Depths of Darkness

Copyright © 2021 by Gino Gammaldi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 08/27/2021

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Chapter 1 In The Beginning

Chapter 2 School Days

Chapter 3 Early Teens

Chapter 4 Family Life

Chapter 5 Kristo

Chapter 6 Grandparents & Parents

Chapter 7 Siblings

Chapter 8 Beyond the Forest

Chapter 9 Fact or Fantasy

Chapter 10 Who Am I Really?

Chapter 11 Trust?

Chapter 12 Why, What & Where?

Chapter 13 The Past and Beyond

Chapter 14 Reality or Not

Chapter 15 All Is Not What It Seemed

Chapter 16 The Edge of Nowhere

Chapter 17 The Message from Below

Chapter 18 Panic

Chapter 19 Ethical or Not?

Chapter 20 Back on Board and Beyond

Chapter 21 Processing

Chapter 22 Direction and Intervention

Chapter 23 Commands

Chapter 24 Computer Logic

Chapter 25 Bec Takes Control – Or Does It?

Chapter 26 Contact

Chapter 27 The Game

Chapter 28 Ufos

Chapter 29 What Do They Want?

Chapter 30 The Time Has Come

Chapter 31 The Reality of God

Chapter 32 Telepathic Transport

Chapter 33 Cleansing and The Beyond

Chapter 34 First Contact

Chapter 35 New World

Chapter 36 Aggie & The Androids

Chapter 37 Arma & Earth

Chapter 38 Alien Life

Chapter 39 The Alien Ship

Chapter 40 Priorities

Chapter 41 Preparedness

Chapter 42 Consolidation

Chapter 43 Armageddon

Alliance: Earth and Arma United

Epilogue: For Posterity

A Reflection: Every Minute

Darkness: Hello Darkness

FOR

GRACE

The one who has always

been there for us all

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence……

Helen Keller

FOREWORD

I t is quite intriguing for a young boy to start to question the society in which he was born and raised at such a tender age. His lust for something real, something the remote village of Fontana can’t offer him, something only his young mind could envisage, something nobody else in Fontana could visualize.

Why am I in this dreadful state of inactivity and stagnation?

He doesn’t only question the society in which he lives, but he also questions his purpose in life. Devoid of any befitting answer and being an easy prey for his bullies while at school, he must make a decision that will change his life forever or be wasted away in Fontana trying to find where he fits in a society devoid of any progressive thinking.

This is a story that will ignite the fire and zeal, especially of the younger generation, to act or be left behind by the moving train of life; this is an inspiring, educating, thought provoking fictional novel. Real life believable but also mysterious characters help in relating to the story which reaches an unexpected and altruistic ending. An early plot that can actually happen entangled with a plot that could happen, all filled with narrative twists and turns which will keep the reader hooked onto every word. Most of all, the story possesses a good theme, expressed vividly, that ultimately offers important insights into life and the boundless realm of fertile imaginations.

Luke is an adventurous young boy at an age when others his age would be occupied with the simple pleasures of early teenage pursuits. But he believed there had to be more to life. He is an inquisitive boy whose lust for a better life was neither a strength nor weakness to him. He thrived on the knowledge that nobody except himself thoroughly understood the person he was and what he wanted with life. But given this quandary, he theoretically failed to accept himself for who he was.

Jake was Luke’s only true friend, a boy the full opposite of Luke. He was content with life in the rural Fontana, quite a popular kid at school and seemly smart at decision making. He becomes an integral part in Luke’s journey of discovery as the two boys venture into encounters with interplanetary aliens who have concealed their ship in the forest that surrounded the town of Fontana.

Luke’s father, Kristo, is a hardworking poor labourer who flawlessly provides for his family, is a disciplinarian and a man of good substance, respected and accepted among all the locals in Fontana. His young boy with whom he has a lukewarm relationship, yearned for his father’s recognition. Luke’s and Jake’s mothers are shrewd women who have developed close mother to son like relationships. They are educated and come from good family backgrounds. Nancina stuns her family and friends with her decision to marry Kristo instead of pursuing a career in science. Karina forges ahead in the corporate world achieving great success until she decides the time has come to start a family. These two characters portray mothers, who like most women in the real world, are sympathetic to the plights of their young boys going through that critical stage in life when acute decisions will either have a positive or negative effect on the futures they are taking.

