A Halloween to Remember

“Honey, are you ready? It's Halloween, the kids are going to be here any minute” Elli, short for Eleanor, was in her modern style silver and black kitchen. She had placed baby pumpkins and jackolanterns placed in various parts of the kitchen and a witches pot on her stove. Elli was dressed in her Morticia costume, placing different types of candy in a big bowl, she picks out every peanut flavored candies out of the bowl in case anyone is allergic to them. Dan, short to Danel, walks into the kitchen dressed as Gomez. He walks over to his wife and gives her a kiss on her hand.

“You look gorgeous Mi amore” he tries to imitate a french accent but fails because Elli laughs at his attempt.

“I’m sorry, it's just your accent, how do I put it? Horrible” She tries to stop him from leaving the kitchen by handing him a peanut flavoured candy. 

Without a second though Dan pops open the candy wrapper and devivours the candy in one bite. Elli watches him as he swallows it and then accompanes her to the door. Dan takes the lead and opens the door, where the kids are already standing. Each one in a different costume and holding out their candy bags.

“Wait, wait, wait, let me guess. You must be spiderman, the hulk, blossom and a ghost. Very creative. Here is your candy and your.” Elli hands out candy pieces to every one after identifying the character of each one. Once the first batch of kids are gone Elli and Dan officially look happy. An hour later after all the candy is gone Elli and Dan decide to head back inside to rest for the rest of the night. Before they can even reach the door they hear police sirens. 

They turn around to see two police officers coming their way. The bowl falls out of Elli’s stand, her legs tremble and she falls to the ground.

10 years ago.

Two police officers walk up to Elli's and Dan’s house. The neighbours and the rest of the kids from all over town surround the front of their home. Everyone dressed in a costume celebrating Halloween.

“Did you find our daughter?” Elli’s eyes filled with tears, she holds a tissue in her hands. Dan holds her by her arms and keeps her steady. 

“We should talk inside,” one of the officers spoke. He gestured to them to move inside.

“Did you find my daughter?” Elli demands with whatever might she is left with, “My daughter has been missing for hours, god knows where she is and even if she is safe. You have one job to find my daughter, where is she?” 

“Ma’am calm down. We haven’t located her yet but we are working on it” he spoke again.

“Working on it, she is 9. 9. She is a child, a child without her mother” Elli yells at them. Dan pulls Elli into a hug as she sobs into his jacket.

“Elli, Elli. Honey are you ok” Dan sprays water on Elli’s face gently. Elli slowly opens her eyes and finds herself inside on her couch.

“What happened?” As Dan comes into focus, Elli checks herself for bruises or cuts. She then turns her attention to the two men behind Dan. “What do they want?” Elli blurts out, poison in every  word pointed towards the two men.

“Ma’am we are really sorry but…”

“But what? Huh. I don't want to hear another word. Get out of my house.”

Elli heads to the door when the officer speaks again, “We found your daughter.” 

Elli stops in her tracks, she turns around. The second police officer heads out and then brings a girl inside. He places the girl in front of Elli and Dan. Elli’s eyes widen when she looks at the girls, emerald green eyes like hers and long brown hair like Dan’s. Elli brings her hand closer to the girl, almost close enough to touch her face. 

“Mom!!” the girl says just one word before Elli breaks down in tears and pulls the young girl into her arms. Dan follows suit and hugs then both. 

“Where have you been all these years. Are you ok. Did you not miss us?”

“I missed you more than you know mom. Someone took me and kept me in the dark for so long. I missed you” 

Elli took the girl inside to a room, gave her spare jeans and t-shirt and came back out. 

“We checked her DNA with the one we had from 10 years ago and your DNA and it was a match. We wouldn’t have brought her here otherwise.”

“Thank you so much. And I’m...I’m sorry about earlier”

“It's ok Ma’am we understand. Have a good day”

Elli and Dan escort the police officer out. The girl returns after changing into her new clothes. 

“Mom, dad.” The girl starts but Elli cuts her off.

“Relax here I’m going to get something for you to eat ok. I’ll make it your favorite. Prawn and vegetable rice.”

“Mom, I’m allergic to prawn, don’t you remember. We tried seafood when I was 8 and I ended up in the hospital.” the girl looks at her mom disappointedly. 

