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"Halloween will be here soon. Doing anything to celebrate?" Anathema's mother-in-law, Barbara, dropped a spoonful of dough onto a baking sheet. The kitchen of Jasmine Cottage was filled with the sweet, rich smell of oatmeal cookies. Newt, hoping to learn her baking secrets, hovered nearby. Anathema and their young daughter, Aggie, sat at the table.
"The village kids are trick-or-treating." Anathema hoped this non-answer would satisfy Barbara.
"Like in American films? How fun!" Barbara made an excited face at Aggie, and the girl giggled at her grand mother's silliness. "What are you going to dress up as, young lady?"
"A witch! A witch!" Aggie exclaimed. Anathema's stomach dropped. She was trying so hard to not push her child into the family business. She remembered what it was like to have a mother with ... expectations. Her decision to let Aggie make her own choices, though, seemed to be backfiring.
"Aggie's still so young, Barbara. I'm not sure she's ready for it."
"But, I want to go!" Aggie's little face scrunched up. The adults knew what that meant. They were saved, though, by a knock at the door. Through the window, Anathema saw a curly-haired teen. She waved him in.
"Adam!" Aggie jumped off her chair and ran at the boy. He caught her with an oof. The small dog at his feet barked a greeting, and Aggie waved at him. Anathema was struck by how fast Adam was growing. He would be as tall as Newt soon.
"I can't go trick-er-treating." Aggie's chin trembled as she looked back to Adam.
"Why not? Everyone should." Adam's tone offered no room for argument. Then he paused, as if remembering something. "If they want to, I mean."
"Mummy says I'm too small." Aggie pouted. "But I'm not! I'm big enough!"
Adam nodded his agreement. "There's no such thing as too little for Halloween." Aggie whipped around in his arms to face the adults, obviously looking for a reaction.
"Why don't you two go play in the back garden for a while?" Barbara collected a few cookies from a cooling rack and grabbed Aggie's jacket from the hook on the wall. Treats were given, and children were set loose to play in the cool, fresh air.
Newt circled the table and rested his hand on Anathema's back. "I know we decided to wait another year, but-"
"I thought I would know how to do this by now." Anathema's words were clipped, frustrated.
Barbara walked back into the room, looking between the two of them. "Let me know if I'm prying, dear, but does this have something to do with your family's traditions?" Anathema and Newt hadn't told Barb the full extent of Anathema's upbringing, just that the she was from an old family with "alternative" customs.
"Yes," Anathema replied. "When I was a child, Halloween wasn't about candy and costumes. It was about remembering those that had come before us."
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad." Barbara said.
Uncomfortable memories played across Anathema's mind: being quizzed on Agnes' life, reciting prophecies from memory, cousins teasing her about being the "family's little savior." When she didn't answer Barbara right away, Newt stepped in.
"I think Annie's trying to balance what was important to her in the past with what works best for Aggie." At his words, Barbara's eyes softened with understanding.
"You know, when Newton was a lad, he had strong ideas about what he wanted, too. I found it best to let him give them a try. They often didn't turn out as expected. But, he always learned something. It was worth every conversation I had with the man from the electric."
Newt cringed, wiping a hand across the back of his neck. "Speaking of ideas..." Both women looked up at him, surprised by his sheepish tone. "I've always wanted to try one of those family costumes. Maybe we could all dress up together?"
Barbara looked to her daughter-in-law, amused expectation dancing in her eyes. Anathema surprised herself by laughing.
"Okay, maybe."
—
The evening sky was just beginning to turn golden along the horizon. Aggie stood in front of a house, nervously tugging at the skirt of her black dress. She looked back at her parents and grand mother, unsure.
"Want me to hold your hand?" Barbara offered. She was wearing an orange jacket with triangles of yellow fabric tacked onto the front. Aggie shook her head.
"No, I can do it." She squared her shoulders, marched to the door, and knocked. It swung open. A teenage cowboy appeared, holding a bowl. The dog at this feet sported a jaunty red bandanna. Aggie froze, startled by the sight of her friend in costume.
"What do you say, Aggie?" Newt called out. That snapped the little girl out of her surprise. She held up an empty plastic cauldron.
"Trick-er-treat! Smell my feet! Gimme something good to eat!" The sing-song rhyme made Adam laugh. He scooped something out of the bowl and dropped it into the cauldron.
Anathema turned to her husband in shock. "Just where did she learn that?"
"Oh, you know kids. They pick up all sorts of stuff." Newt grinned. Anathema rolled her eyes. She grabbed the long tail of her costume and swatted at his arm. Newt snaked the arm around her waist, pulling her in. "I approve of the outfit, by the way. The ears suit you." He wiggled his eyebrows. Anathema giggled.
"I got camel corn!" Aggie ran back to the adults, holding a cellophane bag containing a ball of sweet popcorn.
"Did you say thank you?" Barbara asked, waving to Adam as he closed the door.
Aggie nodded. "I remembered, like you said." She returned the treat to her bucket, then reached to her father to be picked up. Newt lifted her and settled her onto his hip. Her boots brushed the dried grass skirt he was wearing over his trousers. She pointed to the next house. "Whoosh!" she exclaimed.
The little witch flew down the lane on her trusty broom, accompanied by her black cat and glowing jack-o-lantern. Anathema fixed this moment in her memory. She hoped that somewhere, Agnes could see how happy she finally was.