The boy who could see death / Salley Vickers

Eli is an ordinary boy with an extraordinary gift. He has a rare vision of mortality that will set him apart from the world and tragically shape the course of his whole life. Eli is not the only loner. Sarah Palliser, taking refuge in an isolated country hamlet, finds unexpected solace in the haunted graveyard outside her window. Young Prince Mamillius, son of the King of Sicily, watches horrified as his father loses his mind. Cool-sighted artist Nan Maitland becomes obsessed by a mysterious wolf roaming loose in Windsor Great Park. And Eleanor Bishop, attending the funeral of an old friend, discovers how little she has understood their shared intimacy. In this collection of stories, Vickers explores bereavement and betrayal, closely guarded secrets and common gossip, unforeseen endings and decidedly odd beginnings. These stories take a forensic look into the unconscious. Independent Eli was not quite seven years old when he discovered that he was different. At that time, in most ways, he was a quite ordinary child, with the usual traits, good and bad. But in one important respect he differed from the ordinary. One day, Eli looked at his friend Thomas Wilkes and said, 'You are going to die on Tuesday.' And when the following Tuesday, after school, Tommy Wilkes fell from his treehouse and broke his neck it was inevitable that questions were asked.

English