The Spirit Of Halloween

Chapter 1
The Spirit of Halloween

Amanda was sitting on her coach, switching between the channels while dangling lazily her leg on the couch edge. But there was only crap on evening program on TV, broadcasting only boring Halloween special series and shows.

"Honestly, who wants to see this waste of time?" she grumbled to herself.

Amanda turned off the TV and starred on the ceiling. She hated Halloween, she really hated this stupid holiday. Children are dressed up in ridiculous costumes and begging for treats and worse, some traditional comedians are throwing eggs on the doors in the neighborhood. And those who are not sober yet, are in some parties, like most of her friends did. But Amanda wasn’t in party mood; she just wanted to be left alone.

It wasn’t necessary to have a look out of the windows to know that everyone outside was dressed up in costumes.

Amanda, however, wore a green pullover and blue jeans.

"How embarrassing", she thought. "Why spending money for some something that could be worn for this only time in a year - for the sake of commercialization? - Not with me!"

The bell rang. Left next to the door’s little blurred windows she could see the shapes of children.

"Damn brats," Amanda thought annoyed; feeling disturbed from her laziness, "don’t they have any parents asking them to buy some candies, instead of begging by strangers."

She looked at the antique long case clock she inherited from her grandmother, the watch hands were pointing at 8.28 p.m.

"Better I go looking before they are doing something nasty."

Slowly she got up on her toes and walked to the door. Amanda was barefooted for she loved the tingling sensation on her toes, when she was at home. On her way to the door she briefly admired in the mirror over the commode her long lustrous red hair and sexy figure.

"Trick or treat." the children shouted with open bags, when Amanda opened the door.

Before her stood a clocked boy with a scythe, his face covered within a hood; a typically witch with a typically ridiculous overlarge hat and - how originally - someone with a pumpkin-head and a bed sheet as a costume.

"Then treat." Amanda answered, took a candy from the girl’s bag and smashed the door.

"They won’t come back so soon again." she thought amused and rewards herself with the looted candy.

This sweet one was incredibly good, soon her whole mouth was filled of the sour-sweet but also juicy taste. It was cool outside and Amanda’s feet were shivering a bit. Quickly she went to her couch and made it herself comfortable, her hands behind her head and closed her eyes to concentrate fully on this taste.

When the candy had melted in her mouth the amazing taste was still in her mouth and dangling her leg on the edge again. To her surprise she barely could reach the floor and it seemed that her feet were caught in something.

"What’s that?" Amanda wondered in astonishment, when she found out that her feet have sunk into her jeans leg.

But that wasn’t all, even her jeans on her belly was too loose as if she had lost about a dozen pounds. Even her arms were fully muffled in her green pullover and the long sleeved reminded her of a straightjacket.

Now she recognized that everything in her living room seems ... to be larger and bigger. By the way big, on the spot where her bra was used to fill her breasts the cups felt empty.

"What happened to me?" she said in an unusually high pitched voice.

Now aware that something was wrong with her, she jumped from the coach and soon her jeans followed by her panties slipped down. Amanda tried to pull of her jeans at least, but her feet were too much sunken in her trousers that she lost her balance and felt on the floor. Thanks to the overlarge trousers she had problems to stand up and had to crawl out of her jeans. When she managed to get free and to stand on her own feet again, her underwear slipped between her legs. Even her bra was too loose to fit her body. She decided to take off her lingerie for now and eventually wore merely her green pullover, which she had turned up the sleeves.

She ran to the commode and stood on her toes to look into the mirror. What she saw was a little girl with big green eyes, uncombed smooth hair and cut little freckles around her nose; the lower part couldn’t be seen.

"No! I’m a girl!" she shrieked in a low high pitched voice. "But how did this happen?

With a closer look Amanda found out that her chest was totally flat and what she didn’t liked was that her freckles returned she had lost when becoming older. This was the worst thing that ever happened to her.

"What should I do now?" she thought desperately.

Then she remembered: "These wretched brats, this happened after I have taken their candy."

With large fast steps (for a girl) she went to the door. From the blurred windows next the door, she could see that the children still stood in front of the door.

"Look what you have done to me!" Amanda shouted in her young ridiculous voice when she opened the door, trying to be act like an adult though.

The children giggled.

"Stop laughing! I know exactly that it is your fault." she added, somehow it was strange to look at the kiddos at the same eye-level.

"My, my ... you are a smart girl." the witch smirked.

