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MARY - A Halloween Tale by Gordi
#1
(*I was SURE that I'd posted this here somewhere before, but I've searched and searched and can't find it anywhere... so, my profound apologies if you've already seen this posted before.)

MARY
PART ONE

Mary giggled like a 5 year old as she ran to meet her friend, even though she was "all grown up" at the grand old age of 9! She had told mum that she was "Trick or Treating" with Susan, but had decided to surprise her instead by turning up un-announced and giving Susan a fright!
Her costume was indeed pretty scary; A big black cloak with a huge black hood, partially obscuring her grisly, pale make-up, complete with large nose, warts and dark eye shadow and she carried an old twig "witches" broom under her arm.

It was only 2 blocks to Susan's house, but it felt like so much further as she skipped along, her heart beating faster at the prospect of all the fun and treats that she had in store. She glanced up and thought she could see Susan's dad, there in the distance. She squinted her eyes against the low setting sun, trying to focus on the man as she carelessly stepped off the kerb, then FROZE in TERROR as she heard the horrible SCREEEEECH! of tyres coming towards her.
The car hit her so hard that she must have landed about 15 feet away from the point of impact, and she braced herself for the inevitable surge of unbearable pain that was to come. But by some miracle, she managed to roll away, and spring back to her feet, without so much as a scratch!

"WOW! That was lucky" she thought; "But I need to be much more careful or mum will kill me!!"

Looking up ahead, she did indeed see the figure of Susan's dad. He was carrying boxes of various sweets and candies into the house.
She liked him. He was one of the few people in the neighbourhood who ever said "hello" or even smiled at her, but on this occasion he disappeared into the house just as she got to the end of their drive.
"Ah well" she pondered; “maybe I can hide, and scare them when they come out Trick or Treating???"

Sure enough, just a couple of minutes had passed before Susan’s’ door opened and her dad appeared again, this time in the company of a scary clown and a little white-sheeted Ghost!

"That'll be Susan and little Mikey" Mary thought, as she giggled again at the thought of scaring them, and crouched down behind the bushes by the end of their driveway, then slipped into formation just behind them as they started making their way down the street.

It was a quiet street, with Mary's house right at the top of a long straight road, which then looped past Susan's place and back again after just a few hundred yards. A mixture of young families and older couples lived there but there were really only about 5 or 6 houses that ever took part in the Halloween fun, with all the others pretending to be out, or even putting signs up saying "No Trick or Treats HERE!"

Mary's thought's turned back to her plan to scare Susan, and she quickened her pace to fall step-by-step in line with her, before gently touching her neck with her little finger!!
Susan yelped and shivered as she shook her head from side to side...
"Ewww!!! DAD! I felt a Bug!!! it was on my neck!!"
"Ooooooh, maybe it was a BIG SPIDER!!" he teased, wiggling his fingers like a tarantula!
"DAAAAD!!!"

Mary began to think that this was MUCH more fun than the prospect of "just" going Trick or treating, so she slowed her pace again and managed to hide behind a tree just as the ghoulish family turned into the next driveway on the Trick or Treating adventure.
"I think I'll get little Mikey this time!!!" she smirked, as she waited for them to re-appear. But before they re-emerged her heart stopped at the sudden sound of a loud "HISSS!" right behind her... She froze in terror as the Hiss got louder and LOUDER! and it took all of her strength and courage to force herself to turn and face the source of this unearthly sound...
She slowly, ever so slowly, turned her head and there, no more than three feet away was.... a little grey kitten!
Staring and hissing at her.
She let out a heavy sigh of relief, then smiled at her own silliness and shooed the kitten away just as she heard the excited voices of Mikey and Susan coming back down the drive.

Once more, she fell into step right behind them without being noticed, and this time she tickled the little Ghost whose arms were raised to hold onto his dad and big sisters hands!
Mikey let out the most glorious giggle-cum-laugh that Mary had ever heard, and she almost blew the whole affair by letting out a small laugh herself but luckily Susan and her Dad had both joined in roaring with laughter too! Both bemused by Mikey's sudden outburst.

This pattern now continued for each of the houses the family visited, with Mary becoming more and more devious in her attempts at scaring them as they made their way around the loop in the road... a tickle here, a scratch there... she remained undiscovered but nothing seemed to really startle them until she heard Susan’s Dad say; "What the...???" with definite alarm in his voice.

Mary was convinced she'd finally spooked them until she realised that he was looking far up the street, back past Susan's house, to where the car had screeched to a halt earlier.
Susan's dad turned to the kids and barked; "Go Inside... Now!" and started to make his way towards the blue flashing lights which seemed to come out of nowhere.
Mary didn't know what to do, was she to go inside with Susan or...?

It was then that she heard her own mother, and she was calling Mary's name!

"Mum!! I'm over here!" she answered, but her mum didn't hear her.
She was crouched by the roadside about 15 feet from where the car had stopped , and she was holding something...
Mary ran towards her... "Mum, what's wrong?? MUM!!!"
But Mum didn't pay any notice, she was rocking back and forth, howling in grief as she cuddled the limp, lifeless, black-cloaked figure of her only daughter;

Mary.






