The sun sank below the horizon and darkness descended. All movement ceased. Nothing could be heard except for a little boy who breathed heavily walking to his mother’s house. A sudden chill swept through the neighborhood. The young boy paused on the sidewalk and scanned the neighborhood, yet he only saw pumpkins on doorsteps, blow-up monsters on lawns, and other Halloween decorations.
“I must be imagining things,” he told himself and watched as his white breath floated about like tiny ghosts. A small fluttering white object fell through his breath. Around him, tiny soft particles of white fell. Trees and windows frosted over. Snowflakes melted upon meeting his mittens.
“Mom! Mom!” the boy yelled excitedly as he ran inside the house. The house was dark, abandoned. Then he remembered that his mother wouldn’t be home until four in the morning like the previous Halloweens. Disappointed, the boy locked the doors, turned on the heat and took off his hat and mittens.
The right pocket of his jacket felt cold and wet. He reached in and pulled out a small grinning jack-o-lantern made out of snow. On the back his name, Joe, was carved out. With the heat on, the snow melted faster and faster, so he stuck the gift inside the freezer. Joe hung up his jacket and thought of his past Halloween gifts over the years. Every year he received a gift like this one with his name written on it. He feared it may be a bad omen.
Joe found himself dinner and began washing the dishes. Since his mother was always gone, he learned to take care of himself. He could cook, clean, and knew which medicines to take. After he finished washing the dishes, the doorbell rang.
He approached the front door cautiously. Behind the dark curtains, he spied a vampire, witch, and a pirate all carrying bags for collecting candy. Joe looked around the kitchen, but the usual bucket of candy was no where to be seen. The boy sat behind the door in embarrassment with the doorbell ringing.
The kids yelled repeatedly, “Trick or Treat!” When the noise stopped, Joe thought they had left. Suddenly, smack! An egg drooled down the window hardening as it went. More eggs covered the window until almost nothing could be seen from inside.
Full of fury, the boy barged out the door and yelled at the teenagers. To his surprise, they all stood quietly in shock staring to his right as if they had just seen a ghost.
“Ghost! Run!” one teenager yelled as they all took off in the opposite direction.
Joe saw nothing out of place and hurried back inside. He ran to find a towel and a bucket of water. When he got back to the window, the window was spotless.
After the boy returned the cloth and bucket, he checked on the snowy jack-o-lantern. It was missing. Panic swept through his muscles. After an immense amount of searching, he couldn’t replace the lost jack-o-lantern. Frustrated, the boy gathered his blanket and pillow into the living room and fell asleep watching Halloween movies.
Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! He awoke to the sound of someone tossing snow at the window. By the time he got up to check, the sound stopped. Only Halloween lights and decorations were visible. His watch read 2:55am. The boy dismissed the noise as an illusion of the night.