Amanda could feel her stomach getting tighter. Somehow she recognized that her harsh word didn’t have any effects and those kiddos weren’t impressed at all.

"Who are you guys?" Amanda asked half carefully, half scared.

"We bring the spirit of Halloween to those who haven’t. Thus we came to the decision to condemn you killjoy to be trapped in a girl’s body." the boy in the Grim Reaper costume said in a frowning way, although his voice was boy-like.

"You have no right to do that with me. Turn me back to normal, right now!" Amanda demanded in a sternly voice.

"If you are that insolent to us then we will never be friend." the witch said.

Without any further permission the three midgets stepped through the door. Amanda wasn’t pleaded about this ’self-invitation’; on the other hand she was happy about that because it was freaking cold outside.

"Okay, that’s not funny! How long do you intend to let me stay like that?" Amanda asked impatiently.

"What a stupid question; as long as it needs to grow up again."

"I was grown up before you turned me to this." With a gesture Amanda pointed with her hands to her body.

"Physically yes, but not within your inner self, so we gave you seventeen of your years back to make your appearance match your true self."

"Wait! Seventeen years ... I was twenty-four, so then ..., "Amanda counted with her fingers, "... then I’m seven years young!" she shouted.

"Well done count." the Grim Reaper mocked.

"You can’t do that to me. I’m an adult."

"So we do." the Pumpkin costumed boy said. "But at Halloween we like it be that way."

"But I don’t! And what should I tell the people, "Amanda talked thoughtfully, more to herself in sorrow than to the three in the room, "that I’m a blasted child again but everything is fine? They would never believe me."

"Put your doubts beside, there is still one way how you can return to you elderly self," the witch said in a calm and mysterious way and stepped to Amanda that close that she could see directly her image in her brown eyes.

Now Amanda could see that the witch was about a half head bigger than her, maybe she was about a year older than her. She didn’t know if it was the difference in size but even that young the witch-costumed girl had a much mature and stronger charisma.

"Now listen carefully, only what you have to do is follow the sprit of Halloween."

"The spirit of Halloween." she stuttered.

"You listened well."

"What do you mean with spirit of Halloween exactly?"

"The spirit of Halloween is to disguise yourself into a costume and walk from house to house for trick or treat, of course, stupid." the witch giggled gently and then she continued: "But there is a hatch in it. Whatever you do, you have only time till midnight. Then, if you haven’t returned with at least hundred treats, you have to be trapped in this girl’s body."

"Until midnight!" Amanda gasped aghast. "But I don’t have anything that fits me, how should I get a costume that late."

"This, my little cutie, is your problem."

Amanda glanced at the watch, it showed 8.55 p.m. How should she be able to do this in nearly three hours, this is impossible.

"Think about it Amanda," she said to herself, "or do you want to spend your life as a child again?"

Then she got an idea! "The roof," she shouted, and run upstairs.

Over a trapdoor she stopped. She jumped to get the cord to open the roof, but she was too small to reach it.

"What are you doing?" the Pumpkin asked.

Amanda shrieked, she haven’t noticed that the threesome have followed her upstairs.

"I must have there something left from my childhood." She pointed above. "Maybe I can find something of use, but I cannot get upstairs. Can someone help me?"

"Alright!" the boys said.

First the Grim Reaper-costumed boy helped her to step-up to climb the roof, but she was still to small get the cord. If she could just reach it a little more higher.

Then the both boys tried to lift her higher. It was a strange feeling, their little hand holding her little feet. The higher they pushed her; the boys soon got an opportunity to peek under her pullover. Amanda noticed that and blushed, but she didn’t dare to scream, not that the both voyeurs let her fall. Eventually she reached the cord and stairs appeared from the ceiling.

Quickly Amanda climbed the precipitous stairs and was looking for something. Under a thick dusk layer she found it at least. A trunk, Amanda opened the chest and found a fairy-costume, one she wore when she was a little girl in an elementary school play.

"That will do it." she said.

Amanda noticed that the two boys were still there.

"Would you mind to let me my privacy so I can change myself." she blushed, letting then have peeked them before doesn’t mean to let it be a habit.

After a while Amanda went downstairs, she could hear from afar the sound of a Halloween show. The three children didn’t notice her coming and were watching the show like glued to the television. Amanda nearly went mad, looking those three on her coach this kind of shows she hated most; but she calmed down and swallowed her anger.

"I’ve found a costume, hope you’re happy." she harrumph slightly for paying attention.

It worked; the three turned their head to her.

