She secured the final touch, the bat tie, and adjusted its long edges across her shoulders. She approached the mirror with nervous excitement. She had worked very hard on this costume. It wasn't as perfect as she would have liked but she was pleased, nevertheless. She took in the details slowly. The striped pants were the only part that resembled the Pumpkin King. The topcoat had taken more effort. Her cousin Jasper gave her an assortment of old shirts he'd outgrown. She had asked for solid black or white but instead they were patterned. She'd had a devil of time piecing it together. It was just the sort of challenge she loved, an elaborate freeform puzzle. Mom always said she was clever that way. It felt like just like the old days. But now as she looked at it, she felt her confidence fading. Did it look alright? Would people recognize her, or had she strayed too far from the original design? She sighed as she fidgeted with it a bit. It was oversized on her; she could only take it in so much. The bat tie tilted sharply, and she set it back in place. She briefly made eye contact but quickly averted her gaze. A chill ran up her spine, nonetheless. Not that she was vain before, but she avoided looking in mirrors since the accident. It did not help much, the occasional sharp twinge of pain that ran across her face was visual in her mind's eye. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "No sense in worrying, what's done is done," she said in a stoic tone that resembled her Dad.
"Hurry up squirt!" Her cousin Keanna gently teased as she passed by the door.
She turned to grab her trick-or-treating bag, but she hesitated. Wasn't it just here? She dug through the mess of cloth scraps and colored pencils. The artistic don't tend to be that organized. It was towards the bottom, full of buttons and a sewing pin cushion. She dumped out the contents on top of the pile.
"Noelle, dear? Are you ready?"
She turned to see her Aunt peek her head through the door. She was a round woman with rosy cheeks. Mom used to call her cherub because of her angelic charm. She made Noelle think of a vintage holiday caroler, but they had never been close. Her family had traveled too much to spend time with relatives.
"Yes Auntie, yes I am," She said as she reached out for the handle.
Her Aunt didn't move from the doorway. She reached out and gently brushed her tousled black curls out of her niece's eyes. Noelle didn't mean to flinch, but she wasn't used to the motherly touch from her. It just made her miss Mom even more. "Are you certain you're well enough?" She asked worriedly. "Wouldn't you rather stay in and-"
"No!" Noelle burst out. She didn't want to stay cooped up any longer.
"Relax Mom, I'll keep a close eye on her," Keanna reassured her as she reached between them and pulled Noelle along. "You won't push yourself, right?" She whispered as they started down the stairs.
"I'll be fine," she said automatically. She'd been saying that ever since she came to live here. She wasn't used to such concern for her well-being and it was hard not to feel smothered by it.
Once downstairs, she saw her other cousins Jasper and Theo sneaking a few treats from the candy bowl set by the front door. Keanna shooed them aside, chiding them as fitted being the eldest.
Jasper cocked his head in confusion. "What's this?" He asked as he gently pulled on Noelle's shoulder sleeve. "I thought you wanted to go as Jack Skellington."
"I am," she said, her voice caught in her throat. Her spirits were crushed.
"Cut her some slack bro, you couldn't do any better," Theo teased as he playfully punched him in the shoulder.
"Its just like a Belanger to add some flair," Keanna said as she wrapped an arm around her young cousin's shoulder. She gave her an encouraging wink. "Your Mom would have loved it."
Noelle felt a lump in her throat as her heart ached. "You really think so?"
"Absolutely!" She said as she threw the door open with a grand sweep of her hand. "Now let's join in the mischief and mayhem of this magical night!"
This brought a big smile to Noelle's face. She had always liked this cousin the best.
"Be home before curfew!" Auntie called after them.
"Yeah Theo, you heard her," Jasper returned the punch with a laugh.
"All of you!" She corrected. "And Keanna but sure to-"
"No worries Mom! I've got everything under control," Keanna reassured her with a mock salute.
"She worries too much," Noelle couldn't help but grumble.
"Losing a sibling does that to a person, you know," Keanna said softly.
"They'd never been that close," Noelle huffed defensively. Her brows knit in a temper and she flinched at the sharp pain that ran across her face as a result. She pressed a hand against the long scraggly line of stitches that ran between her eyes and down her right side.
"Did you know that she envied her?" Her cousin asked without a hint of accusation in her tone. She was the empathetic sort, free from judgement. It was something Noelle had come to trust in. "Yes, they weren't close but that didn't stop her from idolizing her. Your Mom…was such a free spirit; bold, courageous, and daring!"
That brought a small smile to Noelle's lips. "That she was," she quietly agreed.
"Was Halloween her favorite holiday too?" Keanna asked curiously. The street was beginning to get crowded with other kids out trick-or-treating as well. They linked arms to stay together, even though Keanna had to stoop in order to do so.
