He pushed the stairs which lead to the attic back up into the ceiling. He licked the skin between his palm and forefinger. It tasted like the Dewar's whiskey with which he had filled his water bottle.
He had to keep a private stash hidden from his wife. After her night shift her first priority was to count the beer bottles in the refrigerator. He hated fighting with her over topics which didn't concern him. He thought, She's a nurse – great – but I'm not sick. A little taste gets me to sleep at night.
He scoffed as the man on the television repeated his opinions about the Broncos. He went into the kitchen and poured whiskey over ice into a rock's glass. Anxiously the man took a sip and savored the burn.
There was a knock at the door. He looked through the peep hole and he saw nothing. He sat down on his couch and quietly prayed that the Broncos would massacre the Chiefs in the game which was about to occur.
The doorbell rang. At this point he was annoyed and he opened the door without checking the peep. He looked out into the night and had to recalibrate his focus when he saw two children on his doorstep. On the right was a little girl wearing a white form fitting body suit and a “Casper the friendly Ghost” mask. She held a reusable grocery bag which appeared to be weighty for her frame.Is there a knife handle sticking out of her bag? he asked himself.
To her right was a boy wearing seemingly bloody over alls and a sweater beneath it. In one hand he had a bag similar to the girl's. In the other hand he had a gourmet vegetable knife. Behind his “Chucky” mask the child said, “Trick or Treat.”
The home owner looked at the knife with shrinking tolerance. Fake blood was dripping onto his porch.
He asked the boy, “Do your parents know that you took their knives as props? That's dangerous.”
The girl said with a sing song voice, “Trick or Treat.”
The man said, “Stay here. I'll be right back.”
He realized that he had been so preoccupied by the game that he had forgotten that this was Halloween season. He cared little for this stuff but his wife was always on top of holidays. After a quick perusal of his cupboards he decided to call her.
“Hon, where did you put the candy for the trick or treaters?” he asked when she accepted the call.
She answered, “I'll pick some up after my shift. I'm surprised that you called me at work about this. Are you okay?”
“Ha ha!” he laughed. “I am surprised that you forgot that today is Halloween. You're usually so good about holidays.”
She answered, “Halloween is tomorrow, dear. Everything is fine.”
He heard his front door close as the sounds of scampering feet became louder.
Submitted October 22, 2017 at 03:26AM by latchkey_49 http://ift.tt/2zGt32u shortscarystories
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