Wonderful drawing by  sethtriggs
Story by  Ben Zider
Based on Chakat Universe created by  Goldfur

Note: This is a short story complementary to the main story entitled "A New Life" whose chapters are constantly published on Wordpress. (https://bpvillenaestudio.wordpress.com/2021/11/29/en-el-archipielago-skunktaur)

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Two human children were having fun playing outside with a young Foxtaur. They were neighbors. The professor's children had grown up practically their entire lives in this country place, far from the bustling city.

Ben was sitting in a chair to one side of the doorway. He watched his children play, while his wife Mary, a human like him, prepared lunch in the kitchen. She had in her hands a tablet on which she wrote incessantly, while she watched the boys. The beautiful environment of the Archipelago, and the tranquility of the place were ideal to inspire the mind.

The foxtaur puppy's parents leaned into the driveway, calling him to eat.

"Kids. Helg must go home for lunch. And you will too soon. So enough games for now." Exclaimed the professor.

"Awww, what a shame. But then we will continue playing, right?" Said the youngest of her daughters as she stroked her friend's fur.

"Yes. After eating, I'll be back!" The friendly foxtaur replied.

"Agree. Go with your parents" Ben told him, as he greeted the couple of adult foxes who were waiting for him outside the garden.

"Dad, is it time for lunch?" Asked the eldest son.

"If you're hungry, go to your mother. Maybe I have something for you now.

"Yes!" the children exclaimed in unison. At that moment, a PTV approached the garden on the path, stopping at the entrance. The professor stood up, trying to identify the driver. After a while, he got out of the vehicle and started to walk down the path that connected the cabin with the outside garden.

"Aunt Rogar !!" The little ones shouted, hurrying to meet them.

"Hello my little ones!" Said the old skunktaur hugging them both. "How big you are" hy added.

"Aunt Rogar. Will you let me ride you?"

"Of course my little one, come on, get on," said the dean as hy bent down to allow the youngest of Ben's children to climb on hys back.

"Rogar! I'm glad to see you!" The professor greeted hym, approaching and giving hym an affectionate hug.

"What a pleasant surprise. Tell me what brings you here?"

"Ben. It is always a pleasure to visit my old friend and his family. I came to thank you and your wife for the cake that you gave us on freedom day."

"Heh heh ... It was nothing Rogar. But please come inside. And your patner Neftor? Doesn't it come with you? How is that grumpy old skunk?

"Heh heh… Hy went to visit hys grandchildren. And hy is very well. Thank you" the skunktaur replied with a smile.

"Aunt Rogar. This week I did very well in the math test" said Benny, the eldest son, with an air of pride.

"I congratulate you, little one. I knew you would make it. You are intelligent, like your father." Rogar answered giving him a kiss on the forehead. They all entered the house. Mary, Ben's wife, also greeted the newcomer with joy.

"Thanks for the cake Mary" said the skunktaur "It was delicious."

"I'm very glad you liked it. And I regret not having been able to stay at your party" replied the woman.

"Oh do not worry. You can go to my house whenever you want" Rogar replied.

"Please. Now stay and eat with us" Mary begged.

"I made a suitable lunch for both humans and skunktaurs heh heh."

"Ok daughter. I'll stay thanks" agreed the dean.

After a pleasant and profitable lunch, where the group talked about everyday family situations, anecdotes and the latest news from the Archipelago, Rogar finally said.

"Ben. I'd like to talk to you for a moment alone."

"Oh… If you need to talk, I'll go with the children to the next room," said Mary.

"Oh no dear. There's no need. I prefer to walk with your husband, on the shore of the beautiful lake that you have in the patio heh heh. I'll steal it from you for just a few minutes.

"Please Rogar. It's fine by me. It distracts my husband from that tablet, where he spends day and night writing. He now wants to be a writer heh heh heh."

"Mary, don't tease. Someday I'll be successful, you'll see ..." - Ben answered a little serious.

"Don't worry Mary. I'll shake it up a bit from the literature. Let's go?"

"Benny, if Helg comes back, tell him I need to talk to hir dad afterward, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," the boy answered. The old skunktaur and the human then went out for a walk along the shore of the lake. The little girl wanted to accompany them on Rogar's back. But Mary convinced her to keep playing with Helg.

