Michael Jackson Imagine & Story Collection

Little Susie (One-Shot story)

{HIStory era – 1996}

She sat on the old, tattered mattress of her bed, the wood of which was slowly rotting to create a nasty odour in the air. The room was dim and dark; the lampshade on her bedside table was broken, the lightbulb inside smashed. The blind was pulled down, allowing only a thin strip of light either side to pour into the room from the window. At the foot of her bed, a creepy clown puppet loomed over her, its strings knotted and tangled, and the paintwork of its face fading and wearing away. The carpet was stained with unknown substances, which were hard to avoid stepping on every time she wished to move from her bed.

A simple rag doll was in her arms; it was her only means of comfort. The doll had red woolly hair, eyes made from buttons, and a pretty pink dress adorned with daisies. Feeling cold and alone, she hummed to her little doll – a tune that her mother had taught her before she sadly passed away. It was the tune from a Jack-In-The-Box, with a simple melody that could be picked-up instantly.

She was called Susie. She had fair hair, and pale skin. Her eyes were an icy blue, comparable to the beautiful blue ocean on a boiling hot day at the beach. Unfortunately, the pain in her eyes gave them a shallow, glazed-over appearance, weakening their brightness. The dress she wore was a bubblegum blue colour, and was slightly torn in places. Over the top of her dress, she wore a simple navy blue cardigan, with only the top button done up. Grey socks, which were once the purest of white, were worn on her little feet, with dark blue shoes to finish her elegant yet childish look.

Her life had been incredibly tough so far, and yet she was only six years old. Her father had left home when Susie was only four years old, leaving her and her mother alone. Even that was short-lived, because her poor mother died only eight months after that. She then relied solely on her grandfather to take care of her, to make her feel loved. For a brief time, Susie thought she would be okay; her and her grandfather were living together, and he was helping her to move on from the terrible events that had happened in her life. Sadly, only six months later, his soul flew up to Heaven, too ... leaving little Susie alone.

Now, she had no one. She was completely alone, having nothing to do to change that. She had been this way for a few months, but being only six years old, it was naturally hard for her. She was naïve and innocent, not understanding the real world at all, despite all that had happened. Her survival rule was to eat and drink anything she could find, which often came with problems. Most of what she ate was past its expiration date because it had been in her cupboards for so long, resulting in her growing violently ill. It was a wonder that she hadn't died already from her poor diet and its consequences.

However, there was one person that helped her: the man from next door. Susie's eyes moved up slowly from her doll, to the door on the other side of the room. She was considering going to see the man from next door, because her loneliness and hunger for love was becoming almost painful for her. She loved the man from next door; he said many times that if he could, he would adopt Susie and let her live happily with him. However, he couldn't, because he lived alone, and his job involved him working away from home almost all the time. Susie believed he was coming home today, though.

The man from next door was named Michael. He was a successful business man, known around the town for his high status. He hated attention, but whenever he was given it, he would always be humble and sweet. He too had no family; therefore he understood Susie's pain – so he used his job as a distraction from his own harsh reality. He didn't always live next door to Susie; in his old town, he had started suffering from a rare skin disorder, called Vitiligo, which caused his skin to develop lighter blotches on his dark skin. People gave him so much grief for this, that he moved to the house next door to Susie's, in a town where nobody knew him, and he could start afresh. He now had light skin, as well as chocolate-brown eyes that complimented his defined facial features, a slender build, and subtle, loose black curls.

Susie stood up from her bed, taking slow, steady steps towards the door of her bedroom. Upon arriving at her door, her fingers touched lightly upon the gold doorknob, the coldness sending a shiver down her spine. Her tiny height only just allowed her to reach the doorknob; she had been tracking the progress of her height since she was three. Her mother would measure her height every month, and Susie would squeal in anticipation of her mother revealing how much she had grown. It didn't often change; perhaps only once every few months, but it gave them time to bond a little. She knew her mother would be amazed at the fact she was now tall enough to reach the bedroom doorknob.

She twisted it a little, hearing a little click in the opening mechanism which told her that the door only needed a little push to open now. Her hand pressed gently against the door, before she applied a little pressure with her fingers, letting it open. Susie began to feel a slight sense of excitement now; she was about to see the only living person that still cared for her in the world – providing he was home from his tedious business work.

As she made her way to the stairs that led downstairs, her doll – without warning – slipped from her grasp. It fell down to the second step down, before coming to a stop right there. Susie laughed a little, making her way over to her beloved doll. This had been just about the only time she had laughed or felt happy in all the time she had been alone.

"Silly dolly," she giggled, "You fell down the stairs!"

She came to the edge of the top step, holding onto the banister at the side on the wall. She then bent forward to reach for her doll, but suddenly she lost her footing. Her desperate attempts at trying not to trip were pointless; the banister seemed to slip through her little fingers, as she tumbled down the stairs. She finally came to a stop when she reached the floor at the bottom, and moments later, her doll finished its own fall, landing close to her still, lifeless hand.

*

It was hours later that a knock on Susie's door was heard. The caller, receiving no answer, called inside the house.

"Susie? It's Michael. I'm home from work now, sweetie."

Still getting no answer from little Susie, he silently twisted the door handle, beginning to open the front door. Michael couldn't even open the door fully; there was something behind it, which was blocking it. He used the side of his body to push the door open just wide enough for him to fit through, and upon entering the house, he realised what was blocking the door – Susie's body. His eyes widened, whilst a sharp breath tumbled from his lips. A sudden feeling of pain, grief and loss consumed him; he felt sick to his stomach.

"Susie! Oh, my—Susie!" he exclaimed, causing such a commotion, that people started to come out of their houses to see what was going on. Some approached the house, asking what was wrong, to which Michael cried, "She's gone! Little Susie is gone!"

Having no knowledge of who Susie was in her short life, some people left immediately, whereas some – like the police – stayed to investigate what had happened. Michael reached down to close Susie's eyes, hot tears forming thickly in his own eyes. Oh, how he cried for poor little Susie; she had only been gone a couple hours – minutes, from his knowledge – but he already missed her deeply. He caressed her bloody hair gently, reaching out to take her doll and put it lightly in her hands, before bending down to place a soft kiss on her now-frozen forehead.

Only the man from next door knew Little Susie, and how he cried ...

... As he reached down to close Susie's eyes ...

She lay there so tenderly ... fashioned so slenderly ...

Lift her with care ...

... Oh, the blood in her hair ...

~~

In case you hadn't guessed, this story is based on the song Little Susie. I tried to include as many elements as possible from the song ... I hope I did well! :)