"Thin is the weave on
All Hallows Eve."

 

     Helen closed up the old house after a full night of Trick or Treaters. A straggler rang the bell.  Holding the tray of candy, she opened the storm door and bumped into the caller.
     "Oh!"
     An elderly woman stood there with a stroller.  Her upper body curved forward, her gaze down cast.
    "Can I help you?" Helen asked.
    "Grandfather," the old woman mumbled in a monotone.
    "Can I help you?" Helen repeated.
    "Grandfather," the aged woman muttered.
    "You're at the wrong house," Helen said. She tried to catch a glimpse of  the baby in the stroller.
    The women stood silently, then moaned.
    "Here," Helen said. She set down the tray on the foyer table and stepped out onto the walk.  "Let me help you turn this stroller around. You're at the wrong house."
    The woman's lifeless eyes unnerved her. Covering up her fear, she said, "Let me get a lollipop for the child."  She raced inside, snatched a lollipop from the tray.  She crouched down in front of the stroller and parted the worn blankets. "Here, little one. Here's a treat for Halloween."
    Extending the candy, Helen hesitated. Something seemed strange about the child. She pushed the tattered blankets aside to catch the glow of the porch light.
    She placed the candy in the child's hand.  Sounds crackled from its fingers. She puzzled at the noise.  Helen cringed at the soiled bonnet, then squinted at the child's face.  She refocused her stare in the dim light.
    Helen moved closer, then screamed.  Large, empty eye sockets stared back from the child's shriveled leathery face.  Her movements froze.  Helen's mind screamed in silence, her eyes fixated on the old woman.
    The aged woman moaned, "Grandfather.  Grandfather. My baby died."  Her distant stare looked straight through Helen.  She turned and shuffled down the walk pushing her stroller.  Belabored steps dragged slowly as she passed back through the thin veil of All Hallows Eve.