The Magical Pumpkin Patch: A Short Story for Halloween

Jed Nalm was a sweet man. He was also a hard worker. A farmer and very good at his trade. His crops always prospered and to the joy of the small Georgia town community, this farmer shared his bounty with all. Pelham was kept in fresh vegetables during harvest season, thanks to Jed. One of his best crops and favorite farming passion was growing pumpkins. Jed could grow a field filled with beautiful pumpkins. Year after year. He donated many of them to the nearby food bank and doled them out among neighbors, family and friends. Jed was gem. A giving and kind man. The town loved him very much.

Jed had never married. When asked why this was, he said that he had never met the right woman. I suspect that Jed spent more time farming than worrying about his love life. He loved the land and growing bountiful crops was his life’s work. He gave it his all. Soon, it would be Halloween. Jed had grown another gorgeous bumper crop of pumpkins this year. And Jed had a plan for this year. A special treat. He sectioned off part of his pumpkin patch and set up a display for Halloween night. It was quite a magnificent array. He carved pumpkins, over fifty of them. He had kid faced pumpkins, demon pumpkins, animal pumpkins, grinning pumpkins, pumpkins with fangs, scary pumpkins, farmer pumpkins, lady pumpkins and much more. All lit up and ready to be seen. The artistic carvings were jaw dropping. Jed was quite the artist, too. He put an ad in the local newspaper. Come see the pumpkin patch and enjoy the faces of Halloween! The town was intrigued and could not wait!

On Halloween night, almost all of the small town of Pelham turned out for the show. What a show it was. A reporter from a television station even came and filmed a segment. Kids frolicked among the glowing carved pumpkins, holding their parent’s hands and squealing in delight. The pumpkin animals section was the most popular. Jed had rigged up animal noises, so he had a mooing cow pumpkin, a barking dog pumpkin and even a screeching owl pumpkin. All cheered. What a fun pumpkin display. I don’t think anyone had ever seen such Halloween humor and fun. The laughter went on well until after midnight. Then, the pumpkin patch was deserted. Jed walked around the patch, turning off the sounds and checking that all of the lights were out. He reached the very last lit pumpkin. It was a beauty, a winking pumpkin with a merry smile. As he reached down to turn out the light, the pumpkin winked at him. But from the wrong eye. The non winking one. Very strange. Jed thought that he had been up too long and working too hard. He laughed to himself. “I am seeing things.” he muttered. “Happy Halloween.” he said to himself, chuckling softly.

Suddenly, a big bright glaring light hit his eyes, almost blinding him. Yellow orange and in the middle of the field. It looked as if a star had came shooting down from the skies, to land in his pumpkin patch. Still lit. It glowed. Then, it dimmed. Jed rubbed his eyes. Then, he saw her. Golden long blonde hair, small, petite and walking towards him. She was dressed in a light orange silk ball gown. She appeared to be barefooted. As she drew closer, he gazed into her smiling deep green eyes. “Cinderella, I presume.” he stated. She giggled softly. “I am Orianne. The spirit of Halloween has sent me. I have never seen such a good, strong and loving man. I have been waiting.” Jed just looked at her. “Well, do you want to invite me to your house?” she asked. “Sure.” Jed managed to get out. Wow. She was beautiful. They went into Jed’s house and talked until the dawn. “I can’t believe this!” Jed kept saying. “Believe.” Orianne said.

Jed and Orianne were married the next year, on Halloween, in Jed’s pumpkin patch. She wore a glittering gown of orange. Jed was in black with a bright orange bow tie. All the town wondered where Orianne had come from. When they asked, Jed had this to say. “Happy Halloween.” I knew just what he did mean. See, Jed told me. He somehow knew that the magical pumpkin patch would fulfill his dream. Entirely.


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