Old Crazy
The bastards won’t go away.
They stand out there, clacking and mewling, just waiting to get their hands on my stuff. Heh. They can stand out there all night for all I care. They’re not getting a damn thing.
Ding Dong goes the bell. Again and again. Who do they think they are, harassing me year after year? I didn’t ask for the company. Never did. Don’t want it.
And yet still they call.
There’s the one with the neck wound. It bleeds. Red streaks all down the front of its shirt. Pale white skin. Dead eyes.
Then there’s the demon spawn. Great, horrible thing, head lolling side to side, frothing at the corners of its mouth. Red, glowing eyes.
You think I’m crazy? Aye, I just might be. ‘Course the others think I’m crazy, too. That’s why they come. To catch a glimpse. See what they can see. Well, you know what? They never see a damn thing. I don’t let ‘em. And what would they see, even if they could? A man. That’s all. Just a man.
But what about them? Will they stand out there all bloody night?
“Damn you all!” I shake my fist at them from my bedroom window. “Go back to whatever Hell you came from!”
They just laugh up at me. With their rotting teeth and silver hair.
Dear God, what have I done to deserve this? Why do you visit your demons upon me? Am I not a worthy son?
I suppose in the end it has come to this. They won’t leave. I dare not let them in. After all these years, I will finally do what any sane man would do if confronted with this constant evil.
I hope there’s little pain. I hope it’s quick.
Lord, please deliver me. And forgive me.
And yet I still cannot escape their irreverence, their unholy incantations. I can still hear their strange witchcraft.
What does it mean, “Trick or treat? Trick or treat?”
4 comments:
you know, reading that short story makes me wonder where you got the idea for that poor old man. I swear he is from Normal Il. I have vivid memories of a old man doingthe exact same thing to my friends and I who were none the wiser to the haunted part of halloween. as far as we knew, if you put on a cazy costume, you got free candy. the crazier the costume, the more candy you would get in your sleeping bag. if only life where that simple now..........
Hey asmile. Welcome to the Staircase!
I got this idea from a childhood memory of an old man who would chase trick-or-treaters away with a broom. I just took it an extra step. :)
A neat story!
Thanks Bernita. Just my fun little nod to the season.
Post a Comment