Halloween square

There was a shifting in the air as the calendar silently changed from October 30th to October 31st, marking the day of Halloween. The ground shook ever so slightly, but only for a moment, so those who were still awake either didn't notice, or thought it was merely in their minds. And across the world, as each clock struck midnight, empty parking lots gave way to enormous collections of tents, rising from the ground, each covering their own collections of candies, toys, and halloween themed games, hosts at the ready to entertain when morning came and the throngs of guests would arrive.

And that they did. As the sun rose, slowly at first but quicker with time, people came out to the show. They dressed in their halloween costumes, they brought their candy bags and pails, and throughout the day they laughed and they danced and they trick-or-treated at the various stands, collecting candy and toys and playing the games, having the times of their lives. Some came to prepare for nightfall, knowing their houses would be stalked by the children out on the hunt for candy, and knowing too that the stands would have plenty on sale for the last minute shoppers. Wave upon wave of participants flowed in and out of the lots, and the Halloween spirit overcame them all.

But not once did anyone question where the Halloween squares had come from. Not once did they question why they came and were ready on Halloween day, without anyone having ever seen them being built in the days before, or how they disappeared without a trace come November dawn. Not once did a single soul ask how no one had ever met any of the hosts or entertainers outside of these squares. Even the cynical, the riley, the most unenthusiastic of people were swept up in their fun, and forgot just for a day to ask.

And on November 1st, as the sun rose and children all over the world held onto their heads as the sugar rush wore off and they were dragged back to school with their skulls pounding, the world forgot that the Halloween squares had ever been there in the first place. They forgot about the candy and the games. They forgot about the strangers who were their to entertain. When they looked at their massive hauls of candy, all they remembered were the nighttime treks around their neighborhoods, trick-or-treating from door to door, and they remembered what massive hauls they had had, whether they had had them or not.

And the ghosts and the ghouls crept back under the earth, waiting for their chance to rise again, and be apart of the world again, if only for a moment. To smile and to laugh and to spread cheer. To feel alive. Even if Halloween square was anything but.