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)
©️ Sangeetha Kamath
Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay
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