A Belated Halloween

Cherry

By hudsonmoon

Fri, 01 Nov 2013
  • 1774 reads
10 comments
 
A gang of four stumbled up my porch steps and accosted me with their wants. 
 
“Trick or treat!” they screamed. 
 
”Aren‘t you a bit late?” I said. “Halloween was yesterday.“
 
”Jody was sick,” said the princess. “So we waited.”
 
”Such good friends,” I said. “Which one’s Jody?”
 
“That’s me.”
 
Jody’s Supergirl cape billowed in the Autumn breeze. Her arms were outstretched, holding tight to her goodie bag. She was hen’s egg bald, and seemed to have been blessed with a permanent smile.
 
“I’m feeling good today, though,” said Jody. “Now how about those treats?”
 
“I’m afraid I’m all out of candy,” I said. “They cleaned me out yesterday.”
 
”Really?” said the princess.
 
”I‘m afraid so,” I said. ”There‘s a lot of kids in this neighborhood. I couldn‘t keep up with them.”
 
“How about sharing some of your private stash?” said Iron Man.
 
“Private stash?” I said.
 
“Yeah,” said the Hulk. “We know you’ve all got a stash. My dad hides his candy in the toolshed.”
 
“My dad hides his in his underwear drawer,” said the princess.
 
“Mine keeps his hidden in the refrigerator,” said Iron Man. “In the vegetable drawer. He thinks we’re all stupid.”
 
“Come on, mister,” said Jody. “My mom’s waiting in the car. You’re making us look bad. She didn’t think this was such a good idea in the first place.”
 
Jody’s mom tooted the horn and rolled down the window.
 
“Jody, get that hat back on your head! It’s getting cold! You know what the doctor said!”
 
“Supergirl never wore a ski cap, Mom!”  
 
“Then come back to the car and I’ll take you kids to the ice cream parlor! It’a lot warmer there!”
 
“It’s not the same thing, Mom!” said Jody. “I want to go trick or treating!”
 
“What do you say, mister?” said the princess.
 
“I really don’t know what stash you’re talking about,” I said. “Really.” 
 
“Hey! Look what I found!”
 
It was my wife. And she was carrying a bucket full of Hershey’s Kisses. 
 
“Hey! You guys look great!” she said. 
 
”Where‘d that candy come from?” I said.
 
“The candy fairy, of course. And this is for you, Jody."
 
It was a red beret. The one I bought her twenty years ago. We were on our way to Paris. I knew she thought it was hokey at the time, but she wore it just the same. And she’s worn it ever since.
 
“It matches your cape,” she said. 
 
“Gee, thanks," said Jody. “I love it."
 
She then shoveled candy Kisses into each bag and off they went.
 
“You’ve been holding out on me?” I said.
 
“Only when it comes to candy. And, by the way, you owe me a new beret. And some Kisses.”
 
“Deal,” I said. 
 
 
 
Certificate U
Story

Comments

Submitted by hudsonmoon on

thank you, bear. Always appreciate someone pointing out the typos. And thanks for your kind comments on the story. Glad it made you feel something.

All the best,

Rich

 

Submitted by celticman on

this is so sweet.

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

I like this tale of trick or treat. In England (I googled this today) something like trick or treat happened during the 12 days of Christmas! Children went door to door offering tiny things and expecting treats and there was a character who was called the Lord of Misrule who encouraged people to be wild and rowdy!         Elsie

Submitted by Ed Crane on

Great story, Rich.

Congrats on the cherries.

This story reminded me of my first Chrismas in Belgium, where the tradition is for kids in threes to dress up like the three kings and knock on doors singing the Dutch hymn 'Drie Konigen' and they get sweets or a few pennies (well francs or Euro cents now)

Some came to our door singing the words, Drie Konigen, Drie Konigen, over and over. My wife answered and only found two 'kings' and they were not even wearing the usual paper crowns. She said, since there were only two, would they sing a little more of the hymn if they wanted money. They replied they only knew the Drie Konigen bit.....they got 20 francs a piece for their cheek.

 

Submitted by Canonette on

This is lovely - you make dialogue seem easy.  Skill!

 

Submitted by VeraClark on

This is so endearing Rich. Twists all the gruesome on its head and leaves you fuzzy.

 

Submitted by hudsonmoon on

Celtic, many thanks. Yes, I am an old mush pod.

Elsie. I love the Lord of Misrule. Thanks for filling me in. And so glad you liked the story.

Ed, I think that third king was perhaps getting more than his fair share and was offed by the others. It's just a theory of mine. Glad you liked my little tale.

Canonette, you've made my day. Always nice when someone thinks you got it right.

And Scarecrow, I'll miss you most of all! Wait, that's not right. I mean thank you Vera. (Sometimes, when acknowledging my appreciation to thoughful people I fall back on old movie dialogue.) And fuzzy's good. I'm happy it made you feel that way.

Rich

 

 

Submitted by hudsonmoon on

And a big thank you to the cherry god.

 

Submitted by Denzella on

Hello Rich,

A nice story for Halloween - I'm always late to the party..  We had our treats at the ready but didn't get  any children knock so...we ate them!  We think we might go trick or treating next year.  Second thoughts someone might say 'trick.'  Not at my age!

Moya

 

Submitted by geegogs1 on

This is really lovely. Even though the kids are dead cheeky, I still really like them! Looking forward to reading more of your work.