Saskia , livre ebook

Title Page
SASKIA
The First Book In The Saskia Story
by
Ian Berry



Publisher Information
Saskia Published in 2013 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of Ian Berry to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2013 Ian Berry
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.



One
I suppose it served me right for walking so close to the quarry edge, and in the twilight too. One minute I was walking along the path, the next I was falling - over the edge - 200ft straight down!
I remember the wind as I fell and I remember shouting “help” and then everything just - stopped. I wasn’t falling anymore and everywhere was dark. I remember thinking, “This is it. I’m dead”.
Then a voice, “You called for help. How may I be of assistance”.
I looked around but couldn’t see anything in the dark. I also realised I appeared to be hanging in mid air.
The voice again, “How can I help you”
“Am I dead?” I said.
“No you are merely - suspended - while I seek to find out what it is you need.”
“But I was falling, over the quarry edge.”
“In a sense, you still are. The suspension has removed you from your timeframe. Where you are falling, no time is currently passing.”
“How are you doing this?”
“You would not understand if I explained. I ask again, how may I help you.”
“I would have thought it was obvious, stop me falling!”
“Alas, I cannot do that. It would interfere with your timeline too excessively. I can, however, change physical parameters, particularly those pertaining to you.”
I thought quickly. “So you can’t stop me falling, but you can change me?”
“That is correct.”
“So if the fall didn’t hurt me, would that be ok?”
“Yes, that would be acceptable. How do you propose this might be done?”
I thought quickly. Given the circumstances, there was only one thing I could think of. “Make me invulnerable. Give me super powers, like Supergirl and Superman.”
“I don’t understand. Let me interrogate your conscious mind. Ahh, I see. Yes that can be done, a little strange perhaps but possible. Would that be acceptable as help?”
“I’ll say it would! But wait, wait. Can you make it so I can change back to a normal me again? I’d hate to have to hide for the rest of my life.”
“Yes, this can be done. All it will take will be a conscious effort of your will.”
“Then do it please.”
“There. It is done. When I release you from the suspension you will be changed so you will not be hurt by your fall. Goodbye”. And I was falling again!
Before I had time to suck in a breath to scream again, I hit the rocks below at the bottom of the quarry. I should have gone ‘splat’ but I just - stopped. One minute falling, the next lying on the rocks.
I got to my feet. Wow. I really must be Superman. The fall hadn’t hurt a bit. I brushed my hair back out of my eyes. Hang on a minute. Hair? Long, blonde hair? Superman doesn’t have long blonde hair. But Supergirl does! Ohmygod!
I looked down. It might have been nearly dark but I could see perfectly. Boobs, little skirt, long bare legs. I’d been changed into Supergirl not Superman! I was a bloody girl! I realised the voice had seen a picture of Supergirl in my mind instead of Superman and had changed me into that. That was what it meant by ‘a little strange’.
Ok, ok. Don’t panic. Think about changing back. It’s supposed to be possible. As I concentrated there was a blur and I was a man again. Phew. That was a relief, at least that worked as advertised.
I looked around. There was no means of getting back up out of the quarry, which was basically just a very deep hole. I was trapped. Hang on though. Superman can fly. So can Supergirl. If I changed back to Supergirl could I just fly back up to the top? In the Supergirl shape I was obviously invulnerable, the fall hadn’t hurt a bit, I should be able to fly.
A moments concentration and the girl was back, skirt, cape and all. Now just exactly how do you fly? Suddenly I just knew how to do it. I rose vertically up the quarry wall and landed light as a feather at the top. There I saw the fence with a hole in it where I’d fallen through and a big bite out of the top edge of the quarry. That was why I’d fallen, the edge had given way under me.
I realised there was no need to walk home. Why walk when you can fly. The next moment I was in mid air in the gathering dark flying home.
My back garden isn’t overlooked by anyone so I simply landed there and stepped up to the back door. There I hit a problem. The back door was locked as always and the Supergirl persona didn’t have a key. I changed back and with some relief found the key in my pocket and let myself in.
