For a single day, he gained the strength
To grant a wish that breaks
The laws of old
But beware of those who ask
Will be taken away
As he must be paid
And the coin is never enough-
So only those who time is done
Wish now for you have a chance
To smile and laugh
The hallway is noisy, the kids are cheering for the celebrity guest. Another superhero today. Amidst the laughter and autograph requests, the parents understand the significance... The hospital is going to lose another patient.
A bedridden girl observes a young man enter the room amidst the commotion. “Why, hello there!” he says to her as he sits down with his small box. “I understand today is your birthday. I may not be a superhero, but I'll be here to celebrate with you.”
“Thanks, but I’m much more interested in your box, what’s in it?” She tries to move, reaching for the box, but all the wires make it hard. The man moves closer and opens the box, revealing a cupcake with a single candle shaped like a praying nun.
“I’ll let you in on a special secret, since they are not here to hear me” He looks around for a moment, holding a hand to his ear as if checking for something. “Tomorrow is a very special day for me, as I can grant special people their innermost wishes for a single day.” The girl’s eyes glow with wonder as the man snaps his fingers, a black flame appearing at the end. “Though my magic powers are grand, they are bound by very important rules. One of those is that the wisher must come with me after midnight the next day. Would you cast your wish if that would make your parents sad?”
The girl thinks about it, not wanting anyone to be sad. She looks at the cupcake. It’s a chocolate cake with white frosting. The frosting read; “Happy birthday! Luna,” with a smiling skull ornamenting her name.
“You like skulls, don’t you?” she asks with a giggle.
The man laughs. He caresses his hair, which seems to grow longer until he looks more like a teenager
“You’d be surprised how obvious you can be with something and no one catches on. Yes, I love much more than just skulls, but today is your special day, so… have you made your wish?”
“Can I make it for others?” she asked, hopeful.
“Of course, whatever you wish will happen, but it is limited to my day.” She nods, blowing the candle out, the flame turning into a purple mist. The teen smiles, cutting the cake so that she can eat parts of it. Her eyes show her surprise at the ice cream cupcake. The two of them spend a few hours together. The girl was lucky to have someone with shared interests.
The fourth call in a row before Samira’s day even starts makes her groan, but she grabs her phone sloppily, her tired eyes seeing the hospital calling at four in the morning. Her heart skips a beat. She nearly slips standing up on the slippery floor of her kitchen, the table and her face are covered in flour and cake decorations. She is happy to see the cake is unharmed.
“Hello, Samira Underwood here,” she says with uncertainty.
“Hello, This is Saint Aldram Hospital, miss Underwood, it’s your daughter…”
Her heart sink, her adrenaline level explode, “No! Not my daughter! NOOO!” She missed yesterday to go see her daughter because she wanted to make a surprise for her, but she wasn’t there during her daughter’s last moment.
“Miss Underwood! Listen to me! Your daughter is cured!” scream enthusiastically, the operator on the other side of the phone, “It’s a shock to all of us!”
The phone remains silent for a good few moments, Samira is stunned. The silence is broken only by her spatula smacking the ground and sending raspberry frosting flying. She finally snaps out of it and a single question pops in her mind, “What!?”
Still in disbelief, she goes, “Wait, what? I thought she was…” She can't finish the sentence, saying it means it would register. Her mind is screaming. This was some kind of prank, some bastard at the hospital taking the whole Halloween prank way too far.
She hears the phone getting wrestled for, the next voice she hears melt her heart, “Mama, it’s me, the tall man in white told me I’m cured, come pick me up quick!” Samira can feel her eyes water as she tries to speak. She grabs a box to bring the cake and everything, “I’m coming right away sweety.”
The nurse manages to get the phone back, “Come get her now! It’s a miracle!” Samira says thanks before finishing up her packing in a hurry and heads over.
The hospital is filled with crying, but its usually somber attitude is replaced with joy and hope. The crying parents unable to believe what is happening, Samira runs faster and faster to the box with the cake, the only thing preventing a full sprint. Then she arrives at room 2-4. The door is closed, making her heart stop. She pushes it open, seeing her daughter swinging her feet back and forth.
