Ian was desperate. His sister Sue invited his parents to their house out of town for Thanksgiving, but her husband Harry requested that Ian not come along due to their ongoing hostilities. Ian’s best friend Steve too was going out of town, as was Tony the bartender at The Watering Hole. As such, Ian had no one to spend the holiday with.
That evening, with everyone gone, Ian sat outside sulking on the front doorstep when he heard a voice.
“Would you like to spend Thanksgiving with Us?”
Ian looked up and saw a Dark Figure lurking in the shadow of a nearby tree. He knew the figure to be one of the Scary Faces That End Your Dreams. He had countless encounters with Them as Their sudden appearances jolted him awake out of every single dream he ever had. And now, here They were, reaching out to him on slightly friendlier terms.
“Sure,” Ian replied, thinking it was better to spend Thanksgiving with a bunch of Scary Faces than with no one at all.
The Dark Figure led Ian to a lonely house at the end of Rickety Road, that one road where everyone was afraid to tread. Once inside, Ian was placed at the end of a long table in a very dark dining room, seeing nothing in front of him but hearing the cheerful voices of the Scary Faces engaged in conversation. Then he smelled something delicious as the turkey was brought into the room and placed on the table.
“How about Our guest do the honors carving the turkey?” said one of the Faces.
“That would be great, except it’s too dark to see,” Ian replied.
“Would you like Us to turn on the light?”
“Please.”
Suddenly Ian realized he had just made a terrible mistake, but before he could react, the light to the dining room was switched on and he found himself surrounded by dozens of the scariest Faces he had ever seen. The fear was so overwhelming that he quickly sat up in bed with a shrill scream that startled his mother in the kitchen.
“Why, Ian!” she exclaimed. “I thought only women could scream like that.”
Later that day, Ian’s sister Sue and her husband Harry came to spend Thanksgiving at his parents. Despite his hatred for Harry, Ian managed to keep things civil for an elegant, if not tense, holiday.
It’s better to spend Thanksgiving with your enemies than with a bunch of Scary Faces.
MJBDiver.com 