The Secret Passage

By LASZLO GUBANYI

The story of a boy with unusual birth who developa a very high inteligence

 

together with an extreme curiosity about the world.

 

Working on learning very hard develops metal capacities

 

which he shares with three female friends to explore the unseen worlds within.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: LASZLO GUBANYI
• Release date: Jul 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798227159670

Book preview

The Secret   

Passage

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by

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Laszlo Gubanyi

CHAPTER ONE

Peter was nearly eight years old, but deep inside appeared much older. He knew things other children of his age had no idea about.

When the cat stacks its head through the door, he knew exactly what it wanted.

He reached for the dog biscuits before the dog entered the house.

When the dog was chasing the lizards, one look from him was enough to stop it.

Peter liked lizards.

Many times when he was sitting on the garden steps the lizards gathered around him. He told them where to go for their next feed.

Peter was a very special person. He knew things and was doing things other kids were not able to do.

On the other hand, he could not do practically anything what the others were doing.

He was not going to school as the others did. He was not able to.

Not that there was anything wrong with him. He was a very healthy little boy.

Physically.

Mentally... he was different.

Deep inside he was very smart, very intelligent. He knew lots of things. He understood well his environment. All the animals were his friends, they came when he called them.

The birds were quiet when he wanted to sleep.

The cat and the dog lay next to him when he was cold.

The rabbits brought him sweet roots, even the fish came close when he put his hand in the water.

He understood the wind, he never got wet when it was raining.

Peter felt connected to the whole world around him.

Except people.

There was no connection there whatsoever.

He could not understand the funny noises they made with their mouths.

He had no way to tell them if he wanted something.

So people just left him alone.

There was a time when his parents dragged him from doctor to doctor to try to help him. No one could.

They were told many times that there was nothing wrong with Peter.

He was just maturing slowly. To leave him alone and don’t push him.

He will start talking when he was ready.

His parents waited and waited, then eventually just gave up.

They left him alone. No pushing. Not demanding. They let him do whatever he wanted to do...and waited.

They said they were waiting, but in reality just gave up.

No one tried to teach him anything as there was no way to communicate. No speaking, no sign language, no pictures.

Nothing worked. Peter just looked at them with blank eyes, totally unaware of what was going on.

So he was left alone, watched but without interference.

It was very easy to look after him.

They just sat him down somewhere on the outside, in the grass or under a tree. When they looked at him hours later, he was still sitting there in the same position with a content look on the face.

No one noticed the lizards in his lap, the butterfly on his finger or the bees buzzing around his head.

He was in his world and he was happy there.

One day his mother noticed a big black rabbit standing in front of him. She was afraid that it might hurt Peter as it was quite a big animal, as far as rabbits go.

She shooed it away but it was back as soon as she left. After a while she just left them alone.

And that big black rabbit was there lots of times. Every time it was there Peter was concentrating only on it.

The lizards were still there, the birds were always close by, but Peter was looking at the black rabbit and the black rabbit alone.

Sitting there, practically not moving, leaning a little forward, looking straight into its eyes.

The rabbit the same. Not moving. Standing so its eyes were at the same level as Peter’s, not even blinking. Neither of them moving, sometimes for hours. The air was sparkling around their heads.

Then after a while, the black rabbit did not come any more.

That was the time when Peter started to change.

Then first change was that he started to wonder around the house.

Was not just sitting on the same place any more. Peter started to get interested in things. Not just in the world he created around himself but truly the outside world.

He was touching the trees feeling the roughness of its bark, the softness of the leaves.

Was touching the rocks, moving them around, aligned them in circles and squares, then ornamented the results with loose branches.

Wanted to touch, to feel everything.

Peter’s wondering around caused worries to his parents as they could not any more let him alone feeling secure that he is safe. He had to be watched constantly  to keep him safe, even if he did not go far away.

They did not realize how lucky he really was.

When he wondered out to the always busy street, just at that time, there were no cars around.

When he fell off the fence where he got following an ant, there just happened to be a pile of recently cut grass which cushioned his fall.

When he fell into the pond trying to touch a fish, just happened to be a leak that day  and the water was very low, and when he found a snake under a rock, it did not bite  him.

One afternoon the children run into his house—

"Mrs. Gonzales! Mrs. Gonzales! Peter got into the house next door.

There is a very nasty dog in there."

Everyone knew that dog. It had a very bad temper. When someone was passing by, it barked, it snarled, trying to bite people through the fence.

Everyone was afraid of that dog.

Quite a few people heard the warning and started to run towards that garden to save Peter from that dog.

It was unexpectedly quiet when they got there.

Peter was sitting on the ground with the big head of the dog in his lap. The dog had his eyes closed, his tongue half out while Peter was pulling its ears and poking his fingers into its nose, getting familiar with what a dog was about.

His mother called him through the fence to come out, but as usual, Peter did not understand the call.

He did not move but when people approached the fence the dog jumped up snarling, trying to bite.

Then quietly returned to Peter and put his head on his lap.

