I received a phone call back when I was in Real Estate, from a lady on my 'list'. This was a file we kept on tentative sellers... anyone really, who had made contact with our office or responded to some advertising. We called them every few weeks, maintaining contact, generally speaking and building a relationship, so when they finally decided to sell, we'd be firmly entrenched as 'their agent'. Kind of an underhand method but I did have some wonderful conversations over time, especially from the old folk who rarely got calls and enjoyed/appreciated my checking in from time to time.

One such conversation led me to learning about the 'Illawarra Flame Tree'. One of my sprightly gentlemen said one day, "Go outside,and look across the street. See that giant tree with the bright red flowers just coming into bloom? That's the Illawarra Flame Tree."

Every year since, I wait for them to bloom. They are magnificent; covered only in flaming red bell-shaped flowers - no leaves. Everytime I see one, I think of him. I wonder too, how I had lived never noticing this stunning Australian Native.

Anyway, this caller's husband had wanted to move to a smaller house for a couple of years now. She however was resisting. They had an old rambling home on a large block, in dire need of renovation. I'd visited several times. Her husband was always hovering, his hopeful glances terminating in deep sighs as she said each time, "I can't leave here Harry. Too many memories."

They had three children and a horde of grandchildren. This was the only home they'd owned, purchased shortly after they were married, over fifty odd years ago. Most of it was still in its original condition - except for the bathroom and kitchen, 'updated' in the 80's.

"Mavis! Nice to hear from you!" I was somewhat surprised, her instigating the call. Had Harry finally convinced her?

"You need to come over today. Put the damn house on the market. I can't stand it anymore!"

She sounded panicked and... scared?

"What's wrong Mavis? Is Harry alright?" My thoughts immediately went to him. I was worried-

"Harry's fine. It's the bloody ghost! Hurry up!"

"Huh?" Mavis had a way of speaking her mind, never mind the language. This, I had not expected though.

"Just get here!"

I got there. Went and sat on my customary seat on the faded sofa. I noticed immediately her agitated state, eyes darting around the room, hands fidgeting in her lap.

"So what's going on?"

"I told you! The damned ghost is driving me crazy! We need to move!"

"Mavis, calm down"

"You don't know what it's been like the past few weeks! Things moved out of place, things disappearing or crashing to the floor and... and all the weird sounds-"

Okay, I'd dealt with a 'ghost' before and also the strange wardrobe/portal thing. So much as I was fighting the urge to contact one of her kids and alert them to their mother's hallucinations - I held off... part of me believing her?

"Mavis, where's Harr-'

"Shhhh!" She leaned forward, right ear aimed towards the back of the house.

I heard it then. This strange dragging sound... like a piece of heavy furniture being moved.

"It's my bed again." Mavis' eyes were round with fear. "My bed moves," she said, as though commenting on an everyday act.

"Want me to go look?" I didn't want to go. I actually wanted to leave. Quickly at that. The sound had spooked me.

"No, you stay put. Harry!" she called rather loudly. "Harry! Check the bedroom!"

We heard another sound then, this one making me jump out of my seat. Something crashed to the floor, the noise too loud, after her earlier plea for silence had my ears on edge.

"Harry!" Mavis all but screamed this time.

He came through the door a few seconds later, looking oddly unflustered. Was his hearing aid not working properly? Mavis had mentioned he'd had to get one a few months back.

"Did you hear? Did you check? Was it the bed again? What broke?"

Mavis was firing off questions, her face one very large question mark. Harry looked at me.

"Seems we have ourselves a ghost here, love... Can't seem to catch the bugger though!"

"Harry, stop fooling around!" I spoke too loudly, compensating for his hearing impairment. "What's going on? Really."

"Started a few weeks back. I lost my slippers, found them in the washing machine. Then the wall-clock fell. Then - heck, things move around and all the strange noises. Mavis is scared, love. It's time we moved."

Now here's where I contemplated the problem at hand: Mavis and Harry had to move. But I on the other hand couldn't exactly sell a house with a 'resident ghost'.

"Let me call Julie, I think there might be a way to solve this... whatever is going on."

