She stood there in the doorway, staring out into the night…
and for some reason that she could not explain… she felt uneasy…
as if something had been left undone.
“I sense disturbance in the air,” she said, “on this All Hallows Eve…
the night is filled with whispering sounds… that tell of spirits…
and ancient secrets dark and deep.”
But he answered only with a mumble as his chair rocked back and forth.
The sky was overcast and cloudy… and yet there was a sense of waiting…
as darkness settled all around.
She stood still for a moment… and listened very hard…
to the soft flutter of little wings among the trees…
as songbirds found their resting places…
and small creatures of the night began to stir.
As the cold night air embraced her, she shivered visibly…
and tightly wrapped her arms around herself…
for warmth… or something more?
He paused a minute, but said nothing, and began to rock again.
She came inside and closed the door… and then quietly turned the key…
as if the lock could form a barrier against something… unexplained.
“Strange things are afoot tonight,” she said, “things never seen before…
and something’s out there in the dark… a force so strong I feel it…
pulling and tugging at my soul.”
She pulled the curtains tightly closed to keep the dark outside…
and then upon the door she hung… a fragrant wreath of lavender and thyme.
“Change is coming before dawn,” she said, “I can feel it in my bones.”
He answered only with a nod and kept on rocking back and forth.
She sat upon a wooden chair and her back was ramrod straight…
then wrapped a shawl around her shoulders as a chill went up her spine.
“There’s an aching in my soul,” she said, “impending change that brings…
a long and weary sadness… that I must learn to cope with… but cannot overcome.”
And finally, he stopped his rocking back and forth.
He looked at her and he could see… the strain upon her face…
as if her every nerve was stretched… close to the breaking point.
“Why do you do this to yourself,” he said, “get all worked up for nothing…
over something that you cannot change… that happens every year…
but nothing out there threatens you.”
Tomorrow night will bring many knocks upon the door…
revealing ghosts and zombies… and many other beings…
and when it’s over you will see… that you were well-prepared.
And you will smile… for in your head… you have already started…
making plans well in advance… for the next All Hallows Day.”
She listened to his voice and all at once… she knew that he was right.
Tomorrow was her one big chance… and it came just once a year…
and every year she worried that something had been missed.
That she would ruin her chance to play a part… however small…
in their festivities… a chance to show a little kindness to all the village kids…
to help each one of them enjoy… a Happy Halloween!
