Chapter Twenty-Four

“Until he said it, I only suspected it vas true. I tried not to hope for this.” The Professor clapped his hands in delight and danced a small jig, right there in the doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house. He could not contain his excitement and grabbed Mrs. Tucker and whirled her around, dancing to a tune no one else heard.

In spite of herself, Mrs. Tucker smiled over his shoulder at her husband, who gave a shrug and began grinning at the man’s exuberance. Moments later the professor released her with a formal bow and a flourish.

Mr. Tucker chuckled. “I don’t know what this is all about, but it looks like you’re happy about it.”

“Oh yes. Mr. Tucker. Your boy is a Lister!”

“But what’s a Lister?”

“Oh, how silly of me, of course you don’t know.” The Professor removed his jacket, loosened his tie and began pacing.

The Tuckers each took a kitchen chair and sat at the table, looking up at him expectantly.

“Vell, how could you know? There’s probably less than twenty people alive who know vhat a Lister is. I only know because of Valter.” His eyes were sparkling.

“Valter, come here and tell these folks vhat a Lister is.”

Walter came and explained.

“Listers were heard of first in the Middle Ages, though there is some evidence that they existed before that. Lister is an old English word for listener. Listers hear the universe singing. Everything has their own song. Things like the stars, the planets, rivers, mountains, and seas have steady songs, almost like the rhythm or the base of a grand symphony. Other things like plants, animals, and humans have songs that are much more varied. What a Lister does is listens to the universe.”

The Tuckers listened intently, but were still puzzled. At their expression, Walter stopped his explanation to take a different approach.

“Listers usually begin hearing unexplained sounds when they are 10 or 11 years old. Usually it is an astronomical body, a star, a black hole, or a comet, but then they begin to hear other things. They are rapidly surrounded by the music and can think of little else. It they aren’t helped they withdraw or are sometimes treated for insanity.

The thing to remember is that they aren’t crazy, what they hear is real, even if none of you can hear it. Timmy is dealing about as well as he can, but I understand he was hospitalized recently during a bad storm.”

The Tuckers nodded.

“If Timmy doesn’t learn to shut out the music when he needs to, he may die. We can help him, but he will need to come with us.”

“Why is this good news?” Mr. Tucker spoke for them both.

“Ve have been looking for a younger Lister for years!” the professor exclaimed. “Do you know vhat this means?”

Both Tuckers shook their heads.

“He can hear the stars sing! He can hear the planets! The seasons change! I never believed in magic or mysteries until I heard Lister music. It is vonderful! It is the essence of the universe, the song of time, of creation, of loss, of life, of joy, of sorrow.” He paused to take a breath.

“Listers tell us vhen things are going wrong, they can varn us early of bad things happening here on earth. More importantly, their music brings us hope and joy. They are a proof that there is more to this universe than meets the eye. Science has only begun to recognize some of the things Listers have known for centuries.” His eyes were sparkling.

“It sounds very…strange…and…well, dangerous.” Mrs. Tucker said.

“It is. It is.” The professor did not seem at all alarmed.