Chilling, horror, and silence fulfilled the cool dense air that flourished throughout the orange and yellow oaks on Redwood Boulevard. You were used to these types of evenings.  Living in Farmersville your whole life,you experienced countless years of parents perturbed by the fact that the most important holiday of the year was lurking around the corner, Halloween. You never recognized the fact of why it was so important in little Farmersville. Though you did know one thing, it was a great time to tamper with the other neighbors. This wasn't new to you and your buddies, but something felt different this fall. Whether it was your more daring stunts you were planning or the cold wind touching your skin,  You felt a weird feeling this Halloween, You just didn't know what yet.

You're bored, sitting in class pondering the reason for his chilling skin crawl and thoughts of this soon to be halloween. 

“Was it the caffeine?” you whispered under your breath, you’re still confused and uneasy by the fact that you aren't feeling the same as usual. The day moved slowly, and at a pace your body didn't appreciate. You squirmed anxiously in your chair,  excited for the night ahead of you and the mischievous ideas your brain held in store. The thought of yourself running door to door messing with the neighbors around this dull old town of Farmersville, it was all you could think about. You had been doing this for years, every corner you knew like the back of your hand, inside and out.  Your plan worked from house to house since the 6th grade. The map layout was just like your ordinary map, you sketched block to block, house to house. Only avoiding one particular house on Greasy Grove Street. The name your parents and all the generations gave him, Old Farmer . You only knew the same story every other kid in Farmersville knew. Your mind is filled with the story once more, a  man who lived with him and his family and made a living as a farmer. He was looking to sell his prize cattle for many millions and retire himself and his wife, but his two boys secretly sold his prize possession cattle days before the auction. The farmer was so mad he killed both sons. His wife had no idea, thinking he was crazy, trying to report the case but was stabbed with a pitchfork. All being thrown in a well. The man lives there today in an old home but has never been seen in decades. You're very curious and outgoing  but never believed these kinds of things,  always thought  to yourself that you must  see it to believe it. 

You’re relieved, school has finished, your tension and stress about Halloween is fading, 

“I was probably just excited for tonight, that's all.¨ You tell yourself this while staring at the blank concrete tiles below your feet. You spot your friends as they  creep down your street. You're absolutely pumped. It was Friday, Halloween that night and a weekend ahead of you. Life couldn’t get any better for yourself. As you and your friends take your beloved time getting home while reminiscing about your past Halloweens and teenage acts they always participate in, you were thinking about something to make this one big. Like, really big. Your brain pondered on and on. Wondering what could make this a night to remember, could it be a party, prank, or funny video? Ideas gushed throughout your head and twirl around erratically, until a daring idea shot into your brain, the group was shocked by what you had imposed and didn’t even dare to consider. But yourself included, was up for the challenge.

The night grew darker and no stars appeared, only fog, dense like thick smoke from a forest fire. You watched the young kids do their rounds of trick or treating before the older kids withdrew from the rooms. You then notice the older kids begin to lurk from their parties and slowly move into the darkness, this is your que. You leap from the bed grabbing your phone, dialing your friends numbers and running through the front door. You glance at the Halloween statues and decorations around the neighborhood block, it's late now, the time you read is nine o'clock. Now all the older kids are around looking like large monsters themselves. See, you are fifteen, a short scrawny  kid, not built and muscular like some of your other friends. But they don't deny one thing, when someone has a stunning dare or feat, you're always there with full intention to complete it. Your size and height is the total opposite of what your traits are on the inside. Inside you're a freak of nature, daredevil, a lunatic. You amaze your friends every time you do something so crazy their mouths just hang wide open like a metal playground swing in the summer. They always tell you ,“You're gonna get yourself killed someday.” You never believe it, so confident in your craft that nothing bad will happen to you. No one is as daring as you. No one. Thrill and adrenaline runs through your veins, you love it.

You're traveling throughout the town, from taking people's candy to messing with Halloween decorations. You're just waiting for the moment you're gonna shock your friends. One wouldn’t dare to accomplish what you are about to do, you walk around the corner and stare directly at it.

