The Novella Life of Illuscia Nester Himawari

PRETTY GIRL Pretty pretty pretty girl Snow white skin and golden curls She’s a vision sent from heaven Break of dawn till half past seven But with darkness things will change She gets weird and she gets strange Teeth grow long beyond proportion Limbs will twist in mass contortions Bile pours from her snapping jaws Venom drips from six inch claws Skin becomes a scaly mask White hot flames shoot out her ass Half a horror half delight Just don’t take her out tonight She is something in between If tonight is Halloween Credits to: charitytryst —  THE COSTUME I look at my reflection. I smile, admiring my beautiful appearance. A green bulb-like head with two big round eyes on it, coupled with an unnoticeable small nose and a lipless mouth full of terrifying yellow incisors that seem ready to bite through anything. The upper part of a suit covers my chest; I want to look fancy. Through the sleeves a pair of long tentacles pop out, and through the lower half of the suit 8 more tentacles ap...

ONE NIGHT ONLY Knock knock . I peer through the peep-hole in my door. A miniature Dracula and his sister, Cinderella, are standing on my doorstep. “Trick or treat!” they yell in unison as I open up, a wide smile etched across my face. “My, my, those are very convincing costumes!” I say. “Thank you mister,” says Cinderella, before stretching out an expectant hand. Her brother follows suit. I poke my head through the door frame and inspect the road outside: deserted. “What’s your favourite kind of sweet?” I ask. “Gummy bears! Jelly babies!” I feign surprise. “Well you’re in luck! I’ve got hundreds in my kitchen!” The children stare up at me in anticipation. “The trouble is, I’m very frail you see. Won’t you come in and help me get them out the cupboard?” They look unsure. “Mommy says we’re not to go in strangers’ houses,” Dracula protests. I sigh dejectedly. “That’s a shame. I’ll have to give them out to all the other little monsters. And I did so want to show off  my  costume!...

THE RITUAL OF EIGHT Peer pressure is like gravity. It pulled seven of us into a graveyard on Halloween night, unable to resist the eighth, with his black hole of an ego. But the real reason we followed Marcus? Because we were bored, stupid kids on Halloween, that’s why. We should’ve left when Marcus made us wear robes and chant nonsense. I never imagined he’d actually go through with his half-baked ritual to extend our own lives by taking another. But then he did it. While we chanted what he told us was Latin for “out of one, into eight,” Marcus used a dagger to make a ritualistic sacrifice. He killed. I felt sick for weeks. I couldn’t look in the mirror, and I avoided my “friends.” We all had blood on our hands. Then the accidents started happening. Lee tripped off the bleachers and snapped her neck. David’s bedroom burned from an overturned candle. Marjorie swerved in front of a bus. Carlos got locked in his basement during a deadly allergic reaction. One by one they died, until onl...

I REMEMBER Laurie died today. Fifteen years ago. I remember. Mother made me take Laurie trick-or-treating. She knew how much I hated it, seeing everyone dressed as characters from shows I didn’t watch. She knew how much I hated Laurie’s energy. She even knew how much I hated Halloween, because all the costumes and decorations overwhelmed me. I reminded Mother of all this that night, but she still made me go. I remember leaving the house, with Laurie dressed as some stupid pixie. She pranced from house to house, always eager to get to the next one before she had even gotten her candy from the first. Once, she almost collided with a garbage bin. I picked her up and pretended to dump her inside and roll her home to Mother. “No!” she shrieked, laughing. “Need more candy!” I remember. I remember warning her to stop pelting me with candy. I even remember putting my hands around her throat. The thing I don’t remember is how her mutilated body ended up in that garbage bin, stuffed with candy,...

I DON’T LIKE MUMMY’S COSTUME Little Timmy Parker loved Halloween He would eat candy until he turned green He loved knocking on doors all over his building He loved stories about goblins and killing Daddy was out working an all-nighter Like dad Tim dressed as a fire fighter All snug airtight in daddy’s HazMat suit Even tucked his pants into his work boots He heard sirens and he saw lights flashing He opened his door to see the fashion A dull green mist hung like a diseased cloud He could barely think the screams were too loud This is great he thought it’s so realistic Cops and firemen all going ballistic Blood flowed down the hall like a red river Through Timmy’s body ran a cold shiver Why were so many guys dressed as zombies Timmy ran back to look for his mommy He heard guttural groans and monstrous moans Ripping tendons and the snapping of bones Brave Tim grabbed his bat he knew what to do But Tim froze when he heard “Mommy loves you” It lunged forward for a kiss on the cheek Tim was...