Halloween
by Settiai
Jim Ellison had always hated Halloween.
When he was a kid, it had been another competition between two brothers. Whose
costume was better? Which pumpkin was carved the best? Who received the most
candy? The fun of the holiday was obliterated by sibling rivalry.
When he was in the military, it had just been another day. There wasn’t much
point in celebrating when you on a mission, trying to save lives and stay
alive.
When he was married to Carolyn, he had put up with the holiday for her. He
refused to put on a costume, but he would hand out candy to the few kids who
made their way to their door. It had been nothing but an obligation though, one
of the many sacrifices that marriage required.
When the divorce finalized, he had stopped handing out candy. He would merely
stick a bowl of treats outside the door for anyone kids that happened by and
then settle down in front of the TV.
And now he was standing in the doorway of the loft, dressed like a vampire and
handing out candy to the steady stream of kids, teenagers, and college students
making their way to his door.
Life was full of surprises.
***
Blair Sandburg had always loved Halloween.
When he was a kid, it had been one of the few times a year when he wasn’t
different. On that night, he wasn’t the bastard son of a woman too young to be
a mother; instead, he was merely one of hundreds of other children hiding their
faces behind a mask.
When he had begun teaching, it had been a day for him to make his students’
lives miserable. Most of them considered themselves to be too “cool” for
Halloween, but he had always made it a requirement for them to at least wear a
costume in his class. They had always complained about it at first, but by the
end of class things had changed. For once, they could pretend that the
pressures of adulthood weren’t pressing on them and still pretend to be
children--and, if anyone said anything, they could merely say that their
teacher was insane.
And now he was standing in the doorway of the loft, dressed like a zombie and
handing out candy to the steady stream of kids, teenagers, and college students
making their way to his door.
Life was the same.
End
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