He was once a respectable man. But tonight, he was a homeless, drunk man with nothing to his name but gum in his pocket.
Don’t get it wrong. He liked being homeless and drunk. Not because it made him forget all the painful moments, no, but because of all the responsibilities. No longer was he being bossed around a 9-5 and no longer did he have a need for money. Well, money was always an issue but it was nothing a quick pickpocket couldn’t fix.
It was a wallet. He had nicked it off some woman he met down at the local bar. She was brash and wasted, her breath smelling worse than a trash heap (one of the reasons why he didn’t prefer women his age). She seemed familiar but the man couldn’t remember from where (every woman always seems familiar anyway). All he knew was that she was loaded in all the right places and he couldn’t pass off on that.
Though he didn’t remember much, he knew she had given him a good time — and he must have given her that doubled because he remembered her hardly moving after they were done — and a good sum to live off for a few weeks. He couldn’t be more thankful.
He looked at the wallet again. It was bright and expensive (probably a gift from the man behind the woman’s ring), coated in shimmers and glimmers that reminded him of better days. Wonder how much this’d go for.
Another time.
Midnight was around the corner and he needed to find a place to sleep. If it was downtown, that would have been no problem; any alley would do.
But his thoughts had led him down to the suburbs and now he was lost in some neighborhood with no soul in sight.
He walked and walked. The houses dark; the streets empty.
Only the quiet whistles of the night lingered.
There were street lamps, some wide open, others flickering and few turned dim. Under the moonless sky, they were his only source of light.
And so he followed the lights, hoping to find a warm spot here and there or for a good samaritan to drop by.
A few blocks further down, he sensed a sign of life.
It was… singing? Children singing from the sound of it too.
“Forget your veggies, eat your candy,
Or you’ll become like Mrs Sandy.”
An odd melody. Yet his ears found it quite amusing. He wondered what the kids were like. More importantly, he was puzzled how anyone would let their child wander about at this time of night.
Was it the booze or was it truly a lucky night?
It was a long haul before he caught onto the source. From the playground that was too cold for his liking to the sprawling intersections and beyond. He counted three… four—five kids, dancing in circles and singing their melody with joy.
“Forget your veggies, eat your candy,
Or you’ll become like Mrs Sandy.”
They went on and on with their song in perfect sync and rhythm. Jumping up and down, left and right, and giggling in between breaths. They looked about middle school age. One of them was even a girl, her skirt flapping as she tried to jump the highest.
“And if you’re really small enough,
Then the Candyman might show his love.”
It was then that another kid showed up; an older kid. He was tall and broad, sporting a red beanie that made it quite difficult to discern whether he was truly a kid or not. He ran up to the kids with a childish roar and they all scattered, screaming and laughing and singing as he chased them around.
The man could not help but flinch at their screaming. He didn’t like that sound.
“For the Candy Club, the Candy Club, the Candy Club.”
Best leave ‘em be, the man turned around. But as he took one final peak, he noticed the older boy staring back at him with a smile. The man simply returned the smile and left.
He kept on recounting the song as he continued his journey.
“Forget your veggies, eat your candy,
Or you’ll become like Mrs Sandy.”
The last part stayed with him a little though. Who the heck is Mrs Sandy? He imagined a plump woman in her sixties but that only led to a few chuckles escaping his breath. He probably had the pleasure of knowing a Mrs Sandy before.
He walked for what seemed like hours, seeing nothing but empty houses and empty streets. Flickering lamps and howling gusts. Empty houses and empty streets. Flickering lamps and howling gusts.
Then a vacant path lit up in his eyes, one void of houses and the neighborhood streets. He put on speed, and for a moment he thought he had found a way out of the suburbs. Then a playground came into view.
It was silent and abandoned, left only with the screeches of the broken merry-go-round and the loud whispers of the wind. Behind it all stood a tall hedge of blackness.
A dead end.
Coulda sworn there was an intersection ‘ere, the man shivered.
He looked back, wondering if perhaps he had taken a wrong turn but it was then that he realised he could not tell how. Everything looked the same. Empty houses and empty streets. Flickering lamps and howling gusts. He looked to the night sky but there was still no moon to guide him. Where on Earth could he possibly be?
“Are you lost, mister?”
There was a boy in the distance. The man could not quite make out what he looked like from how dim the lights had gone. But he recognized the boy’s jacket.
“Uhh, yea… musta lost my way it seems,” the man chuckled. He turned to the hedge behind him, “This… thing… I— Call me crazy but… this wasn’t here before now, wuzznit?”
But the boy was gone by the time he looked back.
Ah hell naw, I’m seein’ things. The man felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He walked away. Hedge or no hedge, he was going to make it through that damn thing. I swear there’s a street here.
He plunged his hand between the vines only for a hand to grab his and pull him backwards onto the ground. He felt a screech ring in his ears and then everything turned to a blur.
There were screams. Children running and screaming. Boys screaming. Girls screaming.
Stop!
He saw a woman. She was about to scream too. But the man wouldn’t let her. He had to stop her.
Stop!
He held her. No matter how hard she tried, he couldn’t let her scream.
Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
By the time he had gotten the hang of his senses again, he saw the boy in the red beanie, towering over him, only now he was wearing a giant mask… a smiling face.
He stared down at the man, and the man stared back, his chest tightening with every second.
“Forget your veggies, eat your candy,”
The masked boy started singing.
Then a few kids circled around the man and joined in on the rhyme. They were the same kids from before, and they were all masked, each one of them a different mask; a rabbit, a bear, a lion, a clown.
“Forget your veggies, eat your candy,
Or you’ll become like Mrs Sandy.
And if you’re really small enough,
Then the Candyman might show his love.
For the Candy Club, the Candy Club, the Candy Club.”
They danced and jumped, singing their melody and laughing as they watched the man soil his pants. What is wrong with me?
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t flinch. He had forgotten how to. It’s justa couple o’ goddam kids.
“What’s wrong, mister,” the smiling boy said, “I thought you loved kids!”
And then the world went black.
"Would you like some candy?"
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