Trick, Treat, and Twilight

     Dusk sits heavy over Sandoval, Illinois. Halloween quiet runs through the streets. I walk half-asleep, breath mixing with the cold air. My aunt and uncle’s house stands nearby, dark against the sky.

My nieces and nephews move ahead with their bags open. Their laughter carries. No other kids are out. The streets stay empty.

I follow a few steps behind. The cold presses in. Their voices are the only sound.

A figure steps out of the shadows and blocks the way home. Nothing about the shape looks wrong, yet the night turns. The figure does not move aside.

I stop. The kids stop with me.

Under a streetlight I look at Anna. Hollows mark her leg. I lean closer and see straight through them. The street stays quiet around us.

We turn back toward the house. The figure remains where it stood. Inside, the rooms are warm. The hollows stay with me after the door closes.

I wake up