Daisy Madigan's Paradise (4 page)

'I stole it,
Jack,' she sobbed, as he carefully put his arm across her, pulling
her into him. She dropped her head onto his shoulder and they sat
quietly as Daisy sobbed until there were no more tears to cry.

'I'm sorry
about earlier,' she eventually whispered.

Jack simply
hugged her tighter and she knew he didn't mind.

'Come on,' he
said a bit later as he stood and held out his hand to help her
up.

'Where to?'
she asked.

'My parents
are out for the day... I thought you might like to take a
shower.'

Daisy's face
lit up, 'Really?'

He laughed and
nodded.

CHAPTER
8

Daisy returned
to the corner shop a week later to apologise to the old man. She
handed him her last few coins but, just as he was about to take it,
he looked at her face for a moment. Then he curled her fingers over
the coins and smiled.

'What is your
name, child?'

'D..D..aisy.'

'Daisy, you
have a good heart,' and with that he turned and walked back into
the shop.

She was
stumped. She looked left, then right and walked in behind him,
swallowing hard.

'Daisy, I can
see you have fallen on hard times and that is not easy when you are
so young. I have a proposition for you...'

With her eyes
wide open, she smiled shyly, 'Erm... yes?'

'If you come
here every Sunday to help me out in the shop, I will pay you in
food.'

Her eyes lit
up with the possibility of earning some food and she grinned like a
little child. 'Yes please,' she exclaimed. 'I would love to do
that! Thank you, thank you so much.'

'You can start
today. But first, come and meet my wife.'

Daisy followed
him through the back of the store and up some stairs until she
stood in a cosy apartment filled with the delicious smells of
Indian spices. Her stomach rumbled and she blushed.

'Balvinder,
there is someone here I'd like you to meet,' said the old man.

A tiny elderly
lady walked into the living room with a kind face and smile.

'Hello,' she
said brightly, holding out her hand.

Daisy moved
forward and shook her hand, 'I'm Daisy,' she whispered shyly.

'Who?' she
answered loudly.

'You'll have
to speak up, Daisy. Balvinder doesn't hear as well as she used
to.'

'I'm Daisy,'
she repeated, loudly.

'Crazy?'

Daisy giggled,
'No, Daisy.'

'Maisie?'

Daisy
repressed a laugh, 'Daisy.'

'Ah... Daisy.
Nice to meet you, Daisy,' she smiled before turning to her husband
expectantly.

'Daisy is
going to help out downstairs every Sunday... in return for some
food.'

Balvinder's
eyebrows knitted together and she shrugged, turning back to Daisy.
'Okay,' she smiled, then she sniffed and grimaced, moving closer to
her.

'You need to
bathe?' she asked.

Daisy blushed
from head to toe and nodded sheepishly.

'Okay, you
bathe here every week before you go to work. Otherwise... no work!'
said Balvinder as she helped the teenager out of her coat. 'Follow
me,' she said, leaving her husband to return downstairs.

Daisy did as
she was told, giving her clothes to the old lady. 'I'll wash
these,' she said as she held them at arms length.

Later that day
Daisy felt better than she had done in ages. Those wonderful people
had befriended her and offered her everything that she needed.
Food, bathing facilities once a week and a little work. At the end
of the day, Balvinder had even given her a home cooked meal to take
with her. Her husband, Shariq had handed her a plastic bag full of
food that would last her until next Sunday. Daisy hugged them both
and waved goodbye as she ran back to Abney Park. She couldn't wait
to tell Jack what had happened but it would probably have to wait
until tomorrow.

That night as
Daisy slept in the old chapel, she awoke with a start. A terrible
feeling engulfed her and she hugged her knees to her chest tightly.
She didn't know why but tears began to slowly fall down her cheeks.
Something had happened, something really bad.

'Jack,' she
whispered. She could feel his presence again. 'What are you doing
here? Its the middle of the night,' she asked as she sat upright
and searched for him in the darkness.

'Where are
you?' she asked. 'Jack? I know you're here.'

