"Why are you wearing my costume?" Davion blurted out.


    His cousin looked at him with a startled expression as Davion stormed towards him. Before he could reach his cousin, one of his uncles blocked his path, holding his hands out in front of him.


    "Davion, calm down," his uncle said, making placating gestures. "Your cousin couldn''t find a costume, so he borrowed yours. Is that okay?"


    Davion stared at his uncle in disbelief.


    Of course it wasn''t okay. That was his costume. He had specifically picked it out himself when he went shopping for costumes with his family. Davion hadn''t wanted to pick an identical costume as his twin sister''s and had searched long and hard for a cool costume to wear. It had taken forever before he had finally settled on dressing up as a dragon warrior from one of the books he read.


    Now that costume was being worn by his cousin.


    He didn''t get a chance to speak when one of his aunts chimed in, "Davion, just let him wear it. It can''t possibly hurt to let your cousin wear it. He needs it. I''m sure you can find something else to wear."


    No, I want to wear my costume. It''s mine.


    Staring hard in his cousin''s direction, he started, "But—"


    "Don''t be so selfish, Davion," his uncle snapped. "You need to be more considerate to your family."


    "Don''t be so hard on the kid. You know right now is a tough time for him," a different uncle jumped in.


    "That doesn''t mean he should forget his manners."


    "I''m sure he''ll be happy to lend his costume to his cousin. Right, Davion?"


    Looking all around, Davion saw that no one was willing to side with him.


    Everyone else was busy minding his own business, leaving him to fend for himself. If his parents were here, they wouldn''t have let this happen, but they weren''t. They were in the hospital watching over his twin sister until she could recover. Well, this wouldn''t be the first time his relatives did something like this, but it didn''t hurt any less.


    This isn''t fair. My parents bought it for me.


    His shoulders slumped as he asked, "What am I supposed to wear?"


    "I''m sure you can find something. I mean, this is your house, so I''m sure you can look around and find something," his uncle said, waving a hand nonchalantly.


    Davion curled his hands into fists, barely keeping himself from glaring at his uncle. He wasn''t quite sure if he was successful, as his uncle turned his back on Davion.


    He really wanted to point out that they had no problem going into his room to steal his costume and how they could have easily found another costume instead, but he knew there was no point arguing. They had clearly decided that they were going to use his costume. Besides, he knew that there was no other costume in the house that he could wear.


    "We''ll head out first," one of his older cousins said as they headed for the front door.


    "Hold it. Wait for everyone," one of his uncles said. "You can''t go running off without everyone else."


    "He''s right. We need to stick together so there aren''t any more accidents," one of his aunts chimed in.


    "You''re taking too long," his older cousin whined, but he didn''t take another step towards the door.


    "Hurry up, Davion. Go find a costume," one of his uncles said.


    Right as Davion opened his mouth to say there weren''t any other costumes for him to wear, he paused when a thought crossed his mind.


    That wasn''t completely true. There was another costume in the house he could wear. His twin sister''s costume. It had completely slipped his mind. Since she was in the hospital, she wouldn''t get a chance to wear it. Even if they saved it for next year, she might end up too big to wear it or no longer interested in it.


    Despite finding a solution to his problem, he hesitated.


    The thought of wearing his sister''s costume didn''t sit right with him. It felt wrong to wear it even if she wouldn''t get a chance to wear it for Halloween. Davion hadn''t forgotten how upset she had been for taking the red cloak without permission. She would undoubtedly be spitting mad if she found out he actually wore the whole costume without asking her first. No, she would have been mad even if he had asked.


    "Davion," his grandfather snapped. "Are you going out or not?"


    "Do you need help finding a costume?" his grandmother asked. "I can help you find one. I thought I remembered seeing one lying around." She left to scour the house for the costume before returning triumphantly with Sharlene''s costume. "Here you go. Come wear it."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Davion grimaced. "Grandma, that''s Sharlene''s costume."


    "I''m sure she''ll be fine with you wearing it. Just change into it."


    "I don''t think it''s a good idea."


    "What''s wrong with it? Do you not want to wear it because you think it''s a girl''s costume? Look. There''s no skirt. This is a perfectly good costume."


    She had a point. The costume didn''t look specifically like a girl''s costume even though it was supposed to be a red riding hood costume. It didn''t have a skirt or dress like some versions of the costume he had seen. Instead, it was a simple white tunic paired with dark blue pants and a black belt. Of course he couldn''t forget about the red cloak.


    "Come, come," his grandmother said, waving at him to come closer. "Hurry and put it on. Don''t keep everyone waiting."


    Completely cornered, he was left with no choice except to go into the bathroom to change. Once he finished changing, he stepped out and bumped into his grandmother, who held the red cloak out in front of her.


    "Here you go." She draped it around his shoulders and tied the string around his neck. "Wasn''t that easy?"


    "Yes, grandma," he said with slumped shoulders.


    "Now take this basket and go with your cousins. Make sure to have fun."


