---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Old Valley Road Hotel.
By Wombat. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Any constructive comments are appreciated. I'm at 'bungala_wombat@yahoo.com.au'. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Nifty Readers, If you enjoy this story or others on Nifty, please send a generous donation to Nifty.org at 'http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html' to help support and maintain this free service full of wonderful stories so it may continue to remain available to everyone.
Thank you all, Wombat ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7 - 'A Rainy Day' Part 32.
------------------------------------- Part 92: The Ghost in the Weed Garden -------------------------------------
The time came for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. By then Ellis was feeling Bryn's continued unexplained absence acutely. Roman had to work hard to persuade Ellis to march in the parade as Captain Marvel. He suggested to the parade organisers that the theme could be Bryn's disappearance and they enthusiastically took up the idea. Ellis had no choice but to march as Captain Marvel who was immune to AIDS and all other diseases.
The idea developed that Captain Marvel was marching in the parade but where was Bryn Powys?
Before the day of the parade, the Reverend Jeremiah Jordan OBE OAM MLC held a prayer meeting praying for rain on the Mardi Gras parade. Plenty of protesters arrived as well and disrupted the proceedings. As usual, there was no rain.
When the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade commenced, Ellis in his Captain Marvel costume was at the head. There was a gap next to him symbolising the absence of Doctor Bryn Powys, the AIDS doctor. Those at the head of the parade carried the wide banner emblazoned with the slogan 'Where is Bryn Powys?' in large letters.
Scattered along the parade were banners with photographs of Bryn and slogans such as 'Where is Bryn?' and 'Where is our AIDS doctor?'. There were other banners with photographs of the Reverend Jeremiah Jordan with slogans such as 'Who killed Bryn?' and 'Killer!'.
Ellis was overwhelmed by the support he received from the other marchers and dancers in the parade. It was hard for him to contain his grief.
The weeks went past and turned into months. Still there was no sign of Bryn.
To Ellis, Bryn was much, much more than just a big muscly bottom. Ellis loved Bryn and he knew that his love was returned in spades. He had no doubts at all. Bryn loved him totally. Bryn was a big beautiful powerful sexy man who was devoted to Ellis and who filled Ellis's life with so much love, laughter and warmth. Bryn's absence left a cold horrid void that nothing could fill. Gloom set in.
To make matters worse, his contract was terminated with the School of Eastern European Studies at the University of Sydney. Doctor Veronica Ivanovic, the head of the school, called Ellis into her office. She told him that the university bureaucracy had terminated his contract without any explanation or warning. She was visibly angry with the university bureaucracy. She said to Ellis that he was a valued member of staff and that he was popular with the students. His knowledge of Croatia and South-Eastern Europe stood him in good stead in tutoring his students, especially when helping them to navigate the complicated maze of the Balkan Wars and the breakup of Yugoslavia. She was furious that Ellis had to leave and that she could get no explanation for the contract termination from the university administration.
As Ellis's grief over Bryn's disappearance worsened, he sought solace in the company of Roman and Bill as well as with Geoffrey and Sabine. He still held English Language classes at the Croatian Club but his enthusiasm had waned. Marica noticed. She became one of Ellis's support group.
The loss of his position at the university weighed heavily on Ellis, especially as he was given no reason for the termination of his contract. Bryn's disappearance seemed to Ellis to cast a dark cloud over everything.
One day when Ellis was around at Roman's and Bill's house, they were talking about Tom Lundgren, his disappearance and then him meeting up with Ellis again. Terry and Bertie were there too. Bertie wondered if Bryn had become a Roadknight like Tom. Ellis was feeling Bryn's unexplained absence acutely. The thought that Bryn had abandoned him and become a Roadknight made him feel worse. He only just managed to hold back his tears. He asked if anyone knew how to get into contact with the Roadknights Motor Cycle Club so he could find out if Bryn had become a member. Roman said he knew the Grand Master of the Roadknights Motor Cycle Club, Hal Wray, who was also a well-known artist in much demand from the art collectors. They had become friends. Roman handled the sale of most of Hal's art works. He did not know when he would see Hal again but he would definitely mention Bryn's disappearance to Hal the next time he saw him.
Ellis was having breakfast in the cafe with Geoffrey as usual on a Saturday. Ellis was finding it hard to be his normal self with Geoffrey, enveloped as he was by his gloom. Geoffrey had noticed. He asked Ellis if he was becoming depressed and if he needed professional help. Ellis shook his head vigorously.
Augustus Potter came to their table. They invited him to sit down. He said that Tom Lundgren had communicated with him and told him that if Ellis wanted to see him, he would be at Hope House, the old colonial mansion at Kings Cross that had been saved from demolition by a Builders Labourers Federation green ban. Tom was willing to offer whatever help he could. Geoffrey raised a sceptical eyebrow. Augustus gave Ellis the address. Ellis thanked Augustus and said he would be there as soon as possible, like that day.
Augustus returned to his own table. Ellis said to Geoffrey that it was a fine day and he would go immediately after breakfast. Geoffrey gave a resigned smile. Ellis retorted that he was desperate to try anything to find out what happened to Bryn. He told Geoffrey that he had seriously considered offering a million-dollar reward for information on Bryn's whereabouts but the police had talked him out of it. Detective Inspector Hunter made it very clear to Ellis that such a reward offered prematurely could seriously hinder the police investigation because many people would come forward with extraneous and irrelevant information in the hope of collecting the reward. The police would waste a lot of time and effort investigating leads that led nowhere.
After breakfast, Ellis drove his big Mercedes-Benz around to Hope House. He parked his car in the street some distance away and walked to the front gate. He stopped to admire the old house through the wrought iron railings. The mansion was a fine example of colonial Georgian architecture and it was in good condition. Around the house was a well-kept garden with many flowering plants and bushes. Mature trees were scattered around the garden. The heavy wrought iron front gate was unlocked. It opened easily on well-oiled hinges.
Ellis walked into the front garden. He saw two massively muscular men working on their knees in a flower bed. They were planting out small plants. Neither was wearing a shirt. Ellis admired their broad backs rippling with muscle. They seemed to sense his presence. They both looked around and stood up. Ellis recognised Tom straight away with his mane of golden blond hair. The other man he did not recognise. Both were wearing nothing but brief khaki shorts and yellow gardening gloves. Both had spectacularly muscular physiques with wide shoulders and thickly muscled torsos, arms and legs. The other man was shorter than Tom but still taller than Ellis.
"G'day, mate," Tom called out. "How'ya goin'?"
Ellis shrugged. "OK, I guess," he said.
He held out his hand as Tom strode over. Tom removed his gloves, took Ellis's hand and pulled him into a hug. Ellis found himself with his face buried in Tom's thick, hot, sweaty pectoral muscles and Tom's powerful arms wrapped around him. Tom kissed the top of Ellis's head. A wave of emotion swept over Ellis. His eyes filled with tears. He struggled to hold back from crying into Tom's chest. They remained like that while Ellis fought down his distress. Tom's musky body odour filled his nostrils.
Ellis managed to regain control of himself. He tried to move away from Tom. He felt Tom's arms relax around him. Tom released him.
"Sorry," Ellis apologised.
"Don't worry about it, mate," returned Tom. "You're fine."
He indicated the man standing next to him.
"Ellis, you remember Davey?" he asked.
Ellis looked at the magnificently built young man standing next to Tom. He observed the man's thick mop of medium-length straight dark brown hair, his smoking hot blue eyes with hair falling down over them and his gloriously muscular body. The man was of extraordinary beauty. He appeared to Ellis to be the poster boy he had seen on some gay bulletin board somewhere ages ago but here the man was, standing in front of him. He looked to be about the same height as Bryn but even more muscular.
"Hi, Ellis," said Davey shaking hands with him. "I know you."
Ellis looked at him perplexed. How could he possibly miss such a beautiful and magnificent young man? How could he possibly not remember him?
"I'm sorry," replied Ellis. "I don't remember you. I can't..."
"I remember you well, Ellis," replied Davey with a smile. "You're the muscly dude who kept knocking up huge scores in the games arcades like 'Firepower' over in Kings Cross, you know, games like 'Top Gun', 'Starfighter', 'Isle of Man TT', 'Nurburgring' and all that. You were hot shit flying the star-fighters and jet fighters, riding the motor bikes and all that. No-one else could come close to you. You were bloody freaky, man."
"I'm sorry. I can't remember you at all. I guess I should," replied Ellis confused.
