially to the weaker ones, he loved kicking the other students in the shins and various body parts. One teacher had seen him hit a younger boy because the younger boy would not obey Beltrose’s orders. Another teacher watched with great astonishment how Beltrose slapped a young girls face because she wouldn’t kiss his pimples away… and what’s more he told this young girl, who was new to the school, that she was an ugly and loathsome witch, although she was a very pretty girl, and should exit the school immediately and all because this young girl, who was very hard of hearing, didn’t hear him say ‘Hello’ and ‘Kiss my pimple away!’ The teachers had to admit he was a highly peculiar young man and asked the parents what had happened to him as a child…. Something must have gone eerily wrong. The parents, so well dressed and sophisticated looking, would eagerly glance up at the teachers with sad and beseeching eyes and ask, ‘Why is our lovely son behaving like this… What have we done? If only we knew. If only Beltrose had come with instructions on his back, then all would have been well.’

       But why their handsome boy acted so cruelly to others in school was a novelty to them. The father said to the teachers, ‘He’s very good and quiet around us… Except when we leave the house for a few hours.’

       The teachers sitting ever so primly behind their desks with folded hands would look deeply into the eyes of the parents and reply a simple, ‘Mmmm… but something must have happened to him when he was very, very young…. something that really upset him… when he was a baby?’

       Then his mother, with eyes so moist said, ‘Our son, Beltrose, did have a nasty experience many years ago… when he was very young, a young toddler. His babysitter, I have no idea how she could have done such a terrible thing as she herself was a mother, left him in his nursery in the crib alone for many hours. And the room was dark, very dark and poor Beltrose must have been so frightened at waking up in the dark nursery and yelling for his babysitter to come and fetch him and she never came because she was out working at another job.’

       ‘Oh how dreadful! But she did return…. Right?’

       ‘Oh yes, eventually she did but my husband and I could not understand what was going on. Every time we arrived back home the babysitter was always there and we didn’t have a clue that she was working at another job and leaving our son alone. But I was beginning to notice strange things from Beltrose. Every time he saw me he’d be screaming out of control and with his little arms outstretched he would wrap his arms ever so tightly around my neck whenever I held him. He did the same with my husband.’

       The father looking ever so apologetic said, ‘When we, my wife and I, got home, during these awful times when we were both so clueless at what the babysitter was doing to Beltrose, we would notice scratches on the walls near his crib, and the sheets from the crib ripped apart and torn to pieces. We were very concerned and asked the babysitter what was happening and why our son was always screaming like that. We really trusted her…like my wife said…. the babysitter had a family of her own… a little girl who was just a few years older then Beltrose.’

       A long silence followed… The teachers were in complete shock. Finally, the wife picked up where the husband left off. After a light sigh she continued, ‘As I was saying, I had a dreadful headache that day and so I called off my afternoon meeting and decided to go home earlier and lie down. Also my husband and I had decided that I’d arrive home a bit earlier so I could find out what was going on. It was horrible when I finally found out.’

       ‘And how did you find out, Mrs. Martin?’

       ‘I came home early because of my dreadful headache and found Beltrose in the crib… Screaming his head off and his little face all plum red and streaked with masses of wet tears. He had thrown everything that was in the crib… bottles, pacifiers, teddy bears, sheets, just everything thrown on the floor. His nice little Thomas the Tank Engine shirt, that his Grandmother had given him for his birthday, were torn and thrown onto the floor. And the little pants, also a gift from Grandma, were torn to shreds and littered all over the floor. Oh poor darling, when he saw me he simply yelled with his little arms stretched out.’

       Here she covered her eyes and began to softly sob her heart out. Her husband put a hand lightly on her heaving shoulders. She went on,

       ‘The room smelled badly. It was appalling.’

       ‘The babysitter was fired on that same day. We just couldn’t believe what she had done to our son and we trusted her so well.’

       The teachers stared at one another and the principle asked, ‘Did you ask the baby sitter how she could have done something like this and why did she do this? A child should never be left unattended. But this baby sitter should have known this…. right?’

       ‘Of course, we asked her immediately how she could have had the nerves to do such a thing and all she told us was because she needed more money for her own family but we were already paying her well.’

       ‘ Ahh... money, money…. that always seems to be a problem,’ the principle replied.

       After this conversation with the teachers, more thoughtful precaution was taken for Beltrose by both his parents and teachers and for a while this seemed to work but when the teachers suggested that the parents ask Beltrose to perhaps go see the school’s therapist Beltrose screamed and slammed the door blaring, ‘Are you guys nuts or something?? I’m not a psychopath!!!’

       So… you can see how jolly well his messy life was. Then one day the very worse was to come.

Chapter Four

 

 

 

 

 

 

                             The Prisoner

 

 

 

 

Before the worst was yet to come, I must first make a very small but important clarification. Towards the end of his High School years he met some friends and as they were all pretty much alike, rude and insolent, they all became great buddies. Their names? Rash, Heat, Scar, Burn, Bubble and, Red. And now Beltrose was with them too, this most definitely completed the Wicked Gang Circle. And man oh man, did they have a great time doing what they were doing. And what was it that they were doing? They loved inflicting constant pain on people, threatening them with their venomous attitudes, and sending constant worries and anxiety in their elders or younger people, especially on the weaker ones, the crippled and on the strong and good ones who were very often the true heroes but far too modest to admit this.

       To please and keep his parents quiet from constant nagging… Beltrose went to University and studied Criminology.

His parents asked why in all the world he had decided on learning this subject… as no one in the family had ever taken this profession before! Well, he just wanted to see what it was like to study this subject and he thought he might, one day in the near future, become a security guard or a policeman or, better yet, an FBI agent. His parents simply looked at him awestruck and said,

       ‘Ah’ and ‘Oh... and ‘Well, I see’ but his parents were not thrilled or keen about this idea at all. After some quiet moments the father said, ‘Son, why don’t you learn to become a fireman or a paramedic… they do a lot of good and save lives like true heroes. Honestly, son, I think that’s a much better idea.’

       ‘Yes honey,’ the anxious mother said to her son, ‘this would so much better and a whole lot wiser….. Don’t you think so, honey?’

       ‘I can do what I want and Mom stop calling me honey, it sounds sickening,’ blasted Beltrose and marched straight into his room slamming the door… again.

       After some time he came downstairs and overheard his parents talking about how super expensive the college tution was and what should they do with their son and his crazy idea of studying his subjects…. criminology… their son? Suddenly Beltrose’s brilliant and evil brain began to work and he surprised them by his announcement and by his sudden appearance,

       ‘I heard what you guys said. Well… I’m out of here and you don’t have to pay for my college tuition because I will look into that myself… I’ve got brains... superb brains!’

       ‘Oh, now-now sonny boy… let’s not get so hasty. Sneaking up like that, eh? Let’s be cool about this situation… we must talk this out like civilized people and like one big happy family. Where do you think’ will be living and how are you going to get all this money for your studies, huh?’

       ‘Yes darling… listen to your father… please do this for Great Aunt Tillie’s sake and for me your Mummsy, darling.’

