Suzie's Gift
USD 19,99
Format: 13.5 x 21.5 cm
Number of Pages: 204
ISBN: 978-3-99131-934-4
Release Date: 11.11.2024
Suzie is on a journey of discovery, but what she is about to learn about herself, she could never have imagined. She has the same gift as one of her ancestors, but is it a gift? Gift or not, she must learn to understand it, before danger comes knocking.
879
The jacket lay on the ground beside her, as she sat with her back against the wall; her hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat slowing with each gulping breath.
That time it had seemed so real – but how could it be?
The man had been there, his lined face leering over her for just a moment before he was gone.
She’d seen him before. Today. Here!
The urgency began to set in as she struggled to stand. She had to get help, now. Before it was too late.
1
Both mobiles went off together.
‘Hi,’ chimed Melissa, at exactly the same time as Suzie reached for her own phone and uttered the same greeting.
Suzie and Melissa were in their local café; it was only 6.10pm but already it sounded like the guys had had a drink. Melissa was on the phone to Max, while Suzie spoke to Simon. The four of them had been friends since primary school and now, at eighteen, were all excited about their forthcoming year at university. Despite the years that had passed, all four still got on really well; they even still vetted each other’s girlfriends and boyfriends – not that anything serious had ever developed.
‘Oh, my God! You’re kidding,’ said Suzie at the same time as Melissa started laughing down the phone at Max. At that exact moment, as if on cue, both Simon and Max walked into the same café the girls were in and greeted them with big grins on their faces. Melissa jumped up and screeched.
‘£48,000! You?’ causing the customers around them to turn their way and frown at the commotion.
‘Yes,’ said Max, unable to lose his wide grin as the girls shushed each other and settled back down. ‘Can you believe that it’s all down to our Suzie here?’ he continued, sitting down next to Suzie and putting his arm round her.
Max suited Suzie; with his blond hair and blue eyes, he was a good 6’ tall. Everyone thought they were a good match, with her brunette, shoulder-length hair, big brown eyes, and gorgeous figure, complemented by an olive complexion. They would have been the perfect couple. Not in their eyes though – it was never going to happen.
Simon and Melissa were totally different by comparison. Simon, 5’8”, had black hair, green eyes, and a hot temper; whereas Melissa had lovely auburn hair, only 5’3” and had a white complexion that looked more suited to an albino rabbit.
‘You remember that night last September when we decided to do the Ouija board?’ said Simon.
Melissa interrupted him, ‘You mean you decided to do the Ouija board. And even then, it was only after you knew about Suzie!’
‘Yes, yes, okay then. Not that it really matters whose idea it was! All that matters is that it worked.’
‘What worked?’ said Suzie. ‘All I remember is you two boys acting about. You asked about ghosts, spirits, and football. I mean, honestly, you’re like a stuck record sometimes! Do you ever think about anything else?’
‘That’s just it; we asked the Ouija board loads of serious stuff, and then at the end, before we finished, we asked it who was going to win the football Premiership.’
‘Yes,’ said Suzie, nodding. ‘And then you thought I’d made it all up. In fact, I seem to recall you referred to the answer I gave as “absurd”!’
‘Yes, well, good job I didn’t go on my instincts and went with what Simon said.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Melissa.
‘Well, the board spelt out that Derby would win the Premiership, but considering they’d only just moved up from the Championship the previous season by play-offs, there seemed absolutely no way they were going to win the Premiership,’ said Max.
‘Well, we thought you were messing about, but then Simon here said, “What the hell! Let’s put £25.00 on Derby to win.” And that was it.
I’m not saying we forgot about the bet we put on. We just didn’t think much else about it. We always thought it was the worst £25.00 we ever spent,’ shrugged Max.
‘Then suddenly time had passed. Derby was in eighth place, and it hit us that they may actually have a chance,’ butted in Simon, earning a light shove from his friend.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,’ grumbled Suzie, clearly outraged. ‘We could have had fun keeping an eye on them as well. Better still, we could have put a bet on them ourselves.’
