S-T-I-C-K

Look, I really didn’t really want to be a walking stick, but it wasn’t much of my choice. It all happened so quickly, before I could even say STICK.

 My first mistake after shifting here was going trick or treat out on Halloween for the very first and last time. We had shifted to Cane village near fall. No idea why, we were happy in our previous town, more like I was. I was very different from other kids, or the other kids were very weird, kind of spooky.

My first Halloween had been awkward…. there were just a few kids roaming on the streets (including me), and a group of the spooky kids. They were all dressed as witches, which made them extra spooky. A lot of people didn’t even open their doors, and somehow the strange kids knew where to go or where not. Mostly it were the old men who opened up, and they were the only one who acted nice to me since I came here.

 This town was weird, nearly all the women carried canes, I didn’t see much men. Even my father stayed at home most of the time. He always seemed in a kind of trance. My parents and I weren’t really close, in fact they acted like they hate me, like I wasn’t supposed to happen, it was obviously not good but I eventually got used to it. Maybe it will make me strong, if I last long.

 Anyways, the last Halloween mum had not stayed at home, she told me she gets pretty annoyed with the constant doorbells. Though, when I had come home later that night, she was cooing over the group of the spooky kids. It made me really frustrated. The kids had gone away when they saw me, giving me disgusted looks (I am not that ugly), and my mother just glanced at me.

 She told me just a few days back, she wasn’t going to spend the Halloween night home, so I can stay home. Yeah, she doesn’t like to see me much. She said, to escape Halloween she was going to take a walk in the woods. And my father slept early, so I would have to stay (not that I planned to go). Turns out, I will be home with my father’s horrifying snoring (so much for Halloween).

Walking to school that day, I noticed that the air felt crisper and dry. Great! Fall’s here. I wasn’t too excited at school that day, not even noticing the weird glances from the strange kids. Lost in thoughts I returned home, mom wasn’t in her study, not a surprise, my parents always slept for hours in the day, wonder what they are up to at night.

The days passed by, I noticed mum acting strange. Sometimes just staring at me during dinner, like she was measuring me, up and down. That wasn’t all, she even had taken some type of robe out, and her hat. I asked mum; she didn’t like Halloween, plus, she was only going to take a walk, why dress up. She glared at me, and I was silenced. That’s my mum. That's the aura she radiates.

She’s a witch, like she’s so horrible to me.

Well, Halloween came…. I was awake all night, reading a novel. I was sleepy, but that novel hooked me up. Plus, I had decided I would sleep in the day like my parents, see what’s more peaceful in that. My mother slept in the night, which is very RARE.

I went into a deep slumber when the morning drew, still emotional from the ending of the book. I had barely slept, when my witch mother came banging on my door. Turns out she was too busy in work, so I had to do the house chores. I heard her muttering about me doing some chores (as if I didn’t) and that it will make a good, fit structure. IT. She was in her room all day. I worked slowly, eventually falling asleep on the counter or table tops.

The night came, dry and a bit cold. I was ready to sleep for the night, tired of the work. While I was washing the dishes, water all over me, I noticed a few kids dressed up and roaming around. My mother passed by me and I shivered, she felt cold, or maybe I was just cold because I was all wet. I heard my mother muttering about my last day and all. It made no sense. She was acting odd today, icy but not really poking me with her disgusting comments all the times. Acting like she could bear with me today after all, fine.

I ate a quick dinner of soup (which I had made) because it was a rough, chilly weather. My mother didn’t eat it, maybe because I had added my dumbness in it. She said she will eat something outside, not though I asked. I wondered if any of the shops would be open because of Halloween, but I knew better than to ask my mum.

Near eight or something, she decided to head out as the kids had started swarming over. She put on her cloak and pointy hat, which I noticed were like the one the weird kids wore, only the adult version, and headed out. As soon as she closed the door I escaped a deep breath which I had no idea I was holding. My father seemed relaxed too. Burping, he got up and went to sleep. He had slept through yesterday night, how was he even sleepy?

 I tried to sleep, but the work had tired me out so much, that my back cracked and I couldn’t close my eyes. I got up again and went downstairs. Ignoring the bells, I slipped out of the back door. The cold hit me like ice. Regretting I didn’t bring my hoodie, I started walking to the other side of the woods, the opposite route my mother took. I wasn’t in a mood of walking into her.

I almost wished I had something hot to drink, when I felt warmness radiating from one side of the woods and I walked towards it, almost in a trance.

And this is where everything happened quickly.

All I remembered was this scene: ‘Me driven mad from sleep, walking towards the warmness, stepping on a twig, seeing my neighborhood women, including my mum, sitting around a table, and looking towards me as if waiting for me and a swish of my mum’s wand (wand?) and my structure changing into a fit walking stick.’

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Me being a fit and a good structured cane; later I learned from my fellow canes that they were all non-witches like me, more like the kids of witches and they were turned into canes by their moms, every second Halloween after shifting to Cane village. A way of being with them and helping them for all of our lives. We were unbreakable, and unwanted. But the bond was created and we had to stay. And I was another stupid one of them who had walked right into their trap. Our mothers were our mistress, and we die with them. I hope I don’t have a long life.

So that’s my story, the best I could tell from the point of view of a cane. Beware of your mothers. They might be up-to-something. (;