voice trailed off.
My brain was spinning. This couldn’t be happening.
Bella and Screem were gone. The world should be back to normal.
Think, Monica…
.
Think
!
I tugged Peter’s arm. “Come with me,” I said. “I think I just figured out how to bring back Mom and Dad.”
He held back. “Where are we going?” he asked.
“Back to Bella’s house,” I said.
“Anyone home?” I called. Peter and I huddled tensely in the front hallway.
No answer.
I peered into the living room. No one there. Nothing changed. Except for the bright golden sunlight pouring through the front window.
“Bella and Screem are totally gone,” Peter said. “But this house is creepy even when it’s empty. It’s like the air is haunted or something.”
I nodded. “Don’t think about it,” I said in a whisper. “Follow me. We have to find
The Hallows Book
.”
We hurried through the living room to the library at the back. Shelves were still overturned. We stepped over the books scattered on the floor.
“Why do you want that old book?” Peter asked.
“I have an idea,” I told him.
It didn’t take long to find it. It was tucked onto a small bottom shelf. But it was so big, it stuck out into the room.
The old book weighed a ton. Peter helped me carry it to the long table in the center of the room. Dust flew up when we dropped it to the table.
“Help me turn it over,” I said. “I want to start at the back.”
The heavy cover was stained and bumpy. One of the corners was torn away.
It took us a while to get a good grip. Then we flipped the book onto its front.
I leaned over the table and opened the back cover. The book smelled musty, like the back of an old closet. I held my nose to keep from sneezing.
Then I lifted the pages until I found the end of the book.
“Peter, listen to this,” I said. And I read the last paragraphs out loud:
“
Bella and Screem vanished in the sunlight
.
Peter and Monica ran home
.
But their home was not returned
.
“
They had saved the world from Belladonna’s evil
.
But their parents were gone
.
And the two kids were doomed to live without them
.”
Peter shook his head sadly. “It’s all there,” he said. His voice cracked. “It’s in the book. Mom and Dad are gone.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “Maybe I can change every thing.”
I found a pen on the floor. I picked it up and leaned over
The Hallows Book
. My hand started to tremble. But I steadied it and lowered it to the page.
I crossed out the last lines of the story, the words I had read to Peter. And then themarking pen scratched over the rough paper as I wrote in a new ending….
The house returned
.
The parents were okay
.
It was Halloween night again
.
And Monica and Peter returned home with their trick-or-treat bags full
.
They forgot everything that had happened to them
.
Their horrifying memories were wiped clean
.
And they returned happily to their normal lives
.
I let out a long sigh. Then I read my new ending to Peter. “What do you think?” I asked.
He stared hard at me. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “Do you really think that will work?”
44
I blinked. And let out a cry.
Sudden darkness fell over the room.
It took a few seconds for me to realize why the sunlight had disappeared. I rushed to the front window and gazed out. The half-moon stood high in the black sky. It was night again.
“Peter — let’s go,” I said.
We ran out of the dark house. I gasped when Peter stepped into the light. He was dressed in his white karate uniform again. And he held his bulging trick-or-treat bag tightly in one fist.
I glanced up at the moon. “It must be late,” I said.
Peter turned to the enormous house behind us. “Whose house is this?” he asked. “What are we doing here?”
I turned to follow his gaze. “I — I don’t remember,” I said.
We ran home. We passed a few trick-or-treaters. Mostly older kids who could stay outlate. A big yellow-orange jack-o’-lantern grinned at us
My brain was spinning. This couldn’t be happening.
Bella and Screem were gone. The world should be back to normal.
Think, Monica…
.
Think
!
I tugged Peter’s arm. “Come with me,” I said. “I think I just figured out how to bring back Mom and Dad.”
He held back. “Where are we going?” he asked.
“Back to Bella’s house,” I said.
“Anyone home?” I called. Peter and I huddled tensely in the front hallway.
No answer.
I peered into the living room. No one there. Nothing changed. Except for the bright golden sunlight pouring through the front window.
“Bella and Screem are totally gone,” Peter said. “But this house is creepy even when it’s empty. It’s like the air is haunted or something.”
I nodded. “Don’t think about it,” I said in a whisper. “Follow me. We have to find
The Hallows Book
.”
We hurried through the living room to the library at the back. Shelves were still overturned. We stepped over the books scattered on the floor.
“Why do you want that old book?” Peter asked.
“I have an idea,” I told him.
It didn’t take long to find it. It was tucked onto a small bottom shelf. But it was so big, it stuck out into the room.
The old book weighed a ton. Peter helped me carry it to the long table in the center of the room. Dust flew up when we dropped it to the table.
“Help me turn it over,” I said. “I want to start at the back.”
The heavy cover was stained and bumpy. One of the corners was torn away.
It took us a while to get a good grip. Then we flipped the book onto its front.
I leaned over the table and opened the back cover. The book smelled musty, like the back of an old closet. I held my nose to keep from sneezing.
Then I lifted the pages until I found the end of the book.
“Peter, listen to this,” I said. And I read the last paragraphs out loud:
“
Bella and Screem vanished in the sunlight
.
Peter and Monica ran home
.
But their home was not returned
.
“
They had saved the world from Belladonna’s evil
.
But their parents were gone
.
And the two kids were doomed to live without them
.”
Peter shook his head sadly. “It’s all there,” he said. His voice cracked. “It’s in the book. Mom and Dad are gone.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “Maybe I can change every thing.”
I found a pen on the floor. I picked it up and leaned over
The Hallows Book
. My hand started to tremble. But I steadied it and lowered it to the page.
I crossed out the last lines of the story, the words I had read to Peter. And then themarking pen scratched over the rough paper as I wrote in a new ending….
The house returned
.
The parents were okay
.
It was Halloween night again
.
And Monica and Peter returned home with their trick-or-treat bags full
.
They forgot everything that had happened to them
.
Their horrifying memories were wiped clean
.
And they returned happily to their normal lives
.
I let out a long sigh. Then I read my new ending to Peter. “What do you think?” I asked.
He stared hard at me. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “Do you really think that will work?”
44
I blinked. And let out a cry.
Sudden darkness fell over the room.
It took a few seconds for me to realize why the sunlight had disappeared. I rushed to the front window and gazed out. The half-moon stood high in the black sky. It was night again.
“Peter — let’s go,” I said.
We ran out of the dark house. I gasped when Peter stepped into the light. He was dressed in his white karate uniform again. And he held his bulging trick-or-treat bag tightly in one fist.
I glanced up at the moon. “It must be late,” I said.
Peter turned to the enormous house behind us. “Whose house is this?” he asked. “What are we doing here?”
I turned to follow his gaze. “I — I don’t remember,” I said.
We ran home. We passed a few trick-or-treaters. Mostly older kids who could stay outlate. A big yellow-orange jack-o’-lantern grinned at us
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