Celestial Reflections

The sun rose slowly over the green country as two people watched, one leaning on the other. The Halloween party, which ended a few hours ago, had been a huge success despite the resident ghost paying a visit. The pair were exhausted but found they couldn’t sleep yet and decided to watch the sun come up. They could sleep on the way home after everything was cleaned up.

“Did you ask Ryan to drive?” Terry asked, shielding her eyes as the yellow ball rose higher.

“I did. He said he’d have no problem doing so. Just let him sleep until it’s time to leave.” Roger kissed his girlfriend’s forehead. “Great party though, wasn’t it?”

“Couldn’t have asked for a better one, but looks like we’ll have to top it next year for our new friend.” She looked at the pumpkin in her hands. “Best party ever. At least the Headless Horseman has a sense of humor.”

“I think the caretakers will be astonished to see no pumpkins on the front grass this year. Let’s head back in and start to tidy up.” They glanced at the rising sun one more time then headed back into the manor to see the night’s effects. Most of the party-goers had left when the festivities ended but some were passed out in the sitting room. Roger counted six to eight people then went to the kitchen to start a large pot of coffee.

Terry sighed, rolled up her dress sleeves, and went about the task of waking everyone up. “Come on, Tiffany. Rise and shine.” She shook the petite blonde’s bare shoulder and Tiffany groaned.

“Terry? What time is it?”

“Just past sunrise. Time to get up.”

“Just past sunrise? What the bloody hell? Why you getting me up so early?”

“Because we have to clear out of here by two and there’s a lot of tidying to do before that, otherwise, we won’t get our deposit returned and won’t be allowed back. We’re already coming up with ideas for next Halloween, now hop to it! And start waking the others.” With another groan, Tiffany stood, straightened her rumpled costume then proceeded to wake Nathan first.

He yawned and rolled over. “Morning, Tiff. You have fun last night?”

“You mean aside from the Headless Horseman crashing the party? Yeah, I did.” More yawns and grunts of discomfort could be heard as Terry kept waking everyone else in the room. “Come on, Nate. According to our hostess, it’s time for housekeeping.”

“Aye, suppose so. Help me up, will ya?” She hoisted her boyfriend to his feet, which made him lightheaded. “Whoa there.” He steadied himself. “Need me some coffee.”

“Already done, mate.” Roger came into the sitting room with a tray full of steaming mugs.

“You’re a life saver, my friend.” Nathan sipped on the hot liquid. “So,” he looked around at the bodies coming to life, “where do we start?”

Over the course of several hours and cups of coffee plus breakfast that Becky, Angelina, and Lara made up, the old manor house was scrubbed clean to the extreme satisfaction of the Blackthorns. They had arrived three hours after sunrise and the first question Mr. Blackthorn asked was, “Did you kids move the pumpkins from the front grass?”

Roger and Terry looked at each other then Terry presented the ghost’s jack o’ lantern.

“Happy Halloween. Best bash ever! Come back next year?” The older man and his wife looked like they’d pass out. “I never would’ve thought…”

“I guess he liked our party.” Roger joked. “Maybe that’s what he was wanting all along.”

“It would seem you’re right.” Mrs. Blackthorn said. “No wonder there were no jack o’ lanterns outside this year. We may have to host an All Hollow’s bash every year.”

Her husband sighed but smiled and handed the pumpkin back to Terry. “I suppose we will. This’ll give the girls relief. They’ve been scared ever since their first encounter.”

“Great to hear. Is Anna doing okay?” Terry asked.

“She’s fine but she’ll be even better when she hears your story. In the meanwhile, what else needs to be cleaned around here?”

Around one in the afternoon, the four couples who’d come a week ago were packing up their rented van and double-checking their belongings. Murphy claimed he’d misplaced his Charlie Chaplin hat and didn’t want to leave without it. Angelina told him he could always get another one but he refused to go anywhere until it was found. The women relented and went back into the manor to search for it.

“Your boyfriend sure acts like a baby sometimes, Ange.” Trixie said as they combed the house.

“You’re preaching to the choir, sister.” Ange replied, looking under and behind furniture. “His twin’s not much better at times.”

“Don’t know how Jewel puts up with it.”

“Think Connor channels most of his frustration into his writing. Murphy, on the other hand, doesn’t have a creative outlet. Think he just likes to bug me about it.” She reached under a bed in one of the lower level rooms. “Gotcha!” She pulled out the bowler and dusted it off. “How’d it end up here? Murphy was nowhere near these rooms.”

“The ghost?”

Ange shrugged. “Possible, or a prank from one of the guests.”

“Let’s get outta here. Ryan said he’d drive back so Roger could sleep, and I know he doesn’t want to get tangled in after-work traffic.” They went to the foyer and called up the stairs to Terry and Julia they’d found the missing hat.

“Glad you found it.” Julia said. “Was about to give up and tell Murphy he’d have to settle for a new one.”

“Where’d you find it?” Terry asked.

“One of the bedrooms down that way.” Trixie pointed to their right. “Don’t know how it got there but it’s found, so let’s get going.” They walked outside to the van but before they climbed in, Julia turned around suddenly, as if something caught her attention.

“Jewel?” Connor asked.

She held up a hand. “I thought I saw something.”

“Inside?” Ryan asked.