The plot of this novel is a believable plot that emphasizes on the importance of family and exposes the struggles most teenagers are currently facing. The story starts with Luke complaining to nobody in particular in the forest about his state of stagnancy, seeing the undeniable fact that a bleak future lies ahead of him in Fontana, a village that has failed to transit with the evolving world. In Jake, he has a friend who doesn’t see things from his perspective. Jake, like most youngsters was simply content with life in Fontana but he still lent a listening ear to Luke. The constant bullying in school, a serious problem in the society, and harsh treatment from his teachers, Sister Evangelista and the Mother Superior at school, puts Luke in an attitude of indifference towards everything that surrounds his dreary commonplace and often predictable life. He feels like he is a waste in Fontana, he hated the society for failing to protect him and assuring him a bright future.

But in spite of all the flaws of society, there is still one aspect that manages to provide him with his main source of inspiration; the forest on the outskirts of town.

The plot contains lots of educative scenes such as Jake educating Luke on tadpoles, his intuition and leadership skills, humorous scenes which add much bite to the story especially the circumstances that lead to the death of Luke’s Collie dog, Rover. The double plot is awesome in that it provides parenting advice and care scenes, tackles societal problems of poverty, bullying, parenting issues and the mind-blowing alien contact and its threats and victories for Earth and the Aggie alien race on planet Arma with its rogue androids which become the central theme of this story and a complete reversal of the original plot.

CHAPTER ONE

IN THE BEGINNING

Everyone hates me..........

What have I done?

Is this all there is?

"W hy is the whole world against me? Damn it all and tarnation." It wasn’t the first time that Luke felt this way.

Tarnation......

Again, he used that New England and Southern US euphemism for damnation. He picked up some pebbles from the side of the road where he stood looking at some cows grazing in the fields just below a rough escarpment. He threw each of the stones in an erratic way towards the grazing bovines and watched their blank faces staring back at him. He had nothing better to do. Not that he chose to do anything better. He felt trapped by his youth and by his doldrum like surroundings.

Why am I in this dreadful state of inactivity and stagnation? He called out to nobody in particular.

He felt like a troglodyte trapped in a world which to him was of little consequence. He yearned for what else life could be like; the life that must exist beyond the thick, heavy forest that surrounded his tiny town. In many ways, the forest to Luke and to some of his friends was a metaphor for growing up — choosing to live within the established confines of his simple upbringing in safety; or to one day burst through to the world outside to take a chance at the unknown. Even at this young age, Luke seemed ready to get out; to stop at nothing to find his real place in the world. To breach the fences of his surroundings; fences that none of his siblings or few friends were prepared to breach. It was this fire in Luke that made him so determined to seek new horizons. He knew there was a whole hunk of world out there with no fence around it. But he would have to wait.

It was the 1960s. A decade of political and social upheaval in Australia. Young people challenged the traditional values of their parent’s generation and actively opposed the decisions of the government. Women demanded an extension of their equal rights. Many dissidents called for racial equality while a growing number of concerned protagonists sought a new consideration for the world’s environment. Many more demonstrated against the Vietnam War, conscription and the nuclear industry. Many of these protests were part of wider social movements taking place in other Western countries. Advances in communications technology meant that revolutionary ideas and voices of dissent could rapidly be transmitted and received around the world. People became engaged in ways not thought possible a decade earlier. Luke, like many young people, became disillusioned by what he perceived to be the shallowness and materialism of contemporary society. Towards the end of the decade, many young people adopted an alternative ‘hippie’¹ lifestyle. Among other elements, the hippie movement included a rebellious style of dress, a reverence for nature, Eastern spiritual philosophy and experimentation with drugs like marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).² These radical changes in society were reflected in the new fashions, hairstyles and styles of music that Emerged throughout the decade. While rock ‘n’ roll retained its popularity, the rise of hippie culture permeated mainstream fashion and music.