"I'm not surprised. I was one of those skinny scruffy homeless dudes hanging around the Cross hoping for a handout. You never did give me anything. I reckon you just didn't want to know I existed."
"I'm sorry. I..."
"Don't worry about it, Ellis. You're normal, like most of the human race. Tom rescued me some months ago and trained me up to be a Roadknight."
Tom came in with, "Yeah, Ellis, it's easy to think that people like Davey don't matter but they're the people who could make a great contribution to the future welfare and development of the human race. In fact the people whom the rich and powerful don't think matter may well ensure the survival of the human race. All that said, I'm not surprised you don't recognise Davey. He's stacked on a huge amount of muscle, like he's quadrupled in weight and grown fifteen centimetres or six inches in height. He's now 190 centimetres or six foot three inches tall and he weighs 175 kilos or 385 pounds."
"That's amazing!" exclaimed Ellis. "How do you do it?"
"You find out when you're being trained as a Roadknight," replied Tom with a smile. "But the secret ingredient is love. I watered Davey with my love and he took off and grew like a Tasmanian blue gum that's hit the water table as they say in South Australia. Take a gander at those magnificent 66 centimetre rock-hard guns of his. That's 26 inches in the old money."
Davey obliging flexed an arm right in front of Ellis's face. Ellis's vision was filled with the sight of a mighty bulging bicep with a thick cable-like vein running its length.
"Go on, have a feel," Davey invited him.
"Er, no thanks," replied Ellis.
"That's OK. I understand," smiled Davey as he lowered his huge arm. "I guess you didn't come around here just to admire my amazing transformation."
"Er, no," answered Ellis.
"It's about Bryn, isn't it?" Tom asked quietly.
"Yes."
Tom patted Davey on the bottom and said, "I think Ellis needs my undivided attention."
Davey smiled up at Tom a glorious heart-melting smile.
"OK," he said and walked off back to the flower bed.
Ellis admired Davey's magnificent back rippling with big bulging muscles, the sexy sway of his bulbous buttocks, the confident swing of his mighty arms and the easy stride of his thick muscle-packed legs.
"Yes," smiled Tom, "he has the most gloriously fuckable arse you could imagine."
Ellis sighed.
"Sorry," said Tom putting his arm around Ellis. "You're missing Bryn like hell."
"Yes, Tom, I am. It's been more than a couple of months since he disappeared," said Ellis a little more sharply than he intended.
They walked over to a garden seat and sat down. Tom kept his arm around Ellis.
"I've seen the news bulletins about Bryn's disappearance," said Tom. "It sounds pretty awful. It sounds like he's just disappeared off the face of the earth."
"Yes, it is. I was just wondering if he's become a Roadknight like you, Tom."
"No, he hasn't. Absolutely definitely not. I would know if he had joined us Roadknights."
"You sure of that?" asked Ellis.
"Definitely. Someone as well-known as Bryn joining us would have gone around the whole club in a flash. That hasn't happened. Bryn would not have been able to keep his membership a secret. Look, in my case when I joined the Roadknights, the Grand Master himself, Hal Wray, came up to me and suggested that I should let the people I left behind in Sydney know that I was alive and well and also that I was no longer interested in working as a male model. You don't ignore the Grand Master. You definitely don't, because in your heart you know he's right. Anyhow so I sat down and wrote Leonie a letter in my best handwriting and told her my news."
"Yeah, Leonie showed me the letter."
"Good! Hal told me that his art dealer friend in Sydney, Roman Kuzniewski, had told him about my disappearance. I was at the main community at Mount Remarkable near Melrose in South Australia then and Hal said that the people back in Sydney were really worried about me. He said I should write to them so they wouldn't worry about me any longer. Look, Ellis, Roman is a bloody good friend of yours. He really looks out for you. And he's got one hell of a network. You can bet your sweet bippy that he would've put the word out about Bryn and that would've included Hal. Don't worry about that, Ellis. Bryn is definitely not a Roadknight. Believe me, I'd know, especially as I already know him through Roman."
"Well, what the fuck has happened to Bryn?" cried Ellis despairing.
"To me there are three possibilities. One, he's done a bunk. He's vanished from sight because he wanted to, for whatever reason."
"I find that really hard to believe because finding a cure for AIDS is his main aim in life. It's something he feels he really has to do and there are so many people who are desperately wanting him to do it."
"Yeah, OK. Do you know what's been going through his mind? Maybe the pressure of all those expectations just got too much for him and he decided he'd had enough and shot through to parts unknown."
"That doesn't ring true to me, Tom. Bryn was absolutely devoted to finding a cure for AIDS. He wouldn't just give up on it. He's one hellishly forceful and determined guy. Not only that, but he didn't take any money or clothes or his car or any of his things. Nothing's been touched since he went missing."
"Hmm, yeah. Another possibility is that he's being held against his will somewhere."
"Like he's being held prisoner?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Probably... Look, Ellis, I wouldn't know. For whatever purpose. Use your imagination. Whatever it is, it wouldn't be nice."
"Shit! And the third possibility?"
"He's dead," said Tom grim-faced.
"Oh!" Ellis was close to tears.
"Ellis, whatever happened to him, the fact is that you're unlikely ever to see Bryn again."
"Um, what if he's being held prisoner somewhere?"
"It's unlikely he'll get out alive. Whoever would be holding him would make bloody sure he doesn't escape and live to tell the tale. If Bryn did get out, he would make bloody sure his captors would feel the full force of the law. He'd be angry, really angry, if I know Bryn. And he's a high profile person too, a celebrity you could say. Already people are giving Jeremiah Jordan a hard time because they're blaming him for Bryn's disappearance. I don't know if you've noticed but there's a lot of anger out there about Bryn's disappearance, especially amongst the gay community. It was plainly obvious at the last Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras."
"What do you think has happened to him, Tom?"
Tom shrugged his shoulders and said, "Look Ellis, I can't give you an answer to that. All I can tell you is that Bryn is definitely not a member of the Roadknights and he's definitely not associated with us in anyway."
"Do you think he's still alive?"
Tom looked distressed. "I don't know. I'm not sure that he is. All I can say it is unlikely you'll see Bryn again."
Ellis's eyes filled with tears. A few trickled down his cheek.
"So you reckon he's dead," he said with his voice wobbling.
Tom sighed deeply. He kept his arm around Ellis.
"I wish, I wish like hell I could say he's alive but I can't," he said. "I really can't. I'm sorry, Ellis, that's all I can say."
Ellis put his head down as he wept silently.
Tom continued sadly: "Bryn was such a great guy. He was so much fun at Roman's parties and dinners and things. I really wish I got on with him better but I was so far up myself as a male model that I couldn't appreciate him for the man he was. How I wish I hadn't been but I guess it's a bit too late for that now."
Ellis buried his face in Tom's chest and wept. Tom wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly.
Finally, Ellis took his leave of Tom and Davey. With a heavy heart he walked back to his car.
Marica invited Ellis to come to a special Mass for the Missing. It was to be held on the Sunday during the octave of the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the Missing, at Saint Jerome's Croatian Catholic church. Prayers would be said for the safe return of Bryn as well as for those went missing during the Balkan Wars when they went over to fight. Ellis agreed to attend.
Marica told Ellis that Saint Jerome's Church had recently acquired a specially blessed crucifix and statue of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Medjugorje from the Catholic pilgrimage site of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She hoped that the special crucifix and statue would increase the efficacy of the prayers for the return of the missing including Bryn.
On the day Ellis was dressed in a black suit. Even though it was a dull winter's day, he wore dark glasses to hide his red eyes.
He had been weeping for Bryn ever since he visited Tom. He grasped that Tom knew something about Bryn but Tom could not say anything to Ellis. Maybe Tom had heard something about Bryn's death but was honour-bound not to reveal that he knew, least of all to Ellis, Bryn's boyfriend. From what Tom said to Ellis at the end, Ellis inferred that Tom understood that Bryn was dead. Tom had emphasised to Ellis that Ellis was unlikely ever to see Bryn again. Ellis remembered that Augustus Potter had told him that Tom was one of his telepathic friends but he had forgotten to ask Tom about it, he had been so distracted. If Tom was telepathic, then he was likely would know whether or not Bryn was dead. For some reason Tom was not allowed to reveal to Ellis that he was a telepath.
Ellis was met at the church by Marica also dressed in black with her fiery red hair crowned by a small black hat. She was accompanied by Zoran, her children and the rest of the Brcic clan. A few of Zoran's nephews had gone to fight for Croatia during the Balkan Wars. One had been killed. Two had gone missing and had never returned. Marica and Zoran had succeeded in dissuading all their sons from going to fight in the Balkan Wars during the explosive disintegration of Yugoslavia. Marica especially was passionate in her pleas to her sons to stay home in Australia and she thanked the Lord that they all had heeded her.
