My hand hovered over the door-knocker. The large brass thing glared at me with a feline's stare. Its eyes were etched in the brass, huge and frightening. Between its teeth rested the hinge inviting me, no, daring me to disturb it. Do it I heard the wind whisper. 

The grand house on the hill had held the interest and fear of everyone in town for the past 100 or so years. Once it had boasted divine gardens full of red roses and large marble statues. There had even been a little maze that led to a hidden cottage settled among emerald shrubbery and willow trees. 

It had been January 14 of the year 1898 when the door of the house had been shut forever. People had spoken about an eccentric gentleman who lived here, a fellow that kept himself to himself. He had no family, no heirs and very few acquaintances. One day he simply vanished. Some say he moved away, leaving everything of his past behind. Some say he died in the house and his ghost remained there still to this day. Strange noises would emerge from the walls and creatures would howl in the moonlight. Groups of blackbirds nested by the roof and flapped their inky wings in the darkness.

Then, out of the blue, trucks had been seen entering the property. There was rumor that the house had been bought and was being refurbished. This went on for at least two months. Though automobiles were clearly there, parked on the driveway, no one ever saw the new owners, any of the workers or some sort of hired help going in or coming out.

I bit my lip and knock, knock, knocked. Ready to hold out my nearly full-of-candy pillowcase and ask for a trick or a treat. It was Halloween. I was nineteen. This would be the last time I would ever be out all dressed up, for now, I was almost an adult and this was something only children did. It would be the last time I donned my pair of shimmering wings and my tulle skirt.

None of my friends had wanted to come to the house with me, upon mentioning it they all scurried like rats fleeing a sinking ship. 

'You have fun!'  they called out, followed by, 'You're crazy!' and 'Don't get eaten by any monsters!' 

I was left all alone on the pavement watching a group of pirate, Big Bird, zombie and Dracula run off like someone had set their coat-tails on fire. Curiosity had made me want to come to the house. Perhaps someone did live here, a celebrity of some sorts. Perhaps I was mad, but before I could think too much about it the door opened.

Darkness flooded the interior of the house as the door opened wider and wider. My heart thumped against my ribs. I pulled the pillowcase closer to me and took a step back.

'You are late,' a voice said. A second later I saw his face. Maybe it was the backdrop of darkness that made him look so pale, maybe it was the fact that he was dressed from tip to toe in black. Though I had never seen him before there was something terribly familiar around him. 'You are late,' he repeated as I stood there dumbly.

'Trick or treat.' My voice sounded like a mouse's, a small, pathetic squeak. My eyes never left him. Had we met before?

He opened the door fully and stepped to the side gesturing me in. 'On the table.' Pointing to a mahogany coffee table I saw two large crystal bowls. One was full of bright gold candies, the other with shiny silvery ones which shone like jewels. 'Help yourself.'

My eyes darted all over the room. It was just bright enough to see the beauty of it. Victorian style chairs and sofa sat around a beautiful coffee table. The legs of the wooden table were of some animal's, perhaps a lion's, the detail of them was magnificent. The carpet underfoot was plush. Tentatively, I took a step inside. 'What did you mean when you said I was late? I don't even know --'

His hand rose and he cut me off. 'One will take you to where you need to go. One will take you where you want to be.'

'What?'

Before I knew what he was doing, he turned and began to walk away. 'The candy. It is what you came for, is it not?'

I knew I should turn and run off. Obviously, I had just stumbled across a madman. 'We're all mad.' A whisper brushed across my ear. 'You are, too, or else you would have never come.'

Swiftly, I turned but there was no one there. I must be imagining things. It was all the tales, they were poking into my brain, trying to scare me. 

Wait until the townsfolk heard I'd been invited into the old house! Wait till they heard about this strange man! I would get what I had come here for, the candy, then I would leave. Yes, I would grab a handful and go to find my friends and brag.

I felt as though I was walking on eggshells all the way to the bowls. Though I kept casting glances left and right, my host was nowhere in sight. I planned on a handful of each but his words kept echoing in my ear, One will take you to where you need to go. One will take you to where you want to be.' I looked from the gold pieces of candy to the silver. They all looked too beautiful to be simple sweets. They are just pretty pieces of candy, nothing more. Just take one!, I thought. Upon close inspection, I noticed that each of the small pieces of confectionery was dotted with two little words in pink Eat Me. How was one to choose? I closed my eyes and let fate pick. Lips parting, I set the sugary sweet upon my tongue and felt it instantly melt. It tasted of roses and lavender and red wine and honey. The rush of warmth came to greet me and took me into its embrace. It kissed my eyelids and tickled my hair.

