I guess every once in a while, we all need a little reminder as to who we are, who we were and where we came from so that we can look forward to the future with a fresh and positive outlook. Unfortunately, or maybe in a way ... fortunately, not all of us get to receive such reminders. For me ... mine came a while ago now. I guess I was at a point in my life where I was feeling a little bit down in myself. Maybe I was at a point where the future did not appear, well ... not to me anyway, to be in any way bright. Whether or not I wanted it or not, I would get to be one of those who, unfortunately or otherwise, got to receive that reminder.

Sometime during the night of Sunday, December 21st going into Monday morning of the 22nd of December 2008, I was awakened by the television in my bedroom coming on. It was filled with snow like fuzz as if there was no reception and when my television comes to be like this, a five-minute timer automatically activates itself so that the television will turn itself off once those five minutes have elapsed. Being as tired as I was, I decided to let it turn itself off and this is when I believe my television began to talk to me, and I don't know why, but this somehow felt perfectly normal to me.

'Karl' spoke my TV.

'What?' I reply as the five-minute timer continued to tick away.

'I don't have much time so please listen to me.'

'Listen to you? Why should I? I am far too tired to be listening to anything.'

'I have to tell you about tomorrow' continued my TV, 'you will be a recipient of three visits, visits which will all occur separately at some point or another during tomorrow, take what you will from these visits.'

'Visits, what sort of visits?'

'Just look upon these visits as a gift; don't be afraid of them for there is nothing to fear.'

My eyes struggled to open and as soon as I could get them anyway open, they would become heavy and closed again. And before a deep sleep could take me, I develop the need to question what had just occurred.

'Wait. Are you my television?'

'I am what I am, and I am simply just communicating with you through your TV.'

I sat up and moved to the side of my bed once again struggling to open my eyes.

'Goodnight Karl.'

My eyes opened properly just as my TV turned itself off. Was I dreaming? Timing couldn't have been worse, wanting a moment to question things further only to have that moment taken away. I had no idea what was going on, or what was or was not real, and I definitely was not prepared for what was to come despite having been in a way forewarned about it.

I got up when the morning came, put my trousers on and was about to go downstairs to make myself some breakfast when someone knocked at the front door. I hadn't even showered yet, but I decided to answer the door anyway, but before I did so I could hear the sound of chains clanging outside, definitely a sound I wasn't expecting to hear.

Having yet to consider what had happened during the night, I wished I did have a moment, as it is ... it looks as if I am being thrown right into it. With it being so close to Christmas ... it is or was safe to say that Halloween was long over, this was not a time of year you would expect to see fancy dress. This ... whatever this is ... is about to begin.

I opened the door to see a man, completely grey and white in colour, standing before me. Everything about him was grey and white, his clothes, his completion, everything. He was smoking a rather large cigar and had chains hanging from around his shoulders as well as hanging from his arms and legs. I just backed up a bit and stared at him. I hate smoke of any kind and everything about it but that was the least of my worries about what it was I could see before me.

'Come with me' he speaks after having allowed somewhat of a pause to settle, a pause which had seemed a lot longer than what it actually was.

'What?' I asked, not knowing what to make of this situation I found myself in.

'Just come with me will ya?'

It is at this moment that I felt a horrid sinking feeling swarm my body. Right here is where I began to take in all of what I remembered from what had happened during the night. 'Are you one of my three visits?' I ask not really being totally sure as to what it was I was asking.

'Yeah, I'm the ghost of Christmas past' he smirked before expanding into a brief full-on laugh, turning and beginning to walk off.

For some strange reason, I followed this man as if I had no choice other than to do so. I felt compelled to follow him, even though I had no shoes, socks or even a jumper on and believe me, it was more than a little bit cold outside. I managed to get to the end of the garden when all of a sudden, I found myself back indoors. Though strangely enough I was not inside of where I had just come out from but instead, I found myself in a bathroom, a bathroom that was very familiar to me.

'Where the hell are we?' I ask, questioning the how more than the where.

'We are in a house you used to live in a long time ago so the proper question you should be asking is when the hell are we?' replied my new grey looking friend.

My appearance at this point of course, is just how it is supposed to be, as I am now, but when I looked in the mirror of this room I found myself, well, the reflection coming back at me was that of myself at just thirteen years of age, for this house, this bathroom I was in ... itself was in or rather is in the house I grew up in, a house on a street named Avonbeg road.

