Halloween Night

We rush to prepare costumes and makeup

An electricity runs through the house

I am the ringmaster

These are my animals

Wild and unpredictable

Loving and gentle

They bite the hand that feeds them sometimes

I would stick my head in the mouth of these lions

The doorbell rings

"Trick or treat"

My daughter frantically rushes to grab the candy bowl

There is joy in the giving

Now it’s their turn to ring the doorbell

"Trick or treat"

"Say thank you" I yell from the street

There is a chill in the air

It’s unseasonably cold

My foot starts to drag as I pull myself up the next sidewalk hill

It is dark, and I am hiding behind a vampires face

It feels good to hide, familiar

Screams fill the air..followed by laughter

We walk

We walk

I feel every step

Something is wrong

My walk is uncomfortable

Pulling always pulling

“Que linda” a lady yells my way

“You look very pretty” is what it means

I smile, “gracias” thank you

We have to head back

My meds are wearing off

I already took two more than I should

My son moans a little

“Just a few more houses?”

My daughter shoots him a stern gaze

They run home with their friends

To survey their loot

I struggle to make it upstairs to the bathroom

One more pill

To maintain the costume of normalcy

Everything has a price

A wise old woman told me that years ago

I will gladly pay it in flesh

“This is the end of an era” my daughter says

She’s right

We all sense it

“Why are you walking up the stairs weird?”

It’s Parkinson’s

Nothing can scare you

When you live with a beast