All of this revolutionary change had a profound impact on Luke. It fired up a need within him that could only be satiated by a gestalt shift in his own psyche. The remote village town of Fontana, although not considered mainstream by any stretch of the imagination, was not entirely immune from the happenings in the wider world. Some sectors of the little community could foresee changing times were ahead. New ways of thinking were going to be needed as would be required if the town was going to move forward. Even in his childish mind, Luke could see that life was going to be different. But, could he wait for this to happen? Fontana was a place of little consequence in the world. Why should anything really change? On the whole, its people seemed happy enough with what they had and to seek to make definitive changes in their surroundings, in their lifestyles and in their thinking, could be asking way too much of them.

There is no way, muttered Luke under his breath. It just won’t happen. This place is the pits. I can’t wait forever for what seems to be the impossible to happen.

CHAPTER TWO

SCHOOL DAYS

I t is always easy to look back at when you were at school and think how quickly that time went past. Hindsight is wonderful. Of course, at the time, everything appeared to go so slowly and you couldn’t wait until what seemed like useless schooling was over. The real world was waiting for someone just like you and you wanted to get out there and be a part of whatever made it all work. There was so much to see and do and being at school just didn’t seem to be the place where anything important was going to happen.

For Luke, the routine was always the same – classes – sport – classes – teachers - bullying.

Getting up out of a comfortable bed early each morning in all kind of weather and going off to school wasn’t the ideal way for a restless and confused boy to spend the day. There were so many other things that were much more interesting like going for long walks into the forest that circled the old township of Fontana. For all the years he could remember, this forest was the place where Luke could explore nature in all its wonder. He would imagine himself as a great hunter in search of the ultimate prey and then brag about how he almost captured the critter to anyone that would listen.

I went alone into that forest, he would start. You know how scary the forest is? His one and only friend, Jake Lily, nodded in agreement as he listened intently to Luke.

Jake lived next door to Luke. They spent many hours together when they were not at school. However, at school, Jake was a popular kid and Luke just didn’t seem to be able to fit in with Jake’s friends. No matter, Luke was always happy to have whatever time he could get with Jake after school and during holidays. During these times, he had Jake all to himself and didn’t have to share his friend with any other kid.

Well, listen to what happened the other day to me, Jake, continued Luke. Remember that we got out of school early because that new lay teacher Mr. Broomhead, wasn’t feeling well. He had eaten some fish that had gone off at lunch time and had to rush home?

Yes, I do remember that, replied Jake. Mr. Broomhead had gone all green in the face and all the kids in our class were making fun of him as he ran out of the room and headed for the principal’s office. By the way, did you know that my big sister Lissy hates fish? No chance of her getting sick from eating those things. But, Becca, my little sister, loves fish. Isn’t it interesting how people have such different tastes?

Anyway, continued Luke, I’m not really interested in who likes fish and who doesn’t. I was glad that we got the rest of the afternoon off. You went with all your other friends and I decided to head straight for the forest.

Weren’t you scared to go there all by yourself? asked Jake.

Nope. Luke quipped. I’ve been there many times by myself. It’s the one place where I have many friends in all the animals and birds and insects that live there. You know what that’s like; you often talk about how you love animals.

That’s true, Jake liked many things in life but nothing surpassed his love of animals.

As I was saying, the last time I went there, I came across a part of the forest in which I had never been before.

What did you do? asked Jake eagerly.

I wasn’t sure what to do at first, replied Luke. But then, I got a sudden urge to continue on and so I did and I wasn’t even thinking of any danger.

Jake was very keen to listen to what happened next and urged Luke to continue with his story. There was always something about Luke’s stories that was mysterious and Jake was always keen to listen to them. He could never tell whether the stories were true or not; Luke was such a believable story teller and whether his stories were true or not just didn’t matter to Jake. Luke was his good friend and if he believed in his own stories then that was good enough for Jake.

I walked through some very thick bushes, continued Luke, when amongst the thickest of thorny bushes, I noticed what looked like a small hut. One of the biggest trees I have ever seen overshadowed the whole area.

He paused for just a moment to watch for Jake’s reaction. Jake was still. He was without movement. It was as if he had been mesmerized by some unknown force.

The forest was really dark in that spot. I decided I would not go any further; I saw something move next to the house. It looked like a person hunched over something. There was also an eerie light that penetrated through the thick foliage of the trees and it appeared as if it came from some point high in the sky.

Didn’t you go and see what the shadow was; what about that light? spoke Jake with a slight stutter in his voice.