The voice had said I could change shape and I could - but - could I change to anything other than Supergirl? Could I change to a boy or another man or even Superman?
I needed a mirror so I went up the stairs to the bedroom and I saw myself for the first time in a mirror. I laughed as I realised I thought I looked rather good. Hang on. What I actually looked like was Helen Slater from the Supergirl film. I realised this was the image I must have in my mind of ‘Supergirl’.
I changed back into my ‘ordinary’ shape. Try as I might I couldn’t manage any other male shape than that. Ok. Could I be somebody other than Supergirl.
I couldn’t think who else to change into off the top of my head, then an image of the schoolgirl who lived down the road popped up. I wondered what she’d look like as Supergirl. I held that image in my mind as I changed again.
When I looked in the mirror a young girl with long dark brown hair looked back. She was still dressed as Supergirl. My God! It worked! I looked just like her. But did I still have superpowers? As a test I let myself lift slowly into the air. I could still fly!
I landed my feet on the floor again. The girl didn’t have the shape that Helen Slater brought to the Supergirl character, but she still looked great.
I couldn’t go around wearing a Supergirl costume all day, so I imagined what she would look like in a T shirt and a skirt. I found I could change myself so that only the clothes changed, I stayed the same. I looked just like a teenage girl. I realised I could leave the house like this and walk about outside as a girl. Better not do it looking like this girl, though.
Now I wasn’t wearing the Supergirl costume, I wondered what would happen if I changed back to a man. Quick way to find out, I changed. I was still wearing my normal clothes. Ok. Change back again.
I half expected to be wearing the Supergirl costume again which would beg the question of where the
girls clothes I’d been wearing would go. I needn’t have worried. The girl was back in the skirt and top. Now what if I concentrated on a costume, still Supergirl but different.
In short order I turned myself into Supergirl, looking like Helen Slater again, then I stuck. I couldn’t think of any more young Super heroines off the top of my head.
I wondered if I could design my own version of a super-costume so to speak. I thought of Supergirl, looking like the young girl but with a blue crop top, a short pinky-purple skirt, yellow pants and a red cape. I changed.
It worked! I looked just as I’d imagined a few seconds ago. There was nothing for it - I had to go outside and try flying around in this new costume. Nobody would see me anyway, it was full dark by now. Never mind the door, I opened the window, took two steps back and launched myself through it. By the time I reached the window I was horizontal, flying with my arms out in front of me.
As I cleared the window I turned upwards slightly and gained height until I was well above the town. There I just - stopped - in mid-air. Turning upright again I hovered easily in place and look around me. I’d never seen the town from this viewpoint before. As I hovered there I became aware of the wind blowing gently around me. I could feel it in my hair. My hair. It was moving gently in the breeze. I’d never felt that before.
Eventually I returned to the bedroom the same way I’d left, through the window. I sat on my bed in the ‘new’ super costume. I needed to confront a small problem. My life so far had been - less than perfect. I was an orphan, brought up by relatives who hadn’t really wanted me. I’d never been loved, apart from once perhaps, and that had ended in a personal tragedy which was still affecting my life today. While flying around I’d had a crazy idea of maybe assuming another shape and sort of starting again, being young again and doing things differently.
I decided. If I couldn’t be a boy, I’d be a girl. Maybe I could fool myself I was making a new start and maybe it’d work. It might make me feel better about myself anyway. When I thought about it later, I admit I hadn’t thought it through. There was no question of not spending time as a girl, the super powers made that definite.
There was another problem anyway. I looked like the young girl down the road, probably sufficiently exactly to fool her friends. If I went out in public, it couldn’t be as her. I didn’t know what would happen if I tried to modify the template so to speak but there was another way. It occurred to me that while surfing the internet I’d come across many pictures of young gi