Daisy Madigan's Paradise (12 page)

'Well, I guess
I'm not quite as soft hearted as she is, I suppose.'

'You reckon?'
he laughed.

Lana rolled
her eyes and looked through the archway towards the rolling green
hills and numerous wind turbines beyond, 'Did you hear about old Mr
Grimshaw?'

Scott nodded,
'Did they find him yet?'

'Yeah. He's in
the same condition as the young guy. Weird, huh?'

'I guess.
Let's hope they both make it.'

Lana nodded
and stood up, 'Do you wanna go for a ride?'

'Sure,' he
said as they wandered back to their bikes. 'Where do you want to
go?'

Lana shrugged
her shoulders.

'We could try
and get up to Carlton Point?' Scott said with a straight face.

'You
are
joking, right?'

A chuckle
escaped his lips and he nodded, 'Yeah, I know, I know. I wouldn't
put you through that. Don't worry, we'll stay on low ground.'

Before he knew
what hit him, Lana gave him a swipe with her handbag, nearly
knocking him to the ground.

'Ha ha, very
funny Scottie.'

'Don't call me
that,' he laughed before hopping on his bike, 'Come on, I'll race
you!'

'Hey, so not
fair,' she laughed as she raced along behind him.

But just as
she reached him, she heard him curse as his mobile began
ringing.

'That'll be
Mum, she said she'd call me if she needed my help today,' he said,
slowing down.

'Aww but it's
a Saturday, Scott.'

Raising his
eyebrows, he pulled the phone out of his pocket, 'Hey Mum... yeah
okay. I'll be there in fifteen.'

Clapping the
phone shut, he turned to Lana, 'Jeanie had a bit of an accident and
had to pop down to the hospital so Mum needs my help in the
shop.'

Lana's angry
expression vanished, 'Oh, is she okay?'

'And there I
was thinking you weren't a softie,' he laughed, adding, 'yeah,
she'll be fine. She just cut herself on broken glass. It's a nasty
cut and needs a few stitches. I'd better go though. Maybe see you
later?'

Lana nodded
and shooed him away. 'Go,' she said with a smile, 'I'll see you
later.'

Staying put on
the side of the road, Lana watched him cycle away into the
distance. She didn't want to go home and she certainly didn't fancy
going back to the hospital, so she hopped back onto her bike and
took an easy ride towards the old churchyard. As she approached the
crumbling remains of the building that had been destroyed in 1953,
she kept a close eye on Carlton Point which stared back down as if
goading her.

But instead of
pulling up at the churchyard, something made her continue cycling.
It was if they weren't her legs pedalling. She just kept going.
Breathless, her heart thumped in her chest as she came to a slow
about halfway up the steep hill. Stopping, she climbed off and
pushed her bike to the grassy expanse to the side of the pathway,
letting it fall to the ground. She followed it and sat down for a
few minutes, getting her breath back.

The wind picked up temporarily and with it came a gentle
sound. It sounded like someone calling out her name. Turning to
look up towards the very top of Carlton Point, Lana couldn't see
anyone.
Its just my
imagination
, she thought.
It's just because my heart is beating like God
knows what
. But the sound continued
persistently: 'Laaaanaa..... Laaaanaa.... Laaaanaa...'

'What
the...?'.

Standing, Lana
did a full circle squinting her eyes before chuckling nervously,
'Very funny, Scottie. I know it's you. You can come out now!' she
yelled.

But nobody
appeared.

She fidgeted
with her fingers nervously. Her plan was to climb back on her bike
and cycle away but her legs moved in another direction: towards the
summit.

No,
she thought,
no...

But it was no good. She no longer had any control over her
body and she continued walking until she reached the pinnacle of
Carlton Point. Lana was terrified. She'd always had what she
thought to be an irrational fear of heights. Just like Emma had an
irrational fear of water. There was no explanation to either
phobia.
Then why am I here? Why did I
climb up?

At the very
top of Carlton Point was a small circular patch of ground
surrounded by an ancient stone wall. On one side of it was the
pathway she'd just walked along... although steep, there were no
scary edges as such. But the other side was an altogether different
story. She'd seen it in pictures, and from afar, but she'd never
seen it up close.

Standing dead centre as she let her handbag fall to the
ground, Lana closed her eyes just for a second.
I'm not here
, she thought,
I'm in bed having a nightmare
. But the gentle breeze told her a different story. She
gulped hard and opened her eyes, her limbs incapable of moving
further. But she was no longer in the centre of the circle. She was
now looking down at a sheer drop hundreds of feet below.

She could hear her heart beating, feel it thudding in her
chest. She couldn't open her mouth; it was too dry. All she wanted
to do was scream but she couldn't even do that.
Please God don't let me die
, she
thought.

A sudden
massive gust of wind took her feet from beneath her and she was
forcefully pushed from the top of Carlton Point, falling silently
and peacefully to the rocky hills below.

oOo

The Ghost of
Josiah Grimshaw is available from all online retailers