Part 1

Waking the Dead

Part Two

"Hey, Amelia, Lani, wait up," shouted a voice behind the two girls. Shortly, a small ghost caught up with them. "Are you really going to do it?"

"We sure are, Elizabeth," replied the princess. "We're stopping to get Meesha on the way."

The little ghost jumped around. "This is going to be so cool!"

Tom put the club back in the bag. He walked over to the table, hung his head for a few seconds, and then looked up at the calendar on a nearby wall. "You were right, Ann. Everybody dies at forty-three. My mother wasn't born a Barnes. She wasn't exempt from the curse, why did you think you would be?"

He picked up the candy bowl and carried it out onto the porch, set it down, and then turned to go back in for his glasses. Instead, he felt a heavy pain in his chest. Tom fell into the porch swing. The pain eased off as quickly as it had come. Looking up to the sky. "Death, you are one hell of a prankster."

He turned events over in his mind. As soon as they had returned from Hawaii, Ann fell sick. The doctors said the cancer was inoperable. They suggested other methods. The fact that she had turned forty-three just the month before told Tom and Ann it would be a waste of time. They gave her medicine for the pain. On the night she passed away, October the first, she insisted on being carried out to the porch. She was tired of waiting.

"Meesha, take a look at our balloons."

"Look what I've got," replied the ballerina.

"Is that an egg?" asked the little ghost.

"Yep."

"Cool!"

"That drunken old man is gonna get it, tonight!"

Tom closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them there were five people standing at the front of the porch. It seemed perfectly natural for his parents and his two brothers to be there. With them was an old man in a robe. He started to ask who he was when the stranger raised a hand to silence him.

"So you think I've become predictable. I guess this blows that theory out of the water. You're probably right about my being a prankster.  On the other hand, if you can't enjoy your work, why bother. Even though you and your brothers were childless, your family will be missed, but no one shall suffer from their passing."

His oldest brother leaned forward, "Let's go. You should see this town on Halloween night."

Tom smiled, started to get up, and then a thought struck him. "Wait a second, someone's missing."

A hand slipped into his. He turned to see Ann sitting next to him, looking just as beautiful as the day they had left for Hawaii. The two of them rose up and followed the rest of the group out into the street. Once there, he noticed the man in the robe was gone.

"There he is, sitting with no light on," said the witch.

"I don't see any candy," observed the little ghost.

"I'll bet he's already passed out. Does he have on his glasses?" asked the princess.

"No," answered the ballerina.

"Good, we can get real close. He'll never know what hit him."

The little ghost held back while the others crept up to the porch. After silently counting to three, they let loose with their projectiles and headed back to the street to hide behind trees and bushes.

Tom felt strange to be standing in the middle of the street; watching his neighbors yet knowing they couldn't see him "Do you guys spend every night walking the streets?" asked Tom.

"No, this is the only night of the year we're here," replied his father. "I think we're actually somewhere else the rest of the time. For some reason we are not allowed to remember the other place. Still, this is a pretty good time. We don't interact with the living but we get to see old friends that have also died."

Ann held of one of his arms and his mother grabbed the other. "Even though we can't touch them, the living can be fun to watch. The little ones are so cute."

"He hasn't moved, Amelia" said the little ghost. "Maybe you killed him."

"He is not dead, Elizabeth. He's passed out. Meesha, why don't you go up and shake him."

"I'm not going up there."

"How about you, Lani?"

"No way, Amelia. Why don't you do it? Unless, you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of that old man. He touches me and my mom will have him locked up for the rest of his life."

"Well, go touch him, then"

"I'll show you guys."

Tom looked around. "It sure seems like there ought to be more people here."

"Some of them are slow to rise," said his mother "It's just a matter of time."

A high-pitched scream suddenly filled the air. Looking back at his house, the group could see a witch, ghost, and a ballerina running in their direction. Several yards behind them, desperately trying to catch up, was a princess. She stumbled for a second; losing the tiara she was wearing. She made no attempt to retrieve it.

The girls ran straight through them. None of them looked back. Tom's family shook their heads and laughed before looking to him for some sort of answer. After a few seconds, a big smile came across his face and he glanced in the direction of the local cemetery. "Well. That should have woke them!"