Three time-travelers visit a Halloween parade when a young spirit starts to cause mischief.
A thousand people dressed as skeletons held tiki torches as they led a Halloween parade. The three time-travelers siblings blended in with the Saturday, October 24, 2009 audience with their own costumes. The one named Raven wore a silky red dress with a foam pumpkin over her head. The one named Gia dressed as the 1950s movie star Marilyn Monroe. The one named Slayer simply wore a hooded black robe.
“I can’t believe you had me change my form for this,” Slayer grumbled as they crossed their human arms. “Skeletons are on parade, and you wanted me to look human. My form would’ve been appropriate.”
“A floating transparent skeleton would’ve freaked people out,” Gia playfully reminded.
Slayer put a thin piece of white paper in their mouth. “At least the candy is good.”
“That was a sticker you ate,” Raven corrected in a polite factual matter.
Slayer shrugged. “I’ve never been much for this world anyway.”
Gia scanned the parade for something to change the subject. It had been a while since she spent time with them, and thought this parade would’ve been something they could all enjoy.
“Hey, look at the little skeleton,” Gia said, pointing at a little girl dancing in the street with the other marching skeletons. “Aren’t they just the—”
Gia’s jaw dropped as the child danced through the other people. People shivered, losing their balance, and some almost hit others with their torches.
“That’s a spirit,” Raven said in a matter-of-fact as she pulled out her tablet from her dress pocket that was much bigger on the inside. “It seems to be causing quite the disturbance.”
“Finally, some chaos!” Slayer cheered with hands raised high.
“No, no chaos and no watching how it all plays out,” Gia ordered. “We have to guide the spirit home.”
“Fine,” both Slayer and Raven grumbled.
The ghost child turned into the crowd of bystanders, skipping along through people. While Gia lost sight of the girl, she watched the movement of people shaking from a sudden chill and losing their balance. The three pressed against the crowd.
“Where did she go?” Gia asked as they emerged out from the crowd.
“Over there,” Raven alerted. She pointed to the girl standing in front of a couple heading to watch the parade. A man in his late 20s got one knee to talk to the girl on her level. “That human seems to be able to interact with the spirit.”
Gai squinted in thought. “Wait a second. I think I know him or, more specifically, who he will become.”
“What becomes of him?” Slayer questioned.
“His name is Geoff DeRoot, and he becomes a rather prominent paranormal researcher, but this isn’t his origin story. Not until the death of his fiancé drives him mad,” Gia explained as she started to sprint forward. “We can’t let him get introduced to ghosts just yet.”
“So, where are your grown-ups?” Geoff asked the spirit.
Before the spirit could answer, Gia stood beside them.
“There you are!” Gia exclaimed to the spirit. “Come on, let’s get you home.” She looked at the couple and smiled. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Geoff said as he stood back up and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend.
The girl smiled wide and held out her hand, which Gia took as best as possible to make it look like she was holding the spirit’s hand and not going through it. Raven and Slayer caught up with Gia. Together, they walked down the alleyway, where they parked their freestanding doors that allowed them to travel throughout time and space.
Slayer opened his red wooden door, letting out a bright white light. “I’ll take this one where she belongs.” Before walking through the door, Slayer turned back and faced his siblings. “You know, watching the Halloween parade was kind of fun. I guess this world isn’t so bad.”
Gia smiled. Missioned accomplished. Slayer closed their door, and it blinked out of existence. Raven reached for the handle on her red metal door with a golden frame.
“It has been fun, Gia,” Raven thanked. “I should get back with Loki as I left him in the middle of an experiment.”
“What are you two up to this time?” Gia asked with a slightly accusatory tone.
“We’re hosting a spaceship reality game show on Earth.”
“Oh. That sounds like fun! What year?”
“2020.”
“Yikes,” Gia chocked up. “I tend to avoid that year.”
Raven chuckled. “It’s been fruitful for us. Anyway, it was good to see you.”
The two exchanged hugs and left through their respective doors, disappearing without any fanfare as the first wave of parade participants crossed through the alley to the afterparty.
This week’s short story was created in response to a writing challenge. The setting had to involve Halloween with a word limit of 800. Bonus points for using the following words: Candy, Leaves, Chill, and Pumpkin. Points for also using the sentence blocks, “Skeletons are on parade” and “I’ve never been much for this world anyway.”
Hope you enjoyed this story and all of the other spooky tales this month!
Story Artwork by Joemar Villarejo, Design Pickle. Get a discount off your first month of Design Pickle via this affiliate link, which full disclosure, I earn a small commission as a discount for me as well.