‘I know,’ said Simon. ‘I must admit it’s been pretty intense these last few months, especially when it looked more and more like they were really in with a chance.’
‘The crunch came when they reached fourth place, and there were only three games left to play,’ cut in Max, continuing his story. ‘To cut a long story short, there were only six points between Derby and Chelsea…’
‘Can you just get to the point?’ said Suzie, her disgruntlement easing away as the boys’ mood became infectious.
‘You jammy gits!’ exploded Melissa, as the boys whispered in hushed tones that they had, just that afternoon, found out that Derby had taken the Premiership title. ‘How much again?’
‘Well, we’ve got to go see the bookies on Monday, but we reckon about £48,000.’
All four stared at each other for a second and then burst out laughing. Attracting the unwanted gazes of their neighbouring customers for the second time in the last few minutes, Suzie put a hand on Max’s arm and squeezed it.
‘Can you imagine what you can do with that money?’ said Suzie.
‘Honestly, we’ve done nothing else. But let’s face it, without Suzie we wouldn’t have put the bet on in the first place,’ said Max, Simon nodding in agreement. ‘Half of it is yours.’
2
Monday morning came around and the long-awaited visit to the bookies brought even more good news. It wasn’t £48,000 as first thought, but an incredible £58,600. The guys went straight round to Suzie’s, where both girls were sat catching up on their favourite TV show.
‘Oh my God,’ said Melissa slowly, while Suzie stared at the cheque in disbelief. ‘What are you going to do now? Have you given it any more thought?’
‘Well, like we said on Saturday, the first thing we’re going to do is share it with you two, especially you, Suzie. After the year you’ve had, at least something good has come out of it,’ said Max knowingly.
Suzie turned away a little, trying to hide the pained look that she knew would only result in fresh waves of sympathy and awkwardness.
‘The family is at peace; I don’t need money to remind me of that.’
‘Yes, I didn’t mean that, Suze, sorry, I just meant with the stress you were under…’ Max tailed off, feeling awful. He really hadn’t meant to put it like that. In fact, he didn’t really know what to say to her at all about what she’d been through. How could he when he didn’t really understand it himself?
‘It’s okay. I know what you meant. And anyway, I got through it, didn’t I?’
‘You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you?’ said Simon, turning to Max and digging his elbow into his friend’s ribs as they once again started reeling off ways to spend their windfall.
Simon always was the one to diffuse an awkward conversation, and Suzie found herself thankful for the change in topic. As her friends carried on discussing their big win, her mind wandered, just for a moment, to the family she had become so close to and what they had lost.
‘Remember the guy who took our money off us when we put the bet on?’
Suzie snapped back to the present as the face of the pale girl faded once again from her mind.
‘He all but laughed in our faces,’ continued Simon, ‘telling us we might as well just give him the £25.00 and let him keep it for us. You know, it’s a pity he wasn’t still working there today when we picked up the cheque – we could have given him £25.00 as a tip.’
At that moment, Suzie’s Mum, Jill, walked into the kitchen where all four were seated. ‘I thought I heard voices.’ She smiled, looking over at the boys. Jill had known Max and Simon since they were just three-foot-tall; always stopping by her house in search of snacks or a playdate with her daughter and her friend – or, as was often the case, both.
‘Yes, great thanks, Mrs. Lloyd,’ chimed the boys, earning themselves a smile and a mock-stern nod from Jill.
‘You know to call me Jill, boys. I’ve known you how long?’ She knew they’d never change, and she loved them for it, but Mrs. Lloyd felt so formal that sometimes she couldn’t help herself.
As she put on her coat and gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek, Jill could tell there was something in the air. Something the teenagers weren’t telling her – but she knew better than to pry.