       Beltrose, who loathed this kind of talk from his mother, looked at her with his face totally smeared with pure red anger and tinted a flaming pink bellowed, ‘Guys, I’m not a baby anymore and I’m going to do what I want to do, go where I want to go and, live where I want to live!!!’

       Well, this little so called happy family discussion did not end very friendly, nicely or, happily. Beltrose packed a few of his belongings, took masses of money and, left. His parents simply stood firmly to the ground and were totally unable to stop him and had gone quite lame, deaf and, mute. Then, after the door slammed (again) the mother sobbed wildly and ran to bathroom to grab some tissue paper to wipe her tears while the father just kept standing and letting his wet tears roll silently down his face.

       Beltrose, who had no kind feelings for his parents or gave any thought about being considered to anyone, went to live with his good pals Rash, Scar and, Red who all shared a nice big and spacious apartment on the beach. They had a blasting party almost every night. As for a Beltrose getting a job? He thought he could get a job working as the computer wizard for evil Percy at Division or work as a guard in the Shingles Dingles Jailhouse where they really paid super well.

       One thing about Beltrose, when he put his mind into something, he always managed to get it done without any great fuss… Yep, whatever it was, school, job or getting great pay, it was always done in a very spic and span way and razor sharp clean.

       And now we come to the worst stage of his life. Although he was put on the waiting list to become a guard at the Shingles Dingles Jailhouse, guarding the main front door… not exactly what he had hoped for… he had to wait a good long while. Working for evil Percy had been Beltrose’s first choice but evil Percy already had enough computer wizards. Beltrose had no patience at all to wait as a guard for the Shingles Dingles Jailhouse and loathed the whole waiting list system. It made him ragingly mad to have to wait and wait and wait and wait. So… in his fury he would start picking on younger people or on the elderly… his most favorite task. He spent a lot of time making certain lives very difficult for them, like writing nasty notes, and threatening emails, well, I won’t mention everything that he did. He had a tremendously vicious mind right then. He’d go home whenever it suited him, whenever he was hungry or low on cash, and drive his parents insane. He was very good at this and his poor mother made an excellent target for him to pick on. Unfortunately, he could do not do this to his father that well and all too often his father would be at home to protect his poor wife from being further harassed by Beltrose.

       Then suddenly Beltrose finally got his job at the Shingles Dingles Jailhouse but things did not work up to Beltrose’s expectations. After some time he and all his buddies decided to rob a bank, the Big Fancy Goldmine Bank. They wore grotesque happy faked masks as they did their dirty work. They did this so well, razor sharp clean and quick, they were never found out and always managed to get away. However this luck was to change. Beltrose and his buddies went to rob the Big Fancy Goldmine Bank again, it was such a large bank, with many floors and secret doors, a great place to get everyone really confused and could not be robbed all in one day, and this time a member one of the Wicked Gang Circle was caught. Most of the gang all managed to run for their lives and dash into the black Mercedes SUV with Bubbles at the wheels but unlucky Beltrose fell over a table someone quickly grabbed his jacket and ripped off his ugly make believe happy mask off his face. At long last the FBI had managed to catch one of the members of The Wicked Gang Circle and you can only imagine the FBI’s delightful happiness when they found out that Beltrose was the actual main leader of the horrible gang. The FBI bundled him in a red and pink striped jumpsuit and pushed him into a tiny cell.

       When Beltrose’s parents heard about this, they went completely crazy berserk and rushed to the aid of their son.… wicked though he was, the parents loved their son. But they were not able to help Beltrose really, they soon discovered that he had history of doing wrong since a young boy, things the parents, had never known. They were utterly speechless. And because Beltrose had, as a young boy, already committed many other terrible things…. this last deed, robbing the Big Fancy Goldmine Bank, made his rescue exceptionally hard for Beltrose. The parents were in deep shock and never knew about his many other terrible wrong doings. But Beltrose was their son and they were loving parents and promised him that they would get, Goody, their good lawyer friend and godfather to Beltrose to help him get out a bit sooner. However, they told Beltrose that this might take some and that he had to learn patience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Five

 

 

 

 

 

                            The Returning Prisoner

 

 

 

 

Although Goody, a very well known and successful lawyer and good friend of Beltrose’s parents, did the best that he could do for Beltrose… Beltrose was still called by the jury as ‘guilty’ and thus had to spend a number of years in one prison after another because of his many crimes that he, Beltrose, had committed. While in prison, Beltrose was informed by his father, who came to the prison often to visit Beltrose, that his poor socialite mother had passed away from a dreadful illness that could or would not be healed and also from a broken heart for her son. Beltrose took this news quite coldly and calmly. The father was saddened by his quiet and dark reaction and missed his wife very much.

         Then one day, after being in prison for so long, Beltrose was set free. His father came to pick him up and bring him home but not to their regular house where Beltrose had grown up in. Since Beltrose’s mother had died, his father had moved to a smaller place, an apartment close to the park. All Beltrose’s old buddies, he didn’t have any new buddies, had been either caught by the FBI or had escaped to another country. Yes, Beltrose was very much alone indeed and because it was hard for him to make new friends, he was one of the loneliest of men when he came out from prison…. also he was not a young man anymore. His only friend was his father and a dog named Boy. Boy was his fathers beautiful dog, a honey colored golden retriever. Boy was a super friendly and loving companion to his father and was to become a true good friend to Beltrose. Yes, Beltrose had a great love and respect for animals, especially for dogs. Every morning, midday and, afternoon Beltrose took Boy out for a walk or Beltrose would ride on his beloved speed bike with Boy running right beside him. Beltrose often told his father that if it hadn’t been for Boy, he probably would never have left the house. Beltrose was truly embarrassed to be seen by anyone, after doing so many horrible deeds and the newspaper had never stopped talking about him and because everyone knew extremely well who he was and what he had done. Most of the people in his father’s neighborhood remembered all too well of Beltrose’s bad and nasty habits and thought Beltrose might one day decide to begin this again, though his father had told everyone that Beltrose was strictly under his and the FBI’s supervision and that both he and the FBI would make sure that Beltrose did not or would never do these crimes again otherwise it would be jail and prison for the rest of Beltrose’s life. But most people in the neighborhood were still mighty cautious of having Beltrose in their nice and quiet neighborhood…. after all he had once belonged to a very famous and well known gang, the Wicked Gang Circle, and they had been on the TV news, the newspaper and, on the online FBI and CIA and CNN search and the on the famous and acknowledged XYZ news. And what’s more, Beltrose had been the main leader of the gang.