Ellis removed his dark glasses on entering the church. He and the Brcic clan were shown to pews near the front of the church. Ellis saw that there were a number of representatives of the media lurking in the side aisles of the church. He mentioned their presence to Marica who replied that they had come because of all the Croats who had gone missing during the Balkan Wars. The involvement of Australian Croats in the Balkan Wars was still controversial. Politicians had strongly criticised their involvement and there was loud condemnation in the media. People were saying that it should be made illegal. With a wry smile Marica commented that Ellis's presence would be an added bonus for the media. She warned Ellis that the media could be difficult but the Croats were prepared for them.
The Mass began. During the intercessions special prayers were said for the missing, for their safe return or, if they had died, their peaceful repose in heaven. Marica nudged Ellis to remind him to say Bryn's name.
Ellis said out loud, "Doctor Bryn Powys." To his surprise his voice was strong. It held.
Immediately a whole lot of flash guns from the media flashed. Spotlights from the television cameras shone in his face. Murmurs ran around the church.
During the prayer for the safe return of Bryn, Ellis's attention was transfixed by the crucifix. Jesus on the cross was depicted as a strong, muscular, heroic man wearing the briefest of loincloths consistent with decency. In the face of the tortured suffering Christ on the cross, Ellis thought he saw a strong resemblance to Bryn. Ellis knew that the crucifix had been made in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that it had come from Medjugorje where it had been specially blessed. The figure of Jesus was likely to have been modelled on a Croatian man. However to Ellis, the face of Jesus looked remarkably like a bearded version of Bryn's face. The image would not go away. It was enough to trigger in him a bout of silent weeping. As the tears rolled down his face, he looked at the statue of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Medjugorje. To him it seemed that she also was weeping. He could see the tears rolling down her cheeks too. Then the realisation hit him. Had he had received a sign? Ellis was not sure. However, it was likely that Bryn was dead after all this time. Bryn was gone. Dead.
Ellis wept. Marica put her arm around his shoulders. They were surrounded by the Brcic clan. The flash guns of the media seemed to be flashing and the television camera spotlights seemed to be shining in his face continually.
When the time came for Holy Communion, Ellis went up to the altar rail and received the blessed sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. Even though he had not received Holy Communion for many years since the first Christmas after he had arrived back in Australia, he was surprised that he did not experience the feeling of participating in a fraudulent charade for the benefit of those around him. This time there was something there. It felt real. Holy Communion meant something somehow. Even though the likelihood that Bryn was dead weighed heavily on him, Ellis had the feeling that there was something there that could support him.
After the final blessing and the processional hymn, Ellis left the church with Marica and her and Zoran's extended family. Outside the church a crowd of media persons were waiting for Ellis. Marica put a protective arm around him. Zoran and his brothers, cousins, sons and nephews formed around Ellis and Marica a phalanx, a praetorian guard. The media pack tried to thrust cameras and microphones in Ellis's face as well as shouting or screaming questions at Ellis but they were shouldered aside by bulky Croatian men.
Samantha announced to Ellis that she was pregnant. She also announced that she was getting engaged to Bruce McIlroy and that they would be married in a few months. She said to Ellis that she would keep working for him as long as she was able but then she would have to leave his employ. Ellis congratulated her. However, it all felt flat.
Ellis received a phone call from his father saying that he was pleased that Ellis had returned to the Church. His parents had seen Ellis at the Croatian Church on the television news. His father invited him to come home for a family get together. Ellis refused.
Everything felt flat. Ellis lost enthusiasm for everything around him. Everything felt pointless and useless. He stopped going to the gym. He ate barely enough to keep alive. His weight fell off him. His muscles wasted away.
Geoffrey insisted that Ellis see a psychiatrist who promptly put Ellis on antidepressants.
Samantha married Bruce. She stopped working for Ellis and her place was taken by Titsiana. A son was born to Samantha and Bruce soon afterwards.
Ellis found he could not relate to Titsiana. She seemed oddly passionless, almost robotic in comparison to Marica and Samantha. He seemed unable to engage with her. She did her job well and efficiently. Ellis had no problems with her in that regard but there was always a certain distance between him and her.
He missed Bryn terribly. Bryn's absence caused a hole in his life that nothing could fill. It was terrible living with the uncertainty, the complete lack of knowledge of Bryn's fate. There was even the possibility that Bryn was still alive but the hopes of that being true faded with every passing month. Ellis remembered Tom's words spoken with sorrow that Ellis was unlikely ever to see Bryn again.
He thought back to the previous loves of his life. BJ was dead. He had died from AIDS-related diseases. Sashi, Ellis had heard absolutely nothing from him since Sashi walked out on him nearly thirty years before. He knew from Sashi's brother Arjuna that Sashi had got married, they had a 'very excellent' wedding. He wondered how many children Sashi had fathered. The thoughts depressed Ellis even more. Here he was alone in his eyrie, completely alone. He reflected that there was no companionship for him at all. He could not bear to face his friends. Roman and Geoffrey were persistent but Ellis was not interested in keeping up the friendship.
The antidepressants that Ellis was taking caused his weight to increase dramatically. He ballooned. One day he took a long hard look at himself in the mirror. He was faced with the reflection of a lard ball, a lump of blubber. Filled with self-disgust, he stopped taking the antidepressants and went on an ill-considered crash diet that took not only the fat that cloaked his body but also what muscle that remained on his body. He became very thin. His weight crashed from 165 kilograms to 46 kilograms (365 lb to 101 lb.). Titsiana made no comment about Ellis's weight loss.
Geoffrey persisted in seeing Ellis. He was a good friend and he was very concerned about Ellis's welfare. He tried to comfort Ellis as best he could but Ellis was too far sunk in gloom. Geoffrey worried when he found out that Ellis had stopped seeing the psychiatrist but Ellis told him acidly that the psychiatrist had done nothing for him. Ellis refused to have anything to do with any psychiatrist. He did not believe that they could be of any help to him. He told Geoffrey that psychiatrists were just as damaging to mental health as Roman Catholics and other Christians.
Ellis received another phone call from his father who invited him home for Christmas dinner and to spend Christmas with the family, all his sisters and his brother, his nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand- nephews. Ellis flatly refused. He told his father he was not at all willing to spend time with the family not being spoken to by his sisters and their offspring. His mother was extremely distant towards him. Ellis said to his father that he did not want to be made to feel a most unwelcome guest at the Christmas family gathering, like a boil on the buttocks. He felt that he had been expelled from the family. His father protested saying both he and Ellis's mother were getting on in years and that they probably would not be around for very much longer. He pleaded with Ellis to reconsider but Ellis refused. The thought of attending a family gathering filled Ellis with revulsion and he told his father that. The old man was horrified that Ellis could say such a thing.
Roman, however, managed to persuade Ellis to come to his and Bill's house for Christmas Day. Roman invited Geoffrey as well because he and Geoffrey had become friends. Ellis did go. However, he did not participate much in the proceedings. He felt bored and miserable.
The Hansen family returned home to the United States after spending many years in Australia. It was with some regret that they returned home for the years they spent in Australia were happy years.
Ellis retrieved the old Morris Oxford that had belonged to his great- aunt and kept it in the penthouse carpark. The old car was still in excellent condition having been well maintained. He liked driving it around Sydney as it reminded him very much of the Hindustan Ambassador that he had owned in India. The cars were almost identical. In fact he preferred it to his Mercedes-Benz.
Ellis could not bring himself to drive Bryn's Holden Monaro. It brought back too many painful memories. He managed to contact Bryn's family and offered it to them. They accepted and Bryn's eldest brother, David, came around to pick it up. David was married with children.
David's eyes lit up when he saw the metallic blue Monaro in the basement carpark of the apartment building.
"I bet it goes," he commented.
"It certainly does," replied Ellis. "It goes like a bat out of hell when you press the loud pedal."
"Wow! Do you drive it much?"
"Not since Bryn disappeared."
"Why?"
"It's Bryn's car. It reminds me too much of Bryn. I couldn't bear too."
"You must be missing Bryn."
Ellis looked sadly at David and said, "I miss Bryn like hell. He's gone and disappeared and he's left a bloody great big hole in my life."
"Oh." David paused, then asked, "Any idea where he might have gone to?"
