The cottage, I hired, was on the edge of a forest, not deep in the heart as the fairy tales would have you believe. It was quaint, charming and above all peaceful.

I was on my own, taking a five-day break last year, in an idyllic bolthole. It’s easy when relaxing to let small details pass over you, as you allow free time to lull you and send you into a state of grace. It was the third day of my stay when I was aware of incidents.

The first one I had written off, as a fault with the touch switch on the bedside light which kept switching on during the night. Finding the plug I switched it off. Sleep in heavenly peace I am sure of it. Then, on another day, I awoke to find the bedroom door wide open. I was sure I had closed it on the latch it should not have opened. During that day, I had noticed on more than one occasion the bathroom drawer pulled opened so that it hung teetering close to discarding its contents.  That one got me more suspicious about someone playing a joke on me, but it makes for an uneasy feeling within oneself. However, it was the last event that got me on the telephone to my friend I rented the place from.

The evening was quite still and humid. I did feel a bit uneasy this was the last night of my stay. It had become very late now; I was tired and ready for bed. I went over to switch off the lights, did so and was plunge into blackness. I had forgotten to light the way up the stairs. Realising my mistake I fumbled back for the light switch somewhere near the front door entrance. In stillness and darkness, the loudest of thumps on the front door made me gasp with sudden shock.

Yes, I found the light switch, yes; I peered back at the distorted face through the bulls’ eye door window to see of all people a young priest. He had such a distinctive look about his face once I could see him without the distortion of the glass window. You would never forget him on first meeting. I opened the door, on the chain to hear him say before he ran off into the night; he said, Believe in the one God, the true God, the only God. Mr Harker, do you hear me? He stared intensely at me and then was gone.

Now, a couple of days ago I was walking along the high street and turned to walk over to the park. My eye caught on a small crowd with some hand held placards with messages written upon them. However, quite clear to my vision, in amongst them was a figure holding a board held high in my direction with the message Believe in the one God. Of the figure holding the placard, I was conscious of staring at him. Yes, it was the Priest, you would never forget his face, but what was more remarkable the man must have been years older than the figure I had seen not twelve months ago. It was staggering this was the same man yet years older. How could this be? He stared back at me, acknowledging me with a slight nod. I had only just looked away to break the Tran fixation, but returning to look back at him, the priest had gone, vanished just as he had done that night at the cottage.

I leave you all with a quote from One Tree Hill attributed to Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer)

dreams are emails from ghosts...