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Welcome Back

Leaves rustle and dance in the wind.
A voice howls through the autumn air,
Shakily whispering, Come in.
Somewhere, a black cat meows.

I pass through a strange gate.
Pumpkin spice fills the air.

Welcome back.

A whisper tickles my ear,
A hiss both satisfying and frightening.
I smile, my senses pleased,
Yet something inside me turns and pleads.

Everything is peaceful,
Yet strangely unnerving.
I feel alive,
But something within me feels ill.

Suddenly, I’m walking down a quiet street.
An old suburban block,
Familiar and sweet.

The last kiss of the sun’s warmth
Gives way to a cool, steady breeze.
A flood of familiarity—
A season, a month, a day.

I’ve been here before.
I wonder how many times.

Time feels strange as the warmth fades away.
The air is like biting into an apple,
Cold and crisp against my skin.

Children’s laughter echoes in the distance
As the town clock ticks.
Candles flicker behind windows.
A celebration.

Everything seems right.
So why do I feel this apprehension?

Ahead, the children appear,
Disguised and delighted—
A rabbit, a reaper,
A ghost, a hero, a demon,
And monsters borrowed from the movies.

For one night,
Everyone becomes someone else.

Horrors disguised as fun.

They wander from door to door,
Trading tricks for treats,
Laughter for sweets.

I walk the familiar street,
Uneasy but content,
Trying to force a smile.

I think it’s always been my favorite day.

I watch the celebration
As time slips away.

I feel so alive today.

Then a raven caws.

At the corner, the moon begins to fade.
Crickets sing their final melody
As the first hint of dawn
Creeps out from darkness crossing the rooftops.

A house catches my eye.

Something stirs.

A memory,
Like a photograph suddenly illuminated.

The town clock chimes.

A snap.
The crack of a can opening.
Cold fizz, refreshing and burning.

A slender hand,
Cold against mine.

I remember now.

That year, he was a skeleton.
I was a zombie,
My flesh painted as though torn away.

Cool costume, someone says.

It was an October day.
Just like today.

And suddenly, I’m there again.

Headlights flash.

A deafening crash. A horrifying scream that refuses to be left in the past.

Lights.
Voices.
The sound of someone calling.

Then darkness.

But here I am,
On that same October day.

I glance at my reflection,
Longing to shed a tear.

None come.

Only the cold semblance of a body,
Still dressed like a zombie.

Was it ever just a costume?

The moonlight fades.
The last moments of October
Slip through my fingers, as a new day draws near.

For a moment,
I almost believe I survived. Then I see it and begin to wonder Maybe I’ve never left.

For as I turn just beyond a grave,
A slender hand rises
In a familiar wave.

A child stands at the gate,
Stoic and still,
Wearing his skeleton costume.

Waiting.

I know that face.
I know that hand.

I can remember it like yesterday. Him, the headlights, the crash. A horror on replay.

But it’s October,
And a part of me wants to stay. After all it is my favorite day.

But tomorrow brings November,
And I don’t know
What it might take away.

Behind me, the celebration continues,
Its candles fighting the darkness
As laughter slowly fades away.

One by one, the lights surrender
To the promise of a new day.

Yet it’s still October,
And I never want it to end.

For ahead, the child waits.

A voice whispers again.

Welcome back.

There is a choice to be made.

The gate before me,
Or another eternity
Lost in this cold October day.