A Shadowy Past

“Blanche, sweetie, listen to me,” said my mom, her voice serious but gentle. “Your dad won’t be living together with us anymore.”

I blinked, hugging my doll. “Why not?” I asked.

She sighed and hugged my bandaged head, patting it gently. “So that he won’t hurt us any longer. We’re safe now, Blanche.”

…I couldn’t remember what I felt when I heard those words as a child. Was it confusion? Sadness? Anger? I couldn’t remember at all no matter how hard I tried.

What I did remember, though, was dropping my doll and quietly returning my mom’s hug.

***

“Yoohoo,” a dry voice croaked through the darkness. “Ya still alive? You’re mumblin’ in your sleep, y’know.”

A weak groan escaped from me as I fluttered my eyes open, barely registering Crowley’s twisted sack hovering over me.

I jolted and leaned away, bumping against the wall with a thud. “Oww… God, what happened?” I mumbled.

“Ah, that cabinet knocked you out cold. Haha, gave me a good laugh before I dragged you here.”

“Where…?” I looked around, slowly finding myself in a bathroom. “Oh… Did I say anything funny?”

“Why, yes. You keep saying ‘liar’ in your sleep, hehe. Care to elaborate?”

I bit my lip and scrunched my face.

That night, when Dad was gone, I was far too young to understand what Mom was talking about. She claimed that it was so that Dad wouldn’t hurt us, but for as long as I could remember my time with him, he never once raised his fist at me or Mom. Hell, I remembered he was a pretty good cook and spoiled me with lots of candy and toys, so it didn’t make sense at all.

Mom, on the other hand, had always been keeping secrets from me—but maybe out of compensation, she gave me far too much freedom. She wasn’t inherently a bad mother, but she was a bit… unconventional behind my back.

Mom was a liar, but I had no right to judge. Because I, too, was…

I immediately shook off my thoughts and waved Crowley’s questions away. “I was just speaking nonsense,” I said.

“Hmm…” The scarecrow tilted his head. “If you say so, hehe.”

“Speaking of nonsense, I have plenty of questions…” I rubbed my throbbing head, surprised to find bandages already wrapped around my forehead. “Huh? Wait, did you do this?”

Crowley shrugged. “I don’t know how frail you humans can be—it’s been too long for me to remember. I figured it might save us some time treating you while you’re still out cold.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you,” I said. “You’re not so bad after all, huh?”

“Don’t judge me so soon, lass. You and I have made a deal, have we not?”

“Right…” I groaned and sat up, pressing my back against the wall. “But first, can I get a proper explanation? What did that woman mean by a ‘Consume’ Contest?”

“Ah, so you’re confused by the whole ordeal, yes? I understand.” He shrugged and crossed his legs, sitting across from me. “As you may have figured out by now, we spirits are real, but we only return from the dead every evening of Halloween—as it’s the night that the borders between life and death are the weakest. Even now, us spirits can’t really be brought back to life. All we can do is possess stuff and move them around, pretending that we are. Like me.” He played around with his straw-stuffed arms. “Anyway, some of us can possess unknowing humans and even transform them to our liking, just like that lass earlier.”

“Oh… w-wait, so that means that woman is possessed? And those werewolves, zombies, and vampires too? They’re just possessed humans?”

“Correct, but unlike us inanimate folks, those humans are still alive. After tonight, the spirits will return to the dead, and the humans will transform back to their old selves and return to their normal lives as if nothing happened at all.”

“And what if the bodies die before Halloween is over?”

“Then rest in peace to both souls. Heheheheh…”

I narrowed my eyes and leaned away from him.

“Heh, don’t worry too much about getting possessed. As long as you keep your guard up and don’t give in to paranoia, then you’ll be fine. Maybe. Hehe.”

“Uh, right, okay… Then, uh... what’s this whole contest for?”

“Ah, yes. It’s simply an event we made up for fun whenever we get together. Ever since the local witch passed away decades ago, we’ve been making use of her lingering magic to host some fun parties, hehe.”

I blinked a few times. “What? There used to be a witch here?”

“Yep, but now that she’s gone, her magic has been dispersed throughout this mansion, free for us to use however we please.” Crowley snickered, stretching his smile long enough that it delivered shivers down my spine. “And you see, for this contest, we’ve decided that whoever claims the most souls here… earns the right to borrow the witch’s magic and stay in the mortal realm for a whole year.”