Heart Never Lies

Halloween taunts her. Every decorated house, every person walking down the streets in costumes, every kid out for treats or trick, and even Halloween editions in shops were a reminder of what Grace could never have. 

Grace pulled the scarf around her neck tighter as she walked past the house decorated with fake skeletons, at least she hoped they were fake. People believe that Halloween is one day when all the witches and fairies in the town roam freely without the fear of being caught. It was the day their powers were at peak.

It was a ridiculous story one would say to a child to prevent them from wandering too far away. She wondered if people actually believed in such tales now.

As she walked further, the decorations appeared more and more ominous. Spider webs, severed statue heads, and what looked like a…..brain, only it did not seem fake. Probably an animal’s. Grace picked up her pace, eager to get away from that block. If a stranger was to visit their town today, they would think they walked into satan's lair or a serial killer's den.

Mrs.Hendrick had not gone out of her way to turn the place into a horror house. There were just a few carved pumpkins near the entrance. An old woman living alone was enough for the creepy aesthetic and the woman knew it. 

“Oh child, you are here. Come on in, come on in,” Mrs. Hendrick welcomed her inside the house.

Despite her old age, she maintained her appearance well. Her gray hair tied up in a neat knot and glasses resting on her sharp nose.

That is how she always welcomed Grace like she came bearing good news of her long-lost child, even if all she was bearing was the cupcakes Mrs. Hendrick had ordered. 

Grace entered the house. There was no point arguing with Mrs.Hendrick, no child ever stepped at her doorstep and left without a mouthful of chocolate or in Grace’s case anything that was not chocolate. Didn’t matter if the child was seven or seventeen. Everything looked the same as it had been for years. The same yellow curtains, the same wooden furniture. 

“Beautiful. Pure talent. You have a gifted hand young lady,” Mrs. Hendrick looked at the cupcakes. 

“Thank you very much but really it is just years of practicing and failing until I started getting it right. No gift or talent there.”

“Humility. Very rare these days. Take a seat and I will be back in a minute.” She disappeared into the kitchen. 

Mrs. Hendrick had lived alone for as long as Grace could remember. No one came to visit her during vacations or holidays. She seemed to have no family. Or maybe she was just an immortal faerie, which would explain her always flourishing garden. Grace was probably being stereotypical but she hasn’t met any fairy or Witch and prays she never does. 

A few moments later Mrs. Hendrick appeared holding a tray with two cups and a plate of biscuits. 

“Mrs. Hendrick, that is very sweet but you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. Come sit,” she pointed to the floral sofa, “Now tell me, how are your mother and your sister?”

“My mother was fine when I left the home but by now my sister might have already driven her mad with her costume.”

“God bless the child, Halloween makes them very jumpy and excited.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Grace muttered to herself sipping her tea. 

“Don’t dishearten yourself. Your mother has a reason. You know she loves you.”

This woman had a great hearing for her age. 

“I know. She is just protecting me. From chocolates.”

It was embarrassing to even say it out loud. 

Usually, when a person’s fate is foreseen, it goes like beware of the woman with purple eyes or the man with a weird birthmark on his right hand will turn your life upside down or even “you will die fighting the silver tiger” but for Grace, it was “Chocolate will be your end”. And that is all it took her mother to forbid her from eating chocolate. She even managed to get a doctor’s certificate declaring that she was deadly allergic to chocolates so she didn't end up eating chocolates in schools. She wished she could kill that fraud fortune teller for making her a laughing stock. 

This was one topic she did not like discussing. People either made fun of her or pitied her. She hated both. 

“I see you still sell knitted sweaters,” Grace asked, eager to change the subject. 

“Ah, I do.” She replied by running her hand on the neatly folded pile of sweaters. 

“Why? You have enough money to last until-” until you die. Grace wanted to punch herself on the face. You don’t say someone they were going to die soon even if it was the truth. 

“I don’t understand why people are so afraid to say the word. That is the only truth of life. Death is anything but a reunion.”

“I am sorry I--” 

“It’s not a means to an end. It is end in itself. Knitting is not a means of making money, knitting is enough even if I receive nothing for it.” She continued ignoring Grace. 

Grace was not so much for philosophy but she did believe that nothing was an end in itself. Everything was a means to something. A method to achieve what we desire. A weapon to complete the task. 

“It is a means to make yourself feel satisfied. Knitting makes you happy so it is a means to make you happy. Nothing is an end in itself, it always leads to something.”

“You know Grace, out of all the people I have met of your age, you are the most interesting one.” 

The girl going to be doomed by a chocolate. Surely interesting.

“That’s kind of you to think so. There are plenty out there who can make you forget I ever existed,” she shrugged.

 “I have lived a long life. I was not always so lonely. I had people I loved and cared about and they loved me too. You know I came to this town just for a few days. To escape the memories. The day I was planning to leave, I met your mother in the park. You were just a few months old, looking at me with those big beautiful eyes and a smile that could melt even the stone cold heart. You reminded me of someone. And I stayed.” 

In all these years she never mentioned her family. There were no pictures of them either. No sign of a family. Maybe it was still a painful reminder for her. Grace was curious to know what happened to her family. When Grace was a kid she always ended up at Mrs.Hendrick’s doorstep with some excuse. She would tell Grace stories, make her hair and tell her about a girl with the same brown shiny hair like hers. Other kids were jealous of Mrs.Hendrick favoring Grace over them, which made her come here more often to piss them off. The visits became less frequent as she grew up. But she still adored the old woman and would definitely miss her when she leaves for the college in a few months.