         But Beltrose was also a tremendously changed man. When he first was put into prison he had been twenty-five years old… Now he was almost going on forty. But his hair was still dark and his eyes still had that young look but he no longer had that malicious and dangerous appearance that frightened everyone but his father. Also he had met a tremendously kind priest when he was in prison. The priest had changed Beltrose’s way of thinking and had helped Beltrose in many ways. Beltrose had never forgotten this kind man and talked about him many times. So when Beltrose finally left the prison walls… he had become a very changed man. His father saw that but people only saw the change in him little by little or not at all. For instance Beltrose began taking care of his aging father by walking him around the park with Boy and feeding the pigeons, getting the groceries and filling his fathers spot at work when his father was too ill to walk to his office or to work. His father’s legs had begun to lose their strength and his arms were getting weaker as well. Soon after that… Beltrose would often drive his father to many doctor’s appointments and to the gym where his father still went to keep the strength he had left and continue his exercises with his Wellness guide. Beltrose was very busy caring for his father and taking Boy out for walks and runs. When he went out for walks with Boy he would frequently run into other people walking their big and little dogs and the people, not really noticing who Beltrose used to be, would greet him with the usual ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ but Beltrose would never stop and chat with anyone as he had become quite shy as well as embarrassed. But Beltrose would always stop to pet an eager dog. The doctors all remembered how Beltrose used to behave with his parents before prison and were so overcome by how gentle and kind he had now become and how deeply concerned he was for his father’s well being. Beltrose’s job, caring for his father and taking Boy out for walks and runs went on for a long time.

         Then one grey day this all changed, as all good things must come to an end. Beltrose’s father became very ill and had to be rushed off to the hospital many times. Then the doctors all came to tell Beltrose with bad news. His father’s cancer, which was slowly spreading throughout the old mans frail body, was getting worse and worse. Not only was it in the father’s legs and arms but unfurling itself in other parts of his body and the doctors were not able to kill this dreadful virus much longer. It was very sad for the doctors and devastating for Beltrose, who had finally found his love and trust in his father. As a child, Beltrose had never felt any love towards his parents… he had taken everything for granted. It was only when he was in prison that the word ‘love’ had ever been truly awakened in his heart. Another good priest, doing his job, had tried to talk about family love and kindness to Beltrose when he had been in prison a while and all Beltrose had done was yell at the priest to get out. He realized now when he finally came out of prison, that it was his father who had hugged him, and taken him home regardless of this or that, and had become, not just his father but Beltrose’s closest friend and had taught him, his son, to love and appreciate again… the kind of friend that Beltrose had never known before or had never taken the time to know.

         After being a week in the hospital and not having many days left…. it was agreed by the doctors and nurses, that Beltrose’s father should go live the rest of his days home and a nurse would come everyday to give the father his medicine and help Beltrose. Beltrose, who had decided to learn nursing skills, was very glad to have his father back. Boy, the lovable dog was ecstatic that his master would return and Boy decided he would always stay right by his master’s bed.

         Then one warm and bright blue afternoon the father, who wasn’t able to talk well or loudly, told Boy, who was an exceptionally good dog and understood everything, to fetch his son who was in the kitchen. It must be known to everyone that Boy was a very special dog and very devoted to his master and to Beltrose. So Boy found Beltrose and tugged him to come to his master’s bedroom. Beltrose rushed into the bedroom afraid that something bad had happened to his father and felt a pang of relief when he saw his fathers opened eyes.

         His father said weakly, ‘Son, pull up the chair and sit next to me.’

         ‘What’s up, Dad, you’re making me worried?’

         ‘Listen…. when I hit the bucket-‘

         ‘Dad, stop that. You know how I don’t like that kind of talk?’

         ‘Well, we have to talk about it sooner or later. Son, I left all the money in your name, that’s how your mother and I wanted it…. we trust you…. Goody understands.’

         Very gently but firmly, Beltrose took his fathers arm and said, ‘Stop it Dad, please, don’t talk like that.’

         ‘No, now hear me out son, it’s getting really hard for me to talk… the breathing is not going right. Listen, Goody has the money and he’ll just give it to you. I signed all the papers when you went to take a walk with Boy yesterday afternoon. OK… got it, son… it’s real simple… right? And when that’s all done then I don’t want you hanging around the house here. Pack up your bags, take Boy, get in the car and drive to the country, get a little seaside cottage there…. You know the one we saw last week…. The one with the little lavender flowers and the lake nearby… you can do this so… there’s plenty of money. When you and Boy get settled in I want you to call my good friend Sarah and her family will make sure that you‘re doing OK. OK, son…. got it?’

         ‘But Dad it’s not going to happen.’

         ‘Hey son… you and Boy will do it! Right?’

         ‘OK, Dad… Boy and I will do it. We’ll go and live in the country. I’ll go to Goody first but---‘

         Boy had been there the whole time giving slights of gentle whimpers and licking his Masters hand. The father gave a both Beltrose and Boy a big smacking kiss and said ‘Go on Beltrose, take Boy out for a run. I’ve got to rest…. totally worn out from all this talking. When you get back… we’ll watch that good football game and have a bite. Now I have to rest. Go on Boy, go with Beltrose, atta boy. Love ya’ son!’

         After this Beltrose’s father lived a few more days and then passed away ever so gently in his sleep. After the crowded memorial service and the overwhelmingly large Awake… a silent quiet came over Beltrose and overwhelmed him so much and for the very first time in his life he was able to sob and sob. Boy was always beside Beltrose and understood all that passed on. Beltrose thought of his father and how he, Beltrose, finally was able to get to know him better. He thought of his poor mother, may her soul rest in peace, and realized that he had never tried to know her at all and she had so loved her son… even when he was sent to prison. He remembered how she wanted him to be out of prison as soon as possible so that she could help him and during her short visits she had always brought him his favorite books but he had only yelled at her in return. It broke his heart to think of her and how so nice she had been to him and how deeply sorry he was now for his rotten behavior. He was so very glad to have Boy by his side. Beltrose collected the money from Goody that his father had left him. He packed up and sold his fathers house and where he, Beltrose, had for the first time in his life really known what love really meant. After that was finished, he and Boy left the city and moved into the country and to the garden house that was waiting for them. And here ends the stage of Beltrose’s life as an older man…. who had been in prison and learnt to love and care for his father and love his father’s dog, Boy.

         Suddenly as Beltrose drove on the long highway with Boy sitting right beside him… a small and delicate spirit, invisible to their eyes, said, ‘Ahh… Beltrose, Beltrose, because you were able to love and care so much for your father and for Boy, and did this so openly and lovingly… you have been given the chance to become young again so that you, a little evil and painful shingle virus, can help the person to whom you have given the shingles to. If you can help to ease her dreadful pain then you could become something better and good and no longer the evil virus.’

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Six

 

 

 

 

 

                             The Teenager

 

 

 

 

Once again we see Beltrose as a young teenager. But he has different parents now and, once again, there is a dog, a beautiful reddish blond golden retriever named Boy for that is what Beltrose decided to name the dog. Although young Beltrose had absolutely no recollection of his previous life with his fancy and classy looking parents and living in their big and grand but lonely house on top of the hill…. the very deep part of his evil virus soul did remember a few good things…. such as having once lived in some sort of cave-like cell (prison) and having left that hideous place with a refreshed soul and then having cared for someone he deeply loved and cared for many years and enjoying it because he had felt wanted and needed in a good way.

