Mr. Pumpkin Addams' head smashed as he walked across an old but well-preserved marble bridge lined with tiles that told the story of a founder of the Crack-woods, City of Shadows.

Addams' head had been torn to shreds by his natural sloppiness, for being a gentleman, both soul and body, the tendency for things to fall out of his hands was high if he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. 

Addams was a young dreamer, and as is well known, the tendency for things to fall from the clouds into his mind was high if they wandered freely. He dreams of great machines flying through the sky, exploring a world that was somewhat mysterious and too big to understand.

Headless, he wandered completely through the dark streets, brightly lit by oil lamp posts. The only thing that gave him balance was his smooth dew stick, with remarkable holes in it, like a flute. The part where he supported his hay hand was a smiling skull.

"How come you've got more vision than me, Uncle?" asked Addams to the skull, even though it didn't have a head to look at it with a certain glare. The skull emitted frail whispers and snores, "How unbelievable! You seem to be more alive, unlike me, aimless and headless! I'm still beautiful and charming, but all that will disappear if we don't find a head for me!" exclaimed Addams vainly.

The skull began to lead Addams awkwardly through the alleys of the Crack-woods town, where the smells of the sewers, some impoverished and fanciful creatures from a circus of horrors, penetrated his headless neck. The smells caused compulsions in his body, while the skull guided him as he ran through the avenues, so daring and so confident of his intuition.

Before long, his compulsions would turn his hay and his formal suit black, with a smoky black aura that came alive in the hallucinations coming out of his body. These hallucinations were audible, ghostly and every face was trying to get out of Addams' neck. His formal suit burned as he walked, slowly fraying the fabrics until it was just a burnt, sticky black garment.

For a moment, the skull stopped guiding him and Addams fell to the ground, in an alley where only two lamps illuminated the place, especially an iron door.

The iron door had a small opening, usually for the owner of the property to see who the intruders were. The skull whispered around the alley, which even penetrated behind that protective iron door. 

As Addams lost consciousness, the door was flung open, with fumes pouring out of it. Thin black boots came out first, then the whole body came together, something more feminine, something more red - it was a woman with a greenish skin tone, with a red lipstick smile, a potato nose, straight black hair and a cello body. 

This woman's dress was a red poncho, with spider webs stuck to her clothes, even more so with two real spiders friends who crossed her shoulders very kindly.

The pose of putting her hands gently on her waist, with an air of mixed annoyance and ease, gave the skull chills, "P-Petunia...! Beautiful as always... in organic shape..." he laughed nervously, "And also in face... Oh! Speaking of face, my nephew needs a head, his was crushed," his uncle asked shyly.

Her serene black eyes gazed at the headless young man lying there, while a black aura consumed his body and the whispers of the ghosts under his neck screamed in that abyss that seemed endless. 

Petunia sighed, "Okay, I can make a new head for him. But I find it hard to create a replication of him...hmm.." said Petunia thoughtfully, and it wasn't long before an "aha" flashed through her mind, "I've had a brilliant idea! I've been working on a new secret formula, capable of composing a unique head, never seen before here in Crack-woods! Your nephew arrived at the right time for this experiment!", her red smile widened, showing her yellow teeth.

"Ex-experiment! What experiment are you talking about?" asked the worried skull, "The last time you did an experiment on me, you shrunk my body! And when you tried to fix my problem, guess what you did?", the skull paused, not waiting for Petunia's answer, but for her reaction to his rhetorical question, "You burned my body! So there are no strange experiments against my nephew here, he's just going to get a new head and that's it!" said the skull, stuttering a few words.

Petunia sighed deeply, "Don't be so rigid, Albert! I priced you fairly, in fact, you were about to die anyway. I remember you visiting me when you were very, very ill. You had no cure and you knew there was nothing to do, not even a town like this, the Crack-woods! You were a lost case, but I did everything I could to save you," Petunia approached Albert, the skull, with her graceful steps, her legs up to her chest, covered in black tights. 

Her green hands took the staff and caressed Albert, " This is different now. And I think I have a perfect head for Addams, in fact he's a man full of charm, he must like unique things. I'm not wrong, am I?" she smiled even more, raising an eyebrow and then focusing on Addams' hollow neck.

"Please don't do anything he'll regret," said Albert, gulping dryly.

