I belong to Twin Cities Writing Studio (TCWS), and have been a member since its inception. The women who I see weekly at class are smart, clever, creative, brilliant, and always present.

I love my ThursdayGirls.

As part of our weekly time, we do a 10-20 minute free write based on a group prompt. This past week, the prompt was Halloween themed, and I chose to write something fictional, as a change from my norm. This character appeared out of thin air, and I loved her.

I haven’t edited my short free write story except for some punctuation, because I wanted to put it up on PeanutMark before the stroke of midnight tonight. After all, it IS Halloween, and what could possibly be more frightening than hitting the “publish” button on something completely unfinished, unedited, and unworked?

EEK!

Here’s the prompt…

Stella The Pumpkin

When she was four, she was a pumpkin.

When she was five she was a pumpkin.

When she was six she was a pumpkin.

When she was seven, the costume was too small… but she was still a pumpkin.

She liked Halloween, but she hated pumpkins.

Stella’s Mom was not the type of mom that made cookies or crafts. She’d freely admit when asked that she wasn’t good at “those sorts of things”, but she had a different aptitude when it came to imagination games and costuming. Stella’s Mom was great at making things up… but the execution of those things? Not so much. Stella figured that was why she was a pumpkin year after year. Granted, she had been a pirate pumpkin last year, but it was still a pumpkin.

Stella needed to be something different this year. Even more, she wanted to choose a costume for herself. She decided that THIS Halloween she would find a REAL costume, and tell her mom that she wouldn’t wear the pumpkin ensemble as planned.

Stella went on the weekly family Target run with her mom, quickly making her way to the back of the store where everything Halloween was on display and for sale.

Stella ran up and down the isles, taking all of the commercial spookiness in, until she found the section she was looking for. She finally stopped in front of the large display of boxed costumes, and frantically looked up and down for just the right one.

And there it was!

Darth Vader. DARTH VADER! She wanted to be him so badly. No one would expect her to choose THAT costume; it would be perfect.

Stella grabbed the box, hugged it to her chest, and ran to find her Mom.

“Mom! Mom! I found a costume I’d really like to wear this year! Can I? PLEASE? Can I?”

Stella’s Mom took the box from her hands. “Darth Vader? Oh honey, we can change the costume I’ve already made to be DarthVader-ish if you’d like? You could be Darth Pumpkin! Now, wouldn’t THAT be fun?”

DARTH PUMPKIN?

Her heart sank. “PLEASE? I don’t want to be a pumpkin again!”

Stella’s Mom’s look said it all.

Stella walked back to the costume section with schlumped shoulders, and reluctantly slid the Darth Vader costume box back onto the shelf. She was mad and sad and above all, disappointed that she was going to be a pumpkin for yet another Halloween.

It was at that moment that Stella started planning for the next year. She stood in front of the costume display at Target for the fifth year in a row and told herself this wouldn’t happen again. No. Next year, she would be anything BUT a pumpkin, and she meant it.

THE HALLOWEEN TAKEAWAY

Tonight, do something that scares you… but not something that could harm you. 

Eat some candy if you want to. Don’t stress it.