"Oh! You seriously managed to get a costume, what a coin incident considering you hate being costumed." the witch smirked. "But can you also do it to make it in time"

The witch pointed at the clock, which was showing 9.10 p.m.

"I’ll show you that I will get those stupid candies and I don’t have to stay as a girl!" Amanda answered back.

"Well sweetie, then having a good ’Trick & Treat’ - time." the witch wished her fun while she waved to her for goodbye.

Amanda looked down at her bare feet and imagined how cold it must be outside now.

"But I don’t have any shoes to go out." Amanda objected.

Every shoe she possesses was now too big for her to wear and without anything on her toes she refused to take even a step outside the sill. The last thing the execrated girl wanted was to catch a cold.

"You can have mine," the witch offered, "but you have to come and get them by yourself."

"What you mean by ’get them yourself’? “

This question was unnecessary since Amanda could imagine what that witch meant; but she was playing this game since she hadn’t another option. She went to the girl and kneeled down, while the children were watching their show on the TV.

"Keep you head down, so we can watch." the Grim Reaper reproves her.

Amanda punished him by throwing him an angry eye, but she swallowed her anger once more again to get this as fast as possible behind her and not to waste valuable time for some useless discussions.

The witch shoes were originally black sandals, her toes would still become cold but it was better than nothing. Carefully she slipped off the sandals from the witch’s feet while she was watching closely and couldn’t avoid a little chuckle. Amanda could feel the warmth of the witch feet on the sandal she wore before. She couldn’t believe that her feet were now that small and wondered if these sandals would fit her at all?

There was only one way to find out. She slipped into the sandals, though the color didn’t match to her green fairy-costume, but this was not time for some fashion trends.

"Hey! They are fitting perfectly." she said pleased.

"Then have a good time and be a nice girl." the witch said, and before Amanda knew what was going on, she was outside her house.

"I can’t believe that they have made me do this thing I hate most." the little girl muttered unsatisfying.

Amanda barely made a few steps to the road, when she met a punch of costumed children. The elderly following them was Karen, her friend and neighbor. Unlike Amanda, Karen loved Halloween and agreed to pick some neighbor children and to go with them for trick or treat. Karen was well aware about Amanda’s attitude to Halloween. Usually her friend was ’as fresh as a daisy’ person but to this day of year she always acted weird and wanted to skip Amanda’s house, when she saw the confused looking girl.

"Who are you?" Karen asked; she suspected that she didn’t get anything from Amanda.

"Amanda." the girl said instantly without thinking about telling her true name.

"Are you somehow related to Amanda Walker?" Karen asked suspiciously.

Amanda suddenly realized that it wasn’t wise to tell that, but why shouldn’t she deny it? Karen has surely seen her leaving her house.

"Yes, yes," she lied, "she is my aunt."

Karen starring at her in disbelieving, but with a closer look she realized that her appearance was very akin and by coincident has even the same name. She really hoped that she wouldn’t become the same bluntly personality liker her aunt.

"Your aunt let you go all by your self?"

"Well ... she said it would be okay."

"I think I have to talk a serious word with your aunt, even if she hates Halloween it is unacceptable to let a little girl that late alone in the neighborhood by her own. You will come with me!"

"But I ..."

It was pointless to resist, Karen took Amanda’s hand to join the other kids, going with them for trick or treat.

Somehow, Amanda felt silly, walking with a bunch of ghost and other monsters in accompanist considering that she was the only fairy tale costumed girl here.

Going from house to house seemed like an eternity. Amanda hated herself forgetting to take a watch with her; in her inner watch she had the feeling that midnight could arrive any minute and her bag didn’t seem to get fuller. The worst thing was when people gave her just one treat.

When they rang on one house for a treat, a vampire opened the door.

"Trick or treat!" the children shouted excitedly.

"Then come to my house of horror, if you dare." the vampire hisses.

"Ah, a spooky house, no way." Amanda thought; it was this kind of Halloween attractions people were making for some trick or treater. Taking part for this boring round tour for getting some treat wasn’t worth it, but Karen pushed her while the other kids went in quickly the house. On her way in, Amanda saw many bowl with filled up with sweets. A watch hanging on the wall showed her that it was 11.00 p.m. already. A sinister plan came through mind, maybe this whole thing wasn’t that bad, while everyone is distracted by this sightseeing she could sneak away, take the candies she needed and have enough time till midnight arrives.

In the dark room, nobody noticed when Amanda silently went to the bowls with treats. She took from everything a little amount, so it wasn’t obvious that she was stealing them.

