Here is a sample story from the above book:
Toy Soldier – A Ghost
Story
Sue sat at the foot of
her five year old daughter's bed. She happened to be reading her a
bedtime story. She was almost at the 'And they all lived happily ever
after' bit, when she heard a child's voice say 'Help me....please'
The voice was right outside the bedroom door. Her daughter either
hadn't heard it or was choosing to ignore it. Carry on mummy...how
does it end?' her daughter said. Sue finished the story and tucked
her in, then kissed her forehead.
Sue was about to put it
all down to tiredness when she saw a small, plastic soldier by the
bedroom door. She picked it up and recognised it as the sort that her
brother had when he was a child. 'I wonder where she found this?' she
thought to herself. She slipped it into her jeans pocket. Something
niggled at her mind as if to say that something wasn't quite right.
Once downstairs, she placed it on the fireplace to remind her to
mention it to her daughter Poppy in the morning.
It played on her mind.
She couldn't believe what she was doing, but she rang her brother
Tony. 'Hiya kid, it's me' she said to her brother. 'Hello love, how
are you?' he asked her. She told him that she was fine and then asked
him if he still had his toy soldiers. 'Why?..does Poppy want them or
something?' he asked her. She told him that she had found one at the
house and wondered if he had let Poppy play with them when she was
round at his house. 'Can't be mine' he said. 'Mum gave them to a kid
down the street when I was about fifteen'. She thanked him and they
exchanged a few more pleasantries, then she hung up.
When morning came she
woke Poppy and gave her breakfast. She then started packing her lunch
for school. 'Oh, Poppy, I found this toy soldier by your bedroom
door. Is it yours?' she asked her. Her daughter chuckled and said
'Oh, that will be Alan's'. Sue was rocked by this. She knew about
Alan, but he was her imaginary playmate when she was younger. She
hadn't mentioned him in over a year. They were running slightly late,
so there was no time to discuss it further, but Sue was definitely
not happy.
All day Sue busied
herself at work, but the toy soldier came into her mind constantly.
During their break, Sue mentioned it to her workmate Janice. Janice
had known her since they were at school together, and so knew her not
to be the hysterical or fanciful type. 'Oh bugger off Sue, you are
giving me the creeps' she said. 'She definitely meant her imaginary
playmate, and not some boy at school?' Janice said. Sue grasped at
this straw. That is what it had to be. She had misunderstood. She
thanked Janice, and they carried on with their break.
Sue collected Poppy
from school on her way home from work. As they were driving along,
Sue asked Poppy about her friend Alan at the school, and whether she
was going to give him back his toy soldier. Poppy answered her by
saying 'I don't have a friend at school called Alan, mummy'. Sue
almost swerved into a parked car. 'OK, get a grip girl' she said
inside her mind.
Sue put this down to
'just one of those things' and left it at that. Once home they had
dinner and Poppy sat to watch a little TV. Sue opened her laptop on
the kitchen table to check her emails. As she was checking her
emails, she knocked over a little sugar pot. She got up to fetch a
sheet of paper to sweep it onto. When she got back to the kitchen
table, she saw that someone had drawn a frowning face in the spilled
sugar, like an upside-down smiley. She let out a small whoop of fear.
She knew it couldn't have been Poppy, because she would have had to
pass her to get into the kitchen.
Sue grabbed Poppy and
said, 'It's Friday, let's go round to your granny's shall we?' Poppy
was delighted at this sudden and impromptu adventure. She rang her
mother and asked if they could stay there for the night, and that she
would explain why when she got there. She then quickly gathered
together a few belongings to last them the night, and then drove them
both off to her mother's house.
Her mother welcomed
them both with open arms, giving Poppy a big hug, and presenting her
with a chocolate biscuit. 'Go and get my big button tin out of the
pantry and play with it on the rug. Your mummy and I are going to
have a chat and a cup of tea' she said to Poppy. Poppy was happy to
do this, and a few moments later she was happily munching on her
biscuit and playing with the buttons.
Her mother got as far
as saying 'What on earth is....' before Sue stopped her and said
'Please mum, just listen to the full story, and please don't think I
am mad'. Sue then told her the whole tale. Her mum then looked
pensive, as if in thought. She then said 'You know that I gave birth
to a baby boy, but he was stillborn?' Sue held her mother's hand and
said 'Yes mum, you did tell me'. She then looked Sue right in the
eyes and said 'I don't think I ever told you, but we were going to
call him Alan'.
