Spooks and Shadows

prologue

Most of the memories I had during my early years were stored somewhere deep in the recess of my brain. Like most people, I couldn't remember much. Just a series of blurs and snippets—distorted each day I age. However, there was one event during my childhood days I can still remember vividly even at this point in my life. It was unfortunate, because this was the one thing I desperately wanted to forget.

I remember it was raining that day.

The storm was harsh and unforgiving and the roar of the thunder was deafening. The flash of lightning startled me, followed by an ear-splitting boom. In my nine-year-old self, it was a pretty horrifying night. I was freezing as I stood in the porch where it was adorned by a line of pretty jack-o'-lanterns and skeleton decorations.

I remember it was Halloween.

Because of the bad weather, children weren't able to travel around the streets to collect free candies. There was no sign of life outside our street and only the pitter-patters of the rain and the smile of the carved pumpkins accompanied the night.

I was watching Luke who was absolutely drenched stuff the car with our bags. He was running back and forth from the house to the car which was parked out in our front yard. He instructed me to stay in the porch until he finished and he would come get me.

While I waited, my eyes kept getting distracted by the flickering of a broken streetlamp, making me feel nervous. I fidgeted where I stood, hugging the warm shawl closer to me in the hopes of reducing the coldness. I instinctively scanned the surroundings because I felt something that didn't seem quite right. I worried for Luke since he was wearing nothing but a t-shirt – hardly any protection from this bitter cold. He didn't seem to be bothered by it though, as he continued to run about in a rushed pace.

The reason why I braved the squally night despite feeling scared, I did not know at that time. I would realize the reason behind Luke's hurried footsteps and frantic movement years later.

I spun around when I heard the coarse purr of Scraggler, the old black cat I owned. Luke found him eating leftovers in the trash bin and decided to adopt him instead of giving him up to the shelter. I kneeled and scratched his chin. If I remember correctly, the old cat went missing two years later.

When the last of our things were in the car, Luke came to me, took the dry jacket that was in the chair and draped it on my head instead of wearing it himself.

"Let's go." he said.

I said my goodbyes to Scraggler, promising I'd come back, not knowing at that time I wouldn't be able to keep it.

Luke wrapped an arm around my tiny shoulders firmly and both of us ran against the rain. I shivered once the cold droplets made contact with my skin despite the thick layers of clothing. He opened the door for me and circled the car to sit on the driver's side. He started the engine and drove off.

Although at that time I was nothing but a kid, I knew there was something wrong. Luke was tense and he gripped the stirring wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. If I knew better at that time, I would think that he looked as if someone was chasing him. The speed of the car was faster than normal. The houses which were lit up by the same orange hue that the jack-o'-lanterns radiate were passing by in a blur. He even forgot to remind me to wear my seatbelts.

At this point, I did not know how exactly the accident happened. All I know was that there was another car that swerved sharply in our direction and Luke wasn't able to manoeuvre the car in time to avoid the mishap. It hit us with a mighty force, flinging our car towards the trunk of a tree and turning it upside down.

I remember the last thing I saw was the haunting smile of a carved pumpkin, staring at the wreckage coldly before I lost consciousness.

That was the day my brother met his demise.