DD Prince [Prince - Hollow: Hollow Duet: Part 1 (The Hollow Duet)

Every Halloween night for a decade, a lost soul hunted for revenge, thirsty for a kill. You may have heard the story --- or one like it.

What you might not know is that its not just a story. The reason it has lapsed into lore is because ten years after it began, a witch and her coven sought and found a way to stop the annual carnage. Her coven is responsible for some very important spells that keep things normal to the degree that the average person can afford to be a skeptic. Though, her coven was also partly responsible for the violence in this particular case, it was not via nefarious intentions.

Sometimes, things just go wrong just as sometimes they go inexplicably right.

This particular legends genesis was over 200 years ago, and for generations, descendants of that coven have continued to protect the area around Drowsy Hollow, a tiny town thats barely on the map.

Locals let the truth about what used to happen each Halloween night fade from truth to legend, wanting to forget about the fear. Needing to forget about the carnage. It was that brutal.

It transcended from being a visceral fear of everyone in the small village, to lapsing into local lore that became innocuous to the point that stories are told each Halloween that closely mirror the truth.

Children even go so far as to dress as the hollow husk of that former soul, in a dark cloak that covers their face, carrying a menacing-looking jack-o-lantern stating theyll do so until coming across a soul that they will take, so they can trade the pumpkin for a head.

But, October 30th, when the last remaining local witch from that coven perished unexpectedly, things went awry.

Her niece, who was supposed to travel to Drowsy Hollow quickly and cast the annual protection spell, was delayed through a series of unusual and inexplicable hurdles that amounted to very bad luck at the worst possible time.

The niece needed to be on site just outside the town of Drowsy Hollow near a specific tree, the oldest in the area, to cast the trusted annual protection spell. Since she could not get there in time, she cast a different spell remotely, to give her the opportunity to whisper commands to the huntsman as he hunted, hoping it would be enough to ensure the horseman took no lives that year.

Instead, not only did the new spell alter the course of events for the evening, it also changed the fabric of life for Isabella Krane, a young schoolteacher who happened to be traveling home alone during the witching hour.

Incidentally, the soul, Isabella, who has entered those grounds, is a direct descendent of the man responsible for the horsemans death.

Maybe it was a case of a perfect storm.

Or, perhaps, its fate, happening the way it is supposed to happen.

The coven was not prepared for what happened that night. No one was.

I know this will sound crazy; and Im the most skeptical, grounded, logical person I know, so if youre reading this, I have to defend myself. This is what happened to me. As crazy as itll sound.

If youre reading this, I didnt burn these pages for some reason. Maybe Im dead. Maybe he came back for me like he said he would.

Maybe Ive been institutionalized for losing my mind.

The following is my recounting of what I remember happening to me. I have decided it might be therapeutic to get it down on paper, out of my head. Ill probably write the details down and then burn these pages. And then maybe Ill be able to go on with my life. Or at least put it away in a locked place in my mind, and try to move forward.

I am filled with nausea at the notion of writing all of it down. Im also filled with nausea for a different reason. A horrifying reason.

Each night when I close my eyes, I pray Ill dream of something else instead. Or dream of nothing and just sleep.

But, thats not what happens. Instead, I experience that night again in my dreams, as if its happening again. As if its now.

Its been a full four and a half weeks of the same recollections, night after night. And each night when I dream it, it feels like the first time again. All over again. Like Im in a loop. As the dream begins, Im clueless about whats about to happen.

Its only in the morning when I wake that I realize Ive had the same dream again.

Each morning when I wake, Im greeted with reality. And the reality is that theyre not just dreams. Theyre recollections of what happened to me on October 31st in Drowsy Hollow.

It didnt start out as a dream. I know this.

I have the mark on my body that proves it and I may also have a baby in my belly to make it irrefutable.

***

And the soldier lost his head when the cannonball sounded with an enormous ear-splitting explosion and struck. It is said by some that each Halloween, he hunts for a new head, taking the first one he sees. But, some with more romantic hearts believe he may actually be hunting for the one true love a fortune teller had told him hed find, when he was instead killed just before being sent off to go to war

I think he wants a new love, Misty sang out in her tiny voice.

I think he wants to eat brains, Jarod shouted.

Then you better not go walking in the woods or hell wind up starving, Mistys twin sister Lana snapped.

The classroom broke out in giggles.

I waited for the giggles to fade, finished sharing the rest of the tale, and read them the epilogue about the carnage being stopped by local witches. I then placed the closed book on the shelf behind me and clasped my hands together.

Okay, little ghosts, goblins, headless horsemen, headless horse-women, and assorted other creatures of Halloween, ten minutes until the bell rings and that signals the start of the party. How about if you practice your printing? I think theres time

I heard groans as I turned to the chalkboard.

Math then? I called over my shoulder.

More groans.

I hid my smile as I lifted a piece of orange chalk and wrote out

Just joking. Happy Halloween! Who wants candy?

in large orange letters. The room broke out in giggles, mes, and I dos. I turned around to face seventeen very happy seven-year-old faces.

How about a game of duck, duck, goose, instead? I brought so much candy to get us all started on the festivities! Let the sugar rush begin!

The whole town seemed to be at the school. After the bell rang, there was the annual parade of costumes through the school hallways and outside, marching to the village square.

After that, a massive potluck dinner took place in the school gym. This was followed by a Halloween dance and trick or treat event for the whole town.

For some reason, this town didnt observe trick or treating in the usual sense. Instead of sending the children out into neighborhoods to ask for candy from neighbors and strangers, they set up each classroom with fun and games and prizes, which included piles of candy, candy apples, not to mention the coveted ribbons for best costume, scariest costume, most original costume, and so forth.