“Mommy,” the girl rushes at her mother, who is crying even harder seeing how she now reaches her chest. She has grown so much in this place. Samira places the box on something, not caring as she picks her daughter up, kissing her all over. Luna giggles as she tries to stop her mother.
“I am so sorry I couldn't come yesterday but I.. I made you a cake.” Samira says, setting her down before showing the cake filled with unicorns and fairies flying around the place. Luna squeals as she tries to grab it. Samira moves it to the table, grabbing a plate for both of them.
“It's not the biggest, but I hope you like it.” Luna didn't care at all, just bouncing around as she ate the cake. Samira smiles, watching what is happening outside as more and more parents meet up with their kids. She spotted Sara holding her daughter close while Jose was standing back, letting the two have their moment.
“Can we go trick or treating tonight? Can we please?” Luna asked, face covered in frosting.
“Uh, if you still fit your old costume or we can find a new one.” Saying that made her realize she didn't have any clothing that would fit Luna. She hadn’t been able to buy a lot with how she was. Samira took a moment to count how much money she had and if she could take the day off.
“Now I guess this day of surprise just gets better, doesn't it?” a voice said. Samira didn’t turn around at the voice, but Luna was on the spot.
“Daddy, you're back.” The little girl slams into the legs of the man standing in the hallway, a giant bag over his shoulder. Samira turned around, seeing he was still in some of his gear, her face breaking at how impossible this was.
“I wanted to surprise both of you, but it seems our little star got me beat. Now how can you outdo your dad like that?” Orion asked as Luna just laughed, holding his leg tighter as he picked her up.
“How you've been holding up.” Samira doesn't know how to answer the question. She can't say the truth, at least not today. No, today was a special day. Their parents and other issues can wait at least a day.
“It's been ok, just a lot of long days at work,” she says, moving closer and kissing her husband as their daughter looks away.
“Well, call me a blind fool, isn't that our soldier?” Jose says, coming over with Gale, and Sara talking with some other parents in the background. Orion does the classic handshake with him as Jose asks how Luna feels. The young girl holds her thumb up as she escapes her father's grasp to talk with Gale, who leads her away towards the other kids.
“Hey, do you think you have a costume we can borrow?” Samira asked, knowing that both of their kids were around the same size.
“Yeah, we do. I will tell Sara to grab both of them once we get going. Let's take them somewhere special, not every day this happens. Can you get the day off?” Samira looked at her phone, seeing it was still before six, she prayed her boss was awake as she asked for the day off. Everyone was shocked that within seconds, a reply was sent.
Omg, Samira, you are a lifesaver. I overbooked the shop today. Yes, you can have the day off, happy Halloween.
“Ok, who made a deal with the devil? Cuz I owe them a drink.” Jose's comment made everyone smile. The sheer level of luck was impossible.
“Well then, how about we head home? My beautiful wife and finally have our honeymoon.” Orion asked as Samira smiled, clutching his hand, knowing that this was going to be a great day. As they were about to leave, Samira felt something in her pocket and took it out to find an envelope. Orion and Jose both look at it, confused as she opens it, all three reading the letter.
To the parents of Luna Underwood, please enjoy this day as much as you can. But understand that no miracle comes without a cost. I will not say who, but at the stroke of midnight, someone will pass away. Please give your child the happiest day you can. For it may be their last. I am giving this letter as a warning so that you can prepare for the pain that may come.
Charon
Jose was about to say something, but Sara came over with a similar letter. All the parents look around, everyone is getting one, it seems. Every one of them takes a moment before nodding and grabbing their kids. Their eyes went between all the kids, making sure they weren't slightly sick-looking. Samira justs hopes that this was not actually a deal with the devil for her family.
Luna was annoyed at being taken away from all of her friends. She struggled against both of her parents as they tried to get her into the car. Only stopping when her father allowed her to sit in his lap as they drove home. Orion smiles as he watches his daughter point at everything. His hand goes to his wife, who is driving slowly, carefully.
“Daddy, can we get a big breakfast? Like an enormous one, I want to be overstuffed.” Luna spreads her arms out to show the meal size.
“Well, young lady, we need to make sure you have enough energy for tonight and all the candy you will get, don’t we?” Orion stated looking out the window trying to burn this route out of his head never wanting to come down this long road again.
