It Was Supposed to Be Our Halloween I couldn't wait. I…
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It Was Supposed to Be Our Halloween
I couldn't wait. I kept checking the clock every few minutes, and when the hands finally reached six, I jumped out of my chair, grabbed my plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket, picked up the scythe that went with my Grim Reaper costume, and ran for the door.
Mom shook her head and called after me, “Have fun, and make sure you two stay safe. I want you home by eight.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mom,” I mumbled, already halfway out the door.
Halloween was Jamie's and my favorite day of the year. We loved all the decorations, the atmosphere, and, of course, the candy.
Within minutes, I was standing in front of the faded, light-blue door of Jamie's house. I could hear his parents shouting at each other inside. Apparently, they'd been arguing constantly for the past few months. I'd noticed bruises on Jamie several times. Whenever the teachers asked him about them and offered to help, he always blamed them on falling on the playground while playing.
I knocked on the door, and a moment later, Jamie opened it.
I immediately noticed a new bruise beneath his left eye. My gaze moved up to his head, where a fake knife had been stuck. He was wearing a cap over it to make it less obvious. Fake blood ran down both sides of his face, and in one hand, he held an ordinary plastic shopping bag.
He gave me a sad little smile and said, “I know. It's not the best. Ever since Dad lost his job, we haven't had as much money and…”
“No, it's great,” I cut him off. “I really like it.”
We didn't talk about it anymore and headed out on our usual trick-or-treating route.
Our first stop was our teacher's house. She was kind of our childhood crush. We knocked on the door, and she opened it. She looked a little pale, but she was smiling and holding a big bucket full of candy.
“Trick or treat!” we shouted together.
She complimented both of our costumes and let us each take a few of our favorite candies.
Then Jamie asked her, “How's Buddy?”
Tears filled our teacher's eyes.
“You boys… Buddy was very old, and yesterday he went up to heaven to join his other doggy friends.”
I don't know why, but for a brief moment, I thought I saw a cruel little smile on Jamie's face. I immediately pushed the thought away.
We loved Buddy. We'd often played with him whenever we'd run into him and our teacher at the park.
She told us not to be sad and, most importantly, to enjoy the evening.
We walked to the next house almost without saying a word.
I was already about to walk past old Mrs. Miller's house. She was a genuinely nasty woman, and none of the trick-or-treaters ever went to her door.
“Hey,” Jamie said, stopping in front of her house.
Before I could say anything, he pressed the doorbell.
For a few seconds, complete silence fell over us. I felt like time had stopped for what seemed like an hour. Then it happened. Mrs. Miller completely lost it. She started screaming at us so loudly that people around us started turning to look. She ran back into the house for a moment, only to come back out a few seconds later and start throwing things at us. Anything she could get her hands on. I grabbed Jamie by the hand and literally had to drag him away from her. He was laughing right in her face.
When we were a safe distance away, I looked at him and yelled, “Have you lost your mind? What were you thinking? And what the hell were you even saying to her?”
Jamie looked guilty and apologized to me. “I'm sorry, Charlie. You know, things are really hard at home right now, and sometimes I just don't know what's gotten into me.”
I hugged him and told him it was okay, but asked him not to do it again. He promised we'd enjoy the rest of the evening. Little did I know what was coming next.
The next door that opened for us belonged to Agnes. Agnes was the kindest old lady I'd ever met. A few weeks ago, her only grandson had drowned, and instead of becoming bitter like old Mrs. Miller, she had become even kinder. She was so kind to all the children.
I had just started saying, “Trick or treat!” when Jamie interrupted me. That strange little smirk appeared on his face again, and then he spoke. “You don't have to be afraid, Agnes. Soon you'll be playing hide-and-seek with Oliver.”
I felt like everything went black for a moment. Agnes didn't deserve this. I didn't even notice that she'd closed the door and disappeared into the house, because the second Jamie finished speaking, I lunged at him. We got into a terrible fight. His fake blood mixed with the blood running from my nose.
“We're done!” I screamed. “I never want to see you again!”
Jamie lowered his head and started chuckling. “You know, Charlie… I wanted to take care of your little sister afterward, but after this, I'm going to have to think about it.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I didn't want to know. I went home, and when Mom asked me what had happened, I told her I didn't want to talk about it.
I didn't hear anything about Jamie for several days. Then one day, Mom called me downstairs and told me she had to tell me something.
“You know, sweetheart… I'm so sorry, but Jamie…” Her voice broke.
It was all over the newspapers. Jamie's father had killed his wife and then his own son. He had nearly cut her head off with an axe and stabbed Jamie in the head with a kitchen knife.
Mom let me stay home that day, so I didn't have to go to school. That evening, she sat down at the table with Dad and me and told me how sorry she was about what had happened to Jamie because she knew how much I cared about him. But she and Dad had some news for me.
“You won't be alone anymore, Charlie. You're going to be a big brother. You're going to have a little sister.”
