"Well, that sounds like a neat idea, but it's potentially dangerous. Very dangerous."
"Here comes the compassionate humanitarian. I love compassionate people, but they make any discussion impossible. They would tell you there's only one solution for any problem: meditation." Charles said it knowing his friend would do anything but agree to it.
To his surprise, his best friends, Henry nodded: "Indeed. Meditation IS the solution."
"How so?"
"Meditation stops time. Or to put it closer to the truth, it enables one to live above the scheme of time. I am sure you know what I mean."
"Pretty much." Charles paused an instant to find his words, "but what goes beyond the time grid is the spirit, while the body is still living in the earthy domain, which means one cannot really escape from ageing."
"It's true. But remember that the body being slow doesn't mean it doesn't react to the transformation happening at the spiritual level. It has to, and it must obey the commands from the soul."
"Right." Charles nodded sincerely, but the next second he switched on his mischievous smile. "Generally speaking meditation is much safer than almost any other action a human being can take. But tell me, what did you find so dangerous in the idea of a sexually and emotionally precocious girl? I'm not talking about a twelve year old licking her lollipop for a few extra cents from her horny daddy. I'm talking about an intelligent young woman having the ability to extract nourishment from every past event in life to grow herself and mature at a faster than average speed."
"A twenty year old with the brain of a forty?"
"Yes, for example."
"That's still dangerous." Henry fumbled out a cigarette from nowhere and stroke a fire. He squinted at his companion who's chewing his words, and explained, "by ‘dangerous’ I don't mean getting in jail for child molestation. By dangerous I mean that it's dangerous for any man who falls into the trap set by such a creature."
"Let's assume she's not malicious."
"That's the most dangerous case."
"Old Henry, you have some suppressed desire to deal with here."
"Well maybe it's not so suppressed any more." Henry frowned slightly while spitting out the smoke.
Charles was a life long friend, but he had never learnt to talk to people in trouble, not even to Henry. Prompt to mock on Henry's "compassion", he himself had a vast and soft heart, but without proper outlet.
He tried to sound light. "Henry, now I know why you got so busy lately. Have you met someone?"
"A student in my class... but why do we have to put it in that way? ‘Meet someone’. Ain't I meeting her in class anyway? What's wrong with sharing something more than the course material after class? No, there's nothing wrong. I refuse to take any old rubbish like that."
"Wow, Henry Henry! This is the Henry I've never seen! "
At the moment Sandy's yelling from downstairs: "Dinner's ready, gentlemen!" Sandy was Henry's third daughter, mother of five children at her bouncing fifties.
"I've got to do more of it. Meditation." Henry mumbled while both of them turned to find their walking sticks.
(End)
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