THE HOUSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL

Twilight was setting in the sky.

- Neha Bhatia

A cool autumn breeze flew outside the purple house, with a few leafless trees scattered around it. The garden in front of the house had overgrown grass and thorny little bushes.

Clouds and mist hovered in the air, casting a mysterious shadow on the house. From the portion of the house visible in the mist, yellow lights flickered on and off behind the window blinds on the first floor.

Above the house, shimmered a white moon in the sky. A crumbling fence stood near the entrance.

Onir and his two friends, Mandy and Sandy, had wandered too far from his house. They were dressed in spooky Halloween costumes. Baskets slinging from their shoulders were half-filled with candies and treats they had received from neighbours as part of trick-n-treat. Onir's mother had warned him not to go to the other side of the hill as it was dark there. But when they arrived at the purple house, they were surprised. Unlike what Onir's mother said, the house was lit up.

The lamp posts were all working, despite some of them being broken.

The three boys tiptoed towards the main door to receive candies from the owner. Onir was going to perform a dance step while Mandy and his brother Sandy would sing a Halloween song. But when they knocked on the door, they were surprised. Standing in front of them was a boy of their age, with a box of candies in his hands.

They introduced themselves. The boy replied, "My name is Sanju. Will you come inside and play with me? My parents are not at home. I am celebrating Halloween alone." The boys looked at each other, confused. After thinking for a minute about it, they said, "Okay!" Sanju ushered them inside the house, which looked larger than any house the boys had ever seen. "Come this way," Sanju said. They followed, nervously.