I was never scared of Nolan Thomas. I knew why other children ran away, crying for their parents, but when I first really met him all I could see was the shiny new toy car he played with. He was all alone and next to him lay several more cars.
"Bess!" my mother shouted across the playground. I just slumped down in the grass. Right next to Nolan.
"I'm Elizabeth," I said in a childishly high voice.
"I know," he answered without looking up from the car accident he just caused. His pitch black hair hung in front of his face and made it impossible to see more than a stern set mouth.
"Can I play with you?" I asked and opened my hand for him
At the Appointed Time
I awaken with a start, experiencing déjà vu. My mind is flooded with questions. "What day is it? What day? Are they here? Are they safe?" Slowly, as my mind starts swimming to consciousness, I realize, it's November 1st. I recall now with resigned horror what I can never remember on October 31st. They're gone. Always gone, until, that is, our one day
together, bittersweetly, cursed as it has been every Halloween.
Five years have passed since the terror happened. I'd spent the day putting the finishing touches on the twins' and Emmy's costumes. I've always loved the holiday, fraught with memories as it
