Halloween Short Story

At 10:45 p.m., Evelyn turned off the porch light. Halloween was over, and she was ready for bed.

She had just settled into her favorite chair when three knocks sounded at the front door.

"Good grief! Don't these children ever go home?"

She opened the door, expecting another trick-or-treater.

A little girl stood on the porch wearing a white dress. Her dark hair hung over her face.

"Trick or treat," the child whispered.

"Sweetheart, it's awfully late. Where are your parents?"

The girl pointed toward the street. Evelyn looked past her. Nobody was there.

"Are you lost, honey?"

The girl raised her head. Evelyn stumbled backward. The child's face was pale, her eyes completely black.

"Don't you remember me, Grandma?"

Evelyn grabbed the doorframe. Her granddaughter had drowned twenty years ago.

"Emily?"

The child smiled. "You promised you'd never leave me alone."

Evelyn's hands began shaking. "Oh, baby, I never meant…"

A cold hand touched her shoulder. Behind her, a man's voice whispered, "She wasn't the only one you left."

Evelyn recognized her dead husband's voice. The porch light flickered. When the neighbors called the police the following morning, Evelyn was gone.

On the kitchen table sat three pieces of Halloween candy. And a note.

"We're finally together."

If you heard a knock at your door at 10:45 on Halloween night, would you answer it?

What do you suppose the note meant?

Leave a comment.