"π‘Ίπ’π’Žπ’† 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓 "π’”π’•π’“π’‚π’π’ˆπ’† π’π’‚π’…π’š π’‡π’“π’π’Ž 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’π’–π’π’•π’‚π’Šπ’π’”" 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 π’”π’‚π’š 𝒔𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’“π’†π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍." - π‘΄π’π’π’π’π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’•, π‘Ίπ’•π’†π’—π’Šπ’† π‘΅π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’”

"𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, π’ƒπ’π’‚π’„π’Œ π’Šπ’π’Œ π’…π’‚π’“π’Œπ’π’†π’”π’”, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‰π’ 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’π’‚π’…π’š π’‡π’“π’π’Ž 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’π’–π’π’•π’‚π’Šπ’π’”?" - 𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓, π‘Ίπ’•π’†π’—π’Šπ’† π‘΅π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’”

I can see your light on under the door," the older woman said, irritably, as she leaned into the doorway of the dimly lit room. Her hand resting on the doorknob, she sighed at the wide eyed child sitting up in his bed which was so large that he barely took up as much space as his own pillow. The lamp beside his bed cast a warm golden glow on his face.

"I can't sl..."

"I know you can't sleep. The same thing happens every time I let those silly friends of yours come over." She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, tightening her shawl around her as she made her way to the bed. "They rile you up and fill your head with ridiculous stories, and then you're up all night staring out your window. It's not healthy..."

"I like the night."

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She sat on the edge of the bed and raised a gentle hand to comb through the dark curls on the top of his head. "I know you do. But I do, too, and I don't want to have to spend it tending to a young man who should have been asleep, already!"

"Mama, what do you know about the Witch of Willow?"

The boy asked the question, confidently. His wide, brown eyes searching hers for a glimmer of knowledge or familiarity. Mama's back stiffened and she placed her hands in her lap. "Oh, and is this the latest tale Argus Brown planted in your little head?"

"He's not the only one. Everyone knows about it."

"Who's everyone?" But the boy didn't respond. He continued to stare, patiently waiting for her answer. The stare down went on for a few seconds in silence until Mama shifted, uncomfortably. Clearly, he wasn't going to change the subject until he was satisfied.

"...Alright, what have you heard about the 'Witch of Willow'?"

A toothy grin spread across his puffy cheeks. "She's a mean old hag! And she lives in a rickety old cottage at the top of Willow Peak. She's lived there for centuries, doing black magic and twisted, gruesome rituals for who knows what!" He leaned forward, his voice just above a whisper. "And do you know how she's stayed alive for so long? It's because of what she eats. They say if you ever see a poster in town for a missing child... it's because of the witch." He nodded, his eyes wild with excitement and a touch of fear.

To his dismay, Mama slapped her knee and threw her head back, cackling so loudly that the spiders in their webs crawled back into their hidden corners. The boy frowned and climbed to his knees, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. This only made her laugh harder. "Mama, I'm serious! Is it true?"

She let out a howling exhale and wiped her eyes with her thumb. "I tell ya, that story gets funnier every time I hear it."

"So you know about it?"

"Boy, of course I know about it, it's a folktale. It isn't real."

"How do you know?" He sat back down and cocked his head. "Have you been up there?"

"Well no, but you're telling me of all the people that have hiked to Willow Peak, no one has found an old rickety cottage? Or at least brought back a picture of some sort?"

"Nate Crowley has a picture!"

"Oh, does he now." Mama rolled her eyes and stood, clearly having had enough of this conversation.

"And maybe, those who have found the cottage have never lived to bring back evidence! Did you think about that?"

"No, I didn't think about that." She replied, dully. "Son, please don't let this consume you. It's just a campfire tale used to rake in tourists, much like the things they say about our family. And even worse, the story is insulting." She pursed her lips and brushed her silver hair over her shoulder, leaning down to tuck him under the thick quilt. "Now, goodnight." She turned off the lamp. The only light in the room was the ray of cool moonlight shining through the window and falling in a puddle on the hardwood floor. She kissed his forehead, tapped his cheek with her finger and moved to leave the room.

"But what if she is real, Mama?"

She looked over her shoulder and smirked, "Then I guess you better not go looking for her, or you'll disappear, too. It's a two hour trek up that mountain. It's not witches I'm worried about, it's weirdos... don't get curious, boy. You've killed enough cats." She opened the door and took one last peek at the pouting child. "Te amo, niΓ±o hermoso. Goodnight, Gomez."

After the door was shut, he waited to hear the footsteps slowly fade out of earshot. He threw his covers off and hopped out of bed, skittering to the window. He folded his arms on the window sill and rested his head, gazing out at the night. There in the distance, sitting right under the full moon, was Willow Peak.

β€’β€’β€’

"Slow down, Gomez!"

"Keep up!"

"My legs hurt!"

"Shut up, Nate!"

"We're so close!"

Dodging quickly through the trees in pitch darkness were three boys. Each holding flashlights with backpacks strapped to their shoulders, huffing and gasping as they tried to keep up with their leader. Following a dirt path, Gomez glided along with athletic ability, followed by Argus Brown, Gomez's first best friend who he had met back in Swamp Town Elementary. Argus was a stocky looking boy who had always been right by Gomez's side no matter what daring task he took on. Argus kept glancing back at Nathaniel Crowley, who kept pointing his flashlight at every sound he heard and throwing a fit with each spiderweb he wrapped himself in. The Crowley family had been good friends with the Addamses before the boys were born.

"Guys, stop! Stop, stop! I can't breathe!" Cried Nathaniel, followed by a shush from the two others. He came to a halt, throwing his backpack on the ground. Small and lanky, Nate usually hated these adventures, but would never let the boys exclude him. Gomez and Argus stopped and turned, shining their flashlights on him.

