It is a strange thing this gift that Colin has although if you ask Colin, right at this point in his life, and for a long time before too, as well as many days still to come, he surly would tell you that it is more of a curse than it is a gift and that is if he would be willing to admit at all to having anything that anyone else might consider to be a gift.

There are times when a spirit would come to him knowing who he is and what it is he can do and without a word being spoken, Colin would instantly know the name and age of his visitor along with the knowledge of how they died and a rough idea of when it was that spirit had passed. This transfer of information would be just that, an instant understanding rather than it being some kind of psychic connection. Then there would be other times, when he would be in the presence of a spirit and neither Colin nor the spirit would know any difference.

Colin never understood how or why there should be such a difference from one spirit to the next. Why is he so receptive to some and not so much with others? It would be nice if his ability came with some sort of 'how to' manual or if it would come with instructions with to how to solve problems with the minimum of effort, or better yet come with some kind of off and on switch though that would be wishful thinking.

The first time Colin noticed that he may just be a little different from everyone else was when he was just seven-years-old and accompanying his mother into the funeral home where his grandfather lay lifeless in an open casket while also standing right next to it at the same time. As Colin's mother wept, his grandfather told him to say something to his mum. Little Colin tugged on his mum's jacket. She brought herself down to Colin's height and he whispered what his grandfather had told him, and a smile soon accompanied his mother's tears.

There had been other moments before that day of course, but those moments had yet to make Colin feel any different, for he could not have known that these things don't happen to everyone else. It would in many ways be years after his grandfather's funeral when things really began to kick in. Sure, what could a seven-year-old make of being talked to by his dead grandfather? With such a thing happening, Colin could only begin to imagine that this particular experience is not one that others could say is in any way something of an everyday occurrence.

Sleep did not always come easy for Colin. His gift, his ability would often see to that. Sometimes, especially in recent years, it may be the presence of a child who had passed on that would awaken him. These visits were usually quite pleasant and quite sad too, with the fact that a child had passed away. Other times it would be what he would see while he was out and about that would cause his inability to sleep, for not every spirit that he would encounter would be pleasant, or even look so straight forward. Luckily enough, the more disturbing experiences were a lot less frequent than the pleasant ones.

On a dark, cold but dry night, Colin is out walking, making his way home after a long uninterrupted day in work, uninterrupted that is as in there being no extraordinary visits of any kind, though as it can be said, this day had not come to be over just yet. This job he currently has is not the kind of job he wants or is interested in. The hours are long, and the pay isn't great, but he has managed to hold onto this one longer than most jobs he has had in his recent past, so that in a way at least is something good.

The night is indeed cold, and it is a fairly quiet one too. The sky is clear, the moon is near full, and a multitude of stars are shining brightly. Colin blows on his hands as he rubs them together to warm himself up before noticing a car parked at the side of the road not all so far up ahead of him. There is someone sitting in the passenger seat of that car but with the nighttime darkness and lack of light within, or close to, the car, Colin cannot make out what that person looks like. Streetlights indeed are few and far between and the car he has noticed is not parked near any such streetlight.

This is going to be one of those nights where he just knows there is an out and about feel of spirits. Just walking along a quiet street, next to a motorway, with next to no traffic for the time of night it is, and sensing as if there is someone else walking not so far behind you. It is actually more than a sense, for there is the sound of footsteps which were other than his own. He expected to be passed before too long and just when he expected this to happen, he would turn to see there was and is no one behind him.

One of those streetlights ahead is flickering, and that sense of his tells him that it ain't no regular occurring electrical fault. ... Yeah, the spirits are out tonight, and there is a certain mood brewing.

The gap between himself and the vehicle is shortening. With long dark hair coming down either side of the head Colin is sure he can see, he can only presume that it may be a lady sitting alone in the car, but he cannot be anyway sure of that with the distance that is between him and the vehicle still being large enough to give him cause for doubt.

Getting closer and closer, Colin keeps his head down and attempts to avoid looking into the car as he comes close enough to pass within feet of it, but his curiosity gets the better of him and as he comes level with the passenger seat, he turns his head and looks, and what he sees instantly makes him jump. For what it is that is sitting alone in a dark car is indeed female but not like any female Colin has ever seen before, and she moves in a manner that is sudden and unexpected.

