The
CHAPTER THREE
The
Simon never woke until he found himself shaken by a man he
didn't know.
”Wake up!, wake up! My friend! We
are here. We are here. You must hurry."
It took a minute for the giant to remember what and where he
was. Then Simon jumped up and out of bed. He was still in his clothes and he
still wore his white robe. He ran to the small sink and rinsed the sleep from
his eyes. There was a tray of food placed on the bed and as Simon had not eaten
for a long time, he gulped down some of the food. The man who still remained a
stranger to him tried to hand him his 50 caliber gun but he could not lift it.
Simon smiled and picked it up with one hand and left the room. The stranger
just stared after him as he marveled at the gentle spirited giant.
Merlin's door was open, but he was not inside. At the foot
of the stairs, a man signaled to Simon to climb up to the upper deck. Merlin
was leaning on the rail looking out to the
Merlin turned around and faced the seven foot, four inch
giant. He looked up at him, but with a look that told Simon who was the boss
and said "Are you ready? Let's go!"
Simon looked around and saw that the chopper had already
been raised to the upper deck. Twelve men stood around it looking like pillars
in a circle, all staring at Simon. "Let's go!" responded Simon,
motioning the hermit towards the black machine with the four arms waiting to
spin.
Within four minutes, Simon was lowering the helicopter down
on an open deck next to a two-story building on the top of one of the many
mountains of
Simon turned off the engine and the two men waited as the
blades slowly came to a stop. Merlin just sat there, not moving a muscle as
Simon looked at him. No one came up to the chopper to greet them. The entire
area was strangely quiet, almost frighteningly so. Simon waited for The Hermit
to speak. Finally Merlin turned towards the tall black man. "What are we
waiting for? Let’s go!"
They stepped down from the chopper, and walked slowly
towards the building. It looked even more dingy close up. When they looked
back, the view of the sea from where they stood was breathtaking. Two big glass
doors that had obviously been recently scrubbed separated the interior from the
deck. Merlin waited, and Simon reached out and opened the door.
Standing a few feet inside, like a beautiful goddess, was
the most gorgeous woman Simon had ever seen. She was not afraid of the sight of
the big black man. She stood with dignity and authority even though she wore a
pink night robe and had obviously just risen from sleep. Her hair was pulled
back and tied with a single ribbon and then hung down her back almost three
feet. Her face was olive brown and without any makeup. Prominent was her eyes, brilliant green and
not afraid to look directly into your eyes with confidence.
Simon stepped aside to allow Merlin room to get by him.
"My Lady, Good Morning! I'm Father Merlin. I'm looking
for Philip, who I believe is your husband. I assume you are
Without the slightest embarrassment for being in her bathrobe,
she made no expression of irritation, but greeted Father Merlin and Simon
politely. She made no reply but with queenly dignity, she walked out onto the
deck past Merlin and past the giant. She glided to the edge of the patio and
looked down. She appeared very heavyhearted as she pointed down the mountain
replying, "Down there."
Merlin limped over to the edge as fast as he could, and
Simon beat him to the rail. The woman was pointing to a small stone shed about
two hundred feet below. It was next to a small chapel. A trail twisted down to
the stone building with red tile roof. It was about ten feet wide, twenty feet
long, and had no walls.
"Thank you, my lady. We are his friends."
"Certainly! Of course! All of you
say the same thing. That is why we are here, on this island, in this jail,
because you are all our friends." Sophia walked away and exited through
the glass doors, throwing the words over her shoulder at them but not looking
back.
"If only she knew!" thought Merlin, as he watched
her leaving the patio, "If only she knew!" Merlin waved a finger at
Simon and the two men started down the trail. They passed the small pilgrimage
The
"Are you Philip?" Merlin said into the silence.
Philip, startled, looked up at Merlin. Philip had light
brown hair that was long and very curly. His nose was long and hooked at the
end. He had not shaved as it was before 7:00 AM in the morning. He was dressed
in tennis shoes, blue jeans and a tee shirt. His eyes and face showed no fear,
only anger and determination, "I'm Philip Von Habsburg!"
"My name is Father Merlin. I'm a hermit priest from
Philip stood up and then knelt down in front of the hermit
and kissed his hand. Then he sat down heavily and looked at the coffin. He
turned towards the giant black man and stared at his mammoth size for a few
minutes. He wondered to himself about the white robe with the White and Gold
Cross. He turned back to look at Merlin. "What do you want of me?" he
asked.
"I have a letter for you from The Holy Father."
Merlin handed the sealed leather folder to Philip.
"The Holy Father? The
Holy Father? I knew Pope
"He sent this letter to you! It has the seal! Open
it!"
Philip looked down at the seal and recognized its authenticity.
It was real, "Why me?" He pulled on the ribbon and opened the leather
folder, reading the letter:
"Peter, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, extends
greetings and the Apostolic Benediction to my beloved son in Christ, and
faithful Christian, Philip Von Habsburg.
"Even though it is not allowed, and even though my
fellow servants in Christ and I will be in great danger, I shall return to
"It is imperative that you come to
Your Servant in Christ, Benedict, Bishop of
Rome"
Philip looked up at Merlin. "What is this? What does he want of me? The Holy Father! Me? What's going on
here?"
He looked back at the letter, and then up at the black man,
as if to ask for help, but said nothing. Then he asked Merlin, "How shall
this be accomplished? How do we go?”
"It has been arranged. We will take you safely."
"When?"
"Now! As soon as you can
leave! We cannot take your family with us. The danger is too great in
Philip thought for a few moments, bowed his head in sorrow
and then softly, almost in a whisper said, "Let's go!"
He looked over at the coffin. It contained the remains of
his grandfather, Charles Von Habsburg. Charles was the last Emperor of Europe.
He had died in exile on this island on the 1st of April 1922 ….. April fool’s
Day!!! His father, Otto, was just a small boy at the time. Otto became a writer
and columnist in order to support the family. Philip was born in
"My grandfather was a great man. He only wanted to help
his people! He tried to unify
Philip leaned over and kissed the iron crown of thorns on
the coffin.
"Let’s go and see what the Holy Father wants!"
Charles von Habsburg was now
Beyond that, Zita, the wife of
Charles, and the grandmother of Philip, was also beatified. Zita
went into a convent after the death of her husband and the raising of her 8
children. In the convent in