“No. Over there.” She pointed at the corner of the manor, and saw a shadow flicker around the structure. “What the bloody hell?”

“Come on, Jewel. We’ve gotta go.” Ange huffed.

“Hang on a moment. I wanna see what it is.” Without waiting for a reply, Julia headed after whatever made the shadow, disappearing around the side of the house.

“Damnit.” Connor immediately went after her, followed by the rest of the group.

“That girl never knows when to ignore her curiosity.” Terry said.

“I heard that, and it’s a damn good thing I didn’t this time.” When the rest of them rounded the corner, they saw something no one noticed during their week-long stay. “Maybe we should ask the Blackthorns about this.” Julia stood a few feet away from what looked to be a pile of old clothes but upon closer inspection, she noticed something familiar.

“What the bloody hell?” Roger stepped closer. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Is that our ghost?” Trixie asked.

“That would make the most sense, given how much they knew about it.” Julia knelt in the grass to get a closer look. “These have been here a while, maybe a decade or more.” She grabbed a sleeve and shook dirt from it. “However, it looks like it hasn’t been moved in about five years.”

“How can you tell?” Ryan asked, checking his watch.”

“The buildup of dirt, not to mention the smell of mildew.”

“Hey! Are you kids alright? Nothing’s wrong with your auto… is there?” Mr. Blackthorn came around the side of the house to see his eight guests giving him a hard eye. “Oh my.”

“More elegant than I would’ve put it.” Connor crossed his arms.

“Care to give us an explanation, sir?” The older man scratched his head. “Maybe I should send you a bill for me and me brother’s possible concussions from last night.”

“No! I can barely afford to keep this place up to code, let alone pay for that. I’ll tell you what those are for and even give you an extra night here, free of cost, so you don’t have to contend with after-work traffic.”

“Better be worth it.” Murphy said. “My head still hurts.”

“It may not be to your complete satisfaction but it will be the truth. I wasn’t the first in the family to do this. It started, I think, three generations before mine. The Blackthorns have been caretakers of this house for long before that and it’s always been a money pit. It was in the 1970s something was done to change that.” He pointed at the long unused costume. “Every year, around All Hollow’s, someone in the family would wear the costume, and terrorize not only the manor grounds but also the nearby village. The Headless Horseman legend was already embedded into the minds of the townsfolk. We just made it more real.” He paused to study the faces of those listening. Their expressions ranged from curious to upset but no one interrupted to ask questions.

“The manor had already been a place to stay because of its history but once word got ‘round of a possible ghost sighting, well, you can guess the rest. Bookings went through the roof, and by the mid-80s, my grandfather had to turn folks away because the bookings were piling up. It got to the point where you had to call a year in advance; three for All Hollow’s.”

“Money. Hardly the most noble of motives.” Roger scoffed.

Mr. Blackthorn gave him a hard look. “I’m not proud of what my family did but do you have any inkling as to how much it costs to keep a place like this from falling down? More than you can probably imagine, young man, and yes, we get some help from the local historical society but they aren’t exactly the Bank of England. More than once, they’ve tried to come in and bulldoze it, and the people have come to the rescue every time. It won’t last forever though, and we’re determined to keep it as long as we can.”

“So, the Headless Horseman party crasher. Who was that last night? I can tell these clothes haven’t been worn in at least five years.” Julia asked.

Mr. Blackthorn shrugged. “I can’t answer that.” The group went wide-eyed. “I really can’t because I have no clue. And you’re right. We stopped using the ghost angle about five years ago because the bookings were still stacking up, so we figured we didn’t need it anymore. Of course, we earned the attention of the real Headless Horseman that first All Hollow’s. I guess he was attracted to the commotion due to all the parties going on. A Halloween celebration during a full moon seems to be his favorite time to manifest.”

He looked at the old costume. “My wife did warn you though, and you paid it no heed. I told her when we were departing that I would’ve been surprised if you had left as no one does. However, the ghost seems to like having you around, given the message.”

Terry nodded. “And we wouldn’t want to disappoint.” Everyone else looked at her. “What? You guys wanna do this next year, don’t you? I’ve already got ideas brewing.”

“I can’t believe you’re serious.” Connor groaned.

“Come on, Connor. It’s win-win. The Blackthorns get to keep up the manor and we get to have the best Halloween bash in England! You should’ve seen my social media page light up this morning with people asking for invites to the next one. We have to do another one.”

“I’d say you’re bonkers but then I’d have to give myself the label too.” Angelina said. “What the hell? I’m game.” Everyone else slowly concurred and the matter was settled.

“Well, it’s too late to hit the motorway, so I believe we’ll take your offer to stay another night, Mr. Blackthorn.” Ryan said, grateful he didn’t have to drive now.

“Let’s get you settled in.”

After an explanation to his wife and daughters, the old man took his guests back to their previous rooms. The eight of them had an early dinner then retired, except for Roger and Terry. He usually ran on only a few hours of sleep, so he sat up reading and writing music, while she went outside for one last look at the grounds. The air was cold but not windy and the sky was clear with stars dotting the black canvas overhead. As she stood listening to the night’s sounds, she heard a horse’s whiny, followed by a cackle.

Smiling, she said, “We’ll be back next year.” Looking out one last time before heading in, she saw the full moon reflecting off the small lake further back on the property. In the water, Terry caught a glimpse of the ghost riding off into the night.