Marianne and Johan had watched the interview together, on Jeroen and Eric's site.

"Do you know what I find so strong?" asked Marianne. "That atmosphere, that connection that is palpable between us. They portrayed that particularly beautifully! I understood from Ellen that she helped Eric edit the three shots to come up with this result. Eric had said it was the first time for him that he had done this with someone together and that it went so naturally. I think they are a wonderful couple, they barely know each other, but already so in tune with each other."

"They are both already quite free and far along in their healing process. That's why their souls feel each other so well. Just like with Jeroen and you, also such a beautiful couple!" Will you forward the link of this interview to all our contacts?"

"Yes, I will! And I'll put it on Twitter and Facebook too," Marianne promised.

.

Martin and Elly were sitting in the living room having coffee. Suddenly Martin stood up, pulled out his mobile phone and sat down next to Elly on the sofa.

"I got an email this morning from Marianne Aalbers, you know, from the court. They were interviewed again, but this time not for an article, but a video recording. The journalist has a website together with a cameraman. It seems, neither of them works for a newspaper anymore, but started on their own."

He opened the link and started the video. Elly watched and listened breathlessly.

"Great," she sighed after the credits. "Great atmosphere there, so much heart, so much light and power, it just radiates so off your mobile! I do sometimes find myself thinking, Martin, about your work... how do you keep it up?"

Martin chuckled. "I've asked myself that question sometimes too. When I see how many cops react hardened, stupidly carrying out orders, orders you'd have to wonder which dictator's head they came from! I do see in several colleagues, especially my partner George, that they go through things, and that they eventually heal from it. But how good it would be for our region if our entire police force could live like Johan and his staff do. It just looks so cosy on that video, but like what you say, it's more than that, powerful, full of heart and life! Yes, I can long for that intensely sometimes. But how do you achieve something like that?"

Elly nodded and pondered. "Remember, back in those days of Lisa's court cases. Then we were in touch with Marcel and Janny. Your colleague Marcel also longed to live and work from within, but also ran into all kinds of things. Do you ever talk to him about it?"

"No, we actually don't speak to each other anymore lately. Tell you what, I'll email him in a minute, send him that link too. I hope we can fight it together or something, no idea how, but together we know more than alone..."

"And that's why I think it's also important if you involve Janny and me!" complemented Elly. "Seemingly, I have nothing to do with the police, but we experienced then in those court cases that soulmates working together is particularly powerful."

Martin gave her a kiss. "Darling, you're absolutely right! For now, I'll just send him that link asking how he's been experiencing it at work lately and how he experiences the interview, and then I'll wait for his response. I'll keep you posted, I need you, very much! It feels like we are going into a battle, a battle against darkness, woundedness."

"I have a feeling it's just woundedness. Many of your colleagues are programmed to a serious degree. They are like robots, no longer thinking for themselves. They can't do that anymore, everything around their soul, in their feeling and thinking is fixed. Actually, I feel deeply sorry for those people. They are not living, they are being lived, and they don't seem to realise it themselves..." Tears streamed down Elly's face. "Boy, I didn't think it would touch me like this. But I can just feel their pain! They are so cramped, they even move like robots sometimes. Just imagine if that whole mess slipped off them, and they could think and feel for themselves again, sense what is needed in the region, for civilians personally..."

Martin put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "This hey, this is how your soul expresses itself, how you feel. We really need to go into this battle together..."

.

Marcel and Janny, in the area where Lisa had lived with her ex-husband, were also having coffee, while Janny was engrossed in her sewing, which she had discovered thanks to sewing for The Shelter, but now in a more creative way. She had worked for years in a clothing shop in their hometown, a nice shop, with a cosy atmosphere. But she had noticed more and more, that underneath what was sold was so much standard. Ah yes, fashion... And she had noticed that she was starting to have trouble with that.

When The Shelter needed furnishing, Annerieke had called her to ask if she would feel like sewing the curtains. And soon after, Lisa and Sjaak had turned up at the door with a huge bale of fabric and yarn and everything needed. She had done it with her friend Hannie, and they had enjoyed it together, diagonally across from each other with their sewing machines at the dining table. It had been fun, just to do something for such a great home for abused women. It had been fun because Hannie and she had had fine conversations in between and had grown closer together that way. Hannie had also acquired a taste for it, had remembered how she loved to sew so much when the children were little. Every evening, when the little ones were in bed, the sewing machine on the table! Janny had the same memories. And so they had both picked up their old hobby again, and not just picked it up, but made it more their own. They sewed the big pieces with the sewing machine, and the details by hand. They enjoyed designing all kinds of patterns themselves, embellishments they had never seen before in the clothing shop.