“How about we stop at a place, I'm sure you can eat a lot more than what we have at home, can’t you?” Samira asked as Luna nodded, smiling at the idea of eating her heart out. Orion looks at them before speaking.
“Let’s stop by the market instead and get the things needed for some of my homemade special pancakes. Our little moon needs her strength at full.” Luna was not jumping around wanting to eat her father's cooking more than anything, as Samira smiled but only faintly. Orion notices but says nothing, knowing something is up.
The market was empty as they parked Orion took his daughter's hand as they walked through it, Luna asking if they could take all kinds of sweets. Her face gets red as he keeps telling her no, as they have to wait for tonight. Samira was taking her time to grab some stuff they needed for the week, stopping to look at the bakery and cakes. Her cake was still in the car, barely eaten, but the main thing was the cake in the shape of a flag. Reminded her how much this country has taken from her.
“Mommy I want these, can I please please have them?” Luna asked, holding up a small plastic sponge dinosaur. Samira grabs them and places them with the rest of the things she has gotten. She ignored Orion's stare, as it was obvious he was thinking about why she was grabbing what she was. She looks down at the cart and the very pathetic-looking amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. It screamed she didn’t know what to get.
“We are out of meat. Let’s get some gigantic pieces. You know how your dad loves to rip them apart.” Luna nods, running over to the meat sections. It was only now that it was obvious to Samira, Luna was in normal clothing, not her hospital gown. Her thoughts break as Orion wraps his arm around her waist, picking her up.
“You look so intense. What’s going through your head?” he asked, letting her go so they could catch up.
“Did my parents come by while I was gone?” He looks at her, knowing that he can’t give her a chance to lie.
“Oh, you know they were busy flying, enjoying their retirement and all of that,” Samira said, trying to think of what to do about the questions. Luna brings a large turkey to them, carrying it over her whole body. Orion grabs it from her, setting it into the cart.
“I don’t think we need a turkey this early. Think it will fit in the freezer?”
“It will fit. Maybe we could get two of them. This is a good deal” Samira's mind raced at every meal she could make with it. She looked at the rest of the meat, seeing that the prices were so high.
“Let's grab a lot then, am sure you were staying light on home food.” Orion just grabbed tray after tray of stuff, grabbing Luna and setting her down in the seat. She fit well in it, even though she should be too old for it.
Orion grabs the cart and guides it towards more fruits, grabbing multiple boxes of strawberries and 2 watermelons. Luna grabbed one of them and just compared it to her head for a moment. Samira follows, grabbing a few more things, wondering why her husband was now speed-running this.
Now at the checkout, Samira takes a moment to look at herself over the cake batter that had landed on her shirt and was gone along with the flour. She just chalked it up to whatever gave her daughter clothing, that and her husband coming back way too soon.
The drive back was quick like the streets were bending around them. It also only took one trip to bring everything in. Luna headed to the kitchen waiting to help her dad with cooking. Her mother takes a moment to find some clothing for her.
Samira signs for a second, seeing if any of her daughter's clothing is the right size. She was trying not to cry, but a lot of the clothing would have fitted her before she got admitted. Now it was just a memento. Samira smacked her head, trying to think about the present, not the past, her gut screaming that Luna was the one who was going to die. She finds a dress she doesn't remember buying, but it is the biggest one she could find.
My little Angel was on the front surrounded by a circle of bejeweled gems making what looked like a heavenly gate. She gets up, smacking right into a box with pictures flying out. Samara stops to grab them, making sure not to look too closely, at least until she fully breaks down. Staring at her bring Luna home, Orion was moving everything out of the way, forever caught trying to catch the baby carrier, thankfully without Luna in it. Her face turns to a smile as the memories come back of how everything was so good when they just moved in.
With that, she leaves her closet and takes a few steps to the kitchen, where Luna is eating a stack of chocolates and strawberry pancakes. Orion was checking all the cabinets, his face calm, but it was clear he was pissed. Samira was married to him for a long time and knew him so much longer.
“Look what I found,” Samira said, showing the dress to Luna. She hoped this one had some kind of memory for them, hoping it was a sign. She just forgot from work too long and way too many nights. Luna stares at it for a moment before rushing over, grabbing it, and asking to be put into it. Luna smiles as she spins, giggling at how frills seem to flap about, making it look like she is flying.
