\nIn addition to helping his dad decorate their house and creating a costume with his mother, Kevin was already dreaming about all the candy he would get. But he couldn\u2019t get rid of one house on his block that wasn\u2019t adorned. He concluded that they could want assistance since he was unable to comprehend why someone would choose not to celebrate.\n
There was a buzz of excitement throughout the neighborhood as Halloween approached. It felt like every yard was vying to be the \u201cspookiest on the block.\u201d\n
Cottony cobwebs clung to porches, plastic skeletons hung from trees, and pumpkins with ragged smiles littered the walkways.\n
Eleven-year-old Kevin inhaled the scent of candies and dried leaves, his heart racing with anticipation.\n
Kevin liked how the entire world seemed to change for one wonderful night on Halloween, which was his favorite day of the year since it allowed him to be whatever he wanted to be.\n
His gaze flitted from house to house along the pavement, each one adorned with scary ghosts or brilliant jack-o\u2019-lanterns. Kevin couldn\u2019t resist grinning.\n
Even eerie sound effects, such as creaking doors or cackling witches, were playing in some of the houses.\n
However, something that didn\u2019t fit attracted his attention as he continued down the street.\n
\n
In stark contrast to the joyful dwellings surrounding it, one house lay vacant and gloomy. Not a single pumpkin. Not a single cobweb. Not a skeleton.\n
Not even a small ornament. When Kevin recognized whose home it was\u2014Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s\u2014he scowled.\n
He came to a halt and gazed at the empty front porch. He had vivid memories of Mrs. Kimbly. She was an elderly woman who mostly kept to herself and lived alone.\n
In the past, Kevin had assisted her by shoveling snow in the winter and mowing her lawn in the summer. She simply paid him and shuffled back inside without saying anything.\n
Her home, however, appeared out of place today, as though it didn\u2019t belong in the same happy neighborhood.\n
Why hadn\u2019t Mrs. Kimbly done her Halloween decorations? All the others had. Kevin kept having the uneasy sense that something wasn\u2019t quite right.\n
After all, Halloween was a time for celebration, and it didn\u2019t seem right that anyone should be left out, particularly Mrs. Kimbly, who lived alone.\n
Kevin felt his heart tighten. He reasoned that perhaps she simply needed assistance. Perhaps she was unable to beautify herself.\n
Kevin turned and ran across the street toward her house, determined. As he ascended the stairs to her front door, the leaves crunched beneath his sneakers.\n
After a moment\u2019s hesitation, he knocked. Kevin shifted uneasily as the sound reverberated in the silence. The door creaked open after what seemed like an eternity.\n
Mrs. Kimbly was standing there with her eyes narrowed behind thick glasses and her face in a profound frown.\n
She appeared to have been distracted from something significant.\n
\u201cWhat do you want, Kevin?\u201d Her voice was low and rough as she asked angrily.\n
Kevin took a deep breath.\n
\u201cHello, Mrs. Kimbly. I recently saw that there are no Halloween decorations at your house, so I assumed you might have forgotten. If you want, I could assist you in hanging some.\u201d\n
If it was possible, Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s eyes narrowed any further.\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t forget,\u201d she yelled. \u201cI don\u2019t require assistance or decorations. Now leave.\u201d She took a step to shut the door.\u201d\n
He shouted out, \u201cI could do it for free!\u201d with haste.\u201d\n
\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t even have to lift a finger.\u201d\n
Kimbly, Mrs., frowned. She yelled, \u201cNo!\u201d and then loudly banged the door shut.\n
Kevin was incredible. How could someone be so opposed to Halloween?\n
He was aware that the other kids may target her house for practical jokes, such as flinging toilet paper over her yard, if it remained unadorned.\n
With a groan, Kevin turned to go, but as he did so, a plan started to take shape in his head.\n
Sarah, Kevin\u2019s mother, was in the kitchen cooking a pot of soup when Kevin arrived home. Kevin was hardly aware of the reassuring aroma of chicken broth.\n
His thoughts about Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s gloomy, unadorned home were still racing through his head.\n
Kevin sat at the kitchen table and remarked, \u201cMom, something strange happened.\u201d Sarah turned to face him while using a towel to wipe her hands.\n
She focused entirely on him and said, \u201cWhat is it, sweetheart?\u201d\n
As Kevin soon explained, Mrs. Kimbly had slammed the door in his face when he offered to help, and her house was the only one in the neighborhood without Halloween decorations.\n
But Sarah\u2019s face transformed as he said Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s name. Her eyes clouded with a distant look, and her face softened.\n
Sarah gently suggested that it might be best to leave her alone.\n
\u201cWe probably don\u2019t understand what she\u2019s going through. People may act in ways we are unaware of for a variety of reasons.\u201d\n
Kevin shook his head and scowled.\n
But she needs assistance, Mom. I don\u2019t believe she is truly angry. I believe she\u2019s simply depressed. Halloween is meant to be enjoyable. She shouldn\u2019t have to feel horrible all day.\n
Sarah\u2019s eyes were worried, but her lips curled into a gentle grin.\n
\u201cKevin, you have a good heart. Just watch out, will you? Even when they need assistance, people aren\u2019t always prepared for it.\u201d\n
As Kevin made his way upstairs to his room, her comments continued to linger in his thoughts. However, he kept thinking that Mrs. Kimbly was simply lonely and didn\u2019t like Halloween.\n
Kevin collected every Halloween decoration he could find, including plastic spiders, multicolored lights, some of his toys, and even his beloved pumpkin, which he had spent hours carving. He was determined now.\n