People was starting to pile up there trying different things to get him out, but the dog was very protective and did not allow anyone to get close.

Eventually they had to get the dog’s owner who finally managed to get Peter out.

His parents worried about his safety as they never knew what he will do and where the next time. It was much more peaceful for everyone when he was just sitting quietly on the same spot for hours.

On the other hand, they were really hoping that this new wondering and exploring would be the beginning of the change they were promised so long ago. That one day they will have the son they were wishing for.

This hope was growing as the changes kept happening.

Peter started to collect things by their color. Flowers, pebbles, dry sticks and making places for his collections behind their house. His parents were first surprised by these unusual activities but were also happy about the changes happening. Any change.

As he never wondered far away his parents just let him do whatever he wanted to do, keeping an eye on him all the time.

Maybe one day...

And things just kept happening around him.

One day while Peter was playing with the rocks along the road, a truck had an accident close by. One big wheel got loose and started to roll alongside the road, directly towards him. He wasn’t even aware of the wheel more than twice his size which was getting closer and closer, picking up speed as it went along.

No one saw how that huge wheel got stopped suddenly just next to him.

Peter touched the wheel now standing still and smiled at it. A friendly, happy smile.

Also , no one noticed him lifting that rock nearly his size to let the possum out of his hole, and that the animal stayed with him playing for a while.

Peter was growing up. On the inside.

He stopped exploring. Just kept watching, looking around.

In his mind the picture of the outside world was growing and he started to understand the picture.

He understood now the light of the day, the darkness of the night.

When the bee landed on the flower, Peter understood what it was doing.

He listened to the sound of the trees and smiled about what they said.

The plants grew, the flowers opened to his touch.

He could feel the colors of the rainbow but was still unable to understand the noises

people made with their mouths.

It took a long time until the picture was complete in his mind but eventually Peter could look around and understand what he was seeing.

His mother sometimes wondered how come Peter had his toys with him in bed while she was nearly secure he went there without them.

Then she shrugged and went away. She must have been wrong.

Still, she was quite surprised when she found Peter with a book in his lap.

A book without pictures in it, to make it stranger.

Peter’s parents were well educated, there were a lot of books of all kind around the house.

They watched him sitting there, usually on the floor, looking at the books page by page. First they laughed about it, making jokes as what he was looking for on pages full of words only.

Then, as this went on, they stopped laughing and started wondering. For God’s sake, he could not even talk, reading...?

Peter quite seriously was going through all kind of books, never the same twice. He got quite upset when they were trying to take the books away from him.

After a while his parents accepted the situation. An unusual habit of a strange child. At least he stopped wondering around. 

The books were talking to Peter. 

He understood the letters, the words, although in reality there was no need for them. The meanings were lifting from the pages and entered directly into his mind.  The words, the sentences, the activities described in the book...his expanding mind absorbed it all and once inside his memory, as an iron box, never let anything out from there. 

His knowledge expanded, his understanding went much further than the world strictly just around him. 

He could see the stars and knew what they were.

He could feel the warmth of the sunshine and understood its origin.

He could feel the breathing of the fish, the chemistry in the soil, the power in a thunderstorm  but he was not able to understand the noises people made with their mouths. 

It was now well over a year that Peter started to change. One day the black rabbit was back again. That day he started to talk.

Peter could understand many things now. The inside world was clear for him. He understood his own feelings, his own reactions. He was starting to understand his own capacities.

He could also understand now the outside world. He knew the motives, the functions, the reasons why things were happening. He

was familiar with the forces which made the outside world work.

Still, he was unable to join together these two worlds. He was unable to find a way of communication, how to make contact in between these worlds.

He needed help with that.

The black rabbit.

It helped Peter to find a common link, to establish this connection.

To be able to establish this click in his mind, to make sense in one world of what was happening in the other.

The noises people made with their mouth started to make sense. 

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His mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner while his father was  watching television in the other room.

Peter’s soft voice came as a thunder in the quiet place.

Mother, where are the other books?

The woman froze dropping the knife she was working with, looking at him quite frightened.

Peter...did...did you...?

Yes mother. I was wondering where the other books were.

Doubting her own sanity she screamed calling her husband.

TED! Ted... come here...right now!

He really did not feel like getting up from the comfortable reclining chair but there was so much panic in her voice that he had to go.

What is happening?

Peter...

What about Peter? Did he hurt himself? He looks ok to me.

He wants more books.

So what is the panic about? Give them to him.

He asked for them.

He...what? What do you mean?

I asked mother where the other books are.

His father had a very similar reaction but he had no one to call.

Without a word he slowly backed to a chair from which watched his son with a pale face, without even blinking.

There was a long silence there, both parents just staring at him in disbelief.

Peter was looking from one to the other then walked out of the room.

PETER!-The shout came from both parents.

He heard them, he understood and went back to the room.

Did...did you...really speak?

Yes mother.

How...how come you can speak now?

I knew the words for a long time, just could not connect them to my  mouth. My friend helped me so now I can talk.

What friend?

"You saw him