It was an instant after I opened my eyes that a sense of dizziness washed over me. I felt my face start to burn. I had been fighting a cold for the past week and obviously, it was not out of my system yet. 'Excuse me, I'm going to need to use your bathroom.' Silence. 'Hello?' My skin was getting hotter and hotter and I felt ill. Walking back to town would take a good half hour. I had to splash some water on my face or else I feared I would collapse the second I walked out of the house.

The faint slivers of light helped me make my way through the lower level till I came across a bathroom. I flipped the switch on, nothing, in vain I made another attempt but no light came on. There must be a power outage, that's why there was no light in the living room either. I shut the door. Luckily a small window offered me rays of moonlight so that I would not fall over my own feet.

The cool water felt wonderful on my skin and I instantly began to feel better. My make-up surely must have smudged, but the best I could do now was simply make sure that there were no black streaks running down my cheeks. The mirror over the sink boasted a warm patina with age and fine detail. I wanted to touch it. My fingertips glazed over the small rises and dips of the vines and flowers that had been carved on the frame. 

My reflection watched my every move when I looked into it and began to fix streaks of black kohl. Silvery-gold wings haloed around my back and dared shimmer in the lack of light. Even in the darkness, they were beautiful. I shook my body and watched them flutter in the reflection. A gentle fog began to encircle me yet I felt nothing by calm in it. I leaned into the mirror and placed a kiss upon it. I felt a velvety softness of lips, a warmth of breath. I did not think anything of it when I heard it sigh. I pulled back, savoring a moment of utter calm yet when I turned away, my reflection did not. I did not see her reach for me when I closed the door and decided to walk upstairs.

My head was getting delightfully fuzzy like I had just drunk a glass of champagne too quickly. I suddenly had no desire to walk back outside and continue trick or treating. I dropped my pillowcase on the top of the stairs and heard the faint sound of candy bars, gum, and other goodies roll down the stairs in a race of sparkly wrappers.

The walls on this floor had been painted a deep forest green and decorated with overwhelming paintings of ancestors and beasts. My eyes moved from one painting to another, from a dashing gentleman seated on a purple velvet chair to a black stallion racing though painted trees. The horse's eyes were blood-red, flames burst forth from its snout. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself yet was transfixed by the meticulous way it had been painted. Its hooves kicked up dust, its mane flowed wildly. It was the sound of sudden angry neighing that nearly made me jump out of my skin. The horse in the picture began to run towards me, getting bigger and bigger with each thump of its hoofed feet. The burning gaze in its eyes bore into me, looking as though it wanted to strike me down. The stallion's mane whipped across its face before it slipped around the creature's face, turned into ravens and flew out of the picture frame towards me. My scream echoed through the house as the loud beating of wings tried to drown out the sound of my thudding heart. I turned and ran into the closest room, slamming the door shut behind me.

The sound of music came from the depth of the room. A million black wings fluttered outside then stopped. Though I was trembling, the soft notes called to me in a haunting invitation. Stepping closer, I saw my host sitting at a grand piano. His fingers ghosted over the keys, his head was bowed down and when I moved closer I saw his eyes were closed. 'They will not harm you.' His voice was a whisper.

'But ...'

His head rose, his eyes moved to me. 'They have been expecting you .' His right hand hovered over the keys, almost touching.

'They came to me furiously,' I said, 'out of the painting.' The ravens had burst forth out of the canvas with grand force. But why was there silence now? Did not angered beasts make angry noises? I ducked and peered through the keyhole. Resting silently on the wall, the picture of the black stallion looked to me with hollow eyes and a softly flowing mane.

'A trick of the night.' The host's voice slithered into my ear. I never even heard him get up from the piano and walk to me. Eye to eye I could see the bright green blazing like a chartreuse flame. His skin was alabaster, his mouth was a cupid's bow and his hair fell to his shoulders as black as ink. There was a familiarity to his presence. I felt drawn to him, unafraid. The world could have crashed and burned around me and I would feel nothing but the warmth and serenity of that moment.

'You invited me in.'

He nodded.

'No one has ever been here,' my voice was but a whisper. ' Why?'

'No one else was wanted. No one else belonged.' He lifted his hands and cupped my face, an ice cold touch that I could not get enough of. 'I had been waiting.'

'Waiting for what?' My gaze bore into his in a kaleidoscope of hues. I sunk deep, deeper into the flames behind his eyes.

The melody he had been playing drifted over the piano in a faint reverie. He leaned closer to me and touched his lips to my neck, 'I have been waiting for you.'

This house, this man, little made sense to me. I knew I wanted to come. But why did I want to stay? 

'Am I dreaming this up, are you part of my dream?'

'You would have to be mad to dream me up.' His voice intertwined with the music, getting softer with each note. I closed my eyes as he bit into my neck. Outside, a raven pecked at the handle of the door. Tap, tap, tapping in time to my beating heart till it and I fell in sync. Yes, I had been late. But I was here now, his, forever.

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