Page 1 of Hallow’s Eve

Chapter one

Orange, crisp leaves litter the sidewalk, crunching under my feet as I walk up to Aunt June's walkway. Jack-o’-lanterns decorate the neighbors’ porches on each side of her house. Each has an interesting carving, glowing with a flickering light as cobwebs hang from the doorframes and banisters.

The houses next to my aunt’s are subtle, but the others down the street have at least thousands of dollars worth of decor. One house is a graveyard with a werewolf and another has zombies attacking the house. Halloween is widely praised in this town. Never mind that the town is literally called Hallow. There’s a huge pot of gold for the winner with the most lavish design.

My aunt's house stands out amongst the rest as it's decorated with sigils to ward off evil and bundles of dried herbs hanging from the tops of the porch. Green vines wrap around the frame of the house that's painted black and glowing candles sit in the windowsill. This is a normal, everyday sight for our household.

We’re known as the Salem Witches. My ancestors moved to Hallow, fleeing from the violent massacre of the witches. Ever since then, the townspeople would venture to our homes seeking herbs, spells, and potions for all sorts of occasions. Instead of being feared, the town depends on our craft.

We get all sorts of requests from elixirs, creams, and spells to help their love flourish. We’ve also had the local sheriff’s department knocking at our door for assistance on locating missing people. I’m always in such awe watching my aunt perform the services. She transforms into something magical and her essence pours out of her, drifting into your being. The feeling of calm and serenity settles within your soul, giving you the peace you didn’t know you needed.

Opening the door, the smell of fresh lit sage invades my senses. Aunt June notices me immediately and sages me in a clockwise rotation, cleansing myself and the space of any negative energy. She’s extra thorough as tomorrow is the night the demons present themselves.

“Brooklyn, you need to be alert these next two nights. If you hear whispers in your mind, you must fight them. Don’t be tempted to follow the draw that lures you to the forest. Hallow’s Eve is tomorrow and I have this gnawing feeling that I can’t shake off.” She finishes the final swipe before stepping away.

The paranoia oozes from her as she looks me over and makes sure every inch of me is saturated with the smoky scent. Once she’s done with me, she turns toward the door and does the same, making sure negative energy didn’t follow me in.

“Stop worrying. There hasn’t been a pull to the deadly forest since your mother was my age. I doubt it’s going to happen to me. It didn’t happen last year, or the year before that. I promise, I’ll be fine,” I reassure her as I walk past her, heading toward the wooden stairs.

There’re stories that the dark forest at the edge of our property is the home of deadly demons. They summon a Salem Witch on Hallow’s Eve and feasts on their souls. It hasn’t happened in sixty years and, honestly, it’s all a folklore that’s recited to me constantly to scare me away from the forest. It makes me all the more curious but I won’t dare go against my aunt by venturing to satisfy the itch.

According to my aunt, her mother, Evelyn Blackwood, was lured into the dark forest on Hallow’s Eve. Mist surrounded the forest from prying eyes and screams of terror were faintly heard. Her mother never came home which resulted in my mother and aunt being raised by their aunt, Aunt Lou Blackwood. The grandmother I never met was supposedly her twin and they believed that once the twins came of age, one of them would be separated from the other, hence the forest.

Aunt June and my mother were twins and she thinks that my mother was meant to be summoned but she’d died before it was her time. My mother had become obsessed over the curse, which made her go mad. When she found out she was pregnant with twins, she’d hit her breaking point. It didn’t help that my father had taken off as soon as he found out the news of the pregnancy. She didn’t want to bring children into the mix and tried to terminate before she was further along. My aunt had found her making a lethal and forbidden potion but was quick enough to stop her before she could take it.

During those eight months, it was a never-ending battle for my aunt as she watched over my mother and tried to ease her mind that the stories weren’t true and that their mother had just died of natural causes. She tried to convince her that their aunt’s stories were just to scare them. Much like she does to me now. I never understood why, as she didn’t believe in the curse prior. What changed?

My mother gave birth to my sister and me but my twin died at childbirth. You would think a mother would be saddened by losing a child, but this brought her relief. There would be no summoning in her child's future to bear.

When I turned three, my mother started to have this feeling that gnawed at her skin and her paranoia had set in again. She ended up taking her life. My aunt said that, supposedly, it was my mother’s turn to be summoned and she would have rather left her daughter behind by ending her life before a demon could claim her soul.

My aunt is dead set that I’ll take her place, even though she found the stories to be folklore. She started having weird dreams of me running into the mist, petrified as I’m being hunted. She’s spent my whole life prepping me, protecting me, and shielding me from it occurring. I love her to death but sometimes, I think she’s completely lost it.

“It’s better to be prepared than blindsided by evil. How was work today?” She walks away towards her spell room, waving two fingers at me to follow.

I do so and notice the furniture is pushed to the side with supplies to cast a circle. I don’t question but redirect my intentions as I walk through the barrier.

We place a candle at each corner, different colors representing the different elements. White for air, red for fire, green for earth, blue for water, and purple for spirit. We also add a black candle to symbolize protection. As we light each candle, we ask for the elements to come forth. We save the last candle, black, as it’s the very one we’re seeking protection from.

“What is not mine, I send away. You cannot linger, you cannot stay. I walk in light, I speak my name. I stand in truth, I claim my name.” Aunt June starts the chants for spiritual shielding.

“Circle of light, pure and bright. Guard me now, both day and night. By root and flame, wind and sea, only good may come to me,” I recite after her with closed eyes, inhaling every word, setting the intentions with positive energy.

“What’s sent to dark shall turn to light, no harm shall pass, no ill shall bite. Blessed Be.” We both speak in unison, taking a moment for the words to sink into our souls.

I feel the spirit enter me, soothing my fears away, making me feel grounded and at peace. My body relaxes at the familiar touch and I allow it to take over me. I haven’t felt this way in a long time and I’m loving the way it soothes my core.

Once we have completed, we close out the circle and thank the elements. For the rest of the evening, we make oils and lotions for some of the townspeople who made requests earlier this week.

Everything is going to be okay.

Entering my room, I drop my bag on the forest green, velvet chair and slide off my slip-ons. I make quick work peeling off my clothes, throwing them in a hamper, before stepping into my bathroom and turning on the knob in my shower to hot and watch as steam fogs the glass.

Heat pounds against my bare skin, relaxing my muscles. My eyes shut and a hum leaves my lips at the satisfaction I feel right now. Suddenly, a cool breeze slithers down my back causing me to turn around hastily. As to be expected, nothing is behind me and it must have just been a gust of cool breeze from the open window.

“Brooklyn,” a male’s sultry voice whispers in my ear.

I whip around and once again, nothing is behind me. My mind is fucking with me from the lack of sleep I’ve had this week. There’s no one in here with me; I’m just imagining it.