『What a Beautiful Night』
“HA! Not bad, kid.”
The man at the door threw a liquorice on Cahir’s face and slammed the door.
Cahir grabbed the liquorice bouncing to the snowfield, put it into the bag and walked to the next house with the light on, step by step.
“Bravo, wh…what a great day, tur…turns out I can still earn something if I jus…just shut my mouth up.”
Weighing the bag in the palm of his hand, Cahir had quite a positive thought in his mind, it’s been a long time since he tasted this wonderful feeling. Actually Cahir has almost forgotten how it feels like to go on the street, since he was sold from Paris to London, everyone either treated him like some deformed shape of wild boars, or beat the shit out of him just because he looked like he had the plague, even some of them would attack him because they didn’t like his French accent.
However, since some weird holiday came into this village, every October became his wonderful month. Citizens would treat his odd look as some good costume in this month, nobody would beat him anymore, some of them even gave him the liquorices as a gift. Though there were still some critics who were against this holiday, they still couldn’t stop children from enjoying this activity.
Who cares! The candies inside of the mouth are what really matters.
While murmuring to himself, Cahir had come back to his wrecked little shack, he flipped off the snow on his shoulder, tiptoeing into the half corroded doorway.
“G…Grandma! I’m home!.”
Inside the kitchen, beside the stove, aside a faint candle, an old woman with a kind face was sitting, pulling the stems of a small bag of sprouted potatoes. Seeing this, Cahir pulled a basket near to him as a stool and sat down in front of the old lady.
“Yo…you don’t ha..ave to do this, grandma, I bring us so…some candies! Let’s have some!”
“Oh Cahir, my boy, Merry Christmas.”
“It’s Ha…Halloween, grandma.”
“Oh…. Is that so…. Haha.”
This old lady was the main reason why the deformed, skinny child can survive from the slave traders. In the afternoon after a trader beat Cahir half to death for fun, it was she who cut the rope that bound him when the trader was not looking. In the following years, this little shack became the beacon both physically and emotionally to Cahir.
Until recently, thanks to the weird holiday called “Halloween”, Cahir could finally come up to the street without any concerns.
“It wou….ld be wonderful if Hall…Halloween could go on f…forever.”
Cahir picked a liquorice and bit a little.
This night, maybe the most wonderful night ever.
“Right HERE!!!”
A loud yelling rose from the outside of the door, along with the torches and pitchforks came a whole group of angry villagers…… And a tall-black figure wore a dark schnabel mask.
The shining fire burned Cahir’s eyes. He staggered to stand up with the liquorice was still holding in hand.
“Doctor!! Right here! That’s the witch who killed my wife!! Useed the fucking plauge!!!”
The weird schnable-mask guy didn’t respond to the villager, he stepped into the little shack with one big foot. This action crashed the weak fence. With the cold wind blowing and the melted snow rivering into the house, this guy stood in front of the old lady and Cahir.
“Yo…You shou…ld not p..pass!!”
Cahir tried his best to shut out with his improper English.
“My miserable child, it was she who put thou into this pathetic position, isn’t it?”
The mask man pulled out a long stick, then slashed Cahir without a word. The humongous strike knocked him down, during the way of passing out, the only thing Cahir could see was the mask man grabbing grandma and dragging her out of the house.
…
“Aaa… w…. where am I…..?”
Don’t know how long it has been though, when Cahir finally came back to consciousness, he discovered he had been tethered to the ground. As for grandma, she was tied up at the stake, the fire was crackling.
“My dear villagers!! There is no need for any consternation for that abhorrence Black Death!! This lousy witch has been captured, and beneath the spectator of Lord, we shalt clean this prostitute of demon though holy fire!!! May God have mercy on her!!!!”
The mask man was shouting on the stage, corresponding to the raging fire on the back and those furious villagers in front. Somehow, it was hallowed on him.
“Grandmere!!”
No matter how hard Cahir yelled, the villagers were already immersed in madness. After his throat went hoarse, his grandmere also had been burned to the charred corpse.
Weepy tears and snotty nose covered Cahir’s face, he collapsed on the ground, let villagers drag over to the torture bench.
“My miserable child.” The mask man said.
“Look at your deform face and mutilated body. What if the rotten witch didn’t madeth thou became this, mayest a happy life thou couldst have…..”
“Yo…you know nothing…. you k..now nothing!!!! Grandmere is… Sss… She is….”
“Look at thou, what a deluded person thou became.”
The mask man bowed down facing Cahir, then shoved a big handful of liquorice into Cahir’s mouth.
“Thou sins wilt be healed, child, take this liquorice as thy farewell gift.”
The mask man straightened his body, immersed into the crazy villagers.
Right after he vanished among villagers, a heavy fist suddenly hit Cahir’s cheek, following the punches and kicks rained on him.
The harder the crowd hit, the sweeter Cahir could taste.
“…. Sucré…..”
November first, the sun shone on the empty court as usual, only a pulpy human flesh left on the ground.
…
One year later, on Halloween, the village was once again lit up at night.
Lanterns made by cabbages or pumpkins were arranged in front of every house’s doors.
Drifting snow, those childish footprints made by snow and mud were appearing that tonight was a wonderful night for kids.
A wooden door was opened, one more little foot stepped out of the house.
“Djali!!! Wait!!”
A woman’s voice stopped the little foot’s approaching out of the house.
“Your mask!!!”
“Oh right! Thanks mommy!”
Djali turned back, watching her mother handing the mask to her from the kitchen in a hurry, with one hand still holding the half-chopped potato. That’s a sack mask made a few days ago. While taking the mask, her mother complained:
“I just don’t know why you kids will be so passionate about this weird holiday, if your father knows, he’s definitely gonna beat the shit out of you.”
“OKay mom, I will be careful.”
Djali put her mask on, trying to ignore her mother’s threatening worry. She grabbed a small basket as she was going to get some candies for her little fellas.
However, when she was finally ready to go, her mother suddenly pulled her back into the house.
In the first place, her mother going back on her word made Djali a bit angry, but soon, she realized things were not what she thought. A chilling sweetness enveloped her nostrils.
The source of the sweetness was a figure in front of the house. The figure wasn’t big, but the syrup covering it was gradually slithering toward the house. Heavy syrup covered his face, you couldn’t tell the expression by that, but one thing definitely for sure was: He was NOT a little boy asking for some candies.
“CANDY……”
With the syrup on the face cracked a gap, a heavy growl sounded like “Candy” came with a suffocating sweetness drilled into Djali’s brain…….
Part of Cahir has been revealed
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