halloween prompt

as the night grows darker, you're beginning to think you've gone the wrong way. the swamp is deep and ominous; you can hear cicadas and frogs calling. surely nobody lives down here? but no, there's a path, eerily lit with lamps glowing green, and you follow it, walking out across the bog on the creaky wooden bridge. a house stands on stilts in the middle of the dark water, the stillness around it only occasionally interrupted by... something... breaking the surface of the water.

you stand in front of the huge oak door, your trembling paw too scared to knock. whatever could be living out here? there's no sound or light from inside, and when you knock, the buzz of the swamp quiets for a moment. then, you hear shuffling movements inside - the sound of something large making its way to the door. as you stand there, paralysed with fear, the door swings open with a bang.

standing there is an incredibly tall kalon. long, dark hair covers their eyes and falls almost to the floor; there is a glowing mark on their arm. their shine is the same sickly green of the lanterns outside. this... must be the swamp dweller. 

before your nerves can fail you, you hold up your treat bag, keeping it between you and the swamp kalon as protection, and say in your boldest voice: "trick or treat!"

there is a pause.

then, a funny wheezing noise begins. you look around, frantically - is this some monster emerging from the swamp to eat you? the tall kalon has begun to shake. after a few confused moments, you realise they're laughing."oh," they say, brushing the dark hair away to to reveal green glowing eyes that regard you fondly, "a trick or treater!"

they reach back into the darkness of the shack to retrieve something that turns out to be a large, crumpled black hat. they offer it to you, and you see it is filled with all the goodies a trick-or-treater would possibly want.

you take a tentative handful, and then make a break for it, throwing a "thank you" over your shoulder as you flee across the wooden bridge, followed by the sound of the swamp kalon's laughter.