"Come on, we're almost at the top!"

"I told you to bring your inhaler..."

"I did! You just won't give me a chance to take it!" Said the boy, angrily, as he took his inhaler from a zipped compartment in his backpack and puffed. Argus put his hands on his knees and looked at Gomez, waiting for him to determine their next move.

"Can you believe that we climbed all the way to the top of Willow Peak? At night! No one else would dare," Argus said, triumphant but breathless at the same time. "No one would believe it."

"This is a dumb idea, guys..." Nate managed to say between puffs. "We're gonna get our asses kicked."

"It's okay! Mama thinks I'm staying at Argus's house, and both of your parents think you're at mine. We'll climb through our windows at dawn and they won't have a clue! Argus, let me see that picture again." Gomez took the old photo from Argus and shined the flashlight on it while the boys crammed together to look. "Where did you get this from, again?"

"From Mr. Stevenson! He took it himself when he came up here."

"Mr. Stevenson is batshit..." Nate took the picture to get a closer look.

"Which means it's totally real!"

"I can't even see anything, it's all fuzzy."

"Look right there!" Argus placed his finger on the black and white photo. "In the trees. See that figure?"

Gomez took the photo and held it up to his nose and squinted; a tall black figure could be made out standing among the gray trees. The eerie image sent chills down his spine. Suddenly, the snap of a stick made the boys jump and shine their lights in all different directions.

"...Okay... well... let's go to the top and look around, and if we don't see anything, we're leaving." Nate shoved his inhaler back in his bag. "We're almost at the end of the path, anyway."

"You do know that it's about time to go off-path..." Gomez shoved the picture in his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"What?!" the boys stared at Gomez, terrified.

"If people have been hiking up this place for years and never found a cottage, then it has to be hidden."

"You're crazy if you think I'm going in these woods at night!"

"Nathan, we brought knives..."

"Like that makes it any better! Look how dark it is, you couldn't even see a bear!"

"It's not the bears you gotta worry about, Nate," Argus sneered and walked towards him. "It's the Witch of Willow. You know, I hear she runs around the forest at night... stark naked... all bony and wrinkly."

"That's not true." Nate puffed out his chest but proceeded to step back. Argus shrugged.

"That's what they say. And that she has a face pointed like a crow. And talons for fingers...that's what she uses to slice open our backs and scoop out our livers." He continued to corner Nate, who was nothing short of trembling. "And then she..." just then, Argus's eyes darted right above Nate's head. He gasped and grabbed Nate, shoving him against a tree, "LOOK OUT!"

Nate screamed while Argus and Gomez laughed. He whimpered and took off his backpack, hurling it at the boys with all his strength but they quickly dodged. "You guys are dicks!"

Gomez continued to laugh, clutching his stomach. A low rumble made him stop. All three boys looked up at the rustling leaves of the tree that Nate was shoved into. Nate swallowed and slowly reached for his backpack when a sudden surge of bats dived out of the tree, swarming the boys. Squeaks, screams and hollers echoed through the mountain as the boys scrambled to get away. As Gomez ran in whatever direction through the storm of black wings, one bat swooped low and knocked his flashlight out of his hand. Darkness engulfed him.

He could hear the batteries rolling in different directions. Panicked, he dropped to the ground, his hands searching wildly for the batteries but all he could feel was his flashlight. The squeaks of the bats had grown faint as the last few flew away. Still searching, his hand touched something cold and slimy and he retreated his arm. He looked around. He had never experienced a darkness like this... not even the moon could be seen through the trees. A rustling close by made him jump to his feet. He instinctively pointed his flashlight, although all he could see was blackness. Complete silence... no hoots from the owls, no bats, no cicadas... although he remembered hearing them before. Even the breeze had stopped.

He stood for a moment, closing his eyes. If he could get his heart to stop beating so loudly, he thought he should be able to hear Nathaniel hyperventilating or crying somewhere near by. They couldn't have gone far... Silence. Stillness.

The snap of a stick sent him bolting forward. Running as fast as he could with hands in front of his face, he didn't worry about where he was going. At any moment, he expected to run full force into a tree. He didn't care, as long as he was far away from whatever he could feel. And he could feel it getting closer. He couldn't tell if the sticks snapping and leaves crunching were from his own feet or someone else's. He yelled once his hands hit something solid, and he felt the pressure of his left wrist snapping before he fell on his side. He groaned and clenched his teeth, holding his hand while intense pain radiated from his fingers all through his arm.

He rolled over on his back and tried to breathe, pain and fear flowing through him all at once. His wrist going numb, he lifted his foot to touch whatever he had run into... it was harder than a tree. He moved his foot a little to the right - it was wider than a tree. Once he slowly stood up, keeping his left arm close to his chest, he used his other to touch the surface in front of him. He was running his hand over what felt like cobblestone, and it seemed to go on forever. He then felt an indentation and was now touching a glassy, smooth surface. A sound of running feet grew intensely loud behind him and he yelled, ducking down to cover his head.

"Come on! We're leaving!" Argus grabbed Gomez's hand and began dragging him out of the woods.

Gomez looked back. Argus's flashlight allowed him to quickly see what he had run into; it was a stone cottage.

β€’ β€’ β€’

"Did you hear it? The screams?" asked a soft, pitchy voice from across the dark room. The golden haired girl slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the room to where another girl was knelt down in front of a window, with only her eyes peeking above the sill. She stood behind her, keeping her distance. "Did you? It sounded close... should we wake mother?... Morticia, what do you see?"

She didn't take her eyes off the window. She whispered, "It's a boy."