The moon was covered with clouds heavy with rain, shadowing the land below. The wind was slowly picking up, blowing dead leaves across the road. The old trees of the forest swayed angrily.
Vala tightened her hold on her pumpkin and she tried to quicken her pace. Her lungs were ready to burst and she had a painful stitch in her side. The branches of the trees reached for her, grabbing at her hair and clothes. Their gnarled bark turned into menacing faces as they tried to catch the girl.
‘Keep running,’ she told herself. ‘Don’t stop whatever you do.’ Her heart was racing. Not only from the swift pace she was keeping, but from her growing fear. Her legs felt like jelly, her feet were lead and her lungs were on fire. Just as she thought she was going to collapse from exhaustion, she tripped and fell face first into the hard dirt road.
The pumpkin rolled away from her, carved face glaring. A small whimper escaped Vala’s lips. Her hands and knees hurt from the impact but she ignored the pain and sat up. As she sat up, her eyes searched the darkness; trying to locate the pumpkin. She spotted its mischievous/angry face partially hidden in the dead grass.
She painfully crawled to her feet and limped to the pumpkin. She scooped it up into her arms and began to stagger down the road. The wind howled louder and the trees creaked terribly. The leaves twirled and danced ahead of Vala, completely unaware of the pending storm and the small girl’s fear.
Vala could see the trees thinning out ahead and knew the terrifying forest was coming to an end. She put on an extra burst of speed and the trees finally ended. She turned around and stared wide eyed at the forest that had frightened her so. It was dark, darker than the sky. A shudder ran through her body and she hastily turned around.
“I just want to get home, pumpkin,” she told the pumpkin. It continued to glare. “I just want to go home.” Tears welled up in her eyes but she wearily plodded on.
The wind doubled once she left the forest. The open fields were no protection against its frosty bite. Vala could see her town’s lights across the long field.
“Let’s cut across the field, pumpkin. We could get home faster and won’t have to pass Old Man Cas. He’s a creepy one and I don’t fancy walking passed his house at night.” The pumpkin said nothing and continued to glare mischievously at the world.
Vala stopped to catch her breath but she kept an eye on the old building that sat atop the hill just up the road. The wood was grey with time and many of the shingles on the sagging roof were flapping in the wind. The light was shining in one of the unbroken windows sent a shiver down her spine. Even the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
She turned the pumpkin around in her hands to stare at its face. “Let’s hurry pumpkin. Hopefully he won’t catch me trespassing on his field.”
Vala snuck down the hill to her right and stepped into the harvested oat field. Columns of stacked straw were everywhere, giving the girl meagre cover from the old man.
There was only one tree in the large field; a gnarly old oak. It possessed a wide trunk, equally wide branches and it towered over a scarecrow that hung on a stake just a few meters away from it. The girl didn’t want to pass the scarecrow or the tree. She was terrified enough, yet she knew it was the only way across the field.
Just as Vala was nearing the scarecrow, she heard the deep caws of crows. She turned around and saw three crows come soaring straight at her from the house. She stared, wide eyed and terrified. They dived at her, pointed beaks wide open.
She gave out a scream and ran. The crows veered upwards and rested on the oak, staring down at her with their dark eyes. She collapsed beside the scarecrow, shaking with fear. She clutched her pumpkin to her chest and wept. She was so frightened. Frightened of the night, of the crows, especially of Old Man Cas and the incoming storm.
But then suddenly two gentle arms pulled her to her feet. Vala turned around and gave out a startled gasp as she realized it was the scarecrow who had picked her up. His head was a pumpkin, similar to the one in her hands. He had two arms with straw sticking out through the sleeves and he had legs.
“What is the matter, little one?” he asked. His head was glowing and she was astonished to see the carved pieces of the pumpkin move. “I have heard you speaking up on the hill there so do not pretend you cannot speak.” He gave her a smile.
Vala swallowed. “I’m scared. I’m terribly frightened and those wretched crows came after me. And all I want is to get home!”
The scarecrow gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry to hear that. Honestly. Where is your home and why are you out here on such a dark and terrible night?”
The small girl shuffled her feet, hugging her pumpkin closer. “I was in the forest paying my respects to the dead. It is close to All Hallow’s Eve and on that night we build a great big bonfire and welcome the dead to visit us. I like to go and visit the dead with my mother but she is ill. But I didn’t want to stop our yearly tradition. I think it wouldn’t please the spirits.” The words were just tumbling out of her mouth. “I hadn’t meant to stay out this late. I got lost in the forest there when the clouds first blew over. I finally found the road…”
“So the lights over yonder is your town?” the scarecrow inquired, pointing to the lights across the field.
Vala bobbed her head. “Yes. But I’m frightened of the old man and his crows.”
“Do not be afraid of them. I can easily protect you from them. And I don’t mean in a physical way.” He smiled and tilted his head to stare up at the crows. The birds ruffled their feathers and gave out a few caws that sounded quite like laughs. “They’re laughing now. I know a perfect way to chase them off.”
“How?” Vala set her pumpkin down and looked around for something to chuck at the birds. “What do we throw?”