Janny smiled at the memory of the day she had told Hannie that she actually wanted to work two days a week instead of four. Hannie had immediately offered to take over two days from her, and under the motto 'strike while the iron is hot', they had gone together to Janny's boss the next day to discuss it. Hannie had been allowed to work with Janny for a month on a trial basis, and was then hired for two days a week, allowing Janny to work two days less. And in addition, they sewed, each in their own homes, and on the days they both did not work in the shop, regularly at one of their homes. Just last week, Hannie said she had never enjoyed herself so much in her life. Oh yes, she had had a fine husband, who sadly had died far too young, and she had enjoyed their family life. But she had always felt a kind of slight resentment somewhere, as if she had felt compelled to do things that were partly against her will. Take household chores... that was nothing more than a necessary evil! Janny and Hannie were two hands in one: in housework, you should absolutely not do more than what was strictly necessary! Maybe other people thought it was fun work, not them! No, sewing was totally their thing, designing clothes themselves, creating the most beautiful dresses, skirts and blouses. She lived for it, Hannie said the other day, and Janny had felt for herself that it was not much different for her.

Janny looked up from her work, saw that Marcel was smiling and looking at something on his mobile, with earbuds in. He usually put on music in his spare hours. He had made whole lists on the computer of all kinds of music they both liked. It didn't bother him that Janny's sewing machine sometimes rattled through them. Janny had made a coaster under her sewing machine, from a couple of layers of fabric, which muffled the sound considerably anyway.

But tonight, apart from the sound of her sewing machine, it was silent... until what Marcel was watching was apparently over and he responded to it with a deep sigh: "Wow, great..."

He stood up, switched on their computer and looked something up. Janny tried to look past him, but could not detect what he was doing.

Marcel turned around. "Janny, I need to show you something. Is it convenient if I show you now?"

"Sure, my sewing will wait! I was already curious about what you were looking at," she said, looking at him affectionately. "What kept you so busy?"

"A link sent by Marianne Aalbers, that secretary of judge Johan Simons. They were interviewed... Here it comes!"

He started the interview and sat back in his chair so that Janny could also see it clearly.

Janny too was full of wonder and awe at the end of the recording. "Do you also experience that that evokes a longing in you for more of this, more of real living, more living from your inner self?"

"Yes, I really do, and not just at home, privately in my relationship with you. All that is getting better, but I have this longing mostly within my work. There I seem to have no influence on that fixed pattern in which my colleagues live and work. I feel so much inauthenticity, stagecraft... it's just a plastic life!"

Janny shot into laughter. "A plastic life... yes, it's not real, I see what you mean. That old slogan that the police would be your best friend... not much of that has been true for years."

"Feel free to say that none of it is true anymore!"

"Oh for sure, you started following your heart more and more again after that situation with Lisa. I'll never forget that you came home, after letting her and Sjaak into that house of her ex, and that you found out that all those sexual escapades were not her own free will, but that it was all under duress from that guy, that ex of hers."

"Yes, I felt miserable that there were all kinds of videos on that guy's mobile and that my colleagues were feasting on them. Ah, you know, I've hated porn-like photos and videos for so long. It has destroyed far too much already! And then it also turned out that it was recorded anything but voluntarily... I can so feel again how angry I was with those colleagues who had forwarded those videos to their own mobiles. Married guys... then surely, as a woman, you must also feel very loved, if your husband is so attracted to the sex of such a young woman, on a video... Sick situation!"

His mobile indicated with a buzzer that he got an email. "Mail from Martin, time since we had contact... Oh, he sends me that link of the interview. Too late dude, we've already seen it!" he chuckled, continuing to read what Martin had written. "It evoked in Martin and Elly the same thing, or rather reinforced it, as it did in us. A longing for authenticity, for life within our police force. I actually feel like giving him a call..."

"Do it, I would say!" responded Janny.

.

