Haunted
One
He haunted the night like a dark shadow. This was his favorite time of year. All the free candy being handed out, the kids coming up and ringing the doorbell, and the joys of scaring other strangers!
Every year he and his friends would dress up, pass out candy to those who came to their door, before heading off to his house for a party with the ghouls.
However, this Halloween was going to be much different than the years before.
There would be no crazy or extravagant costumes. No candy wrappers left lying around on the stairs. No empty bottles to clean up the day after. No scary antics to strike fear into the children.
In fact, there wasn’t even a porch light glowing at his residence.
He slumped over on the front porch, mumbling incoherent sentences to himself. His eyes watched the little children dressed up come running past his house, screaming and running while parents chased after them.
The door flung open behind him and out came running a young toddler, with messy dark brown hair and baby blue eyes, dressed in skinny jeans and a ripped up black t-shirt. He carried an orange bag with black straps in his hands that looked like he had taken a couple different markers to draw all over his arms to make “tattoos”.
“James! Get back here!” A female voice shouted from behind him. He continued running down the steps, as if the transparent figure wasn’t even there.
The toddler stopped in the middle of the front walk, turning back to look at his mother. He cocked his head to the side and gave a shit-eaten grin.
The door shut quietly behind him and the lock clicked. He turned his head and saw the fawn haired beauty in a cream colored sweater. She shook her head, laughing at the toddler as he pulled out a pair of beaten up drum sticks from his bag. He tried to twirl them around in his fingers, but he ended up just fumbling them around before dropping them to the ground.
“You’re just like your daddy,” She chuckled, scooping the little boy up in her arms as he laughed out loud.
He watched them walk away laughing and giggling, going on about trick-or-treating. His invisible heart sank in his chest, knowing that the little toddler was dressed up just like him.
The neighborhood kids walked on by, passing his house, as if it had never existed.
His bright blue eyes looked up at the sky, then back down at the earth, realizing that the little toddler, James, was his son and that he missed him greatly.
The tears fell silently down his cheeks. He missed his family. He missed his wife. He missed being alive.
The only think he could think of was James, grinning like a bashful boy, looking like a splitting image of his father, James Owen Sullivan.
Jimmy sat on the front porch of his home.
Every year he and his friends would dress up, pass out candy to those who came to their door, before heading off to his house for a party with the ghouls.
However, this Halloween was going to be much different than the years before.
There would be no crazy or extravagant costumes. No candy wrappers left lying around on the stairs. No empty bottles to clean up the day after. No scary antics to strike fear into the children.
In fact, there wasn’t even a porch light glowing at his residence.
He slumped over on the front porch, mumbling incoherent sentences to himself. His eyes watched the little children dressed up come running past his house, screaming and running while parents chased after them.
The door flung open behind him and out came running a young toddler, with messy dark brown hair and baby blue eyes, dressed in skinny jeans and a ripped up black t-shirt. He carried an orange bag with black straps in his hands that looked like he had taken a couple different markers to draw all over his arms to make “tattoos”.
“James! Get back here!” A female voice shouted from behind him. He continued running down the steps, as if the transparent figure wasn’t even there.
The toddler stopped in the middle of the front walk, turning back to look at his mother. He cocked his head to the side and gave a shit-eaten grin.
The door shut quietly behind him and the lock clicked. He turned his head and saw the fawn haired beauty in a cream colored sweater. She shook her head, laughing at the toddler as he pulled out a pair of beaten up drum sticks from his bag. He tried to twirl them around in his fingers, but he ended up just fumbling them around before dropping them to the ground.
“You’re just like your daddy,” She chuckled, scooping the little boy up in her arms as he laughed out loud.
He watched them walk away laughing and giggling, going on about trick-or-treating. His invisible heart sank in his chest, knowing that the little toddler was dressed up just like him.
The neighborhood kids walked on by, passing his house, as if it had never existed.
His bright blue eyes looked up at the sky, then back down at the earth, realizing that the little toddler, James, was his son and that he missed him greatly.
The tears fell silently down his cheeks. He missed his family. He missed his wife. He missed being alive.
The only think he could think of was James, grinning like a bashful boy, looking like a splitting image of his father, James Owen Sullivan.
Jimmy sat on the front porch of his home.