No way. I was too scared. I just wanted to get back home and hope whoever or whatever it was near the hut had not seen me and the light was just a reflection from the clouds of a strong light source on the ground. But I promise you Jake, I will go back and next time, I will go right up to that hut.

Jake was left guessing as to what the shadow of a figure was that Luke had seen. And what about that spooky light? He was disappointed in Luke for not having the courage to investigate further having gone so far into the forest. Luke was the bravest kid Jake knew but now he had some doubts about his friend’s fortitude. Luke wasn’t too concerned about Jake’s disappointment. His mind quickly became more engrossed with other possibilities of his adventures and hopes. He dearly would have liked to be able to share his experience in the forest with other kids at school, but he knew nobody else would listen to him. The other kids never really took much notice of Luke unless he was being picked on and ridiculed. Then he would become the spectacle for all to see and to humiliate without compunction. The population of Fontana was barely more than about 500 people and most of them were either out of work or retired. The school of St. Joseph carried 150 primary students and had been part of the town since the beginning and was run by the Good Samaritan Order of catholic nuns.³ The town, nestled in the foothills of a quiet district surrounded by the lush undulating dairy cattle grazing industry in the State’s South, had little to offer a restless boy like Luke. Or so he thought.

Luke was a boy of slight build with pixie like features and walked with a gait that resembled that of an animal about to pounce. He was very conscious of his surroundings and wary of anything arousing suspicion in his young, fertile mind.

One day, I have to get out of here, he would tell his friend Jake who didn’t really understand what his friend meant by this. Why would anyone want to get out of here, he thought to himself? There are lots of fun things to do like fishing in the murky water of the nearby creek. Going rabbiting in Mr. Kirk’s farm where the rabbits were as plentiful as the field mice in his dad’s hay shed. There were also snakes to catch which often were placed in unsuspecting kid’s school desks just for the thrill and hysteria they created.

Jake didn’t have that uneasy characteristic, the hunger for something which might require effort, sweat, sleepless nights and sacrifice, that possessed Luke. Jake seemed like a much more stable kid. He was content with his surroundings and yearned for nothing else but to be at one with nature. All the animals were his friends. He was the penultimate animal whisperer. His parents had lived in the town all their lives as had their parents and their parents before them. It was the same with most of the other inhabitants of the town which itself hadn’t changed much through the years and neither had its people. Everyone knew everyone else and everyone else’s affairs. There were no secrets in the township of Fontana; certainly, none that remained a secret for very long. Sometimes, Luke felt deeply envious of those who were the opposite of him; grounded, settled, relaxed, content and at peace with the process of their established lives. He knew Jake was a very intelligent child and some day he too would be yearning for something more than this town could offer. But Jake was in no hurry.

This cannot be a popular thing in and of itself, Luke would tell his parents. I feel restless, but for what? Hungry, but why? Why can’t I be content with the blessings that I have in my life? Why must I feel this way? Can I not count my blessings and not cause so much worry for myself when the rest of the kids I know are trying to live a perfectly normal life?

Luke’s parents, Kristo and Nancina Aldi, tried to understand his frustrations. They saw a precocious characteristic in their son. From a very early age they could see him as having or showing the qualities or abilities of an adult. It didn’t worry them. In fact, they saw this as a positive part of his development. But Luke wasn’t a happy child. Most of the time he withdrew within himself allowing his inner feelings of insecurity and suspicion to bottle up. School was not an escape from his feelings. It was more about hearing about things that just didn’t seem to matter. At least not to him. Each day he spent at school allowed his mind to daydream of places unknown and things as trivial as scooping for tadpoles in muddy puddles on the sides of the road near where he lived. This was a favourite spot for Luke. Here he would contemplate for what seemed like hours on how he thought the tadpoles got to the shallow water on the side of the road. He once asked his friend Jake about tadpoles and Jake quickly drew upon his fathomless knowledge about nature.

Frogs have to lay the eggs that grow into the tadpoles, Jake told him.

But how did the frogs get to our pond? asked Luke. Don’t they have to stay near water, and there aren’t any other ponds of water nearby where I saw the tadpoles. Frogs could not have gotten to the water on the side of the road to lay their eggs!