"Absolutely none," replied Ellis. "I wish like hell I did 'cos then I'd be asking him why he left me, but he's gone and disappeared without a trace. He just bloody vanished."
"Hmm, yeah, the police have been around to see Mum and Dad and all of us but none of us have heard a thing."
"Well, they've seem to have hit a dead end. They've got nowhere in months, years even."
"Yeah."
Ellis handed David the keys to the Monaro and David drove it out of the carpark. Watching the car disappear up the out ramp, Ellis felt an acute sense of loss. The reality of Bryn's absence could not be denied.
Bernard Basset had long since retired after he sold his real estate company to a large international corporation who took over the management of Ellis's rental properties including the big old house in the Hansens had lived and in which Ellis's great-aunt had lived in previously.
The man at the real estate corporation who managed Ellis's properties, strongly recommended that Ellis sell the old house. Such properties were in much demand. Ellis offered the house to Leon who declined. He then put the house up for auction where it sold for a high price. Australian stock markets were in turmoil at the end of the twentieth century and as a result, investment money was flowing into real estate. As a result of the financial turmoil, Ellis's assets suffered significant losses.
One day Ellis was leafing idly through a newspaper after having read it from front to back for something to do. His eye happened to fall upon an advertisement that the Riverside Caravan Park was up for private sale at Ringtail Springs.
His interest aroused, he found Ringtail Springs in an Australian atlas. Sunk in thought, he stared out the window over the harbour. He remembered that the Findhorn Community had started in a caravan park. In fact it had started with one caravan in the Findhorn Caravan Park, a caravan inhabited by Eileen and Peter Caddy, their children and their friend Dorothy Maclean. Nowadays the community had spread well beyond the original caravan park. It had done so long before Ellis arrived there more than ten years previously. Ellis had very fond memories of the time he had spent there. He recalled the conversation he had with Hilda, the wise old woman. She had counselled him not to return to Australia but to stay in the Findhorn Community. Ellis had chosen not to heed her counsel and now look at him, all washed up with nothing to do and nothing to live for. The thought came to him that perhaps he should start again, this time with the Riverside Caravan Park in Ringtail Springs. Perhaps he could start a community like Findhorn at Ringtail Springs.
A desire stirred within him, a desire to do something worthwhile, a desire to advance the spiritual state of the human race, perhaps by founding a new spiritual community.
He phoned the owner of the caravan park at Ringtail Springs and made an appointment to view it. He decided against driving the Mercedes because it would look too posh and the Ferrari because it would make him look like a rich playboy. He decided instead to take the old Morris Oxford to Ringtail Springs.
On the day before the appointment he drove the Morris the 400 kilometre (250 mile) distance down the Hume Highway to Ringtail Springs. Because of the car's age, its speedometer was still calibrated in miles per hour. The car was not happy travelling at much over 50 miles an hour (80 kph) so Ellis stayed at approximately that speed for the whole journey while other cars sped past him on the multilane highway. Some people tooted and waved as they raced past him. A car that was 40 years old was a rare sight on Australian roads, particularly one that had kept its original number plates. On the way he stopped for breaks to have lunch, morning and afternoon tea. It occurred to Ellis that he was travelling in a very old- fashioned and civilised manner.
On arriving in Ringtail Springs, he checked into the Ringtail Possum Hotel. His room was large and luxurious with an attached bathroom complete with a full-sized bath. He stretched out on the big double bed appreciating the room's old-fashioned air. He knew that the hotel had been built in the 1860s. The room was redolent of nineteenth century grace, a room where wealthy businessmen from Sydney would have stayed while they did business in the town. The bathroom looked as if it had been updated in the 1920s in white tiles with black striping.
When Ellis went downstairs to the bar, he discovered that the hotel had backpackers from all over the world staying there. Ellis saw several strong hunky young men at the bar but they did not take any notice of the skinny middle-aged man looking at them wistfully.
He went into the dining room where there were a few middle-aged couples having their dinner. It was not the Dorchester Hotel but it was comfortable and perfectly adequate. He ate there and after taking a walk around the town centre of Ringtail Springs, retired to his room.
The next day he went around to the caravan park and met the owner who explained to Ellis that he was selling privately because he did not trust real estate agents. The owner took Ellis for a tour of the caravan park. Ellis felt somewhat daunted when he saw how rundown the place was. A few permanent residents were living in the park. There were several onsite caravans and most looked to be in need of repair or replacement. The ablutions block was shabby and dirty. Some of the windows, toilet bowls and hand basins were broken.
When asked, the owner was upfront with Ellis about the reason he was selling. The caravan park was making a loss. The owner had run out of money and the bank was threatening to foreclose on the mortgage.
Ellis could see that getting the caravan park up to an acceptable level would require much money to be spent. He offered the owner a sum of money significantly less than the asking price. To his surprise the owner accepted his offer without hesitation. They shook hands on the deal.
A week later settlement took place and the caravan park belonged to Ellis. He appointed a local man as manager to look after the park temporarily until he could move to Ringtail Springs.
Back in Sydney, he sold the penthouse and its contents including the art collection and the grand piano. He also sold his Triumph motorcycle, the Ferrari and the Mercedes-Benz. Most of his clothes were much too big to fit his now thin frame. They all went to charity. The process took weeks. In the end, Ellis kept few possessions. They could all fit into the Morris.
He said goodbye to his friends and his children. He made one last appearance at the Croatian Club and was given a rousing farewell that reduced him to tears.
The day came. He drove his Morris packed with his remaining worldly possessions down the Hume Highway and moved into the Riverside Caravan Park at Ringtail Springs. The owner's house had some furniture which was sufficient for Ellis's needs. The first night Ellis sat in an armchair in the living room feeling overwhelmed by what he had taken on.
He engaged the local plumber, Max Reeves, to replace and repair the damaged fixtures in the ablutions block. Max also brought in other tradesmen to repair any structural damage and to freshen the place up with new coats of paint.
Ellis bought a six-cylinder Holden station wagon for day-to-day use. He kept the old Morris for good. It would be used for visiting people like Max Reeves and his wife. It would have been used for going to church if Ellis could be bothered to attend regularly. He went once to the local Catholic Church of Our Lady of Dolours and felt thoroughly put off. He did not try any other church.
Some of the onsite caravans were occupied by long-term residents. There were the single mothers Lucy and Sandy with their children. Then there was Perry, a young man who appeared to be a real no-hoper and there was Beryl, a middle-aged blonde woman who was attempting to make a living from selling her paintings. Her life was a tale of woe, widowed, divorced and bankrupted and she had been in prison for a crime which she said she did not commit. She had written a book of poetry titled 'The Poetry of Pegs'. She bestowed a copy on Ellis.
Also living in the park was a huge, intellectually challenged man who appeared to be about seven feet (215 cm.) tall with a build to match. He was called Cave Bear and lived in a small egg-shaped fibreglass caravan under a gum tree near the edge of the park. Max Reeves had employed Cave Bear briefly as a plumber's labourer but found him unable to carry out even simple tasks. Ellis was never able to find out Cave Bear's real name.
The current residents did not appear to Ellis to be promising candidates for spiritual enlightenment. He remembered Theodora's bad experience in India and Arjuna's tirade against false gurus. Now that he had taken possession of the caravan park, he sat in the living room of the house. He was beset by doubts that he was doing the right thing and whether or not he had taken on more than he could deal with.
Now that repairs had been made and the buildings repainted, the caravan park started attracting more people, young people camping, retired couples with their caravans. None of them stayed for very long. Occasionally itinerant workers would stay in the onsite caravans.
Ellis kept the rates for the caravan park low. Other people came and lived in the onsite caravans. The population increased but no-one arrived who was spiritually enlightened. Ellis knew he did not have the skills to advance himself spiritually, let alone anyone else.
Determined not to be disheartened, Ellis planted out a vegetable garden at the back of the house. The work was very hard because Ellis had been seriously weakened by his crash diet and consequent muscle loss. He was nothing like as strong as he had been.
He decided to try and regain his strength. He bought a set of gym equipment and tried to work out. However, his joints protested. Every time he tried to lift weights, his joints were racked with pain. He went to see the local doctor who diagnosed inflammatory arthritis, prescribed pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. He cautioned Ellis against lifting heavy weights because that would further inflame his joints and make the arthritis worse. He told Ellis in no uncertain terms that he must not use the gym equipment under any circumstances. He told Ellis to give up any hope of building up his muscles. Light exercise like gardening would be all right but Ellis must not put too much strain on his joints.
Ellis invited the caravan park residents to use the gym equipment but no-one took up his offer. The equipment sat on the back verandah gathering dust.