You say, “There it is, I'm going to take the cow figure from the door of old farmer’s and ding dong ditch him.” You made it sound completely crazy though you knew or thought that he hadn't been seen in years. He must be dead, you're sure of it. You creep up to the door and stare at the old door, with chipped paint off the base. You look up and down it, just a normal entrance with even a cow door knock, the exact one you were looking for. With a little tugging you manage to snatch it off looking back at your friends who are hiding behind the bushes, they are hyping you up, you're feeling great. Just need to knock on the door, reassuring yourself that no one lives there. You think, should be easy. You lift your right hand and right before you smack it a sound calmly turns on from top  of the cow, you go to check it and stop the slight mooing of the figure noticing writing below it displaying the words,

 “Knock knock”  in knife writing.

You say to yourself “what th-” and you're suddenly snatched by the neck. Pulled inside quickly and violently, you feel large dry callused hands grasp your skin. Being completely confused and distracted by the fact of what is happening to you. Soon you get thrown into a corner with a small candle lit next to you, the candle's wax dribbling down the side as the flame is gradually going out. You're confused, lost, and more importantly scared. 

You have been sitting here for who knows how long glancing around the area, you see darkness and the outline of a wooden chair in front of you. Soon the chair begins to creek, back and forth, back and forth. The chair is in a smooth rhythm like a factory machine working day and night. You don’t know what to think other than to get yourself out of here. You stand up, and as soon as you do, the chair stops and you're grabbed from the back again. This time into some light and a tall muscular man with a ripped plaid shirt complete with blood stains. He stares directly into your soul with a complete straight face, you're worried, he then backs off leading you to a small area downstairs where you witness something so terrifying you can't even explain. Your friends’ corpses lying in a line against the wall with a stained bloody pitchfork next to them,while rats nibble at their bodies. You're horrified, nothing like this has ever happened. Then the man's voice is first heard from your left ear, he whispers, 

“I know you never believed them” he quietly says. At this point you are crying, tears slowly fall from your face like a leaking faucet. 

“What do you mean!” your voice yells in terror.

“They said you would get killed doing these stunts, you never believed them. Now,I’m making you watch them as they die because of your actions.” You're stunned, this isn’t something you can comprehend. You're in disbelief in realization that you're the reason for this, the reason you're watching your best friends lay dead on the ground. You fall to your knees sobbing, you think maybe being a stunt kid isn't the coolest thing after all.  The demonic farmer stares down at your helpless body, pitchfork in hand.

“I hope you learned your lesson or I will send my pitchfork piercing through your own head.” You're scared, silence feels the air as you look up to the shadow of the dark silhouette, the figure sees your pain and for a moment shows you mercy. He points his fork toward the door giving you the opportunity to escape. You don’t hesitate and rapidly sprint towards the door. You never halt to look back and continue until you have reached your safe haven, home. 

It’s eleven o'clock, two hours later, you're drenched in sweat, eyes swollen and bloodshot. Still wondering what just happened to you. It must be a dream or more of a nightmare. You're still slightly crying, your friends are dead in the man's basement. They were the ones saving you, you think for a moment , what is the punishment given to you? Is it something you will never forgive yourself for? Was the Farmer just teaching you a lesson? As you ponder this fact, you feel something in your pocket, the small cow is inside, you fiddle with it for a bit but look at the bottom once more, but the words it had shown earlier were different, it said one thing. Think. Your eyes are wide and thoughts perplexed, the farmer had let you go to teach you one thing you never learned until this moment. He taught you to think before you do and how your actions might affect others. Your understanding is clear, you then crumble to your knees and weep while pleading for your forgiveness.

Weeks go by and your perception on life changes, this horrifying moment makes you reconsider yourself, look in the mirror for a more positive reflection.  From the daredevil with crazy ideas and lunatic decisions to processing your acts and decisions one by one. You never realized it until that night, that though things may sound fun and wild, it could change life forever.  For you, you lost your favorite people in the world because of you and your actions. You never told people about the man, and for good reason, lessons aren't always easy to express and relive,you experienced that first hand. You know what you did was horrible but life only moves forward, learning from our mistakes and making a positive impact along the way. As you envision your friends above watching you, guiding you, shining their positive light on you from heaven. They are no longer physically with you, but one thing is most certain, they would be proud of the man you have become.