Tuesday October 31
It was just after 10pm when the doorbell rang, loud and chiming, startling him from the deep thoughts of his book.
He walked slowly to the door, assuming a late Halloween prankster, as the regular crowd of "trick or treaters" had stopped ringing the bell over an hour ago.
"These fucking kids should be home already," he mumbled to himself.
Still, he picked up the mostly empty bowl of candy and carried it towards the door, just in case it was a late straggler trying to get that last bit of candy before the night ended. He did not want to disappoint and heavens forbid if he were "tricked" for running out of candy. Besides, he himself was not one for sweets and what was left would only go to waste.
May as well give whomever it is the whole damn bucket, he thought. Of course, he thought if it were pranksters, he could just throw the bowl at them and hope to hit at least one of the little bastards in the head.
His boot heels clicked across the stone tile floor, echoing loudly against the marble walls and high ceilings. Of course the nuance of this place was right out of an Edgar Allen Poe classic. Torch lamps flickered and dimly lit the hall, casting ominous shadows over the walls. And various gargoyles, vampires and other weird creatures decorated the high shelves near the ceilings, looking down on the house's inhabitants.
He approached the inner door to the foyer and the bell rang again, startling him and sending a chill down his spine.
"Fuck!" he shouted to himself.
I really need to get a new doorbell, he thought, embarrassed at his own alarm, even though nobody was there to witness it. Sometimes he wondered why he even bought this old dungeon of a house. Sure it seemed like a fun, creepy idea when he first saw it in the daylight, but lately there were too many nights spent wide-eyed and awake, wondering what, if anything was lurking in the too many shadows. He was not a Creepshow kind of guy and blood, gore and the macabre did not suit him.
Inside the foyer, he turned the deadbolt and slid the bolt to the side. He pulled hard on the old wooden door, creating a long eerie creaking noise, as he prepared for the "trick" he was now certain to get.
She stood alone on the porch in a soft pool of light, smiling sweetly and looking up at him as if he should have expected her. He recognized her at once of course. It was Alice! From Alice in Wonderland! She wore a light blue dress, speckled with hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs, blue and white striped knee socks, black patent leather schoolgirl shoes with silver buckles and a white ribbon in her hair. And how cute! In her hand was a white stuffed rabbit!
Thinking back triumphantly to his college days, he was pleased to know that his senior year dissertation on Lewis Caroll had finally paid off in the real world! Who else would recognize Alice on sight! Well at least a Masters in literature was good for something.
"Trick or treat," she said softly with a seductive smile.
"Hi," he mumbled back at her, noticing that she was not carrying a "loot bag," as he had called them in the days of his youth.
"I suppose you're the last trick or treater of the night," he said, offering her what was left of the M&Ms and Snickers in the bowl. He peered beyond her and the long front yard to the street half expecting to see a group of teenager who would pelt him with eggs at any moment. But she was alone.
"Don't you have anything more sugary?" she asked with a pout.
"Huh...what?" he stuttered?
"I don't like candy bars," she said, "I like sugary candy like Pixie sticks!"
Pixie sticks? What the fuck?
He took stock of the girl standing before him. She was innocent looking and pretty with silky long, light brown hair, bright blue eyes and a beautiful, white toothy smile. Her lips were painted a light shade of pink and appeared to be almost sparkly, as if she had applied some kind of glittery lip gloss like the kind found in a child's make up kit. His eyes drifted lower to the top of her dress and he looked away quickly embarrassed to having even thought of trying to catch some cleavage. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as the costume was quite chaste and not at all revealing.
"So do you have anything else Mister?" she asked again.
"How old are you?" he asked in response. "It's late for a girl to be out by herself."
"I'm old enough and I can take care of myself," she said confidently.
She then winked at him and slowly ran her tongue over her lips.
He believed her.
He felt his stomach clench and thought, "what the hell is going on here?"
"Come in then," he offered, "I may have something for you."
He led her into the large empty house and she followed him down the long hall to a large open room. It was a sitting room, decorated with dark earthly colors of burgundy and wood. A log was glowing red in the fireplace, creating a delightful autumn smell as it popped and hissed.