However, gardening was still an option so Ellis tended and extended his vegetable garden. It was the first vegetable garden that Ellis had maintained since leaving Great Britain and it became quite productive. He enjoyed seeing the tomatoes and other vegetables grow and ripen. He invited those staying in the caravan park to come and help themselves to the produce. They did. However, in the process the plants were damaged. Ellis invited the people in the park to come and help him work in the garden but nobody did help him.
George McBride was the local mayor at the time. He and his wife Myrtle got it into their heads that the Riverside Caravan Park had become a hotbed of drug addiction and sexual iniquity. George tried to close down the caravan park but faced strong opposition from other council members led by Max Reeves. That was before Max Reeves defeated George McBride in the election for mayor. When Max became mayor, the matter was dropped.
As time went on, Ellis became more and more discouraged. There was no sign of a spiritually enlightened person who would help him found another Findhorn. The people in the park just seemed to be spiritual blobs. Nothing.
Ellis gave up on the garden. It grew rank with weeds. The vegetables were choked out and died. When summer came, everything dried out and died. The tall weeds became dry husks that rattled in the hot north- west wind blowing straight from the deserts of central Australia. Ellis stood among the weeds feeling like a ghost. He was the ghost in the weed garden. That phrase, 'the ghost in the weed garden', an echo from somewhere in the past, stuck in his mind. He was the ghost. He was a drifting ghost with nothing left to live for.
Just recently he started seeing magnificent muscle men around the town. Something happened to Scott Reeves, Max Reeves' youngest son. He became one of those magnificent muscle man. That happened just recently, around the Christmas New Year period. The same thing happened to Paul Hamilton-Forbes, the Anglican minister's son.
Then Cave Bear disappeared for a while. He returned completely transformed. He had become utterly magnificent, a god, a mighty god of muscle, strength and beauty. No longer was he retarded. His new intelligence shone forth. He was no longer Cave Bear. He had taken on a new persona, Bear.
The day that Bear visited Ellis and informed him that he had found alternative accommodation, Ellis was made acutely aware of the losses he had suffered. He had lost a fair chunk of his fortune that he had inherited. He had lost all his muscles and strength. He had become a skinny feeble middle-aged man. He had lost contact with all his many friends, even Theodora. Worst of all was that he had lost all his lovers. Sashi had left him. BJ was dead. Bryn, the man he had loved most, had disappeared. He had vanished without a trace never to be seen or heard of again.
Ellis had been trying to live a dream with the Riverside Caravan Park, the dream that he could turn the caravan park into another Findhorn, but that dream had dissipated completely like the night's dew in the morning sunlight. Yes, he was all washed up, stranded like a dolphin on a lonely beach. Once more he was plunged into the black hole of depression.
Bear, formerly Cave Bear, was leaving Ellis's caravan park. He had brought a horde of his friends including Scott Reeves and Paul Hamilton-Forbes. They were all helping him to move out and clean up his old fibreglass caravan.
Now Ellis had his face buried in the chest of a huge muscular black man who looked awfully like the idol of the black god that Ellis had seen in that temple somewhere in the south of India. He was crying his eyes out. His face was wet with his tears as was the chest of the black man hugging him. All his remembered anguish rose up in a gush that could not be quelled. Sashi had walked out on him and had caught the steam train back home to his parents and the young woman promised to him as his wife. BJ had betrayed him and had died of AIDS. Bryn had just vanished without a trace. Ellis had no clue what happened to him. The mystery of Bryn's disappearance was painful to bear, especially as the police still suspected Bryn of murdering Alfie. Ellis felt as though he had fallen down a well of gloom and he could not climb out. Perhaps, just maybe, the black man was the black god of whom Hilda had foretold, the black god who would rescue Ellis from the black hole of despair.
Perry sidled up to Scott and put his hand on Scott's arm.
"What's with Mr De la Mare?" he asked, looking up at Scott.
Scott shrugged. "I think it's because Gabriel looks like some statue of a black god he saw in India somewhere years ago and that's triggered a whole lot of sad memories."
"Is that why Mr De la Mare is crying like that?"
"I guess so."
Scott sent out to all the other telepaths: << I'm amazed by all those memories that came up to the surface in Ellis de la Mare's mind. There's so much stuff there. I didn't think the human mind could hold so much stuff. >>
Jessica: << You'd be surprised by how much stuff an ordinary human mind can hold. It's a huge amount. OK, with a lot of people most of the stuff is just crap which is of no importance but the thing to remember is that the human mind has an enormous capacity. It can hold a tremendous amount of stuff, like heaps of memories. >>
Scott checked with the other telepaths. They all agreed, including Derek who linked up with Hal, the wise old Prior-General.
Scott: << It's incredible that there is so much detail in Ellis's memories. There's so much, like stuff from long ago in India and on the Isle of Mull and in London and Findhorn all that. >>
Derek: << Don't forget that Ellis is a highly intelligent man. He remembers the details. >>
The storm of weeping passed. Ellis snuffled into Gabriel's chest. Gabriel continuing hugging him. Ellis felt immensely comforted by the black man's thick powerful arms wrapped around him.
He raised his head from Gabriel's chest and looked up at him.
"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to do that. It just happened, just like that. I couldn't help it, I'm afraid."
Gabriel hugged Ellis and stroked his hair.
"It's all right," he said soothing Ellis. "You're fine."
"It's not all right," said Ellis sharply through his tears. "Everything's turned to shit and I'm the ghost in the weed garden."
Gabriel looked down at Ellis enfolded in his arms.
"Would you like to come home with me and talk about it over a cup of coffee?" he asked. "We're a bit public here."
Ellis looked around. He saw all the people watching him and Gabriel. He saw the people from his caravan park including the women and children. He saw Scott looking at him with concern. He saw Perry next to Scott with his hand on Scott's muscular arm. Perry was staring at him open-mouthed.
"Where's home?" Ellis asked Gabriel.
"The Old Valley Road Hotel. You know, up on Valley Road. We all moved in there with Derek, Scott and Paul soon after the New Year."
"I've never been there."
"That's OK. First time for everything. I'll take you there on my bike."
"Alright."
Gabriel put his arm around Ellis protectively and walked him to his motorbike. Ellis got on the seat behind Gabriel who said not to bother about helmets. They were not going far. Gabriel kick-started his bike and accelerated away. Ellis put his arms around Gabriel's waist and held on tightly.
Perry looked up at Scott with his hand still on Scott's arm.
"Can I get like you and Cave Bear and the rest of you muscly guys?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Scott looking down at him.
"How?"
"With hard work, total commitment and willingness to learn a lot."
"Oh." Perry was crestfallen. "It sounds hard," he commented.
"Yes, it is hard but you can do it. Lots of people have," said Scott. "If I can do it, so can you, Perry."
"Um."
"Anyhow, have a think about it, Perry. The door's always open."
Gabriel steered his motorbike with Ellis on behind him through the caravan park and onto a footpath. They followed the footpath to the footbridge over the river. On the footbridge they saw a group of boys fishing.
One of the boys called out, "Hey! Look at the huge black dude on his motorbike!"
Another boy called out, "Isn't that Mr De la Mare on behind him?"
Ellis could barely see over Gabriel's shoulder.
"Hi, Mr De la Mare," chorused the boys as Gabriel's big bike rumbled past them.
"Hey! Who's your big black mate?" yelled out a boy.
Ellis ignored them.
Gabriel chuckled, "Cheeky little buggers, aren't they?"
They rode over the bridge and onto the dirt track leading up from the river valley to Valley Road.
Ellis had never been over to the other side of the river from the town, certainly never on Valley Road. It was all new to him. Leading up to Valley Road they passed a well-built solid-looking dry stone wall. Ellis admired it as they rode past. Then they reached Valley Road. On the corner was a big old two-storey stone building that might have been a hotel once. It had been beautifully restored.
Gabriel swung around the building into the car park on the other side.
"We're home," he announced unnecessarily. "Well, it's where I'm living right now. It's our Community House nowadays, like Hope House in Kings Cross. It used to be the Haunted Hotel but not anymore, not since Hal and Derek held an exorcism and called in God's holy angels to get rid of all 'the ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night'."
Ellis managed to raise a smile as he dismounted from the motorcycle. He followed Gabriel into the house through the door from the car park.
Inside they were met by Morag. Gabriel introduced Ellis to her. She shook hands firmly with Ellis who noted that Morag spoke with a Scottish accent. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, a woman with red hair, bright blue eyes, clear fair skin and a curvaceous physique.
