Prompt: Vampire, pumpkin, ghost

 

I walked home from the pumpkin patch, the absence of a breeze and the black sky fitting the mood. I carried a large pumpkin in my hands, tracing my finger over the lumps. I was already thinking of various ways to carve my pumpkin. A face, a character, anything.

 

I finally reached my doorstep before I heard footsteps behind me on the sidewalk. Curious, I turned around. Walking down the sidewalk, headphones on, and hands in her pockets was my friend.

 

“Kat! It’s so nice to see you again!” I yelled towards her. She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I called her name again, but she continued to put one foot in front of the other. I watched her walk under the street light.

 

I smiled as her body turned white, glowing and translucent. I could see the streetlight through her. Before she walked out of the light, she turned to me, gave me a thumbs-up, smiled, and disappeared behind an old building. My smile didn’t fade when she vanished.

 

Foolish girl. I thought. Why would anyone go behind a dingy building to “hang out?" Well, that decision cost her—Kat—her life.

 

I became a vampire a few months ago. I hated the craving I got, but I couldn’t help it. She was the closest thing I had to fresh blood. She’s now a ghost and likes to visit me. The memory of her ridiculous thumbs-up and her stupid smile taunt me still.