(*There IS a PART TWO which I might post later...)
G
[Image: CoolForCatzSig.png]
#2
Very well written. I look forward to reading part 2.
#3
The writing style is excellent with no broken trains of thought ...well done minusculebeercheers
#4
PART TWO


A single moment of abject grief overcame poor Mary, as the sudden horrible realisation of what had just happened hit home.  She dropped to her knees, sobbing, open-mouthed...just staring at her mother as the paramedics tried to prise the lifeless body from her grasp.
Her mum's cries cut her to the very soul and she could swear that she could feel her tears as they dropped down onto her own ashen face.

As quickly as the grief had come... it was suddenly gone, and a serenity like nothing she had ever felt flowed all around her.
She saw the medics lay her body out flat, pulling open the front of her Halloween cloak... checking for a heartbeat... listening for breath... but she knew in her own heart that it was too late.

She saw the blood seep through her leggings and let out a curious smirk as she noted the strange angle that her thigh was jutting out at. It just looked so... "weird" she thought to herself, "like a rag-doll".
It was somehow like watching a movie. She was observing it from a distance, detached and safe from its grasp.

Mary began to feel dizzy, like she was floating adrift on a small boat. Her mum looked so small as she knelt, staring at the face of the paramedic, searching forlornly for any sign of hope. Mum was becoming... hazy?
It was hard to focus, like a fog was swirling all around her, and Mary felt like she was falling into a dream.
The light was changing from the dusky tones that had been there just seconds before into a beautiful golden glow, and Mary turned around to see what she thought was the most incredible sunrise EVER!

The light was becoming intensely bright, almost blue in the centre but fading through yellows, golds and shades of orange out towards the edges.
She felt drawn to this beautiful sight, and she had almost forgotten about the chaotic scene that was now unfolding behind her...

"150 joules... CLEAR!"

It reached Mary's ear like a distant whisper... "Jewels??? what do they want jewels for??"
The light reached out to her and warmed her to the core, this was no normal sunrise! and anyway... hadn't it only been a few seconds since the....?

BOOM!

Mary suddenly felt a burst of energy in her chest, it exploded out sending tingles up through her neck... down her arms... and legs...
It was then that Mary screamed with pain. Her left leg felt like someone had just stabbed it with a red-hot poker. She collapsed to the ground in agony, clutching at her thigh...

She opened her eyes to see the light once more. It was dimmer than before, but still beautiful and calm and serene. Her pain eased and she rose to her feet again.

"Let's try 200... CLEAR!"

The light was growing once more, caressing her, healing her pain... she felt herself drawn to its power, its beauty...

BOOM!

Something slammed into Mary's chest, knocking her off her feet, away from the light. The sudden rush of tingling energy engulfed her and the searing agony of her broken leg returned once more.
She screamed, and clutched at her thigh... and suddenly realised that she could hear her Mum crying again...

"MUM! MUM!! I'm HERE!!"

The paramedics’ shoulders slumped as he sat the paddles of the defibrillator down by Marys’ side and slowly shook his head.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered, as Mary's Mum let out a cry that only a newly-bereaved mother can summon from the depths of her heart.

"No, Noooo... no. n mum .. . I . . . i . . i'm .. . . . s t i l l . . . "
Mary began to drift away again...
"I lo ve y o u . . . mum!" and the light engulfed her tiny frame and pulled her away.

Her Mum suddenly stopped crying and a look of steely determination came to her face.
She turned to the nearest paramedic...
"I can feel her. She's here. And YOU are NOT going to give up on her.... NOT YET." she said firmly as she held the paramedic in her gaze....

The moment hung for what seemed and age... and then... then...

"OK - give me 300 joules! NOW! CLEAR!!"

BOOM!

A HUGE Explosion of energy and pain engulfed Mary one last time and it was just too much for her to bear, she blacked out, lost consciousness and fell limply to the ground. ..

There are no words that can convey the feelings of isolation and utter loneliness that creep into the soul when you are faced with complete silence and total darkness.
No sound, no smell, no warmth, no light... you drift alone on your journey - destination unknown.

The light when it came, hurt Mary's eyes. She blinked and screwed up her face and blinked again.
There were fuzzy, indistinct shapes there. Mostly white... some... turquoise blue??
There was movement... Mary blinked again... yes definitely movement... and a strange beeping noise...
"beep......beep......beep........"
Like one of those heart monitors they have in the..... in the HOSPITAL!

She blinked again, and her little eyes began to clear... she could see ceiling tiles.... a curtain rail... a fluorescent strip light... and there, to her left... was Mum, sitting by the hospital bed... smiling.

"Happy Halloween Mary" was all she said, as mother and daughter hugged like they had never hugged before.


THE END
[Image: CoolForCatzSig.png]
#5
Part 2 did not disappoint. Nicely done @"gordi"  minusculeclap


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