"Oh, give me a break, Albert, you're not a child anymore, you're not dead either," she sighed boredly, "I gave you a life, I freed you from a useless, sick corpse! Still a miracle to hear you speak. Now I'll do my job. Orcgiee!" yelled Petunia in a commanding, sharp voice.

From behind the door and the smoke, heavy footsteps could be heard and felt. These footsteps were slow, but close enough to reach Petunia and Albert. Soon the creature came out of the doorway to reveal his true form. 

The thing was a wild Orc, but well mannered in his posture and his white collared suit with black stripes. To emphasize his chivalrous appearance, a long red necktie was attached to the Orcgiee's fat neck.

Petunia stared at Orcgiee, laughing wickedly, " Sweetheart, take our new customer to our beauty salon. He'll get a new head, the prettiest one," she said with a loud laugh.

Orcgiee carried Addams' corpse into the store, fumbling with his fart puffs. Petunia looked at Albert with a wicked smile, "So, shall we go in?" she asked with a seductive look. All Albert could do at that moment was shake, as if his skull was cracking.

Then Petunia walked through the door, giggling. At that moment, the iron door closed and the table of letters shook, revealing the store's name: The Ladybug Sewing Shop. 

*  *  *

Petunia and Albert seemed to be taking a tour around The Ladybug Sewing Shop, particularly in a room filled with fabric threads and gooey materials in some bottles, while others were stretched out on a carpet - if a child had seen that, they'd have mistaken it for sweets or bubble gum. 

To Albert's fascination and delight, he noted how the ladybugs rolled up the fabrics; some cooked, chewed up flexible and sticky materials - forming different shapes for heads, clothes, and organic limbs. These ladybugs had the black key symbol on their red backs, which intrigued Albert.

When they got to the beauty salon, everything was like a room of antiques. In the salon there were dummies, parts of bodies hung in the booths and other parts in a jar of green water. 

Petunia walked past a bookshelf with different masks and heads, "My latest designs. I'm proud of them but they've gotten out of hand, so they will remain on this shelf, rotting as usual," Petunia deeply sighed.

An iron table stood in the center of the room before them, and a lamp shone above it. Orcgiee put Addams' corpse on the table without much care, causing a bang. Petunia crossed her arms, " Sweetheart, be extra careful, he isn't quite dead, but unconscious. I just want the experiment to work out as I imagine it will," she said with a gentle, soft tone, "Now, as for you," she said, looking at Albert, " You'll come with me and you'll see my new formula." Albert thought it would be wise to follow the process rather than trust Petunia's tricks blindly.

In the kitchen of her store, Petunia laid the stick (Albert) next to a wooden side table, while she picked up the ingredients from a small shelf full of jars of mythological figures. 

She took two jars from the shelf that were sealed tightly with lids of unfamiliar copper material. Petunia positioned a small, empty, smooth cauldron in front of her. For a moment, she breathed deeply, then she smiled slightly, "It's Showtime!", then she snapped her fingers twice.

The spiders on Petunia's shoulders jumped and wiggled, looking for spoons, broths and other spices for the recipe. Petunia put the two jars together at the same time, with a certain care and charm, as if to show that she was really on stage and that the only spectator and admirer was Albert, who was confused and intrigued at the same time by the preparation.

One of the spiders stood up and put the spoon into the cauldron with the liquid - it swirled the substances around until it created something vividly orange. The other spider added some broth while everything was being mixed. Before long, the liquid substance turned into something sticky and strong.

Petunia's fingers were snapped once more. A small group of ladybugs flew in carrying an aluminum form of a pumpkin head. They placed it on the side table and Petunia poured in the sticky paste. As soon as she poured it in, the paste dried quickly, and the ladybugs adjusted themselves along the form and began to gnaw. They didn't stop gnawing until the paste took the shape of a real pumpkin.

As soon as the paste was fully formed, Petunia put her fingers in and pulled out the paste with the head of a pumpkin, only thinner in width. There was a green stem above the pumpkin head and Petunia put her red lips to it and blew slowly. The breath ended up filling the air inside the pulp, and soon the pumpkin became round and full, with the texture of a real fruit.

Albert stood with his skull shaking, looking at that enchanting pumpkin, with round eyes and a mouth that seemed to have an evil smile cut into it, not to mention that hollow triangular nose. Albert, the skull, shook himself, "What broken bones! This pumpkin is more like a Shakespearean skull! Not that I have a problem with that...even my nephew will look like me...I don't know how he would react to that!" said Albert trying to grumble at Petunia.