Elly and Janny were half witnesses to their partners' conversation over the phone. And even if they couldn't follow the other half, they both understood that their partners were completely on the same page, had the same desire and wanted to search together, with each other and with their wives, that is, as a quartet, for possibilities, for ways to free their colleagues from their inner prison.

"Martin got the idea to call Huib," Marcel told Janny. "Let's wait and see if that works! Martin had by now got to the point where he was like 'darn, I'd like to pull my colleagues out by their hair!'" he continued. "And that passion I experienced in that immediately hit me!"

Janny laughed. "Sounds good! Let things heat up. When the passion surfaces, it breaks open the avenues to solutions!"

Marcel looked at her in amazement. "Where did you get that wisdom?"

Janny looked at him grinning for a moment, but said nothing, just continued sewing.

"Hm, straight from your soul I suppose? It sounded different from the way you usually talk."

Janny rewarded him with a wink.

.

Martin called Marcel back. "I spoke to Huib. At first he had no idea about what we could do, except just continue working and living. Then suddenly he mentioned that a couple had stayed at the guesthouse not so long ago, a couple who had spoken and acted particularly powerfully from their souls. It seems that they had gone to all sorts of places that in some way had their origins at Bloemenhof, or at least are related to it. To the discovery centre in their village, a kind of school where children are encouraged to live from within and discover things for themselves. To a print shop that has deliberately chosen to print work by people who live from their souls. And to The Shelter, you know, where abused women can live temporarily, which Janny and her friend sewed those curtains for. They have met several people from their digital gallery and their own painting and drawing work has also been added. It seems that that site just about blows visitors over now, that's how powerful it has become. And on the way to their home in North Holland, they passed by those people from the interview, that judge and his colleagues. Yes, I think that was about it. What it was about was that he told them that that woman in particular got impressions from within so strongly, that she could speak them directly to the person opposite her, and with such power, that all sorts of things that people were suffering from broke off from them. From several of those people he had heard or noticed himself that their inner healing had accelerated as a result, that they themselves had become more powerful. It happened only recently, at the end of September they were here. Well, take Marianne and Ellen... Ellen's husband had met his soulmate just two weeks before, they went through their divorce in a matter of days. Marianne was still single, Ellen was single again since two weeks. And then they both met their soulmate, Marianne that journalist and Ellen that cameraman, those two men from that interview. It's unfathomable, such things don't normally happen so fast, it goes through molasses, through dregs, we both know that, right yeah, that's very recognisable. But because that couple broke down so much old shit, there was such an extreme acceleration. Can you imagine that?"

"No, I can't imagine that, but I feel it's true, and that gives me hope! Do you have a proposal, or did Huib have a proposal?"

"Hearing my story like this, Marcel, what would you like first?"

"The four of us to North Holland anyway, to that couple. But first... yes first also a conversation with that journalist and that cameraman, and yes, also with the others there, Johan, Marianne and Ellen."

Marcel heard Martin laughing on the other side. "Exactly my idea! Shall I call Marianne to ask if such a thing can be arranged?"

"Very much so!"

"Will do! You'll hear from me!"

Marcel beamed as he ended the call and put his mobile on the table. Janny stopped sewing and looked at him: "Tell me!"

.

Marianne was pleasantly surprised when she got Martin on the phone. Oh yes, she remembered very well who he was, and who Elly, and Marcel and Janny were. After Lisa's court cases, they had gone to Marcel and Janny's house, all together, had eaten soup and sandwiches there.

She was also excited about the reason for Martin's phone call. "Cool that that interview triggered this, that that strengthened your desire. And that idea of getting together sometime does appeal to me. Funnily enough, that doesn't feel like work, but more like a friend contact. I'll ask the others when they are available. If you ask Marcel which days he and Janny could go and mail me your dates... then I'll pick a day when we are all available and mail it to the whole group asking them to confirm it. I suspect that if it can go ahead, it would be best to do it at Johan's house. Then Marieke, his wife, can be there too."

"Oh yes, Marieke, she used to do security didn't she?"

"Yes, just as you say, she did, but not anymore. She went through a piece of process that made her find out why she was once so sure she had to go into security. That, then, was pure injury. She quit her job, is now into creative things with paper, seemingly simplistic but in reality beautiful and powerful, and motherhood. They just have welcomed a baby daughter, Vlinder."