She offered to bring them coffee with freshly baked cakes and biscuits. The two men gratefully accepted.
Ellis followed Gabriel into a room that looked like an office but furnished with comfortable-looking dark brown leather-covered armchairs and couches. Scattered between the big chairs were coffee tables and side tables. Along the opposite wall was a big heavy- looking ornate Victorian red cedar desk with a PC sitting on it. A laser printer connected to the PC sat on an adjacent side table. Scattered around the surface of the desk were papers and manila folders.
"The Prior's office," announced Gabriel. "Scott's been working here so it's a bit of a mess. He won't mind provided you don't touch anything. He remembers exactly where everything is."
Gabriel grinned.
"Scott? You mean Scott Reeves?" queried Ellis.
"Yep. He's the Deputy Prior. That means he does most of the work while Derek swans around looking beautiful," Gabriel said with a laugh.
"Scott's so young though! He's only about fifteen or sixteen if I remember correctly."
"Actually he's seventeen but he's definitely up to the job. He's good. He knows what to do. If he does need any help, he'll ask for it and get it. No worries about that. Anyway, sit yourself down. Anywhere will do."
Ellis hesitated. Gabriel sat down and sprawled over the couch. He patted the space next him.
"You can sit down here next to me if you like," he said.
Ellis looked at Gabriel closely. To Ellis, the big black Aboriginal man bore a close resemblance to the idol of the black god Ellis had seen in India. Both had massively powerful bodies packed with huge muscles. Both had very strong thick limbs. Ellis noted the big bulge in the front of Gabriel's shorts and recalled the huge erect penis sticking out in front of the idol. Ellis's remark about the idol's cock aroused a fierce anger in Sashi that caused Sashi to walk out on him. Ellis looked at Gabriel's black eyes. They were as penetrating as those of the idol but there was a generous warmth and life in Gabriel's eyes. Despite his size, Gabriel was an immensely likeable man and he was very much alive. The idol was not.
Ellis sat down gingerly on the couch next to Gabriel.
"You're like a schoolboy on his first date," laughed Gabriel as he put his huge arm around Ellis and hugged him close.
Ellis felt as though he was being hugged by a grizzly bear.
Morag came into the room. She was carrying a tray with a coffee pot, mugs and plates heaped with homemade cakes and biscuits. The smell of coffee wafted into the room with her. She placed the tray on a coffee table in front of the two men.
"Thanks, Mags," said Gabriel with a grin. "It all smells and looks delicious."
"That's quite alright, Gabs," replied Morag with a smile. "It's a pleasure."
She looked at Ellis.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"I think so," replied Ellis.
"You'll be fine. As you Aussies say, she'll be right," she laughed.
She left the room.
Gabriel poured coffee for both of them and handed Ellis a mug. He then held the tray in front of Ellis and invited Ellis to help himself to cakes and biscuits. Ellis took a couple of jam cookies.
He took a couple of sips from his mug.
Gabriel spoke. "Ellis, you said to me back at the caravan park something like everything's turned to shit and you're the ghost in the weed garden. That sounds to me like things are not going well for you."
"You're damn right there," snapped Ellis. "Everything has gone to shit. What are you going do about it? Wave a bloody magic wand?"
Gabriel smiled and said, "We could do something like that. Anyway, you had a really bad reaction when you thought I was that god you saw a statue of in India. You were really unhappy. You sounded really depressed, like you're carrying one hell of a burden of bad memories. When you said you're the ghost in the weed garden, I just about shuddered. It told me things are going really badly for you, like you're unsure whether or not you even have the right to exist. Look, I'm a healer in a long and ancient Aboriginal tradition. I've been doing this sort of thing since I was fourteen and I can..."
"Are you the Black God who's come to get me out of this black hole of depression?" asked Ellis fighting back tears.
Gabriel hugged him tight. Ellis was very conscious of the huge arm wrapped around him and the mighty muscularity of Gabriel's body. The man looked to be big as Tom Lundgren. He was massive like a big friendly bear. He radiated that same generous warmth that Tom did. Gabriel's musky body odour filled Ellis's nostrils.
"I can be if you want me to be," replied Gabriel.
Ellis sighed. He knew that if he asked Gabriel what he meant, he would not get a straight answer. He grasped that Gabriel was a very deep, wise and complex man, much more than one would expect given his youth. Despite himself, Ellis snuggled into Gabriel and savoured the warm naked muscularity of the black man's sweaty torso. The big arm around him holding him tight was enormously comforting.
Ellis was reminded of that rainy afternoon on the Isle of Mull in BJ's caravan in among the pine trees. Yet here he was on a hot summer's day in January in Australia in a similar situation.
Ellis snuffled as his eyes filled and overflowed with tears. BJ, dead and gone forever. Then there was Bryn, gone, just gone, vanished completely off the face of the earth. The memories were painful to recall.
Gabriel hugged Ellis closer and kissed him tenderly on the temple. He sent a series of gentle telepathic suggestions to Ellis.
Ellis recalled Sashi's cold fury at Ellis's lustful reference to the Black God's mighty cock. Yes, it was a mighty cock. Perhaps it could fit up inside him. Maybe he could take it up his arse. Maybe he could take Gabriel's cock up his skinny middle-aged arse. Maybe Gabriel was an avatar of the Black God. He certainly looked very much like the idol in India. Maybe Gabriel was the Black God himself, the Black God whom Hilda back in Findhorn had foretold would rescue Ellis from the black hole of despair.
Gabriel mouthed Ellis's cheek.
"What would you like to do?" he murmured quietly into Ellis's ear.
Ellis sighed. His eyes were full of tears.
"I don't know," he mumbled.
"You sound like you could do with a whole lot of comfort and love," murmured Gabriel. "Feel like a fuck?"
Ellis gasped in disbelief. Events were moving far too fast. But, here was an opportunity being presented to him on a silver platter. Was this what Scott Reeves was talking about earlier back in the caravan park, the opportunity to grow his consciousness? Was this the opportunity he should grab with both hands and run? Something told him that it was indeed.
He set his coffee mug down on the table and snuggled into Gabriel. He relished the size and thick muscularity of the man, the smooth silkiness of his skin.
"Mmm," he murmured. "Could be a possibility."
"OK," replied Gabriel.
He picked Ellis up bodily in both arms. Ellis pressed his cheek into the big man's thick mounds of pectoral muscles.
Suddenly their surroundings changed. Ellis looked around and saw that he was in a large bedroom with a high ceiling. The two sets of dark stained wooden French windows looked out through an upper level verandah to the eucalyptus forest on the other side of the track leading back to the footbridge over the river.
Surrounding the windows were thick dark red velvet curtains hanging from brass curtain rods. The walls were a pale cream in colour.
Dominating the room was a large double bed with a high bedhead made of red cedar. Covering the bed was a thick dark red coverlet that appeared to be made of the same velvet material as the curtains.
Also in the room were a tall wardrobe, a chest of drawers, both made of red cedar in the nineteenth century and also a floor-standing mirror with a darker wood frame.
Snug in Gabriel's arms like a young child, Ellis's eyes opened wide with amazement.
"How did you do that?" he asked. "Get here?"
"Magic," replied Gabriel with a chuckle.
"What? How?"
"I'm a god."
"How come?"
"Because you want me to be."
Ellis shook his head. He was confused.
"Don't worry, Ellis," said Gabriel. "You'll understand soon enough."
He gently laid Ellis on the rich red velvet of the bed.
"Where are we?" asked Ellis.
"Upstairs in my bedroom," replied Gabriel. "We're still in the same building."
"Oh."
Gabriel stood up. Suddenly all his clothes vanished. The big muscular black man stood naked and proud in front of Ellis.
To Ellis, Gabriel looked exactly like the idol of the mighty Hindu god that Ellis had seen in South India all those years ago when he was with Sashi. Gabriel looked just as muscular, just as fierce, just as wild and sexy as the god, but more so because Gabriel was alive, very much alive, intensely alive.
Ellis noted the big thick black penis hanging down between Gabriel's legs. As he watched, the penis thickened and stiffened until it became like the magnificent member on the idol. It was as big as the idol's mighty cock about which Ellis had caused so much offence to Sashi.
A grin spread over Gabriel's face as he looked down at Ellis on the bed.
"Would you like me to undress you?" he asked.
Ellis looked at Gabriel daring him.
"OK," he replied.
Ellis's clothes disappeared from around him. Bewildered, he watched as his clothes hung before him and then something or some things invisible folded his clothes neatly and placed them tidily over a chair. The hairs rose on the back of his neck. This was spooky!
