THE wind howled and sang as it pushed and tugged at trees and bushes. Moonlight swept over the land like an efficient broom, clearing away the unwanted darkness. Owls, bats, other nocturnal creatures were out and about.

The small wooden house stood firmly on a straight rise. Its galvanised roof flashed in the silvery glare from above. Creaks and groans were its response to the bothersome wind.
Inside, the Kings slept soundly. This was the first home fully owned by the couple. Cedric and Aliya had pooled their savings and bought the small home cash. Both of them worked in the city and were happy that their new house was only a 20-minute drive from work.

Their son Paul and daughter Karen were 10-year-old identical twins. There were two bedrooms, the master for mom and dad and the small one for the children.

Each had their own bed. That night they were sound asleep, tucked warmly under the sheets. Sometime during the night Karen began to feel cold. She awoke to find the sheet on the other side of the bed. Thinking that she had tossed it off while sleeping, she tugged it back over her and went back to sleep.
TUG!

The sheet was back on the other side. She pulled it towards her once again and cuddled up for a nice sleep.

TUG!
The sheet was pulled roughly from over her. She sat up and glared around expecting to see her pesky brother pulling one of his lame pranks. He was fast asleep under his sheet. This time she covered herself and tucked the ends in under her body.
The child went back to sleep smiling and woke up minutes later crying. She had been tossed from the bed and hit the ground on her butt. Paul was still asleep as she looked angrily around her.

There, curled up in a fetal position was a little boy. What was quite annoying was that he was lying on her sheet.

“Give me my sheet!” she yelled
“Or else?” Was the taunting reply.
“Or I gon hit you!” she burst out, tears streaming down her face.
At the sound of her threat, the child vanished- sheet and all. Shocked and confused, she ran to the next room and woke her parents.
“Daddy! Daddy! A boy took away me sheet!” She howled.
Cedric ran for the cutlass thinking that there was an intruder in the house. He then charged into the children’s bedroom ready for the kill. Except for Paul who was snoring peacefully, the room was empty.
He returned to his bedroom and spoke to his daughter who was whimpering as she snuggled closer to her protective mother.
“There is nothing there dear. It must have been a bad dream.”
“No daddy! I saw him!”
“I checked the room and there is nobody there. Go back to your bed. The child clung tighter to her mother and refused to budge. When he realised that persuading her would be useless, he resigned himself to having her tucked between himself and Aliya. The three were soon asleep.
Back in the room the tug-of-war or should I say the tug-of-sheet continued.
TUG!
The sheet was pulled from a sleeping Paul. He sat up blinking and looked sleepily around. His sister’s bed was empty. He caught hold of the sheet and pulled it over himself. He drifted off to sleep.
TUG!
It was back on the other side of the bed. He got up and looked angrily around him. This time he yanked the sheet back. He tucked it under his body leaving his hand and head uncovered. He wanted to see where Karen was. He was sure she was trying to get back at him for all the times he had scared her with prank after prank.
RIP!
THUD!
“AAAH!”
Paul felt a sharp pain as his butt hit the greenheart floor. There, sitting at the foot of his bed was a smiling boy. In anger, Paul rushed over and tried to take back his sheet.
SLAP!
Paul’s face lit up. He blinked in amazement and looked for his attacker. He had disappeared. With a yell that woke everyone he raced for the safety of his parent’s room. He ran straight into his advancing father. The boy hit the floor hard for the second time. His dad picked him up and listened to his story.
“See! I told you!” cried Karen who was by now wide awake.
Cedric moved purposefully into the small bedroom. Everyone followed a safe distance. When he opened the door he saw the sheet lying at the foot of the bed.
“You must have kicked off your sheet Paul. We’ll have to watch how much the two of you eat in the evening. Like the food rest on your chest and giving you both nightmares!”
The father walked over to the bed and reached for the sheet. Aliya’s quivering voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Wait! Look at the sheet Cedric!”
She pointed a trembling finger at the white sheet. There on the smooth surface was the impression of a small body.
“Paul! Karen! Is the boy still here?” the father asked.
Both children pointed straight towards the foot of the bed. The family made a strategic withdrawal to the master bedroom for the rest of the night.
Next day Cedric took a day off from the garage and paid courtesy calls on a few elders of the village.

After those meetings, he understood everything that had taken place. When he returned home he discussed it with his wife.

“A little boy died in that room a year ago. He had Chikungunya. It seems that his spirit remains there still trying to keep warm.”

The Kings found a wonderful solution to the problem. There is now a double bunk bed for Karen and Paul and a single bed for their little guest. All the beds have adequate sheets. The children slept in peace after that.