But Jack
didn't show himself. Confusion filled her head as she climbed out
of the sleeping bag. It was Jack, something had happened to Jack.
She just knew it. She quickly fumbled with her bag and threw it on
to her back before rushing out of the chapel and running as fast as
she could out of the park towards his house. She remembered the way
from two weeks ago.

As she got
closer and closer, the smell of smoke filled her nostrils and
Daisy's sense of foreboding became stronger and stronger.

'Jack!' she
yelped as she turned the street corner to find a scene of utter
devastation. Several fire engines stood parked right outside Jack's
house, now a burning building. She could hear cries and shrieks as
neighbours gathered on the pavement on the opposite side of the
road. People sobbed as an ambulance screeched away from the curb
and down the road.

'Jack?' Daisy
sobbed. She knew he was in that ambulance so she raced down the
road and followed it all the way to the hospital, running as fast
as she could, without even losing her breath.

When she
arrived, she watched as the ambulance door was flung open and the
stretcher pulled out. She rushed forward as the team from the
hospital took over, taking him inside, into the A&E.

As Daisy
stepped forward into the emergency room, she suddenly couldn't
breathe. A memory she'd pushed so back into her mind had
re-surfaced and she suddenly remembered that day she'd arrived at
the same hospital to find her mother at death's door.

Intense pain
like it was yesterday clutched at her chest, but she broke through,
made herself breathe again. For Jack. She needed to see Jack.

'No, sorry.
You can't go in there,' said a friendly face.

'But... but
he's my best friend. I need to make sure he's okay. I need to see
him. Please... please let me see him.'

The nurse
smiled sadly and shook her head, 'I'm sorry, you need to let the
doctors help him right now. Why don't you sit down over there and
I'll keep you updated on his condition. Perhaps later, okay?' she
smiled.

Daisy clutched
at her chest, the pain was intolerable, but she did as she was
told.

Nodding, she
turned away from the nurse and walked towards the waiting room, the
same waiting room where her mother had said goodbye. She couldn't
say goodbye to Jack too. She just couldn't.

'He's going to
be fine, he's going to be fine,' she muttered to herself over and
over as she took a seat and pulled her knees close to her
chest.

She'd lost her
mother, lost her father and now maybe she would lose her best
friend too. What had she done to deserve this?

As she lifted
her eyes from the floor, she looked around. There were loads of
people wandering around the corridors, some looked totally lost and
sad. But there were also a few nurses who looked really odd. Daisy
watched them as they stood chatting to each other, occasionally
walking into another room. But it was their manner of dress that
wasn't quite right. In fact, it was downright weird. They looked
like were from another time.

Long white
dresses with starched white collars and frilly caps. Had they come
from a fancy dress party? And then, just when she thought it
couldn't get any more bizarre, a man appeared wearing blue tights,
an ornate red coat that cinched in at the waist, a frilly white
shirt beneath it and a large hat. Daisy rubbed her eyes and looked
back at him in amazement. The man turned to look at her, nodded his
head and carried on walking... right through the wall.

Daisy lost her
breathe again. She sat bolt upright then put her fingers to her
lips, about to gnaw on her nails when the friendly nurse appeared
again.

'I'm sorry but
it doesn't look too good. If you come with me, I can smuggle you in
but just for a moment, okay?'

Daisy forgot
all about the odd characters wandering around the hospital and
stood up, quickly following behind the sweet nurse. As she walked
into the cubicle, an involuntary sob burst from her lips.

'Jack,' she
muttered as she stepped forward to see him. He was deathly pale. It
was then than she knew she was going to lose him.

'I don't
understand.'

The nurse
stepped forward, 'there was just too much smoke inhalation, I'm
afraid. We don't think he'll make it through it night. I'm so
sorry. Perhaps you should say your goodbye now.'

Daisy's bottom
lip quivered, 'No, I won't say goodbye. I can't.'

The nurse
looked on sadly, 'I'll give you a couple of minutes.'

'Wait... what
happened to his family. His mum and dad?'

The nurse
shook her head, 'he was the only one to make it out alive. I'm so
sorry.'

