Duck, Duck, Goose

Trick or Treat

"Um, if I may ask, aren't you a bit old to go trick or treating?" the woman asked hesitantly as she placed the candy in my skull basket. I sighed through my nose and smiled at her stifly. She was probably the 35th person to ask me that.

Yes, it was true that I was 17. Yes, I did still dress up on Halloween to go tricker treating. It was not weird - plenty of mums were outside at that very moment, dressed up as witches and such.

I walked towards the bustling street. A kid ran past me dressed like a pirate and a pink fairy soon came speeding after him. I turned right and headed towards a bench that stood beneath a lamp post. The yellow light made my costume look even more realistic.

I had a lot of practice with scary make-up, so I was pretty sure that I looked like a real life ghost lounging on the bench. I had painted my face white and added white powder to add a glowing effect. I then made my lips blue to mimic the way one's skin turned when they were strangled - I even added eyeshadow to my painted neck. It looked like my corpse was just taken out of a noose.

My skull basket was almost full. Lollipops, chocolate bars, liquorice and much more filled the cranium. I looked around at my neighborhood. I had visited pretty much every house in my approximate radius. My fingers reached for the pocketwatch that hung around my neck and clicked it open.

8:45 pm

My friends would be arriving shortly, so I devoured on a packet of gummy bears. Laughter made me look up from my decapitated bear, and I smiled happily as I saw my friends a few feet away.

Nathalie, my nerdy yet lovable friend, was dressed like a character from her favourite anime. She was covered in fake blood and included a fake knife. At least, I hoped that it was fake. Her usual smile lit up her face and made the sharp angles of her cheeks look softer.

Krista wore a very revealing cat costume. She had some cleavage showing and the tiger print dress  ended haldway up her thighs. She at least had the body for it, and the cat ears poking out from her curly brown hair made her even more pleasing to the eye. I was pretty sure that the only reason Krista dressed up for Halloween was so she could show of her body. Yes, she did an amazing job at losing weight, but the boobs were taking it too far.

Reggie trailed just behind them. He wasn't dressed as anything and I was sure that he only came along for the candy.

And for Krista.

"Hey, losers," I said when they were in earshot. "How much candy did you get?" Krista suddenly halted and looked at me with a shocked face, her mouth a small circle of horror.

"We were supposed to gather candy?" She looked at her basket. "What am I going to do with all of this cocaine then?" We all laughed.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Natalie started, sitting next to me and swiped her red dyed hair out of her face. "You probably have the most out of us all."

"Yeah. Read it and weep," I bragged and bestowed my skull basket full of sweet things.

"How are you so good at collecting sweets?" Reggie gawked. He had his phone in one hand and a plastic bag stocked with edibles, most of which he had bought himself.

"Let me tell you: it wasn't as easy this year. Everyone I went to asked me if I was too old to go tricker treating."

"But you still managed to get that much?" Reggie looked at his own measly pile inside a plastic bag. "I swear, it's like you have some mystical power."

We exchanged idle chit chat; the same that we always did. I didn't know if anyone could have called us "true friends", but we didn't annoy each other and that was enough.

"I guess I have to go back home," I said after I had glanced at my pocketwatch.

9:00 pm

"Okay, April. See you tomorrow!" Natalie called after me as I walked towards my house. I waved at them, a chorus of goodbyes trailing behind me. Just as I approached my amazingly decorated house, two boys walked past me. Their conversation naturally drifted to my ears.

"The only reason no one has gone up to that house is because it's haunted," one whispered.

"The house itself gives me the creeps. It looks terrifying." The other boy agreed. I turned around and tapped one boy on the shoulder. I saw him jump a little from fright, which made me smile.

"Where's the house? This creepy one you talked about?" I asked.

They pointed down the road. I looked up and saw that a nightmare fueled house was indeed at the end of my street. I couldn't believe that I had never noticed it.

It was made out of dark wood and the windows were opaque. It had a true gothic style to it. The front yard was neglected, dry grass trying to reach the sky. A rough iron fence surrounded the lot. The gate, detached from its hinges, laid a few steps away. A pair of stairs lead up to the front door, inviting anyone with false security.

It was out of my trick or treating radius, but I guessed that a quick look at the house wouldn't hurt. I walked down the still busy street, keeping my eyes on the shadowed house as if it might dance away.

I stood where the iron gate probably once was and stared at the house.

"They did a great job at decorating," I murmured, glancing at the rotting wood. I somehow convinced myself that the spooky house in front of me was made that way for Halloween.

I walked forward, not caring about the chill that ran up my spine.