In the 1940's, when John was very young his grandfather died. A traumatic time for all, but made doubly so by a rift that immediately erupted between his daughters and his widow, their step-mother.
The argument was about his earthly possessions and how they should be divided. Tension in the house was at an all time high and you could literally cut the atmosphere with a knife. The old chap was only two days cold and it felt like the family was falling apart. It seemed nobody was thinking straight and they all needed to remember exactly what was more important, love or belongings. They needed to concentrate on the good times that had passed between them and come to an agreement which suited everyone.
They needed a focal point - and one came - from beyond the grave.
John's mother was alone in the house her father had lived in when she glanced at the living room wall and gasped with utter amazement. There on the wall was a dark stain so large it cannot possibly have been there before, someone would have surely seen it. But this wasn't just a mark, or a decolourisation, it was in the shape of a human face. It was quite clearly a man's face and much to her cold disbelief she realised - it was an effigy of the deceased man. A family friend from the same street who considered herself to have second sight was called in. She too immediately recognised the image to be that of the dead man and said it was a message. His spirit was angry at the family's behaviour. His earthbound soul was bitterly disappointed at their squabbling.
The rest of the family were called in to see the face of their father on the wall, after the initial shock they tried to remove the stain but to no avail, it remained where it was.
This was enough proof for the family and each one of them instantly relented and made their apologies. They were drawn even closer together and shared the possessions amicably. Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, the stain faded and vanished. Was this the spirit's unfinished business? Did it take a timely reminder from a dead man that family loyalty and love are far more important than any worldly possession?
