Halloween

          The Halloween we found Arthur Olsen’s body, Shawn, my brother, and I were trudging through the woods behind our house, taking the shortcut from the convenience store back to our house. Shawn was carrying a plastic bag filled with candy for the evening’s trick-or-treaters. I was beside him, quietly humming Mozart’s “Lacrimosa”. Suddenly, something fell from a tree and crashed into me, knocking me over. I looked to see what it was and screamed. The partially decayed corpse of a man lay across my lap. Around his neck was a rope, which had rotted through and caused him to fall.