#entertainment
source
I couldn't wait. I kept checking the clock every few minutes, and when the hands finally reached six, I jumped out of my chair, grabbed my plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket, picked up the scythe that went with my Grim Reaper costume, and ran for the door.
Mom shook her head and called after me, “Have fun, and make sure you two stay safe. I want you home by eight.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mom,” I mumbled, already halfway out the door.
Halloween was Jamie's and my favorite day of the year. We loved all the decorations, the atmosphere, and, of course, the candy.
Within minutes, I was standing in front of the faded, light-blue door of Jamie's house. I could hear his parents shouting at each other inside. Apparently, they'd been arguing constantly for the past few months. I'd noticed bruises on Jamie several times. Whenever the teachers asked him about them and offered to help, he always blamed them on falling on the playground while playing.
I knocked on the door, and a moment later, Jamie opened it.
I immediately noticed a new bruise beneath his left eye. My gaze moved up to his head, where a fake knife had been stuck. He was wearing a cap over it to make it less obvious. Fake blood ran down both sides of his face, and in one hand, he held an ordinary plastic shopping bag.
He gave me a sad little smile and said, “I know. It's not the best. Ever since Dad lost his job, we haven't had as much money and…”
“No, it's great,” I cut him off. “I really like it.”
We didn't talk about it anymore and headed out on our usual trick-or-treating route.
Our first stop was our teacher's house. She was kind of our childhood crush. We knocked on the door, and she opened it. She looked a little pale, but she was smiling and holding a big bucket full of candy.
“Trick or treat!” we shouted together.
She complimented both of our costumes and let us each take a few of our favorite candies.
Then Jamie asked her, “How's Buddy?”
Tears filled our teacher's eyes.
“You boys… Buddy was very old, and yesterday he went up to heaven to join his other doggy friends.”
I don't know why, but for a brief moment, I thought I saw a cruel little smile on Jamie's face. I immediately pushed the thought away.
We loved Buddy. We'd often played with him whenever we'd run into him and our teacher at the park.
She told us not to be sad and, most importantly, to enjoy the evening.
We walked to the next house almost without saying a word.
I was already about to walk past old Mrs. Miller's house. She was a genuinely nasty woman, and none of the trick-or-treaters ever went to her door.
“Hey,” Jamie said, stopping in front of her house.
Before I could say anything, he pressed the doorbell.
For a few seconds, complete silence fell over us. I felt like time had stopped for what seemed like an hour. Then it happened. Mrs. Miller completely lost it. She started screaming at us so loudly that people around us started turning to look. She ran back into the house for a moment, only to come back out a few seconds later and start throwing things at us. Anything she could get her hands on. I grabbed Jamie by the hand and literally had to drag him away from her. He was laughing right in her face.
When we were a safe distance away, I looked at him and yelled, “Have you lost your mind? What were you thinking? And what the hell were you even saying to her?”
Jamie looked guilty and apologized to me. “I'm sorry, Charlie. You know, things are really hard at home right now, and sometimes I just don't know what's gotten into me.”
I hugged him and told him it was okay, but asked him not to do it again. He promised we'd enjoy the rest of the evening. Little did I know what was coming next.
The next door that opened for us belonged to Agnes. Agnes was the kindest old lady I'd ever met. A few weeks ago, her only grandson had drowned, and instead of becoming bitter like old Mrs. Miller, she had become even kinder. She was so kind to all the children.
I had just started saying, “Trick or treat!” when Jamie interrupted me. That strange little smirk appeared on his face again, and then he spoke. “You don't have to be afraid, Agnes. Soon you'll be playing hide-and-seek with Oliver.”
I felt like everything went black for a moment. Agnes didn't deserve this. I didn't even notice that she'd closed the door and disappeared into the house, because the second Jamie finished speaking, I lunged at him. We got into a terrible fight. His fake blood mixed with the blood running from my nose.
“We're done!” I screamed. “I never want to see you again!”
Jamie lowered his head and started chuckling. “You know, Charlie… I wanted to take care of your little sister afterward, but after this, I'm going to have to think about it.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I didn't want to know. I went home, and when Mom asked me what had happened, I told her I didn't want to talk about it.
I didn't hear anything about Jamie for several days. Then one day, Mom called me downstairs and told me she had to tell me something.
“You know, sweetheart… I'm so sorry, but Jamie…” Her voice broke.
It was all over the newspapers. Jamie's father had killed his wife and then his own son. He had nearly cut her head off with an axe and stabbed Jamie in the head with a kitchen knife.
Mom let me stay home that day, so I didn't have to go to school. That evening, she sat down at the table with Dad and me and told me how sorry she was about what had happened to Jamie because she knew how much I cared about him. But she and Dad had some news for me.
“You won't be alone anymore, Charlie. You're going to be a big brother. You're going to have a little sister.”
#entertainment
source
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