AN: Ain't it funny when you get the most random bursts of inspiration and something beautiful comes from it? I didn't plan on doing anything Halloween related, but here we are, LOL!

Carly Beth Caldwell stared hard into the mirror. It was still a challenge for her sometimes, to look at the face she'd hated for so long. Even now, there were elements and aspects that made her skin crawl, and it wasn't just the flesh and blood staring back at her, but the human and spirit behind those dark brown eyes as well. In the echoes of her mind and memory, she could hear the way she used to think about her reflection.

I hate myself! I hate the way I look! I hate the way I think! I hate the way I act! I hate the way I am! I hate it! hate it! hate it!

So much hatred, for so many years, and all of it targeted inward. Was it any wonder how or why she was so susceptible to the seductive pull of the Haunted Mask? The Mask was a creature born of love and hatred, beauty and ugliness, godliness and madness. In his divine arrogance, the Mask Maker wanted to make the most perfect and beautiful face that had ever been, a desire born out of compassion for those unsatisfied with how they looked. But flawed was the mind of a mortal man who dared assume he knew what it took to create true beauty.

It was not something manufactured or mass-produced, for it was not something that could be created on a whim, or controlled by human hands. The changes he was truly seeking went far deeper than the skin, but he did not take that into account when creating his magical masks, and so, they did not come out the way he expected.

Like Victor Frankenstein, the Mask Maker reviled his creations for not being exactly as he intended. He proved incapable of loving things as they were, and so, his punishment was to watch all of his loveliest works of art become his greatest torments and failures, and all because there was no love in his heart, only vanity and pride. And so often, the child paid for the sins of the father. The Mask Maker didn't only harm himself.

He harmed the Masks, and everyone who would ever dare to put one on, quite literally stepping into the shoes of another and absorbing all of their pain and fury. The Masks, who never knew love and were never taught that they could be beautiful, knew only ugliness, and like an infection, they wanted to spread and share with the rest of the world. Just like their creator before them.

For those who could identify all too easily with the Masks, those like Carly Beth, they were easy prey because they were kindred spirits. Even though Carly Beth's walls had been up so high, her defenses were down, and she needed the mask just as much as it needed her. They were two broken, bitter souls trying desperately to convey their suffering in the only way they knew how: by forcing others to feel the same way. Carly Beth needed a way to vent her frustrations, and so did the Mask. They both reached out to one another in their hour of need. It was a toxic relationship, but a relationship, nonetheless. And it was perhaps the first genuine one that either of them had ever known.

But now, the nightmare was over, and Carly Beth was free! She had her old face back! But… was it really over? Was she truly free? Oh, in some ways, she'd never been happier to see her own two eyes staring back at her from the mirror, but in other ways…

It's still hard, sometimes…

Maybe the worst was over, but adjusting to loving a face that she'd so long despised was not easy. It would take a lot more than a single Halloween. As intense as that night was, it was no substitution for the quiet but unyielding patience it took to truly learn love and acceptance. It was the hardest lesson school never taught.

Even now, as grateful as she was to be back, she would still flinch at the mirror sometimes, unable to meet her own eyes. In some ways, they scared her more than the glowing golden orbs of the Haunted Mask. As frightening as they were, Carly Beth felt a connection when she looked into them. Now, who was left?

Me. Just me. But what does that MEAN? Who AM I?

Carly Beth still sometimes felt the seductive call of the Haunted Mask. She felt no temptation to put it back on so that she could unleash her inner monster again, but now she just wanted to know it, and to ask…

Who are YOU? Where did you come from? And where are you going? Are you going to stay like this forever?

What had the Mask Maker called them again? The Unloved? No wonder they turned so dark and cold. As soon as they were unable to please their maker, their maker punished them. The Haunted Mask? No, the Hated Mask. That was all the Mask knew: hatred. Just like its maker… Creations were the truest reflection of their creators, even more honest and revealing than a mirror.

Carly Beth remembered what the old man had said. He, too, was born ugly, and that was part of what spurred him to create the Masks.

Did YOU ever know love? Is that why you also turned cold and maniacal? You wanted a quick fix, but… those don't actually exist, do they?

But how could anyone expect the Mask Maker to know any better when he was never shown how to be any better?

Carly Beth finally turned away from the mirror. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of the plaster of Paris head on her nightstand. Another face. Her face. Just like the Mask and the thing in the mirror, it was another version of her, although she didn't exactly agree with it any more than she agreed with the Mask or the thing in the mirror. The Mask was warped, a dark version of her inner world. The mirror was flipped, a reflection only of what she could see on the surface, but she would never be able to see within, to see her face as others did, as it truly was. But the sculpture?

She walked over to it, picking it up in her hands, feeling the weight and smoothness against her palms. Just as with her other two faces, Carly Beth struggled to look at it. In its own way, it felt every bit as unnatural and uncomfortable and the Mask and the mirror, but the difference…

My face, my hair, my eyes, my skin… Maybe not completely correct, but… Me. The shape and facial structure. The dark eyes and snip nose I used to hate so much… She forced herself to look at it, to really look at it, and to see it for what it was.

