Look Both Ways | Teen Ink

Look Both Ways

November 10, 2008
By Anonymous

It’s Halloween again and me and my friends Jake and Daniel couldn’t be more excited to go out trick or treating. Time flies by and before I know it I’m out on the street knocking on doors. House after house and my pillow sack feels like it’s getting heavier. We decide to go to one more house. The house we walk about to is very eerie, with cracks and mold. We knock on the door. Nobody answers. We knock once more and an old man opens the screen door. He says “I have no candy, only a fortune cookie.” Hesitantly I grab the cookie and my friends and I walk away. Daniels then yells “Let’s go home and count our candy!” He starts sprinting ahead, without looking he runs into the street. “Daniel! Stop!” Then, a horn is heard and a truck slams into Daniel sending him 50 feet, crushing his bones. We stare in utter disbelief then began running and crying frantically. I look over where the driver was but the vehicle had disappeared. I desperately reach for my cell phone to call 9-1-1. The paramedics show up and pronounce him dead.
***

A week passes and now I’m at his funeral sobbing like a small child. I then realize something, Jakes not there. Neither are his parents. Maybe they got sick and really couldn’t make it. The funeral goes along and I leave for home. My family and I are sitting at the dinner table. The supper is Tuna Casserole with peas and peanut butter bread. My favorite. But I didn’t feel like eating and I only nibbled on a few peas. The silence was broken by my father asking if I had finished my homework. I ignored him and walked up to my room. It took a while but after a while I fell asleep. My dreams were deathly and haunting causing me to wake up sweating and gasping for breath several times. I manage to get to sleep one more time. I’m awakened by my mom screaming “Oh no! Jake died in a car crash driving to Daniels funeral! No!” My heart sinks. When I finally get a grip on what’s happening tears start flying from my eyes. Drops are pouring from my face like Niagara Falls. My mother comes bursting through my door and begins holding me tight. I feel like I’m in a tiny white room. With no windows or doors and no way to escape the pain. My mom goes downstairs and I begin thinking of how this tragic coincidence could’ve happened. Everything was fine until after that old guy’s house! Then an idea struck me. I got out of bed ands sprinted downstairs into the kitchen and shoved my hand into the candy bowl. I reached around until I felt something that was plastic. I knew it was that cookie! My mom was sobbing in the dining room, she looked at me in confusion as if I had lost my mind. I grab the cookie and take a huge bite. The grab the paper message and flip it over to the side with the code. In small lettering it read. “Tell the provider of this cookie to stop his torment or you shall live in grief until the day you die… he must hear it.” I get very pale. My life was coming to a sad halt because of a cookie. I had to tell that man to stop! I start running and slam my door out, nearly making it fall off its hinges. I start dashing down the street, stopping at each intersection to check for cars. Then a cop flies by me followed by a fire truck. They take a right turn, the same direction I’m heading. I get to the corner and look over. The man’s house is engulfed in bright red and orange flames. I pray that he’s not dead. I need to tell him to bring this curse to an end. I sprint to the house, running faster then ever. Then a policeman, about 40, stops me. I scream “What’s happening?! Please tell me what’s go-” Then he interrupts me. “I’m sorry son, you can’t go past here. A car smashed into the man while he was inside. I’m sorry if you knew him but- he perished. “No!” I scream in my head. Then, without control. I smile and take a few steps to the right, in the middle of the street, in front of a car.


The author's comments:
I wrote this before Halloween, but never got around to submitting it.

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