       So here is Beltrose now… a happy and handsome young man with Boy, his beloved dog, always nears him. His mother is not a socialite but a simple and quiet librarian and two days a week she reads aloud to little children who love to hear her read to them and when she cannot read then Beltrose does this and the children adore Beltrose and his beautiful dog, Boy. Beltrose’s father is an elementary science teacher at the local public school and the children there simply cherish him for his kindness and patience and he is especially loved by disabled children who also go to the school. Beltrose, his parents, Boy and, Twinkles, the family’s calico cat, all lived in a very nice but simple house with a charming garden. In their spare time both mother and son loved to potter around the garden planting, digging and, weeding. As I have mentioned, they had a cat named Twinkles, her eyes always twinkled in the most darling fashion, and Twinkles loved, besides sitting on top of Boy and getting free rides, adored sitting in her worn out outside wicker basket sunning herself in the warm garden next to the roses and lavender and the lemon tree. Beltrose loved Twinkles and had bought her a new wicker basket that stayed only inside the house. When Beltrose was not pottering in the garden with his mother and with Boy always right beside him, he did his homework. He loved to study and the teachers, in his school, thought very highly of him, so did his parents. When he went to the school counselor to talk about his future studies… he said that he wanted to become a doctor helping the sick and was eager to begin this long process as soon as he was able to. The school counselor was very pleased with this idea and his parents were ecstatic but were not so sure were they could get all the money for Beltrose’s schooling. The grandparents however said, ‘No problem, we’ll sort this out and help.’ And Beltrose said that he might be able to get a good job in order to also save.

       Beltrose had many friends at school…. he was a popular boy there because of his many good qualities, his fun and carefree ways and for his intelligence too. The high school, that Beltrose went to, was a very big building with many hallways and rooms and many of the new students would often get lost…. Beltrose was always there to help these new students as he remembered, only too well, how he used to get lost almost everyday and this always made him very late for class and he did not like this to happen to him at all. In the high school there were two big rooms only for children with special needs. Beltrose was very often seen in either of those two rooms helping the kids with their studies. He did not know why this was so but he loved helping others… especially the weaker ones and he admired their bravery to struggle on and learn more and more. The teachers were so often speechless when they saw this, after all it was not a common thing for a teenage boy to gladly help the weaker ones with their studies.

       Then one day the teachers all had a discussion amongst themselves. Beltrose had asked the principle, of the high school, for a job…. the principle and the teachers thought Beltrose might like to help tutor the special needs children who needed so much help in their many subjects and on some days, when the staff was very low, he could help the special needs high school kids and the school would gladly give him a pay. When Beltrose heard of this idea, he and his parents were ecstatic with joy. And so Beltrose began to save his money for his doctor’s studies.

       Between his homework, friends, his own job with tutoring and, doing all the fun things that a normal and happy teenager does…. his life became very busy but he never left Boy and Boy never left him. And because Boy was such a good dog and specially trained, he was frequently allowed into the tutoring room and of course, this was always a great thrill for the disabled children.

       Then one day something happened in the park. It was a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon and Beltrose and Boy were taking a stroll. Boy never had to be on a leash as he was a very docile dog and the park allowed for dogs to go off leash and bikers were often very cautious when they saw dogs or people ambling or running by. But on this fateful day it was a different story. A young woman was speeding on her bicycle and accidentally hit Boy and the poor dog fell instantly to the ground. When Beltrose saw this he immediately dropped everything that he was holding, a bag of fresh eggs and milk from the farm, and ran to Boy. He picked up the poor dogs bloody body and ran home like lightning. Before the guilty woman could utter her deepest sympathy and her plentiful apologies… saying that she would gladly pay for all the medical expenses for the poor dog, Beltrose had already run a mile away. Although the young lady was deeply sorry for what she had done… she was also amazed at how fast Beltrose could run while carrying his big dog. At home, Beltrose wrapped Boy in a soft linen cloth and laid him down on the couch yelling, ‘Mom, Dad!’ Straightaway both parents each came panting from different directions, his mother from the upstairs bedrooms and his father from the basement downstairs. Instantly the father saw poor Boy bathed in the red fluid and promptly grasped the tragic situation and said, ‘Son, carry Boy and gently put him in the car, we’re going to the emergency vet hospital. Claire, get Doc Watts on the phone and tell him what’s happened to Boy and that we’re heading straight to the pet hospital.’ In a flash they were all in the car, one thing about Beltrose’s parents…. they never asked Beltrose lengthy questions. They got to the hospital in less then fifteen minutes but Boy just lay in Beltrose’s arms barely breathing and never moving and all the while the poor dog looked straight at Beltrose with sad pleading eyes… as if Boy was asking Beltrose, ‘What happened?’ Beltrose could not understand what had really happened…. everything had gone by so utterly fast. Beltrose was beside himself with worry for Boy and could not answer any of his mothers anxious questions how this all had happened.

       Arriving at the hospital stood Dr Watts with open arms but when he saw Boy and how badly everything was he told Beltrose to lay the poor dog on his emergency table. Dr Watts looked at Boy and gently called the poor dogs name. Boy looked at the doctor without moving his poor head. The kind doctor, who had known both Boy and Beltrose since they were both little ones, took his stethoscope to listen to the dog’s heartbeat, he looked at the dogs two front legs and examined the dogs limping head that always fell heavily to his right side. The parents stayed in the waiting room knowing only too well that this was really Beltrose’s dog and that he would want to be alone with Dr Watts…. plus the doctors room was too small for four people and a dog. Both mother and father were terribly worried for Boy and especially for Beltrose’s overwhelming shock and sadness if Boy could did not make it.

       The mother, being the chattier one said, ‘If Boy doesn’t make it then we have to get another dog for Beltrose.’

       ‘Yes, you’re right but man, this is sure going to be a huge blow for Beltrose. But we’re all going to help Boy to get better.’

       ‘Oh yes, of course, but we can’t allow Boy to suffer endlessly, it’s not fair to Boy.’

       After some time in his office Dr Watts looked at Beltrose and said, ‘Well, I’ve got good news and bad news and some not so great news. Let’s start with the good news. OK, with lots of love, care and, patience Boy will make it through this mess. The bad news, Boy has been badly hit in the head, broke both his front paws and….. the not so great news is that you and your Mom or Dad would have to bring him in the office every third day for me to inject the head medicine in him…. I will have to give it to him myself because it must go into the side of his head and I don’t think you, your Mom or, Dad could do this as it is a tricky thing to do.’

       In a tearful voice Beltrose said, ‘Oh no… this is terrible… really, really awful! Is Boy ever going to walk again or run? And how long will you have to give him the head med?’

       ‘Now… Beltrose I know this is very difficult for you to grasp but you’re a good strong young man and I know that you will get through this and be fine, OK? And remember, I’ll do everything I can. We’ll tell your parents in a minute. I’ll have to inject the head medicine about one or two months, depending on how Boy reacts to this.’

       Dr Watts looked at Beltrose’s face, which had first turned into a sickening pale red color, only to be transformed into a completely splotchy yellow and ending in a ghostlike white. Beltrose was in deep shock and tremendously speechless.

       The doctor touched his shoulder and made him sit down on the chair nearby and asked, ‘Beltrose, how did this all happen? Boy has always been such a strong and healthy dog?’

