“Whoever said it gets a wish,” said Jack, his smile twisting into a devilish grin.
“I did,” yelled Kevin and Alice at the same time, followed by a mean stare between siblings.
“What?” hollered Alice, her hands clenching into fists. “I said the spell.”
“I would’ve said it, if I knew there was a wish involved,” protested Kevin. “It’s not fair.”
“Stop it, you two,” said Zach. “This kid’s just messing around with us. There’s no such thing as magic wishes.”
Alice and Kevin shrunk with disappointment.
Jack smirked over at Zach. “And you would be the expert on these things, kid?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” said Zach. “You see, I come from a little town called reality and they have things there like science books and common sense.”
Jack held up the pumpkin. “Alright, Mister Expert, place your hand on top of the jack-o’-lantern, make your wish, and see for yourself if there’s no such thing as magic.”
“If it gets you to shut up—sure—I’m game.”
Zach stepped forward and plopped his hand on the carved pumpkin head, then paused for a moment to think of some clever wish to put this fool in his place. I should wish for his hair to fall out, he thought, or maybe for his butt to inflate to the size of a water buffalo. No wait, better to turn him into a donkey, like the jackass he is. No way he could fake that. Either way, I win.
“Oh, I should mention, before you wish me into some melancholy mule—the wish is only good for one night,” said Jack. “So, enjoy it while it lasts.”
He caught Zach off guard with those words. How could he have known his wish? He did just call him a jackass though. Lucky guess—must have been. But that cocky smirk of his was more than Zach could bear. Jack’s grin was the grin of Halloween itself and Zach had already grown past tired of manufactured grins and grimaces of a holiday that represented everything he hated most. So, he made up his mind.
“Great,” said Zach. “Then for one night, I wish that people were who they claimed to be, that just for one night people stopped pretending, and the truth showed on their faces instead of the other way around.”
In all the thousands of years of his existence, and of all those who uttered his name and made a wish, none had wished for anything close to this. Most had wished for selfish things: gold, power, ill will toward others, even wishes made in the name of love were rooted in selfish desires. No one ever wished for more honesty. What a strange boy, Jack thought, what a strange and interesting boy.
In that instance, Zach swore his eyes were playing tricks on him. Because for a brief moment, like the flash and flicker of a flame of a candle the second before its last breath, that jack-o’-lantern smiled back at him, its carved grin lighting up with sinister delight.
“Done,” said Jack.
And with that the hollowed pumpkin crumbled and fell to tiny bits and pieces between Jack’s hands.
Zach stepped back, the sudden decomposition catching him off balance and stealing the voice from his throat. And, for the second time this morning, he had been stricken breathless. He let the dried pumpkin guts and seeds slide between the cracks of his fingers and hit the dirt.
“Then, just for tonight, what you see is what you get. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Jack closed his eyes, wiggled his fingers, and clapped his hands.
And poof, he exploded in a puff of orange smoke and fireflies.
The fireflies darted past Kevin and Alice and into the breeze. Alice, being one never to miss an opportunity to capitalize on a little magic, jumped with all the spring in her feet and clasped her hands together just in time to ensnare a straggler. But when she spread her fingers apart to peek inside, there was nothing but sparkling dust between the cracks of her palms.
Zach’s mouth and eyes widened as he watched the fireflies fade into the sky. Magic was real. Jack was telling the truth. Which meant… His amazed expression melted into a frown as the dread sunk in. He knew trouble when he saw it and tonight was going to be a very long night.
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Hello beautiful reader, my name is Sean M. Hogan, author of The Crow Behind the Mirror, A Halloween Carol, and a Short Reads series called The Marauder.
I was born, raised, and currently reside in Southern California and a proud graduate from San Jose State University. While primarily a dark fantasy writer, my fiction tends to range from Young Adult to Adult. But whatever your age, if you're a fantasy lover, I'm sure you'll find something to whet your appetite.
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The Devil, the Grim Reaper, and a Ghost Page 9
