My Pretty Pumpkin Pet
Winner of the Webook writing challenge Oct. 2010
Some people call it a spree. Others call it a rash. But in the small town of Hayfork, no one dared to speculate the reasons behind the disappearances of dozens of young townsfolk in last few months. Everyone was on edge, it seemed. Everyone except for little Katie Peck.
As always, Katie strolled the streets of town with a carefree smile and that stupid pumpkin under her arm. Katie was different from the other kids. Always in that same black dress with white lace trim. Always a little dark in the eyes, a little dirty in the hair and frightfully pale in countenance. No one talked to her, but with that stupid pumpkin under her arm, some kids couldn’t resist.
“Hey Katie! Did you lay a big orange egg?” A boy named Conner jibed and his buddies laughed.
Katie stopped, holding her pumpkin in front of her. She’d given it a goofy cartoon face in crayon with big eyes and long eyelashes. “It’s not an egg.” She stated over top of her charcoal eyes. “It’s my pretty pumpkin pet and I’d be careful what you say to her. She doesn’t like mean kids.”
The boys danced around her in a circle of teasing. When they began to throw pebbles, she stomped a Mary Jane foot to the pavement. “I said she doesn’t like it! You need to disappear now.”
The sky grew dark and thunder growled overhead to match the lightning in Katie’s eyes. When the sun returned, the boys were gone. Katie gave her pumpkin a kiss and nodded once. “I told you.” She sang. “My pretty pumpkin pet doesn’t like mean kids.” With a smile on her face and a skip to her step, she tucked her pumpkin under her arm and strolled the twilight streets of Hayfork.
Content copyright (c) Jennifer B. Fields 2010, 2017