For the fifth Halloween in a row, it rained. Not a heavy rain, but a consistent, mild drizzle all day long and late into the night. The be-costumed children of Bitty were found yet again gazing out of their windows, faces fogging up the glass, praying that the rain would stop so they could go out trick-or-treating in their full costume, without an umbrella or rain boots.

And yet they were used to this now, used to slumping at the dining room table while their moms grabbed rain gear and their dads rounded up flashlights. They knew their trick-or-treating adventure would be short-lived. And they knew their costumes would never be fully appreciated in their full glory.

Little Ella from Ms. Padget’s fifth grade class was especially disappointed that the neighborhood would not get to experience the originality and beauty of the costume she had created for herself that year (with a little help from Mom). She was a homicidal fairy butterfly. Mom only briefly tried to dissuade this idea, and then gave in to her daughter’s wishes.

Picture this: Dorothy’s ruby slippers except navy blue, sparkling light blue tights, a tutu that Ella had modified to look like tiny feathers, a sparkling blue leotard, sea foam green and blue fairy wings strapped around her shoulders and waist, a pretty butterfly painted onto her face (courtesy of Mom), a headband with bouncy antennae with sparkly balls at the end, and a bloody knife. There was also some fake blood deposited around her mouth.

Mom had asked, “Why would a murderer have blood around their mouth?”

Ella pondered for a moment, and answered, “Maybe she eats her victims after she kills them.”

Mom sighed and nodded. “Very creative.” She pushed all thoughts of Ella’s possible bizarre and/or violent futures out of her head, just for Halloween night.

Ella had her bottom lip stuck out that night, sitting on the living room couch beside a rain-spattered window. If she didn’t want her face paint and blood to wash off, she would have to use an umbrella to go trick-or-treating. At least her parents would let her wear her ruby slippers. And it was VERY cold that evening. Even Ella didn’t want to be outside without a coat on. Dad let her borrow one of his rain jackets- he sold her on it by commenting on how much it looked like a butterfly wing, if you caught it in the right light. The jacket went down to her knees. She left it open so people could at least see the front of her costume.

Mom stayed at home with her baby brother, while Dad accompanied her on her trick-or-treat journey through the neighborhood. Neighbors dropped candy into her plastic grocery bag, chosen because of it’s blue color (and also because there really wasn’t anything else around). Ella always said thank you. The moment the candy dropped into the bag she shyly blurted it out and then ran back to her dad, waiting on the sidewalk, excited that another person had gotten to see her amazing costume.

“Oh my!” said Ms. LeFavre upon opening the door. “Aren’t you a beautiful butterfly!”

Mr. LeFavre, standing behind her with a beer in his hand, corrected her. “No, don’t you see? She’s a vampire butterfly!”

“Oh, of course! Very creative!”

After hitting all the houses on their block, they returned home to categorize, count, and sort her winnings into piles on the floor. Mom had some hot cocoa waiting for them, and she watched as they marveled over all the different kinds of candy she had gotten. Starburst were her favorite. She hated black liccorice, which of course the old man at the end of the road always gave out. She handed this immediately to her dad without question. She knew he loved it.

Despite the rain trickling down outside, their hearts felt light, and Ella believed she had made a pretty good haul. The neighbors loved her costume, and always commented on how beautiful and creative it was. She puffed out her chest with pride, thinking about it.

When candy festivities had died down, Mom announced that it was time to go to bed. Ella headed upstairs and brushed her teeth. She used one of Mom’s makeup wipes to remove the paint and blood from her face- at least what remained of it. She skipped into her brothers room, with a reminder to be quiet. She kissed her hand then stuck it through the slots of his crib, and gently touched her fingers to his cheek. Mom read her a story and tucked her in. Dad came to say goodnight, and turned off the light. Her Taylor Swift nightlight immediately came on, filling the young girls’s bedroom with a blue-yellow glow. Dad left the door open just a crack, and left the hall light on, just how she liked it.

She sighed and smiled and pulled the covers up to her chin. She was nowhere near tired- in fact she was pretty wired, thanks to all the candy she sampled. Her eyes stayed open and she looked around her room. She knew that if she looked around the mostly dark room for too long, she would start to imagine things and she would get scared. So she only intended to keep her eyes open for a short time. But some movement caught her eye outside the window.

She turned her head to see the night framed by her white lace curtains. It must have been the rain falling that caught her attention. But as her eyes adjusted to the dark, something began to take shape just outside her window, which didn’t make sense because she was on the second floor of their house. On sunny days you could climb into the chair by the window and stare out into the back yard and the trees beyond it, and let the sun warm your face.

But tonight it was dark and the view was obscured by the rain splashing on the window. The rain also appeared to be splashing on something else outside in the night air. It made a splashy outside of a figure of the upper part of a person- a person with an oddly shaped head.