Costumes

His outfit was the best.

It was just a ghost costume, just like mine. No one wanted to really go out this year, but I had an idea about what I wanted to be and I could not shake it this time.

A ghost.

My mom did not mind at all. She said that I was getting too old for ‘tricks and treating yourself,’ but she’d let me go around with some friends. That was another lie that I had tell her just to get out of the house. All of my ‘friends’ were staying home, or they were going out to cause trouble by kicking in pumpkins or throwing eggs at whatever or whomever was on the street. When I called around, I found out that most of them were just going to watch movies, eat junk food (all that candy for themselves, I guess), and maybe have a costume on for the night. Just maybe. But it was all for them. No one wanted a party because of the rules about social distancing and quarantining, and most of my friends thought that I just give it up and stay in.

So, why did I go out?

It was Halloween.

I really did not care if there were rules about how close we could get to each other. The mayor said we could do it if we were out of the red zone – we were, for a little while – and if we did not stay out that late (the curfew was 9 pm for us). It was already dark and cold by five, so I said, I’m going. And mom did not really mind. She put away her nurse’s outfit and told me to be careful with my ‘hoodlum buds.’ I really did not want to lie to her, but I just said, ‘Thanks’ and headed out with two pillow cases and a small flashlight. I needed to see what was going on out there. And, like I said, I could not shake it off this year. I felt like I had to be out of the house.

Right, his costume. Well, he was a ghost, too, but man, his was so much more real. All I did was use a sheet my mom bought and never used, cut it to fit and then put in a pair of bad eye holes. It was cheap, but it worked (you could only see my feet and the flashing light under it when I tried to see what was around me). My plan was to cover at least four blocks – five if there was some success with the candy search – and then do a circuit back around them and then home by 8 pm. And then? Well, I would be stuck inside on a Saturday, so video games and maybe a movie. Just maybe…

It was just when I was about to cross the street to the townhouses that he stopped me. My flashlight started to flicker a bit, so I turned it off for a moment. And then, I got the shit scared out of me.

-Hello.

He was the only one to see me jump, so I wasn’t that embarrassed. Also, he was smaller than me and I quickly acted like I was in charge.

-Shit! You really scared me, kid!

-Many apologies…

He sounded like he was younger than me, and also older. Very strange. And I wondered why he was out there all alone.

-You on your own, kid? No one to go with?

-No, not on such a night. Things have changed.

-Tell me about it. I want to restart this whole year and see if I can get life back the way it was.

-I know. It is a more difficult road now.

He really did sound like that. Wasn’t even sure what he meant, but still…

-So, I guess we have to go around together.

He sounded very surprised. I saw him turn and look at me. Could not see his eyes in the holes of his sheet. Very impressive work.

-We have to do that?

-May as well. We are both ghosts and it makes sense to watch each other’s backs.

-Watch our backs…

-Yeah, look out for each other.

Like I said, I could not see his face, but he did look down for a moment, and was that a smile under that cloth? There was something going on under that sheet.

-You really want to do this with me?

-Yeah, sure. You don’t look like you have a plan. You don’t even have a bag or a light.

-No, not today. Not on this night.

-Well, how about this. I will divvy up whatever we get tonight with you. You get half of what I pull.

He was happy about that offer.

-Really?

-Yeah, why not? Just don’t tell too many people how nice I am. I got a rep.

-But, I mean… Sir, you do not even know my name or who I am.

Sir? Like I said, he really sounded old and young.

-Perfect for me. You won’t have to keep a secret and neither will I.

And then he actually laughed, all like a real little kid. Think I did too at the time. 

I looked at my watch.

-C’mon, let’s go find that candy.

*

It was exactly the way I thought it would be: houses were all in black, curtains closed; even the ones with decorations had their lights out or hidden. Some bowls were left out, but they had been emptied and sometimes broken and kicked around by the time we showed up. I barely had anything in my bag and I was glad that the kid didn’t have one of his own (not to be mean about it, but it would have really sucked to have gone through all of that on your first real Halloween with an empty pillow case).

Yup, he told me it was his first one. I didn’t really believe it at first, but he really did not understand what I was doing. That’s why I think he stayed with me, or why I stayed with him. And I know now that I should have asked for his name. I know that. But really, I just wanted to go out and go home. And he was having a good time.

-Perfect.

-What’s perfect? No candy and cheap neighbours? This sucks!

-No, I just…I did not think that we would get anything from anyone. I was told that sometimes you had to do tricks for these gifts.

That was when I noticed it. He was a kid. That was clear. But at that moment, he sounded older, like he was speaking to you from a distance but also very up close (hard to nail it down).

-Candy.

-Yes, candy. A gift. My parents told me that I would have to perform to get some.

-Perform?

-Oh, yes. Dance, sing, and the like…

-No one here is gonna make you do those things.

-I know that now. That is why I came here.

I did stop when he said that. We were only two blocks away from my place and I could see that many of the lights around us were now winking out except for the ones on the street and the cars I could see in the distance. 

And now I had a plan.

-You ran away?

-I had to. They would never let me out if I did not leave when I did. I knew that if I had a costume, I could enjoy the night. So, I stole this sheet, made it outside and ran. The difficulty was I got lost and now…

He started to cry. And I got angry. I could not see his eyes – that costume really was fantastic – but I heard it all and didn’t really know if my plan would work.

-You can stay with us. Just stay with us for a while and we will figure out what to do. No one should go through what you are going through.

He looked at me and stopped crying.

-Thank you.

-For what, kid? You need this.

-You allowed me to enjoy this night, even without much of these gifts…I mean, candy. I enjoyed that. Thanks you very much.

And then he ran.

I was surprised. Really surprised. He made it to the edge of the park before I even moved and fell over on my sheet, falling right onto the grass and leaves of Mr. Halloran’s lawn (he needed to get someone to clear that up). And then, I got back up, took the sheet off and ran. 

I ran all through that park. I still had the flashlight and it was not a big space, but I could not see the kid anywhere. I really wanted to yell his name, but again… So stupid not to get his name. 

And then, something strange happened.

I got back to my sheet and pillow case. I forgot that the kid still had the other one, but I really did not care about that. And there was something strange about the pile of sheets on the sidewalk.

The case was full of candy.

Now, I do not believe in miracles and I know that people pull pranks on each other, but this made no sense. It was all tied up in a knot and I could barely drag it back to the house. When I got to the room, I opened it and noticed the note:

Kid,

Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this special night with you…and enjoy the ‘gifts’!

Signed,

H.

So, that is what happened. I hope that this does help you find that kid and his parents. He deserves better than just having one night giving me candy. And if you do see him, tell him to get back in touch with me.

I just hope he is okay.