Read Online Jessie's Ghosts by Penny Garnsworthy - Free Book Online Page A

looked
doubtful but then smiled and said, ‘well, okay then. It’s really only the
middle of the painting that’s still wet – the house and gardens dried
overnight. But be very careful carrying it, Jessie, hold it towards you, we
don’t want any dust getting on it and ruining it.’
    Jessie smiled.
‘Thanks heaps Fleur. It’s just like I’d hoped.’ She leaned over and gave Fleur
a kiss on the cheek, ‘I really enjoyed painting it with you.’
    Fleur caught
her bottom lip and said, ‘I’m so glad you like it, Jessie. Shall I see you
tomorrow, before you go?’
    ‘You bet,’
Jessie said, as carefully she lifted the painting up. ‘Oh, and would be it be
okay if I took one of the tubes of luminescent paint with me, so I can show
Nanna what it looks like?’
    ‘Here,’ Fleur
said as she reached for them both, ‘You keep them Jessie, and next time I’ll
try to get some different colours.’
    Jessie arrived
back at Nanna’s with the painting and placed it on the floor against the
kitchen table. She couldn’t forget the sad look on Fleur’s face when Harmony
had left. And Harmony hadn’t even kissed her goodbye. Did she really hate her
mother that much? If only Harmony understood what it was like not to even have a mum.
     
    ‘It’s a pity
Harmony had to go home early,’ Nanna said as Jessie brought her painting into
the house.
    ‘Well, not
really, Nanna. She wasn’t enjoying herself here.’
    ‘That’s a
shame. Fleur is such a lovely person. Do you think you’ll keep in touch with
Harmony?’
    ‘I’ve been
thinking about that. I’d already decided I didn’t want to be friends with her.’
    ‘Why is that?’
    ‘She doesn’t
get on with her mum, at all. And she doesn’t treat her right.’
    ‘Seems like
she might need a friend, Jessie.’
    Jessie sighed.
‘I guess so. She might be older, but it isn’t just computers I know more about.
She needs to know how special her mum is. And that she’s lucky to have both her
parents around. Maybe I can help her understand that.’
    ‘Oh, you’re a
good girl, Jessie,’ Nanna said as she went to wrap her arms around her.
    ‘Watch the
painting Nanna!’
    ‘Oh, sorry,
love. It’s just beautiful. But had you thought about putting any people in it?’
    ‘Well there are people in the painting, Nanna. You just can’t see them. I’ll show you when it
gets dark. Fleur bought this luminescent paint - you can’t see it in the
daylight, but it glows in the dark.’
    ‘Oh, like
those paintings at the gallery. Well, that’s amazing,’ Nanna said, ‘I can’t
wait to see it.’
    Jessie thought
it was a shame that she would have to write over the painting - but it was the
only way she could think of to get her message to Harold. And tomorrow, after
they had read her message she would just have to hide the painting, so Nanna
would never see the message. She would tell Nanna she didn’t really like it,
after all it was only her first attempt and next time Fleur was going to give
her proper lessons.
    And the loft
was the perfect place to hide it – Nanna wouldn’t be going up there again.
    Once Nanna was
snoring in her lounge chair, Jessie went into her bedroom, lay the painting on
her bed and turned off the lights. The two people in green suddenly came alive.
Jessie grinned as she took the lid off the green luminescent tube of paint.
    For days she
had been thinking about what message she would write and had finally decided to
make it very simple. Jessie was convinced that ‘You are forgiven, be at peace,’
would be enough. She didn’t know whether Harold would even see the painting,
let alone read it. But she had fingers and toes crossed that it would work.
    Tonight was
her last night at Nanna’s. If she didn’t solve this mystery tonight, it would
have to wait until the next school holidays and surely Harold wouldn’t be able
to stand all that remorse for another three months.
    Jessie took a
cotton bud from her bathroom bag and dipped it into the