Closer and closer he gets, clumps of moist earth fly from thundering hooves, hellish breathing matching the pace. Small creatures duck for cover as the rider passes, intent upon his destination.
Standing tall and dark, it was a tribute to Victorian Goth. It had gingerbread decorations coupled with mean looking gargoyles. The yard had been decorated for the night and was transformed into a graveyard complete with rolling fog. The jack-o-lantern grinned out at the street with a creepy lopsided snarl.
Brian rang the bell. A shadow crossed the glass in the door, blurred by aging sheer lace. There stood a tall, thin woman; a dark robe wrapped around her small frame. Hair all white and stringy framed a face unkindly treated by time. Her eyes, once a magnificent blue were now slightly opaque.
Realizing who her visitors were, her face lit up; she moved aside beckoning the children to enter.
“I am so glad you came!” After asking how their night had gone thus far, she inspected their outfits.
“Very stunning job, yes, most impressive.” She spoke nodding her head in agreement with her own proclamations until she got to the head piece that Tess had crafted.
Suddenly, she got very quiet and asked where Tess had gotten one of the stones she had used. The girl looked down and quietly said that she had found it on a dresser upstairs. She had meant to ask but had forgotten.
The old woman looked at her. “You know I would let you borrow almost anything I own. This is one of those things better kept here.”
Tess, almost in tears, took the broach off and handed it back to the woman. “I am so sorry; I never meant to upset you.”
The woman looked at her and smiled, “There is a dark story behind this innocent bauble."
Brian, looking to lighten the mood, asked their hostess to tell the story. Looking at him; a whisper of sadness slid across her face. “Alright children, but let’s head into the parlor and warm up by the fire.”
“You see, children long ago there was a beautiful woman. Her family was well to do and she had her choice of suitors. There was one from a poor family who loved her more than the others. She secretly loved him as well, but was too proud to marry beneath her, so she married the man her parents had chosen. The poor boy later committed suicide.
Not long after the wedding, she received a small parcel. The card said it was a wedding gift from an old friend. She was taken aback at its beauty. Sometimes she could swear she heard her loves voice while she gazed into its depths, thinking she heard it say, ‘I love you now and I will love you always. I will come for you when the time is right’
A month later, her husband died after being struck down by a runaway wagon. She had bad dreams for a long time and felt horribly guilty. She put the stone away and forgot about it for a while.
While cleaning, she came across the broach again and marveled at the beauty of it. The years had not tarnished its glory and she hung it in her bedroom window. It was gorgeous dancing in the sunlight. After a while she could swear she heard her old love’s voice again. It said, ‘I love you now and I will love you always. I will come for you when the time is right’ this brought back all the sadness and she locked it away in a drawer.
Time passed and she became but a shell of her former self. People began to be afraid of her and whisper behind her back. She was a sad old woman full of love with no one to share it. Until one day, two children showed up at her door asking to shovel snow from her walkway. “The twins looked at each other as the impact of the story began to sink in. The woman adjusted herself in the chair, cleared her throat and continued.
“While clearing some junk, she found it again and placed it on her dresser. Then, just last week, she heard it speak again. This time it said, ‘I love you now, I will love you always. The time is close. Be ready come Halloween.’
The children both jumped when they heard a horses whinny eagerly calling just outside. She pulled the stone out of her pocket and looked at it, trembling with a mixture of fear and anticipation. As if in a trance, she stood up and walked to the door. Outside, a hooded figure mounted on a magnificent black steed reached out a gloved hand to her.
He pulled her easily up onto the steed behind him. She hugged him tightly, tears flowing down both cheeks, a huge smile fracturing the mask of age and the children saw her as she was in youth. The stallion reared , turned and raced down the lane, fading from sight into the misty night.
Tess, spotted the broach, scooped it up and slid it into her bag. This was a Halloween she certainly would never forget.