Daisy gingerly
sat on the bed and placed her hand over Jack's.

'Please don't
die, Jack. Please don't leave me. I can't lose you as well.'

She sat with
her eyes closed and her head on his bed for ten minutes.

'Daisy?' said
a familiar voice.

Sitting bolt
upright, Daisy let out a deep sigh. 'I knew you wouldn't die. I
knew you'd make it,' she smiled with utter relief.

But Jack
looked the same. His eyes were closed, he looked peaceful.

'Jack?' she
asked.

'Daisy? I'm
here,' said the voice.

Daisy slowly
turned her head until she saw him standing at the foot of the bed.
He stood looking over at his own body sadly.

'No,' she
whispered, 'Not you too. Jack no, it's not fair. Don't go... don't
leave me. Please... please.... no,' she cried, sobbing loudly until
the nurse appeared once again. She approached the bed and checked
his vital signs but he'd gone.

'I'm sorry, my
love, but he's died. Come on, it's better that you go now,' she
said as she carefully placed the sheet over his face.

Daisy looked
around the room but there was no sign of Jack.

She sobbed and
ran out of the room, out of the hospital, running flat out until
she arrived at the cemetery. She could barely see for the tears
blurred her vision. But she kept on running until she arrived at
the old chapel and threw herself on to the floor, gasping for air
and sobbing loudly.

'Shhhh Daisy,
don't cry.'

'Jack? You're
still here?' she asked, looking around in confusion.

'I'm here,
Daisy, I'm here,' and her friend walked towards her from the
darkened corner of the nave.

She stood up
and rushed towards him, wanting to hold him tight, but she walked
right through him, stumbling and falling to the ground, banging her
knee as she did so.

'I'm sorry
Daisy. I wish I could hold you, but I can't... I'm... I'm...
dead.'

The tears
began again as she sobbed loudly and shook her head. Her whole body
trembled.

'Daisy, I
won't leave you, I promise I won't leave you.'

Turning to
look at his ghost, Daisy's tears began to dry a little.

'You
won't?'

Jack shook his
head.

'Now take out
your sleeping bag and get inside. Get warm, it will make you feel
better, I promise.'

Daisy did as
he asked and curled up inside her sleeping bag. She felt the warmth
creep up her body until, eventually, the trembling stopped.

'There,' he
said, 'that's better isn't it?'

She nodded as
he lay down beside her, so they were facing each other.

'I'm sorry,
Jack. I'm sorry about your parents.'

Jack smiled
sadly, 'I guess it was our time to go.'

'What
happened?'

'I don't know.
I don't remember it. I just remember my parents coming to me in the
hospital after you'd gone. They looked so peaceful and happy. I
never saw them look like that before. They walked into the
light.'

'But, why
didn't you go with them?'

'I told them I
would meet them over there. I told them I couldn't leave you... not
yet.'

Daisy lifted
her head, 'thank you,' she sniffed and he smiled.

They lay like
that until her breathing slowed and Jack was sure she was asleep.
And then he disappeared.

CHAPTER
9

For the next
month, Jack never left her side. He called himself her 'guardian
angel', or 'guardian ghost'. Although he had died that night in the
house fire, Daisy never felt like she had truly lost him. He made
sure of that.

He even went
with her to Balvinder and Shariq's corner shop every Sunday. But it
wasn't easy being around other people because they couldn't see
Jack. Daisy was the only person who could.

She'd told him
about her experiences in the hospital, about her mum who had
appeared to her shortly after her death, and about the strange
looking nurses and the man who was dressed like someone from
centuries ago. Jack had returned to the hospital and found that,
sure enough, those nurses and several oddly-dressed men frequently
floated through the building. He had tried to talk to them but they
said they were too busy.

So Daisy could
see ghosts, it was as simple as that.

'But why did I
only see them in the hospital? And why you?' she asked one day
while they were wandering about the cemetery reading people's
headstones from many years ago. 'Why can't I see ghosts around
here? I mean, this is a cemetery... there must be loads around
here?'

Jack shrugged,
'I've seen them drifting in and out of the trees.'