‘We should all decide what we want to spend it on,’ said Max once the door had closed behind Jill. ‘We’ve worked it out, and it comes to £29,300 for you two, and the same for us boys. Not bad, eh?’
Suzie was quiet while Max, Simon and Melissa began contemplating what they were going to do next. Max and Simon wanted to spend their share on a gap year travelling around Europe – something they had been talking about and fantasising about since the group was fourteen years old and had just come back from their first school trip in Belgium. Melissa’s plan was far simpler: spend, spend, spend…
‘Come on, Suzie,’ probed Max, bringing her back to the present. ‘What about you? Any grand plans or ideas?’
‘What, sorry hhmm – no, not really. After what’s happened lately, I think I’m going to keep it aside and use it for travelling expenses. Maybe work with the police like they want me to.’
‘Are you seriously going to do it then? Work for the police?’ asked Simon carefully. ‘That’d be pretty cool.’
Suzie nodded slowly. ‘Oh yes, I’ve thought about it quite a lot and it scares me, but I think I’ve got to do it. I’m not sure I have a choice!’
All three of them agreed with Suzie. After all, she’d been on one hell of a journey, and they were nothing if not loyal to her decision.
879
They’ve taken me into a separate room now; told me I have to tell them who it was I saw. I think they’re pulling together some photos, I’m not sure yet. Bernard said it wouldn’t be too much longer, but I’m so thirsty, and I’ve been in this room for ages.
I’m not sure if they believe me – Bernard said he’d look after me and make sure I wasn’t on my own, but what if the man sees me? I don’t yet understand what I saw, but I’m starting to realise that it might be a bit more serious than I thought.
It was like the jacket was showing me something. Okay, I know that sounds ridiculous, utterly absurd, but I don’t know what else to say. You know the phrase ‘if walls could talk…’ – well, what if THINGS could talk?
What would they say? What can they see?
Am I going mad?
3
As she got ready for bed that night, Suzie let her mind run back over the day’s events. The boys’ win, the conversations about how they’d spend their money; Max’s comments about her experience the summer before…
He was right. The last twelve months had been virtually unforgettable, and she was still learning how to deal with it. It was always there, and she knew now that she could handle it – but that didn’t mean she understood what it was or why it was there.
The jacket lay on the ground beside her, as she sat with her back against the wall; her hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat slowing with each gulping breath.
That time it had seemed so real – but how could it be?
The man had been there, his lined face leering over her for just a moment before he was gone.
She’d seen him before. Today. Here!
The urgency began to set in as she struggled to stand. She had to get help, now. Before it was too late.
1
Both mobiles went off together.
‘Hi,’ chimed Melissa, at exactly the same time as Suzie reached for her own phone and uttered the same greeting.
Suzie and Melissa were in their local café; it was only 6.10pm but already it sounded like the guys had had a drink. Melissa was on the phone to Max, while Suzie spoke to Simon. The four of them had been friends since primary school and now, at eighteen, were all excited about their forthcoming year at university. Despite the years that had passed, all four still got on really well; they even still vetted each other’s girlfriends and boyfriends – not that anything serious had ever developed.
‘Oh, my God! You’re kidding,’ said Suzie at the same time as Melissa started laughing down the phone at Max. At that exact moment, as if on cue, both Simon and Max walked into the same café the girls were in and greeted them with big grins on their faces. Melissa jumped up and screeched.
‘£48,000! You?’ causing the customers around them to turn their way and frown at the commotion.
‘Yes,’ said Max, unable to lose his wide grin as the girls shushed each other and settled back down. ‘Can you believe that it’s all down to our Suzie here?’ he continued, sitting down next to Suzie and putting his arm round her.
Max suited Suzie; with his blond hair and blue eyes, he was a good 6’ tall. Everyone thought they were a good match, with her brunette, shoulder-length hair, big brown eyes, and gorgeous figure, complemented by an olive complexion. They would have been the perfect couple. Not in their eyes though – it was never going to happen.
