Candy, trick...or coffee?

Geovanny and his friends were preparing for Halloween night, this year was very special for them, because in their neighborhood there was a chilling legend around the house number 206. Apparently the house belonged many years ago to a coffee farmer, in one of the many crises that had suffered his country the farmer was bankrupt and desperate, he killed his children and his wife and then committed suicide. According to the locals, the house was cursed, and every 30 years he would choose a child from the community, take him to his door and make him disappear. The story varied according to the person who told it, some added mystery, others blood and tragedy, the truth is that it was part of the oral tradition of that small neighborhood and the children of each generation enjoyed the adrenaline rush every time the 30 years came around for the house to choose its new victim. The adults didn't believe much in the legend, so they let the children immerse themselves in the spooky adventure that lasted only one night.

Geovanny was passionate about horror stories, with only 11 years old he was a great reader and infected his two best friends with his enthusiasm, that year they would discover the mystery of house 206, no child would disappear because he would break the curse. He had his costumes ready, Geovanny was Count Dracula, his friend Raul a werewolf and Tim the disgusting Frankenstein, all classic characters at Geovanny's suggestion. They went out that night to participate in the traditional Trick or Treat? They wanted to mingle with the other children, so no one would suspect their plan.

Midnight arrived, as it was a holiday, the streets were still active and the parents of the three boys were not worried, confident that their children were part of the celebration. But in reality Geovanny and his friends walked away from the crowd straight to the cursed house, when they saw its imposing and gloomy structure Geovanny's two friends hesitated, but not him, he was very clear about what he had to do that night, he had only one chance, because after that night they would have to wait 30 years and the adventure would belong to another generation.

His friends waited on the sidewalk, while Geovanny bravely approached the huge wooden door, blackened by humidity and the passage of time. He knocked on the door three times, after a brief pause he said in a firm voice - Trick or treat? - There was no answer. He knocked again on the rotten door and asked again - Trick or treat? - but he only heard silence. He began to feel some disappointment, he thought for a moment while looking at his feet, he felt confident again so he knocked three times on the door again - Trick or treat? - He said with a firm voice, and a voice whispered from inside -coffee!- he knew at that instant, he felt his heart would burst as he knocked on the door again, but this time he whispered close to the door -trick or treat? And the door opened.

He entered the dark house, he didn't want to admit it but his legs were shaking, everything inside was damp and dilapidated, a rotten wood smell intoxicated the air. Geovanny had poor visibility, he stumbled several times over obstacles on the floor but could not distinguish them in the darkness. When he crossed the arch that separates the living room from the kitchen a smell of coffee invaded his senses, it was so intense that he felt his tongue taste the coffee that produced the sweet fragrance. A poured cup waited on the table, her hands wrapped around it, she felt like running, but immediately she experienced the bitterness of not knowing what would follow next, could she live like this? Of course not, she had to go on.

He sat down at the table, took the cup and began to drink the coffee, she looked at the emptiness while the coffee ran down her throat, her leg trembled anxiously, she wondered what mystery she would discover when the cup was empty. When he drank the last sip he was stunned, he didn't know how but something inside him knew, he was the boy the house had chosen that year, it had chosen him long ago, maybe since his birth and all that time it had been playing with him. He sat there staring into the void.

The next morning, Geovanny's friends were still waiting for him on the sidewalk, they had spent the whole night there, but they knew that if Geovanny did not come out they would have to go ask his parents for help, they were about to leave in search of help when the door of house 206 opened. To their relief Geovanny walked through the door as if nothing had happened, they hugged each other and left, telling each other what had happened during the night.

Raul and Tim didn't realize it, neither did the parents when they saw their son arrive in the morning, but the truth is that Geovanny never left house 206, that which led him to that cursed dwelling took his body and he went through the door turned into the little boy he had chosen. Although for everyone in the neighborhood the story of the house is still an invention, Geovanny's soul remains trapped there, waiting for another 30 years to pass before he chooses another child to take his place.