Author's Note: My contribution for the Halloween 2003 Contest was not inspired by Ghosts or Ghouls or Vampires. Instead it was inspired by people. People who look like you and I do, but who live with their own 'demons', their other selves. Thank you for taking the time to read it and I look forward to your votes and thoughts.
***
It was Lisa's fault, it really was. Perhaps not directly, but it all started when she saw the invitation to the Halloween party and heard Karen talking to me over coffee about it. None of us liked Karen very much. She was strange, and now this request to celebrate the Witches New Year confirmed it.
"The Witches New Year?" I was horrified. She was weirder than I thought.
"Shannon, to most people, Halloween is a fun holiday to dress up and eat candy. Well I like to eat candy on Halloween, but we consider it to be a very important holiday in a more spiritual sense as well."
I stared at her as she rambled on about how the proper name for the occasion was Samhain, pronounced 'Sow-een.' She reiterated this like it was supposed to mean something to me. I shrugged as she continued her tirade. Seemingly, she believed this Sow-een signified the end of summer and the third and last of the harvest festivals when the crops were in and everyone could relax and prepare for the long winter ahead. It might have been my imagination but her eyes seemed to take on a glassy stare as she enthused about how it was also a time to reflect on the events of the past year, and to remember those who had passed away.
"It's the time of the year when both good and evil spirits travel from this world to the next," she said dropping her voice in reverence. "People dress up in costumes, to scare off the bad spirits and the idea of playing tricks is not sinister or malicious it's just a way of having some fun before the cold winter sets in." The look on my face just have spoken volumes, because she smiled brightly as though trying to convince me, "And the gathering of treats was originally done to provide offerings to the Gods, in thanks for the harvest."
A small shiver shot up my spine chilling me to the bone. It was amazing how you could work with someone for years and not really know them. She had always been a bit strange but now this, this confirmed it.
"What's going on Karen, you into witchcraft or something?" I asked suspiciously.
Karen laughed. "Oh relax Shannon! Wicca is an earth religion -- a re-linking with the life-force of nature, both on this planet and in the stars and space beyond. There is nothing satanic about any aspects of Wicca, or Paganism. We don't celebrate black masses, conduct sacrifices or cast hexes on Halloween, or any other day for that matter. Now will you be there? It's a party, for Christ sake, just a Halloween party."
"I'll think about it, but I'm not dancing around fires in the moonlight."
"Nor am I," she said winking naughtily. "I'm coming out of the broom closet and I plan to have some fun."
I avoided Karen for the next few days. No way, was I going to that party.
But Lisa wouldn't let up nagging me about it and by the time Halloween rolled around she seemed almost obsessed by the idea.
"It sounds like a blast Shannon, go and have some fun tonight. It's a perfect opportunity with that fucking boring fiancée of yours out of town for a week."
"Lisa don't you dare talk about Dave like that," I hissed crossly, "he's a wonderful man."
"Oh shit, yes he is, but for someone else. You're only thirty for fucks sake. He behaves like you've been married for thirty fucking years."
I hated it when Lisa got started on me. It just made me plain angry. She was critical and sarcastic with a tongue like a viper and a vocabulary that could make a gutter whore blush. I'd never met a nineteen year old girl before who had such a filthy mouth.
A dull ache throbbed at the back of my head as I bickered with her. It was pointless, she always won arguments. Not because she was rational or logical but because she was emotional and highly spirited. She always wanted her own way, like a petulant spoilt child and come hell or high heaven she didn't give up until she got exactly what she wanted. Lisa hadn't been this arrogant or bitchy in a long time but I think it was all the talk of spirits and her fascination with the occult that did it. Her period was close and somehow her hormones kept her in a state of highly charged sexual tension and anxiety during this time. Sometimes, I swear I could actually smell the heated pheromones she exuded and the sexy vibes oozing from her pores.
No matter how hard I protested, she wouldn't quit.
"Well if you want to be a fucking party pooper, then maybe I should go," she goaded. "There might be some horny devils there, you know, some hunky fuck boys."
The dull throb had changed to a relentless hammering in my skull. I didn't see her face, but I knew that it would have taken on that sultry evil expression that it always does when she gets hot and thinks about sex.
"And I could do with some good hard cock I haven't been fucked in a while," she continued, confirming my worst suspicions.
"No! Stop it! You're not going anywhere. You weren't invited," I retorted hotly.
"Who the fuck will know?" She sneered. "I'll wear a costume that shows off my pussy and tits. That should get the guys hard and no-one will give a shit where dreary old Shannon is." Lisa tossed her silky blonde tresses back and slammed the door hard.
From far off I heard Amy let out a frightened shriek. She was six years old and very sensitive to noise and arguing. It always made her sob uncontrollably.
"Dammit Lisa, I hate you. Now you've woken Amy!"
"Yeah so tell someone who gives a fuck," Lisa screamed back. "I'm getting out of here."
The splitting pain streaked through my skull and hit me between the eyes. I needed to get to Amy to comfort her before that crying drove me insane.
***
The wind gusted, swirling leaves up against Lisa's legs as she pushed open the door to the costume hire store. She adored being outside and the crisp weather made her feel exhilarated and alive.
