Halloween for Zen

Zen was so excited, Today was the day, It was finally here. He had waited forever { four whole years } to be able to Trick or Treat. We spent weeks looking for the perfect costume. A Pirate, An Astronaut, A little green Army man, or Maybe A Cowboy or An Indian. He wanted something Adventurous for his first time. Something that would be original not like a Prince or a Robot or a comic book character. He wanted something real and old fashioned, Something that screamed Zen.

We searched store after store, Looked at thousands of costumes available. But in the end, he wanted to be Zen. He wore his favorite pants, You know the bright colored ones with the patches on the knees and his favorite t-shirt with the T Rex on it. The bright colored hoodie his brother gave him, Yes it was a hand me down but he loves it. It is cool outside tonight, The weather and seasons are changing. We made sure he had his Trick or Treat bag for all his candy and goodies he would be getting. I was nervous and scared but he was so excited and ready to be there already.

We double-checked everything and We headed out the door to the car. We got him in his booster seat and I got behind the steering wheel and off We went for his Adventure. Pulling into the parking lot I was still nervous and afraid. But if he could do this so could I. We got out of the car, made sure Zen had everything and We headed for the huge structure in front of us. Zen was so excited he was pulling me to hurry me up.

Once at the building it was dark and there was spooky music playing over the speakers, there was a strobe light going so you could only see flashes every once in a while. We checked in at the desk and got our map and package of goodies and I let Zen lead the way. We walked down a really dark path with the strobe going and all you could hear was the spooky "wooooo Ahhhh " coming over the speakers. We found a door, it was old and weathered and it looked like it had not opened in years there was an odd glow coming from around it. It smelled like dirt and woods and I could swear I was walking in the woods, I could feel leaves and twigs under our feet and it sounded like we were walking in the woods. Slowly Zen creaked the door open and he went inside. Inside it smelled like an old root cellar and I could see a huge cauldron and a couple of Witches standing around it. We cautiously approached the Witches and Zen excitedly Screamed "Trick or Treat" His smile was huge, I feared he might be scared but he was loving this. One of the Witches smiled and reached inside the smoking Cauldron and pulled out a huge beautiful Carmel Apple and handed it to Zen. Zen looked at me for approval and upon getting it he took a huge bite of the Apple. We began to walk forward and came upon another Huge Cauldron Smoking and Bubbling with some kind of Brew. Around this cauldron was a group of Warlocks and they offered us a cup of Toadstool Brew and We gladly accepted. Zen handed one of the Warlocks his Apple core and took his Brew. It was Bubbling and smelled funny, Zen took a big sip of his and Smiled " That is sooo Good. You have to try it, mom." I sniffed it and then decided I would be brave and I tentatively took a sip and to my surprise it was good. We continued to walk and in the distance, you could hear an owl and insects and if I didn't know any better I would swear we were deep in the woods somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