"Was that you?" he asked with a tremor in his voice.
"Yep, that was me," replied Gabriel cheerily. "Me and my pixie friends."
"What? How did you do that?"
"I'll explain later when you're ready to understand. But first we have some serious business to get down to."
The bed shook as the big man jumped onto it. Ellis gasped as Gabriel sucked Ellis's cock up into his mouth. At the same time Gabriel inserted a thick finger up into Ellis's anus and started massaging his prostate. Ellis's cock stiffened immediately into a steely hard ramrod as electric feelings twanged his prostate. Almost immediately he was on the verge of coming but he was stuck there. He felt as if he was standing paralysed on the cliff of orgasm but he could not jump off. His cock felt as big as it had been in the old days with Bryn.
Since Bryn's disappearance, especially since he lost all his muscle mass, his cock had become a shrivelled old thing. He had found it almost impossible to masturbate since he lost all that weight. The number of orgasms since then he could count on the fingers of one hand.
Gabriel released Ellis's cock and ran his wet tongue sensuously up Ellis's bare hairless front until he reached Ellis's mouth. He clamped his mouth on Ellis's mouth in a lip-locked kiss. Ellis was teetering on the height of passion but could not go further. Instinctively he wrapped his thin arms and legs around Gabriel's massive torso, exposing his anus to Gabriel's will.
He felt the thick round head of Gabriel's deific huge cock press up against his anal opening. The pressure was relentless as Ellis's anus stretched wide to admit the mighty god's penis forging into him. Suddenly his anal sphincter popped open and Gabriel's penis forged its way slowly and deliberately up inside him. It passed through the depths of his bowels and reached up inside his chest, filling his body with intense waves of pleasure as it progressed. It seemed to come to rest against his pounding heart.
Events were moving far faster than Ellis had dared to anticipate but he did not care. Back at Findhorn Hilda had foretold that the Black God would come and rescue Ellis from the black hole of despair. Now here he was with the Black God in his arms fucking the bejesus out of him. Gabriel's penis felt every bit as huge and mighty as that on the statue of the black god in the temple in India. It seemed to traverse the entire length of his torso right up to his heart.
Ellis groaned. His hot, painfully hard cock was rubbing up and down the mid-line groove of Gabriel's rock-hard abdomen. He relished feeling Gabriel's huge hard muscle-packed body driving that mighty penis deep inside him. Never had he been so deeply and thoroughly fucked.
Suddenly he felt as though he was thrown off the cliff on which he was teetering into the orgasmic abyss. He screamed. His consciousness blurred as his groin contracted brutally and semen gushed forth from his penis caught between the two thrusting bodies.
He felt something burst inside his pelvis at the base of his spine. Hot flames seemed to flare out all over his body and fill it with searing heat. It was as if someone had tossed a lighted match into a can of petrol or gasoline and a geyser of flame shot up out of the can high into the air. The flaming heat filled his whole body. His skull felt as though it was about to burst into a ball of fire. It seemed his brain did burst. Something raced out from inside him and a towering tidal wave swept back and completely swamped him with love.
Wave after wave of orgasmic joy raced over him as Gabriel continued pounding into him. The big man was relentless. Ellis was faintly conscious of holding onto Gabriel's huge rock hard upper arms as he delighted in the big man's huge biceps and triceps. Somehow he was aware of Gabriel's animal pleasure in driving his mighty cock into Ellis's body.
Suddenly, Gabriel tensed up all over. His body felt as though it was made of hot steel. He gave a guttural roar as he thrust his huge cock as far as it could go up inside Ellis's body and squirted his essence into the core of Ellis's being. Somehow Ellis was aware of the tumult of Gabriel's orgasmic joy. By some great magic their minds connected together. Ellis found himself participating fully in Gabriel's ecstasy to the extent that it triggered another orgasm within him. Somehow their orgasms combined together into a gigantic whirlwind of fire that smeared out Ellis's awareness into a long ribbon whirling round and round in the fierce tornado of Gabriel's orgasmic bliss.
It seemed to go on forever. Ellis was totally blissed out. A curious tightness seized his body. It seemed that his whole body was swelling and his skin was contracting. He tingled all over. His muscles ached. The sensation persisted as their combined orgasms wound down.
Gabriel rested briefly on top of Ellis before he started thrusting into him once more. Once more Ellis was driven inexorably into a gigantic series of orgasms and once more Gabriel squirted a torrent of semen into the depths of Ellis's bowels.
The sequence continued for several more rounds of orgasmic firestorms. Ellis lost count. It seemed to Ellis that Gabriel was feeding enormous amounts of energy into him and powering this incredible series of orgasms. His mind was so blurred that he could not make sense of all the impressions flooding into him. It seemed to him that he had become lost in the fiery furnace that was Gabriel. There was a dim realisation within Ellis that Gabriel was no ordinary human. He was more than human. Somehow Ellis was getting himself fucked by a god, that wild, utterly virile paragon of manliness that he had first clapped eyes upon in that temple in Southern India more than thirty years before, the god who was an Australian Aboriginal man but was also in the Hindu pantheon, the god whom Sashi and his family worshipped. The paradox was completely beyond Ellis's understanding.
Finally, when Ellis felt utterly spent, it all came to an end after an almighty great orgasm shared by the two of them together. They lay together basking in the golden afterglow of rapturous sex. Somehow Ellis was able to support Gabriel's great weight on top of him. He felt stronger, more filled out that he was before. He lay underneath Gabriel utter relaxed. Their faces were close together. To Ellis's defocused vision, Gabriel's two eyes appeared to be fused together into one big Cyclopean eye.
He became aware that Gabriel was admiring Ellis's two green eyes. By some magic he was looking at his eyes through Gabriel's eyes. He was aware of another mind linked to his own, Gabriel's.
Words formed in his mind from Gabriel.
Gabriel: << I love your beautiful green eyes, Ellis. And welcome to the world of mental telepathy. >>
Ellis: <+ ? +>
He did not understand.
Gabriel: << Our sex triggered the awakening of the Kundalini within you. One of the effects is that you become a telepath, a mind reader. You can contact other telepaths without speaking. >>
That sounded good to Ellis.
Ellis: << How long will it last? >>
Gabriel: << Until you have a burst of negative emotion. Then I'll have to fuck you again to restart it. >>
He giggled, then continued.
<< With care it should last indefinitely. If you choose to become a superman like me, you'll never lose it. >>
Ellis became aware of a whole lot of other minds in a network into which he had just been plugged, Scott, Derek, Hal and many more. It was explained to him that a superman had god-like powers. A candidate acquired them from the Lord God when he pledged himself to serve the Lord God for ever. That appeared to be a big step for Ellis to take at this time but Gabriel made it clear that he was patient. He would wait for Ellis to make up his mind.
Ellis became aware of a great intelligence overarching the network of telepaths, a great loving eternally patient intelligence. This intelligence Ellis understood to be the Lord God. He was astounded to make contact with the Mind of God. As a Catholic he had been brought up to think that God was such a remote being accessible to only the holy saints. Ordinary mortals like him did not rate. They were considered to be too grubby with sin. They could only approach God through an ordained priest mediating on their behalf. However, it was now clear to Ellis that was not true. God was very accessible. He was in constant contact with the telepaths. That Divine Intelligence was ready to welcome Ellis into the Holy Band.
Ellis demurred. He did not feel ready. That was all right. There was no pressure.
Gabriel eased himself up off Ellis's body but his huge penis remained fully inserted up Ellis's arsehole right up deep into Ellis's torso. He looked down at Ellis with approval. He considered that Ellis had become a big solid hunky guy packed with muscle.
Gabriel: << I guess you're back to what you looked like in the old days. >>
Ellis perceived through Gabriel's eyes that he had indeed packed on a lot of muscle. The skinny wrinkly old man had been replaced by the powerfully muscled man Ellis had been in the years before Bryn had disappeared. He wanted to see for himself but he could not move because he was pinned by Gabriel's huge penis rammed firmly up his arse. It felt like he had been impaled on a fence post. The pressure inside him from that mighty penis was still incredibly stimulating but Ellis was well and truly fucked, so well fucked that he could not raise another orgasm if his life depended on it. Besides, he could see through Gabriel's eyes that it was late afternoon outside. The golden glow of the westering sun shone on the gum trees outside. He realised that he and Gabriel had spent half the day fucking. His anus did not feel sore, just wonderfully well used. It was like Bryn at his best, or even BJ or Sashi perhaps, although none of them possessed anything like the magnificent penis that the Black God fucking him had currently thrust up his arse.