One possible answer, said Jake, could be related to the fact that frog eggs are somewhat sticky. If a bird stood in a different pond and frog eggs stuck to its feet, then when the bird came to your pond, it could have brought the eggs that hatched into the tadpoles. That makes frog eggs disperse just like the kinds of seeds that stick to animal fur - which would be animals imitating plants!"

Jake really knew about animals and nature, thought Luke. In the classroom, Luke would scratch meaningless etchings on the lid of his old, wooden desk taking great delight at the attention he received from other kids. He knew this doodling would get him into trouble with the teacher nuns, but he didn’t seem to care much about that. He was used to trouble following him everywhere in almost everything he did. But a time came when his doodling became a bit more erratic and more careless than usual. This time, he took a real risk by balancing the inkwell on his desk at the end of his wooden ruler. His grip on the ruler proved a bit too shaky resulting in the inkwell falling off the end and spilling dark blue ink across the lid of his desk and also onto the old wooden floor. There was immediate cheering from the kids around him as they threw bits of paper and old chewing gum at the befuddled Luke. This unfortunate incident happened in Sister Evangelista’s classroom. This was not good. If only it had occurred in one of the other teacher’s rooms Luke’s sense of impending doom would have been less traumatic.

Sister Evangelista was well known to take direct action and this didn’t just mean a well versed and lengthy dressing down. She would vent all the anger she could muster, and more, upon any victim. Luke was a favourite target of hers. He knew this. Galvanized into action by the cheering, she rushed to the scene of the crime like an almighty gush of wind pushing aside the boys and girls that were crowding around the bemused yet unsettled Luke. All the while, Luke had that beguiled look on his long, skinny face. It was that cunning, enchanting look that always covered his whole face like a mask hiding a toughness that is almost frightening. It was almost like he was hiding his weakness with some false personification of power. It immediately Became obvious to sister Evangelista what had happened. Her anger turned her face red as a beetroot.

Luke Aldi!

She screamed in a voice whose excruciating pitch could have raised Luke’s old Border Collie, Rover, from the dead. Luke had a Border Collie up until a few weeks ago. It was an unfortunate mange⁴ animal. A poor excuse for a dog. But Luke took pity on him when he saw him quite by accident dragging his scrawny, limp and shaggy body around a nearby street corner. Jake was with him that day. The pathetic animal didn’t scurry away as the two boys slowly approached him and was soon wagging his tail excitedly. Jake would have loved to adopt the dog but there were already enough animal pets at home among which there was a guinea pig called Micro and a jet-black cat called Romeo. So, there was no way his parents, Sal and Karina Lily would allow him to adopt another pet; especially one that already appeared to be half dead!

Why don’t you take the dog? Jake advised his friend.

Not sure, said Luke.

All he needs is a good wash and some tender loving care. I’ll help you clean him up a bit.

OK, replied Luke. I just hope mum and dad will let me keep him.

Luke loved this dog. He called him Rover because to Luke, it seemed this dog had been roaming all over the countryside. They became inseparable until Rover was killed by an absolute fluke of nature. It was a rainy day and few people were about. Luke thought he would brave the rain and the storm warnings and go for a hike towards what he now often referred to as the enchanted forest. Rover was right by his side. They hadn’t gone very far when a deafening clap of thunder followed immediately by a cracking bolt of lightning caused the shivering Rover’s fur to stand on end. Luke ran for shelter and only realised Rover wasn’t with him once he had reached the safety of a lean-to shelter. It was then, in a terrifying moment, he saw Rover still motionless in the middle of the road where they were standing prior to the thunder and the lightning. He looked like a carcass which had suddenly been petrified. All his fur stood straight up like the teeth on a comb. It quickly dawned on Luke that Rover had been hit by the lightning. It took Luke quite some time to get over the loss of his beloved dog.

Are you responsible for this mess?

Before Luke could utter even a feeble reply, sister Evangelista slammed the desk with her feather duster cane. The impact broke the cane in half exacerbating her anger to the point where she became almost inconsolable. It took some minutes for her to regain her composure. By this time, the whole classroom had erupted in a mixture of excited yelling while everyone was pushing and shoving each other the way little boys, and medium boys, and big boys and even all the girls, do. Looking back at them with eyes that could have melted lead and telling them to calm down in a tone of voice that had all the sinister connotations of an angry despot, sister Evangelista momentarily became completely distracted. Luke took advantage of this opportunity to ferret his way under the desk and out of harm’s way. But this only provided temporary refuge for the boy. It didn’t take too long for the seasoned sister Evangelista to gain control of the class. Having done so, she grabbed Luke roughly by the scruff of the neck and started to drag him off to Mother Superior’s office. Luke was grateful she hadn’t grabbed him by the ear because he knew from experience being pulled by the ear hurt a lot!

