Caroline walked through the streets, feet splashing in the flooded sidewalks. The rainwater soaked the hems of her jeans, and she adjusted her cowgirl hat with one hand, clutching the hand of her daughter with the other. The unpleasant weather was unexpected, hence the absence of an umbrella. Her daughter, pushing a playful age of 4 years, was dressed as a pink pony, but the rain drenched her and caused her costume to cling onto her skin. They had only visited one house before the rain began, and the young girl's trick-or-treat bucket was filled to the brim with water instead of sugary delights. The sky was incredibly dark, as the rolling clouds loomed and sobbed upon them; therefore, it was quite difficult to navigate through the streets back to their house. It didn't help that they didn't know their way around the neighborhood, for they had just moved there. Caroline bottled up her frustration and the irritation on her sensitive skin from the way her costume stuck to her with a seemingly eternal dampness.

A shadowy figure, amongst the rain, appeared in the distance.

It held onto some sort of umbrella, and a bit of envy bothered Caroline. The stranger must be perfectly dry, while they are nothing but sodden. She yearned to reach out and grab that umbrella, but she instead inched closer to the figure in attempt to ask for help in getting home safely and a tad bit more dryly. However, as she slowly approached the figure with her daughter splashing behind her, Caroline nearly froze with shock.

The figure, or shall one say the "creature", stood perfectly still like a statue, or even better yet, a Halloween decoration. It was awfully realistic as a "decoration," and mixed in with shock, Caroline was puzzled as to what exactly it was. She let go of her daughter's hand and covered her eyes immediately, yet she was still frozen with shock. The Creature didn't seem to be hostile, as a dainty blue butterfly rested upon his hand. Nevertheless, it was an odd sight, and Caroline began to rush home with her daughter. She picked the little girl up in her arms and began to splash even more ferociously through the water, refusing to look back at the Creature. Caroline kept repeating in her head that it was merely a Halloween decoration. They were in a safe neighborhood, so why would such a monster come to haunt them? The trick-or-treat bucket fell to the ground, the plastic meeting the water and creating a decently loud noise. Caroline paused and turned around slightly to look back at it.

But she was met by the cold, awkwardly pale eyes of the Creature.

No.

It wasn't just a Halloween decoration anymore.

But perhaps, it was simply a strange person in a strange costume.

Caroline left the bucket despite her daughter reaching for it from her arms. She quickened her pace and refused to look back again. It only turned around. It can't follow her, right? But it didn't seem aggressive. There was a butterfly for Heaven's sake! Eventually, Caroline successfully reached her house and hurriedly entered, their clothes dripping wet and their sopping steps leaving puddles on the tiled floor. Surrounded by darkness, she groped the wall for the light switch as she kicked the door closed behind them. She found it, but she only found that the power had gone out. Her daughter whined for the light, but there was nothing she could do about it. Caroline, already in distress from the peculiar situation she had just been in, took a deep breath and felt her way through the darkness in search of a flashlight. She dug through drawers in the kitchen for it and soon found it with some difficulty. Switching it on, a beam of light fought the darkness, and Caroline led her daughter to the bathroom to get changed into warm, dry pajamas. Usually, if caught by the rain, Caroline would have drawn a bath for her daughter, but with the power being out, she decided to just dry the both of them off with a towel and change out of their damp clothing. She shone the light in the closet, and her daughter chose a baby pink nightgown. Caroline changed the both of them out of their clothes. It was a relief to peel the cold, wet fabric from their skin, though it left them prone to a slight chill that caused goosebumps to rise. Leading her daughter to her bedroom, Caroline tucked her into bed as snug as a bug beneath the covers, and she hoped that she wouldn't catch a cold. She closed the window blinds of her daughter's bedroom, shutting out the nighttime darkness but leaving the sounds of rain knocking on the glass. The nightlight wouldn't cast its warm glow, but already, the girl was nearly fast asleep. Caroline cracked the door behind her quietly as she tiptoed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Her feet, caressed by the wool socks that she had slipped on, almost slid on the smooth floor like ice skates on ice, but she was careful enough not to fall in the dark. Her fingers gripped the flashlight as she opened the fridge and poured water from a jug into a glass.

How odd.

The window blinds aren't closed.

She always has them closed.

As Caroline makes her way over to close the blinds, her sleepy gaze met the blank stare of a shadowy figure.

The Creature.