However, Petunia gave him a wide-eyed look with an obsequious tone, "Shut up you fool! And this isn't just any pumpkin. This will protect and prevent the black aura from completely consuming your body and also the spirits inside it," said Petunia, approaching Albert as if to frighten him.

Albert began to grit his teeth, "Whatever... so be it, as long as he's okay that's all that matters," he was still trying to gather his courage in her presence.

"Now, let's give him a new look, shall we?" she asked, giving him that mischievous smile she always does, her eyes half-lidded, at the same time placing one of her hands on his sexy curvaceous waist. It was a rhetorical question, though, so Petunia grabbed Albert without further ado.

As soon as they got back to the salon, Orcgiee had already prepared everything for the surgery, or as they would like to say, a new change of hair or clothes. Addams, still asleep, was strapped to the table and had two small capsules on both his shoulders. 

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Albert wanted to open his mouth, but Petunia interrupted, "Don't worry, that's a containment capsule, at the same time it will help manage the energy of that black aura," she said serenely, looking at Addams' burnt and sticky suit, with a constant black smoke coming out of it, like a shadow that had emerged from a sleep paralysis effect.

Everyone was around Addams, including the ladybugs and the two spiders. Some with a curious look and others with a slightly nervous one. Petunia sighed and ordered Orcgiee to pull the lever. This was done, the lever was pulled and electrical energy began to be directed towards the metal cables with low electrical resistance. 

The energy made Addams' body react to the shock, as a way of reviving his heartbeat. A worried Albert tried to restrain his impulse to stop the process as soon as he saw that Addams' body was convulsing.

What wasn't expected was that Addams' body was absorbing almost all the energy in the store, which came as a surprise to Petunia, "What kind of demon is this? He's absorbing more than he should! How interesting!" she began to giggle with excitement. 

 It absorbed more until the shoulder capsules began to bubble, and you could see some ghostly faces screaming in pain and some in anger. It was a combination of intense feelings that made Addams' body jump with such aggression, but he couldn't move - the thick leather chains were very resistant.

The Addams pumpkin's eyes began to flicker, where a green aura shone down on those nearby. As they looked into that aura, they felt a strange sensation that their souls were being sucked into that abyss. Not only that, but they also heard voices whispering their names and inviting them to enter the place.

"Don't listen to what they say, close your eyes and cover your ears!" ordered Petunia, who then covered her ears and looked at everyone around her. With some effort, everyone did what she had told them to, since that aura was so hypnotizing.

Before long, Addams began to scream, as if he were undergoing a painful sacrifice on a bonfire. Soon the words were coming out of his mouth: Let go of me! This hurts!", then an evil laugh sounded from his mouth, with a possessed tone. The black aura of his burnt suit began to transform into skinny black skeleton hands that soon grabbed those around them.

"How... long is this going to last...?" said Albert, muffled by the shadowy hand that almost crushed his skull.

"Not...for...long!" said Petunia, being strangled by one of the shadow hands.

For a moment, Addams stopped moving and fell unconscious. At the same time, the green aura and the shadows disappeared, along with the absorption of electrical energy. Albert, who was lying on the ground, static, because he was still a stick, jumped up and headed towards Addams, "Addams...Addams! Answer me!" he shouted nervously.

Petunia coughed several times and cleared her throat. She got up from the floor and tidied up her scattered black hair. She slowly approached Addams, and tried to touch his chest, but Albert interrupted her, "Don't touch him! What have you done to my nephew? I trusted you!" grumbled Albert, his teeth gritting firmly.

"No... this shouldn't be like this... I calculated everything well, it couldn't go wrong...", said Petunia with wide eyes in a fragile tone.

"Accept it! Your pride won't get you anywhere... it never has! Look at me! The result of your weak pride," he said, holding back some of his anger, "Even Orcgiee, what a poor bastard! You promised he'd be the strongest Mexican man in the circle! But you turned him into an Orc. Don't you see the consequences of your actions? Fooling us with your promises!", Albert confronted her.

Petunia rubbed her eyes with one hand, "Will you...shut your mouth...for a minute!? I'm trying to think!", then she knocked on the iron table where Addams was lying, "If you want to blame me, feel free to do so, but I'm not going to rest until this fucking boy wakes up with his head!", then she gasped and tried to catch her breath.