Sue was speechless at
her mother's revelation. Her mother went on to tell her that when Sue
told her that she had an imaginary playmate called Alan, it didn't
surprise her. She went on to tell her that she had caught a glimpse
from the corner of her eye of a little boy dressed in short trousers
and school uniform. 'When did you see this, mum?' Sue asked her. Her
mother told her that it was virtually every time that she babysat
Poppy.
Sue slumped back into
the kitchen chair, before saying 'And you didn't think it worth
mentioning??' Her mother said 'What was I supposed to say. Oh Poppy
has been a good little girl, she has been playing happily all day
with a dead child?' 'Fair point' Sue said, before going on to say 'I
would have thought you were going a bit senile if you had'. The joint
laughter came as a blessed relief to both of them.
'Why does he want me to
help him?' Sue said, before admonishing herself and saying 'Bloody
hell, I am starting to believe this shite'. Her mother chuckled, and
then told her that if it was indeed Alan, he wouldn't wish them any
harm. 'I told you I see him out of the corner of my eye?' her mum
said, before going on to say 'I sometimes see him standing behind me
when I look in the bathroom mirror. It looks like he is trying to say
something, but I can't hear him'. Sue never swore in front of her
mother. Not the bad words anyway. This time she broke the habit of a
lifetime. 'Fucking hell mum...firstly you are scaring me now...and
secondly...how long has this been going on?' Her mother smiled and
said 'About the same time that Poppy first mentioned him'.
'How do you know it's
Alan. Your Alan?' Sue asked her mother. 'Do you think I wouldn't
recognise my own child?' her mother answered, before continuing to
say 'Anyway, he told Poppy that he was' Sue said 'OK I am furious
about this. You should have told me' Her mother answered by saying
that she thought Poppy had told her all about it, and that it never
entered her head. 'Don't blame me if your own daughter doesn't tell
you things' she snapped back at her, before grabbing Sue's hand and
apologising profusely. Sue apologised as well, whilst saying that it
was a very fair comment. 'I am always so busy since the divorce. She
was only two when he left' she explained to her mother.
Both of them were
unaware that Poppy was now standing and looking at them both. 'Are
you talking about Alan?' she asked them. Neither of them answered.
'Well....are you?' she said. Sue said ' About this Alan...'. This was
as far as she got. 'Don't call him that mummy, he is OUR Alan, not
THIS Alan' Sue began to cry a little. Poppy came over and sat on her
knee. 'Why are you both so frightened of him?' Poppy asked them.
Sue's mother then asked Poppy what he wanted. She told them 'Alan
says he tries to talk to you, but you can't hear him. He says you are
too scared to hear him'. Her gran started to cry. She told Poppy that
tonight, if he would show himself in the bathroom mirror, that she
would listen. Poppy said 'He says he will talk to you right now if
you like, but just you'. Sue grabbed her mothers hand but her mother
said 'Tell Alan I am on my way'.
Sue's mother stood in
front of the bathroom mirror, hardly daring to open her eyes. When
she did, she saw Alan standing beside her, his hand in hers. 'Hello
mummy' he said. She heard him as clear as day, then she dissolved
into tears. 'Please dont cry mummy' Alan said. She composed herself
and apologised. 'I'm listening now darling. What is it that you want
to tell me?'
'I saw how unhappy you
were when I didn't take my earthly form. I have tried for so long to
talk to you. When Poppy could see me I was so pleased'. Alan told
her. 'I left that toy soldier for my sister to find, because she
couldn't hear me either' He then went on to tell her that he knew it
would frighten her into talking to someone, and that he and Poppy had
planned it together. 'What is it that you are so desperate to tell me
my darling?' she asked. Alan replied 'I just wanted to tell you that
I am OK and this is just my little boy shadow. Look again mummy' When
she looked into the mirror again she saw a tall, handsome and
athletic man in his prime. He smiled the broadest and happiest grin
and said to her 'I just wanted to tell you that I am fine and that I
love you mum' He then faded away.
Sue, her mother and
Poppy never saw Alan again after that day. He became far more subtle.
When Sue worried over the bills, she would feel her big brothers arm
around her shoulder. Poppy walked with an air of confidence, knowing
that her Uncle had her back at all times. Alan's mum felt him around
at all times. Sometimes she would find a little heart drawn into the
dust, and beside it a kiss.
© David Hayes
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