Simon and Melissa were totally different by comparison. Simon, 5’8”, had black hair, green eyes, and a hot temper; whereas Melissa had lovely auburn hair, only 5’3” and had a white complexion that looked more suited to an albino rabbit.
‘You remember that night last September when we decided to do the Ouija board?’ said Simon.
Melissa interrupted him, ‘You mean you decided to do the Ouija board. And even then, it was only after you knew about Suzie!’
‘Yes, yes, okay then. Not that it really matters whose idea it was! All that matters is that it worked.’
‘What worked?’ said Suzie. ‘All I remember is you two boys acting about. You asked about ghosts, spirits, and football. I mean, honestly, you’re like a stuck record sometimes! Do you ever think about anything else?’
‘That’s just it; we asked the Ouija board loads of serious stuff, and then at the end, before we finished, we asked it who was going to win the football Premiership.’
‘Yes,’ said Suzie, nodding. ‘And then you thought I’d made it all up. In fact, I seem to recall you referred to the answer I gave as “absurd”!’
‘Yes, well, good job I didn’t go on my instincts and went with what Simon said.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Melissa.
‘Well, the board spelt out that Derby would win the Premiership, but considering they’d only just moved up from the Championship the previous season by play-offs, there seemed absolutely no way they were going to win the Premiership,’ said Max.
‘Well, we thought you were messing about, but then Simon here said, “What the hell! Let’s put £25.00 on Derby to win.” And that was it.
I’m not saying we forgot about the bet we put on. We just didn’t think much else about it. We always thought it was the worst £25.00 we ever spent,’ shrugged Max.
‘Then suddenly time had passed. Derby was in eighth place, and it hit us that they may actually have a chance,’ butted in Simon, earning a light shove from his friend.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,’ grumbled Suzie, clearly outraged. ‘We could have had fun keeping an eye on them as well. Better still, we could have put a bet on them ourselves.’
‘I know,’ said Simon. ‘I must admit it’s been pretty intense these last few months, especially when it looked more and more like they were really in with a chance.’
‘The crunch came when they reached fourth place, and there were only three games left to play,’ cut in Max, continuing his story. ‘To cut a long story short, there were only six points between Derby and Chelsea…’
‘Can you just get to the point?’ said Suzie, her disgruntlement easing away as the boys’ mood became infectious.
‘You jammy gits!’ exploded Melissa, as the boys whispered in hushed tones that they had, just that afternoon, found out that Derby had taken the Premiership title. ‘How much again?’
‘Well, we’ve got to go see the bookies on Monday, but we reckon about £48,000.’
All four stared at each other for a second and then burst out laughing. Attracting the unwanted gazes of their neighbouring customers for the second time in the last few minutes, Suzie put a hand on Max’s arm and squeezed it.
‘Can you imagine what you can do with that money?’ said Suzie.
‘Honestly, we’ve done nothing else. But let’s face it, without Suzie we wouldn’t have put the bet on in the first place,’ said Max, Simon nodding in agreement. ‘Half of it is yours.’
2
Monday morning came around and the long-awaited visit to the bookies brought even more good news. It wasn’t £48,000 as first thought, but an incredible £58,600. The guys went straight round to Suzie’s, where both girls were sat catching up on their favourite TV show.
‘Oh my God,’ said Melissa slowly, while Suzie stared at the cheque in disbelief. ‘What are you going to do now? Have you given it any more thought?’
‘Well, like we said on Saturday, the first thing we’re going to do is share it with you two, especially you, Suzie. After the year you’ve had, at least something good has come out of it,’ said Max knowingly.
Suzie turned away a little, trying to hide the pained look that she knew would only result in fresh waves of sympathy and awkwardness.
‘The family is at peace; I don’t need money to remind me of that.’
‘Yes, I didn’t mean that, Suze, sorry, I just meant with the stress you were under…’ Max tailed off, feeling awful. He really hadn’t meant to put it like that. In fact, he didn’t really know what to say to her at all about what she’d been through. How could he when he didn’t really understand it himself?
