The leaves were crunching beneath my feet, then I was falling through a hole.

I awoke a while later, how long exactly I do not know, a few hours perhaps. At any rate, the sun had slipped down the icy blue sky to tickle the tops of the trees. That was my view from the bottom of the hole. It was a small hole and I wasn’t uncomfortable, but I was cold. I bent my arms and legs—everything seemed to be in working order. I stood up slowly. Stretching a bit, I found that I could get my eyes above the top of the hole. I scanned my surroundings, looking for whatever must have propelled me into this predicament. I found a foothold and was about to clamber out when movement in the trees caught my eye. I stood still and watched. A woman wearing a turquoise green cloak was bent over, speaking to a pumpkin—a jack o’ lantern to be exact. I saw the candle light from the gourd, and I saw the woman as she took a fan from the folds of her cloak. She spoke softly, then flicked her fan. I saw, for an instant, the pumpkin, then a second later an Adonis—that was the word that came to me. The male form that appeared was superb in every way. The woman took out a flask and gave a drink to the man. He looked at her with love and lust.

Karen Hydock