WILD WEST OF THE HEART

T H I R T E E N

In the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, there only existed a thin line between the worlds of the living and dead. It has now evolved into a day set aside for elaborate costumes, mythical stories and spooky legends. It is unknown whether there is some truth in these stories like the ones revolving around witches, and wizards. Vampires, ghosts.

But it isn’t something one would intentionally delve into. Halloween was just fun, a day where you could dress however you want without a care in the world. A day where you could consume as many sweets as possible. And the one day you let your imaginations run wild. A day to carve eyes into large pumpkins and decorate your front door.

Formerly known as All Hallows Eve, halloween is the day of the dead. And no matter how colorful or vibrant the festival was made, it could never overshadow the darkness and the lingering chaos.

-

“—the ghosts of those who died on this day” Obi deepened his voice, pulling up his socks to his knees. He leaned towards his phone on the bed, from where Ola let out a sigh. It was a voice call.

“That was terrible” He graded his short story and Obi rolled his eyes. “I could never believe in ghosts” He said and the latter just scoffed in response. “I don’t believe in anything” Obi reiterated, standing in front of his mirror.

He had on just a tube across his chest that had been severed at the arm for fashion. Thread hung around the neck and pricked his glistening skin but he didn’t care. Below, he had on a leather skirt and netted socks that went all the way up. He turned to his side to admire his figure and Ola’s lips just dropped. “You think it’s good?” He asked.

“What?” He screamed.

“It’s amazing” He added. “You’re really, you’re really going all out” Ola searched for his words as he looked at the time, it was just about eight pm.

“Well halloween is one day out of the year you can dress like a slut. And no one can talk shit. It’s the one day you get to experiment with a lot of things” He said, rubbing gloss on his lips and then picking a jacket in his hands. Of course, after everything he had to cover up till he at least got to the party.

The almighty Hallow Fest that everyone kept talking about. “You’re coming right?” Obi asked, scrambling with his purse. “Yeah, not as if i have much of a choice” It was true, Obi had forced him out of the house to come for the fest, rather than have him mop around sad on the one night you can have all the fun without judgement.

It was literally darkness, the amount of fun you could have are infinite.

He tilted his phone, as Ola sent him a photo. It was a picture of what he was in. Nothing but a custom suit across his bare body.

Obi rolled his eyes and tossed his phone away.

“What are you supposed to be?” He asked, unimpressed and you could hear Ola smack his lips together. “Fuck it. We don’t even do halloween in Nigeria” He was right, the closest they had to the real thing was a festival on this open ground where there were games, hookups and free alcohol. There was no trick or treating, or elaborate pumpkin decorations. It was just a party. A lame excuse for teenagers to get wasted.

And you can sign Obi up for that.

His door then opened slightly as Mira stood at its hinge. He paused, in the process of wearing his dark Adeline jacket, a scoff escaping his lips. Mira walked forward, opening something in her hands.

It was on closer inspection that Obi realized it was eyeliner. “This will really make a statement” She said, forgetting for a while that she was still angry with him. But that was no excuse for him not to slay the one day he decided to go out.