Two pale white hands quickly pressed against the passenger window just as Colin had turned his head to look and these hands were followed by a long pale white face with long dark hair. Strangely enough, the face and the hands for that matter did not seem to be attached to the body if there even was one.

The eyes, nostrils, and mouth, all orifices of darkness, endless black holes. Porcelain like mask and gloves floating upon a mass of darkness blending into the rest of the darkness within the car. Perhaps there is more of a clump of darkness on that seat, some kind of a dark mass, right where a body should be.

All far too much to take in, especially in a brief moment, for the sudden appearance of this head, face, and hands, it did make Colin jump and jump so suddenly that he almost fell over. He quickly managed to catch his balance and he moved on without having come to a full stop. It was a rarity that he would encounter something like what he just had although its likes are something that does come his way every once in a while.

Yeah, the face and hands, they certainly aren't of a living person or of a dead person either but in death, many a thing can happen. Whatever or whoever had been in that vehicle, she, or possibly he, though more likely this is a she, her face and hands indeed appeared as pure white porcelain, something of which may make a sink or something of the likes. And its sudden appearance was most certainly enough to make Colin jump. Well, to be honest, it doesn't take much for that to happen, even with the years he has lived up to this point.

It is not an easy thing to try put an experience like this out of his mind but the bad comes with the pleasant and Colin is in some way grateful that experiences such as that within the car usually are as few and far between as those streetlights on his journey home from work. That presence, just because it looked as it did, does not mean it necessarily belongs to something evil. Unfortunately, this car incident would be the first in a series of experiences that would add to the hatred that well and truly exists for the gift that Colin so happens to have.

Only hours after having gone to bed, Colin wakes, and this happens with a certain suddenness. With it being three in the morning ... it was a sense, a strong feeling of a ghostly presence that woke him from his sleep. Being so tired and having only managed to get a little more than two hours' sleep, Colin was in no mood to deal with what had come his way, be it good or bad. Even though he could sense he was not alone and sensing such things are a common occurrence, Colin was definitely not prepared for what he would soon encounter.

Turning to his left from being on his back, he reached for the bedside lamp to switch it on, then he moved back to the position he had been in ... and what he would thus see would cause him to once again, jump. What he saw ... scared him so much that he ended up on the floor.

Not knowing how to react or what he could do next, Colin got up slowly. Being unable to see what had made him jump, Colin reached for his duvet and quickly pulled it off his bed. He hoped this would fully reveal what it was he had seen, perhaps hoped ain't not the right term, but anyhow, there was nothing there.

With his left hand he rubbed his eyes as he stood and turned away from his bed. He would jump again and once more end up back on his ass on the floor after having removed his hand from his face. It ... had returned ...

What stood before him, if standing is what it is doing, in between where he lay and the exit of the room ... was the female 'entity' he had seen in the car just those few hours earlier. She had been beside him in the bed when he had woken. Like before, all Colin could see was her pale porcelain like white face, a face belonging to a head with long dark hair draping down either side, along with a pair of pale white hands, hands which were either side of a dark shadowy mass, a darker darkness than what the rest of the room consisted of. Yeah, right where a body should be, there is just a dark ... not quite see-through ... mass of obscurity.

Whoever or whatever this being was or is; she certainly is not what she once may have been, and this seriously freaked out Colin to the point he wants nothing to do with it.

'What do you want?' he would just about manage to ask once a moment or so had passed.

Her dark black hole-like eyes opened wide before she turned and faded into the wall, or through the wall more like, a wall on the other side of which is the upstairs hallway. Colin quickly got up off the floor and moved out into that hallway but there was nothing there. At this point he could feel the presence fade. What was it that had come to him? Is she or was she once human? Is this some sort of demon? Colin had no idea, and for what she wanted, if indeed she wanted anything at all, that would also be somewhat of a mystery.

Colin made his way to his kitchen and heated some milk for himself before attempting to make any sort of effort to get back to sleep. He had an early start in the morning and knew he would be doing well if he could manage another two hours sleep though slowly drinking warm milk always seems to have a calming effect upon him no matter what he may have experienced in the moments prior to having himself some.

