Her gift teaser.

Chapter 1.

We begin this story with a young girl walking alone through a nearly empty park. This girl is sixteen-year-old Allison Layne, an unordinary teenage girl born with a special talent. What was that talent you ask? Well, you’re about to see. As we watch, a puff of smoke appears in front of the girl, but the few people that were nearby couldn't see this. The ominous cloud began to take form, and it eventually took the shape of a harmless old woman. This woman wasn't human, of course, but instead she was the spirit of someone already gone from this world . . . a ghost.
Any normal person would most likely be terrified by what they were seeing, but not dear Allison. You see, ever since she was a child the dead spoke to her. They would ask the young girl for favors; this is why one stood before her now.
“Young lady, can I have a moment of your time?'' the woman asked.
''Sure, what is it?” Allison said with a completely calm demeanor.
“I heard you’re a person who helps the deceased move onto the other side.”
“Yeah that’s true . . . but this isn't a charity,” the girl said, holding her hand out.
“Of course . . . I completely understand.” the woman said, while handing Allison a decent sized pile of cash.
Allison slipped it into her pocket and smiled at the spirit. “Okay, so what is it you need, ma'am?”
“I’ve been watching my poor son work hard all his life and when I passed away, he still hadn't graduated from college yet. Last week, he finally finished school and now has his dream job,” the woman explained. ''I want you to give him this message congratulating him.” The spirit held out a small scrap of paper.
“It doesn't really matter how you give it to him just as long as he sees it. It would mean everything in the world if I could let him know his mother was proud of him,” the woman wept.
Allison looked at the poor spirit and bowed. ''Very well, I’ll get it done.”
“Thank you so much dear . . . he works at a law firm near here. I wrote his name on the paper.” the woman directed. After hearing this, Allison headed off to do her job.
You see, Allison did things differently than most people who spoke to the dead would. Ever since she could talk to them, they would always ask her for favors. Give a relative a message, last words that never got to be spoken, apologies . . . you name it. As she got older though, she started to change. The girl realized that she didn't owe anyone anything, so she began to charge the spirits money for the favors they asked. She didn't really care how they got it, but she wasn't going to waste her time for free anymore. It became like her business, and so far, business had always been good. The girl kept money in her pocket and didn't have to ask her busy family for anything. She was the envy of other teenagers her age, as she didn't have to get a part time job.
As the girl neared the law firm, it was time for her to get to work. When she got there, no one was out front. The sign, however, did say open so our heroine walked straight through the front door. The average teenager probably wouldn't do this, but the cocky Allison wouldn't let anything stop her from making her money. Inside, a young girl in her twenties sat behind the counter, face deep in a computer. She was so absorbed in her work and she didn't notice when Allison approached her.
“Excuse me,” the dark-haired girl called.
“Eeh, what is it?” the woman said, with a little surprise in her voice.
“Is Mr. Smith here?” Allison said, reading from the scrap of paper.
“Oh, yeah he is . . . are you his daughter?”
“Yeah . . . “ Allison said, just going with the flow. '
“Okay, go right in, cutie.” the young secretary smiled.
We then watch as the short-haired girl casually walks into the lawyers office with a smile.
"Sometimes they make it too easy,” she giggled.
As she walks in, we see a younger guy sitting behind a desk. He is sitting with a peaceful but stern look on his face. Above his head was a newly awarded certificate from some prestigious college.
“Um . . . hi there,” Allison greeted.
“Who let you in here? You look a little young to be needing a lawyer,” the man chuckled.
“Um, I am,” Allison replied. “I’m actually here to deliver a message.”
“Oh, whatcha got?” he smiled.
Without saying anything, Allison passed the note that was written by his mother. Once in his hands, the lawyer began to read. Allison watched as his expression went from casual to wide-eyed in a matter of seconds. Whatever the man was reading was something that shocked him; as you could visibly see his jaw drop.
After he finished, he glanced at Allison with a look of disbelief and said, “Where . . . did you get this?”
Instead of answering his question however, the girl got up and went to leave the room.    
“H-hey wait, where did you get this?” he cried. The desperate man even found himself blocking the girl’s path to get his answers.
“Wait . . . the nickname . . . how did you know the nickname my mother gave me?” he asked.
Allison looked at the man and shrugged. “Guess you could say I'm a bit of a miracle worker.”
She left the awestruck lawyer standing there and headed home for the day. As the girl made the walk, she happily counted the money that she had made in the last couple of days. It seemed as though more ghosts needed her assistance, and while that was a bit annoying, it did keep her paid. The girl was so busy thinking of her strange job that she hardly noticed when she was almost home.
Allison lived with her mother and older brother in a middle-class apartment. It was small, but it was home to them. It also took both her family members working to keep everything paid for, so the girl was often alone.
As she went through the door today however, she heard the TV going. Someone was actually home for a change. We see the girl walk into their small living room where an older guy is sitting on the couch.
“Daryl . . . you’re home.” Allison smiled.
“Oh, hey sis! Unfortunately not for long . . . I'm about to head in.” the guy sighed.
Allison's brother Daryl was a hard-working man in his twenties who did everything he could to help his family stay afloat. He was buff and good looking, having the body of a football player. He had long brown hair down to his shoulders that he had a lot of pride in.
“Hmmm, Mom’s at work too, right?”
"Yep, that means you’re gonna have to hold down the fort again tonight.”
“Got it . . . I'm gonna go take a shower,” Allison said.
"Right, be sure to head to bed after . . . don't want you slacking in school.”
"You’re not my dad, Daryl. I can take care of myself.”
"I know, I know . . . have a goodnight,” he said, leaving her to herself.
Allison dropped her things and went to take her shower. As she showered, she felt a little sad thinking about her families’ situation. Her mom and brother were always gone working, and they knew very little about her. Especially the fact that she had these powers and that she used them to make her money. She considered helping them pay the bills with these funds, but they would ask too many questions about the origin of the money. After all, she wouldn't want anyone thinking she was doing anything illegal for it. So, she used the money she earned to buy the things she enjoyed, such as video games and movies. It was a lonely life, but it was just the cards her family was dealt.
She finished showering and got out. With a towel wrapped around her, she looked into the bathroom mirror. Allison had always been a short and skinny girl, not really filled out like other girls her age. She had jet-black natural hair that only went to her ears, with a small bit of bangs covering her left eye. 
The pajamas she had were all black with white stripes, as Allison liked the goth look. Once dressed, she headed to her favorite place, her bedroom. This was the place where she had everything she needed. A PS4, plenty of games, and a small amount of manga.
These were always the things she had been into, choosing to live the life of an Otaku rather than being the typical outgoing teen. It had been a long day though, so gaming and reading were out. It was time to hit the hay. She didn't want to be lectured for sleeping in class. Before she went to bed, however, the girl saw her phone light up. It was a text from her mother reading, “Good night, honey.”
Seeing this text was sort of bittersweet to Allison. She would have much rather had her mom in person to tell her this. Alas, there wasn't much she could do to change things. Looking up at the ceiling, the girl let out a sigh and said, "Mom . . . she's worked so hard ever since dad died. I miss her.” The lonely girl drifted off to sleep.