Dromo aunty's carved pumpkins

Will Luke be able to get one for his wife this Halloween?

Nov 05, 2024

Another addition to Dead Sister’s Tales.

A liitle late, but this is my tale for Halloween! Hope you enjoy this delicious treat. Content warning: violence, blood, and gory. Please don’t read ahead if this is not your taste for pie.

"But it's my turn!" Luke had been begging for a piece of Dromo Aunty’s carved pumpkins for five years. She did fewer pieces as she grew older. It was a mark of pride to have one of her works on the front door in their area.

It should have been easy to accommodate him with people deserting the hilly town and her rising prices, but she refused him again. She never told the families if they were getting one. She didn’t take requests. She only delivered to a few lucky ones and they knew to pay her the going rate first thing next morning.

"It's our first Halloween together after the wedding. I promised June this time I would get her yours!" He washed his hands in the basin before squatting beside her to clean the pumpkins in their backyard.

"Why don't you do it yourself? Surely, you can carve one with those muscles!" She pinched his biceps teasingly.

"She only wants yours. The last time I tried doing it, she made fun of me!" He grumbled, "Shouldn't family get preference?"

She laughed out loud at her nephew, making her nose ring glint in the rare sun during winters.

She shook her head as she cleaned all the produce Kenli had bought from the main town. He was in the house, napping after the half-day drive.

"What if I help you in carving? You can squeeze in one more, then."

"I don't want your clumsy fingers near my work." She shoved him away after he pushed his fingers through the vegetable.

"Please, Aunty!" He gave her his best pleading eyes. It always worked on June, but his Aunty was tough.

"Dromo!" Kenli called from inside, preparing to go out for work.

Luke gave her another pleading look.

She sighed, "Go on now!"

He stood up to go home, sulking all the way, and the old lady went inside, her knees cracking as she stood up from the crouch.

Kenli was playing with his knives, testing their sharpness, "Luke, again?"

She pressed her lips together as he shook his head, "Why don't you just do it?"

"I am saving it for a special occasion," She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, "Have you cut any?"

"Just going down to do that. Are you done with cleaning?" He put an older blade back under the sink and got one out from the sack.

"Yes. You bought another?" She laughed, making him chuckle too, "You will have more than the shop if you keep this up!"

Kenli sneaked a kiss, loving the smell of water and pumpkins on her. He helped her carry the vegetables back into the kitchen, doing all the heavy work himself while she fretted over him. He opened the trap door beneath their dining table and went in. She sat on it to hollow the numerous vegetables.

He tapped from under the ground at night. They had pumpkin pie for dinner before he went out to work.

She went in to start her carving for the Ginger family. They had just lost their old mother. And Dromo was pumped to make them the best likeness of the lady. It took her a long time to find the best size. Some broke while she tried to fit them on her head.

The lady's eyes were open in shock like many of her husband's other creations. Kenli used to close their eyes, but she stopped him after she saw one with the last expression in his eyes. She had fallen in love.

It helped her to create the likeness of their faces for their family members. They loved the familiar sight, often crying as she handed them their piece. But that night, she was not satisfied with her work.

She pushed the head away when she heard the sound of her husband's truck.

"Don't drag it through the floors!" she called out as she went to the hall, seeing him dragging a bloody sack behind him, grinning sheepishly at her.

"Sorry, Dear! I will clean it up. Don't worry."

"Oh, forget it. Go put it down." She grumbled before getting the rags to clean the mess.

He frowned at the tears in her eyes and went to the basement. Sighing at her failed attempts, he held her close as they slept for the day.

Three nights went similarly, with him bringing fresh heads to please her. It was meditation for him. Some he found in dirt; some he had to chase while others happily welcomed his blade most of the time. Yet, nothing worked. She didn't have a single carved pumpkin to show for this Halloween.

Kenli held her hands on the Halloween eve at their dining table, "I promise I will make it alright, Darling."

He left that night and didn't come back in morning. She fell asleep on her dining table. She cleaned around the house, threw away all her work in a pit, and even burnt the rotting heads to pass the time and clear her workspace for the latest one her husband would bring.

She received a text from Kenli in the evening, "Come to Luke's! I have a surprise for you."

She could hardly contain her excitement. She donned new clothes and drove past the town to Luke's cottage on the other side.

She let herself in when she twisted the handle and found it open.

"Darling, I am here." She went into their living room to find Luke grinning at her.

"Oh, you are here, Aunty. Look! Did I do okay?" He showed her the pumpkin, still covered in blood from the inside. Amateur! She frowned but kept her mouth shut so as not to discourage him.

"Oh, it is perfect." She smiled at him.

"I knew he would never lie to me." He turned the pumpkin to face him again, marveling at his work.

"Where is he?" Dromo asked but didn't wait for an answer as she turned towards their kitchen, followed by Luke.

Dromo stepped back into him, shocked at the sight.

"Would you like some pie?" June asked her, offering her a plate.

She was standing beside the headless body of Kenli, made to sit on the head of their dining table.

June frowned at her lack of answer and looked at the body, "He was such a big help! Luke had guessed the process. But we couldn't find a live model like you. And just then, he came to us last night."

"Thank you for sending him, Aunty. It was so kind of you. He even bought this with him." Luke flashed her husband's latest knife, admiring it.

"He told us you were having trouble with your work lately." June pouted.

"Don't worry, Aunty. We will take care of your legacy from now on." Dromo heard his voice before she felt his blade.

Luke got another pumpkin for his June.

From Dromo Aunty.

Do you like carved pumpkins for your Halloween? Would love to know your stories around the festival