I stepped away and dialled her number. "Jules? You still have the ghost-lady's number right? We have another ummm... situation?"

"Ya serious girl?" Julie's American accent came to the fore whenever she was excited.

"Uh huh. Can you organise a time? Soon?"

"Sure thang hon."

I turned to Mavis and Harry. "There's a lady we know. She helped us with another house-"

"Don't want any exorcism stuff going on Elise!" Harry looked and sounded... suspicious? "Mavis is scared out of her wits as it is!"

"Nuh, she's just gonna come through and wave some herbs around. Not a priest or anything,"

Harry still seemed dubious. Mavis nodded. A lot.

The next day, I arrived ahead of Jules and our now 'resident' ghost-buster.

"Happened again, Elise," Mavis said, letting me in. "The TV was turned around this morning."

"Well, we'll soon get to the bottom of this Mavis."

"Why the hell would a ghost appear now? We've been here... Not a peep all those years love." She paused, all tensed up as though listening for any strange activity again.

"Crash!" The sound startled us and Mavis let out a yelp.

"Harry! What was that? Harry?"

"What was what love?" Harry walked in, my cup of tea in one hand, a tin of shortbreads in the other.

"We need to get your hearing aid looked at."

"Mavis made these special this morning," Harry said. "For the - you know."

The three of us sat. I sipped on the tea.

"Told Elise about the TV."

Harry shifted in his chair. Something was niggling at me. Couldn't put my finger on it... just something about Harry seemed - off?

Julie and our ghost-lady arrived fifteen minutes later. She did the same thing, wandering around each room, then waving her whatever bundle of herbs.

We four sat in the lounge room. Mavis was very nervous. Harry was nervous too, but it was a different kind of nervous. He kept glancing at the hallway, waiting for our lady to reappear, and - was I detecting some guilt in those glances?

"No ghost," she said, after finally returning to the lounge room.

"But there has to be!" Mavis was beside herself, her voice pitched very high. "There has to be! All these weird things happening!"

"No ghost," our ghost-buster repeated. Then she did a strange thing. She stared at Harry. Harry shifted around some more but said nothing.

I walked her and Jules to the door. "Going to hang around here a bit. Something's going on."

"Talk to the husband," the lady said, a weird smile on her face. Have I told you she spooks me?

Harry had disappeared again. Mavis was staring into space.

We heard it then, the scraping sound. She tensed. I didn't speak to her. I jumped up and rushed to the back of the house.

Harry was grunting softly, his rather slender frame pushing against the bulky wardrobe in the master bedroom.

I watched silently, just beyond the doorway. He managed to move it about six inches, the dents in the carpet from the heavy legs clearly visible.

"Harry!" Mavis was calling from the lounge.

He turned to leave and that's when he saw me.

"Oh Harry, what have you done?"

"She won't leave! You know she won't leave!"

"You're going to scare your wife to death if you keep this up!"

"It's working though! She wants to move now!"

"Yeah but not like this mate! You need to fess up."

"I can't!"

"I'm not selling the house Harry. You tell her, or I will, I swear!"

I followed him back to the lounge. Mavis looked at each of us, expectancy in her eyes.

"Well?" She asked. "What was it this time?"

"It was me dear," Harry said, "I was moving the wardrobe."

"So the ghost moved that too?"

"No." Harry looked at me but I just kept nodding. "I moved it."

Silence descended. The kind of silence usually preceding a domestic war. I'd seen my fair share of those. Time to retreat.

"Well I'll be seeing you two. I have to fly, another appointment - you know."

I walked down the hallway. Something crashed - could have been against the wall or on the floor. I heard Harry yelp. As I pulled the front door shut, I heard several hurried "I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry Mavis!" "I'm sorry love!"

Several weeks later, Mavis called back.

"Come on over Elise. Bring the paperwork."

"You sure?"

"If my Harry was willing to be a ghost, then it's time to move I guess."

... I sold that house. Funny thing is, as I was showing the buyers through the sun-room after the contracts had been signed and they were discussing how they could remodel it, we heard a crash inside.

Could have been the draught... Could have been the cat. Or maybe a small part of Harry, lingering...