T
HE JOURNEY BEGINS
The whole town
seemed to be at the school. After the bell rang, there was the annual parade of costumes through the school hallways and outside, marching to the village square.
After that, a massive potluck dinner took place in the school gym. This was followed by a Halloween dance and trick or treat event for the whole town.
For some reason, this town didn’t observe trick or treating in the usual sense. Instead of sending the children out into neighborhoods to ask for candy from neighbors and strangers, they set up each classroom with fun and games and prizes, which included piles of candy, candy apples, not to mention the coveted ribbons for best costume, scariest costume, most original costume, and so forth.
As a substitute teacher, not someone on their staff, I wouldn’t have been expected to stay, though I was welcome to. But, I’d been told by the secretary that I was being considered for a permanent position and it would look good if I did
stay, made myself a part of the festivities, hence seeming like I’d be a natural fit for the close-knit community.
So, that was what I did. I stayed. I mingled. I handed out candy.
And when I left? That was when it all began. That was when the course of my life would be forever altered by a man on a horse.
A man without a head.
