Free Urban Myth by James Raven

nothing had been disturbed. I felt a surge of relief. In the kitchen I made myself a mug of coffee and carried it through to the living room. The day revealed itself when I drew back the curtains across the large bay window at the front of the house.
    The sight that greeted me lifted my spirits. It was another magnificent morning, the sun climbing ever higher into a pristine blue sky. Its rays poured molten light over the rolling heathland, igniting bursts of colour, from the burnt orange of the dying bracken to the striking purple of the heather blooms.
    ‘That’s what I call a sight to behold.’
    Startled, I whirled round and spilled some of my coffee on the floor.Nicole was standing right behind me in her dressing gown, a broad smile on her face.
    ‘Oops. Sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to spook you.’
    I swallowed an expletive and took a deep breath to regain my composure.
    ‘I didn’t hear you. Thought you were still sleeping.’
    ‘I woke up and you weren’t there. So I thought I’d come down and join you. It’s a beautiful morning.’
    ‘How did you sleep?’
    ‘Not bad considering all the excitement last night. What about you?’
    I shrugged. ‘I was on edge so I struggled.’
    Her arm encircled my waist. ‘Well I’m not surprised. But the more I think about it the more I’m convinced that it’s nothing to get worked up about. Michael was walking and talking in his sleep. And the so-called voices must have been him having a conversation with himself.’
    ‘I suppose that does kind of make sense,’ I admitted.
    She gave a short laugh. ‘We could tie him to the bed frame tonight so that he doesn’t do it again.’
    I was glad Nicole was able to make light of it. No doubt it was due to her sheer contempt for the so-called supernatural. For her there had to be a simple, straightforward explanation for everything.
    I made her a cup of coffee and we sat in the kitchen and talked about the day ahead. She wanted to go into Burley to check out the shops. She also wanted to drive over to the spot where her parents’ ashes were scattered. I knew it meant a lot to her, but I did wonder how she would handle it emotionally.
    Michael surfaced half an hour later. He shuffled into the kitchen in his PJs with tousled hair and a face so pale it was like wax.
    ‘What’s for breakfast?’ he asked.
    It turned out he had absolutely no recollection of what had happened during the night. Couldn’t even recall telling us he had dreamt about being lifted off his bed by a man – or was it a ghost?
    ‘Sounds funny,’ he chuckled. ‘Wish I could remember.’
    And that was that. He didn’t ask questions and he didn’t seem in the least bit perturbed. I suppose I’d expected him to wake up this morning feeling confused and even distraught. I’d been hoping he would shed some light on the conversation he supposedly had with himself.
    ‘I’m really hungry,’ he said.
    I got up and ruffled his hair.
    ‘I’ll go wake lazybones,’ I said. ‘And then I reckon we should all have a slap-up breakfast before we go out and see what this fantastic forest has to offer.’
    I went upstairs to Tina’s room and tapped lightly on the door.
    ‘Time to get up, sleepyhead,’ I said. ‘Breakfast will soon be on the table.’
    There was no response so I twisted the knob and eased the door open. Light from the landing cut into the pitch blackness of the room, revealing a piled-up duvet on the bed. I grinned. My daughter had always been a messy sleeper.
    ‘Wakey, wakey,’ I said as I stepped into the room and headed for the window. As I did so I noticed a crack of light under the door to the en-suite. At the same time I heard the toilet flush which told me that Tina was already up. That was good because coaxing her out of bed was never an easy task, particular when she didn’t have to go to school.
    I opened the curtains and then the window to let some fresh air into the room. When I turned back towards the bed I saw