Orion looks at them, grabbing his phone and taking a photo. He was going to have to find his camera. Today was going to be a long series of photos so that nothing would be missed. The dress made his daughter look so much more alive.
“Did you finish your food young lady?” he says to Luna, who goes back to her seat and finishes her food. He wishes they had something more, but the cabinets were so empty and he bought stuff for lunch, not a breakfast of queens. He tries not to show it but he is sure his parents are part of the reason. Samira was quick to get to him, so he didn't lose his temper.
“Hey don’t worry, you're home now. We can think about the future and not the past. Besides, I just got a text if we want to go to an amusement park. Let’s go have fun, OK.” Orion before grabbing his bag.
“Let me take a shower, I haven't had a warm one in months,” he says to her. Samira nods, just deciding to take the time to go into something more comfortable and watch some cartoons with her daughter, who immediately shows she now hates her old shows. The time it took for them to find something Luna wanted to watch meant they had only a minute before Orion tackled and hugged both of them.
“Don’t scare me like that” Samira smacks his arm as Luna just giggles, wrapping around his other arm. Orion just picks both of them up and into his lap, his 6’3 body easily taking the couch up. Samira leaned against his chest, noticing that his skin was cold as hell.
“I thought you wanted a warm shower?” She asked, feeling his skin warm up, before remembering Orion likes to do a shock cold at the end.
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“Need to make sure I am fully awake at this point. If we are going to be on all the coasters I need to carry both of you.” He remarks as Samira glares at him.
“That was one time, and I didn’t know where we were going. I was wearing the wrong shoes.”
“The wrong shoes that broke your ankle every time we have gone to an amusement park.”
“We both know I love you and how thick your muscles are.” She remarked, making her husband smirk before kissing him.
After a time and the ending of the show, Samira turns to Orion seeing he had dozed off as the show went on. Luna was also out, and she was careful to get up, knowing that at any moment Orion would wake up and want to leave. For now, she was going to get into something a bit more comfortable to walk a lot in and to text Sara to bring a costume for her daughter.
Walking back to her room, she stopped, looking at a photo hanging on the wall. It was Orion coming back from basic training. She was pushing him away, making a joke about him smelling, but her smile was obvious. Their friends were all around, some of them coming closer to ask questions. Samira takes a moment to see who is still around. A lot of them have gone to the front but never came back.
She stops, knowing that her thoughts will just make her feel worse. Her room didn’t make it any better. The bed was a mess, the laundry basket was overflowing. All of her nice dresses were dirty or sold. She was quick to clean everything so that Orion wouldn’t notice the disappearing clothing. After a moment, she finds the box with her wedding dress. The one thing she always made sure was safe. The tears just came to her now.
All the memories of what happened after that day, Orion getting drafted even though he should have had a special exception, the long talks over the phone, an extended family taking from her. She was a mother alone in a sea of predators, but that is over now. Everything was going to be better now that Orion's time was over. They have made the 5 years, everything will get better now.
She puts the dress away looking for something to wear, and finally finds a nice sundress to wear and a good pair of walking shoes. With that done she heads back over to her two loves seeing they were curled up into each other, for a moment she just watches them happy this was happening, but it was quickly shattered as there was a knock at the door.
Samira was quick to get over to the door, surprised to see Orion parents at the door still in their vacation clothing. Her not saying anything was taken as a chance to enter the home, all smiles and joyish.
“ Sorry for the lack of a call but our trip ended early. Say has anyone come by lately? I told our retailer to come by here to see how much the house is worth.” Orion's mother stated before jumping, seeing Orion sleeping in the living room.
“ When did he get back?” She whispered as her husband looked a bit worried before smiling creeping over to his son. He gently rocks his granddaughter who wakes up excited to see her grandpa. Orion nearly jumps up at Luna screaming as Samira comes over trying to smile and act normal.
“ I didn't know you guys were coming back so soon from where it was from again, I remember it was cold.” Samira asked, looking between the two grandparents.
“ Oh it was so nice, the snow was fresh unlike the gray stuff we get here. I haven't felt younger in years, and apparently our travel agent messed up some of our plans so we will be back for a bit.” The grandfather stated.
