A Single Tombstone

A Single Tombstone

The property had never been decorated for Halloween. No where in his eight-year memory had he seen that house decorated for anything, not even for Christmas. The house wasn't abandoned or anything of the sort- they were neighbors that lived normal lives. They had been seen at town meetings and the super market, they even chaperoned some of the school trips. They simply did not decorate their home for these holidays.

His older brother figured that they didn't want to be reminded. Reminded of what? Ben wondered. His brother wasn't about to say any more, so Ben didn't press him. That Halloween, in spite of the local opinion, to go visit the couple that lived there.

In respect of what they didn't want to be reminded of, he left his costume in the bushes. He knocked on their door, without bag in hand. At first, no one answered. He was about to knock again when he thought better of it.

He lifted the mail slot and looked inside. "I'm not here for the candy."

On the other side of the mail slot was a pair of shins in dark navy jeans. They weren't faded or torn. They were simply a good pair of jeans. A man's voice answered him. "Then why are you on the stoop?"

"The door is locked?" Ben answered. "I was going to bring a salad but it came out bad."

"How do you ruin a salad?" He was genuinely perplexed. "That's a challenge, to ruin a salad."

"Not if you have a dog."

"Hm." The man chuckled. "I guess that would do it."

Ben heard a woman speak, but he didn't catch what she said. She was irritated. It then dawned on him that she was speaking something other than English. It wasn't Spanish either, or anything else he recognized. She didn't have an accent.

"It's not a trick-or-treater." The man said. "He's a dog owner."

They spoke back and forth in this language of theirs. Ben stood quietly, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Some kids passed behind him. He was too focused on the babbling couple to overhear what the kids on the sidewalk were saying.

And then the door unlocked. The man opened the door, and Ben stumbled inside. His knees hurt from kneeling in front of the mail slot for so long. He looked up at the couple. The man was rather welcoming- the woman not so much.

"Hi, I'm Ben." He waved. The couple waved back.

"I'm Kevin and this is my wife, Janette." He said. "We can make you some hot chocolate, if you like."

Ben smiled. "Please."

Janette quickly left for the kitchen. Kevin brought Ben to the livingroom. They had a fireplace and a wide, wall mounted TV just above the mantle. The fire was crackling, small but warm. Ben made himself at home in front of it.

"Where's your costume?" Kevin asked. He leaned back into the couch.

"I didn't bring it." Ben cut himself off.

Janette came back into the room with the chocolate, one for each of them. They smelled heavenly. There was cinnamon and nutmeg in them. They all had a single giant marshmallow in them. "You didn't bring it into the house, you mean."

Ben tasted his hot chocolate right away, burning the tip of his tongue. It was worth it. He didn't say anything for a moment. He poured all his attention into the drink. When he looked up, he was face to face with a portrait behind Janette.

The portrait was of a baby. It was a sketch, like something from the painters in the park. It was a truly cute baby. "Who's that?"

The couple's faces fell. There was a moment of silence. Janette spoke first, which surprised Ben. "That's our daughter."

Ben didn't hear anyone else in the house. "Did she go off to college? My cousin is going off next year."

"Really?" Kevin picked up rather quickly. "Does he know where he's-"

"Kevin." Janette looked into her mug. His face fell again. Janette took a moment to collect herself. "Our daughter passed away a long time ago."

They don't want to be reminded. Ben almost felt sick. No wonder they didn't want kids around. He felt guilty for coming. "I'm sorry."

The silence crushed them. Kevin couldn't handle the moment any longer. He spoke to his wife in that language of theirs again. They carried on light conversation until Ben spoke up.

"What is that?" He asked, finally. "Is it Russian or something?"

"No." Janette almost smiled. "We made it up. To you know, give us something to hold on to until we could stand up again."

The couple looked to each other and then nodded. "It's a code, really. If you want, we can teach it to you."

From that day on, Ben spent less time at home. He started speaking weird words that no one understood at school. His interests changed a great deal and he didn't speak to everyone else as much. If anyone wanted to know where he was, they went down to the couple's house.

The next year they put up a single tombstone on their lawn for Halloween.