The Widows of Ware

The Widows of Ware

         

         Situated on the outskirts of a national forest in the Pacific Northwest is the town of Ware.  This humble town is like most except everything is kept to a minimum.  You’ll find everything you need all in one place.  There’s no endless strip filled with various fast food chains and retail stores.  Just a tiny market square right smack dab in the center of it all.  When it comes to dining out you’ve got the Redwood Diner.  That’s it.  But the food is so tasty there that nobody cares to search for something more desirable.  Ware is comprised of about a hundred homes and they all look exactly alike.  From the tops of their chimneys to the ends of their cobblestone driveways.  To look at them from the outside, it would appear as if no one has it better than the other here.

         The residents of Ware lead a rather monotonous existence.  For the better part of the year they go about their daily routines without much distraction.  However, that all changes as Halloween draws near.  That’s when the town takes on a new life.  Both children and adults become abuzz with activity.  Children rejoice in choosing the perfect costume to wear.  Once selected, mothers get busy cutting and sewing.  Fathers lunge into a decorating frenzy.  Halloween is their time to shine; to break out of the box and be different than their neighbor.  Yards become temporary graveyards with unsavory characters such as Rusty Bones and Ghoulish Gus buried there.  Trees become hangouts for ghosts and bats.  Patios become the final resting place for pumpkins, where they’ll stay until they decay.  Yep, Halloween is big business in Ware.  So far, no one has dared to monkey with that tradition.

         As with most things in life there are exceptions and Ware is no different.  Here, those exceptions would be defined as four elderly women known collectively as the Widows.  There’s the widow Curtain, the widow Ross, the widow Dane and the widow Huff.  These women, who rarely leave the comforts of their own homes, meet every Friday night at the widow Curtain’s place.  This is where they relax, sip hot tea, munch on bear claws and talk to their dead husbands.  It just so happens that this year Halloween falls on a Friday.  Bad news for the widows, who loathe the holiday. 

         As darkness settles in the four women gather at a window in the den.  Their pasty, withered faces cold and expressionless.  They watch as the children and adult chaperones pour out of their homes.  The shrieks of delight send chills down each widow’s spine.  The widow Curtain turns to her friends.  They gather in a circle, hold hands, close their eyes and chant:

         “Oh, what a fright!  It’s Halloween night!  Halloween night!  Our journey has been a long haul, no longer welcome at all.  We followed the book to the letter, in hopes we feel better.  There’s not much we ask, we wish to join in the task.  Have those frozen in darkness spring forth with life; be fueled by revenge, animosity and spite. And give the townspeople of Ware a delightful scare!“ 

         What began as a warm and calm night takes a sudden detour.  The clear, dark skies become cloudy.  The air begins to cool and a slight breeze stirs the fallen leaves.  In the excitement, no one has noticed that the witch decoration smashed against the side of Miller family home has started to move.  The witch peels herself off of the siding.  She falls to the ground and lands with a thud.  She twists and bends until back in shape.  It’s not perfect.  Her left foot points south and her nose is pressed against her cheek but it’ll have to do.  She takes hold of her broom and mounts it.  She points and zooms skyward.  The broom zags when it should have zigged and the witch ends up smashed against the side of the house two doors down.  The broom crumbles into pieces.

         As Mrs. Rodgers answers her front door for a lone candy seeker, she is confronted by a furry beast that looks a little too much like the real thing.  Her mouth drops open and before a scream can escape she throws up the candy bowl, slams the door shut and turns out the porch light.

         Two teenaged boys round a corner and come face to face with a wobbly skeleton trying its best to stay upright.  Their sneakers squeak as they come to an abrupt halt.  The boys exchange glances.  One notices a pumpkin sitting on a fence post.  He snatches it up and hurls it at the skeleton.  Had there been eyes in those sockets, no doubt they would have widened in horror.  The pumpkin connects with the skeleton’s ribcage and all the bones dislocate and fall to the pavement.  The boys high five each other and continue moving.

         Along the way, the boys watch as Mr. Jacob and Mr. Jerrett pull the stuffing out of a scarecrow that is pinned to the ground.  They see Mrs. Seymour pick up a moving severed hand and drop it into a boiling cauldron on her front porch.  Down at the Carter home, the ghosts unhook themselves from the tree branches and head for a crowd of trick-or-treaters.  Across the street, the hanging bats do the same and set their sights on another group. 

         The boys join in as everyone fights off the swarm that has gathered.  The majorette twirls her baton and knocks a few bats for a loop.  The cowboy aims his gun at a ghost and hits his mark.  The magician uses his wand and makes a handful disappear.  The ninja utilizes his nun chucks and knocks a few bats out cold.  The entomologist swings his net and catches a few more.  All work together until every last decoration has been defeated.  They all cheer in victory.

         Minutes later, the back door of the widow Curtain’s house creaks open.  First to drag herself in is the widow Curtain.  She moves gingerly over to the couch and falls back into it.  Her left foot points south and her nose is slightly askew.  Next to hobble in is the widow Dane.  There is hay in her hair and her clothes are tattered.  She falls into the recliner.  The widow Ross crawls in next.  Every bone in her body aches.  Lastly, the widow Huff enters.  She holds onto her right hand which is red and swollen.  Both women collapse onto the floor next to the couch. 

         Nope, it would be best not to mess with tradition in the town of Ware.