by: Tara

Spoiler: A short story that takes place on Halloween afternoon

It was a chilly albeit sunny October 31st as the Duke cousins stood outside conversing…

“Daisy, I saw you in town.” Bo insisted.

“I wasn’t,” Daisy replied. She turned and looked at Luke. “A lotta brown haired women in Hazzard County.”

“Um, hmm.” Luke agreed and smiled.

“The person was wearing a red brown jacket,” Bo said.

“I got that from a department store in the city,” Daisy commented gently. “You might want focus on your chores that need finished.” She suggested.

“Ok,” Bo responded. It probably wasn’t his cousin he saw near the library. “I gotta get my work gloves from inside, Luke.”

“Alright,” Luke said.

The youngest cousin walked from where the three stood by the hay wagon toward the farmhouse. He went inside to his bedroom. Bo pursed his lips in puzzlement at the calendula scent wavering from the room the boys shared. His eyebrows arched in surprise at the figure on his bed. The flowery scent from a candle on the dresser. He tiptoed over to the dresser and blew the candle flame out.

He turned and looked at the brown haired person. He did not say anything, took a few steps toward the bed. His boot kicked an object. Bo reached down and picked the item up. It was a book. He straightened his lanky frame back to a standing position. That’s why she’s in here, he thought to himself.

Instead of waking Daney, he went over to the window with intent of reading the journal. Figuring it was about cases that had been worked on or folklore yarn. There was a lot more topics than hauntings and strange creatures.

The text held his interest for several pages, until a low sob reverberated. He glanced at the bed. Daney was asleep. The radio on the dresser wasn’t turned on.
His attention went toward the doorway and no one was there.

He returned attention to the book, looking to see if it was from the library. He still felt like the person he saw in town, was someone he knew. Except there wasn’t a place where a due date slip had been glued and stamped. The back of the book, had hand written notes. Which made Bo even more interested in reading. Bo flipped back toward the front of the book. Stopping in the middle where there was more handwritten markings on the pages.

“I’m ok,” Bo heard the words, clear as a train whistle announcing it’s presence approaching a crossing. He glanced over to Daney and saw that she was still sleeping. He went over,put the book by the candle holder on the dresser. Then he walked over and brushed some stray hairs from Daney’s face. He noticed the small handheld tape recorder next to the pillow.

He grinned. That had to have been what made the noises. “Happy Halloween, cousin.” Bo whispered.

Then he went toward the living room to find his gloves. Maybe someday, he’d inquire more about the journal’s contents. Luke and Daisy were waiting outside for him to set up for the night time holiday festivities… caramel apples and ghost stories around a campfire.