The Hayride.....by Yvonne Parizo

The Hayride

by

Yvonne Parizo

"Blast it all!"  I shoved my chair back, stood up, and strode to the window.  Looking out, I sighed.  3:00 am in the morning and I had written only 3 pages.  Writer's block.  I hate writer's block."  Outside for once the street was quiet.  All the houses around mine had their outside lights on.  "Lighting up the night to keep the evil ones away".  I chuckle.  "Not much has changed throughout history'.  Turning back around I stare at the laptop with disgust.  The only other sound in the house is of my dog, Booker, as he snores under the table.  Everyone was asleep, except me.

Booker raises his head and yawns when Bella trots in, whining as she looks at me and then at the door.  "Alright, puppies.  Let's go out".  I reach for my hoodie, slipping it on, and opening the door leading out to the deck and the backyard.  The pups dash out frolicking as they go.  I close the door behind me, closing in the warmth and light of the house.  The backyard was dark; although, the glow of the city made sure the darkness was never the deep gloom which penetrates a rural area.  Instead, shadows flitted here and there as the cold breeze rushed through the trees.  I sat down on the wooden swing, watching the pups as they romped around the yard and listened to the sounds of the night.

So many people are afraid of the dark and night.  Others think there isn't any noise, but those of us who spend time awake at night know the truth.  The night is alive with life and sounds.  This night is no different.  A dog barks in the distance.  A nightingale chirps nearby.  In the woods down the road an owl hoots as it hunts, and closer to me, two cats screech as they circle one another.  My pups stop their playing and race to the corner, staring out in the dark as they growl.  I never see what they sense, but I know they can tell when something is amiss.  I trust them to keep us safe.

The pups relax and go back to doing their business.  I watch them and close my eyes.  Just a couple of seconds. ...

Suddenly, a blast of cold air hits me, I open my eyes and am struck by the scenery around me.  The moon shines brightly and the bare branches of trees stretch out from the shadows as if reaching for me.  The land is covered with a light glaze of snow and my hoodie has changed into a bright blue down-filled vest.  A vest I had worn when I was young teenager.  I sit there spell bound by what I am seeing and trying to comprehend it.
"Hey!  Wake up"!  Someone nudges me and laughs.  I whip my head around realizing as I did that I had on my favorite snow hat.  My mouth drops open as I recognize the three f'aces of my closest friends next to me.  "We're suppose to be having fun and you go off into lala land!"  All three laugh as I stare at them and then take in where I am.  It's the hayride from way back when.  Around me are other kids from my past.  All of them still young, full of the life which hasn't been browbeaten out of them by the realities of  adulthood.  I turn back to my friends, still laughing and goofing off and I grin at them.  Up front one of the older teenage girls is screaming as her boyfriend stuffs hay down her coat.  The wagon we are riding on is filled with teenagers, hay, and pulled by a slow moving tractor.

It pulls us down a dirt road heading to an old barn which stands out black against the brightness of the moon and whiteness of the snow.  Slowly, it moves forward and in the wagon we tell stories, sing, and laugh.  A great night of Halloween fun! I join in, even though I know this can't be real.  "No way, I must be sleeping".  I think. But I can't explain the feel of the cold air on my face, the feel  and scent of the hay, the solidness of my friends and the others.  It's crazy, but it's almost as if I really am there, back in time,  40 years before.  I laugh, talk, and enjoy the time.  It had been a magical night.  Full of fun and laughter, yet, something feels eerie, and I find myself peering over my shoulder and looking for whatever it is which disturbs me.

The tractor and wagon pull to a stop in front of the barn and people in costume whisk us off and into the thick murky darkness of it.  I find myself being pulled and pushed along as hands press against me and lead me into the gloom.  Ahead of me screaming and yells fill the air, suddenly I feel myself sliding down and my hand lands into something wet, gushy, and round.  I yelp and pull my hand from that mess only to place my other hand into something cold, thin and stringy.  I yank back trying to stand and try to grab onto the shadow of my friend in front of me.  Instead, I grip a cold frozen hand and stare into the face of the unknown whose eyes shine with a spectral glow and the mouth shows the thread interwoven in the lips.  I freeze from terror as the thing grabs me, throws back it's head, and convulses with a grotesque laugh.  Suddenly, a bright light shines on me and I see that all the people I am with are covered in ragged clothing, different levels of decayed bodies, and the smell of death pervades everything around me.  My friends have disappeared and I am all alone with these gruesome and heinous demons who are surrounding me.  I gag at the smell of monsters as they shuffle closer to me.  I jerk myself away from the one holding me, extracting it's hand which still gripped me from it's arm.  I race toward where the light is shining from, all the while hearing the grotesque stumbling coming after me.

I run as fast as I can; pursuing the light as it fades and then brightens.  Finally, I am close enough to grab it, only to come back with a handful of air.  The light has gone, and darkness permeates around me.  I hear something moving in the night close by.  It comes closer.  Closer.  It's breathing is right next to me.  I curl up into a ball, my heart pumping from fear.  Suddenly it leaps.....

"Booker!  Damn, you scared me to death"!
Booker licks me all over and shakes his head at me.  Bella plops down next to me.  Her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she smiles her German Shepard smile.  I look at them both.  Shake my head at what just occurred.  Standing up I snap my fingers for them to come with me.  I open the door, and all three of us enter the house which is filled with warmth and a small light.  I turn back to the door, lock it, and pull the drapes across it.  I cross the room to the table, open the laptop, and smile as I begin tapping the keys furiously in order to get what had happened down....

A dream?  A memory? Or a universal shift?   I can still feel, smell, and hear the laughter.....