"Lovely to hear, Marianne! Really lovely, great for her that she has found what suits her! And then a little daughter with such a free, happy name... It will indeed be easiest for them to get together at their home. At least, I think so... but maybe they see it very differently. We'll hear about that then!"

Marianne laughed: "We'll see, but I'm going to work on it today and as soon as I know more, you'll all see an invitation appear!"

"Thanks in advance! And I'll make sure you get some dates from us... see you later!"

.

After the invitation was sent to everyone, Eric called Jeroen: "Are you busy?"

"Not especially, I do search through some things, my search for truth, you know... but it's best I break away from that. So tell me!"

"About that invitation at Johan and Marieke's. Shall we take care of the shopping together? I know how busy Johan is in his work, and I actually don't think he should be taken away from Marieke unnecessarily. Ellen has helped Marieke a lot, just practically and with company, but is moving now. She is on standby for Marieke, but so no longer comes there daily."

Jeroen interrupted his story: "Quite clear, dude! Shall I call Johan and Marieke to ask what we can do?"

"You keep digging, I'll give them a call."

"All right, see you later!"

.

That Saturday morning, Eric and Jeroen had arranged everything, delivered the groceries to Marieke's kitchen. Jeroen and Marianne cooked together a macaroni dish and nasi at home, which they would take with them in two soup pans the next day.

.

Martin and Elly left well in time on Sunday morning so that they could stay with Marcel and Janny for a while.

The men reminisced and discussed the problems they encountered in their work.

Janny switched on the computer so Elly could show her paintings to her via the gallery's website. Janny enjoyed the free way of painting that Elly had developed. Her combination of reality and fantasy, nature she depicted in a kind of surreal way. Well, surrealistic, that was just a term, a catch-all term... Janny saw and felt very clearly that Elly had simply done what bubbled up from her soul, which could not be categorised in any art movement.

She asked Elly questions about her work, how she did it in practice, whether she had space for it at home, and how she organised her time. She recognised a lot in Elly's answers and told her, things were actually not much different with her.

"I also like to work in the living room, just cosy, especially when Marcel is at home. And I also work two days in a shop, just like you, only for me it's in a clothes shop. My friend Hannie also works there two days and sews just like me. We look like twins in our work," Janny laughed. "Hannie and Janny, the sewing duo! And how does that website work? I see prices listed... but then how can people buy from you?"

Elly pointed her to the numbers next to each artwork. "That's what the webmaster has done with each artist. Now suppose I would like to buy this work, number 36... I go to 'Contact', click on 'Order / commission', and see, there I get the option to choose an artist... I click on my name... and below I get the option to put in the number. Nice huh, the website immediately gives the name of the artwork and the price with it. Then I send this, but of course I don't do that now, because this was just an example. Ilse, the web administrator, then receives the order, and sends an invoice to both the buyer and the seller, to the buyer so he can pay, and to the seller so he knows who is buying something, and what that person is buying. Ilse nowadays checks a few times a day if the invoice has been paid, hahaha every time she drinks coffee, and she does that very regularly! And as soon as it is paid, she lets the seller know. Then she gives the customer the seller's email address, so that customer and seller can arrange the further handling between themselves. We then really only have to deal with sending or collecting the product. Handy huh?"

"Yes, that's really well organized! What other kind of art is there on that site? Just paintings?"

Elly laughed: "Oh no, you can find the most diverse creations there!"

She clicked 'Our artists' and showed her the list of names and their types of creations. Janny chose several artists to take a look around. She especially had a click with Bianca's doll clothes. She felt the similarities with her own work. Clothing that went against all the usual models.

"Yes, this touches me immensely! Your paintings too, you know, I really love them, and that glass work, built from shards, genius! But clothes, of course, are totally my thing, although she makes much smaller clothes than I do. But I recognise that special thing, those models that aren't models, that just appear while you're working. That purple one, with that just slightly lighter crocheted shawl, how awesome is that! It's her latest work, and it's already sold... well, tough luck for me, I'll stick to my own size," Janny laughed. "Would you like to see my sewing?"

"Oh yes, please!" responded Elly, who quietly began to suspect that Janny's homemade clothes might also be soul art.

Janny took Elly upstairs to a room where Marcel had made some racks, on which she had hung her creations.