When she thought she had enough she stalked to the door and ran as fast as she could home.

"I’ve done it, I got all candies." Amanda shouted happily and also out of breath when she stepped through the door, the watch showed 11.35 p.m. Amanda couldn’t believe that she took so long to get to her house, but at least she hadn’t to do this blasted trick or treat thing.

"You have really done it!" the pumpkin said.

"You can bet it and now turn me back to an adult." Amanda said proudly.

"It is not midnight yet, so there is enough time to check if you have really collected hundred treat." the witch said.

"Cursed brat!" Amanda thought, hoping that she really collected the total amount she needed.

They counted the treats and Amanda played with her mind what she would do if she became a grown up again; maybe spanking the butts of those insolent little nags. Though this little adventure pissed her off, the idea of spooky house fascinated her; she wondered if she shouldn’t do that too and scare those little nuisances so much that they would ran away and never dare to return again.

" ... ninety-nine ... hundred. Hundred exactly!" the pumpkin said.

"That was dump luck." the Grim Reaper said.

"Not so fast," the witch said, "she still owns me one."

Then the witch took one candy, Amanda debt her by looted her before.

"HEY!" Amanda shouted shocked.

The clock rang midnight and Amanda witnesses how the three children in front of her began to grow and taking adult shapes, while she herself remained a little girl.

"No! That’s not fair." she complained, looking up to the grown up giants.

She didn’t know why she hasn’t noticed it before but their costumes were baggy, which were fitting their adult’s body now.

"I have done everything what you wanted from me." she sobbed.

"Yes, but you haven’t done your task properly. From now on you will always be a little girl at exactly midnight until the thirteenths hour arrives, so you have only to be for one hour like that."

"I got the hundred candies but you took one from me." the girl was sobbing, but the witch didn’t care.

"One important thing! When the thirteenth hour has arrived, make sure that no one sees you."

"Why? What happens if someone sees me?"

"Then, my dear, you have to stay a girl for another day, until it is the thirteenth hour arrives again."

"But I don’t want to be a girl."

"You better live with it. At least until next Halloween, then you have another chance to regain your fully adulthood ... without that little ’trick’."

Then the three put the confused girl aside and left. When Amanda wanted to look back at them, they just disappeared in the dark of the night. Looking down Amanda saw that she still was wearing the black sandals of the witch.

"I wonder how she could walk outside barefooted?" the little girl wondered.

She closed the door and sat silently and somehow disbelieving that her little toes couldn’t reach the floor. It could be worse, all she had to do was to wait one hour before that spell, curse or whatever faded. She just had to take care that nobody watched her regressing to a girl at midnight and vise versa. Of course it also meant that she couldn’t met with any people at midnight or go to parties to this time.

"Oh, my gosh! What will I do at New Year’s eve?" she thought musingly. "What if anyone wants to invite me to a party?"

But being a girl could also be exciting, but Amanda shaking these thoughts out of her mind, this kind of adventures would just bring to troubles.

What the heck, her only adventure she was doing now was to turn on the tube and to wait until she could see her adult self again.

While Amanda was watching a horror movie to kill time, the door suddenly opened and Karen entered the semi dark room.

"Hi, you were disappearing that swiftly that I thought I have a look at you how you are doing." she announced friendly with a smile.

Karen face turned in outraged, when she saw the picture of the girl alone on the TV that late to watch a horror movie.

"Karen." Amanda cried and sunk frightening in her couch.

She was the last person Amanda has expected. The clock showed 0.40 a.m.

"I can’t believe that Amanda left you alone and let you see this movie. Where is your aunt anyway?" was the question.

"Well ... she isn’t home, but I’m sure she will come home any moment."

"I don’t know where you aunt is, but I won’t let a little girl like you to that late hour alone, letting her see any frightening horror movies. I’ll take you home; I will have a good talk with your aunt tomorrow.

"NO!" Amanda refused.

"It’s only to your best," Karen told her in a calm and understanding voice, "except you have a good reason not coming with me."

Amanda looked at her with hesitation, she couldn’t tell who she really was, it was too embarrassing; in her desperation she tried to run away, but Karen was faster. The girl tried to resist in vein and after a while it felt comfortable, lying on her neighbors arms.

"That’s right, you must be tired. If we are home I’ll put you on nice soft bed and have sweet dreams." Karen soothed the confused girl and carried her house, what other choice did she have?

Amanda hope of becoming an adult dwindled for tonight.

THE END

 

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