The Road to Grandma's House

"I dropped something, by the road. I think it rolled down here," she managed.

"It so happens that I've found something. Something besides yourself, I mean."

Allison, fearing that her phone would lose its light soon, knelt down to retrieve it. When she stood up again, the figure had moved remarkably closer. It was holding something small and round that reflected the moonlight.

"Is that - I mean, I lost a bottle of perfume."

"You're in luck, my dear," said the figure, "because that is the object I have found."

She used her phone again, this time pointed at the object. It was, indeed, the gift she had brought for her grandmother. The figure held it out toward her, but not close enough for her to grab. She stepped forward carefully and reached for the bottle. As she was closing in, her light caught the figure's face again and the eyes shone eerily back at her. This time, she didn't drop her phone, but she did stop moving.

"Y-you - you have big eyes," was all she could get out.

"Yes, my dear. They help me to find my way in the darkness."

As if it had heard their conversation, Allison's phone suddenly went dead. She was plunged into inky blackness. The stars overhead were obscured by the tree tops. Although the moon shone through a clearing several meters away, it was a crescent and its light was weak. Frozen to the spot, Allison held her breath, listening. Against the backdrop of blood rushing in her ears, she could hear the stranger approaching and she forced herself to take a step back. As soon as her toe made contact with the ground behind her, it seemed to give way and she found herself stumbling, gravity pulling her off of her feet. But before she could hit the cold, leafy ground below her, strong arms wrapped around her body and caught her in mid air.

"The forest is a dangerous place at night," he whispered. She could feel his hot breath on her ear.

Pressed against his chest, in his firm grip, she could barely breathe. But, to help herself regain balance, she wrapped her arms around him and adjusted her legs so that they supported her weight once again. He still didn't let go. His body was firm and his skin was hot. His face was still close to hers.

She felt his breath again, a few inches away from her collarbone. "Let me help you home, sweet girl."

Lips brushed against her skin slightly, softly, which gave her goosebumps. She pressed the palms of her hands against his chest, wanting to push him away but not finding the strength. Her knees threatened to give way beneath her. Is that silk underneath my fingers, a stray thought asked. It was soft and thin, allowing her to feel his muscles through the fabric. He pressed his lips to her throat. His arms held firm, iron against her back.

"M-my grandmother. S-she must be wondering where I am."

He stopped and eased his hold on her.

"Then we had better get you to grandmother's house, hadn't we?" He sounded only mildly regretful.

Allison expected him to release her, to walk ahead of her into the forest so that she could follow. Instead, he knelt down and, pressing a forearm against the back of her knees, lifted her up, cradled against him. She was too surprised to react. But, reasoning that it was easier than stumbling along the ground, brambles scratching her ankles, she relaxed. Without his help, she might be lost out there all night, walking in circles.

It wasn't long before she felt him climb the short slope to the road. He set her gently on her feet again and asked her which way they should go. Without the canopy cover, it was easier to see. Able now, to make out where the ruts and potholes in the packed dirt were, Allison managed to find where she'd left the bag with the cookies in it. She picked it up and remembered the perfume.

It was still difficult to make out her companion's features. He was tall and slender with dark hair, but that was all that she could determine in the feeble light. She asked him to hand over the glass bottle.

"But what if you drop it again, my dear? I think I'll keep it safe until I see you safely to the house."

His response was mildly suspicious, but Allison didn't think there was much harm in letting him hold onto the perfume. She could simply get another bottle of it if he ran off. Besides, what would he want with a ladies' fragrance anyway?

They walked together in the dim starlight for a while, neither of them speaking. She found herself wondering what would have happened amidst the trees if she hadn't stopped him. He could have easily overcome her back there, but he hadn't. He was helping her out of the woods and seeing her to safety like a gentleman. But, she was still afraid. He had come out of nowhere, it seemed.

Moments later, the pair arrived at her grandmother's house. She knocked on the door. It was a while before anyone answered, the home's only occupant being somewhat slow on her feet. When the door opened, a hunched woman smiled at Allison and reached out to hug her. Then she noticed the second body in the doorway.

"Oh, I see you've brought company," she eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes, grandma. He helped me through the woods. I got lost."