"Incredible, did you sew all this?" exclaimed Elly in amazement. "What beautiful combinations of fabrics and what nice decorations... you never see anything like this in a clothes shop! Or is that different in your shop?"

"No, unfortunately not... And that has actually encouraged me to get more involved in this."

"Is it true that this is all your own size?" asked Elly.

"Yes, that's right, size 46, I don't feel very fat, but I'm by no means the slimmest either. The only thing I struggle with, well, a bit, is that feeling that I have already made so much that I can't even wear it all. Well, I still find it a bit tricky to walk down the street in these clothes. It is quite striking. And on the days I work in the shop, I consciously choose clothes that don't stand out too much. Otherwise it's such a contrast to what's hanging in the shop. But even though I take this into account, sometimes people do come and ask about my clothes. Then they want to know if I bought it in that shop. And then when I say that I sew myself... hahaha, I sometimes get these answers... along the lines of 'If you can sew such beautiful things, why do you still work here? Start your own shop!' Not nice for my boss, but a beautiful compliment for myself! Not that I need it anymore, enough has healed in me that I am happy with who I am. But equally, a compliment like that is always nice!"

"Isn't it! I also like it when you enjoy my paintings. But I also no longer need it to make myself feel good or anything. Thankfully not, it makes me feel a lot freer! But that idea of that customer, to start a shop yourself... in a way, I totally agree. This what you make huh, that is functional, like clothes are functional by default, but at the same time it is art, a creative expression of your soul! Is Hannie's work the same? Does it bubble up in her as it does in you?"

"Yep, we really are twins in that!" laughed Janny. "Art, a creative expression of the soul... the name of that website was something like that too, wasn't it?"

Elly smiled: "Exactly! And so that's the direction I'm thinking in. What you sew is soul work, an expression of your soul. And besides... what size is Hannie?"

"Hannie is at size 50 and, like me, no longer cares about that size. Since we started sewing the curtains of The Shelter, we have both gone through such a process, experienced so much misery of our injuries separately but also together, that we were actually able to accept ourselves at quite a pace more and more, and eventually even be happy with ourselves. Consequently we make all sorts of things for sizes 46 and 50."

"Great! For women who so often struggle with their size and can't find clothes they really like. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could find that with you guys, through the website? I mean, if you wrote not only the sizes with it, but also the size at the different heights of your body... then women could check whether they could wear it, whether they fit it. And if they gave you their own sizes... would you feel up to making something fitting for them?" asked Elly. She felt her thoughts, her impressions being propelled upwards as in a fountain.

Janny nodded: "I see what you mean. I could add my own measurements yes. And I could put a sketch there, so people know what to measure. But do you think it's really good enough for it? I mean, a gallery... that's ART!" she exclaimed.

Elly shot into laughter. "And art, if it's real art, is an expression of your soul. And that's what this is! It's absolutely suitable, just a bit more laborious because of those sizes. May I photograph a few and send them on to Ilse, to ask if she feels the same way I do?"

Janny sighed deeply, this unexpected turn of events did require some of her empathy! "Yeah yeah, go ahead, we'll see..."

Elly hung dresses, skirts, blouses a little differently so she could take a nice photo of them and sent them to Ilse in one e-mail. She added her ideas, about the sizes, as she had just discussed with Janny.

It took only two minutes for a response from Ilse: an urgent request to send photos of all the clothes, with the details attached, sizes, price, everything! Ilse was overjoyed!

Elly responded that she would help Janny on her way, and told her that her friend had sewn a similar collection.

Ilse called her, expressed her joy about this form of art and asked her if Janny was nearby, if she could speak to her for a moment. Elly passed on her mobile.

"Hey Janny, it's Ilse! I understood that Elly had already explained all kinds of things to you. I just wanted to let you know in person that what I saw in those few photos affected me tremendously. I am a size 38 myself, so I can't do anything with your current creations, but I would love it if you would sew something for me in the future! Would you send me an email via the contact page of the website, so that I have your email address right away? Do you see it all a bit Janny?"

"Well, to be honest it overwhelms me a lot! But it also makes me extremely happy, deep down, and that tells me enough, that's why I know it's right! Elly had already told you that my friend does the same thing, huh?"