“Alex, I'm so sorry. It's just I don’t know what to do. It's like I’m seeing your ghost. We,” Elli takes Dan’s hand “Haven’t seen you in 10 years and they told us there was no hope to find you alive. Please forgive me, I gave up hope.”

“Mom, it's ok. The police officers told me we might need therapy, I don't know what that is but I think that could help. We can just buy it and everything would be normal again. right? “

“Yes, that would work only if you were my real daughter.” Elli blurted out, tears no longer in her eyes. She looked at the girl, a slight grim form on her face, she wiped away the fake tears. She leaves Dan’s hand walks into the kitsch and brings out a knife.   

“Mom, it's me Alex. You Alex. Mom please put that knife down. Dad, stop mom please, I want my beary.” 

The girl looks over to Dan, Dan removes his wig, takes off his coat and brings out gloves from his pocket. Dan moves and stands behind the girl while Elli moves in from the front. Dan grabs her arms and Elli tries to gag the girl’s mouth. Dan lifts the girl up, Elli grabs her feet and they together take her down to the basement. Dan throws her down to the floor, Elli grabs a chair and places it in the center. 

“Sit!!” Dan commands. The girl’s eyes are in tears, she shakes her head and says no. “Sit” Dan commands again. 

“Daddy, please it's me” she tries to plead with Dan but he walks over to her grabs her by her hair and drags her into the chair. She kicks the entire way to the chair but Dan doesn’t let her go.

“Who are you?” Elli asks, creasing the girl’s shoulder.

“Alex, no uhh… Alexandra Eleanor Crawford. I’m your daughter.” she says shuttering at each and every word.

“You are not our daughter.”

“Mommy please don’t say that” 

Elli takes a deep sniff of the girl's hair and then pulls back, “My daughter is dead, Alex is dead. We killed her with our own hands so how can you be her?” Ellis pulls out the knife she hid in her dress before and plays with its tip. 

“You want to know how we killed her and now how you will die, we brought her here on halloween 10 years ago” Dan gestures at the empty basement with just a furnace, one table and two chairs “she was so innocent, she had one job to bring us one child every halloween. And then she was safe for the whole year. That year she didn’t do her job right and we didn’t have a kid. So we brought her down here, placed her on that tabletop.” Ellis moved the knife from the girl’s hand to her arm then her shoulder and finally her neck.

“And then, I lifted up her shirt, took my favourite meat knife and made a cut right in the center of her stomach.”

“I held her hand down and gagged her just like I gaged you” Elli chimed in.

“I gutted her skin from her stomach, then her thighs and then her arms. Once she lost consciousness we took our sweet time eating through her. And do you know what the best part was when Elli ripped out her heart and divided it between us. She loves me so much she gave me half of her heart, literally. And after, we burned her bones in that furnace.”

“Ohhh, she had the most tender meat, so bloody and chewy. But I've never had an adult. What do you think she’d taste like?” Ellis asks, touching the girl’s thighs.

“Let’s find out,” Dan says, taking the knife from his wife’s hand and bringing it near the girl’s face.

Gun shot, and the knife falls from Dan’s hand. Police officers strom into the basement, one of them hands the girl a blanket and the rest handcuff Dan and Elli. 

“You are under arrest for the murder of Alexandrea Eleanora Crawford” police officer says out loud and read them their rights. But before they can leave the basement the girls stop them.

“Aren’t you going to ask me again who I am” the girl looks at Dan and then Elli “I am Elizabeth Williams, your daughter, confused? You have the right to be. You didn’t know I existed because there was a mix up at the hospital and they only sent one of us with you. I found Alex 10 years ago when I moved here with my adopted parents and I was the girl she was going to bring you that year but when she realized we were sisters she sacrificed herself for me. I saw you eat her alive but who would believe a 9 year old so I waited and waited to find out everything and now you will go to jail for all your crimes.”

Elli tries to speak but Elizabeth holds up her hand to stop her. Police officers take them out in cuffs as the whole neighbourhood watches them. The next day an hour exposé showcases the events of last night and the number of children that had been kidnapped by Dan and Elli and they were sentenced to life in prison by a court. Elizabeth watches as her biological parents get what they deserve and her revenge for her twin sister is fulfilled.