“ How much did all of this cost dad?” Orion asked, looking at Samira to take Luna.
Orion looks at his mother, who is looking away, knowing that her son will not like the answer. She had hoped he wouldn’t be back until she could come up with a good story about why most of the money…
“Oh, don’t worry, we were sending most of the money back here right Elizabeth,” Orion's dad looks at his wife.
“We have been right. You said the budget came out just right.”
“Well, it was enough to pay for most of the house and the medical bills, but I am sure Samira was covering the rest.”
“How much of it was being covered, Mom?”
“I was sending back 4 grand, that is more than enough.” The older woman watches as Samira takes Luna away, wishing they had stayed so she could have some kind of defense.
“The house payment is 4 grand, and what is this about a realtor?” Orion asked, making it clear he wasn’t asleep beforehand.
“Well, we figured since we weren’t home often, you guys can downshift to a smaller home.” Elizabeth explained. Phyllis looks at her with shame, having been told a different story about why they were planning to sell the house.
“You told me we were going to help sell the house because Orion asked us.”
“Mom, what were you going to use the money from this house for?”
“Now listen here, young man, we raised you. Wasted the best years of our lives making sure you can get that college education. Do you think a sports sponsorship was enough?” The woman was already backing up, her husband and son both knowing what she was getting at and not happy about it.
“Mom Samira had no food in this house. She was running herself ragged. I get 12 grand from my royalties. What have you been doing with that money?”
“12 grand, we haven’t even spent that on a trip.”
“You think fancy hotels and luxury dinners are cheap?”
“If I knew this was the method, I would never have agreed.” Everyone was silent for a moment before Orion went to the home phone, the button nearly breaking under his hand. His father just stares at his wife, looking at his hand, feeling how much he has betrayed his family. It was his job to see after what his son left, but he was globe traveling.
"Hello, yes, Micheal. Are you free tomorrow? I need to make some changes to stuff…” Orion takes a moment to listen to his lawyer, one hating that at 26 he has a lawyer that he wrote a will with and two that they were going on about something he couldn't care less about.
“Yeah, I just want to make sure everything is going to my wife, I know. I wanted my parents to be part of it as well, you know, but I think it would be better this way… Wait, you serious, you can do it over the phone.” His mother tries to get closer, but Phyllis stops her, ashamed she would even try. The call ends quicker than it should. Orion just turns to his parents.
“I was about to leave, so please go as well. Find a place to say whatever you took to keep. That's the last you will ever get from me.” The young man walks away, grabbing his wife and daughter, waiting for his parents to leave before heading to the theme park.
Luna was vibrating in the car, finally happy to be doing something fun with her daddy, she had never done this before. Her parents just let her be as excited as she was. Orion smiles, glad his baby girl wasn't asking questions about her grandparents and was happy. He was gone for so much. Now he knows how much Samira suffered while he was gone. He has so much to make up for and the first thing was the theme park. He checked the time, seeing it was almost 10 in the morning now; he hoped the park was empty when they arrived.
The car ride felt like a blur to him, the noises of everyone in the car disappearing before he knew it. He parked at 10:10. Samira looked at the time shocked knowing that they were an hour at least with no traffic, neither had time to process it as Luna had already opened her door and was rushing. Orion was halfway to catching her before he knew it, picking her up as she laughed her head off.
“Princess, you have to be careful we don't know who else is in this parking lot, OK?” Luna just kept giggling before nodding. Orion set her down and held her hand as Samira texted Sara to see where they were. The other couple arrived soon enough with Gale wearing an angel costume. Sara had a bag for Samira with a costume for Luna.
“Ok my little moon, once we get into the park, do you want to swap into your costume or do you want to wear your dress for now?”
“I want to wear my dress,” Luna smiles, her blue eyes sparkling with joy. Samira nodded happily, her daughter was very much full of energy. For a second she sees Luna in her hospital gown struggling to walk, nearly crying that she couldn't play with the other kids. Samira only stopped it by how special she was. Orion breaks her thoughts as the line to get tickets has moved. She just smiled and followed, seeing the two girls were just being the best of friends.