Noelle shook her head. "No, Christmas was her inspiration. So naturally when I was born a few days before, she couldn't help herself." She couldn't help but giggle. She didn't resent her name, for is that not the first gift a mother bestows on her child. She cherished Christmas so it was only natural that she wished to pass that same love on. But Noelle had known from a very early age that Halloween was her muse. That haunting beauty of autumn that stirs the macabre imagination…can anything rival that? The enthusiasm from the surrounding crowd helped raise her spirits till she was grinning from ear to ear. Keanna felt immense relief at that. The pair carried on from house to house, enjoying the colorful decorations and rich scent crisp leaves and burning jack-o-lanterns.
For the first time since the accident, Noelle was back to her old whimsical self. It was a beautiful moment.
Then something caught the corner of her eye, that made her abruptly turn. She stared wide-eyed across the street as a sequined scarf spun artfully in the brisk evening breeze. It looked ever so much like one her Mother once had. It wrapped around the corner of a house and slipped out of sight. She shook her head in disbelief. No, it couldn't be hers. It was similar but must be nothing more than just a lost costume piece.
Then she was startled to realize that she was alone. Keanna must have left her behind and the crowd was beginning to thin. Panic begin to cloud her vision at the thought of being lost in a town she was new to. She hurried on ahead, calling out her cousin's name. That was her best chance as she didn't even know the address of her Aunt yet. Around every corner her hopes of reconnection rose and fell. The terror felt choking now, what was she going to do?
Something wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to the left. She jumped as she saw the same scarf slip through her fingers. She snatched at it instinctively and held it closer, squinting in the fading twilight to examine it. The sequins made up the sheen on the peacock's feathers on the scarf's print, it did so resemble her mother's. She had purchased her's on a trip to India, what was something this intricate doing here?
A strong breeze ripped it from her hand, and the scarf quickly spiraled out of sight. She shook her head and hurried on. She had to stay focused on finding Keanna, no doubt she was worried too. Now in desperation, she turned to asking the few stragglers on the streets. They were of no real help, sympathetic as they were. Apparently, there were too many families named Jameson to narrow the household location.
The hysteria caused an intense pressure to rise in her head which forced her to sit down on the sidewalk. She pressed her face into her hands in an attempt to counteract it. She had pushed herself, she recognized that now. The last thing she needed was a fainting spell.
Something gentle stroked the left side of her face. She looked up and her mouth fell open at the sight of the scarf blowing past her. It wrapped itself around a thin metal grate in a wrought iron fence. Three sightings, what were the odds? Or was it a sign? Her curiosity made her rise from the ground. She'd never thought about the afterlife before the funeral, but it did sound enticing. What if…what if…?
She reached out for the scarf, but it slipped through the bars and continued its mesmerizing dance on the breeze. That's when she realized that this some small local cemetery. She didn't feel the dread that most would, far from it. Ghost hunting had been a pastime of her Dad's and she'd accompanied him then as an assistant carrying his equipment. It had seemed like he was looking for something so naturally she had asked.
"Secrets live on in death," he'd said with a wink.
"But they can't speak!" she had protested naively.
"Not as loudly as we do but who doesn't love to solve an impossible mystery?"
She carefully made her way through, sidestepping the gravestones about her, her eyes on the scarf swirling before her. "And what's your secret?" She gently smirked. "What is it…you wish to tell me?"
It swirled around a large angel statue before sharply soaring up and out of sight. She watched it disappear in the darkness with a wistful sigh. So much for that theory. She turned to look about her, such a cozy little spot. It made her feel peaceful to be surrounded by those who rested in peace. Any with vengeful souls would likely be abroad. It was a shame that her parents hadn't been interned here. They had been cremated and scattered in their favorite places, as free in death as they had been in life. Such a shame really because she would have liked a plot to visit them. She turned back to the statue looming before her with such angelic grace. Its divine face gazed upward with a large book in its hands, mostly likely meant to be the Bible. It was a grand scene, no doubt the resting place of a pious person. That must be nice to be assured salvation, or was it presumptuous to assume glory?
She grimaced as she felt the dull ache along her facial stitches returned. She was due for another dose of pain medication. She'd better hurry back before it got worse. She didn't get more than a few steps before her head began to ache terribly. She pressed a hand over her eyes trying to keep the pain at bay, its quick acceleration was most troubling. A few steps more and it was strong enough to make her feel dizzy. She stumbled and bumped against the tombstones, desperate to make it out. She didn't want to faint here. Her pounding head began to disorient her enough that she walked into the iron gate and fell backward. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.