Heaven Eyes by David Almond

Author:David Almond [Almond, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56579-2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2000-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT NIGHT that we were all woken by Grampa.

“Ghosts!” he called. “Ghosts! Ghosts!”

We sat up from our beds on the floor.

Grampa was standing by the shelves. He held a broken bird’s wing in his hand. There was a broken bottle on the floor at his feet.

Heaven rushed to him.

“There has been ghosts in here, little Heaven,” he said.

He pointed to the shoeprint in the black dust on the shelves. I trembled. It was the unmistakable mark of Jan’s running-away sneakers. Grampa stared up at the closed boxes by the ceiling. He tried to climb the shelves but he was unsteady and he tumbled down again.

His face was red and strained.

“Nobody’s been,” I whispered.

He stared, as if he stared right through me.

“Ghosts!” he whispered.

Heaven trembled. She gripped his arm with her webbed fingers.

January rose and came to us.

“Nobody’s been,” he said.

Grampa looked down at Mouse.

“You is my Little Helper?” he said.

“Yes,” said Heaven. “Yes, he is your Little Helper.”

Tears were trickling down her cheeks.

“Climb,” said Grampa. “Go up where them boxes are. Check them isn’t opened, Little Helper.”

Mouse rubbed the sleep from his eyes and started to climb. I stood beneath him, ready to catch him if he fell. He reached the top shelf.

“Is them boxes tight?” said Grampa.

Mouse stretched, shaking the lids of the boxes one by one.

“Yes,” he said.

“Is them ropes and belts still fastened tight?”

“Yes.”

Grampa sighed.

“Come on down, then,” he whispered.

His eyes were red-rimmed. He stared at the footprint. He scratched his beard and the black dust fell from it. He looked old, old. He held Heaven against him.

“See?” she whispered.

He pointed to the footprint. She reached out and swept it away with her fingers.

“Is nothing,” she whispered, and her voice was shaking.

He licked his lips, lost in the mystery.

“Is nothing,” Heaven said again. “You is having sleep thoughts and imaginings, Grampa.”

“There is been no ghosts?” he said.

“There is been no ghosts, Grampa.”

She led him back to his desk. He sat there gazing into nothingness while she stroked his head. Then he lifted his pencil and started scribbling again.

Heaven Eyes lay down beside me and wept.

I stroked her hair.

“It’ll be all right,” I said.

“No, Erin. Never no.”

She twisted and turned for hours, unable to sleep.

“That Janry Carr!” she whispered. “That Janry Carr! He has got me telling fibs and lies and wrongness. Oh, Erin. Oh, my sister Erin Law.”

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