       White as a sheet of paper, Beltrose looked at the doctor and replied in a dull voice, ‘ I was at Perrie’s Park taking Boy out for a walk and this bike came really fast and just hit him and next thing I know Boy’s on the ground and covered in blood.’

       ‘Did the biker stop at all?’

       ‘Oh yes, right away and said that he was really sorry and would pay for everything or something like that…. I was not listening too well… I just picked up Boy and ran straight straight home. Mom and Dad saw me with Boy, we got in the car and came straight here. Doc, you’ve got to do something more…. You’ve always been the best.’

       ‘I am so sorry this happened and, believe me, I’m doing my best for both you and your dog, Beltrose. Let’s go and tell your parents. Maybe the biker will find you and help you. I can make a notice in The Lost and Found website for you. This biker has to show himself, it’s the law, and he’ll come to me, first. Was it a guy or a gal?’

       ‘Oh, it was a gal I think, a tough looking gal but that’s all I saw. I was just too worried about Boy.’

       ‘I understand. Come on and let’s tell your Mom and Dad.’

       The good doctor told both the parents who were both so speechless, sad and, immediately put their arms lovingly around their son. They all stood there for some time… Dr Watts looked at the boy and his parents and saw their sadness but, like so many doctors who need to shield their own pain, he very briskly said, ‘I would like to keep Boy here with me overnight if that’s OK.’

       They all looked very worried and alarmed and all questioned the doctor in silence. The parents had known the doctor for a long time but knew not to ask too many pesky questions.

       The doc seeing their alarmed faces said apologetically ‘Oh, it’s only because it’s already late afternoon! Of course, you can all stay here and take Boy home later this evening if you prefer.’

       ‘Well doc,’ said the father, ‘we’d rather stay and wait until you finish up. We really don’t want to leave Boy here in the hospital, if that’s alright with you and I know Beltrose would agree with me. Right son?’

       Beltrose just nodded his head…. he was too overcome by this treacherous news.

       His kind mother rose from her chair and exclaimed, ‘I’ll take the car home and go get some bottled water and make some sandwiches for us to eat…. we’ve all got to eat Beltrose, sweetie, to keep our energy going.’

       Later that evening Beltrose carried Boy to the car and the parents thanked Dr Watts and drove home in sadness and silence into the quiet night. Poor Boy, his head and both front paws were heavily bandaged. The family would have to carry and drive Boy everywhere. Not only would they all have to make sure he ate enough food and drank enough water, Boy showed no raving appetite, but they would have to very diligently, give Boy his many medicines. The kind doctor explained that it might take Boy for at least six month or more to be able to walk normally. At first, Boy had to see Dr Watts every two weeks and after a month it was every three weeks and then only once a month for his head medicine and to be looked at.

       Beltrose took wonderful care of Boy and did everything for him. But Boy never, ever was able to fully recover from this horrendous accident. The doctor said that it was Boy’s head that was causing him difficulty and that it was most likely in constant pain, which was driving the poor dog mad. Dr Watts did explain that only an operation could help Boy and alleviate some of his pain but it would be quite expensive and hard on the poor dog as it could take him a longer time to heal. Both parents did not have large incomes but decided to go ahead with this plan. However the next day, as Beltrose and his mother, the father had to go to work, were sitting in the waiting room in the doctors office and waiting for the operation to begin…. Boy sitting in Beltrose’s lap… looked longingly and lovingly at Beltrose and closed his bright blue eyes forever.

       The mother seeing this immediately put her arms around Beltrose, whose eyes were brimming silently with big dripping tears and his face covered in Boys soft golden curls, and said, ‘Oh honey, oh honey, oh honey!’

       That was all she could say to her son. She went straight to the secretary asking for Dr. Watts who came rushing from his office. He was so very surprised and very sad for Beltrose. The mother took her cell phone out of her bag and called the father and told him what happened.

       The doctor told both mother and son to come into his office. After some silence, he looked at Beltrose and gently said, ‘I’m really sorry for all of you, especially for you Beltrose…. Boy was really your wonderful and precious friend. I truly believe Boy’s pains were too strong for him to handle. It’s really better for Boy to be in everlasting sleep, Beltrose.’

       But Beltrose could not speak…. only the tears told the doctor and his mother everything.

       After a while they had another dog. She was a black and white Border collie named, Jazzy. She was very young, exceptionally active and tremendously wonderful for Beltrose. Like with Boy, Beltrose took Jazzy to training school and taught her many amazing tricks himself, which she learnt very quickly. Whenever he went running or swimming or hiking or fishing or sleeping, she was always right beside her Beltrose… just, as Boy had done.

       One warm and sultry evening, after a day of hiking in the hot sun, breathing the fresh mountain air, and having swum in Crystal Lake both Beltrose and Jazzy were sleeping soundly in Beltrose’s bedroom, that same small and delicate spirit and invisible to anyone’s eyes, except for animals and young children, was seen flying in the air in the bedroom and looking at Beltrose who was so soundly slumbering in deep, heavy sleep. As she fluttered around, Jazzy perked her head up and saw the bright little spirit. The half pint spirit gazed at Jazzy and said in her delicate and small voice, ‘Hey Jazzy girl! I bet you must be the best company for our Beltrose, indeed!’

       Then looking down at Beltrose sleeping in his golden slumber said, ‘And you my Beltrose, little shingle virus, you have lived your life here in pure loving goodness towards Boy and also as a loving and devoted son to your parents and because of having done these kind deeds… you will soon live as a young toddler and finally heal the person to whom you have given the shingles to.

      

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Seven

 

 

 

 

 

                             The Toddler

 

 

 

 

