I wrapped my arms around myself. I felt cold despite the warm sunlight washing into the kitchen.
The silence rang in my ears, a hollow sound. And then I jumped when I heard the thud of footsteps. In the front hall.
I turned — and saw the purple robe.
Screem? Had he returned?
No. Peter grinned at me. He stepped into the kitchen and did a funny tap dance. “Tah-DAH!”
“Peter? That robe —” I uttered. “You —”
“Fits me perfectly,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll wear it to school.”
“How — how can you stand there making jokes?” I stammered.
He shrugged. “Halloween is over, right? And we’re alive.”
I rushed up to him. I had a million questions. “Where were you? Why didn’t you come back here with Screem?”
“He told me not to show myself until it was bright sunshine,” Peter answered. “He said it would all be over by then. And we’d be safe.”
“Oh, wow. Oh, wow.” I was so happy to see him, I nearly hugged him.
“Peter, it’s morning,” I said. I grabbed him by the shoulders. “Mom and Dad. They must be out of their minds worrying about us. They probably have the police out looking for us.”
Peter’s smile faded. “If they’re back,” he said softly.
His words sent a chill down my back. “Halloween is over,” I said. “Belladonna and Screem are gone. That means everything is back to normal. Everything …”
I sighed. “Our house has to be back, Peter,” I cried. “Mom and Dad have to be back.”
We didn’t say another word. We ran down the hall and out the front door. We didn’t even bother to close the door behind us.
Our shoes thudded down the gravel driveway, past the tall hedges to the street. Cars rolled past. Two little kids were in the yard across the street, jumping up and down in a pile of dead leaves.
A normal Saturday morning.
Yes. Normal. A woman opened her front door and let her dog run out. A white mail truck turned the corner. The two little kids waved to it.
We turned the corner onto our block. We ran past the empty field, past two houses.
I couldn’t see our house. Trees stood in the way.
My heart was pounding so hard, I could barely breathe. Running was too slow. I wanted to leap into the air and fly to our house.
Finally, we were there. Finally, we could see….
“OH, NOOOOOO!” I wailed.
Behind me, I heard Peter utter a scream.
“Noooooo.”
Still an empty field. I stared up at the ragged lawn. Nothing but tall grass and weeds.
No house. No parents.
My whole body sagged. My knees folded. I dropped to the wet ground.
Gone. Everything. Still gone.