A gentle breeze churned the surface of the water creating small waves. Chakastra was still hidden behind the gray clouds, which stretched from the horizon.

"What worries you, Rogar?"

"How do you know that something worries me, Ben?"

"I am not telepathic, but I have known you for more than eighteen years, old friend. And I know you didn't come to see me just to thank us for the cake."

"Ufff..." The skunk sighed deeply.

"Take my arm. And tell me ..." Said the professor caressing hys hand.

"I've been thinking about everything that has happened lately" Rogar began.

"What are you talking about?"

"My brother Vroeg, only a month before hy died, found out that hy had a lost son, apart from Rena and Chorre, the children hy had with Maine, hys wife.

"You mean the skunktaur who is in prison for attempting against that boy… Esteban?"

"Yes ... Ugkar. And hy is no longer in prison. Hy was released a week ago by the Federation"

"Released by the federation? And why? What does the Federation want with hym?"

"Do you remember when H1 tried to kill Esteban?"

"Yes. He was on the news. I've always said that this kid is a champion for getting into trouble"

"Well. On that occasion, Ugkar, while in prison, managed to save him using psionic powers. Hy remotely manipulated the will of the attackers, making them fight each other."

"Wait Rogar. You say Ugkar did that from thousands of miles away? That is awesome!"

"Well. The federation also found him amazing and that's why they released him"

"Wow. So Ugkar saved the boy that he had earlier tried to hurt?"

"Yes. They made up. And now they are like brothers. By Vroeg I guess."

"But Vroeg, your brother ... Didn't hy die close to Esteban in Amistad?"

"Yes. That was very sad for the boy"

"Wow. The ironies of destiny. But you should be happy Rogar. Your nephew, Ugkar, is now free and surely on hys way to a better future"

"I know, but it is not what worries me" said the skunktaur as hy took slow steps with hys friend
"Do you remember the attack on H1 in 2332 of the terrestrial calendar?"

"Yes, of course, just on the day of freedom. It was a sad event, which alarmed not only Chakona, but also the other planets of the Federation. I was a naive young man doing my practical in a laboratory on Terra"

"And I, that day, was in Amistad, teaching. Back then, long before the terrorist attack, I remember feeling the same way I feel now, an inexplicable feeling of melancholy, like a void. It is strange that, being a telepath myself, I cannot explain this to myself"

"Rogar, you know I'm not a psychologist. And I don't have your skills either. I would like to find a better way to help you"

"But, you are a friend. And that's enough for me, Ben"

"Agree. So you say you don't feel good. Rogar?"

"I feel melancholic. Like that time. I'm afraid that something serious could happen in Chakona" Said the skunktaur looking at the horizon.

"Rogar, I don't know what to tell you to comfort your spirit. But you know that we can't control the world. We only have control over ourselves"

"I know. But still. I can't see clearly, despite my abilities. Forgive me, Ben, for disturbing your peace of mind with my nonsense"

"Hey Rogar. Wait. You are the smartest person I know. If you came here, it's for something important" Ben answered, taking hys hands.

"My brother Vroeg always had that quality. Hy could glimpse the future, somehow. That gave the hym tranquility, and a peace that I am not able to achieve, despite my years of life"

"Hmmm… I don't think hy was a clairvoyant or something like that. Although I did not know hym, I think that hy reached a heightened level of consciousness. And that's what gives you inner peace, not the psionic abilities that you have"

"What exactly do you mean by elevated level of consciousness Ben?" The skunktaur asked curiously. The human looked at the horizon and sighed deeply. In the distance he saw his 4-year-old daughter running toward them along the shore of the lake. She had a brush in her hand and made small jumps avoiding the water and the stones.

"Aunt Rogar! Aunt Rogar! Can I brush your hair?” She asked cheerfully as she snuggled up.

"Hahaha. Of course!"

"Flor, you got away with it huh?" Ben said as he lifted her into his arms and sat her on Rogar's back. The girl happily began brushing the skunktaur's hair. Looking at her daughter so happy, the professor sentenced.