“Why haven’t you?”

“What?”

“Why haven’t you eaten chocolate. I am sure there were plenty of times you could have tried to eat chocolate. In all these years there were many chances for you to steal chocolates from my table and yet you never touched it. Why?”

“I-,” She didn’t know.

Maybe deep down she was afraid because she believed it. Maybe blaming her mother was easier than accepting that she was just as afraid. All the times she could have tried it, she didn’t. The time when Alyson offered her one and promised not to tell her mother or when her sister came back after every Halloween with a bag full, she could have easily sneaked some. God knows she was tempted to yet she did not. Why?

“I have to go, it's getting late. Thank you for the tea.” Grace headed for the door. 

“Grace,” she called after her. “One’s heart never lies. Be bold enough to follow it even if it's frightening. And also stay away from Mr.Lang’s block. I have heard he is a witch.” She whispered the last line and smiled. 

Grace smiled back. 

Grace avoided Mr.Lang's block. Witch or no witch, she did not want to walk through that ominous place alone at night. She stayed on the busy streets surrounded by people. Less likely to be killed by a witch in a crowded place, provided they were not as slick as a vampire.  

“Really, Grace? Now is not the time to think about vampires,” she whispered to herself. A kid passed by in a vampire costume. 

“Does it work if I think about a million dollars?” Grace said looking at the sky. “I guessed so.” she shook her head and continued walking. 

Two kids'- a girl dressed as batman and a boy dressed as a clown were standing at the footpath counting their treats. 

“I got the red one!” the girls rejoiced.

A few kids gathered around her amused to get a look at what she was showing. Grace was surprised by the want to get a look at it but it was dark from where she was standing. 

A vehicle moved, allowing the light from the grocery store across the street to reflect. She saw then. A bar of chocolate in a red shiny wrapper. It seemed special by the way they were reacting to it. Her attention went to the grocery stop window, “Halloween edition chocolates available”. The words echoed in her head “be bold enough to follow it even if it's frightening”. 

Grace stopped in front of the grocery store. She didn’t know if it was the temptation or frustration that brought her here. Either way, she was not going to leave. Her mother would kill her if she knew what Grace was about to do. Quite ironic. Or they will just accept that the woman who read her fate was just a con. 

“Follow it even if it's frightening” she repeated the words to drive some strength from it. 

The huge variety of chocolate was overwhelming. Chocolates of various shapes and sizes, wrapped in colorful wrappers decorated the shelf. Some looked like an egg while some were shaped like a pumpkin. 

“The red one.” Grace picked up a bar of chocolate she had seen the kids getting excited for. 

She settled on a wooden bench at the roadside where the kids were earlier. As she unwrapped the chocolate, a sudden rush of excitement and anxiety ran through her. She took a deep breath and continued. 

She didn’t realize she was grinning until a passerby looked at her weirdly. What would people think when they see a grown-up girl looking at chocolate grinning like she just found a treasure? Let them think what they want. If they could remember the moment they had their first sip of coffee or when they had their first bite of pizza, she was sure this is how they would be grinning too. 

The chocolate was soft like silk between her lips. If happiness had a taste, this is what it would taste like. Anger roused through her. How many chocolates she could have had all these years. All these years that she will never get back. She was going to make up for it even if that meant a welcome cavity and diabetes. In no time she devoured the whole thing. 

“Huh, still alive,” she said after a while and put the wrapper in her pocket. A souvenir. 

Surely, others had enjoyed this pleasure for a long time but she is probably the only lucky one to remember her first time. 

She licked off the chocolate from her fingers and burst into giggles.

“Tomorrow I am going to buy a whole box of these and no one can stop me”.

She felt a sort of confidence she didn’t know she was capable of feeling. She felt free like she could fly at this very moment. 

She heard a cry from across the road. The girl dressed in a batman outfit by a few kids. 

“Here, take mine,” one of them said. 

“No, I-, I want the *sniff* I want the red *sniff* red one” she replied.

She had lost the chocolate she was so proudly showing off. Some of them were searching the ground nearby. 

“I heard the red one does not taste good anyway,” the boy in the clown costume said. Lies. It tastes heavenly. 

The girl continued sobbing. Grace had felt bad for her but now it was getting annoying. As she got up to leave, something shiny on the road grabbed her attention. The red chocolate. 

She picked it up and waved in her direction. 

“Hey,” she yelled from the other side to the kids. “I found it. Your chocolate.”

Batman’s or batgirl’s sobs turned into a grin in a second. All the kids around her started cheering as well. 

Grace smiled back. She started towards them to return the chocolate but stopped as she saw a figure behind them that was not there a few seconds ago. 

“Mrs.Hendricks,” Grace said. There was something off with her. The usual friendly demeanor was gone, replaced by something grace could not understand. Mrs.Hendrik stood there, her eyes fixed on her unwavering and lips moving in silent whispers. Grace could not make out the words.

The woman tilted her head then looked at something in the distance. Grace followed her gaze. something moved towards her with speed. Before she could react to what was happening she was blinded by light and then…….darkness.