As God Intended

The Human Temptations

"Father, do you believe in ghosts?" John asked at last, that question having been surfaced on his mind ever since he woke up and recounted the events of the night.
"I do." The priest agreed immediately, as if that wasn't even something he had to think about.
"Any chance there's one in the church?" John wondered, the follow up question that just had to be asked in light of the situation. The priest's face fell, looking both confused and concerned at the same time.
"Do you have any reasoning for such a question?" he asked worriedly, pausing the forkful of rice that had been heading towards his open mouth. John hesitated, shrugging his shoulders and trying to think of the best way to phrase this. Certainly he couldn't go into too much detail, being that he didn't want to allude to his fight with Mary the night previous. That was a personal matter, to be settled between the couple themselves. The priest's interference would only make things more complicated, not to mention put him in an awkward spot in which he would have to pick a side.
"Last night was just strange, that's all. It seemed as if things were moving on their own." John admitted at last, figuring that was the best way to phrase what had been perhaps the most terrifying night of his life. Save of course for his childhood nights at his aunt's house, which included that large wardrobe and its swinging doors. But that was irrelevant, and meaningless to his current conversation.
"You think the church is haunted?" Father Holmes questioned at last.
"I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking you." John pointed out, turning that question right on its head and aiming it at its original creator. The priest looked a bit hesitant to answer, though before long he shook his head in some doubt.
"In all my years I had never had a strange experience. And I have spent nights there before." he admitted.
"You spent nights in the church? What for?" John scoffed.
"Oh you know, writing sermons late at night. That chair got awfully comfortable in the small hours of the morning." the priest admitted with a chuckle.
"You literally live ten feet away." John pointed out.
"That's an awful lot when you're tired!" Father Holmes defended, holding up his hands as if this wasn't an argument he was willing to have.
"I suppose it's harder to get up and moving when you're eighty. I'll give you a pass on that one." John sighed at last.
"I was never eighty!" the priest wailed, waving his fork around in the air to more accurately demonstrate his frustration. John laughed, leaning over on his fist and staring playfully at the man across the table. Father Holmes was always so amusing when he was annoyed, with that little blush in his cheeks and the way his curls were strewn across his forehead. As the priest calmed himself he seemed to notice John's lingering glance, though instead of scolding it he seemed to collapse into himself some more, with a little smile upon his face that might be found within a flustered school girl.
"What are you staring at me for?" Father Holmes asked at last.
"I'm not staring." John debated, though with further thought he wasn't sure when he had last blinked.
"You are." The priest insisted, a giggle passing his lips which he stifled with a mouth full of pulled pork. John merely smirked, letting his head fall even farther upon his fist so that he was staring sideways at his friend. As expected the priest was just as flattering from this strange angle.
"So you've never seen a ghost?" John clarified from this goofy position, as if it was his full intention to make this conversation as informal as possible.
"No." Father Holmes agreed sharply. "Have you?"
"Not yet." John admitted, finally readjusting himself so that he could take another bite of his lunch. "But I think I was visited by one all the same."
"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?" the priest clarified doubtfully.
"Maybe so. But I don't see another explanation, no matter how unreasonable my only option is." John grumbled.
"Well, improbable solutions are sometimes the only ones you are left with." Sherlock pointed out, finishing off his lunch with a couple more forkfuls of rice before pushing aside his plastic container with a smile of satisfaction.
"Maybe so." John agreed, figuring there was no better way to end this conversation. Despite the anticlimactic path they had taken John still got at least some confirmation that he was not crazy. Even if Father Holmes had never seen a ghost within the walls of the church his theory was not being ridiculed. He was being doubted, not all together shut out, and so long as the priest would entertain the idea of the paranormal that was enough for John.