Here we see a very beautiful small room…. it is really called the nursery. There is a nice window overlooking a charming garden graced with colorful flowers, exotic green plants and, magnificent trees that are housed by little birds and a small brown owl…. there are three lemon trees and two plum trees. In the corner of the garden is a neat little vegetable patch that has been lovingly planted and worked by some little person who has kind little hands. About this small veggie patch we shall learn more but let us go back to the nursery and see what there is to see. It is a beautiful room, warm blue room… blue because the closed curtains are a light blue and the noon sun is streaming into the half opened window and letting a cool gentle summer breeze in. A nice sized wooden crib stands between a bookshelf and a small table and chair, which are both, made of a light brown wood that matches the bookshelf. On the table are some papers and crayons and books and little baskets with tiny nick-knacks inside them. On the little chair are some clothes that are the size of a toddler…. a little boy. A pair of blue jeans and an orange T-shirt… on the T-shirt is a slogan with ‘Go Giants Go’ and underneath the little chair are some darling small white and orange sneakers that light up every time they are moved around and stuffed in the shoes are some little orange socks decorated with white balls and orange bats. Clearly the parents are baseball lovers and adore dressing the toddler in baseball outfits. Near the little table, on the floor, are a bunch of wooden railroads tracks all in a large brown-red basket and in another brown-green basket are all the companions belonging to the railroad tracks… trains… lots and lots of wooden trains painted in bright colors. The trains are none other then Thomas the Tank Engine and all his buddies that reside with Thomas in his train world. In another corner are two bookshelves with many books, large and small, about trucks, cars, garbage trucks and baseball, that is on the bottom shelf. On the top shelf are books about princesses and queens, Butterfly angels, fairy tales books and books about how to make beads and earrings. In the middle of the floor near the bookshelf is an opened book with pictures of a big yellow truck and red trucks. In another corner there is a small puppet theater with various puppets… a king and his queen, a jasper dressed all in green, a policeman with a mighty stern face, a witch with a long crooked nose and, a cheery looking young man who seems to be the one who saves everybody’s day in each puppet play…oh, I forgot to mention the cars and trucks and airplanes this toddler has… an array of them. There are so many because Daddy loves to play with the snazzy looking cars too and Uncle Tom is wild about the airplanes and old Great Grandpa Fred becomes a little boy when he sees the trains. These handsome toys are all lined up in neat fashion. In the last corner, but close to a bigger and larger room, is another bookshelf. Shelves, but not bedecked with books… these shelves are decorated with many little attractive people and animals and trees and houses and churches all made out of wood. Between the two bookshelves is a fairly nice sized walk-in-closet with the most charming clothes fit for a small boy and on the other side are the most precious little dresses and sweaters for a little girl…. And nearby a big basket full of dress ups for both children. Well, I guess this dear little boy toddler is quite beloved by his parents and must have a little sister and both are tremendously well off. Oh and this I cannot forget…. It is the most important thing…. right next to the crib on the for, is a very fetching hand woven round rug of dark blue, light blue, and white…. and on this lovely rug lies a small furry black and white and golden chestnut ball. A small puppy lies there and his name is Zoom and he never, ever leaves his little master’s side…. That is the little one asleep in the crib.

       Let’s look inside the crib and see who is the little sleeping one. Why, it is none other then Beltrose but he looks so different. He has darling blond little curls, bright blue eyes, fair skin and, a tiny pink mouth with as little smile. He gives a small whimper, stands up and, looks over his crib to see if the little ball of fur is there. He sees his Zoom and Zoom sees him and gives a yelping bark. Beltrose’s mother is in the kitchen but hears all these sweet welcoming noises, through the intercom, and runs up the stairs to fetch her baby boy and Zoom. She walks into the blue room and smiles.

       There is no need for Beltrose to cry, his mother lovingly picks him up and talks to him, ‘ And how is my baby boy with the big blue eyes?’

       He looks at her with happy, grateful eyes and smiles. Beltrose is only a little lad but he can see that his mother is loving and kind and will never leave him. He remembers a different time when he had another mother who always left him.

       As the mother, always carrying Beltrose, pulls back the light blue curtains by the opened window and brings Beltrose to the changing table she sings his favorite song, the Swiss song about the goat on the hill. Then she talks to him, in a gentler voice, about what they are going to do for the rest of the afternoon.

       ‘Honey, I’m going to put your clothes on and I’ll put you in the stroller for a nice walk. Then we’ll go and pick up your sister from kindergarten, Fiona. Then we’ll all go for a ride on the merry-go-round and get some ice cream at Mussel Beach, your favorite place… oky-doky, honey? And after that we’ll go into the Red Rose Store and buy some food for dinner tonight…. sound good, honey?’

       All this time Beltrose just smiled and asked, ‘Run, run wit Fina?’ He wanted to have a run on Mussel Beach with his sister, Fiona.

       ‘Of course, baby doll. Fiona will love that.’

       ‘Zoom?’

       Darling, of course Zoomy is coming with us! We’d never leave Zoom at home…. no, he has to come with us.’

The little dog had been jumping up and down ever since his little master had awoken and since Mommy had arrived. Zoom knew that when his master was up then fun was looming in the air.

       ‘Now, both of you, Zoom and Beltrose, let’s get ready for the beach.’

       Beltrose and his family lived close to the beach and, no one knew why, but the beach they always went to was called Mussel Beach. Mussel Beach had not only a wonderful jungle gym for adults and children but the sand, by the water, was covered with beautiful mussel shells…. and a circus was close at hand, so many circus people and dancers would practice doing stunts the grown ups jungle gym. The children loved playing there and loved watching the others do their fancy stunts. There were also hula-hoops and a tight rope and rope for climbing. The merry-go-round was close by and also a small ice cream stand that Beltrose and his sister loved to go to. And since Beltrose and his sister came there almost every day… they were also well known by all the people who worked on the beach or at the circus. Zoom was very well known too and he just adored running on the beach with his master and Fiona.

       Zoom was a very good little dog who would one day grow up to be big, strong and obedient dog. Beltrose and his father, sometimes the mother and Fiona too, always took Zoom every Saturday morning to Woof & Bow Training School and the trainers were truly so overcome by Zooms excellent behavior and to see what an intelligent little dog he was now. To that remark Beltrose’s father replied with complete meekness, ‘Well, Zoom is Beltrose’s dog and whatever Beltrose tells Zoom to do, Zoom will just do it. Yep, Zoom certainly is man’s best friend… actually…. Zoomy boy is Beltrose’s best friend.’

 

       Remember the little veggie patch? Well, that belonged to Fiona. So… on some afternoons Fiona would just want to stay at home and tend to her little garden where she grew tomatoes, spinach, squash, red roses and a myriad of flaming red strawberries. Beltrose absolutely loved her strawberries and would often begin eating the red-pink berries before they had fully ripened. This drove Fiona crazy but she couldn’t argue with her baby brother, she loved him so. All around Fiona’s little patch grew dainty blue and purple forget-me-nots. Beltrose was too small to have his own little garden. But his father said he could have his own veggie patch when he was five years old but he was too young right now. However Beltrose, much loved by his sister, was allowed every now and then to eat some ripe red tomatoes and smell the heavenly red roses, which grew so lavishly around her garden patch.

       On rainy days when going to the beach or working in the little garden was not a possibility then Fiona and her little brother, Beltrose, played in their large bedroom, which was also a nursery or their mother would read stories to them or bake cookies for all their neighbors… that was a great fun project for Beltrose, Fiona and, their to mother to do. And all this time Zoom was always there.

       This was Beltrose’s happy fun-filled life. Then one day he went to school with his sister and this was a truly new novelty for him. He would go to kindergarten and she would go to school where the bigger children went. And every day, after school, both Beltrose and his sister ran to their mother’s car to go to the park with Zoom. Yes, Zoom missed his little master very much when he went off to kindergarten but the pup, who was growing fast was very much loved by the mother and was always so thrilled to see Beltrose.

       Things went on in this manner for quite some day. Then one day everything changed… as all good things must come to an end. Beltrose was growing into a fine young man but not as fast as Zooms life. Not only was Zoom so active but his bones were getting frail and his hips would no longer function when his bones went frail. His arthritis which, had been slowly creeping into his bones, began spreading everywhere and something had happened to his poor brain. The vet thought it might be the arthritis wandering into his brain but he would first wished run some test to see if this was true. Yes, the arthritis had gone to Zooms brain and this was terrible news for the whole family but for Beltrose it was the most dreadful news of all.

