Tricky Treats

1. Welcome to Finchdale

CHAPTER 1

"What can we say about Serena?" Gossiped the young men from the small town of Warrington.

"There's too much to describe in one simple sentence." But the burning question that still brewed within their hearts is... who will be her lover?

Tales of treats and gossip of a sexy mysterious woman travelled along the small towns from west of Warrington. Her whispers journeyed to the east of Foxbury, and now wandered to the south... to a small-town unfamiliar to gossips and scandals.

5 May 1961, Finchdale

William Pearson was a strict man. He upheld discipline to the finest. His grey suit with his white pristine buttoned-down shirt and black skinny tie that matched his wingtip shoes represented regulation. His perfectly combed sandy blonde hair with a side path characterized mastery. His tall frame exemplified authority with a strong voice that carried influence over his steadfast town. Finchdale might have been small, with its population of only 105 men, women, and children — but under his leadership as mayor, he'll carry it through like an anchor his forefathers did before him.

He might have only been in his mid-thirties, but William needed something to prove and embodied what a leader should be. With his grey hat and white handkerchief in his left breast pocket, he was strong, intelligent, and above all exhibit self-control!

This philosophy was embodied in three small marbles he carried in his trousers' pocket at all times when walking about the streets of Finchdale. It reminded him of his diligence and drew it whenever he needed strength. Hard and solid roots were the backbone of this community.

William strolled through his town with his hands clasped firmly behind his back at 10am sharp and not a minute after. Every day he did the same routine, and this Thursday morning wasn't any different. He was a creature of habit. Habits he bestowed upon the residents of Finchdale.

Six in the morning, at the crack of dawn, he woke up and had his breakfast of oats and honey. He only drank Earl Grey tea with no sugar. He absolutely hated sugar. Indulgence of anything sweet entering one's body was toxic to your health. Throughout the entire day, he did admin duties and oversaw daily operations he performed for his town to run effectively. With lunch at one in the afternoon and supper at six at night. He went to bed by eight sharp when the town's curfew started.

Everything worked like clockwork. His life was like the hands of time, always ticking and waiting for an appointment... And so did the town.

"Hello Mayor." Mrs. Nora Baker greeted with a chirp in her high-pitched voice as he strolled the street with his head held high. Her cheeks flushed red as he strolled by. The stylish and respectable lady owned the pastry shop with her niece, Alice, a young woman who had just turned twenty-one last week. Mrs. Baker was an exemplary woman, with her modest Danish pastries with little sweetness, who liked to follow his laws to a T. She took notes for him as his secretary every Monday and Wednesday morning.

"Morning Mrs. Baker. Morning Alice," he smiled with a tilt of his hat at each and walked on the cobble street. He dared not call Nora on her name. Even though Nora was nearly his age, in his books — if a woman was over the age of twenty-five, her surname should only be spoken.

His gaze looked to the left of him at the abandoned shop opposite. A shop laid vacant, old, and tattered. The only place that looked odd and didn't belong in his neat and clean town. The shop's windows were broken in the left corner. The walls and ceiling were cracked, and the shelves and floor looked filthy and thick with dust. No one in the town wanted it. It was said to be haunted, probably by its ghastly appearance. It was best to just demolish it, but the grumpy landlord wouldn't have it.