InsaneJournal

Who: Marit and Jia
When: Roughly around 1pm
Where: The Sweets Shop in Helicharis
What: Marit spends a good portion of Halloween serving up treats

The mermaid's understanding and exposure to the festival known as Halloween had been limited. It is a celebration heavily commercialized in the United States of America and throughly enjoyed by the millions. But in many countries of Europe, Halloween was not a time to act silly and gorge oneself on candy and alcohol. In fact, some people took All Hallow's Eve and Halloween to be very serious times, not for the foolish lest something awful happen. Marit had spoken with a handful of people and decided that this great celebration was not something she would want to miss.

She had taken the time to decide on a costume, something simply but still fun. As Halloween was a big deal to Americans, Marit went as a cowgirl and was able to borrow items to complete it. She found a pink-checkered blouse, which she buttoned down to just above her belly button and tied the ends together in a stylish knot. A (rather short) denim skirt made her costume a little leggier than she had intended but the cowgirl boots were surprisingly comfortable. A pink ribbon was tied around the straw hat, visible above the broad brim, and Marit also tied little ribbons at the bottoms of her braided pigtails. Everyone was allowed and encouraged to wear their costumes to the sweets shop that morning.

What Marit had neglected to discover ahead of time was the real significance of candy's role in most people's Halloween festivities. The sweets shop was packed with parents and children, most in little home-made costumes, all waiting though not necessarily with patience for their turn to get the sweets they should like. Eventually, she got pulled into the kitchen and had to help make an assortment of little chocolates. Ah, it was messy work, but she did enjoy watching the children get little pieces of candy as not to spoil their supper or the festivities later on.

This was a pattern that Marit would happily fall into, working at the sweets shop as often as they might need her. She liked seeing the children; their care-free nature could be caught and passed along. One child seemed to be awfully glum and starting at a nearly empty display case of little candies. If Marit were a mother, she would definitely have to watch for how easily her children could win her over with sad little expressions and pouts. She picked a colorful lollipop out of a jar and slipped out from behind the counter, smiling warmly as she handed it off to the little girl dressed as an angel. The child's eyes lit up and she quickly disappeared out the door.

It was the little things in the day that were the most rewarding. Turning to another in the shop, she asked kindly, "May I help you with something today?"