       Tear stricken Beltrose kept saying, ‘But Zooms only six years old!’

       ‘Beltrose, honey, everyone has to die,’ answered his mother.

       But Beltrose just did not want to understand this. Although Beltrose was well intro his teen years… he just could not grasp this horrific news and why the vet could not help his favorite buddy. And once the arthritis had hit Zooms brain… everyone knew this was the total end. However, not for Beltrose…. no, no, no. With the help of his good parents, Beltrose took Zoom to a special acupuncturist who was able help elderly dogs, to help ease Zooms terrible pain or to somehow make everything a little better. The thoughtful acupuncturist could see how much Beltrose loved his darling Zoom and taught Beltrose how to gently massage the dogs tired head but even the acupuncturist knew that poor Zoom would eventually give up living and simply extinguish like a lit flame losing its bright light. The whole family knew this would happen someday soon only Beltrose would absolutely not give in. And then one bright sunny day, when the sky had decided to put on her most gorgeous blue dress with the white polka dots and the sun had wished to put on his most golden crown for Lady Sky… Beltrose went zooming down the stairs to get Zoom and take him out for his morning stroll. Zoom used to sleep upstairs in his masters bedroom but had to stop because of his illness. Poor Zoom could no longer climb the stairs and was far too heavy to be carried. So Zoom slept on a soft doggie bed, made of the finest fleece, in the warm kitchen. So when our young man opened the kitchen door… his heart stopped. There was Zoom lying in his bed, now covered in a small puddle of red blood which came streaming out of his nostrils, the dogs sad eyes gazing up at Beltrose and begging his master to help him ease the ghastly pain that was in his head. It was then that Beltrose finally understood what must be done. He ran straight to his beloved dog and said, ‘Oh Zoom… oh Zoom…. Oh buddy… yes I’ll help you and I’m here… oh Zoom…. my best, best pal… my best friend… oh man… oh man.’

       At that moment Beltrose knew that reality was really and truly here… that reality had decided to come with a sharp voice and cutting knife and with a dark cloud hovering over the blue sky and shunning the sun away… that this was the real end of Zooms long life and that Zoom could no longer suffer like this.

       Upon hearing all the commotion, Beltrose’s mother ran into the kitchen and called out for her husband and her daughter to come down and help Zoom and Beltrose. She knew that Beltrose would need all the help and support of his family and she wanted her husband to explain to Beltrose that the vet would have to come to the house and put Zoom down into an everlasting sleep. His thoughtful and loving mother immediately knelt beside Beltrose and put her hands on his sobbing shoulder. Words were not necessary.

       It was a true shock for Beltrose to have the vet come and put the poor dog down and when it was all done Beltrose could only cry and cry and cry. That beautiful day when Sky was shimmering dressed in her blue dress and Sun had on his most stunning bejeweled crown on his head Beltrose, without a doubt, never saw any of this… for him it was the worst day. That day his family took him sailing on the crystal clear blue water and the waves sang their most beautiful song for Beltrose but he had no ears or heart that could hear or feel the beauty of the Wave Song… no Beltrose’s grieving was bigger then anything that day and for many days to come until T-Bone came trotting to his door. T-Bone was not a golden retriever but a white small cuddly poodle that needed someone just like Beltrose and his family. When T-Bone arrived, Beltrose was a much happier young man but he never stopped telling T-Bone what a great dog Zoom had been and how much T-Bone would have so enjoyed romping around with him.

       Then one warm evening, T-Bone was out having a stroll with Beltrose’s mother and the neighbor’s dog, Beltrose felt very tired and went to his bedroom to have a short catnap. Unfortunately, he slept a lot longer. Remember our dear little friend… the delicate half pint spirit? She flew into the bedroom and looked at Beltrose in his deep and quiet slumber. She gazed at him and said, touching his forehead ever so lightly with her silver wand, ‘ And you, my little shingle virus, must do one more little thing to heal the person whom you gave the shingles to and…. if you can look deeply into her eyes and be truly sorry for the pain you have given her…. then maybe you can change into something truly special… into something good and magical.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                             Epilogue One

 

 

                      Beltrose’s Final Stage

 

 

A year later:

I have been asked by a childcare journalist to write a little about how I met the family that I am now working for and how I was able to get along so well with the children, especially with the little boy who is a very difficult child. But because I love writing in my own day-to-day journal, also known my dearest friend, I will first begin writing my childcare experience in my day-today journal and then again on a nice piece of paper for the journalist.

       My name is Isabela Gratia and one year ago I was at Aunt Angela’s Agency looking for a family to care and work for. A few weeks had gone by and I was extremely anxious that this childcare agency, which a friend had told me about, was not going to call me or had simply forgotten me as so many childcare agencies have done in the pass. However… on a crispy morning, a year ago, a call had finally arrived and the young lady who was helping me said that she would like me to come in that afternoon at four o’clock.

       So that afternoon I arrived and Marianne, the lady helping me, said in her very heavily French accent and rolling her ‘r’s’ madly said, ‘Ahh bonjour Madame...I think I have found the perfect job for you!’ she handed me a photo of a very young and happy looking family…. pretty mom, handsome dad, and, their two adorable children…. a little girl and a baby boy.

       She continued, ‘You should call them as soon as possible… they are very anxious to meet you. The father is a doctor, the mother is a stay at home Mama but is looking for help with her children and her household chores. She goes out a lot for social events. The little girl Fiona is, I believe, two and a half years old, an absolute delight and very gorgeously and beautifully dressed and the little boy is eight month and his name is Beltrose. The name is a bit strange but, as we say in French, il n’importe pas, oui? (it’s not so important, yes?) He is a very sweet and charming little boy. I met the family and they are very, very charmante (charming), you will adore them, ma cherie (my dear). Both parents are dears and have a lovely home. Oh, there is a puppy named Zoom, I hope you are not, how do you say in English, allergic to doggies? Ah… no? I am so glad then! Well, do let me know how everything goes, right? Au revoir, madame et apelez-moi quand ils et fait, d’accord?’

       Marianne often spoke French when speaking English… she told me that it made her feel more at home and she also knew that I spoke French as well. But what she was saying to me was, ‘good bye and call me when it is done, eight?’

       After my overwhelming thanks to her I arrived at my home and called the family. I spoke to the mother who sounded quite friendly and we made arrangements for me to meet everyone the following day. The next day arrived and I met the charming family and we seemed to all be getting along just fine. However, both parents had decided that I should work for them only one week to see how we all got along. Well, after three days it had already been decided that I should stay for good. And why after only three days? After the mother, Marlena, saw me doing the laundry so nice and neatly in perfect piles, played and loved and read to the children with delight, cleaned out the messy linen closet to perfection, made the children’s bed in a flash and, tidied up the kitchen and, showered Zoom with so much darling affection, the whole job had been settled then and there…. especially when she saw me ironing her husbands shirts.