Kevin rushed back to Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s house after packing everything into a little cart.\n
He was carefully hanging lights and setting pumpkins along her porch while the wind rustled the trees.\n
Like the other houses on the street, the house began to change. But the front door creaked open as Kevin was finishing touches.\n
Mrs. Kimbly, her face contorted with rage, rushed out.\n
\u201cI told you not to decorate my house!\u201d Kevin jumped as he heard Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s piercing, irate voice echoing across the porch.\n
He stood motionless, staring at her, his heart hammering in his chest.\n
\u201cWhat have you done?!\u201d she said, her enraged eyes blazing.\n
With a sharp gulp, Kevin\u2019s voice was barely audible. He said, \u201cI just wanted to help,\u201d in an attempt to clarify. \u201cIt\u2019s Halloween\u2026\u201d\n
But Mrs. Kimbly interrupted him before he could say anything further.\n
\u201cI hate Halloween!\u201d she yelled, her voice shaking with annoyance.\n
As she moved nearer and reached for the closest pumpkin\u2014the one he had carved himself\u2014Kevin\u2019s eyes grew wild. He gave it a toothy smile, the one he had spent hours developing.\n
Mrs. Kimbly lifted the pumpkin without hesitation and crushed it loudly onto the ground.\n
Kevin was shocked to see the pumpkin break apart, sending orange pieces flying all over the porch. Gazing at the remains of his favorite pumpkin made his stomach turn.\n
She was standing there, panting, her face still displaying fury, but beneath her angry exterior was something more, something more profound.\n
\u201cI apologize,\u201d Kevin said in a barely discernible whisper.\n
Before Mrs. Kimbly could say another word, he turned and bolted, his feet stomping on the sidewalk as he made his way home.\n
Kevin dressed up as a vampire that night, but he was unable to embrace the Halloween mood.\n
He kept thinking about Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s gloomy, unadorned home as he and his pals went from door to house gathering candy. He was aware of the impending event.\n
The other children wouldn\u2019t comprehend. Kevin couldn\u2019t stop worrying about it because they would target her house without candy or decorations, hurling toilet paper or worse.\n
Kevin strode back toward Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s house, his vampire cloak billowing behind him, determined not to let anyone ruin her evening.\n
The streets were crowded with children in costume, laughing, and the sound of crunching leaves, and the air was chilly.\n
However, Kevin had lost interest in trick or treating. He could only imagine Mrs. Kimbly sitting by herself in her gloomy home, without any decorations or candy to distribute.\n
Upon his arrival, he took a seat on her front porch steps while holding onto the mostly filled bag of sweets he had already gathered.\n
Even if the pumpkins he had previously placed were still shining dimly in the evening, the celebration didn\u2019t feel complete without her.\n
Kevin got up every time a group of children strolled up the walkway, eagerly anticipating candy, and gave them bits from his own bag.\n
He tried to seem upbeat as he said, \u201cMrs. Kimbly\u2019s not home,\u201d even though his supply of candy was running low.\n
While some children appeared perplexed, others simply shrugged and accepted the candy with joy. It didn\u2019t bother Kevin. He was aware that it was preferable to them damaging the house.\n
After a while, the door behind Kevin creaked open as he sat by himself on the porch, watching the neighborhood come alive with Halloween festivities.\n
His face was no longer contorted with rage, and he turned in surprise to see Mrs. Kimbly standing there. Her shoulders relaxed and her face softened as she gazed down at him.\n
\u201cKevin, what are you doing here?\u201d Her voice was quieter than before she asked.\n
Kevin shifted uneasily. With a simple expression, he looked up at her and added, \u201cI didn\u2019t want anyone to wreck your house.\u201d\n
\u201cI thought maybe I could help, even though I know you don\u2019t like Halloween.\u201d\n
After hesitating, Mrs. Kimbly let out a long sigh and took a seat next to him on the stairs.\n
For a minute, she remained silent as she watched the children running from house to house on the street.\n
Her normally grim face softened even further, and there was a trace of grief in her voice when she eventually spoke.\n
\u201cI apologize for what I did earlier,\u201d she said. \u201cKevin, I wasn\u2019t angry with you. I just find Halloween difficult. Seeing everyone else celebrate makes me realize how alone I am because I have no children or grandchildren.\u201d\n
Kevin\u2019s heart fell. It had never occurred to him in that way. He turned to her and continued, \u201cBut you don\u2019t have to be alone.\u201d\n
\u201cYou and the rest of us may still appreciate it. We would be delighted if you could participate.\u201d\n
Mrs. Kimbly\u2019s eyes gleamed with emotion as she smiled slightly, sadly.\n
Kevin, you\u2019re right. For too long, I\u2019ve let my loneliness control me. In a rare act of generosity, she reached across and gave him a gentle touch on the hand.\n
\u201cI appreciate all you accomplished today. I also apologize for your pumpkin. I ought not to have destroyed it.\u201d\n
Her remarks made Kevin smile and warmed his heart. \u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m at home with another one. We can cut it together when I bring it over.\u201d\n
Mrs. Kimbly gave a quiet laugh that Kevin had never heard before. Thanks to the generosity of one little youngster, she experienced the warmth of Halloween for the first time in years as she watched him go out to collect the pumpkin.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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