"Some say that a heightened state of consciousness returns you to the innocence of a child. You see everything so clearly that nothing that happens around you, and even within you, can bother you in any way. You vibrate in harmony with the universe, which is essentially a vibration of love, both the visible and the invisible to our senses.

"Hmmm… That's deep Ben…"

"Hahaha. Do not think that I have a high conscience. Rogar. I only repeat concepts of human ancestral culture"

"It makes sense, because you are a much older race than the chakats or us the skunktaurs"

"I don't know if it has to do with the specie where you belong, Rogar. Each life experience is individual. And the path traveled by each one, from selfishness to love, is unique. You can do it on the body of a man, a chakat or a skunktaur, or all of them, if that helps you progress.

"Hahaha. I can't help but think of Vroeg when I hear you speak. The last years of hys life, hy talked about similar things. When hys partner died, hy sold hys assets. Hy did not want to live with any relatives. Hy preferred to make hys home at a state homeless shelter in Amistad. Hy never wanted help of any kind. My brother, at the end of his life, became an enigma to me. But we all respect hys decisions"

"I understand. I would have liked to meet him. When you achieve inner peace, material objects no longer matter"

"Ben. I want to ask you something. My brother believed that death was nothing more than a stumbling block in the race of existence. Tell me, what do you think?"

"Rogar. If you want you can read my mind. Maybe you can better understand what I think"

"No Ben. I respect you too much to do that and you know it"

"Heh heh ... Thanks for that Rogar. Then I will try to be as clear as possible. I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that everything happens for a reason. And when I was young and began to ask about these matters, I received the answers little by little, over the years. And those answers to my sincere questions have convinced me that the reality that surrounds us is larger and more complex than what our minds can grasp, or our science can show us. Just as physical reality is governed by natural laws, so are we"

"When we make a mistake, we must correct it, return to balance. To repent is to do something about it. That is the law of cause and effect that governs our journey, which starts with selfishness and leads us to love. That law makes us pay for our mistakes, and by doing so, we learn. Think that the existence of every creature is like academic degrees. We start from the basics, until we reach the higher grades, while we grow and mature. The same happens with all beings. And in that sense, death is like the vacation you take between grade and grade"

"Ben. That is something difficult to assimilate" Rogar answered frowning. "Although Vroeg thought like you"

"Forgive me for making you listen to my nonsense"

"No, no ... I mean, if what you say is real ... People would look at life with different eyes"

"With the highest consciousness, perhaps..."

"Yes ... I'll tell you Ben ... I ... A few days ago I had a dream ... " Rogar said staring at the horizon.

"I saw my brother Vroeg, I'm sure it was him. But hy was no longer a skunktaur, but ... a Renzar, I think ..."

"A Renzar?" Asked the surprised professor "Do you know someone of that species?"

"Yes, yes ... Esteban's adoptive parents are renouncing"

"Wow…"

"But the one in my dream, he was none of them. He was Vroeg. He could feel it."

"I see…"

"And he was accompanied by a beautiful and bright skunktaur, on a beach, looking out to the ocean. The two of them were together and they looked happy"

"Your brother was the Renzar and not the skunktaur?"

"Exactly. Doesn't he seem strange to you?"

"Pretty. But the important thing to beg, is that you do not worry. It is not worth living with melancholy. Life is too short for that. Enjoy the present, with your family and friends"

"Oh Ben. How right you are I think sometimes I worry too much. My skills suddenly play tricks on me. But I'm glad to have you as a ground wire. Apart from being my colleague from the university, and my friend…" Said the skunktaur sighing.

"And besides, you're my boss. Don't forget it" replied the human with a smile.

"I'm done!" The little girl suddenly exclaimed after brushing Rogar's hair. "Do you like my brushing?"

"Sure my little one. Thank you very much" the dean answered smiling.

"Come on Flora, leave Aunt Rogar alone," Ben said lovingly.

"No problem Ben. I like to have her on me. But we better get back. I don't want to take more time from you"

"Don't worry, Rogar. Iam available for you whenever you want, as I know that you are always available for me" said Ben as they started back to the cabin together. On the way, the Foxtaur neighbors came to meet him. The father, mother and little cub Hegt, who came forward to invite little Flora to play with him on the beach.