       One day after I had been there for six months the phone rang in the kitchen. I answered it and it was for Marlena. I called her and she came and spoke first in English then in Italian after hearing that it was her favorite Aunt from Rome, Zia Marietta, calling her. I forgot to mention, Marlena is Italian but her husband is American. I speak Italian too. At that moment the baby boy, Beltrose, woke up from his nap. Marlena would like to have gone upstairs to fetch her boy but she could not do so as she was chatting to Zia Marietta. So she called me, I was down in the laundry room, ‘Cara.’ ‘Cara’ means ‘dear’ and she often called me and everyone else ‘Cara.’

       So she asked me, ‘Cara, please do go upstairs and get darling Beltrose for me please.’

       ‘But he doesn’t like me very much after his nap. You know how he gets very fussy. And then he starts crying because it’s me picking him up and not his Mama.’

       ‘Yes cara, I know but he’ll be fine. You see, cara, my Aunty is calling me long distance from Roma and I can’t hang up the phone. It is very difficult for her to call me back and my cell phone is not working and I must talk on this old landline telephone and it has these silly wires and so I can’t move around freely. Please go along, cara, you’ll both be fine. Grazie, grazie carina.’

       So I went. I opened the door into his pretty blue room. The walls are painted soft blue and the closed curtains are light blue too. I went straight to Beltrose and said to him in my voice that is reserved only for children, ‘Hello my sweet, Mommy is talking on the phone to Zia Marietta and cannot come right now but you and I will go and see her after I change your diapers and put on your clothes…. OK?’

       All this time he looks at me with his dazzling big blue eyes. I pick him up from his crib and go to the window to push the curtains aside. I must admit… I am so surprised to not see Beltrose crying and, oh my oh my, his eyes are so vehemently bright blue. I change and dress him and sing and sing and sing which he seems to like very much. After he is changed and dressed something begins to happen… something very extraordinary… he puts his little arms around my neck and shoulders and looks deeply, oh so deeply into my eyes…. as if he has known me for a very, very long time…. and this strange feeling overpowers me… the feeling is like a calming, gentle mantel hovering over my head and shoulders and arms and ending down to my finger tips and toes…. I look into his big blue eyes and seem to understand or feel what he is trying to say to me and it feels as if he is saying, ‘I am the lover who will never leave you. I can come young or I can come old and become young again. I was once your shingle virus and gave you so much harsh pain but now I have become your spirit…. I am the Spirit of Silent Suffering and when I continue to shower you with heavy and healing pain… it will always be painful, as the shingles was so painful, but it will always be so very, very gentle because I will always look over you…. for you are my one and I am your other one…. I am no longer the shingles… I have now become a spirit because you carried my pain so well…. thank you, thank you…. no one has ever done that to a shingle virus before.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                             Epilogue Two

 

 

 

       A Conversation between Squeaky Spirit and Beltrose

 

 

 

In a beautiful place the two meet again and have a quick conversation and this is it….

 

 

Squeaky: Oh hello, we meet again.

Beltrose: Yes. Hi. So… are we at the end of my journey?

S:           Yes we are!

B:           Oh! Well, I still don’t know what I am.

S:           Oh, yes you do. You just saw Isabella and you told her what you are.

B:           I did… Isabella? Who is she?

S:           She is the one you gave the shingles to, remember?

B:           No, sorry. I don’t remember.

S:           I was told that you might not remember. Do you remember what you were once before you became to what you are now?

B:           No.

S:           Well, I will explain. Do you remember when I first met you?

B:           Yes, that I can remember. You were very squeaky and much smaller but you look different now. Hmmm… and why is that?

S:           We’ll come back to that subject but now I will explain everything. First you must understand that during your change, from what you were before to what you are now, you will forget some things because the change has been so strong and the life you lived was hard and sad for you. When we first met… you were a very small speck and you looked like dirt. But you were more then that… you were a nasty shingle virus that made people really sick and you gave them endless pain when you were finally inside them. But before you wanted to go inside someone and torture them with your pain, I came along. Yes, I was exceedingly squeaky and tiny and I annoyed you greatly because you thought I was far too goody-goody.

B:           Oh yes, I remember that! But I really don’t know why because you seem so OK to me.

S:           Well, that’s nice of you to say but we’re not talking about me…. I have to tell you about you first. So don’t interrupt me please or I will lose my train of thoughts… OK.

B:           OK.

S:           So you were a very nasty shingle virus. Then I came along and asked you if you didn’t want to become something else…. not to continue being a shingle virus anymore…. to become something else… something surprising. At first you were not keen about this but then you said OK and I told you to go inside that lady to give the shingles to because she would be a surprise for you.

B:           Oh yes… I kind of remember that too! But who was the lady I went into?

S:           Isabella! But that part you cannot remember because that is when you began your human life and went through all the human stages, you know, first you were an infant, then you became a toddler, then from a toddler to a teenager… boy you were uncommonly difficult… then you became a young man and somehow you landed in prison, then, while in prison, you changed from being a young man to old an man. I’m sorry to say, Beltrose, those were all your negative years. But in prison you learnt something about trying to do better and your mind changed…. so when you left prison, your father picked you up when you were released from prison, you started to work on being more positive and because you were still a shingle virus and you had me, a good and kindly spirit and because I had a good and noble queen that helped me, you were allowed to live your life again from an old man to a young man and back to a teenager and then to a lovely baby and finally to a small and delicate infant. When you went from old to young, those were your positive years… even though you had to learn to let your loving dogs die and this was hard for you. But the death of your beloved dogs were only little gold and silver burns…. just like the invisible burns you gave Isabella during her long illness. And lastly, when Isabella picked you up from after your nap, you were able to look right into her eyes and tell her who once were, that evil shingle virus, and who you are now, a Spirit of Silent Suffering. You know, suffering does not always have to be painful. Did you tell her that?

B:           No, I did not have to tell her because I had this strange feeling that she already knew this.

S:           I see… I see.

B:           But back to me…. so that is what I am now… the Spirit of Silent Suffering! Well thank you for telling me. I really can’t remember my human life but it sure sounds like it was some journey. But you… who are you? Like I said you used to be really tiny and really, really squeaky but you don’t sound so squeaky at all and you look a lot taller. What happened?

S:           OK, I’ll tell you. Remember in the very, very, very beginning when I told you to go into that lady, Isabella? But back then you didn’t know her name. But remember I also told you that there might be a surprise?

B:           Vaguely…. oh… yes I do remember but I forgot about it.

S:           First you must know that because you went into this particular lady and had my help and because you changed from being bad to being good, you were able to changer into a spirit.

B:           Ohhhh.... wow. But let’s get to you; I want to hear all about you!!!!

S:           OK… well…it is really a long story but I will make it short. So… because I helped you become a Spirit of Silent Suffering… the queen from my world helped me to become one of the Elfen Maids. Elfin Maids are not so squeaky when they talk and are much taller and more graceful. I used to be only a small Dust Elf and I seriously wanted to change and become something more beautiful so that I could help many others who could use my help in the world above and below and one day I might become one of the Noble Elves. But that will have to wait. I am now enjoying my new life as a graceful Elfen Maid and you should be enjoying your new life as Spirit of Silent Suffering.