    He took the basket from her hands and walked to the front door.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    "Good to go?" one of his uncles asked.


    When Davion nodded, his uncle pushed the door open. Instantly, the kids swarmed out, eager to get right into trick-or-treating. One of them nearly knocked down his uncle, who clung to the door to keep from falling in their desperate attempt to get outside.


    "Slow down, you guys. Wait for the rest of us," one of his uncles said.


    Fortunately, none of them had gotten very far.


    Most of them loitered in the driveway and sidewalk, bouncing with energy. A couple impatiently stared at their phones as everyone filed out of the house. The last person closed the front door shut.


    "Okay, we need to lay some ground rules," one of his aunts said. "You must always have an adult with you. You can''t go by yourself anywhere." There were some disappointed groans. "I know some of you want to run off by yourselves, but it''s not safe to go alone. If you somehow find yourself alone, immediately call one of us. If you can''t reach any of us, call the police." Then, as if considering something, she asked, "Does everyone have their phones?"


    A couple of kids waved their phones as proof or grunted in affirmation. Davion wasn''t among them as he surveyed his surroundings. A few people were already walking down the streets to beg for candy from the neighbors while others were going about their daily lives.


    "If you don''t have a phone, then you must stick with one of the adults no matter what. You can''t wander off by yourself. If you still somehow get separated from the group, try to return here or head to somewhere safe like the police station," his aunt said as she pointedly glared at one of his cousins.


    Either his cousin didn''t notice or didn''t care, as he didn''t react to the glare.


    "One more thing. You''re only allowed to trick or treat for an hour. Once the hour is up, you need to return back to the house," his aunt said.


    Several kids groaned or whined.


    "Whoever wants to come with me, this way," one of his uncles said, waving his hand to draw their attention.


    Only two kids—his uncle''s own kids—chose to follow him, and their small group immediately walked away. The other adults proceeded to do the same and call out to the kids to pick which adults they wanted to follow. Davion scanned his surroundings, unsure who he should go with when he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. He jerked.


    "Davion, I suggest you come with us since your parents aren''t here," his uncle, who had taken him home from the hospital, said.


    With no other options, he went along with what his uncle said and obediently followed. Their small group quietly made their way down the streets, walking up to any houses that looked open to trick-or-treating to ask for candy. The few neighbors who answered the door complimented their costumes before dropping some candy into their baskets and closing the door. No one batted an eye at Davion''s costume when they handed him candy.


    Davion wasn''t sure if that was a good or bad thing.


    Just as they were crossing the street, he heard someone shout, "Davion, is that you?"


    He glanced in the direction of the shout and saw his group of friends waving at him. Davion waved back. They seemed to take it as an invitation to walk over to join his group.


    "Davion, you''re here. We were beginning to think you wouldn''t come out to trick or treat with us," one of his friends said. "Where are your twin sister and parents?"


    Davion grimaced and said in a small voice, "They''re not here."


    "Huh? Why not?" another of his friends asked as he curiously searched the surroundings.


    Fortunately, not all of them were blind, and one of them nudged the previous speaker, who whined at being elbowed.


    "Well, why don''t you join us?" one of his friends asked.


    Even though Davion was eager to accept his offer, he glanced back at his uncle and aunt to see their reaction.


    If they didn''t agree, then he would have no choice except to stick with them for the entire time before returning home. He really hoped they would let him go. Sticking with them wasn''t what he thought was a good time.


    They frowned before his uncle asked, "Where are your parents? It''s not safe to let kids wander without any adult supervision."


    "Our parents said it''s okay for us. They say they trust us," one of his friends said.


    This felt like a direct blow, as if saying that Davion couldn''t be trusted alone without any adults.


    His uncle and aunt didn''t look convinced as the latter said, "I don''t think it''s a good idea to leave you kids alone."


    "It''s not even dark," one of his friends pointed out.


    He wasn''t wrong. It wasn''t even dinner time. They had all gone out to trick or treat early. His relatives had to return home afterwards, so they couldn''t stay out late. That was why there weren''t many houses ready to give out candy. They had probably visited maybe ten houses, with only four of them handing out candy at the moment.


    "Davion has a phone. He can call you if he needs anything," one of his friends said.


    They looked hesitant, so Davion quickly added, "We''ll stick in the neighborhood. Everyone knows each other, so you don''t have to worry."


    His uncle and aunt shared a glance before the former said, "Fine, but I expect you to check in with us every half an hour. If neither of us sees a text from you in that time, we''re calling everyone to look for you."


    "Okay," Davion said happily before joining his friends to walk across the street.


    Suddenly, one of his friends asked, "So what really happened to your parents and twin sister? Did they have to go somewhere and leave you behind?" This time he got a hard elbow into the ribs. "Ow! What was that for?"


    "Seriously? Do you have to ask?" asked one of his friends.


    "Yeah. Read the mood," another friend chimed in.


    "It''s fine, you guys. It''s just...it''s just my sister is in the hospital," Davion admitted.


    "What?" everyone blurted out.