She quickly closed them, whipping around but dropping the glass. A mess of water and shattered glass exploded on the floor, and a few shards pierced her skin, leaving drops of blood to dribble down her calves. She shone her flashlight on the glistening disaster beneath her, but it was already decided that she would have to clean it in the morning, for the darkness was not too forgiving. Exhausted, Caroline surrendered to her bedroom, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was still watching her. She thought about whether the Creature had gone away or not, but nothing in her could make her look again. Feeling for her phone on the nightstand, Caroline turned it on to perhaps call the police about being stalked by either a supernatural entity or a perverted stalker who wanted her daughter.

But she found her phone to be dead.

The image of the ghastly Creature was burned into her mind, haunting her. Taunting her. It felt like a bad omen. But at the same time, it felt awfully self-contradicting. How could such a monster be trusted enough by a beautiful butterfly? The butterfly, with its delicate azure wings, sat calmly upon the Creature's hand as if there were nothing to be afraid of. However, it didn't seem to move--almost as if it were petrified to even take a breath. Was it trapped? Or was it even real? Caroline found herself with her fingers tangled in her hair, fingertips digging into her scalp as she tugged, tugged, tugged on the brown strands. She didn't know whether to stay locked safely in their house or to snatch her daughter, get in the car, and drive far, far away from this new town because certainly, this Creature was a sign that they shouldn't stay. They're not welcome there.

Caroline eventually succumbed to sleep, and she awoke when the power had returned. Still rubbing sleep from her eyes, she plugged in her phone and prayed that it would hurry up and charge, so she could report what she saw to the police. Hopefully, they wouldn't think that she's insane or delusional. She couldn't be hallucinating, right? Or was she so stressed about this new town, this escape from her abuser that she just imagined it all?

Caroline was never married. She never even had a proper boyfriend. Her daughter was hers, but her father was also hers. Though not biologically her father, he was still to be seen as a father figure in her life. He chaperoned on field trips for her, but he also "loved" her in a way that a father shouldn't. In a way, he resembled the Creature, possibly from the way they both stand or simply their auras--both seemed passive, perhaps passive-aggressive, yet there was something quite innocent about them. The Creature had a butterfly, and Caroline's stepfather had her and his charm as a kindergarten art teacher. He was well-known amongst the parents, as he taught, with skill and with ease, how to draw butterflies to his pupils. If Caroline had stayed, her daughter may have been his student. But they just had to escape, to get out.

But the Creature is all but welcoming.

The sunlight leaked through the blinds, and Caroline opened them. She walked towards her daughter's room down the hallway. It was one fit for a princess. But when she neared the door, she found it to be fully closed.

How strange.

She left the door cracked, as always. She never closed it.

Caroline turned the knob, fingers gripping onto the cold silver metal. She prayed that her daughter was the one to close the door if she woke up at night.

The door swung open.

And the bed was empty.

"Cassie?"

"CASSIE, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

Caroline turned the room inside out with no success. By the time she was finished, the bed's covers were thrown off into a heap on the floor, and the closet door was swung open, with the hanging clothes pulled apart on the rack, for Caroline hoped that her dear daughter was hiding behind them. She then did the same to the rest of the house.

But Cassie was nowhere to be found.

Caroline called 911 with her phone, which was thriving on 32% of battery. She choked on her tears, hyperventilating because she knew she didn't hear anyone come in that night, as well as the blurry memory of the Creature from the night before. She then sat in her daughter's room, which was all too quiet for such a nightmare. The princess wallpaper remained unscathed in contrast to the mess that Caroline had made. As she got up, dizzy from overwhelm and drunk on increased motivation to find her lost girl, Caroline caught a glimpse of a trick-or-treat bucket sitting alone in the corner of the room.

That's strange. How did it get there? They dropped it last night.

It was also filled to the brim with candy.

But they only visited one house.

Doubt filled Caroline's head. She must be going crazy. This can't be happening. The Creature mustn't be real; it's something that only happens in movies, right? All this built-up trauma must be getting to her. She's gone mad.

Caroline approached the bucket cautiously as if she were afraid it would bite. Sitting upon the mountain of wrapped chocolate and fruity candies was a note.

"Trick or Treat? You get the trick."

A pink butterfly was drawn beside the haunting words. The handwriting looked oddly familiar.

And then, the police arrived.

Caroline showed them the note and illustrated her memories for them, whether they bought it or not. They said they'd search for Cassie, yet somehow, Caroline was still dissatisfied. She didn't leave the house that day. She stayed home, replaying her memories over and over again.

And night fell.

And she looked out the window again.

And she met the cold, blank stare of the Creature.

And his new pink butterfly, porched daintily upon his hand.