"Town meeting! Town meeting! Calling all citizens! Town meeting!"
The mayor's voice boomed through the bullhorn as his tiny car wound its' way through the streets of Halloween.
Jack ran as fast as his long, thin legs would carry him; anxious to see the rag doll that he loved so much.
"I'm here, Mayor!" he shouted as he made his way through the crowd that had gathered in front of Halloween City Hall.
"Attention! Attention!" The mayor shouted, rapping his cane on the podium.
When the jumbled voices of the citizens continued, Jack stepped up to the podium, which only resulted in cheers and applause.
"Thank you! Thank you, everyone! Now if you would please direct your attention to our honorable mayor who has an important issue to discuss with us."
Immediately a hush went over the crowd as the mayor resumed his position at the podium.
"Thank you, Jack Skellington! Now, as you know today is May 7th and spring is in the air. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and love is abundant.
At the confused glances and murmurs, he smiled.
"But not here of course! That would be wrong! Why, we rather enjoy our dreary days and nights. It's the perfect weather for terrifying others, and isn't that what our community is all about?"
A collective sigh could be heard among the citizens.
"Yes, spring is here whether we like it or not. But what's more important here is that there are only 177 days left until next Halloween!"
This news brought another gasp.
"Yes, it's hard to believe, but it's true. So we must act fast in order to make this the best Halloween ever!"
Then, an eruption of cheers and applause.
"All right, so let's get to work, shall we?"
The crowd disbursed, leaving only a few souls who were gathered in groups, eager to share ideas about Halloween.
And there, in the shadows, stood Sally.
Jack's heart warmed at the sight of her; a feeling he still hadn't quite gotten used to. He hurried over to her and shyly took her hand in his.
"Hello."
"Hi." She said, just as shyly.
"I... wasn't sure if you'd be here. B-but I'm glad you are."
"Of course I came." Sally said. "Halloween means a lot to you, just like Christmas... did."
"I'm so ashamed of myself. I just don't know what came over me." Jack said, remembering how he'd tried to take over the wonderful holiday known as Christmas and put his own Halloween spin on it.
"You wanted to help people and I think that's nice." Sally said.
"But it's not who I am!" Jack said. "The people of Halloween town expect me to be a leader; a role model. What kind of role model would I be if I go around caring about people?"
She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. "You care about me, don't you?"
Again his heart warmed and he bent to kiss her. "Well of course, but you're... different."
Sally sighed and hugged him tightly. "Oh Jack, I do love you so. And I promise that nothing and no one will ever come between us."