She could feel him coming. She knew she shouldn't have gone out tonight; everyone had told her. He comes out during these nights. He always takes someone to be his eternal slave this time of year. Always a young maiden who was stupid enough to risk the forest path alone. Always a Young maiden. This information hadn't made Adna excessively nervous earlier in the day during the bright and cheery daylight hours, but now in the dark of this eerie Halloween night, these tales didn't seem all that unbelievable. She grimaced. I'm being ridiculous, I'm just imagining things. The stories simply got me worked up. Nothing to worry about.
It was then that she heard the distant hoof beats of a rider coming along her path at a mad gait. This can't be happening. There is no way all those old wives tales of the Headless Horseman are real. None. N-O-N-E. The wild neigh of the rider's horse sent a shiver down her spine at its close proximity. That sounded far too near. He couldn't have ridden that far that fast. There's no way.
Within moments the rider was upon her. Still her mind refused to accept that anything was out of place. It's just another traveler returning home after the night's activities. It's probably Bobby, or Red, or maybe even Mary. But then…why would they be in such a hurry…for that matter why wouldn't they call out to me? The thought paralyzed her with terror.
The rider slowed his gait, riding to a stop beside her. Adna simply stared at the ground; she couldn't bring herself to look up. However, whoever this rider was seemed to be waiting for her to acknowledge him. Finally, she gathered her strength, and brought herself to look into the face of the passerby. And what she met there bewildered her far more than frightened her. Instead of the token pumpkin head that was the staple of the Headless Horseman, she found her self staring into another vegetable altogether.
Squash.
Her mouth opened, closed, and opened once more, giving her the distinct appearance of a fish. The Horseman waited for her to speak.
"Why…..Why not a pumpkin"?
Anger and indignation seemed to fill the dark eye holes of the creature as he turned towards the direction of the village.
"They used them all for pies".
A sympathetic "Oh" escaped Adna's lips as the Horseman simply nodded.