something scary
“Forget it, you little shit!” Lily scolded as she slapped her younger brother’s hand away from the candy bar next to the register. The interjection interrupted Lily’s conversation with the Shopkeeper of The Connoisseur’s Halloween Emporium, the seasonal Halloween shop that would pop up every year. He waited, saying nothing.
Lily continued. “Like I was saying, I want to be something scary for Halloween!”
“But of course you do! It’s Halloween! But that word- ‘scary.’ It doesn’t mean much, does it? Do you want to be spooky? Creepy? Frightening? Gross? Or..” the Shopkeeper trailed off, enjoying the ride on his train of thought, hoping that Lily would hop on board.
She did. “Threatening?”
The Shopkeeper nodded his head and led Lily down the store’s aisle of masks, speaking with the tone of a wise professor. “In a way, a mask is an expression of our most intimate, true self. You can tell a lot about a person by their mask. Take this one for instance!” He selected a mask off the wall. It was a bloody skeleton, or maybe a zombie. Lily couldn’t tell. It was wearing a gas mask. “Too much going on with this one. Trying just a bit too hard. First Halloween post-puberty, perhaps.” He continued his tour of the aisle, expressing an intimate knowledge of every mask. Lily followed while he described each one.
“Never been kissed...film buff...no creativity...obsessed with clowns...”
Her Brother’s sluggish pace prompted another scolding. “Jeez, you’re not just slow in the head, are you? Fucking retard.”
The Shopkeeper involuntarily clenched his fist, reeling from the harshness of Lily’s ending note. Unable to contain himself, he muttered quietly, “something ugly. That's the kind of scary you want."
"What?" Lily asked, unable to make out the Shopkeeper's quiet insult.
He quickly unclenched his fist and put on a smile.
"You know, young lady, I think I have just the mask for you!”
With that he went to the back, returning with a white ceramic mask. “This is a...well, an old favorite of mine.” He chuckled knowingly and handed it to Lily.
She was taken aback by how heavy it was, but ultimately unimpressed. “It’s just a shitty white mask! Boring!” she yelled.
“Ah, the untrained eye, yes. But to the connoisseur, it’s so much more. The mask is blank. Entirely. It has a complete absence of detail. An ambiguity almost hostile in its boldness. It reveals nothing. No warmth, no empathy, no kindness of any kind. If it weren’t for the practicalities of the eye and mouth holes, why, it would barely be human at all!”
Lily looked at the mask in her hands with hunger in her eyes. Something about it seduced her. With a grin, she declared,“It’s totally me. I’ll take it.”
The Shopkeeper laughed. “Be careful! You may never want to take it off.”
Lily ignored his warning as she forked over a crumpled up twenty dollar bill as payment. While she walked towards the exit, the Shopkeeper leaned to Lily’s brother and slipped him a candy bar.
“I hope someone in your family has a nurse costume,” he whispered to him, “she’s going to need it!”
Lily continued. “Like I was saying, I want to be something scary for Halloween!”
“But of course you do! It’s Halloween! But that word- ‘scary.’ It doesn’t mean much, does it? Do you want to be spooky? Creepy? Frightening? Gross? Or..” the Shopkeeper trailed off, enjoying the ride on his train of thought, hoping that Lily would hop on board.
She did. “Threatening?”
The Shopkeeper nodded his head and led Lily down the store’s aisle of masks, speaking with the tone of a wise professor. “In a way, a mask is an expression of our most intimate, true self. You can tell a lot about a person by their mask. Take this one for instance!” He selected a mask off the wall. It was a bloody skeleton, or maybe a zombie. Lily couldn’t tell. It was wearing a gas mask. “Too much going on with this one. Trying just a bit too hard. First Halloween post-puberty, perhaps.” He continued his tour of the aisle, expressing an intimate knowledge of every mask. Lily followed while he described each one.
“Never been kissed...film buff...no creativity...obsessed with clowns...”
Her Brother’s sluggish pace prompted another scolding. “Jeez, you’re not just slow in the head, are you? Fucking retard.”
The Shopkeeper involuntarily clenched his fist, reeling from the harshness of Lily’s ending note. Unable to contain himself, he muttered quietly, “something ugly. That's the kind of scary you want."
"What?" Lily asked, unable to make out the Shopkeeper's quiet insult.
He quickly unclenched his fist and put on a smile.
"You know, young lady, I think I have just the mask for you!”
With that he went to the back, returning with a white ceramic mask. “This is a...well, an old favorite of mine.” He chuckled knowingly and handed it to Lily.
She was taken aback by how heavy it was, but ultimately unimpressed. “It’s just a shitty white mask! Boring!” she yelled.
“Ah, the untrained eye, yes. But to the connoisseur, it’s so much more. The mask is blank. Entirely. It has a complete absence of detail. An ambiguity almost hostile in its boldness. It reveals nothing. No warmth, no empathy, no kindness of any kind. If it weren’t for the practicalities of the eye and mouth holes, why, it would barely be human at all!”
Lily looked at the mask in her hands with hunger in her eyes. Something about it seduced her. With a grin, she declared,“It’s totally me. I’ll take it.”
The Shopkeeper laughed. “Be careful! You may never want to take it off.”
Lily ignored his warning as she forked over a crumpled up twenty dollar bill as payment. While she walked towards the exit, the Shopkeeper leaned to Lily’s brother and slipped him a candy bar.
“I hope someone in your family has a nurse costume,” he whispered to him, “she’s going to need it!”