The spirit of Halloween filled in the air and the decorations around the neighborhood reflected the joy everyone felt as the holiday approached. The neighbors put plenty of effort to evoke that spooky feeling, but one house, that of Mrs. Kimbly, was plain. No carved pumpkins, no decorations, nothing.
Kevin, an 11-year-old boy whose excitement grew with every passing minute, felt sad for his elderly neighbor. He hated seeing her house without any decorations. He knew she was old to be able to decorate the place herself, so he got the idea to help her. However, when he knocked on her door, she told him she hated Halloween and didn’t plan to celebrate it, asking from him not to disturb her again.
Kevin was sad. In the past, he did some chores for his neighbor. One time, he even mowed her lawn, and he had never seen her angry before.
Despite her words, Kevin felt like he shouldn’t let Mrs. Kimbly’s undecorated house clash with the festive spirit of the neighborhood.
As he was walking home, he thought about the lady’s words and couldn’t help but wonder how someone could not love Halloween. So, he decided to decorate her house even if she didn’t ask for it.
When he told his mom what had happened, she told him to leave Mrs. Kimbly alone, explaining that people have different reasons for not enjoying certain holidays. But Kevin was determined to make his plan work so he gathered plenty of decorations from the garage and even spent hours carving a pumpkin and headed to Mrs. Kimbly’s place. He was nearly done placing all those stunning decorations, which included a plastic skeleton he struggled to hang on one of the trees in her garden, when she opened the door and started yelling at him.
In her anger, she smashed the Jack O’Lantern Kevin worked hard to carve.
Ashamed, he apologized and ran back home. Tears started rolling down his face. Not because he was yelled at, but because he felt that Mrs. Kimbly would be alone on that special night when the entire neighborhood was very much alive and enjoyed the festivities.
As he couldn’t stop thinking about it, he put on the vampire costume he and his mom made, grabbed some candies, sat on Mrs. Kimbly’s porch and gave out sweets from his own bag to passing trick-or-treaters, explaining that Mrs. Kimbly wasn’t home.
After some time, he heard the door opening. Scared that he would anger his elderly neighbor even more, he grabbed the candy and tried to run away. But then, Mrs. Kimbly told him to return. Her voice was soft and she had a smile on her face. As she hugged Kevin, she explained that she was sad as the holiday approached because she didn’t have any children or grandchildren and seeing others celebrating together with their loved ones made her feel even more lonely.
But what Kevin did for her made her feel appreciated and loved. She said she was very sorry for smashing the pumpkin he carved for her and offered him some candy.
For the first time in years, Mrs. Kimbly felt the warmth of the holiday thanks to one determined boy and the kindness he offered to her.
