Happy Halloween

Going to bed in the fall was always my favorite. I would brush my teeth and wash my face. The mint from the toothpaste would always make my mouth feel cold. It was inevitable that I would wake in the morning with dried toothpaste at the corners of my mouth. I never knew how that always happened. I would go into my room and kneel with my mother. We would say our prayers and I would crawl into bed. Do you want a story tonight, she would ask. Tonight I did not. I wanted to be alone. My story was better most of the time. She leaned over to kiss my forehead. Her gold cross grazed my face and I could feel her kiss on my head. The smell of my mother was of the lilac soap she used. I can remember it to this day. She would tuck the covers around me and walk to the door. She would turn around and smile as she said goodnight baby and slowly closed the door.

I didn’t sleep with a nightlight so the only light in the room came from the moon outside my window. The tree that I had spent countless hours in during the summer was slowly losing its leaves. The branches of the tree are thick and strong. As the long branches spread out from the trunk, they became thinner and bent in awkward directions. I often wondered if the tree was old and that was the reason for the crooked branches. My grandmother was old and her legs and arms reminded me of this tree. The leaves were a deep red and dark orange and yellow. During the day the tree looked like it was on fire, but at night in my world, the shadows concealed most of the color that usually burst forth in morning rays.

There was very little wind tonight which made things easier for me. The wind always obstructed my view out the window. The leaves would get caught up in a whirlwind of dust and other debris from the yard. When the rain would fall the wind would always blow the rain drops into my window. The sky was always covered so the bright moon I could not see. But tonight that was not the case.

The moon was bright and large. I almost had to squint my eyes for the brightness it reflected from the day’s sun. There were dark spots on the moon as well as bright. I imagined the dark spots to be huge cities. What sort of creatures lived on the moon? I imagined great cities with big buildings. The creatures were generally good in nature, but spent a lot of time looking down at us on earth. Their idleness sometimes would cause them to fight among themselves. I rolled over to my side to look at the moon and imagine if I were there.

What sort of reception would they give me? My mind wanders to the moon until I hear something. There is a noise that didn’t come from outside my window, or did it? My mind instantly comes back to my room and I hold my breath to wait for the noise again. There it is. It sounds like it is coming from outside. Who could be out there? Who WOULD be out there? I lay very still as if weighed down by bricks. The air in my room has suddenly become oppressive. Did someone steal the air? Why can’t I breathe?!

My eyes dart to the window as I see movement. Was that the branches? No, the wind isn’t blowing. What is out there? My heart beat races and I can hear the pounding in my ears. Mom and Dad are home right? Maybe it’s Dad. No, another movement, this time I see something black. I grip the covers with white knuckles and pull them up to my chin. I glance out the window again as I hear a brushing. It sounds like something is dragging along the roof. Is it on the roof? I don’t know I can’t tell where it’s coming from! Should I cry out? Should I call for my mother?

No, there is nothing there and I am being a baby. My breathing starts to come back to normal and my heart rate starts to slow down. I roll back on my side and stare at the moon again. My thoughts slowly returning to the life I invented on the moon.

Wait, there it is again! A sudden chill washes over my body as I look out the window and see two yellow eyes staring at me! I try to scream but my throat feels like there is something strangling me. My eyes grow with fright and my heart pounds. I can’t move. My blankets weigh a ton. The next thing I see is this creature, this thing, smile the most wicked smile I have ever seen. His warped teeth are like jagged razors in his mouth. A thick inky black fluid seems to be dripping from the corners of his mouth. The tight skin stretches across his face as his eyes bore through me. Very slowly he raises a crooked black hand and points to me. His hair shakes as he nods his head and I see his black straggly hair fall in front of his face.

I can’t scream! I can’t breathe! I can’t move! The fear is paralyzing. This creature suddenly darts from my bedroom window. Where did he go? I hear scraping. What is that at the window? Nothing. What is that AT THE END OF MY BED? My head jerks toward the end of the bed where those two yellow eyes peer up at me. The earth has suddenly stood still and the only thing I can hear is the beating of my heart going so fast I wonder if it’s going to pop out of my chest.

Then this thing starts to crawl over the foot of my bed. His long skinny fingers grip the blankets. The inky black sickness drips from his mouth onto my covers. The smell emitting from him over whelms my nose and I start to feel the bile coming up my throat. He crawls closer and closer to me with the evil smile. The weight of his body smashes my legs into the mattress. The air suddenly becomes as cold as ice and I can see my breath. The stink from his mouth permeates the air and this is all I can smell. He slowly brings out a home made knife or what appears to be and takes it to his tongue. He cuts his tongue and deep green ooze drips out onto the bed. He points at me as if I am next.

Suddenly I can find my voice and I scream! I scream as if my life were ending! The thing covers his ears as if in pain and shrieks his own agonizing sound. He shakes his head back and forth flinging green blood and black spit onto my face. It burns and I scream some more.

The next thing I know my Mom comes rushing into the room. She has a worried look on her face and n angel in my eyes. She looks at me with a forlorn look in her eyes. And then at that very moment, my mother turns into him. That creature at the end of the bed. I suddenly pass out.

September in Reality

Let’s take a stroll through memory lane shall we?
Do you remember September when you were a kid? Ah, the start of the school year. You had brand new erasers, new pencils, and don’t forget those markers that smelled like licorice or cherry! Ah, I can smell them now! You stepped on the school bus in your new shoes and your hair just so. You scanned the seats to find your BFF and of course she has saved you a seat. You sit down and giggle with glee that you are now the oldest ones in school and can finally pick on the 4th graders! You compare outfits and make sure you both have everything in place. As you get off the bus at school, you smell the smell of fall approaching. You get to your class and sit in your seat. YOUR seat for the entire year! Of course your BFF is sitting right next to you. Not too far in the back because you don’t want to be labeled the bad kid, but certainly not in the front because you don’t want to be labeled the geek or four eyes! Your teacher comes into class and has a huge smile on her face and announces that this school year will be filled with lots of field trips and fun! RIGHT ON! So all the rumors that this was the teacher to get were actually true! Then HE comes through the door. The new kid in school! He came from California so his hair is blond and his blue eyes peer into your very soul. Then he has to sit next to YOU! As he takes his seat, he flashes you the whitest smile you have ever seen and suddenly you realize, all is right with the world!

Now. Here is reality:

You are grown up now. It’s September. You kids are yelling at you from down the hall because they can’t find their backpack/shoe/shirt/brush. You run into the room and find it on the floor because they couldn’t pick up the socks covering the item. You race out to the kitchen to try to make breakfast, but end up putting pop tarts in the toaster, again. Then you hear another scream from the next kid, why did you get this ugly back pack? All the kids are wearing Hannah Montana back packs and this one is, gasp, from Wal Mart! You have effectively ruined her entire LIFE! Your husband races out the door mumbling freedom at last while you are yelling at the kids to get on the bus because it’s pulling up RIGHT NOW! No time for lunches, you shove money in each of their hands as they race down the steps to get on the bus before it leaves. Ok, they are gone and you realize you only have 15 minutes to get to work, which is 25 minutes away! You grab your coffee and head out the door hoping that the pop tarts in the toaster didn’t get stuck and burn down your house. You drive in bumper to bumper traffic cursing everyone who cuts you off or doesn’t let you in. You arrive 5 minutes late to work, but realize you are the first one there anyway. Whew. Then you check your stats and realize that all the lazy people you work with have caused you to NOT get your bonus for the SECOND MONTH in a row!! There goes the pedicure you were DYING to get! Then I-always-have-a-smile-on-my-face Cindy comes bobbing into work and says “Happy Monday!” That’s when you realize, murder is against the law.