It was very dark and if you looked up you could see the moon in the corner of the sky and the clouds were blocking the view and the light. Everything seemed so real. We followed the path to a Stream with a small wooden bridge over it. there was torches light on each end of the bridge, but they gave off little light. We stepped on the bridge and felt it sway a bit, there was quite a bit of wind now and you could hear the stream churning and flowing. We made haste and got across the bridge and a little down another path If you could call it a path, More like a trail between the trees. the branches were so close to us they were scraping our clothes and the earthy smell was so strong. We made out a small clearing ahead and walked to it in the center there was an old wooden crate like a really old treasure box. the sign beside it said Open if Ye dare, it was an old well faded sign painted in red maybe? it was very faded now. I asked Zen if he was doing okay or if he was scared and he assured me he was having a really good time. He slowly reached out and lifted the lid on the old crate, it creaked and groaned and slowly it lifted. You could barely see inside it was so dark. He reached his small hand in and gasped, He looked shocked and scared, But then a huge smile came across his face. He pulled out a little black drawn string bag and placed it in his trick or treat bag. the crate lid slowly closed on its own and we were on our way again. You could hear the woodland creatures scurrying around and smell old leaves and wood and the trees seemed to be even closer to us now than before. We came to an old tree that was hollowed out in the center and there was an old sign nailed to it that looked a hundred years old and it said reach in and pull out a secret. Zen reached in, I swear this kid has no fear, and his whole arm went into the blackness of the tree and I could see him feeling around for something and then he pulled back his arm and in his hand was another small drawstring bag, but it looked like it was full of candy and goodies. He placed it in his bag beside the other bag and he grabbed my hand and off we went into the darkness. We walked for a few minutes and came across another clearing. In this clearing, there were other kids dressed as Princesses and clowns and ghosts and Zombies. there were tables and tables laden with cookies and cupcakes, candy, and two tables holding various cups with different types of the punch being served out of Bubbling Cauldrons. There were carved jack-o-lanterns. One of the tables held what looked like bloodied fingers and what looked like eyeballs were in a huge glass bowl. on a huge silver, tray was what looked like tongues and another held huge tarantulas and some type of ants, beetles, and all sorts of bugs and worms. There were cups of dirt with bugs and worms in them. There was a huge Skeleton on a table and little bones all around it that were edible. They were playing Halloween songs and the kids all seemed to be having a blast. One Elsa walked up to Zen and asked him " What are you suppose to be?" I cringed " I am Zen" he replied and she asked if he wanted to go jump in the bouncy castle with her. Looking to me for permission I gave him a quick nod. Off the two went, You would have thought they had known each other for years. I found a spot and had a seat. Soon a Mummy brought me a cup of punch and sat beside me. " First time here ?" She asked me " Yes, I was nervous at first. I thought zen would be frightened." I took a sip of the punch and found it was fruit punch, not blood. " No they make it really kid-friendly, We came last year." I nodded " When the invitation arrived I thought it was a joke, Only a few kids get invited to come I guess." She smiled at me " Yes, only 25 or so I think." overhead they were playing Monster Mash " Everything looks so real." She smiled again " Yes, They work really hard on it." We turned to watch some kids dancing and laughing. I excused myself and walked over to the table to get a small plate and I picked out a cookie and a small piece of dirt cake to snack on. "Mom, can I fix a plate?" Zen was beside me with 4 other kids in tow. " Only a few sweets okay?" and I handed him a plate. I think he got one of everything to try and we walked over to grab him a cup of punch. His punch was green and was called Brain Slime and it looked gross, But he took a drink and smiled " It is sour Apple" He assured me. We partied all night and by the time it was over he had met every child there and they had all made friends and made plans to meet up again next year if they got invited again. By now his Trick or Treat bag was completely full of goodies. We grabbed a slice of pizza before leaving and ate it quickly to balance out all the sugar we had eaten. We said our goodbyes, I exchanged numbers with the Mummy, Turns out she was Elsa's mom and we walked out a huge double door to the familiar parking lot and got loaded back into our car. The Sun was just coming up over the ridge. Zen recounted his entire evening to me while I listened excitedly, he had made some friends and had enjoyed his visit here and We made plans to come again next year. By the time we got home, he was sleepy and I carried him in the house undressed him, and got him in bed, He fell asleep almost the minute his head hit the pillow. I carried in our stuff from the car and allowed myself a minute of peace and quiet. I had wanted to take pictures of our trip but cameras were not allowed in. and my cell phone had not worked at all while we were there. I grabbed a quick hot shower and dressed for bed and slept for a good six hours. Upon waking I woke Zen and prepared us a very late breakfast and we talked about the trip. Zen was happy, He is a shy four-year-old and with school starting soon for him I was so glad he had made friends and interacted with them. I don't know how we got on the list for the invitation but I Thank God we got it. I didn't want to go at first I was scared but when I asked him, He got really excited and could not wait to get a costume and go. In the end, he went as himself and had a blast, made friends, and ate a ton of candy and junk food. I can't wait till next year and I Pray we get another invite.