Soon, Addams' head glowed, with that green aura. Everyone moved away from him, and before long Addams broke free of the chains, applying pressure until he tore them off. He leapt forward from the table and away from everyone, dropping to his knees.

"Addams...is that you?" asked Albert shakily.

There was a moment of silence. And the burnt, sticky suit dripped and smoked with a black aura. Soon there were growls from him, "Don't worry... it's me..." said Addams turning back to the others, with that scary pumpkin face. 

Everyone in the hall was sweating and wide-eyed, except Petunia who laughed, "Aha! I was right, I knew it couldn't go wrong!".

"Who are you...?" asked Addams in confusion.

"It's a long story..." said Albert looking sideways.

Addams observed his black hands, legs and finally touched his head, "I-I have a head again!", exclaimed Addams with sudden happiness, "And I can see! Really see all of you! It's good to have my head back!".

"Would you like to see your new look? It's quite unique, I'd say," said Petunia, smiling and putting her hands on her waist.

"Oh, yes! Please, I'd love to see it," said Addams, rubbing his hands together and shrugging.

The ladybugs brought a silver mirror and placed it in front of Addams. The young man gazed at his pumpkin, feeling a little terrified and nervous. As he felt it, there was a slight acceptance in his heart, "Well... I wasn't expecting that...", he said with a shy laugh, "It's beautiful and you're right, it's quite unique...", he leaned his body closer to the mirror, "But I'd say it's a bit... strange...", Addams tried to soften his words. 

Still observing his new face, Addams noticed a ghostly soul in his left eye. He suddenly jumped backwards, his hands in the air, "What the hell was that?", Addams asked, expecting an answer, more from his uncle.

Petunia crossed her arms, looking serene, "My guess is that you were headless for a while in the middle of the night and the abandoned spirits took advantage of your body. These spirits or ghosts, as I'd like to say, appear during these hours and you were unlucky enough to encounter them," then she sighed and returned, "This new head of yours and the shoulder pads are designed to prevent you from being succumbed to by these ghosts, since they don't intend to leave, they're already glued to your body."

Addams' face saddened, "I see... there's no way to reverse this...".

"Unfortunately not," Petunia retorted.

Albert approached Addams with a solemn face, "Addams...my boy. You'll be fine, I assure you, you'll find a way to live with it. I wouldn't agonize over the idea of losing you or even seeing the face of my only nephew anymore."

Addams looked at Albert, smiling slightly, but still noticing his sadness, "Thanks Uncle, I needed to hear that...". Addams' eyes locked onto Albert's, then his eyes lit up with a green aura. 

The aura hymned his uncle and stole his soul at the last moment. Addams put his pointed fingers into his hollow eyes in the hope of taking his uncle's soul, "ARRGGGH! NO!" he shouted after falling to his knees in despair. He even tried to bang his head on the floor, but nothing came out, just a cry.

Petunia and Orcgiee tried to approach Addams. But Petunia wanted to check whether the skull was still moving or not. Addams protected himself by looking down, "Get away from me! Or I'll suck you dry!".

"Addams...let's take it easy, we can fix this," said Petunia in a fragile tone.

"There's no fixing this... if you look at me... it's the end," lamented Addams, still looking down. He then ran out of the store door.

Petunia looked at Orcgiee, "Take care of the store, don't leave until I get back," she ordered.

Orcgiee growled, "Roger that, boss."

Petunia nodded and went after Addams. Along the way through the dark blocks, Petunia followed the instructions of her two spider companions, as their vision skills were sharp and they could see Addams' footprints. To her concern, Petunia found some dead bodies on the ground. 

Only the last alleyway remained, and it was very dark, with water dripping down the walls. But one thing stood out in this darkness, it was a flickering green light, it was Addams sitting on the ground, clutching his knees, crying silently, but making some restrained solutions.

Petunia took tentative steps towards Addams. Not so close and not so far from Addams, Petunia plucked up the courage to speak, "Addams...listen to me, I know everything is out of control, but you can control this. I'll teach you and you won't have to suffer it all alone, I promise," she said, holding out her hand and giving a nervous smile.

"You don't understand, no one can understand, I'm a monster, a murderer, I stole everyone's souls, some of them must be in hell!" lamented Addams, sinking deeper into his shame and guilt at what he had done.

"You know, we're not that different from each other," smiled Petunia, "We have something in common. We're strangers in Crack-woods, something this town fears and doesn't understand. But that doesn't make us real monsters compared to them. We want to make a change, to show what they haven't seen yet. What do you say, Addams?" said Petunia with pitying eyes.

