A First Best Friend

The first flakes of snow danced through the cold autumn air as Cadence twirled through the streets in her Elsa costume, convinced she'd summoned them herself. It didn't bother her that most of her sparkly blue and silver dress was covered by her bright pink parka, or that her earmuffs didn't go with the long braid at her side, or that the tacky plastic pumpkin only held a fraction of the amount of candy a pillowcase could.

Cadence could care less about those things, because this year-- this year-- she was going trick or treating all by herself.

Well. Not entirely. Dad promised to stay at least half a block behind, giving her a small taste of freedom. After all, she was six years old and perfectly capable of walking down the street without a chaperone. She knew all about looking both ways before crossing the road, staying away from shady-looking vehicles, and how adults should repeat the predetermined "code word" before they could be considered trustworthy.

Cadence skipped happily from door to door, each one more decorated than the last. She knocked politely, three raps of her knuckles, and waited patiently for the door to open before shouting, "trick or treat!" Holding out her orange bucket, she'd watch with giant eyes as chocolate, candy, and chips were deposited. After offering a curt thank-you, and a very princess-like curtsy, she'd skip back down to the street, lightly dusted with the first snowfall of the year.

Carved pumpkins, orange twinkling lights, pretend spiderwebs, large blow-up lawn ornaments. Kids laughed and screamed as they ran down the street, moving from house to house, each of their costumes partially covered by jackets, except some of the big kids who seemed impervious to cold. It was all so very festive! Her third favorite day of the year, next to Christmas and her birthday.

Night fell quickly and it was dark by dinnertime, the streetlights illuminating motes of snow as they drifted down from above, but Cadence wasn't done yet. She was a big kid now, and could stay out after dark on this one special day of the year.

The last house on the street was decorated differently: white skulls with intricate pink, purple, and blue calligraphy, fluffy poms of every color imaginable, candles lined up along the steps leading to the front door.

Cadence hesitated under the looming stare of a skull adorning the front door. Before she could knock the door swung inward, and glorious smells of spices and roast chicken swirled out to meet her. In the doorway was a large man, with an even larger smile on his face. "Feliz Día de los Muertos!" he greeted, his white teeth gleaming against the warm, tawny color of his skin.

"Tr-trick or treat?" Cadence stammered, not understanding a thing the man said, though she thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant, low trilling sound of his rolled r's.

The man stepped forward, bearing a gift of a sugar cookie shaped like a skull, decorated with bright, curling icing. Cadence hesitated before taking it; it so resembled the skull on the man's door. But not taking it would be impolite, and that just wouldn't do. "Thank you," she said, retreating back down the steps, holding the plastic-encased cookie gently.

As the door closed she turned and looked down at it in her hands. It was spooky, yes, but it was also beautiful. Far too beautiful to eat. She remembered decorating cookies at Christmas, how everything turned into blobs of green and blue no matter how hard she tried. Whatever technique was used to decorate these cookies, she needed to learn the secret.

"They're to celebrate the day of the dead," a small voice said.

Startled, Cadence looked up, nearly running into another little girl wearing a green dress with a purple cape, her auburn hair in neat pigtail braids.

"The day of the what?" she asked, shivering in a sudden cool breeze.

The girl smiled. "It's a holiday where people who have died get to come back and visit their family."

Cadence blanched. "Like... zombies?"

A musical laugh bubbled up within the other girl's chest. "No, not like zombies. I'm Suntana. Want to trick or treat with me?"

Cadence eyed the girl. Red hair, bright blue eyes, freckles covering the bridge of her nose. She looked like Anna, and she could definitely use an Anna in her life. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her dad standing half a block away smiling at her and took this to mean that it would be okay. With a grin, Cadence turned back to her new friend. "How old are you?"

"Eight and a half," Suntana replied, her chin tilted up proudly.

"I'm six!" Cadence crowed, elated that a big kid wanted to play with her.

Suntana shrugged. "I know."

