They walked back to town, with Sophie holding Aggie's hand.

"Is there going to be a costume party today, Grandma?" Sophie said, "Everybody's all dressed up."

"Well, this is the way we always dress, dear," Aggie explained. "The people who started your Halloween just imitated our traditions. Mortals see, Mortals do." She chuckled then said, "That's the way your mother ran into your father – by crashing a Halloween party."

Maisie laughed a little then frowned. Maybe they should've left a note for their mother. She would find out where they went eventually.  

"He liked her witch's costume," Aggie explained.

"Hello Aggie," a female ogre greeted, with a wave.

"Hello, Sadie," Aggie greeted back. 

Dylan was humming.

"What are you so happy about?" Marnie said, "I thought you didn't want to come."

Dylan replied, "I decided this was really a dream, so why worry?" Maisie reached over and pinched his arm. "Ow!"

Maisie asked him, "Is it a dream now?" 

"I like Halloweentown," Sophie said. "But why do you have to live so far away, Grandma?"

"Well, there was a time when humans and monsters and witches and vampires and the rest of us could be together. It was the Dark Times, that was a bad mix because humans feared us and tried to destroy us. So, we did our best to make them miserable in return," Aggie explained. "But it was turning us evil, which we are not! So, we decided to create our own world!" She gestured to the town. 

"Oh, kind of like when Maisie, Marnie, and I got separate rooms," Dylan stated. Marnie smacked his arm, "Ow."

"Wimp," Maisie told him because there was no way that hurt.

"Precisely," Aggie said. "From that day on, we were able to settle down and have homes and children and jobs." She paused, spotting some friends, "And an excellent bowling league." She waved at them.

They turned down the street and came across an old movie theater. It looked like they won't being seeing a movie because it was 'CLOSED FOREVER' which really sucked.

"We get really good movies like It's a Wonderful Death," Aggie said.

Maisie guessed that it was the Halloweentown version of It's a Wonderful Life. "But it said it was closed."

Someone bumped into Aggie and there was a screeching sound. 

"Harriet," Aggie muttered. She spotted the mayor at the ice cream parlor, "The mayor..." They went across the street to the ice cream parlor when the mayor went inside.

"Mayor," Aggie called. "Calabar, could I speak to you for a moment?"

It looked like an abominable snowman was behind the counter.

"Of course," Calabar said. He spotted Sophie, "Well, hello again, Soapy."

"Sophie," the kids correct in unison.

"Sophie," Calabar said. "You know, I think I have an extra sundae...oh." He took out a chocolate sundae from the inside of his coat.

"Mmm, coat sundaes," Maisie muttered as they went to sit at a table together. She glanced at Calabar. "I don't trust him."

"Why not? He's nice," Marnie said in a distracted manner.

"He's being deceitful," Maisie said. "I can tell."

"I see some flying brooms," Marnie said, clearly not hearing Maisie at all.  "I'm going to check it out." She left the parlor.

"Buddy system," Maisie told Dylan. "Stay with Sophie."

Dylan nodded and Maisie took off after Marnie.

She got to Marnie who was looking at the brooms. 

Marnie said, "Do you see these, Mai?"

"Yeah," Maisie said, looking at the brooms on the rack. They weren't like the brooms that she envisioned, like with sticks and twigs sticking out like the witch decorations she sees.

"They're flying brooms!" Marnie said. "Wow!"

"Well, girls," Aggie started, coming up to them. 

"Oh, Grandma, look at these things," Marnie said. 

"Yes, well, they are a bit more snazzier than when I was a girl," Aggie responded, walking over to look at the brooms.

"Can we get one, please?" Marnie pleaded, "Please, Grandma, please?"

"Yes, well, it is a rite of passage for witches your age," Aggie responded.

"Yes," Marnie said, giving Aggie a hug. Maisie hugged her too.

"Well," the broom shopkeeper began, "looks like you got your eye on our WindSweeper 5000."

Maisie asked, "Is it good?"

"Well, let's see here," the shopkeeper started, taking the broom, "Unibody construction. Whoo! Chrome detailing. A microchip directional system. Well, it's the top of the line. If you think you can handle it."

"Oh, handle it," Aggie said. "They're Cromwells you're talking to, dear." She put her arms around both Marnie and Maisie. "They'll be experts in no time."

"Check it out," the shopkeeper said, handing the orange and green broom to Marnie.

Marnie asked, "How do you make it go?" 

"You know," the shopkeeper said, "by magic." He said it like it was obvious, which it was.

"Oh, right," replied Marnie. "I knew that."

"How sweet," said a boy's voice. "Buying little Marlie and Mabel here their first broom, huh?"

Maisie turned to see the boy that Benny had warned them about: Luke.

"It's Marnie and Maisie," Marnie said. 

"This is a local boy, Luke," Aggie told them.

"Hey, don't sell me too short there, Grammy," Luke replied. "I'm something of a big cheese around here." He looked at Marnie, "Maybe I could show you around sometime. Buy you an ice cream. The abominable snowman has a little shop down the street."

Maisie found it rather uncomfortable feeling that Luke was feeling some sort of attraction towards Marnie.

Marnie walked towards Luke, "You know, I was kinda hungry, then I smelled something stinky. It must have been the big cheese."

Aggie grabbed Marnie's shoulders and pulled her back, "Perhaps another time."

"Yeah," Dylan agreed, "Like never."

"You know, if you people were smart, you'd be nice to me. I'm friends with some very powerful creatures around here, you know," Luke warned, backing up. He accidentally bumped into some brooms, knocking them down. He walked off.

Marnie chuckled and Maisie went to go put up the brooms that Luke knocked down.

"Oh, that Luke dude," the shopkeeper said, "He's turned into such a wiener. All right now, if you want to be, totally rad, you've got to have the Day-Glo Bristles. Now, the Purple Dragonfly here, it's awesome, but I prefer the metallic blue myself."

"Uh, this one," Marnie said, holding her broom. 

Maisie went for the metallic blue 'Dragonfly'. 

"Nice pick," the shopkeeper told her approvingly. 

"Yeah, this one is perfect," Maisie said. 

Marnie asked, "Can we get them, Grandma? Please?"

The shopkeeper asked, "Well, do you want me to wrap them up for you?"

"No!" replied Aggie. "We'll fly them out."

Aggie gave Marnie a ride first, then she gave Maisie a ride. Apparently to make magic work, 'all you have to do is want something and let yourself have it."

Maisie even told Sophie and Dylan that she'll give them a ride. 

"My turn, my turn," Sophie said, excitedly.

"I don't think so."

Maisie never really got what it meant when 'someone's blood ran cold' but in that moment she knew what it meant, because she knew that voice. 

It belonged to their mother.