NOVEL FROG Chapter Twenty-One
I slid the black dress on and headed into the bathroom to do some makeup. I wasn’t that great at it, but a little sparkly eyeshadow and some eyeliner were good enough. Plus a deep red lipstick. All I needed was a hat, and I ordered one online for rush delivery.
“No costume for me?” asked the cat.
I was pretty sure he was joking, but one never knew. “I thought about it. Instead, you can be my familiar.”
The cat jerked backward, almost falling off the toilet lid. He had jumped up there to watch me put on the makeup. “I am not a familiar! I am The Cat!”
“Don’t worry, no costume required. You’re already a black cat with glowing green eyes.” I reached out and scratched his ears.
He purred before he realized it and stopped. “Still, I am not your familiar. You can be my witch.”
“Whatever you say.”
Someone knocked on the door, and I quickly fled the room, heading for the stairs.
“Coming!”
My normal delivery driver, the one who got my groceries, stood outside with a cloth black hat. I unlocked the door and they held it out to me.
“Here you go, looks like quite a party you have set up.”
“Hopefully, gotta surprise a few kids that love Halloween.”
“That’s a really great idea,” he said. He nodded his head and then walked off toward his car, which was at the curb.
I closed the door and looked over the hat. It was dark black and made with heavy wool. It had a soft point at the top that bent ever so slightly backward. Absolutely adorable. I almost wished I had a small one for the cat.
“You would look good with a small one of these,” I said.
“No.”
I shrugged and took the tag off the hat, and then I carefully placed it on my head. “Okay, I think we’re almost open for business. Cat can you lower the lights… Yep, just like that…”
The store dimmed and all the candles suddenly snapped on. Little flames danced, filling the space with a pleasant warmth. The red crystals under the cauldron glowed making the whole thing look amazing.
I moved to the front door and swung it open. Darkness greeted me, as I used the footstop to leave the door propped open. The smell of dried leaves filled the room, and I smiled brightly.
“This is amazing,” I mumbled looking over the scene in the shop.
The sound of children’s voices came from behind me and their excitement was palpable in the crisp air. I only had a quick glance before I moved back into the shop, but leading the pack was a girl dressed as a fairy.
They must have seen the movement and the first head popped into the shop. The fearless young girl’s eyes grew wide. She had delicate wings shimmering with glitter. She stepped inside looking every which way before landing on me standing behind the cauldron.
“Come in, come in,” I said.
“Happy Halloween!” Her voice kicked off a chorus of voices as the others followed her in. They had a daring pirate with an eye patch and toy sword, a ghost with a sheet, and a few superheroes that I didn’t recognize.
“Trick or treat!”
“Cookies are on the table,” I pointed to the table near the front window.
Each grabbed two, and some started nibbling. “Thank you!”
Then they were off back into the night. The cat came out from under the chair.
“You could sit on the chair, and look menacing,” I said.
“This whole thing is ridiculous…”
Still, the next time a group came in, the cat was on the chair staring at the children with his deep green eyes. I spotted an adult standing outside the shop. The kids fawned over the decor and then were on their way.
The night continued like this for hours, and the darkness grew deeper. The cat suddenly sat up from the ball he had curled up in and focused on the door. My feet hurt from all the standing, but I kept the cookie plate filled.
Three kids popped into the shop, slightly older than the crowds before. These were all solidly in their teens. Now we started getting more complex costumes. All three were werewolves of some sort. The makeup was incredible on one of them. The other two hadn’t put in as much effort.
“Trick or treat!”
“Welcome, I have cookies for each of you,” I said.
I was already near the cookie table and gave the first two teens two cookies each. The third one reached out, but his fingers were wrong. Pointed with claws. He noticed I paused and his hand trembled, pulling back slightly.
I quickly grabbed a third cookie for him and held it out. “Our little secret,” I whispered.
His yellow eyes glowed as a big grin broke out over his face. The two others quickly hauled him out of there, voices low and muttering about not getting caught. He glanced back once more, and I gave him a wink. Then they were gone, off into the night.
“Well, you handled that well,” said the cat.
The deep howl of a wolf rattled the shop, cutting off the cat.
“I think he liked the cookies.” I ignored the fact that I’d just given a real werewolf cookies, and just went with the flow. It was Halloween, who knew what magic was in the air? After that, I peered carefully at the ‘costumes’, seeing traces of real fur or fangs. Once I was positive the wings were real. To each of these, I gave an extra cookie. All were thankful and shocked at my appreciation for their costumes.
Eventually, the cookies started to run out.
“We can close up anytime now,” said the Cat. “We’ve done what we needed to. More than that in fact.”
I nodded and moved to the door. Two figures formed in the darkness, a mom in a witch's hat like mine and a little girl, who was also dressed as a witch. She had on a black dress and held a plastic cauldron. Her eyes locked with mine and she darted forward, dragging her mother toward the shop opening.
“See, Mommy! Another witch! Witches go trick or treating!”
I stepped backward into the shop before they arrived at the doorway. The mom stuck her head in and her eyebrows drew together. Yet, the girl made her way around her mother’s legs and she began to explore the space.
“Oh, so much magic.”
“Of course, it's Halloween. Magic is all over if you know where to look,” I answered.
The mom glanced all over, but the girl drew my attention. Her fake Halloween basket was empty. I squatted down next to the cookie table and held one out. “What do you say?”
“Trick or treat!”
“That’s right, I have some cookies here for you.”
The little witch held out her bucket, and I placed three cookies inside. Each was covered with a little paper bag that was a deep purple.
“Angela,” whispered the mother. Her voice was slightly filled with panic.
My head snapped in that direction, and I found her staring at the cat. Her eyes wide.
“He means you no harm, not on this night,” the words rolled off my tongue without even thinking about it.
“Momma, I got three cookies!” The little witch smiled brightly at me. “Can you do magic for me? Momma says witches don’t do magic on Halloween, but I think witches should.”
I climbed to my feet, my thoughts racing on what I could do.
“What do you think, Cat? Can we do some magic for the little witch?” I asked out loud.
To my surprise, the cat didn’t respond, just stared at the mother.
I moved close to the cauldron and prayed the cat wouldn’t let me down. Extra cookies sat on the counter behind us, in the dark. I could do this.
“Cookie, cookie come to me,
abundance this night,
of three-time three,
may it harm none,
and bring joy to see,
Cookie, cookie come to me.”
I reached into the cauldron and pulled out three more cookies. The little witch clapped and held out her bucket. I placed the cookies inside with a soft smile.
“Here you go!”
The mother grabbed the little witch's hand and pulled her to the door. “Thank you for the cookies,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome, Happy Halloween.”
Then they were gone, and the door snapped shut behind them.
#
She had defended me and then called the cookies to herself. They moved from the counter to the cauldron. The little spell was unneeded. As soon as her thoughts had pictured the cookies in it, they’d appeared, out of sight. The cauldron had been excited to taste some magic, as it’d been without for many years. Yet, it hadn’t done any of the lifting, that was all the shop. It wanted her to use the magic that was given to the Shopkeeper. Its excitement filled the air, and it hoped she would use it more often now.
Sable sat down in the chair and took off her shoes. The shop grew brighter and all the candles went out. The shop did not like flames, but had wanted her to enjoy the evening. “That was so much fun, Cat. Did you have fun as well?”
“I did,” I replied.
There wasn’t another truthful answer. Watching her figure out that not all who came to the shop were human was fascinating. Each she treated a little extra well, though I know not why. Still, that was who she was.
Sable, the Shopkeeper.