Hand-in-hand, the two girls skipped from door to door, filling her little plastic pumpkin to the brim, as well as all the pockets, and, to Cadence's delight, the hood of her parka. Mom and Dad hadn't made a rule about that, and she was ecstatic to find a loophole to getting more candy than could fit in the meagre bucket they'd supplied.

Trick-or-treating alone was great, but with a friend? So much better. They chatted endlessly about school, about their favourite animals, their families. Even with a two-year age difference, they had so much in common. Cadence had friends, of course, but none she'd made so quickly.

The end of the night drew near, and Cadence had exhausted nearly every house in their community, and couldn't find a way to carry any more candy, even after finding a second bucket abandoned near a garbage can and filling that one, too. Turning a corner, her house appeared at the end of the lane. She'd come full circle, and there was nowhere to go but home.

"Well," Suntana said with a shrug. "I guess it's time for me to go."

Setting down her buckets, Cadence hugged her new friend tight. She smelled like dad's earl grey tea, like mom's gardenias in the backyard, like the closet in the hall that held the fresh towels and folded sheets. Cadence didn't want to let go. But she did.

Stepping back, Cadence rolled her shoulders, sore from being over-encumbered by her spoils. "Maybe we could play again tomorrow? My house is the pink one with the white door!"

Suntana smiled, gave a small nod. "I know. We'll play again soon, okay?"

Cadence grinned, warmth flooding her chest despite the chill in the air.

"Well, Squirt?" Dad's hand on her shoulder caused her to jump and turn quickly, knocking over one of her buckets.

"Oh, it's just you!" She sighed with relief, then bent to pick up the spilled candy. "Dad, can my friend come over to play tomorrow?"

"What friend?"

Cadence straightened, lifting both her buckets, and turned back to Suntana. But she was gone. The snow ahead was littered in a flurry of small orange petals, like someone had taken marigolds and shaken them violently to create confetti.

Sad to see her friend go, she was consoled that she must live nearby, and knew which house was hers. Surely, they could play tomorrow. Cadence would even share some of her candy.

Back at home, Cadence dumped her buckets of candy out on the living room floor to sort it, organizing into piles of chips, chocolates, candies, and discards (things for Mom and Dad, like liquorice, yuck).

"Woah, kiddo! What a haul!" Dad said, still taking off his boots.

Mom came in with mugs of hot tea. "So, how was your first time trick-or-treating all by yourself?"

"I wasn't alone," Cadence said, not looking up from her work. Spotting the bright skull-shaped cookie, she picked it up and examined it with interest. "My friend was with me. She's a big kid, she's eight and a half, and she looks just like Anna! Her name's Suntana."

A teacup clattered to the floor. Cadence jumped, startled, eyes flicking up to her Mom.

"What did you say her name was?"

Cadence's cheeks warmed. Maybe she'd gotten her name wrong? It certainly wasn't a name she'd ever heard before. "Suntana?" she said, quieter.

Dad's brows shot up as his eyes widened, and a hand lifted to cover his gaping mouth. Mom's face was flushed, her wide eyes watery, as she made her way over to Dad to be held.

"You were playing with this girl?" Dad asked.

Scared of getting in trouble, Cadence dropped her gaze down to her cookie. "I know I was supposed to go alone, but she was so nice! And she looked just like Anna, and she was only two and a half years older than me, so she wasn't a grown-up, and I thought it would be okay, and please don't be mad or take my candy away!" Her bottom lip quivered.

Mom and Dad came down to her level and sat on the floor next to her, both reaching her at once. "We're not mad, sweetheart. Just... surprised." Dad's adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

Mom took a steadying breath, wiping at the tears on her cheeks with the tip of her index finger. "Sweetheart, we never told you this, but... you had a sister. She passed away, before you were born."

Cadence's brow furrowed. "I had a sister?"

They nodded. Mom continued. "She'd be about eight and a half by now..."

A chill ran up Cadence's spine. She looked to Dad, with his shock of red hair and freckles over his nose. Then to mom, with her bright blue eyes. "What was her name?"

But she knew the answer before they said anything.

"Suntana."