Please stop pulling me, sister, Luke begged. I’ll come freely to Mother Superior.

Sister Evangelista increased her pressure around Luke’s collar and almost lifted him off the ground. She raced him, gown swishing and Rosary beads swinging on her waist, to that dreaded Mother Superior’s room across the school courtyard. All the kids were calling out at him and shouting unkind things. These were words Luke had heard many times before now and was quite used to hearing them. To his surprise, someone had invented some new profanities which were now being hurled at him. Luke felt like a rabbit that had just been captured, being taken to meet his fateful destiny. Sister Evangelista didn’t hesitate in explaining in full detail to Mother Superior, Luke’s misdemeanor. Having heard what happened with disbelief, Mother Superior stared at Luke with fiery eyes. He thought if she kept this up for too long, she would either burn up or she would penetrate his very soul.

Young man, she started. You’re in big trouble.

So, what’s new thought Luke.

First, you will clean up the ink you spilled on your desk and on the floor with sandpaper. I don’t care how long it takes you to do this. You are a rotten scoundrel. Then, I want you to come back here. I will have your parents here so I can tell them what you have done and ask them what further punishment they intend to give you.

Huh! Good luck getting my parents here, thought Luke. His father worked on a farm as a labourer growing and harvesting crops such as peas and potatoes mainly. Luke knew his father couldn’t care less about what happened to him at school. Farming was all he had understood throughout his working life which started around ten years of age. However, his mother was well-schooled. She tutored children in science. Both Luke’s parents were very busy people and would not be able to leave their work on a trivial matter such as a misdemeanor at school on his part. But Luke was in for a big surprise when he returned to Mother Superior’s room later that day. As predicted, she had not been able to summon Luke’s parents, but she did manage to secure his oldest brother Xan who also worked as a labourer with his father. Xan was much older than Luke. They had little in common with each other. His first words to Luke were: What have you done now you little bugger?

His big brother didn’t seem to mind that he was in the presence of a nun and he shouldn’t be using expletives. However, this flippant attitude of his brother impressed Luke.

Nothing much, replied Luke sheepishly.

Don’t lie to me you pipsqueak. I had to leave work to come here. Just wait until I get you home. You’re in big trouble mate.

Xan made some pleasant remarks to Mother Superior and then quickly marched Luke out of the room towards the tractor parked out on the road beside the school. Once out of earshot of school staff and other kids, Xan patted Luke on the back and said: Good onya mate. I hope I wasn’t too tough with you in Mother Superior’s room. I had to pretend I was really upset with you. You know what I mean. I didn’t really mean it all. You’re really a good kid and I like you.

In those early years, Luke saw Xan as his knight in shining armour even though he didn’t know much about him. He knew he was his big brother and would be there for him when the chips were down.

CHAPTER THREE

EARLY TEENS

H e was just into his early teen years and to Luke it was like he had lived much more of life than a boy of his tender years should have. His was a journey that so far had given him no real pleasures either at home, at school or with the very few friends he thought he had. In his mind, the future looked as bleak as his past. Everything around him, his home, the people he knew, the town, even the animals seemed to stay the same. It was as if the town of Fontana was lost in some kind of time warp. The idea of a time warp was not something with which Luke was familiar. He overheard two old men talking about this after school one day in the little town square. The one with the oversized overcoat was saying to the other who was smoking a big, smouldering pipe and staring blankly at nothing in particular:

You know Niko, I reckon there are many towns around the world that are stuck in a time warp. This could be because of their inherent poverty and lack of education which prevents them from catching up with modern times. Those places probably simply don’t want their home towns to be overtaken with modern developments and are perfectly happy with their current way of living.

Niko wasn’t the kind of man who had much to offer in the way of conversation, but, this time, he actually did have an opinion.

Ciccio, he said, I think there is nothing wrong with a town staying the way it is. It’s ok for all the young people these days to want to change everything, but some things should not change, modernity is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Besides, what do you know about any new technologies that might be out there?