“I am glad she got your eyes,” Samira said. Orion looks at her, wondering what sparked this. Jose takes a moment to interject.
“Yeah, that's the only good looking part of him.” Jose's smirk only grew as Orion stared at him for a second before Sara got closer, eyes still on the two girls waiting under a nearby tree.
“They are striking against her skin tone,” Sara added, looking at Samira who nodded, her mind going back to the hospital and how other kids asked about her eyes and why her skin was different. It never was a bad thing and it led to her having some friends at least, but still, she wished they didn't have to do this in such a setting. The line moves again and they buy the tickets. The two girls try to drag them on a ride.
“Now hold on, you guys can’t get on every ride. You're small for them, OK.” Jose told them. Both Luna and Gale pout as Sara and Samira work out what rides they can get on. Both look like Luna was the shorter of the two. After a moment, they head towards the first ride. The line for it is nonexistent. The girls rush ahead of them, only stopping at the height sign to be approved by their parents.
Luna stands on her tiptoes trying to match the sign which seems to shrink down to her height, making her jump with joy. The parents all looked at each other, knowing the sign was taller a moment ago, but they let it slide as the girls went to sit out front. The parents sit right behind them. Samira noticed the seatbelt around Luna was a lot more complicated, accounting for her shorter height. Sara also noticed both mothers looking at each other before nodding knowing that they might as well let the girls get on everything.
Watching the two young girls go crazy at the theme park made the parents smile so much. Samira, more than anything finally got to enjoy the good of being a parent. Watching Luna just be a child, nothing more than asking for funnel cake instead of asking if she could eat some kind of candy or even have some soup. She can feel herself crying but holds strong for now.
“Nooo” Gale screams, seeing the line for the final big ride of the park. Apocalypse towered over them but seemed so far given the sign saying 6-hour wait time. None of the parents can even imagine how a line for a single ride is so long, but it explains how empty the rest of the park is.
“Well it is time for a break. How about we get some food? It is getting close to nighttime girls and you will need your energy to go trick and treating, won’t you?” Sara says, trying to save this before the two throw a tantrum.
With one last look at the Apocalypse, the line seems to have gotten longer. Samira takes her daughter into her arms, letting her rest before they go get some candy tonight. Luna just gets comfortable smiling. She checked the time, seeing it was still a bit early, perfect for a late lunch. They go to a burger place right out of the theme park knowing it was half the price of what was in the park. The two girls are asleep in one of their parents’ arms while they talk and order.
“So I was thinking we should go though this area has the biggest amount of houses marked for giving out candy.” Sara shows her phone and the map of candy density. The two men of the group work out a route to get there at a reasonable time so they won’t be out too late.
“It is an hour away, but we should be good to get there, presuming no more trickery or craziness happening. Let’s just eat and enjoy ourselves.” Jose says, leaning back, and looking at Orion before asking.
“How was it?”
“As bad as you can think, I don’t want to think about it. Last night before I left, there was a battle happening near where I was deployed.” The group nods as the server comes over, taking the orders and asking what the girls want.
“We have a Halloween special burger if you like that,” she says, smiling and showing a picture of a burger in the shape of a bat. Samira smiles at this and orders two, looking at her daughter, who is much more out of it than Gale. Orion looks at both of them, wishing he was around more, but life just didn’t work out that way.
“I don’t want to fight, but I rather get angry now than when we are out trick or treating. What happened to the money?” Orion asked his wife. Sara and Jose, looking away, knowing how awkward this probably would get.
“Your mother gives me enough to pay for the medical bills and house. Everything else I had to pay for myself. I survived and now you're home.” Samira leans against him. Trying to keep him from going off, she didn’t know how much he was sending back each month, but given his reaction, she was being taken for a ride.
“ Can you take Luna in with you to work for a short bit so she doesn’t see me explode at them? Have they even visited her during the last year?” Samira looks away, trying not to make this night go any worse for anyone.
“Hey, all of this can be dealt with tomorrow. It is not like that letter affects any of us, OK? Once this night is over, we can all just go back home, make sure our kids don’t get sick from candy, deal with whatever burst of energy what they eat gives them.” Jose stated, seeing Samira smile at him.
