night of the living dead

I know Halloween has come and gone, but walking home from the Forks today I felt like time should rewind and today should be October 31st. The real Halloween felt cute and happy, full of kids dressed as M&M's, hopped up on sugar, and overly eager at the prospect of free candy.

But today the air seemed to be buzzing with an energy that, despite the freakishly warm weather, sent a shiver down my spine. The sun, setting earlier now that the time has changed, seemed to me as if it was being pulled, against its will, down to the horizon. In its tracks it left a bloody orange streak across the sky. As a breeze blew off the river and through my hair it felt like it was carrying howls and messages from ghouls and ghosts. The bare tree branches, still uncovered in snow or frost, looked like gnarled hands, trying to grab at the passers by who were unknowingly about to be dragged into a dark underworld, beneath the rotting leaves on the muddy river bank. It seemed like just beyond my ability to see, a whole world of the dead was slowly waking up, and they were moaning and calling, begging to be heard. So beware, because although sugar highs and bite-size O'Henry Bars may have kept the spirits at bay October 31st, they are out and about tonight and ready to make themselves known.