"And you are..." Allison's grandma deliberately trailed off.

"You're neighbor, madam," he said, bowing slightly. "I believe this was meant for you."

He opened his hand and offered the perfume.

"Oh, and I brought your cookies, grandma."

Her grandmother hadn't reached for the bottle. She was still looking him over.

Allison took it from his hand and said, "Thank you so much for helping me find the way here. I trust you can find your way back on your own?"

He nodded and said, "I hope we meet again soon. It has been a pleasure." He winked at her.

She ushered the elderly woman inside and gently but firmly closed the door. She fastened the locks in place and waited until she heard footsteps head away from the house. Moving the curtains of the front window aside, she tried to catch another glimpse of him, but the road was empty. A shadow darted into the trees.

..............................

When she awoke the next day, rain was coming down heavily outside. Her grandmother put a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her and boiled some water for tea. She ate without speaking, enjoying the sound of the weather outside. She was anticipating a chilly walk back to her car. When the tea was ready, Allison took her empty dish to the sink and her grandma opened the tin of cookies. They nibbled and sipped while they concentrated on a game of bridge, which the older woman had taught her granddaughter to play when she was still in middle school.

"Are you feeling alright this morning," she asked her.

"I'm kinda sleepy still, but once this tea kicks in, I'll be fine. Why do you ask, grandma?"

"You were raising quite a fuss last night. Startled me awake on more than one occasion."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, but I don't remember getting up at all." Allison sensed a trend.

In the early afternoon, Allison started to collect her things and get ready to leave. She peered out of the window to gauge the storm and remembered the shadow from the night before. A chill came over her that had nothing to do with the drizzle. Her grandma noticed her shiver and mistook it as a reaction to the weather.

"Didn't you bring your coat, sweetheart?"

Allison shook her head. The woman gave her a disapproving look.

"Here, you can borrow my old rain coat," she insisted, pulling a scarlet garment from the hall closet.

It was more like a cape than a jacket and it came with a hood. It wasn't the kind of thing Allison usually wore, but out of respect for her grandmother and a sincere desire not to get soaked, she took it from its hangar and put it on.

"There you go. Look how nice that fits. It even goes with your hair."

Not quite, thought the younger of the two. It would have matched Kristen's fire-engine dye job better than her own natural curls. She bent to kiss her grandmother goodbye, picked up her belongings, and ducked out into the rain. There were no dark strangers along the way to her car.

........................................

The next week was a busy one. Allison and Kristen spent most of their time in the library, studying for their midterm exams, sometimes alone, sometimes separately. Neither one of them saw Kristen at all or had given any thought to costumes. Even though Allison generally kept up well with her studies, it was a grueling five days of flashcards and highlighters, which then spilled over into the weekend.

It was nearly five o'clock on Sunday when she received a text from Kristen. She unlocked her phone and found a photo of her friend dressed as La Muerte, candle-trimmed hat and all.

"Oh my god. That looks great," she sent back, "I haven't even decided on a costume yet."

"Get a move on. Halloween is next weekend already."

She rubbed her eyes and put her books into her backpack. At this point, her brain wasn't going to absorb much more. It was stuffed with cell structures and DNA diagrams, dates of world wars, iambic pentameter, and Carl Jung quotes. If she studied any more, her head would explode. Allison got into her car and met Kristen at the craft store.

"I don't have time to make anything. Let's go to that costume store on the east side."

Kristen gave her such a look as to banish the thought from her mind.

"Okay, sorry. But, you're going to have to help me."

They hunted through the store for an hour or longer, sending snapshots to Victoria for opinions. After they left the craft store, a bag of random supplies in hand, they went and bought bags full of candy and plastic spider rings. It was a nice way to ease the anxiety of pre-exam jitters. Later, they met up with Vikki and their favorite hangout. She had brought along her costume to show them. Allison couldn't make heads or tails of it at first. In the bag Vikki had, there was a black beard, a pair of horns, and a prosthetic tongue.

"I give up," she confessed.

"Krampus! It's only the most terrifying thing ever." Vikki sounded exasperated.

"Okay. Damn. Excuse me for not recognizing your Krampus thing."

