Chapter 24
24
ELENA
21 December 2004
Elena lay in bed, face down, sobbing, body covered in sweat, hair stuck to her cheeks. Gayle, the next-door neighbour, had gone downstairs to fetch a glass of water. Daddy wasn’t there because of Mummy… Body jerking with emotion, Elena sat up. She reached for her teddy bear. Leah at school said cuddly toys were babyish. She also called her parents by their first names, said it was more grown up. Elena didn’t care. She hugged Teddy oh so tightly. Gayle gave really good cuddles, but only Teddy heard Elena’s deepest secrets.
‘I feel sick again,’ she said to her bear ‘Auntie Gayle says I’ve got a temperature. I want to go to the hospital to see Mummy but Daddy said no, because I’m not well and because…’ She sobbed again. ‘He said I should concentrate on the fun times I’ve had with her instead, as if memories are all I’m going to have.’
A knock at the door sounded. Gayle came in and put the water on the bedside cabinet, next to a ramshackle pile of books. She sat on the bed and held Elena’s hand. Big beaded necklaces hung around her neck, so different to Mummy’s delicate gold chain, and Gayle smelt of strong perfume that made your nose wrinkle, whereas Mummy smelt of yummy baking.
‘I’m sorry you’re going through this, love,’ she said. Her eyeliner had smeared down her face. ‘Your mum is one of the strongest people I know. Don’t forget that.’
‘Thanks for the drink,’ Elena said and sniffed loudly. ‘I… I want to be on my own, now.’ She had to be a big girl, if Mummy was ill. Daddy had sounded so upset… A sob rose in Elena’s chest.
‘Are you sure? I could sit on your bean bag, if you wanted, keep you company until you fall asleep. Or how about I read from one of our favourite stories, say Alice in Wonderland ?’ Gayle reached forward and gently straightened the bow around Teddy’s neck.
‘I’m okay… thanks, Auntie Gayle.’ She wasn’t her auntie but Elena had always liked calling her that. She lay down and turned her face away, not wanting to show her tears, feeling so hot as if it were July and not December. She wasn’t going to fall asleep. Not whilst Mummy was alive.
A kind sigh. ‘Okay, my love. I’ll be in the lounge. Come down or shout if you want anything, anything at all. Another top-up of water. A hug. Call down if you feel sick again. I’ve put a bowl by your bed. Try to sleep, it’s already so late.’
A pat on Elena’s shoulder and the door closed. The television came on downstairs. For what felt like hours, she tossed and turned. If only she could get some fresh air, and go for a wander on the nearby common, like she did on summer nights. Mummy and Daddy never knew, but she’d creep out and give their other next-door neighbour’s cat a Dairylea Triangle of cheese. The liquorice black cat was called Bumper because he’d bump his nose against people’s legs. Bumper would understand what she was going through.
Breath sounding raspy, Elena got out of bed and put on her trainers, half-heartedly tying the laces. Mummy had taught her to do that, and how to braid her hair, how to plant flowers and do maths equations. Elena crept downstairs and past the lounge, like she had so many times before. Not bothering with her coat, she snuck out the back door. The cold air took her breath away and with it, the horrible, suffocating feeling she’d been suffering. She pushed against a loose slat in the fence, at the bottom of the garden, breathing in mossy, soily smells. The gap gave her just enough room to squeeze through. A shiver ran down her back as she faced the common, an open stretch of land with mist across it, always empty at night. Hoot, hoot. A familiar sound. She’d actually seen an owl once. Bats, too. Children played cricket and football on the common, and sometimes grown-ups held events like the little touring Christmas fair that had been running for a week. Today, Tuesday, had been its last day, the end of its tour, before Christmas Eve on Friday.
Elena’s bottom lip trembled… Mummy had taken her there last weekend. The stalls were mainly food and gifts, although there was a hook-a-duck one, and a small carousel for children. Mummy let Elena go on twice. They’d both eaten mince pies and drunk hot chocolate. Elena had spent her pocket money on gifts for her parents. Mummy had let her go off with her friend from school, Lucy, for half an hour, whilst Lucy’s gran went to a fortune teller’s stall. Later, Lucy’s gran had said how the fortune teller knew so much about her – that she had painful arthritis, that her sister was ill, and that she saw a lot of money in her future. Elena had bought a Christmas spiced bottle of hand cream for Mummy and a silly drinks coaster with a picture of a snowman melting, standing by a cosy fire, for Daddy. She also bought them each a packet of fancy Christmas biscuits.
Would Mummy get to eat hers?
A meow sounded at her feet. Bump, bump. Elena knelt down and touched the wet nose with her finger, before falling to the frosty ground and burying her face in Bumper’s fur. But still images of her mum filled her head, in hospital, covered in blood. She got to her feet, patted the cat’s head and then gave in to an urge to run across the open space of land, away from the sadness. Except it followed her into the woods. She almost tripped, even though she was actually running much more slowly than usual, in a wobbly line. She stopped in a small clearing and bent over, throwing up onto a patch of icy leaves.