Ah Avonbeg Road, I haven't thought of that place in such a long time. I leave this bathroom and run downstairs. I was skinny back then. I hadn't yet started to put on the weight that lives with me now so, even though I am still myself, the myself of what should have been 2008, I kinda saw myself as being quite a bit slimmer.

In the front room were my family. It was Christmas time, and all six of my brothers and sisters were only kids, are only kids and not the adults that they have long since become. I have always been proud to be the big brother and have always been a family sorta guy even though I myself never have become a father. This moment I found myself in was, is 1987, Christmas time 1987.

That year we had the only two photos taken that has of all seven siblings in the same place at the same time, one photo had been taken not long after my thirteenth birthday when the youngest of the siblings was only a couple of months old, and the other photo was about to be taken.

It always has been so difficult to get all seven of us into the same photo. There is always, well nearly always someone missing, even in all the years that came after that Christmas. For this photo, I sit on a rather large chair and all the brothers and sisters crowded around. For a group of kids aged between just nine months old and thirteen years, we were happy, and, in this photo, we were all smiling, happy as any of us could be. Tears welled up in my eyes and before I could wipe them away, I was back in the present, with no sign of my grey friend.

I composed myself and began to get myself ready, trying to put my most odd of experiences past me. The actual day I belong to was passing so quickly that before I knew it, I was running late for work. Getting on with things, I don't allow further time for reflection so, I hailed myself a taxi and got in. Guess who the driver so happened to be. It was my grey friend except this time he was not so grey and white, his cheeks were now rosy, red, and he no longer had the chains, unfortunately though, he still had that horribly large cigar.

'You're on your way to work right?' he asked.

'Yeah' I replied with the feeling of what am I in for now.

'Well let me show you something first.'

Oh, here it comes I thought to myself. He drove off like a lunatic, not even paying attention to the road and laughing away to himself again. Amazingly enough we were managing to avoid collision, I was sure I was gonna be cream cheese pretty soon but somehow that did not happen.

We safely made it to a destination, the place I actually needed to get to. We arrived at the restaurant where I work as a chef, and I was delighted to get out of that taxi. My friend got out too and we went inside that very restaurant and just after we both entered the building, I turned around only to see myself enter again only now I am dressed as Santa.

I get to help Santa out each and every Christmas in work when we throw a seasonal children's party though this particular year's children's party had already taken place nine days earlier than the day I should be living. Obviously enough, my 'friend' had taken me back to that particular day.

'Do not worry' he said, 'no one can see us'.

As the 'ho ... ho ... ho's' sounded, kids went running to get to see Santa, and Santa began giving out gifts. I love doing this sort of thing, it's so much fun and the kids are great. So much fun and so many happy faces. I turned to notice that my 'friend' was gone and before I knew it, I was no longer at the kids Christmas party but was being greeted by a barman and one of the waiters. I was back in the present and in work as well as being on time for that particular day's shift.

Work finished, I got changed out of my chef uniform and made my way up to a bus stop to head home. It was 11:17 pm and the bus was on time. I got on and the doors shut behind me. My 'friend' was nowhere to be seen. I was kinda expecting to see him again, since it was late and I was awaiting the third of the three visits I had been told to expect, however, the bus driver must have thought it was Halloween and not Christmas, as he was dressed more like a grim reaper rather than a bus driver.

I have half expecting to see a scream mask to be under the large dark hood he was wearing but what I could see were two bright red lights which I presume are or were supposed to be his eyes. He pointed a finger from his out of his sleeve, a finger on a purple hand, a finger with a very long yellow nail on the end of it, and his pointing was in a straight-ahead direction.

I looked outside the bus but that's not where I was meant to look. Writing started to just appear on the windscreen. It was writing that was just appearing in pure blood-like red letters. It read 'always remember where you came from, always remember who you are now as the future is not yet written, you can make of it what you will'.

Just as I had finished reading, the regular bus driver sitting in the driver's seat asked me if I was alright. Talk about transformations. ... He no longer looked like a grim reaper and the lettering on the windscreen had vanished. I paid the fare and went to go sit down, again hearing the laughter from my grey friend echoing, and I presume I was the only person on the bus who could hear the laughter. Despite the strangeness of that day, I just couldn't help but smile and feel good, but I get that was the whole point of those three visits ... reinvigorate a joy for life ...