"Right, now if you ask her the same, to send me an email through the site. Just consult with each other what you find most convenient. With most works of art, it's simple, just add the name and price, I'll put a serial number, done. But in your case, there should be a little more explanation about the sizes of the work you offer, and about the possibility of customers sending in their own sizes. Aren't there those little sketches of a doll, showing you exactly where to measure? Length, size at different heights, things like that?"

"Yes, those are there, I will look everything up and send it along. It won't work out today because we're leaving soon, but I should be able to get it done in the coming week."

"Totally fine ya, don't rush yourself! And do it together with your friend, two know more than one. And if you have any more questions, you can always reach me via e-mail or my phone number. Just ask Elly for the number."

"Yes, just one question, about the photos. Do you think it will be enough if I only take photos of the front and back of each garment? Just on a clothes hanger?"

"For now, that's fine! But should you also like to photograph each other when you have the garments on... that's of course totally super."

"Yes, I was thinking about that too. I'll discuss it with Hannie, my friend."

"Hannie? How nice, Janny and Hannie, the seamstresses!" laughed Ilse. "I'm happy with you, already! Just give me a lot of work with your pictures! How many garments do you have by now?"

Janny chuckled: "I think Elly is just now counting them! How many are there? Oh really? More than fifty!"

"No, you don't mean that! Wonderful! I'm very curious to see the rest!" responded Ilse.

"Next week, then I'll take care of it for you!"

"Super nice, see you later!" closed Ilse's conversation.

"Wow... overwhelming!" sighed Janny, "overwhelmingly good!"

Elly laughed: "You're beaming Janny, that tells me enough!"

.

Over lunch, Janny and Elly told about the new developments. Martin and Marcel both responded enthusiastically, delighted, they were both genuinely happy for Janny.

"Today I'm putting it on the back burner for a bit, but tomorrow I'm going to make a start on it. Let's get Hannie updated first!"

.

They drove after each other to Johan and Marieke's address. What joy there was there too, for the reunion, for getting to know Jeroen and Eric, and for the desire to fight the battle against woundedness among the police staff!

Jeroen and Eric complemented each other as they talked about their backgrounds, their choice to continue independently and how they had found each other. They told how they were doing their work now and what their goal, their vision, was. They were mainly concerned with finding out what was really true, discovering where things had gone wrong, where things had even gone criminally wrong. They explained that they were well aware that they could not solve everything themselves, but that they were happy with their contacts with Johan and Marieke, and their relations with Marianne and Ellen, which would enable them to approach the right judges, lawyers and other people.

Martin and Marcel told specifically what things they were up against, and what their aspirations were. Martin explained that Huib had given him the tip to approach a couple in North Holland.

"Oh yes," Ellen responded, "you should definitely do that, ask if you can go over there, if necessary make a weekend of it in a guesthouse there, a short holiday or whatever. I assure you that those people will be able to help you through parts of your process so quickly, that it will make you much more powerful, also because you will start to hear your inner voice much better, feel much better what you really feel. Sounds nice and cryptic, but I know what I'm talking about. For me, the result is that a few weeks after my ex-husband met his soulmate, I also recognised my soulmate myself, in Eric. Great! And I definitely believe that all those personal healing points will also give you new power and more light in your work. And maybe they will also have practical tips for your colleagues, on how best to approach them... no idea, but I'm sure it will be worth it if you make that drive to North Holland! Together hey, the ladies are coming along aren't they?"

"Oh yes, definitely, strong together!" Elly responded, laughing.

.

Apart from what they shared, they also enjoyed being together. It felt good, shared desires, shared visions. The conversations were fun and deep. They enjoyed dinner and admired little Vlinder in between.

Elly asked if she could take a picture of her, because she saw a painting in front of her.

"You don't have to buy it, it will be a present!" she assured Marieke.

"Nice idea, do it," Marieke replied.

She also took Elly and Janny upstairs, showed them the butterflies she had pinned to the nursery wall. "You can see the picture of this on the gallery too, but this is what it is in real life!"

.

Halfway through the evening, they said goodbye to each other, so Marieke could also get some rest. At their car, Martin and Marcel made some more arrangements and Janny and Elly hugged each other goodbye.

"Good luck and especially have fun taking all your photos! And then full on sewing again," Elly said.

"That's going to be fine! I'm starting to like it more and more, it feels really good, this gallery!"

"Lovely! Happy week together!"

To chapter 96. To North Holland

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