Slender trails of wispy cloud brushed across the incandescent features of the moon. The silvery orb hung low this night, glaring at the world with a knowing smile that danced glowing beams upon a sea of dark trees. Only the distant amber glow of the town contrasted this refulgence, the artificial halo pandering to the milling doleful occupants of a rustic settlement.

The ghostly image of a young woman hovered before her, the apparition adorned with chestnut hair, the shoulder length tresses contained within a loose pony tail, the strands unkempt and some of them tainted with flecks of rainbow shades from her work. Her slender face and lithe body were devoid of any cosmetics and hunched from tiredness. The long toil of her latest creative burst had deprived her of sleep for a full three days, with only coffee and enthusiasm pushing her onwards towards completion.

Ashley took another sip from her mug and stared beyond her reflection in the second floor window, gazing across the forest, her propitious locale atop a hilltop providing a truly stunning view.

The converted church had been in a terrible state when she found it quite by accident, whilst rambling through the woodlands in search of inspiration. Ridiculously expensive for its decrepit condition, she had been drawn to it somehow, as though the house had been patiently waiting only for her, presenting a dilapidated visage to dissuade all but the one person it had chosen. Now that the two of them had met, she could not bear to be parted from the wizened wreck.

Brooking no reason to lose this enthralling vision to another, the purchase and subsequent renovation drained her savings - all the money she had gained through her parents will and the cumulative profits from the sale of her paintings. But the very aura of the building filled her with such life, and a sense of security that she was sure to produce sterling works when drinking in this powerful ambience. Such production would swiftly replenish her monies before struggles to meet the mortgage threatened her with the loss of this place.

Shedding her dressing gown, Ashley set aside the steaming mug and regarded her work as though seeing it for the first time, marvelling at what she had created, so distanced did she feel from the entire process of its birth.

The canvas had been transformed from a mere blank sheet with daubs of suggestive paint upon it, and was somehow several steps beyond a mere painting, as though it had somehow been bestowed an eldritch life of its own. It was the best to date, and she was amazed at how easily it had come to her. Everything she unleashed here was dark and foreboding, each a small window into a world that sucked in the viewer and mesmerized them with its flowing shades and colors. The effect tended to be a little unsettling, and it made her dizzy to stare deeply into it, but this was a trait she was ecstatic at having created. Whatever spectral forces were at work in this grim church, she owed great and hearty thanks to for them their aid and influence.

Leaving the curtains open so she might bask in the glorious moonlight, Ashley slipped into bed and tugged the covers over her slim form. Luxuriating in the smooth comfort and softness, she readied herself for another night of strange, esoteric dreams. Although these nightly episodes left her perplexed come morning, she remained equable to their regular visitations, for the alien influences left her all the more eager to set down upon her paintings all of what she had seen.

Slipping through the layered folds of sleep, Ashley drifted deep into slumber, the exhaustion of her long toil speeding the descent.