SAMHAIN

SAMHAIN

The street was flanked on both sides by rows of houses and the lawns were decorated with scarecrows, jack-o'-lanterns and stacks of gourds.

Giggling children scurried past me in ghoulish costumes and scary masks.

I took confident strides towards a house on my left. In my Dracula getup, I was unrecognizable.

The family inside was holding a party and from the squeals, it seemed like some games were well underway.

The rooms were dimly lit. Tables were set for apple bobbing in the next room.

'She' was in a Halloween costume too but it was easy to spot her—a 'witch' playing host.

I tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to lead me to the washroom. Taking me to be one of her guests, we passed the apple bobbing table.

Her screams were muffled with other playful shrieks and gory noises amidst the Halloween effects as I dunked her head in the tub of water and held her there until her wild thrashing stopped.

Wasn't this exactly how she had brutally killed my child in a fit of envy because she did well in school, much better than her own son?

On this hallowed day, I've avenged Jade.

( Word Count: 199 excluding the title)

©️ Sangeetha Kamath

SPOOKY

Black hissing cats, witches in pointy hats, vampires in their velveteen cloaks

Withered branches reach out, hoards of bats fly out of hollow oaks

Haunted houses, cobwebbed lampposts glow eerily on every street

Masked as zombies, ghosts, mummies and Frankenstein; children scream trick or treat

Carved out pumpkins adorned as Jack-o'-lantern, decorate lawns and gardens umpteen

It's Hallowe'en, from a creaking coffin emerges a zombie unseen

Quite unaware as I walk the forested paths winding and serpentine

Lost in the fragrance of pine trees, wintergreen and blooms amaranthine.

Footprints on the fresh pristine snow, Inside my house they go

They lead under my bed, but as none come out,

My scream is stifled in my throat and so is my shout

My heart starts hammering

When I hear an incessant thumping

I look at the mirror; It's my reflection staring back at me in horror

She mouths a silent scream "Look behind you" while tapping fervently with her finger

I'm too late when I spot the glint of the dagger

She jumps out of the mirror and becomes my savior

Now I don't have a reflection but two shadows and a guardian---

My twin soul sister!!!

(20 lines)

Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay

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Sangeetha Kamath

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