Daisy Madigan's Paradise by Suzy Turner

further
back into the park.
    'Daisy!' she
yelled.
    Dashing back
into Abney Park, Daisy followed the young ghost until they both
came to a halt outside the old chapel.
    'Are you...
are you... okay?' asked Daisy in shock.
    'I... I...
think so,' she replied in horror.
    'That was
horrible. Did it hurt?'
    But Charlotte
shook her head, 'no, it just felt really, really horrible. It was
scary.'
    'I wonder
what's causing it. I mean, surely you weren't buried here were you?
Is your grave in the cemetery?'
    Charlotte
shook her head, 'no, but I did ask my parents to scatter my ashes
here though.'
    'Really? Well,
maybe that's got something to do with it. Maybe you're trapped here
because of that. Do you know if any of the other... spirits... are
trapped too?'
    Charlotte
nodded, 'some of them are, yes.'
    Daisy paced up
and down the pathway, thinking about the ghosts.
    'Maybe you
have some unfinished business... and maybe you can't leave here
until it's been sorted out?' she suggested.
    'But don't you
think that's kind of a cliché?'
    Daisy smiled,
'definitely but what if it works? It could free you, Charlotte. It
could help you to cross over.'
    Charlotte's
face slowly blossomed and she beamed at Daisy who grinned back.
    'I'll help
you... I'll help you cross over.'
    The terror of
the day before was soon put to the back of Daisy's mind and she
began to feel really good again. A feeling she hadn't had for such
a long time. It was an emotion that felt totally right, an emotion
that made her realise this was what she was meant to do. She was
meant to help these ghosts.
     
     

CHAPTER
14
     
    Stretching and
yawning loudly, Daisy sat beside one of the headless angels with a
piece of paper and pencil in her hand. Charlotte had given her as
much information as she could remember. Her old address, her mum
and dad's names, basically anything she thought might help Daisy to
get to the truth about why she hadn't crossed over.
    'Have you ever
been touched by that woman, Charlotte?' she asked all of a
sudden.
    'Huh?'
Charlotte responded with a confused look on her face.
    'You know...
the woman with the short brown hair, her from that scary gang.'
    'Oh her, um, I
don't think so. Why?'
    'I was just
wondering, making sure you haven't lost any important memories
that's all.'
    'I don't think
so, but then would I remember if I had?'
    Daisy
shrugged, 'I guess you have a point. Look, I'm going to try and
find your old house and see if I can talk to your parents. God
knows what I'm going to say to them though. They'll probably think
I'm some kind of psycho or something,' she laughed nervously.
    Charlotte
smiled sadly, 'I wish I could go with you.'
    'I know.'
    'Right, I may
as well go now,' she said as she stood up and brushed the loose
dirt from her jeans.
    'Daisy?'
    'Yeah?'
    'When you talk
to them... if they don't believe you... mention Brunhilda Van Horn.
I think that might convince them that you're for real.'
    'Brunhilda Van
Horn? Who is that?'
    Charlotte
looked embarrassed as she faded away without another word.
    'Okay then...
I'll just go then... on my own. Bye,' she said more to herself than
to anyone else.
    She scribbled
the name down on the piece of paper before folding it carefully and
putting it in her back pocket. The pencil she placed in the front
pocket of her coat and headed out of the park, remembering
Charlotte's directions to the house she lived in before she
died.
    As she walked
slowly along the road she felt like she was being watched so she
stopped and turned around. Alone, except for a man walking his dog
on the other side of the road, Daisy turned back and continued. But
the sensation continued with her and so she sped up a little.
Rounding a corner, she came to a standstill, waited for a second
before leaning round to have another look. Although she could see
no-one, a familiar feeling overcame her and she smiled.
    'Hi Jack,' she
said quietly.
    Sure enough,
Jack's ghost materialised in front of her.
    'How did you
know I was here?' he asked