Having arrived at work almost fifteen minutes late, Colin was approached by his long-time friend AJ Foley. Colin looked as if he were sleep-walking and also looked as if he had dressed himself in the dark. How he looked also suggested he had not been in any sort of hurry to get to where he was despite the fact that he was already late.

'I take it you have or at least had a new visitor?' asked AJ.

'You could say that' responds Colin moving his right hand through his short un-brushed hair.

'Well unfortunately, we will have to wait until later to talk about it. Right now, the boss man wants to see you.'

'Ah crap. That is all I need.'

'What? Besides a haircut?'

Colin would smile, if he had the energy to do so that is, but instead he makes his way to the boss's office and knocks on the door. He was told to enter and to close the door behind him.

'My god man, you look a right mess. Take a seat there,' speaks Colin's boss.

A bigger than life kind of man, is the essence of the guy Colin works for, or currently works for. He is both typical and not so typical for someone in his position. It is as if he has a sense of people himself, a certain sense of the living, even if at times they appear more undead than living.

'I do apologize sir; I have not been sleeping well of late' responds Colin as both men sit down.

'What I would like to know, from looking back at your Resume, is if you are trying to create a new world record with the number of jobs that you have had? You cannot seem to be able to hold down one job for any particular length of time at all. But I do see from that list of jobs that you have had that you are willing, and more than likely you do want to work.'

'Yes sir, and I am very happy with my position here and I really do want to put the effort in. It may seem that I am setting myself up for failure, but I can assure you that this is not my intension.'

'Good. I believe you, so I am going to cut you some slack. I don't know what is wrong with you or what is going on in your life nor do I want to know. Today is Tuesday; take a couple of hours to get your work in order then take the rest of the week off. I want to see you here early next Monday morning and looking as fresh as a daisy, is that understood?'

'Yes, it is sir, thank you.'

Colin stands, smiles, and then shakes his boss's hand before leaving the office.

'Oh, by the way, get yourself a hair-cut while you are at it.'

Again, Colin would smile if he wasn't having such a hard time putting one foot in front of the other. AJ was eager to get an update once Colin had left the boss's office and once he did get that update, he suggested that they should both head out for a few beverages that evening. Since Colin had the rest of the week off, he thought that he may as well go and have himself a good night out if that was at all possible.

What began as a few drinks at the bar in a local public house soon moved on to another few drinks at a nearby nightclub. AJ had an early start the next morning, so he was pacing himself. Colin, however, was enjoying his night with the knowledge that he did have the rest of the week off from work and so far, all was going well.

Out on a packed dance floor, Colin, both oblivious to and entangled within his surroundings, continued to enjoy his night as the lighting began to flicker along to the sound of the fast-paced dance music. Having been dancing with his eyes shut for a moment or two Colin would soon experience somewhat of a change to those surroundings upon opening his eyes.

He should have known something was coming, he should have felt it, he probably had but was enjoying himself too darn much to care. Is one good night too much to ask for? The dance floor which had appeared to be jam packed was now all of a sudden not so packed at all. In fact, he appeared to be the only person there. The music was still playing as it had been, the lights were still flickering in time with the music, but Colin was alone as far as he could see until the moment, she appeared in between the flickering light.

That long pale white porcelain like face with dark hair hanging down either side of the head along with two pale white porcelain hands moving in turn with the music, and a dark mass of a body that Colin could more or less see right through, was right there in front of him, all indeed seemingly dancing along to the music.

Colin had stopped moving and before he could react any further, the female entity or whatever it was, simply vanished. The music stops, then the lights stop flickering, and Colin was left standing alone on a silent dance floor in a darkened nightclub.

A few seconds pass before a light comes on to one side, and a little way away from the dance floor. A young lady accompanied by a much larger and older man walk a short distance together before coming to a halt; both these people are seemingly unaware of Colin's presence.

It was as if Colin wasn't there at all, but of course ... he was. Colin's feeling or intuition, which sometimes accompanies his ghostly visits, told him that what he was looking at may just be a moment which had already happened, a moment from some time ago, and someone or something was allowing Colin to see it as if he were watching some kind of recorded film playing out in a kind of three-dimensional reality.

'What are we going to do?' asks the young lady as she sits on a short stool.