“Ok OK. Just not the day I wanted to come back to. I mean, seeing my kid out of the hospital, great, but knowing what my family has been doing…”
“Ok I have a Wild Man burger with a side of Steak fries,” the waitress says, placing out the plates. Everyone swaps to eat, the two girls waking up to the sound of food and plates, smiling as they get their Halloween-themed burgers, though Luna still seems to be half asleep.
With the food eaten, everyone was quick to leave, agreeing to meet up at the start of the street. The second they all walked through the entrance of the burger place, they suddenly caught on they weren’t where they were supposed to be. For one, all the parents they had seen that morning were there and in front of them all was a teenager wearing a skull mask and leaning a scythe over his shoulder.
“Welcome One and all to the River’s trick-or-treat Event. All kids who want to participate please come grab a bag.” The scythe cuts through the airbags falling to the ground quickly picked up by all the kids Luna and Gale included.
“Now don’t worry, Parents your kids will be safe here and I believe we all have some talking to do.” Luna looks at her mother one last time before the flood of kids runs towards houses, each one giving king-size candies.
“So are you dead or something or just a visage of some divine force” one parent asked. Everyone looks at the teen, sensing that what they were looking at was just a part of something bigger.
“First off, all of you aside from me, go have fun with your kids. The rest of you stay here as one of you will have to deal with death.” Samira swallows hard, watching the teen move his weapon over people to her right. Sara grabs Jose's hand, mouthing sorry before leaving. The other parents of Samira left all looked ready to fight or start something, all of them willing to do whatever it took to keep their kid safe. Orion's hand went to his side, but Samira knew and was not surprised he had his firearm.
“To answer the question posed to me. I am the new god of death, a youngster by immortal standards, and this is my great apology, the first of hopefully many. So I see you're all willing to save your kids. So please listen closely, for I will and can only say this once.”
“Long ago we gods took a token of the earth for passage to the afterlife, then we simply guided your soul to choose where to be. Now, with so much violence and suffering, we cannot even do that. My power is not as great as it should be. So if you do not wish to suffer the sadness I have to bring, guide your child tonight. Bring them home. For the price has been paid, but the voyage is yours to guide.” The teen looks at everyone before walking away, ignoring the shouts. One father rushed at him and everyone froze as they watched his body age the closer he got.
“With this, your time limit has increased from midnight to midnight and 4 seconds I wish you luck.” Samira grabs Orion's hand, stopping him from doing anything rash. A woman runs over, checking on the man, who is slowly returning to normal but seems to be unconscious.
“Let's go find Luna. Enjoy this time and we can figure out what this means ok. Let’s make our daughter happy more than anything.” Samira begs him. Orion looks at the leaving figure before sighing and nodding. They find Luna soon enough, her bag so heavy she was dragging it behind her. Orion picks it up so she can keep up with everyone else, Samira handing her a second bag she grabbed from the pile.
“At least they are getting as much stuff as possible tonight, maybe we should let her eat 10 candy bars instead of three or something.” Samira says, looking at other women whose eyes were red, an elderly lady with them both smiling at a young boy running from house to house.
Orion looks at his daughter, smiling, taking a moment to resolve his will. Luna smiles and joy at all the candy. He also sees that she was paler every so slightly, he noticed it this morning. She was the one to pay the cost, as the teen said; he turned to his wife, seeing her approaching the other women talking, smiling, and asking a question as it was clear she was sensing something had happened to them.
“Daddy look” Luna was jumping around as she showed the giant bar of chocolates bigger than her face. Orion smiled at her, kneeling before he talked.
“We are going to have to make some s’mores with that, aren’t we? Do you think you got enough candy for the night?” Luna looked at her bag, then the one her father had, and nodded at him.
“I have enough.” He kisses her head, saying to go to her mother and let him carry the candy. He has something to do first. Luna runs off and Orion is quick to hide knowing Samira will look for her. He knows this is stupid, but he thinks his daughter is more important than him.
The God was waiting, leaning against a wall checking his nails, each one painted a dark purple that matched his grayish glowing eyes. The mask on the floor beside him, Orion stops 10 feet away, not wanting to end up like the other guy.
