The Gift
Jo finds that no good deed ever goes unpunished
Less than a nanosecond. No time to think.
As Jo waits to cross the road, a young girl appears at her side and darts forward into the roaring traffic.
Jo leaps after her and throws her bodily to one side taking the force of a skidding car on her right leg. Horns blare and the traffic screeches.
Jo wakes in a blaze of white lights and wonders if she has gone to heaven. Everything is confused in her head. She cannot even remember her name.
“Take it easy,” says a calm voice, “You’ve had a nasty accident, but you’ll be ok.”
It takes 48 hours for Jo to come back to herself. The painkilling drugs have been reduced and the world is starting to make sense again.
“The little girl, is she ok?” she asks the nurse anxiously.
“She’s fine, just a bit shaken. Her family are very grateful for what you did. They’re going to visit this afternoon. You’re not in bad shape either. The car that hit you wasn’t driving too fast and managed to avoid most of you. You were very lucky.”
Jo recognises the little girl who peers around the door of her room. She is followed by two adults, their arms laden with edible gifts.
“We are Assaya’s parents,” says the man. “I am Cargirus and this is my wife Talina.” He puts his hand to his ear as if trying to hear someone, and Jo realises he is wearing an earpiece.
Talina speaks. “We cannot…” She pauses and presses her hand to her ear, then mutters, “Yes”. “Express how grateful we are for your help.”
Jo cannot help noticing that the way she pronounces ‘express’ is a little odd, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Perhaps they are foreign she thinks. They are rather short, and dressed in matching silver jumpsuits, but otherwise not out of the ordinary.
Talina continues, “We have one very special gift for you that we will deliver tomorrow. I should explain that we are from another planet, very far away.”
Jo thinks she has misheard, but Talina carries on.
“We are going to reward you with a power that other humans do not have, and you will be able to do a great deal of good. You will have noticed that we are not familiar with everything in your world and that is why Assaya did not understand the traffic on the ground. We feel that such a heroic…”
Again, a touch of the ear and the slightly odd pronunciation.
“…action on your part deserves to be specially rewarded.”
They turn as one and leave, giving Jo no time to ask questions.
Next morning, Jo decides that the whole thing has been a dream. Aliens visiting her and offering her gifts. How ridiculous. Then she catches sight of the lavish chocolates and goodies left by them yesterday.
Ok, she thinks. So, they are real, but that doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth. She decides they will not come again, and it is all a hoax.
On the dot of two they arrive, happy and nodding their greetings. They are a bit odd, Jo thinks. It is hard to put your finger on it, but their mannerisms and gestures are so, well, alien.
“How can you speak English if you are from another planet?” Jo asks, determined to get some information this time.
Talina replies, “We use what you would call AI. It translates what you say and tells us how to put our thoughts into your words.”
“Ok,” Jo says slowly, “So what’s this superpower I’m going to get?”
“You will be able to freeze time and change what is happening around you. It will last for up to an hour, giving you time to help people and change their immediate futures.”
“Oh,” says Jo, rather disappointed. There is to be no flying from high buildings then.
“Assaya will perform the gifting ceremony,” says Talina and the little girl steps forward.
Spreading her arms wide, she utters some weird incantation in a tongue that Jo cannot comprehend. Then Assaya bows and steps back.
Is that it? Jo wonders. It doesn’t seem much of a ceremony for something so momentous.
Then the three are bowing and backing away, nodding and smiling. Jo cannot help wishing that, since she earns very little as a freelance artist, they could give her something a bit more lucrative.
Four weeks later Jo is released from hospital and able to stroll down the high street with the aid of a stick. She is still puzzled by the strange family. The meeting was so bizarre that Jo had not thought of the questions that are now jumping up and down in her mind, eager to be answered.
As she turns the corner into the marketplace, she sees a young man wielding a blade, threatening an old lady who is clutching her handbag to her chest.
Give it a go, says a voice in Jo’s head. Feeling a bit silly, she raises her hand and says, “Freeze.”
To her astonishment, everything stops. There is no sound, no movement. People have become statues, caught as if in a painting, some with their mouths open, some caught in mid-stride.
Jo wanders between them, deep in thought. Let’s see what we can do.
She picks up the old lady. She is surprisingly light and easy to carry. She moves her to a nearby supermarket where she is out of harm’s way. Then she collects a wooden statue of a bear which is being offered for sale by a local craftsman. It is huge and, once in place, looms over the young man. Finally, she selects a banana from a fruit and veg stall and replaces the knife in the man’s hand. She puts the knife in her bag to dispose of later.
Standing back to admire the scene and wondering what to do next, Jo pauses for a moment before raising her hand.
“Resume,” she says.
The scene jumps into life. The young man waves his banana about in a threatening manner.
Guffaws of laughter erupt from the marketplace café, the outside customers pointing and taking photos of the strange drama.
Jo acknowledges that this has been fun. A few days pass before she has the chance for a bit more practice. A woman struts along the street draped in real furs, diamonds flashing on her hands and about her throat. Goodness only knows where she is going in that get-up. The woman pauses at the sight of a homeless man, slumped in a doorway with only his little dog for company. He holds out his hand in a desperate gesture that speaks of his poverty and hunger. She sneers and begins to berate him for his fecklessness and lazy disposition, neither knowing nor caring about his story.
Jo is stopped in her tracks. She is not going to let this one go. Once again, she raises her hand and says “Freeze” and is pleased to see it has the same effect as last time. The woman’s mouth is open in the middle of her rant, her nasty red lipstick like a gash on her contorted face.
Stepping up to her, Jo removes the woman’s Chanel handbag. Finding several hundred pounds inside she withdraws a bundle and places it in the man’s pocket. Then she lifts the woman and carries her into the furniture shop where she parks her in front of a large mirror. Take a look at yourself, she thinks.
Just before releasing the scene, she again dips into the woman’s bag and takes a few pounds for herself. She has not worked since the accident, so, why not?
Jo is beginning to enjoy herself, feeling like a cross between an avenging angel and Robin Hood. Each time she freezes a scene, she takes a little money for herself, feeling it is more important to carry on with this work than it is to earn a living as an artist. However, the amounts she takes grow bigger, and soon she has a nest egg built up for herself.
Seated on her balcony, she is leafing through holiday brochures when there is a knock at the door. The little family of three is on the threshold wanting a word with her.
“It seems we have made a mistake,” says Talina, “We thought that you would use your power only to benefit others, but you have been stealing.”
“Only from bad people,” Jo protests.
“Stealing must be punished,” continues Talina as if Jo has not spoken. “Your punishment will be that, just as you have taken from your fellow humans, something will be taken from you. You will suffer for years, unable to communicate your thoughts to those around you.”
They turn around in unison and leave the building. Jo stands open-mouthed at her door. How is this fair? She has done some good, although admittedly she has done herself a lot of good too. Oh well, she thinks, bring it on little aliens, let’s see what you’ve got.
When Jo awakes the next morning, she cannot lift her head. It feels like lead. She can wave her arms and legs about but that is about it. She seems to be tightly wrapped and wait, is she wearing a nappy? A face looms over her.
“Who’s a pretty little girl then?” coos the owner of this face, “Did oo want a bottle?”
A teat is thrust into Jo’s mouth. With devastating clarity, she sees before her years of finger painting and soft toys instead of YouTube. Her eyes are wide, and her face reddens. She opens her mouth to protest but all that comes out is a loud wail.
Read more from Jodi here:
