Jake glanced at his wristwatch that glimmered slate silver in the moonlight. Just a minute to midnight. Just a minute – and everything will finally be over. He clenched the baseball bat tighter. It was studded with runes and scriptures of the unknown (and possibly never-existent) languages. The man was dressed in colourful rags and a tin foil hat, and small amulets hanging from his neck were jingling softly with his every careful move. He proceeded slowly, one step at a time, right in the heart of a vast garden that adjoined his newly bought mansion. At first, this seemed like a lovely deal. He had bought not a house but an entire estate on a deserted hill next to a mental hospital, with two hectares of greenery, a personal swimming pool and an annexe for what his agent considered well below the market price. Two weeks in the mansion passed like a hermit's dream – and then it began. Screams. Every night, at precisely twelve o'clock, a piercing, almost inhumane scream rang through the garden, waking Jake, a natural lark, up. The first time it happened, he thought someone was crying for help. The second time, he called the police. A few nights later, he gave up and invited a medium. Twenty seconds to midnight. Jake inhaled sharply. The bat started to slip from the sweat of his palms. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. What had he gotten himself into? As he delved into the thought, a faint rustling of leaves sounded somewhere next to him. He turned around but saw nothing and then realised the sound was coming from the other side of the henge. The man's heart raced so hard it nearly ached. He turned on his heels, trying to be as discreet as possible, and skirted the fence. It was when the clock finally struck midnight, and a piercing scream rang through the garden. Before Jake's eyes stood a petite woman in a blue johnny gown. When she saw Jake holding a bat over his head, ready for a blow, she pressed a hand to her mouth, smothering a completely different type of scream. Jake could read fear in her watery eyes, popping out like two marbles on a pale canvas of her face. The woman took a step back, but Jake pushed forward. "You spirit!" cried Jake. "Why do you keep haunting me? What is it that you want?" The woman blinked. "I'm sorry, I dinn't know," she finally mumbled with her trembling lips, fixating her gaze on Jake’s tin foil hat. "Please, please, just calm down–" "No can do," growled the man, slowly proceeding towards her. "You stole so many peaceful nights from me! Now," as he approached, the woman kept backing away until she stumbled over a twig and fell to the ground. "You will tell me everything, and you will leave me alone!" "Please, no!" cried the woman, her eyes filling with tears. Jake stopped. "I'll tell you everythin', and then leave, OK?" she uttered under her breath. "Please don't hurt me." The man slowly put the bat down, noticing to himself how his shoulders had started to ache. After a pause, the woman spoke. "First of all, I ain't no ghost." "So you start with the lies?" Jake was indignant. "That's the truth, you see," cried the woman. "Sometimes, when it gets too dark, I just wanna scream so loud, and they just won't let me, no. So I sneak out and go somewhere where they can't hear me, no." "Wait, wait, wait. Who are you talking about? Demons from other realms?" "They treat me alright, and they are so very, very nice." The woman raised her eyes as if she snapped out. "Nurses, I mean." "Nurses?" Jake repeated slowly. "Uh-huh," the woman nodded. "So I live in a looney bin just over there." She pointed somewhere north of the mansion and whispered: "They give me the meds, but shhhhh. They don't know I'm spittin' 'em." A rush of cold sweat gave Jake chills. So this was the patient from the asylum. But what should he do next? Should he call the police? The asylum? His head was getting funny as the woman continued: "I came to your garden 'cause it was so beautiful and quiet. But I thought no one lived in the house. Now," she got up on her feet, "It's time for me to go. I promise I won't be botherin' you anymore–" Jake cut her with a gesture. "Listen, lady. You gave me the real fright here, okay? I'm really sorry, but I should let the authorities know. Now, come join me for a cup of hot tea while I'm making the call." With those words, he slung the bat on his shoulder and pointed towards the mansion. "No one had offered me tea for so very long." The woman's eyes filled with tears once again. She watched Jake turn around and slowly faded into the air. "Hey," the man called, looking over his shoulder and realising the woman was gone. "I'm still making that call!" he shouted, but no one replied.