The Tailor and His Halloween Teddy

On Halloween Eve, the veil between the living and the dead thins. Spirits roam freely, leaving trails that, if followed, could lead to either salvation or destruction.

***

"Trick or treat!" a young boy in a cowboy costume shouted, his voice barely audible over the wind.

Edwin, an elderly man with a weathered face, opened his door and grunted in response. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, adjusted his checkered suit, and stroked his bushy mustache. With a weary sigh, he dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand.

As Edwin continued his solitary walk through the bustling Halloween crowd, the carved pumpkins seemed to watch him with glowing eyes, their eerie faces illuminated by flickering candles.

His glasses fogged up with his breath, and he wiped them hastily with a handkerchief. As he peered through the mist, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, not just by the living, but by something far more sinister.

Edwin Parsons was once a celebrated fashion designer, renowned throughout the city. However, in recent years, he had retreated from the limelight, turning down lucrative offers from his loyal clientele. The catalyst for his withdrawal was a tragic incident involving one of his most prized tools—a pair of scissors. This seemingly innocuous object had led to the loss of everything he held dear, shattering his world.

He recalled the night vividly: Rain lashed against the windows as he hurried home, shaking his umbrella. He kicked off his soaked boots and hung up his coat, unaware of the horror that awaited him. In the living room, a gruesome scene unfolded: his daughter, Gwen, lay lifeless on the floor, her blood staining the carpet. She had used one of his scissors to sever her veins, succumbing to her wounds before paramedics could arrive.

Overwhelmed by grief and guilt, Edwin retreated from the world, confining himself to his home. He rarely ventured outside, except under the cover of darkness and when necessary. Tonight was one such occasion.

A little later, he was returning home, a bag with three packages swinging in his hand. A gentle autumn breeze stirred the leaves, sending a shower of dead yellow ones fluttering down around him. Annoyed, he brushed them off his coat. Just as he was about to continue, his attention was drawn to a hollowed-out tree trunk. A small mound of fallen leaves had collected inside. Curious, he peered closer, parting the leaves with his hand. Two shiny black eyes blinked up at him, followed by the fluffy muzzle of a brown teddy bear. He set his bag down, leaned his cane against the tree, and reached into the pile, retrieving the bear. It was wearing a red scarf and a blue dress. For a moment, he hesitated, but then changed his mind. He tucked the bear into his bag and continued on his way.

As he did so, a little girl emerged from the shadows, her eyes fixed on him.

As he unlocked his door, a chorus of impatient meows greeted him. A fluffy black cat burst through the doorway, rubbing against his legs and nearly knocking him off balance. He steadied himself with his cane.

“Easy, Fluff,” he soothed, reaching into his bag and pulling out a can of food. The cat leaped up, trying to snatch the can with its paw. Edwin pushed it aside with a gentle shove, opened the can, and set it down on the floor. He then shuffled into the living room, dropped his bag onto an armchair, and settled into a rocking chair by the window. The warm glow from the lanterns cast dancing shadows on the walls, creating a cozy atmosphere. His eyelids, heavy with the weight of the day, soon began to droop, and he drifted off into a deep sleep.

He jolted awake, his heart pounding. A low growl snapped him out of his stupor. The cat had knocked the bag to the floor and was staring menacingly inside.

“Fluff!” he shouted, but the cat ignored him. “Fluff!” he repeated, taking a step closer.

The cat let out a mournful meow and retreated. Edwin shook his head. He leaned on the armchair and pulled the bag towards him. The teddy bear's muzzle peeked out. He retrieved it, examining the tattered scarf, the ripped dress, and the worn fabric that was unraveling at the seams. As he held it up, the cat rubbed against his legs, begging for food. He offered the toy.

“Do you like it, Fluff?” The cat's fur bristled, and it let out another growl, darting away. Edwin frowned, turned off the light, and headed to his room. He placed the teddy bear on an armchair, tried to stretch, but his joints protested with a painful creak. With a sigh, he lay down.

A little later, the garden gate creaked open, and a shadowy figure slipped unseen into the house. The cat, sensing the intruder, darted under the sofa. The old man was startled awake by a noise. He switched on the light, but the room was empty.

“Fluff!” he called, his voice filled with irritation.

 Silence. His mustache twitched, and he pursed his lips. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, he noticed something on the floor. He put on his glasses and saw it was the teddy bear. He picked it up, examining the torn fabric.

“Do you want me to fix you, little one?” he mused. “I swore I wouldn't touch my tools again... But...” He sighed.

He fetched a needle and thread, sat down in his armchair, and began to carefully mend the scarf, the dress, and the worn leg.

The darkness was still thick when he finished mending the teddy bear. He looked at it with a satisfied smile, set it down, and turned off the lights. As he drifted off to sleep, a shadowy figure moved swiftly towards the armchair. A soft rustle filled the room, and the chair was empty.

The following day, Edwin didn't wake up at six a.m. as he used to, to feed Fluff. The cat scratched frantically at his door, but there was no answer. The shadowy figure appeared again, but this time, Fluff wasn't afraid. It looked at the figure and meowed plaintively.

Suddenly, deafening music erupted from the house, echoing through the neighborhood.

***

Two days later, Edwin was still recovering in the hospital, listening to the doctor's instructions for his post-resuscitation care.

"You're incredibly lucky to be alive," the doctor said. "If they hadn't found you when they did, you might not have made it."

"I still don't understand how they found me."

"Apparently, they were alerted by the loud music coming from your house. They forced their way inside to ask you to turn it down, and your cat led them to your room."

"Music?" Edwin was confused. "But..."

"I have to go now," the doctor interrupted. "Follow the treatment plan carefully and come back to see me in a week."

When Edwin finally returned home, he found the red scarf from the teddy bear lying next to the stereo. He went back to the tree where he'd found the bear and discovered a photograph hidden among the leaves. It showed a little girl holding the toy. The name Lavinia Bellman was written on the back.

After some research, Edwin learned that Lavinia had been buried twenty years ago in the local cemetery. She was buried with her teddy bear, and her grave was right next to his daughter's. He realized that his daughter, the only person who knew him well enough to be sure he would fix the teddy bear, had orchestrated everything to save his life.