Daisy Madigan's Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page B

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.'
    'You have?'
she asked, surprised. 'I don't get it?'
    'Maybe you
have to be in a special state of mind. You know, in the hospital,
you were pretty upset. Maybe that's what brought it on,' he
suggested.
    'Maybe.'
    'Why are you
so worried about it? Do you want to see more ghosts?'
    'Yes,' she
laughed.
    'Really?' he
asked, his face askew.
    She nodded,
'Mum told me I was special. She said something big was going to
happen to me... and I think maybe it's got something to do with
ghosts.'
    'Don't you
think it's got something to do with your tattoo? And the fact that
you can run really, really fast?'
    'I can?' she
asked, not realising it herself.
    'You didn't
realise?'
    'Not really,'
she said, shaking her head.
    Jack threw his
head backwards and let out a deep laugh, 'Oh Daisy... you make me
laugh. You can run faster than anyone I've ever seen in my entire,
short, life. You can sing like... like, well, like an angel and you
have this weird tattoo that just appeared on your back. Clearly you
ARE special in more ways than one. Did you never realise any of
this?'
    Daisy tried to
make sense of what he was saying.
    'You really
think I can sing? And run fast?' she asked and he laughed
again.
    'Yes...
seriously! And, you're not going to like what I'm going to say,
but... your dad is the one person who can tell you the truth.'
    'Bah,' she
said turning to look away from him as she crouched down and rubbed
the dirt