Alastor was scouring the Grand Harbor Plaza like a mad man, desperately searching for Charlie. He still couldn't believe the naivete of this woman. Walking around in public, alone and barely dressed, not even his sister was that naive.
"Excuse me sir." He said approaching one man. "Can you help me? I'm looking for a beautiful, blonde, young woman who's walking around in very little clothing."
"What do I look like? A pimp?" The man answered.
"No sir. No, it's not like that."
"Listen buddy I'm running late to work so if you don't mind."
He asked almost everyone he ran into if he had seen anyone fitting Charlie's description. No such luck until he met one couple who pointed him over to an electric appliances store. At long last he found Charlie but her appearance had changed slightly. Her long blonde hair had now been properly brushed and styled, she was wearing a forget me-not blue sundress while a pair of simple flats now covered her feet. She now looked like any other civilian woman and at first glance you'd never think that she was some homeless, bedraggled person who just came from a out of nowhere.
However some people passing by were giving her brief skeptical looks due to her actions at the moment. You see, for the last few hours Charlie's eyes had been completely glued to the various television screens that were on sale at the store. Studying and reacting to each broadcast that was shown. Right now she was trying to mimic the exercises of a fitness program that was on the TV's again.
"Oh thank God!" Alastor said hurrying toward her. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
"You have?" Charlie asked.
"Yes. With all due respect Miss, what were you thinking? Going off alone is unsafe as it is but going off with as much as covering as you had..." That's when he took note of her outfit and the several shopping bags full of new clothes, shoes, and feminine products. "Where did you get those?"
"My new friend gave them to me."
"What new friend?"
"Over there."
She pointed to Niffty who was looking for a new blender. She turned her attention to the two and walked over with a smile.
"Oh hello Mr. Boudreaux." Niffty greeted. "So nice to see you again."
"You bought all this for Charlie?" Alastor asked her.
"Yes. When I saw her earlier apparel I just knew I had to do something. It would be a mortal sin not to."
"Well thank you very much Niffty. I'll gladly pay you back for everything."
"Oh that's not necessary. I insisted on getting her everything a woman is required to have and may I say your girlfriend is simply lovely. I'm sorry I didn't meet her sooner."
"Oh no!" Alastor blushed. "No Niffty, you misunderstand. She's not my girlfriend."
"Oh? Then how do you know her if you don't mind me asking?"
"She's a friend of Beth's." Alastor answered. "She's kind of having trouble with living arrangements so I'm trying to help her out."
"Well aren't you a perfect gentleman?"
"Yes. Now if you don't mind Niffty, I'll take things from here." Alastor proceeded to grab the shopping bags. "Come along, Charlie. Let's get going."
"Okay." Charlie said. "Thank you for everything Niffty."
"You're very welcome." The petite lady said kindly. "And Alastor."
"Yes?" He replied.
She stood up real close to him in order to whisper in his ear.
"You take my advice and don't let this one get away."
Alastor blushed again and then politely bid farewell to Niffty.
"Do we have to leave now?" Charlie asked while she and Alastor were walking through the plaza. "There's still so much I wanna see in this place and other places too."
"I can understand that and perhaps I can give you a tour of the area tomorrow but for now we should probably-"
But she was already running off to excitedly stare in awe at the next unique thing that captured her attention. That's how it was for the entire morning. Charlie bounding from one place to another, taking the time to observe things in the human world which to Alastor had no special meaning but to Charlie was as incredible as the discovery of fire. Radios, TV's, cars, bikes, window shops, food stands, even the traffic lights amazed her. She just couldn't help herself, after all from her point view she was discovering a brand new world.
Most people found her gawking behavior very strange and would even stop to stare or gossip. But Alastor found her awed reaction to the simple things adorable. He was so used to seeing people only being impressed by new technology and devices, not even batting an eye lash to anything old fashioned anymore, but this woman appreciated everything weather it be extravagant or common. And when he told her that he had career as a radio host, she looked at him like he was a Hollywood celebrity.
"You mean you actually make music come out of that radio box thing?" She said in a tone of complete fascination.
"Yes I do. Well sort of. I broadcast the music and the announcements from a station which are then sent to other people's radios." He explained to her. "But it's not as impressive as it once was."
"Speak for yourself, I think it's amazing. I wish we had radio back home."
"You don't even have radio? How do you find out what's going on in the world?"
"We find out for ourselves."
"But you can't find out everything on your own. There are places that people can't get to so they rely on machines like radios and TV's to find out what happens in those places."
"My father tells me I only need to know what happens in our world."
"I'm sure that's what Stalin said too."
"Who?"
"Never mind. Let's change the subject. So how long are you going to be here? In Chant de la Mer I mean?"
"For the whole Summer. I'm trying to prove to my father that life outside our domain is just as important as the one within."
"A little close minded isn't he?"
"Not quite. He's normally very liberal but only in matters within our kingdom- I mean commune!"
"That's why I'm not too fond of the hippie lifestyle."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd rather not explain any further. It might offend you."
"I don't mind. You wouldn't think it but I have very thick skin."
"Alright but keep in mind, you can't slap me if what I say upsets you. You wanted the truth."
"I know."
"The thing is about hippies and communes is that sure they're all for peace and love but they wanna cut themselves off from those who don't agree with their ideals. Almost purposely keeping themselves in the dark and in my opinion that not wise. You can't spread peace and love if you don't know anything about war and hate."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because if you don't know what war and hate is, how can you differentiate it from peace and love? How can you tell for certain if someone really loves you or if they're just pretending? I believe that you can't really know good until you know both good and evil."
"Interesting idea. But I'm familiar with both. We may not have radio or TV but we do have books. I've read countless of them so I know about things like slavery, world war, revolutions. All that."
"Good for you. Does your father read?"
"Yes but he only reads about the things that fit in with his view of the world. He reads about the bad things that come from outsiders but he doesn't read about how they've suffered or how much goodness came come from them. Like inventing. You know where I'm from no one knows how to invent anything. They don't know how to make their ideas real like you all can."
"Actually Charlie I'm not an inventor."
"But you can make things you imagine become a reality can't you? You can paint, draw, build, write, you have ability that I would give anything to have."
"Take it easy sweetheart, it's not like I'm a super human. You can do these things too."
"No I can't."
"Sure you can. My mother always said that anybody can do anything as long as they have the will to do so. But she also said that no one was an instant success. She said the everything took time and effort and that if you didn't have faith, patience, and endurance then you didn't really want it."
"She sounded very smart."
"She was." He sighed. "When she wasn't too worried or scared, she was about the smartest woman you'd ever know."
"Beth told me she died when she was very little. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
"Is it alright for me to ask, what happened to your father?"
"That's...That's a complicated subject. For one thing Beth and I don't have the same father. Our mother had me by her first husband, he died when I was about five. She married again and had Beth with her second husband."
"What happened to him?"
A slight melancholic shiver crossed Alastor's face and even though he still kept that polite smile, Charlie knew that her question had upset him.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I shouldn't have pried."
"It's fine." He said. "I'd rather not talk about the parental figures I've had right now. Again, it's very complicated."
"I understand." She said gently.
"You know what." He said making his voice sound chipper. "I'm feeling quite famished. Why don't we go get some lunch? Not much a person can do on an empty stomach?"
She nodded in agreement and the two went to find a place to dine in.