His
neighbor laughed joyously.
"Yes!
Yes!"
he said.
"But I prefer a quieter, gentle death.
See you later!"
Raul
continued down the street.
A group of
children rushed passed and one of them stopped.
"Mr.
Panguene!
Thank you so much for loaning my
sister the money so she can go to university, and not charging her any
interest!
You have made her so happy!
May The Lords bless you, sir!
"
Raul
ruffed the child's hair.
"One as smart as
your sister," he answered, "can't be denied an education because her
parents suffered misfortune.
I had it to
spare, and I'm sure it will be returned in good time, so someone else
in need can use it.
But I appreciate your
gracious thanks."
The
child bowed and headed off after his companions.
Raul
reached home and was immediately met by a pouting fourteen year old.
"And
what's your problem?"
he asked in a very
gruff voice.
"I
don't want my brother to go away forever on that stupid colony ship!
Those who go will never come back.
It will almost be like he has died!
I want him to stay here with us."
The
old man put his hand on her shoulder.
"You
don't know how much I share your feelings, child," he explained, "but I
will not take this honor away from your brother.
He
will take our essence, the essence of Mozambique, into the stars.
A part of us will forever, be on another world.
Look what we have accomplished!
We have colonized virtually every planet of the solar system!
There is not a place in its bounds that man
does not exist.
Now it is time for us to
go beyond this solar system, to seek what is out there.
The Spiritists are going, but they do not want to go alone.
They want to take a little bit of every nation
with them.
And your brother and eight
others are the little bits from this nation.
I
know how hard it will be to be without him.
But
we cannot take this away from him!
We
cannot tell him he can't go!
We must bid
him farewell with joyous hearts and hope that he arrives where he is
going safely, and a little bit of Mozambique will exist there, forever!"
"I
don't like The Spiritists!"
the girl
snorted.
"They take too much away. You and
grandmother never had any real children...that awful thing they did."
Raul
shook his head.
"I had eight children," he
answered, "grandchildren, and, great grandchildren!
And every one is a treasure to me.
You
do not understand, child.
The Spiritists
could have killed every man, woman and child in Mozambique, in
punishment for what they did to their people, but instead they gave
them a chance to live their lives and enrich the lives of others.
And that, perhaps, saved their Souls!
My mother and father understood before they
died.
Their anger and their hatred left
them, and they learned to get along with others.
I
think The Spiritists have been very kind to us."
"Well,
I'll try to think of it that way!"
the
young girl answered.
"By
the way," her grandfather continued, "no more calling Spiritist
soldiers barbarians!
Your teacher told me
what happened with your classmate, that he didn't have a chance to get
an education and now The Spiritists are letting him attend your school
in his off time is nothing to insult or shun him for, and I do not want
to hear that it has happened any more."
"I
don't like the way he looks at me!"
the
girl snapped.
Her
grandfather laughed. "In time you will!" he answered. "Your
mother didn't like the way your father looked at her, either, and was
mad as anything when her parents suggested marriage! But did you ever know two people that loved each other more? Now, run along! The
lawyer is coming. I have some papers to
sign.
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