As strange as it was to hold her own face in her hands, the longer she looked at it, the more she realized that it was almost… beautiful. Maybe not in an aesthetic sense, but it was made with love. Crafted with care. Held in hands and eyes that saw and loved. Carly Beth thought back to the first time her mom ever showed it to her.

"Why on earth did you make it?"

"Because I love you," Mrs. Caldwell replied curtly. "Why else?"

Maybe it wasn't the best of interactions at the time, but now…?

A symbol of love. This was made for me… because she loves me…

And it wasn't just the sculpture itself, but how meticulous, detailed, painstakingly-made it was. Everything had been thought out completely and perfectly. There were no accidents in the sculpture, everything added with intention. And it was beautiful. Truly beautiful. Even if in an uncanny way. Mrs. Caldwell was an artist! But even more, she loved. She loved her daughter enough to spend hours and hours of concentration creating something that she thought would reflect the true beauty of her daughter, the beauty she saw in Carly Beth.

Looking at it now, Carly Beth realized that it was smiling. It wasn't a large, cheesy grin, or even a knowing and comforting smile, but it was still there, small and soft and sweet. It was enduring and gentle, the lips quirked slightly upward, and the eyes crinkled at the corners. It wasn't just a show of Mrs. Caldwell's skill, it made Carly Beth look warm and friendly, as if her mother was conveying that no matter what struggles Carly Beth went through, she could still see the good person that her daughter truly was inside.

So, this is how you see me, huh, Mom?

Carly Beth ran a hand up and down the sculpture's cheek. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she was no longer able to see the face clearly. She reached a hand up to her own cheek. Tears. Her other hand, shaking, set the sculpture down quickly. She didn't want to drop it, but she could not stop crying. She wept, but she didn't cover her face. Her hand fell from her cheek as she sobbed, and then, a moment later, she started to laugh.

Oh, if only Mom could see me now. She'd probably think I was crazy! Even crazier than the night when I…

Her mother loved her, in an innocent and pure way. No matter what Carly Beth thought about herself, no matter what she said or did, there was always someone back home who thought the world of her. Her mother had seen the best in her when all she could see was the worst. Now, of course, that was not to say that Carly Beth had nothing to own up to, but looking at the plaster of Paris head now, she knew it was true:

My mom… loves me… She really, really loves me…

And that was the true key to beauty and healing, a solution that went deeper than the skin, but it was so much harder to find. True love… Had anyone ever loved the Mask Maker? Based on the way he treated his creations, mirroring his own past, Carly Beth had a pretty good guess…

But me? I… I… I DO have love in my life! Maybe I didn't always see it, but… There was her mother, Sabrina, and even her annoying little brother, and even Chuck and Steve, her ex-bullies. There was hope, for all of them. She got better once; she could do it again. So could all of the others, and Carly Beth knew that even if she didn't always want to, she could rely on people like Sabrina and her mother.

Still crying openly, Carly Beth ran back over to the mirror. She flinched and laughed. Red eyes, tears, snot, drool, a face twisted in a gruesome expression of pain… but there was joy too, and love. This was a face of love, her face, Carly Beth's face. It was raw and real, human and holy and hellish. She wanted to look away, and she wanted to see more. She wanted to see the love and hatred, the beauty and ugliness.

I WANT to see you; I WANT to see ME! I don't want to look or hide away ever again! To continually ignore this thing that's inside of me…

Averting eyes were what started the cycle of pain in the first place, but Carly Beth wanted to be brave and look at things head-on, seeing and accepting them for what they truly were, for what SHE truly was. She wanted to bear witness… to all of it! She wanted to see each and every single one of her faces, all different facets of the same person. She looked back at the sculpture on the nightstand.

"Thank you!" she whispered through her tears.

Mrs. Caldwell had seen something beautiful in Carly Beth, so she created a beautiful work of art. And she hadn't done it to display her artistic talent, but rather, to express how she perceived such a large and important part of her life, her daughter. The Mask Maker had seen only ugliness and shame, things that needed to be hidden away and covered up, altered. But as Carly Beth had come to realize, for better or worse, no matter how unpleasant it was, looking away was never the answer. Avoidance did not work… but acceptance did.

Oh, acceptance was hard, there was no mistake about that. But to her, that was all the more reason why she was suddenly overwhelmed with a rush of love and gratitude for her friends and family. The poor Mask Maker and Masks may not have had anyone, but Carly Beth did. She hadn't always appreciated them as well as she could've, but now, for the first time in a long time, Carly Beth felt beautiful. Truly beautiful. And she felt beautiful because she was loved, and for the first time in a long time, she believed it.

Thank you, Mom… I love you too…

AN: Inspired off a scarf my mom made me, which I now wear all the time as a comfort object.

Also possibly subconsciously influenced by a sketch a friend made of me. I just looked so nice in it, and to realize that that was how she perceived me… It was truly a moving moment. I hope with all of my heart that all of you have symbols of love as well. Love is so rare and precious. If you have it, hold onto it as best you can! Happy early Halloween, everybody!

Honestly, the Haunted Mask is such a great story, and it feels like it only gets better and better each time I come back to it. RL Stein is awesome!