I had just been thinking how cold it was when I remembered this story.

The Stranger.

The man stamped his feet as he waited in the doorway of the empty house. The night of December 3, 1996 was one of the coldest anyone could remember

Vincent Allan of Nicosia had been working late at his Institute and it was 10.30pm before he got home. In fact, he had been staying late at work for weeks.

However, what he saw on this particular night when he arrived home was enough to make anyone go crazy. A water pipe in the roof had burst and water had been pouring through his house since lunchtime.

Water was pouring down the walls and dripping from the ceiling. Pictures and books had been swept aside and the carpets and furniture were soaked. In fact, the ceiling of the room where he taught his students was now on the floor!

By the time he had managed to turn the water off, Vincent decided he had had enough! He left the flooded house and went to stay with friends. Fortunately, he had taken his children to stay with their grandmother that morning. His wife had gone to hospital for a minor operation the day before.

However, while he was lying in bed thinking about what had happened, the worst snow storm ever hit Nicosia. So much snow fell, that in the morning it was impossible to drive anywhere in the city.

Vincent rang a plumber to help fix the water pipe. He said he would be round as soon as possible. After saying goodbye to his friends, Vincent set off on his cold journey home, but he wasn't the first to arrive.

Waiting in the doorway was a stranger.