Halloween Town
A full moon was high in the sky. It casted bright yellowish light onto the landscape of hills and valleys. Forests stood separating corn fields and large meadows sleeping for the hallowed night. Jamie walked through a wooden gate and down a slope that entered into a forest. He tilted his head to clench his cellphone against his shoulder as he hid both of his hands in his jacket pockets to shield them against the autumn frost.
“Yes, I know where to go, don’t worry I have taken the route a million times” he said as he breached the trees and entered into the canopy of shadows. The moon light did little to guide him, strands slid between some tree leaves and branches but besides those, darkness filled his vision. He brought his phone from his shoulder and turned on the light on the back while switching the conversation to the speaker. His moms voice rang out into the dark forest.
“Well don’t get lost, those forests have some odd history. Hey, did you get a look at that moon?”
“Of course I did, I’ve been bathing in its light the whole night”
His mom gave a laugh “duh, well make sure you lock the door when you arrive, see you in a bit. Watch them shadows” She gave an audible kiss and hung up.
The sound of the forest picked up after the conversation had been ended. Owls hooted, creatures scurried around in the dark, leaves and branches rustled in the wind all while his feet crunched against the fallen leaves among the path. He had taken this path many times before, why did it feel so foreign this time. It was like he was out of place, treading somewhere unknown, somewhere he didn’t belong. He moved quicker keeping himself as a mobile lighthouse. The trees started to tower over him and the moons light no longer casted its normal light. Now orange beams sliced through the trees and as he peered up dark billowy clouds of purple hung around the sky.
A screech came from the right of him. He skidded on his heels towards the sound, but then kept moving forward. Another sound came from his left, this time a high pitched hiss. A phantom anaconda slithering just beyond his vision. He started to jog faster. His feet started to catch rocks and gnarled roots that curled from the ground as if they were meant just for his feet. He heard a growl from behind him. At first he ignored it. Then the sound of steps followed, then steps so close that the vibrations from the heavy feet could be felt. He was sprinting now. Heaving every last ounce of energy towards an exit.
A root sprang up, and caught him. He tumbled forward slipping and sliding among fallen leaves and rocks. Then the landscape took a drop and he fell with it. He became a falling boulder bouncing down into unknown depths.
Jamies journey came to an end when he crashed into a pile of leaves at the bottom of the hill. He laid still staring through a break in the leaves into the darkened sky. The moon hung huge in the sky filling almost the entirety. He groaned as he rolled out of the leaf pile and onto his stomach. He got up and assessed the damage. A few bruises on his knees and arms, but surprising nothing broken or sprained. He wished on his good luck.
He turned from the hill and in front of him were large stone buildings. Orangish light from fires could be seen flickering in odd shaped paned windows. Some large doors and porches, which none were uniform, covered the backs of the buildings. An alleyway was lit by the light on the other side.
He moved in between the buildings towards the light. An aroma of candy, caramel and autumn air mixed together and filled his lungs. It took the frost right out of him and replaced it with a warm cozy fire.
The buildings tilted and sprawled in unnatural directions. They looked medieval with a Halloween charm applied directly to them. Fences which held cast iron bats and black cats lined the front of stores and yards of houses. Cobwebs, orange and black lights, and Jack,O lanterns hung from every eave, roof and above the streets from building to building. They lit up the street in a vibrant but subdued light that mixed with the moons orange glow filled in the shadows with a dark hue.
Among the streets things walked. Jamie could only stare in disbelief. A ten foot tall lanky creature swung its arms and conversed with three witches, one of them was green with the warts and all. Her eyes flicked to his and he saw they were deep orange. A mammoth of hair skirted among the cobble stone, two shiny black eyes rotated through the fibers to look around. Just past it a sheet which looked like a ghost hovered. On its head a small top hat sat and where the two cut outs for its eyes were some glasses somehow kept glued to its face.
He stepped slowly down the street and noticed a small cart. An ogre of some sort had a heavy apron on. Light fur covered its muscular body and two horns sprang from its large head. Among the face where fangs jettisoning out of its jowls and dark sunken eyes. A girl with teal hair and long ears sat on the other side drinking out of a glass that looked like a tall witches boot. She wore a mix of purple jester and witches hat. She turned to him.
“Oh what the fuck” she exclaimed loudly.
“Your mouth, young lady!” a witch from the balcony called.
“yeah yeah” she waved her off and approached Jamie “First, not dead.”
“Then dreaming? I must of been knocked out when I fell down that hill” Jamie put his hands to his head and felt around.
“No, not dreaming either” The girl stuck out her hand “Amy, your name?”
He took it reluctantly “Jamie”
“Well Jamie, I don’t know how you got here, or how all you humans are getting here, but take a look around. Halloween town. Now again, as one might say “but not everyone celebrates Halloween, Amy” to that I would say true, but Halloween is celebrated in many different ways. All shapes and sizes” Amy stopped and took a sip from the boot “Deja vu, hate that. Well since you are hear” She moved towards the ogre, grabbed another boot and shoved it at him “Let’s get” she looked towards the window and whispered “fucked up”
“Language!” the witch yelled from somewhere in the window and Amy threw up her hands.
She rolled her eyes and ushered him to drink. He held the boot and looked around. An impossible situation. He took a gulp. Apple cider mixed with vanilla and a nutty oak swished and swirled down his throat and through out his body. His aches and pains melted from his away and the cozy fire that kept him warm now rapt around him and brought the pleasant sensation of being warm among the frigid air.
“Good huh?” Amy said as she saw his eyes light up.
“This is amazing” he took another gulp feeling himself spring to life.
Amy chugged her boot and grabbed another one. She waved to the ogre thanking him for the drinks. Jamie gave an awkward wave to the large beast which smiled at him with a grin that did not reassure him that he would not be eaten later.
“Well, Jamie, I can get you back to Maine, but first.” She rose her boot to the sky. “the town calls to us, there is a lot more then this to see”
Jaime met her boot towards the sky. He thought he knew the woods that he had crossed to get home. A straight path through a heavily wooded kingdom. Tonight though, he would be taking a detour.
Happy Halloween!
I decided to write about another Holiday Town. Halloween Town. Not to be confused with other towns, this one is like Christmas Town. Places woven into cross stitches in the universe that produce all the things found for the holidays. The towns are much more like planets. The whole place is like one big festival for the occasion. I thought of many different ides to post this Halloween, but after watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, I decided that his would be the topic for tonight. We also see the return of our teal haired friend, who somehow, is always in the right place and time to guide these lost humans back to their home. Of course after a few drinks that is. It’s a celebration after all!
Stay safe out there among the hallowed skies
Cheers!~