Social worker Jack Dillon is presented with a strange gift from an old lady: five wishes.

Here is an excerpt from ‘Five Wishes’.

“Now Jack, tell me something else. Do you believe in magic?” asked Sarah looking into my eyes.

                Until that moment everything about Sarah and her house had appeared normal. She seemed to be fit and active for her age and looking after herself. There had been nothing out of the ordinary which had started any alarm bells ringing in my head. But they were certainly ringing now. Don had told me that she was a little bit different. I maintained eye contact with her as I attempted to answer her strange question.

                “Er, I’m not sure what you mean by magic, Sarah,” I said. “Do you mean by describing something as magic. For example, if you say you like something, you would say, that’s magic.”

                “No, that’s not what I mean, Jack,” said Sarah smiling at me.

                “Well, what about a magic trick, you know with cards and rabbits in hats. Sort of like magic and illusions. I think that there are a lot of magicians out there who can be quite believable,” I said.

                “That’s not what I mean either. I mean a magical force that is in the world that can be used for good,” said Sarah.

                The alarm bells in my head were ringing louder and louder. I wasn’t sure whether Sarah was slightly delusional or perhaps because of her age she may be suffering from the onset of dementia or Alzheimers. Also, at that moment I was thinking about schizophrenia and running through a checklist in my mind. This was something I definitely needed to talk to Don about the next time I saw him at the centre. Still, I had to come up with a response.

                “It would be good if there was something like that in this world, Sarah,” I said politely.

                “But there is, Jack. Let me assure you there is. I come from a line of people who were skilled in magic. When I worked in the pharmacy customers and patients would often marvel at what our drugs could do for them. It was the same for my mother, my grandmother and also my great grandmother so I’ve been told. They worked with healing agents and used their own natural abilities to improve on the effectiveness of the substances,” said Sarah.

                I was torn between leaving the kitchen right then to phone for the centre and getting medical help for the lady and listening to what she had to say. Sarah was not exactly threatening and so I felt safe enough. What she was saying intrigued me and maybe it was only a belief she had in her own abilities and those of her ancestors.

                “I think pharmaceuticals and medicines can help patients in many ways. I’m sure you and your mum, grandmother and great grandmother helped many people,” I said sitting firmly in my chair.

                “Yes, we did and they were grateful for it. We were good people who did good things. But magic can also manifest itself in other ways,” said Sarah.

                “I’m sure it can,” I replied.

                “As I said, I think you are a good person in your heart and I think that you can do good things,” said Sarah.

This novel is available in both eBook and paperback formats from Amazon.

Kind Regards

Alan

alanrove@hotmail.com