“You know your daughter loves monsters. We spent a few hours talking about them. She especially loved the werewolf. She reasoned that all of them were just giant puppies.” The god's voice was tired. All the magic they used was draining them. Orion looks at them, judging how this being held his daughter's life hostage at the moment.
“What do I have to do? And don’t give me that there is nothing I can do, my daughter is 8, she still has so much to do. She needs to find her first love. I need to be scared of them. We have to see her off to college. SO what do I have to do to go back to war, kill some people? Give my life to her. What do I have to do?” the teen smiles at him.
“Did you not pay attention to what I said? The debt has already been paid, people just need to use it right. Guide your child and she will be safe.” Orion couldn't accept that he knew that this debt had to mean something. He stops thinking about this day to its fullest, freezing as he understands.
“How… How did it happen?”
“Stray a bullet through your leg, you bleed out in the middle of the fight. You would have lived, but you agreed to give your daughter a day where she was the happiest she ever could be, and her wish was for everyone to have the best Halloween ever.” Orion turns, rushing back tears running down his face. He finds Luna in front of a church and he grabs her, gripping her.
“Daddy, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I love you so much, my little moon. I want everything in the world for you.” The church doors open and Orion looks at his shocked wife, trying to understand what is going on.
“I think we need to go there. Samira, I know I wasn't the best of a partner, and I should have been around more. Don't tell the military this or that I made a mistake but I am going to fix it.” He says, grabbing her hand and entering.
There was a wedding dress hanging by the inner door and a priest waiting at the front. Samira looked at it then Orion, tears going down her face as she now understands. She looks at Luna and kisses her head. Luna was now freaking out, not understanding what was happening. Her wish should have stopped this.
“Now don’t worry, it's just something emotional for the two of us, OK? We aren’t sad now. Come on, I have to do something with you, OK? Can you be my big girl?” He sets her down, and she looks at him as he holds his hand out.
The god was waiting for them, dressed in robes. Orion looks at Luna and smiles as the angel dress becomes more elegant and for just a second Orion sees what he will miss one day. Luna looks around, seeing all the wondrous stained glass and everything. Music plays as Orion walks her down the hall.
“Daddy, what happened?” she asked, watching as lights flew around them, acting as spirits of their family and someone else.
“Something I won’t get to do later. I want you to remember that I will always be with you. And never think that I didn’t love you or care for you.” They reached the front where the god nodded, smiling at Luna before saying to look back at the door. Samira enters the dress, seeming to glow in the lights.
“You're lucky to have her, you know.” Orion just smiles as Luna watches her mother. She looked between them, wondering what this was.
“Your mother and I have never actually done this, so you want to be our ring girl.” Luna smiled, hugging his leg before the god magically made her back to the entrance, waiting for her turn. Samira reaches him and looks as his day's clothing becomes a suit.
“At least you got to walk her down the aisle once, though she probably doesn’t know what it means just yet.”
“I know you will raise her right now. Let’s do this right.” Orion says, looking at the god, who recites. Neither of them could understand what they were saying, but knew it had some deeper meaning and how heartfelt it was.
“For neither death nor time shall break their bond. I ask each to recite their own vows, ones that are from their soul.” The god finished in English Orion was quick to talk, saying his vow he memorized for months while deployed. Samira was crying, barely understanding what was being said as she watched him break down. The strong man loved letting it all out. When he was done, she found her voice.
“I swear that no amount of time or people will get between us. Even if I have to visit you in the depths of hell itself, I will be with you forever and a day. I have loved you ever since you asked me to tutor you. The entire night trying to get into my pants, but were more driven when I denied you. You showed me people can mature fast and I… I loved that about you and how far you went for us.” The god nods, queuing for Luna to come up. She walked with purpose, holding the two rings for them in a basket, holding it up for them. Neither said a word as they placed them on each other and kissed.
“With this I now pronounce you husband and wife till the afterlife shall end. Now enjoy your lives.” The church vanishes, and the three are now in their living room. Orion says nothing, just looking at his wife with all kinds of ideas, but knows that for now he will just sit down and let Luna check what her candy got.
By morning Samira awoke in bed, a flag folded perfectly beside her, Luna clasping her chest. The mother of a daughter who made a death wish did not shed a tear but wrapped her daughter in the flag and just lay there waiting for the day she may get to make a similar wish.