"No, it's okay. I'm just freaking out about tomorrow. I wish we were done with school already."

For three days in a row, Allison woke up, sharpened her pencils, and went in to school to face bubble sheets and pages of questions. Two of her exams were on Monday, back-to-back. Monday night was spent studying for Tuesday and Tuesday night was eaten up with studying for Wednesday. On Wednesday night, she went home and collapsed with relief. That left her with only two days to build a costume. Her roommates had decorated the front of the house and the yard without her. The only things left to do besides finding something to wear were to carve her pumpkin and buy candy.

When Friday evening came around, Allison and Kristen took their supplies to Victoria's house. Clearly, Vikki was over the moon. Halloween night was practically the only time Allison could use the word "giddy" to describe her friend. She lived with her parents, who fully encouraged their daughter's obsession with the holiday. The outside of their home was done up with tombstones in the yard, giant spiders on the roof, and ghostly projections that floated eerily across the garage door. Allison's younger twin brothers were already hopped up on sugar and were chasing each other through the house like little maniacs.

"I've got a surprise for you," Vikki told them, excited for them to put their stuff down and follow her.

The other two girls looked at one another. Surprise? It could be anything. Whatever it was, they suspected something sinister because Victoria was leading them toward the cellar stairs. Allison threw a glance toward the living room to make sure the twins were still in there and not waiting to leap out and scare them. Vikki opened the creaking door and her two friends followed her down the wooden staircase. Something large stood in the middle of the room, with a tarp draped over it. Kristen seemed to figure out the puzzle before Allison could. Her shoulders relaxed and there was a smile on her face.

"Come on, come on," Vikki was urging Allison the rest of the way down the stairs.

"It's not going to jump out at me, is it?"

"No, silly. Trust me for once."

When the three of them were gathered around the lumpy mystery object, Vikki got ready for the big reveal. She put her hand over the tarp and slowly pinched the material between her fingers. Then, with a flourish, she whipped off the covering and threw it aside.

"Ta da!"

"Beer? Jesus, I thought you were going to butcher us and bury us under the floorboards."

"It's not any old beer, it's Dad's new pumpkin brew!"

Hearing descending footsteps near the doorway, the group of girls turned to see a mature, but dashing man approaching. Allison had always harbored a secret lust for her friend's father, not that she would ever dare do anything about it. The man kept himself in excellent shape. Hauling kegs around all day apparently gave one gorgeous biceps.

"Hi ladies." His deep voice reminded Allison of a cat's purr.

The luscious man went on to explain that, even though the brewery's pumpkin batch had been released the month prior, what the young women had before them was a special casked variety, heavy on the nutmeg, but with a hint of ginger as well. Allison didn't really understand much about beer, but she was happy to drink it, especially when it was introduced by Vikki's dad. Kristen, on the other hand, immune to the man's alluring features, was asking intelligent-sounding questions.

The mini beer seminar having concluded, everyone took a bottle, and they all walked back up the stairs. It would have been a tragedy that Victoria's parents didn't let her go out on Halloween night, if they didn't throw such a good party themselves. The three friends collected their supplies and headed up to Vikki's room to get their costumes on before the guests started to arrive. Taking turns at the mirror, they applied makeup, wigs, and special effects. Kristen's hat was enormous and it was a wonder it could support the series of battery-powered candles positioned on its brim.

Allison felt significantly under-dressed in her blue dress and little white apron. She had braided her hair into pigtails and her makeup was subtle. Meanwhile, Vikki was terrifying in the beard and prosthetics that took an hour to put on. Her goat horns would have weighed a ton if they hadn't been made of hollow plastic.

Below them, the trio could hear the ring of the doorbell become increasingly frequent and knew that the games would start soon. Allison wanted to get downstairs and get something into her stomach before she had a second beer. There was no shortage of food either. The kitchen counter-tops and dining table positively overflowed with finger food; both items the guests had brought and those the hosts had made themselves. She filled a plate and cast her gaze around the house to see if she could recognize Lawrence, who had promised to drive up from Libertyville for the festivities. It took fifteen minutes or so to spot him, and it was Kristen who pointed him out. Their friend's imitation of Slender Man would have been chilling if the mask hadn't been pulled up so its wearer could shove a cracker in his mouth.

