Jill twirled her tatters and curtsied. Her tall, pointy hat stayed perfectly in place.“You make an excellent witch, my dear,” Martin said.“Thank you, Martin. Now, do you know where my brother is?”“Right here,” Jack called. “What do you think of my costume?”Jill frowned.“You’re not wearing a costume! Oh Martin, won’t you convince him to put on something more festive?”“Admittedly,” Martin said, “Master Jack does pass for a trick-or-treater.”“Ha,” said Jack, and when Jill soured her face he added, “If anyone asks, I’m a vampire. No need to get too fancy for Halloween; not my favorite holiday. Then again, I’ve never been much for this world anyway.”“That’s because you’re boring,” Jill said.Jack stuck out his tongue. Jill stomped her ruby slippers.“Well then," said Martin, "are you two read to go?”Jack rolled his eyes, and Jill bounced on her toes. “We are,” they said in unison.The sun had set, and skeletons were on parade. Every street bustled with angels and devils, Jedi and Sith, and every manner of goblin, ghoul, and spaceman. Leaves piled in the gutters, pumpkins on the porches, and parents on the sidelines, huddling for warmth and conversation against the bitter autumn chill.Jack and Jill raced back from their latest conquest, candy in their pails and grins on their faces.“It looks like you’re having a good time, Master Jack.”Jack jabbed an elbow into his sister. “The last lady addressed us as ‘Miss Witch’ and ‘Mister Vampire’.”“Yes, yes,” Jill said. “I guess it does qualify as a costume. A boring, terrible costume, but a costume.”A twenty-foot-tall inflatable ghost stood guard at the next house, and Jill curtsied to it, giggling, before racing up to the front door. Her brother sighed and followed.As they stood in anticipation, another trick-or-treater, a fleece-robed bumblebee, hobbled up beside them, and an exhausted woman appeared at Martin’s side.“Yours?” she asked with a weary gesture toward Jack and Jill.“In a way,” Martin said. “Their parents died when they were quite little, and I have been watching over them ever since.”“Huh. That’s… sad. I hope they’re having fun.”“They are, I’m sure. It all happened a very long time ago.”An old pumpkin-round woman opened the door, and Jack and Jill and their toddling companion begged a treat. They skipped back to the sidewalk with a peanut-butter cup each.“Well Taylor, have you gotten enough candy?” the stranger asked her bumblebee.“Mmm… maybe.”“All right, we’re going home then,” the woman said, and then, turning to Martin: “Have a good night!”Jack and Jill surveyed their own pails; not quite half full.“Looks like we’ve got more trick-or-treating to do!” Jill said, and took off toward the house across the street with the glowing eyes in the bushes and ghosts in the trees.Jack and Martin shared a glance and followed.“That lady seemed nice,” Jack said.“Oh yes, quite the neighbor,” replied Martin. “She seemed concerned for you, on account of your lost family.”“Ha! And did you tell her how long ago we lost that family?”Jill had already knocked at the next door, bouncing and pointing back to her brother.Martin smiled. “I told her your parents died a long time ago.”And that was not a lie. Three hundred and fifty some-odd years is a very long time. A very long time for a ten-year-old boy and his seven-year-old sister not to grow up.“I managed to talk that guy into giving me an extra,” Jill said, tossing a chocolate bar into her brother’s pail. “Do you want to visit another neighborhood?”“I want to go get a real meal,” said Jack.“Oh boo, you’re no fun. We have to wait until midnight, when all the spooks are out.”Somewhere down the road an animatronic decoration moaned and a girl squealed.“Back in the car then, Miss Jill, Master Jack,” Martin said.And the three piled into their old ford and disappeared into the night. via /r/sevenseastories https://ift.tt/3mSNaTh
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