'We are not going to do anything; you are just going to have to get rid of it' came the reply in somewhat of an aggressive manner.

The young lady's eyes drop a glance to the ground, and it was only at this moment that Colin realized that this girl he was looking at ... was the entity, is the entity that had now come to him three times.

'What if I don't want to get rid of it?' continues the girl and the response to this was a slap to the face, a slap that knocks her off the stool and onto the ground.

'Look there is no discussion here. I cannot have you walking around the place with any child of mine' speaks the man still using an aggressive tone while also pointing a finger right all up in her face.

The girl begins to cry as she remains on the floor. The man almost pulls his own hair out in frustration as he turns away from the girl. Colin wanted to move towards this girl but the reappearance of the 'pale face' to his left prevented him from doing so. All of a sudden, Colin felt a hand take a hold of his left shoulder, a hand which had grabbed him from behind. The loud music, the flickering lights, and the nightclub crowd return all at once, in an instance of confusion, and everything all around him continues as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. The hand that had grabbed Colin by the shoulder belongs to AJ.

'Are you alright?' shouts AJ 'you look like you were miles away there for a moment.'

'Yeah, I am alright. I was not miles away, I have been right here, just in another moment that's all.'

'What?' AJ couldn't hear what Colin had said with the music being so loud.

Just like previous moments where Colin knew things about spirits that would have come to him without being told anything at all, Colin now knew who 'pale face' is or was. As well as that, he now knew when she died and how she died. The information was all there within him as if some sort of information transference or download had taken place. She, the pale-faced presence, had been murdered and Colin knew who had done it. All Colin had to do now was prove it.

Colin walks up to the night club's DJ box and asks for a microphone. He told the DJ that a very important moment was about to happen. The following hesitancy was brief, the music was turned down, and the lights were turned up, with the DJ interpreting the moment as to if a proposal was possibly on the way. Colin moved out into the middle of the dance floor with the microphone, tapping at it to make sure it was turned on and fairly soon he began to speak.

'Sorry to interrupt your night folks but I need to take this moment to call the night club owner out here to the dance floor. I know you are here so please ... show yourself.'

The information which was and is all there within him needed to come out. Four members of security begin to approach Colin, and these guys are all rather large men. AJ runs out to Colin's side and immediately begins begging security to let his friend be. AJ's plea appeared to fall on deaf ears for security continued to approach.

'What I need to talk to you about has to do with the disappearance of a young lady by the name of Sophie Denton.'

Security had got to Colin just as he had finished that sentence and upon hearing the name Sophie Denton, they began to all look at one another before swapping nodding glances, nodding glances in agreement to back off, for the name of Sophie Denton was a name that they all recognized. DJ worried upon hearing what this fellow had to say and hoped he knew what he was doing. Perhaps the right thing as it may turn out.

Having let his anger get the best of him, the night club owner quickly makes his way to the dance floor demanding that security do something about the man with the microphone, soon also demanding for the microphone to be switched off. The demanding owner was indeed the same man that Colin had seen in his vision.

'Now ladies and gentlemen, this guy right here is Andrew Norton. He owns this fine establishment, and he also just so happens to be a murderer.'

Andrew makes a darting move towards Colin and knocks him to the ground. Just as the members of security move in to pull Andrew off of and away from Colin, video screens embedded into the walls all around the nightclub begin to play the moment that Colin had witnessed.

Nightclub cameras had recorded the whole incident and other moments just like it, other moments which would go on to indeed to prove that Andrew had beaten and killed a young lady by the name Sophie Denton, a young lady who had been working in the club for close to year.

Their relationship had gone beyond professional, and Sophie had become pregnant. She wanted to give birth to Andrew's child. Andrew had beaten Sophie so badly that there was no hope for her or her unborn child. Sophie's remains had been buried and Colin had the information as to exactly where that burial site so happens to be. In all his experience, Colin continues to be amazed by the power, the hold the dead still have on the world of the living.

Colin only saw Sophie once more after Andrew's arrest. In that final moment, she no longer appeared to him as she had done previously. She was glorious in her own, and natural beauty. She placed her hands on her tummy, silently spoke the words 'thank you' and vanished. Colin, along with his new haircut, returned to work the following Monday morning feeling, in more ways than one, better than he had done for quite some time.