Mia, Lily, Nora, and Zoe were four little girls, almost three, and very sure about one thing.
Tonight was Halloween.
They stood in Mia's living room, where the lamp glowed like warm honey. A paper pumpkin smiled on the wall. Outside, the sky was dark-blue, like a big blanket.
Mia wore a ladybug costume with tiny spots. Lily was a soft ghost with a friendly face drawn on her hood. Nora was a purple cat with whiskers that tickled her cheeks. Zoe was a small witch with a hat that kept sliding over her eyes.
Zoe pushed her hat up. “My hat is silly,” she said.
“It's doing a dance,” Nora giggled.
On the floor, four flashlights waited like little silver worms.
Mia clapped once. “We will watch funny shadows!”
Lily hugged her ghost sleeves. “Shadows are not scary?”
“Not in our house,” said Nora, very serious. “Only funny.”
Zoe nodded. “And if one looks spooky, we say, ‘Hello, Shadow!'”
They turned off the big light. The room became quiet and cozy. The lamp stayed on, low and gentle, like bedtime.
Mia clicked her flashlight. A round light jumped onto the wall. She held up her hands and made bunny ears.
Two tall bunny ears wiggled on the wall.
Lily gasped. “Bunny!”
Mia whispered, “Boo-bunny,” and wiggled again.
Everyone giggled, even the paper pumpkin.
Lily tried next. She held her ghost arms wide. Her shadow became a big floating blob.
“I am… a giant marshmallow!” Lily said.
Nora laughed. “A marshmallow ghost!”
Zoe said, “Can it say ‘boo'?”
Lily made a soft voice. “Boo… please.”
They all laughed louder, then covered their mouths, like it was a secret.
Nora pointed her flashlight at the ceiling and spun once. Her cat tail made a swishy shadow circle.
“My tail is a helicopter,” Nora declared.
Zoe looked up. “A cat-copter! Meow-wooo!”
Zoe's turn. She shined her light at the wall and lifted her witch hat high.
The hat's shadow grew huge, like a mountain.
Zoe's eyes went wide. “Oh!”
Mia stepped closer. “Is it too big?”
Zoe took a slow breath. “It is… a Big Hat Shadow.”
Lily held Zoe's hand. “We can make it funny.”
Nora nodded. “Add silly!”
Mia found a paper mustache from the costume box. “Mustache!”
Zoe held the mustache under the hat. On the wall, the Big Hat Shadow now had a curly mustache.
Zoe tried a deep voice. “I am Mr. Hat. I like soup.”
Lily sniffed the air. “I like soup too.”
Nora said, “Mr. Hat, do you like pudding?”
Zoe made the mustache bounce. “Yes. Pudding on my mustache!”
All four girls laughed so hard they sat down in a pile of costumes and knees.
Then Mia noticed something. A new shadow was on the wall. It looked like… a lumpy monster.
The girls went quiet for one small moment.
Mia's voice stayed soft. “Let's check together.”
They held hands and aimed all four flashlights at once.
The “monster” turned into a chair with a blanket and a bag of apples on top.
Lily sighed. “It's just our snack.”
Nora patted the chair. “Hello, Chair Shadow.”
Zoe bowed. “Good evening, Apples.”
Mia smiled. “Shadows can trick us. But we can look closer. Together.”
They made one more shadow show. Bunny ears, marshmallow ghost, cat-copter tail, and Mr. Hat with his mustache all danced on the wall.
Outside, a tiny breeze brushed the window. Inside, the room felt warm and safe.
At last, the lamp went brighter again. The girls curled up with their snacks. Their costumes were a little wrinkly, and their cheeks were sleepy.
Lily whispered, “My favorite shadow was the pudding mustache.”
Zoe whispered back, “Mine too. Mr. Hat is very polite.”
Mia said, “Next Halloween, we watch funny shadows again.”
Nora yawned. “With friends.”
And with four small hands still close together, the Halloween night felt gentle, mysterious, and bright, like a little glow that stayed.
