Free Daisy Madigan's Paradise by Suzy Turner

miles to central Hackney. Once she'd arrived,
she found a secluded spot to eat her dinner, kindly provided by
Balvinder. Then she sat for hours waiting for the streets to clear
in the darkness.
    After
midnight, she finally felt ready to go and see her father and so
she began the short walk to the spot where she'd been told he
frequently beds down for the night, not too far from the end of
Church Street, apparently.
    Walking
through the shopping district, Daisy couldn't help but look
longingly in the shop windows. It was a long time since she'd had
the money to be able to walk into a clothes shop and buy whatever
took her fancy. Like every January, in the sales, her mum had
always given her £100 spending money and told her she could buy
whatever she wanted. She stood for a moment with her hands on the
glass looking at the latest styles on the faceless mannequins.
    Daisy sighed
and looked down at the old pair of skinny jeans that were ripped at
the ankle and were becoming more and more stained despite the
weekly wash Balvinder gave them.
    One day, she
thought, one day things will be different.
    The sound of
breaking glass interrupted her thoughts and she turned quickly to
see a couple of teenage boys laughing as they threw a second beer
bottle at the wall.
    She withdrew
out of the street light and continued to walk silently in the
shadows beyond, careful to avoid attention.
    Daisy spotted
a nearby police car come to a halt by the kerb. Two officers
stepped out and approached the drunken boys, who were growing
louder by the minute. Daisy waited for them to turn away from her
before she rushed across the street and carried on walking until
she reached the place she expected to find her father.
    It was a short
narrow alleyway with a dead end. Right at the back, she could see
someone leaned against the wall with a bottle in his hand. The
familiar smell of alcohol and stale body odour made her nose
wrinkle in disgust.
    'Dad?' she
said as she tiptoed closer.
    The man
stopped, mid-drink, and slowly moved the bottle away from his
lips.
    'Dad?' she
asked again, a little louder.
    Trying to
stand, she watched him sway uncontrollably. Rushing forward to
catch him as he fell, Daisy felt a familiar tug in her chest. She'd
missed him so much. And she'd only just realised.
    'It's okay,
Dad. I've got you. I'm gonna to take you somewhere safe. I'm gonna
look after you now, Dad,' she whispered as her eyes welled up.
     
     

CHAPTER
18
     
    Getting him
'home' had been surprisingly easy. Using her peculiar new-found
strength, she hoisted him across her back and ran, keeping away
from the street lights and stopping at the sight of anyone
wandering the streets, casually leaning him against the wall. Once
the person had passed, she'd hoist him right back up and continue
running until arriving back at Abney Park in the early hours of the
morning.
    Getting him
into the catacombs was a little more difficult considering the
entrance was quite tight but she'd finally managed, soon falling
asleep next to her snoring father in the darkness.
    Waking up the
following morning, she was startled to find her father had
disappeared. Cursing under her breath, she'd rushed up into the
cool air, only to find him kneeling quietly inside the old chapel
whispering.
    '...very
sorry. I shouldn't have left her like that but look at her. I knew
she'd do better on her own,' he coughed before continuing, 'I'll
never forgive myself for doing what I did, but I miss you. God I
miss you...' he sobbed, his whole body shuddering.
    Daisy tiptoed back outside and sat down on an old rock
covered in moss and dirt. Was he praying? Was he speaking to Mum?
Could he see her, thought Daisy. No, I saw
her cross over the day she died .
    As she sat
pondering, Beau appeared through the old doorway.
    'Daisy?' he
croaked, holding his head as if in pain.
    'Dad? Are you
okay?'
    Wincing and
nodding at the same time, Daisy was shocked to see him in daylight.
His handsome face had changed dramatically