After the majority of the expected guests had arrived, the games began. There were traditional bobbing-for-apples games for the kids and more cerebral challenges for the adults. Allison, Kristen, Vikki, Lawrence, and several more of their friends had congregated in their own little corner and tried to keep their crude comments from broadcasting to the rest of the room. After Vikki's brothers had gone to bed and the parents of the other children had taken them home, everyone who was left joined in a big game of cards. Allison hadn't had so much fun in months. She almost forgot entirely about the stranger from the forest.

....................................

The following morning, when she left Victoria's house, she took a few bottles of the special pumpkin brew with her. When she accepted them from Vikki's dad, she caught him looking at her chest. He was quick to correct himself and offered his smile as an apology. She blushed, hoping her friend wasn't watching the exchange. Why does he have to be my best friend's dad, the voice inside her head groaned. Car packed, she hugged her friends farewell and drove home to get cleaned up and start on her weekly batch of cookies. This time, she planned to enlist Becca's help to make things go faster.

"What do you want me to do?" Becca accepted her role as helper with her usual perky enthusiasm.

"When I pull these out of the oven, you roll them around in the sugar. Be careful though, they're going to be super hot."

Allison used a spatula to remove the cookies and her roommate tumbled the steaming balls of cooked dough around and around, coating them with the powdery white sweetness. The girl singed the tips of most of her fingers in the process, but didn't complain much. This time, she was sure to get a portion of the results.

The following morning, Allison rose early to pack, determined to avoid being caught in the dark again. She put the tin of cookies into her bag, and added the bottles of beer. This, along with a sack of her overnight things and a flashlight - as an added precaution - went into her car. She said goodbye to Becca, who was smiling at her from a face dotted with white sugar. The dozen or so treats that were left behind weren't going to last long.

It was approaching noon when Allison pulled her car over onto the gravel. She looked around before getting out of the vehicle, paying particular attention to the forest edge. Nobody who wasn't speeding by in their own car was around. Feeling somewhat relieved, but still cautious, she emerged and gathered her belongings. As she walked, her ears picked up the songs of various birds, the whoosh of passing traffic, and, once or twice, the sound of hooves dashing through the underbrush. When her grandmother's house came into view, she relaxed and strode confidently to the door.

Knock, knock, knock. Allison waited. Muffled footsteps approached from the other side, faster than she was expecting. The knob twisted, and, slowly, the door swung aside to reveal the tall, slender figure of someone familiar but not at all welcome.

"What - what are you doing here," she stepped back a pace.

"Such a wonderful surprise to see you again," came the dark stranger's reply.

"Where's my grandmother," Allison demanded.

"She's only gone out for a moment, I expect her back at any time."

"She went out?"

"Like I said, only for a moment. She went to pick mushrooms. There are some morels in the woods; such delicious treasures if you can find them."

"My grandmother went to pick mushrooms. In the woods." Nothing about this story was making sense.

Allison, suddenly full of courage, decided to investigate. What if her grandmother was tied up in the house somewhere or there was evidence of foul play? Her confidence boosted by the potential need for rescuing, she stepped over the threshold. Peering anxiously around, she detected nothing amiss. Her grandmother's "neighbor" closed the door behind her. A kettle on the stove started to whistle.

"There now. You see, she's not here. Why don't we have some tea and sit?"

He brushed past as he made his way gracefully across the room. His hands, which Allison noted were somewhat large for a person his size, curled around the kettle's handle and lifted it from the burner. The whistling calmed. He filled a teapot - which stood at the ready, full of dry tea - to the brim and closed the lid.

"Let's let that steep for a bit. Join me in the living room?"

It seemed to be the only way she was going to discover her grandmother's whereabouts. If she could get him talking, maybe he would let something slip. Or maybe he was telling the truth and grandma would come tottering through the entryway. She lead him into the next room and he followed, striding easily on his long legs. Instead of taking the upholstered chair opposite, he sat on the couch next to her. In the light of day, sitting so near him, she could make out his face much better than she'd be able to that dark night a couple of weeks ago.