mercy ; peter ballard

14. warm regards

october 31, 1985

a sharp knock at the door echoed the trailer. beatrice jolts up from a nap on the couch. tilly's head perks up from her dog bed next to the couch.

"god, i hate halloween," she groaned, standing up.

she didn't hate halloween. she was just having a terrible day. before getting home, the diner was busy, there was an accident shattering an entire stack of plates, and she almost forgot to buy candy for the neighbourhood children who came knocking at the door. not to mention, her lack of sufficient sleep the night prior.

beatrice grabs a bowl filled to the brim with sugary treats from the kitchen and then goes to open the door. in front of the door stood a witch, a bedsheet ghost, a vampire, and what was probably their parents.

"trick or treat!" the vampire exclaimed with a small lisp from his fake teeth.

the children held their buckets high, waiting for beatrice to give them their fix of candy.

beatrice sighs, giving in the fun holiday. she allows herself to smile a bit. "here you go."

she gives each of the kids three pieces of candy each.

"thank you!" they all replied, excitedly.

beatrice watched as they began to walk away. they all walk together as a family.

"momma! did you see ms. bea gave us all three whole pieces of candy?" the witch giggled, happily.

the mother just smiled, watching as her daughter skipped along. bea's smile began to slowly fade. she remembered the days of trick or treating with her parents. how exciting it was to go door to door, picking up candy she was never going to finish. she'll never have that experience again. with her parents or even with her own children.

she couldn't wish this curse onto anyone, especially her flesh and blood. she also saw that she couldn't bring herself to move on. she never did call callahan after that night, frightened of another triggering encounter.

she places the bowl of candy on a piled-up stack of bricks just outside the door, allowing the children to just take and go. beatrice closes her door and trudges into the bathroom. she closes the bathroom door and starts the shower.

the shower was finally warm enough. she peeled her stained, work uniform off her tired body, letting it drop on the floor. she pulled the curtains back and carefully stepped into the shower.

she attempted to scrub the grit from her hair with shampoo and conditioner. then she washed the dirt from the day. she rinsed the bubbly suds down the drain before turning the faucet off.

she wraps a towel around her small figure and walks into the stuffy bathroom. she takes her hand and wipes the mirror with her hand, removing the residue on the foggy mirror. she looks at her reflection.

"goddamn," she groaned, rubbing her face. "i bet those kids thought i was dressed up like a zombie or some shit."

her eyes were sunken in. her skin was paler and her posture was slouched. she looked like she hadn't properly slept in years. in her defense, she hadn't. not even an exhausting day could guarantee her a good night's sleep.