A Halloween Dream
Written By: Zehra Nasirali
Date: 24th October, 1996
Black and dismal with a towering, pointed roof
added a dreary look to the haunted castle.
Still, but crooked trees made a whistling sound as it camouflaged the
castle in between. Across the drawn out
trees the courtyard appeared, the grass remained un-mowed, withering with
age. The ancestral abode appeared like
a pop-up book showing a dark atmosphere of a place uninhabited for centuries.
The giant door with its Edwardian
design was probably a treasure at one time, but over decades, weeds and
creepers grew through every vacant crevice.
As I appeared before it, a creaking sound noised as if I was
expected. The gates made way for a
passage and I entered. Darkness
enveloped me, but luckily I was prepared with a torch and a box of matches.
I ventured forward. The howling noise and the crackling sound of
crickets made the whole experience feel like I was lost in time, and speaking
of time the clocks were all standstill at the midnight hour. I took small steps into the vast room of
what seemed to be like the living room with large chairs and the table covered
in white linen. At the corner of my eye
I noticed a movement other than that of my trembling body, a rocking chair
seemed like it was rocking. This was
something like a movie, and I was the bait.
I motioned hurriedly to a fireplace and with such haste I tripped and
hit a lever. Suddenly, two doors slid
open to make way to a steep staircase. I started descending with cobwebs at every
corner. I brushed them off my face and
finally landed in a grave. It read
‘Rest in pieces!’ and below were my initials.
I saw all I needed to see. I
started running but from somewhere the melodious lines of unmanned piano scared
me even more stiffly. Panic struck,
like a turkey on Thanksgiving, I felt a large hand grab me profusely. It was my mom waking me up for trick and
treating. There was a sigh of relief as
I awoke; lucky it was just a dream or more like a nightmare.
Teacher’s
Comments: Excellent description!