The scarecrow laughed. “Oh no. We shan’t deal any abuse to those treacherous feathered fiends. Dance with me.” He moved away from her, twirling and jumping in the air.
Vala was entranced by his dance. It was an old dance, one mostly performed by the Wanderers. She watched his movements for a few more minutes and followed in suit. The scarecrow laughed at her attempts and soon the girl was laughing with delight.
The crows, frightened by their odd movements, flapped their wings and dove off their perch, heading back to the house with deep croaks. The scarecrow stopped with a laugh and watched them fly off.
“See? Didn’t I tell you?” He put his hands on his hips and spotted Vala’s pumpkin sitting on the ground. “Now what is this?”
Vala stopped dancing, breathless with laughter. “That is my pumpkin. I always take one with me to the sacred grounds in the forest where I visit the dead. I carve out a face like that so the evil spirits don’t harm me.”
“Hmm.” The scarecrow picked up the pumpkin and held it in front of himself. “Not a friendly fellow, is he? He looks like me!” The scarecrow copied the carved face on the pumpkin and looked at the girl.
Vala could hardly keep herself from smiling. “Yes, yes he does. He will probably get fed to the chickens or pigs after All Hallow’s Eve.”
“Oh no! You wouldn’t do such a cruel thing to the pumpkin, would you?” The scarecrow’s face looked truly horrified. “No young one. I have a much better idea.” He stared hard at the pumpkin and began to murmur words under his breath. Vala was about to lean in closer to hear what he was whispering when her pumpkin began to glow. She took a startled step back.
“It’s glowing!” she cried.
The scarecrow looked at her with an amused smile. “No need to be frightened. Here, take him.” He held the glowing pumpkin out to her.
She took it in shaky hands and stared at the pumpkin. “What did you do to it?”
“Now you won’t forget me,” the scarecrow replied, something like sadness in his voice. “Just hold your pumpkin when it’s glowing and he will remind you of me.”
“But what happens if he is not glowing?”
He gave her a mournful look. “Then neither am I.” He gave a rueful smile at her dismayed face. “That pumpkin will not glow during the day as during that time, I am just your ordinary scarecrow who hangs on a stake with a head full of straw. Or just a hollow pumpkin head. It is at night when the moon is high in the sky, clouds or no clouds, when I come alive. At night your pumpkin will glow.”
“Why? Why do you come alive? Aren’t you just an ordinary scarecrow with the ability to come alive? Or is it magic?” Vala questioned, holding her pumpkin tighter.
“No, I am no ordinary scarecrow. It is magic that is upon me. Terrible magic cast by the wicked old man who lives up in that decaying house. But I do no wish to---” A door slamming cut the scarecrow off mid sentence. He straightened up quickly and looked over his shoulder. The little girl also looked at the house and was horrified to see an old man come stomping down the hill.
“Oh no,” she whimpered.
The scarecrow turned to her. “You must leave now! It would not bode well for the both of us if he caught you.”
“But, what would he do to you?” Vala felt unknown feelings for her new straw filled friend. She did not want him to get hurt on her account.
“What more can he do to me? Make haste across this field and get home. And hold tight onto that pumpkin!” the scarecrow replied.
Vala nodded and turned around. “Halt there you little trespasser!” shouted an old, yet spine chilling voice. She looked over her shoulder and saw the old man come charging after her. He had a cane in his hand and he limped towards her at amazing speed. The scarecrow gave her panicked expression and turned around.
“Move it scarecrow or I’ll turn you into a stalk of corn,” the old man snarled, waving the cane at the scarecrow. The latter took a nervous step away from man, wincing. “You, you insolent little brat! Who do you think you are, trespassing on my property?”
Vala squeezed her pumpkin. “I’m t-t-terribly sorry sir! I-I only meant to-to find a-a-a quick way h-home,” she stuttered, tears welling up in her eyes.
The scarecrow bounded between the two. “Leave the girl alone, old man. Just because you are filled with hate, does not mean you must frighten an innocent child. A storm is coming in swiftly and it is the middle of the night. Let her take the quick way home.”
Old Man Cas raised his cane threateningly at the scarecrow who winced again. “Don’t speak to me!” he snapped.
“Run little one,” the scarecrow said before putting his straw hands onto the old man’s shoulders and flipping over him.
Vala turned and headed as fast as she could across the field. She could hear the old man shouting and the crows cawing but she never stopped running. It was only when she got home that she noticed that the pumpkin had stopped glowing.
Okay, why I am posting this I have no idea. It's just something I put together awhile ago. For my one novel, Silent Souls, this is merely a story told to the children. I wanted to blow it up and explore it more. This is what came out. It's a fairly short story and I went through this again this morning so hopefully most of the mistakes and errors should be gone.
I found this picture of a scarecrow surrounded by fire and children. My brother and I were wondering what they were doing. This is where I got the idea for this. The picture is at this site http://www.myfreewallpapers.net/fantasy/pages/halloween-gathering.shtml Enjoy the picture and I hope you enjoyed the story!
I think it's the pumpkins.
