Hillary Unger

Mr. Masklonka
eng. 101 1N
22 september 2014

Memoir

I recall that day when the air was crisp, leaves were turning orange and
falling off of trees. I lived in a little town called Mertztown, in Berks County
Pennsylvania. It was a cool crisp night in the fall getting ready for winter right around the
corner. I had to be no more the seven years old. I loved Halloween and couldn't wait for
the trick-or-treaters to come around and receive candy from us.
My mother and father were all dressed up. My father surprisingly was dressed in
his navy blue navy suit from when he was in the service. It had the white stripes on the
collar and the navy anchor on the shoulder of the shirt. He looked handsome in his six
foot two inch framed body and grey hair. My mom was wearing her wedding dress from
when they got married. I always loved that dress but I wouldn't ever wear it at my own
wedding it flowed all the way down her back and onto the floor. It was pearl white as
the pictures i saw from their wedding day. It had buttons going up the back from her
waist to her shoulders. With lace between the buttons and the front of the dress. Inside

the trail there were doves with hearts inside the lace. She looked just like the perfect
bride. It was starting to get dark and I knew the trick-or-treaters would be there soon.

I would spend weeks prior to Halloween preparing my costume. I got dressed in

my home made cat costume. With a black dance leotard and black stockings, I made a
tail out of felt and a hanger that hung from the back. Of the leotard. I made a headband
with construction paper ears on it to make the cat ears. Then to complete the costume
my mom used eyeliner to draw whiskers on my face and colored my nose black.
It was around six oclock when we heard a knock at the door. I was the first one
at the door. My face was glowing with the thought of a trick-or-treater at our house. Our
house sat on the main road but on the outskirts of town so it was rare to get trick-ortreaters out that far. It was a small white two bedroom house, one story, with one
bathroom. I would beg my mom for more and more Halloween decorations to fill the
front yard. I felt like a kid in a candy shop every year around this time. We would carve
pumpkins and have ghost hanging from the pine tree in the front yard. We were all
ready to gout trick-or-treating with my sisters when there was a knock at the door. Our
front door was actually the back door to the house. Everyone would use that door
because it led right to the driveway where everyone would pull in at. There was no light
at the back door to see who was at the door.
I opened the brown door with four windows on it and I stood there frozen at the
sight of a skull covered with red blood dripping off its face. It was five foot tall. I
slammed the door shut and screamed so high pitched that my mom ran faster down the
hall to see if I was okay. I passed her in the hallway leading from the kitchen where the

door was to the living room. I ran right into my bedroom with the door shut behind me. I
climbed under my bed with my flower print cover from the bed and started crying.
"Hillary where are you it is okay, you can come out?" Voiced by my mother.
"No no no no. Im not coming out you can't make me." I shouted back.
"But Hillary it is just cousin Jeffrey. Come out to the kitchen and see." Explained
my mother.
"Noooooooooo." I shouted.
My mom and dad moved the bed and picked me up and carried me out to the
kitchen while I was screaming.
"See Hillary it was cousin Jeffrey. my mom whispered.
I looked over my left shoulder and saw my cousin Jeffrey standing there.
"What happened to the skull" I asked.
My cousin Jeffrey held up the mask and I push off my mom's chest to be put
down. When my feet hit the floor I ran over to him to check out the mask. My dad
commented "I knew you would come around you're an Unger."
"That is awesome cousin Jeff. Nice costume. Where did you get it at?" I kept
questioning him.
"Well I guess youre not scared anymore." My mom attempted to ask with a
giggle in her voice.
My cousin Jeffrey apologized "sorry for scaring you I didn't think you out of all
you and your sisters would be scared of my costume. If I knew I wouldn't have picked
this one out."

"It's really cool Jeff. You did a great job on making it feel like it was Halloween." I
explained to him. We had chocolate chip cookies and milk for a little till we left to go
trick-or-treating to another house. we had a great night with tons of candy in the end. it
was a great way to spend halloween.