‘It’s okay. I know what you meant. And anyway, I got through it, didn’t I?’
‘You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you?’ said Simon, turning to Max and digging his elbow into his friend’s ribs as they once again started reeling off ways to spend their windfall.
Simon always was the one to diffuse an awkward conversation, and Suzie found herself thankful for the change in topic. As her friends carried on discussing their big win, her mind wandered, just for a moment, to the family she had become so close to and what they had lost.
‘Remember the guy who took our money off us when we put the bet on?’
Suzie snapped back to the present as the face of the pale girl faded once again from her mind.
‘He all but laughed in our faces,’ continued Simon, ‘telling us we might as well just give him the £25.00 and let him keep it for us. You know, it’s a pity he wasn’t still working there today when we picked up the cheque – we could have given him £25.00 as a tip.’
At that moment, Suzie’s Mum, Jill, walked into the kitchen where all four were seated. ‘I thought I heard voices.’ She smiled, looking over at the boys. Jill had known Max and Simon since they were just three-foot-tall; always stopping by her house in search of snacks or a playdate with her daughter and her friend – or, as was often the case, both.
‘Yes, great thanks, Mrs. Lloyd,’ chimed the boys, earning themselves a smile and a mock-stern nod from Jill.
‘You know to call me Jill, boys. I’ve known you how long?’ She knew they’d never change, and she loved them for it, but Mrs. Lloyd felt so formal that sometimes she couldn’t help herself.
As she put on her coat and gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek, Jill could tell there was something in the air. Something the teenagers weren’t telling her – but she knew better than to pry.
‘We should all decide what we want to spend it on,’ said Max once the door had closed behind Jill. ‘We’ve worked it out, and it comes to £29,300 for you two, and the same for us boys. Not bad, eh?’
Suzie was quiet while Max, Simon and Melissa began contemplating what they were going to do next. Max and Simon wanted to spend their share on a gap year travelling around Europe – something they had been talking about and fantasising about since the group was fourteen years old and had just come back from their first school trip in Belgium. Melissa’s plan was far simpler: spend, spend, spend…
‘Come on, Suzie,’ probed Max, bringing her back to the present. ‘What about you? Any grand plans or ideas?’
‘What, sorry hhmm – no, not really. After what’s happened lately, I think I’m going to keep it aside and use it for travelling expenses. Maybe work with the police like they want me to.’
‘Are you seriously going to do it then? Work for the police?’ asked Simon carefully. ‘That’d be pretty cool.’
Suzie nodded slowly. ‘Oh yes, I’ve thought about it quite a lot and it scares me, but I think I’ve got to do it. I’m not sure I have a choice!’
All three of them agreed with Suzie. After all, she’d been on one hell of a journey, and they were nothing if not loyal to her decision.
879
They’ve taken me into a separate room now; told me I have to tell them who it was I saw. I think they’re pulling together some photos, I’m not sure yet. Bernard said it wouldn’t be too much longer, but I’m so thirsty, and I’ve been in this room for ages.
I’m not sure if they believe me – Bernard said he’d look after me and make sure I wasn’t on my own, but what if the man sees me? I don’t yet understand what I saw, but I’m starting to realise that it might be a bit more serious than I thought.
It was like the jacket was showing me something. Okay, I know that sounds ridiculous, utterly absurd, but I don’t know what else to say. You know the phrase ‘if walls could talk…’ – well, what if THINGS could talk?
What would they say? What can they see?
Am I going mad?
3
As she got ready for bed that night, Suzie let her mind run back over the day’s events. The boys’ win, the conversations about how they’d spend their money; Max’s comments about her experience the summer before…
He was right. The last twelve months had been virtually unforgettable, and she was still learning how to deal with it. It was always there, and she knew now that she could handle it – but that didn’t mean she understood what it was or why it was there.
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