For a moment, the shadowy hands that were hidden in the darkness ceased. And his glowing green eyes, which were shining brightly, dimmed, and only two flames remained. Addams stood up, "I just want this nightmare to end, that's all," he said with an exhausted air.

"And it will end, but for that to happen, you'll have to accept that this is you and that you've become this way," said Petunia with her hand still outstretched, "You know, sometimes we can avoid certain problems if we're willing to accept ourselves. The road is painful, more than we think, but it's not unrealizable."

Addams shook Petunia's hand, "From now on you'll be working with me for Ladybug Sewing Shop," said Petunia with a lipstick smile, "But you'll need a working name! Hmm... I know! Jack! Yes, it's a perfect name, it suits you and it sticks in the ear...Jack".

Addams smiled gently, still tearful, "Jack...not bad, I kind of like it."

Over the months, gaining experience working in Ladybug's store, Addams learned to control his green and black aura which could be threatening to all kinds of people and creatures. At this very moment, he was washing the floor with clothes, water and soap. 

Petunia had just seen her last customer of the afternoon. She was dressed in a brown mantua, with a pure brown jacket and a dark blue skirt. Petunia was also wearing a dark blue top hat, which made her beauty stand out a little more magically.

Petunia approached Addams, "Hurry up, we've got some shopping to do. I need new pastes and leavening agents," she said with an authoritative tone, "and then you'll be free to do what you want."

"Yes, Petunia. But do you think I'm prepared to go outside at will?" asked Addams timidly.

"Nonsense. You've trained all these months and you think you've learned nothing. Take this time to put yourself to the test," then Petunia left, "Get dressed quickly, I'll be waiting for you outside, don't be late."

Addams remained on the floor, hesitating to continue washing, he wanted to burn time, but soon a voice arose inside him. In his right eye, there was a soul, which whispered before, but soon gained a clear voice, "You'd better really hurry. Petunia may be someone crazy, but she's tough when it comes to punctuality," and it was Albert who was saying it.

"I see. Thanks for the tip, Uncle," he laughed nervously, "And how's it going in there with the others?".

"It's going well! We're even enjoying playing death cards, something more casual," laughed Albert, but there were whispers, "Oops! Looks like they're calling me, I can't miss the game, I'll talk to you later."

"See you later, Uncle," said Addams solemnly.

Nevertheless, Addams got ready, in a polished, homely black suit. He had on black, grained leather shoes, and with them he walked up the small steps of the store. After leaving, Addams carefully closed the store's iron door.

Petunia smiled at the sight of him.

"Well, well, if it isn't the most charming and eccentric man," she said, biting her lip.

"I'm ready, madam," said Addams.

They both walked down the sidewalk, exchanging a few words. However, along the way they came across a stuffed child, crying. Feeling sorry for the child, Addams squatted down to find out what was going on, saying: "Why are you crying, little girl?".

She sobbed, and the words came out, "N-no...I've found my parents...I've lost them forever...".

"Oh darling, what we love is not lost forever. No matter how far away, what we love stays close to our hearts." Addams wiped away the girl's filling tears, "Now stop crying, I'm going to help you find your parents."

In front of the quarter, as they walked, Addams used his shimmering aura to smell and spot the souls of the girl's parents from afar, thanks to the touch of the fabric on the little girl's hand.

Before long, they were close to the Crack-woods bridge. The girl's buttons were almost undone when she saw her parents in the distance.

"I see them! Thank you very much, sir!", hugged Addams tightly.

"You're welcome, and take it easy," said Addams, smiling.

The girl nodded and then ran to her parents. They hugged each other and looked worried, but soon felt relieved after a while.

Watching from afar, Addams and Petunia spent some time enjoying the moment.

"Apparently, you're managing to use your aura as a mode of hidden perception. It's very useful and functional," praised Petunia, with a proud face.

"I feel like I can be a kind of Enlightened One, helping people here. Be a lantern for the souls lost in the darkness of these streets."

"A lantern, huh?" quipped Petunia, "Well, how about you light the way to the market? I think that would be a great start for your autonomy."

Addams laughed nervously.

"I don't think that's how it works, not in that sense."

"You're weak and boring," sighed Petunia.

They walked to the market and disappeared into the crowd of people from the town of Crack-Woods.