Halloween Candy
Today, Jim Melvin offers a touching and haunting glimpse of the thin line between reality and imagination. (Guest Author Series)
Luke’s black Lexus glided into a spot near the far end of the grocery store parking lot. Though the sun still shone overhead, black clouds loomed to the north, swelling with malice. Luke almost imagined he was hearing far-off whisperings.
We’re coming for you … don’t think we’re not.
Lucy interrupted his eerie trance. “You think we can finish shopping before the storm hits?”
His wife's words brought Luke back to his senses. “We should be fine.” Then he mussed his son’s curly hair. “And even if we run out of time, rain’s no big deal, right?”
“Puddles!” Logan shouted.
Laura, 7 going on 17, gave 3-year-old Logan a withering look. “You love puddles, but you’re scared to death of thunder, remember?”
Logan’s excitement faded.
“Thanks for reminding him, Laura,” her dad scolded, but then Luke softened his tone. “Come on, crew. The Four L’s have a mission—stock up on Halloween candy before the locals strip the shelves clean.”
“Yay!” Laura and Logan cheered, both their moods improving with a speed only kids could muster.
Laura took her brother’s hand and guided him through the parking lot toward the sliding doors. Almost without thinking, Luke reached for his wife’s hand. At first he couldn’t find it, as if Lucy was avoiding his embrace, but then it was there, soft and warm. The four of them slipped inside, turned toward the produce department—and stopped short. A towering wall of Halloween candy blocked their way. The store sure knew how to hook its shoppers. The display overflowed with Snickers, Milky Ways, Reese’s, and M&Ms. Enough sugar to raise spirits and rattle nerves.
Off to the side, there was a smaller section with its own bold sign: SPOOKY. Whoever set this up had a wry sense of humor. These shelves offered severed fingers, wax lips and fangs, and blood-red gumballs that burst when you bit down. Of course, Laura and Logan’s eyes locked on the SPOOKY display. But their mommy stepped in before they could grab anything.
“No spooky stuff,” Lucy said. “But you can choose from any of the rest. I’d rather have candy that everyone can enjoy.”
The kids started to protest, but a sudden boom froze them mid-complaint. As the storm announced its arrival, the store lights flickered off, then back on. Luke sighed. It looked like they’d all be getting wet before this trip was over. Then again, since he was usually the one who had to run out to the car, it was more likely only he’d get drenched. Maybe he’d drive away and leave the three of them standing there, wondering where he’d gone. But he cast that wicked thought aside with a shake of his head—and returned to reality.
Luke and Lucy let each child choose not two but three bags of regular candy. Their neighborhood attracted about thirty kids on a typical Halloween night, so there’d be plenty leftover to enlarge Lucy’s bottom and Luke’s belly.
After marking candy off the list, they headed to the produce department. All they needed there was cabbage and onions. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy spotted Laura sinking her teeth into a Granny Smith apple. She scolded her daughter sharply, but Luke only shrugged. “At least it was an apple and not a severed finger.”
On they went past the deli and cheeses before making a sharp turn into the bread and cracker aisle, where they added hamburger buns, Triscuits, and corn chips to their candy-laden cart. They then took a U-turn into the next aisle just as another blast of thunder struck hard, startling all four of them. The lights flickered again, only this time the store went dim for several ominous seconds. There was something about the thunder that frightened Luke more than it should have, making him feel a bit dizzy and disoriented. He turned to Lucy for support, but her smile was frozen, and she stared at something he couldn’t see.
The strange moment passed. Luke and Lucy steered the kids toward the freezer aisle, but the store’s persistent hum still felt different. Another low rumble of thunder shook the building, causing Luke to shiver. He glanced around—and froze. Laura and Logan were gone. Not hiding, not lost, simply nowhere. As if to further cement his unease, a can of soup toppled from a nearby shelf and clattered to the floor, though no one had appeared to touch it.
Luke’s vision blurred, and the fluorescent lights only made it worse. The aisles seemed to shift in ways his eyes couldn’t follow, filling him with an uneasy dread. He held Lucy’s hand even tighter. It was the only thing that felt real.
Memories of laughter, names, and small moments flickered through his mind—and then it all faded. Everything that had once felt familiar was now foreign, as if the store had slipped into an otherworldly dimension. Luke blinked, trying to steady himself, but the sense of loss clung to him like dried blood. Fear crept up his spine. He took a shaky breath and stepped forward, every nerve on edge. But he couldn’t deny the obvious. His children were gone. And worse than that, he couldn’t remember their names.
Luke’s stomach clenched. He tried to call for his children, but his words stuck in his throat. Faces blurred, laughter drained away. By the time he reached the racks of wine, even Lucy’s hand had slipped from his memory. He clung to the thought that she had been real, that they all had been real. But the harder he grasped, the more the illusion crumbled. There was no wife. No children. Never had been. Just him—a man who had long ago traded family dinners for bottles of cheap wine and whose dreams had quietly died along the way.
An old woman wrinkled her nose at him, and suddenly it all made sense. Who would want to marry him? He had lived alone his entire adult life—no girlfriends, no friends, nothing. Hygiene was no longer a priority. It was easier to go home to the clutter and the stench, to drink until he blacked out, to pretend none of it mattered.
The checkout line dragged on forever. With each passing second, the storm outside grew more intense. By the time he wheeled his cart into the parking lot, the sky had erupted. Luke struggled to the back of the lot, where his rickety car waited like a weary minion. He scrambled to unload the groceries as fast as he could.
It took three turns of the key to start the engine. The old vehicle groaned, then eased forward. Rain hammered the windshield as Luke drove onto the main road. The wipers squeaked and scraped across the fogged glass, struggling to keep up. He could barely see anything. It felt as if the whole world was crying.
Luke drove slowly into the maw of the howling maelstrom, disappearing into a bitter darkness of his own making.
Author's Note
is a talented novelist and writer focusing on epic and dark fantasy. His gripping series, The Death Wizard Chronicles, aimed at mature audiences, spans three volumes and has won an impressive 7 major awards. His epic fantasy trilogy, Dark Circles, for readers of all ages, has garnered 14 literary awards, including being recognized as a double finalist in the 21st Annual Best Book Awards.In addition to his fantasy works, Jim enjoys exploring a variety of themes in both fiction and non-fiction. If you're curious about his creative journey, be sure to check out his Substack newsletter, Jim Melvin’s Realm of Fantasy. He shares a captivating, multipart series that reflects on over fifty years of his experiences as an aspiring novelist, filled with the ups and downs of pursuing his dream. It's a great read for anyone who loves storytelling! Subscribe to his Substack by clicking the button near the end of this page.
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