Both men just sat there drinking black coffee and smoking for a short while, thinking about what they had just said. They saw Luke walking past. Then Ciccio added: I know what you mean, Niko. Look at that young kid. He’ll probably want to do just that, change everything just because it might satisfy his needs better, regardless of any consideration for the needs of others.

Yep, scoffed Niko, or he might choose to run away from this place to an unknown future.

Luke overheard all of this and decided that if things didn’t change in Fontana he certainly wasn’t going to stick around this place when there might be so much the outside world could offer him. He really believed the town was a dead loss and there just had to be places where someone could spread their wings and become a part of new experiences. Places where you could do just about anything you wanted to do. There were always those kids who made it their daily task to wage war on Luke because of something about him they considered not quite to their liking. Perhaps school wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the incessant badgering of the few kids whose daily routine was to traumatize and to taunt kids like Luke. Their target was anyone they considered an easy prey and Luke certainly fitted that category. There was one kid who was particularly up front with his onslaught on Luke. He was known as boofhead because that’s the nickname all the many kids who followed in his footsteps gave him. Boofhead would confront Luke with unkind and insulting remarks as soon as Luke entered the school gates each morning. Remarks such as: Look everyone, here comes the stick kid ........ the skinny stick kid.

At least I’m not a bully and don’t have to have a gang to protect me, Luke would be quick to retort.

But this made no difference. It would only urge boofhead and his cohorts even more to the point when Luke would need to run into the refuge of the classroom and wait there for the school bell to ring.

One day, he murmured out loud....... One day things will be different. I’ll make sure of that.

It was during those early days spent struggling with inner feelings of rejection while at the same time trying to find a niche in which to escape the overwhelming outpouring of mental abuse from what seemed to be the whole world, that the foundations were set for Luke’s future. It was a matter of either fitting in with the masses or going it alone.

I won’t give in, he said to his mother during a moment of sheer exasperation.

Nancina wanted so much to shelter her son from the life difficulties he was experiencing. But she knew in her heart that this would hinder rather than nurture his development. He had to face the many challenges life would cast his way in the only way he knew how. There might be times when eating three meals a day, having a roof over your head and be in good company might not be common events. She would imagine all this taken away from her son. Would he be able to survive such challenges?

Luke was a potent character struggling for survival. His life could change forever as could anyone’s life. As he got older and with a whole new world in front of him, he would have to rely on his love for life and passion to survive no matter what the odds. His mother was a very astute woman and knew there would also be situations in which he would be drawn into extensive, gruelling ordeals. Her son would not only have to keep his sanity, he had to stay alive. This, in itself, caused Luke’s mother to think about her own life. Was she and her husband Kristo living the life they had intended to live? Were their relationships what they needed to be? Like Luke’s mother, if we think of what it means to being an ‘outcast’ like her son, we perhaps can and should consider different alternatives. A fisherman could cast his line into the depths of the ocean, but he still holds on, so he has not lost sight of his goal. An emperor of early civilization could sentence a peasant to exile. Even a school kid could be cast away from the popular kids, but would eventually meet new friends elsewhere in life. But what if a child is ostracised from everything he has ever known? Can he survive without the solid foundations of a mother’s psychological intuitions instilled in him during his formative years? She was determined to make sure her son was given every opportunity to make it through life. In his heart, Luke knew his mother’s comforting words of support would always be there for him.

Many times, as the years passed, Nancina would say to her son, You are your own person with the ability to think and act as you see fit. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.

Yet, if one thinks about it, regardless of the difficulties endured, there remains just a hint of a certain fondness of those early school days that now seem so far away. But Luke couldn’t see this then. Not for any money in the world could he ever have realised back then how his life might become in the years ahead.

CHAPTER FOUR

FAMILY LIFE

L uke came from a poor background. As mentioned, his father Kristo Aldi, was a man who worked as a labourer not just in his own small plots of land on the outskirts of the town, but, of necessity, as a labourer to other farmers. He was a man of good, solid stock who was not afraid of hard work. He was also quite the disciplinarian and there was many a time when Luke would be at the receiving end of his father’s wrath. Any misdemeanor could result in punishment. This could be a clip under the ear or even the lash of