Gabriel interrupted his reverie with: << Feel like meeting the others yet? They would like to see you. >>
Ellis perceived that the other people in the old hotel were keen to see him. Also he wanted to see how he looked after the transformation wrought upon him by Gabriel.
He lay quietly on the bed while Gabriel slowly withdrew his huge cock from Ellis's anus. He regretted the departure but enjoyed the feeling of the cock moving inside him. He was surprised that none of Gabriel's semen leaked out when Gabriel had completed withdrawing from him. Gabriel explained telepathically that all his semen had been absorbed into Ellis's body when it catalysed his muscle growth.
Ellis got up off the bed and walked over to the floor-standing mirror. He was stunned and overjoyed to see his reflection. He looked as if the clock had been wound back years to before Bryn disappeared and Ellis was at his physical peak.
"How did you do that to me?" he asked.
Gabriel: << My magic semen. It does that to men when I shoot it up their arses. It really makes their muscles grow. >>
He strode over and put his arm around Ellis. He towered over Ellis.
"Magic Semen? What do you mean?" queried Ellis.
Gabriel: << My magic semen is a gift from God. It was one of the gifts that He has bestowed on me. Another is the Kundalini Awakening which triggered the telepathic sense in you. That was the big bang you got in your backside. >>
"Which big bang?" asked Ellis.
Gabriel laughed. << Good question. It's a bit hard to tease them all apart. By the way, telepathy is a much faster means of communication than speech. Give it a try. >>
"OK."
Gabriel stood behind Ellis and wrapped his huge arms around him. Ellis put his thick, newly re-muscled arms around Gabriel's arms.
Gabriel looked at Ellis's reflection in the mirror over Ellis's shoulder. He grinned and mouthed Ellis's neck.
Gabriel: << You sure are one hot hunk of spunk, young man! >>
"Young man!" exclaimed Ellis. "Why, how old are you?"
<< Less than half your age. >> Gabriel laughed. << When you're ready, let's go and meet the others. But first, let's get used to the new you. >>
Ellis: << Looks like the old me, what I used to look like years ago. You've done a great job, Gabriel, you and your Magic Semen. >>
Gabriel <+ Great! +>
They stayed together enjoying the closeness of their naked bodies.
Scott: << Pardon my interruption but it won't be long before dinner. We'd all love to see the new you before dinner, Ellis. >>
Gabriel with amusement: << Nothing like a heavy hint, young fella. OK. We'll be down soon. >>
Ellis: << What will I wear? My clothes are far too small for me now. Can I borrow something of yours please Gabriel? >>
<< One problem, mine are too big for you. No worry. I'll take you to the magic clothes shop and you can pick out what you like. >>
<< What magic clothes shop? >>
Suddenly they were floating in a bright ill-defined space with masses of clothes floating around nearby. Gabriel explained that all Ellis had to do was think of what he wanted to wear and they would appear on him. Ellis visualised himself in a red T-shirt and faded blue jeans. The clothes appeared on his body. A reflective surface floated in front of Ellis. He liked how he looked. Then he realised he needed shoes for his bare feet. He visualised a pair of suede leather boots with dark blue socks and they appeared on his feet.
Gabriel: << Are you ready to meet your adoring fans? >>
Ellis: << Funny bugger! >>
<< Sure am. I loved buggering you, cobber. Anyhow, I guess you're ready as you'll ever be. >>
<< Yeah, 'spose so. But what about you? >>
Before Ellis knew it, Gabriel was clothed in a bright white sleeveless hooded onesie with shiny white leather knee-high jackboots. The close-fitting onesie showed off every muscular bulge of the black man's magnificent body. The front of the onesie was open down Gabriel's front. Ellis's eyes opened wide with amazement.
"Christ you look hot!" he exclaimed.
<< Thanks mate. >> was Gabriel's reply.
Gabriel put his arm around Ellis and suddenly they were in a large room full of people. The tall wide French windows looked out onto a courtyard that had a garden with small fruit trees, orange trees, lemon trees, peach trees and so on. The two men were immediately greeted by Scott who congratulated Ellis on making the leap to becoming a telepath. Derek came over to them as well. Ellis was given to understand that Derek was the prior of the community. Derek laughed at Ellis's surprise that one so young and good-looking should be in that position.
Luke Errington joined the group.
"G'day, Ellis, do you remember me?" he asked.
Ellis looked at him puzzled.
Luke: << I'm Luke. I was at Findhorn when you were there after your breakup with BJ. You were the champion hole-digger bulging with muscle. You still are, I see. You seem to have hardly changed a bit. Mind you, when I saw you this morning at the caravan park, you were but a shadow of your former self. I hardly recognised you this morning, you were so skinny, but I see you've got all your muscle back now thanks to Gabriel doing his usual miracles. >>
Ellis stared at him bewildered.
"Luke! I remember a really skinny guy there who walked with a bad limp," he managed to say.
Luke: << That's not surprising since the Viet Cong filled my arse with lead. I am that guy. >>
"But you're so different. You're huge and full of muscles," said Ellis.
Luke: << True. I've undergone a huge change since I became a superman and a Roadknight. Remember Tom Lundgren? And the time when Augustus Potter tuned in to him and me as we were riding along the New England Highway? >>
Ellis remembered his recently acquired telepathic sense.
Ellis: << Yes, I do. >>
He played back his memory of his strange encounter with Augustus Potter and his telepathic friends, in particular Tom and Luke.
Ellis: << What happened to you must be a miracle. >>
Luke: << Miracles do happen. And magic happens too. >>
He grinned.
Hal came up to them.
Hal: << Luke is quite an extreme example of what can happen. You remember what he was like in the mid-eighties and look at him now. He is magnificent. >>
Luke glowed. Hal shook Ellis's hand.
Hal: << Ellis, you and I have friends in common, Roman Kuzniewski and his partner Bill Gould. >>
That was a statement.
Hal continued with a smile. << Roman has sold a lot of my paintings and has got good prices for them. I'm flattered by the demand for them. When I last saw Roman though, he complained that he had not seen you since you went and buried yourself in Ringtail Springs, to quote Roman. >>
Ellis: << I hardly felt like seeing anyone after Bryn disappeared. It was awful. I'd love to find out what happened to him. >>
He looked around expectantly at the other people.
Hal: << Ellis, you have started on a long journey. If you do what all of Gabriel's other trainees have done and become a superman, you will become immortal. You can look forward to an infinite lifespan. However, there is much you need to learn and understand. It's likely to take you a year or two to catch up to me. >>
He smiled.
"Is there any chance I could find out what happened to Bryn?" asked Ellis.
Hal: << In good time, Ellis. When you're ready. >>
Gabriel agreed with Hal. << It's too soon now, Ellis. You've only just become a telepath. It could be traumatic. Give yourself time. Give yourself a chance. >>
Ellis tried to read the other men's minds but the neophyte telepath could not penetrate them. He wondered if they knew. He knew he could not find out yet.
Scott: << Ellis, you're welcome to stay for dinner here. In fact you're welcome to stay as long as you like here, certainly as long as you need to get used to the new you. >>
Gabriel: << I support that, Ellis. It would be really good if you took the opportunity to grow and develop and fulfil your potential. In fact I suggest it is a bad idea to go back to your caravan park. It would cause a sensation if the people there saw you as the muscleman you are now. It would be all over the town in a flash. I reckon you should have a holiday from your caravan park for a few weeks and use it as a time to grow. I'll be here for you. >>
Luke: << We'll, Gazza, Alex and I will look after your caravan park while you stay here or go away with Gabriel or whatever. No worries on that score. >>
Alex and Gazza joined them.
Ellis looked wide-eyed at the three men.
"You three are all ex-soldiers?" he asked.
<< That's right. >>
"Crikey, the people in the caravan park won't know what hit them when they see you three."
<< It's okay, Ellis. We'll go easy on them, like we won't make them do military-style parade ground drills or anything like that. >>
Alex transmitted an image of all the caravan park inhabitants lined up at attention like soldiers on a parade ground.
The three former soldiers were grinning like schoolboys. They did not look much older than schoolboys even though they had all fought in the Vietnam War.
<< What we will do is subtly use our super powers to spruce the place up so it looks better. >>
Scott: << So busybody good ladies like Myrtle McBride don't get it into their heads again that the Riverside Caravan Park is a hotbed of sin, illicit sex and drug addiction. >>
Ellis laughed. "OK."
-------------------------------------- Continued in Part 93. --------------------------------------