‘Mummy, I want Mummy.’ The words came out in big gulps. Now the cold air pierced her lungs. She looked up. Her eyes widened. A small tent had been pitched, straight ahead. By its side stood a woman wearing a purple shawl, her black hair scooped up high on her head and under a colourful beanie hat. Around her neck was a thick woolly scarf. Elena squinted. In one hand was a crystal ball. Of course. The fortune teller from the Christmas fair. Bumper ran over and bumped the woman’s legs. She put down her crystal ball for a second, picked Bumper up and gave him a hug. Elena stood transfixed at the image of the fortune teller, holding the black cat in her arms.
‘Child, what are you doing out here? It’s the middle of winter. And why the upset?’ She put Bumper down and delved into her trouser pocket, then went over and handed Elena a tissue.
The woman had an unusual accent. Elena shouldn’t talk to strangers, but Bumper liked the fortune teller, and Lucy’s mum had sat down at her table, at the fair.
She put her arm around Elena’s shoulder. ‘Tell me. What is troubling you?’
‘My mummy. She’s going to die. Her car was hit. She’s in hospital, and…’ Rambling, Elena told the woman what had happened – how her mum was supposed to have been at home, helping her celebrate her tenth birthday. ‘I’d do anything to save her, like…’ The words ‘a life for a life’ came into her head… ‘Like swap my life for hers. Mummy’s thirty. I could die at thirty instead of her. We’d have twenty more years together, then.’
The woman didn’t tell her off for suggesting such a thing and simply stood back and held out her crystal ball. ‘What is your name, child? ’
‘Elena. Elena Swan,’ she said in a small voice, scared now. ‘How will I live without Mummy? How will Daddy? We’re like Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, the three of us against the world. Daddy says so when he reads me Powerpuff Girls books, although he doesn’t think he’d look good in a skirt. He’s always making Mummy laugh.’ She let out a sob.
‘You can’t take a promise back once it’s made, child. A life for a life – that’s a serious business. Do you understand?’ the woman said. ‘It might have unforeseen consequences for both of you – dealing with dark, unknown forces. By making this promise you’d be taking a big risk.’
‘I understand.’ Elena’s voice quivered, the air turning white as she spoke. ‘A promise is a promise. Mummy and Daddy have taught me that. Please, please just help me save her.’ Surely the consequences for Mummy couldn’t be worse than no longer being around? Was it selfish, to want to not let go of a parent, at all costs? Elena’s fingers curled, the nails digging into her palms No. It wasn’t. And… and even if it was, she couldn’t live without her mummy. She couldn’t! Elena turning thirty was such a very long time away. Surely any dark forces would have forgotten about Elena and her mummy by then.
The woman shot her a piercing look, hesitated. ‘You should go home. Go to bed. Things might end well.’
‘They won’t! The doctors said.’
Everything went blurry as the woman gave a big sigh. ‘Okay. A life for a life it is.’ She picked up the crystal ball and ran a hand over the glass. ‘Elena Swan, your mother will be saved, this very day, at midnight. In exchange for her life, on your thirtieth birthday, YOU will pass onto the next stage of our world.’
After what seemed like only seconds later, Elena stood at her front door, the purple shawl around her shoulders, Bumper at her feet. The fortune teller held her hand. Elena avoided Gayle’s face and muttered something to her about having wanted to see the cat. A worried Gayle felt Elena’s forehead with her hand. She sent her straight upstairs with a kiss, and told her to get into bed, concerned the night chill would make her bug even worse.
Elena woke up next morning and beside her, on the pillow, lay a playing card with a fancy back. The king of hearts? She had no idea where it came from. She yawned and sat up. A jolt went through her body as memories flooded back from the night before. The door creaked and it opened slowly. Gayle came in.
‘I’ve let you sleep in, sweetheart, but you should know that… you see… this morning the hospital rang and… it’s incredible…’ Gayle’s face broke into a wide smile. ‘She’s going to be okay.’
Tears sprang into Elena’s eyes. She hugged Gayle, who had rushed over. The two of them held each other tightly, rocking from side to side. Mummy wasn’t going to die! Daddy wasn’t going to be alone. Everything would be all right for Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
Bumper. The crystal ball. The fortune teller. She remembered it all now.
‘Miracles do happen!’ continued Gayle. ‘I told you she was strong. The doctors could hardly believe it!’
‘When exactly did she wake up?’ asked Elena in a small voice.
‘Funny you should ask that – exactly on the stroke of midnight.’
Slowly, Elena nodded, accepting the truth. The deal she made had done its work.
Elena had saved her mummy! Pure joy filled her heart. Yet it lay in an icy pool of terror that would bide its time until Elena turned thirty. Although, that was years and years into the future. She could hardly imagine being that old. Gayle shuffled uncomfortably on the bed. ‘Do… do you remember much about last night, love?’
Elena kept quiet. No one must ever find out about the promise. Mummy would blame herself for Elena’s shortened life. Her parents would be so upset. As for the warning the fortune teller had issued, about making a pact with dark forces… Elena wouldn’t think about that. She wouldn’t.
‘That lady was very kind to bring you back,’ said Gayle. ‘An odd sort, though. She passed me that playing card after you went upstairs and told me to give it to you. Then she said I should visit my dentist.’ Gayle broke eye contact. ‘But you slipping out alone, to go onto the common, isn’t something we need to worry your parents about, not right now…’
Gayle left to make Elena’s favourite chocolate spread on toast. Her last words were about Lucy, Elena’s best school friend who had rung earlier. Her gran had just found out she’d won big on the lottery.