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The shopping centre is brimming with fake spiderwebs, orange and purple string lights and animatronic skeletons that groan when you get too close. Copia is, of course, enchanted by it all.
“Ah! Cara mia, look at this one! He sings!” He says as he excitedly squeezes the hand of a life sized vampire before you can warn him.
The vampire eyes glow red and it bellows “I vant to suck your blood!”, startling a nearby child in the process. You snort out a laugh.
“Copia!!!” You hiss between laughter, making him throw his hands up in mock surrender. “You can’t touch everything!”
“Ah, but I am appreciating the craftsmanship!” He insists, leaning in extremely close to a crystal ball. “Look! It’s moving! Eh- what does this do-?”
You have no time to answer before he pushes a button and the crystal ball shrieks to life, followed by a cackling witch, the howling of a motion censored werewolf- and like some kind of unholy chorus- every animatronic within 30 feet roars to life.
Suddenly the entire aisle is enveloped in chaos: banshees howling, skeletons clattering, ghosts screeching. A giant Frankenstein at the end of the aisle starts crooning the “Monster Mash”.
Copia freezes mid-step, one hand still outstretched like a small child caught in the act of something they shouldn’t be doing. His hat now slightly askew and his eyes the size of saucers.
“…Ah,” he says softly, voice being drowned out by the loud noise. “I may have…how you say…awoken them all. Heh.”
You try so hard to hold it together. Really really try. It is impossible- the sight of your tall Papa standing amidst a chorus of wailing Halloween props is too much. You break into a laughing fit, clutching your stomach as the vampire beside him starts to sing again.
“Do not laugh! This is a serious haunting!” Copia states through a twitching grin. “They are possessed by the spirit…of good marketing!”
A store employee walks by, facial expression flat and unimpressed as they reach for the master switch behind the animatronic display. One by one the ghosts and goblins power down into silence, the string lights above dim and you were both left in an eerie quiet.
Both of you stand there in the aftermath. Copia rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “In my defense, amore…I was…testing the quality, si?”
You arch a brow holding back laughter. “Testing how easily you can cause a supernatural event at the mall?”
“Ah! But what an event!” He states proudly, hand flourishing dramatically. Leaning in closer to you, his grin softens. “At least I gave you something to laugh about, eh?”
Your laughter melts into a genuine smile as he gently brushes a stray cobweb from the sleeve of your jacket. A by product from standing too close to the out of control animatronic display. As the Halloween lights dim, his face is painted in a soft glow of amber and shadows, the chaos from before slowly fizzling away.
“Next time,” you tease him “we’re starting at the coffee shop, not the haunted aisle.”
“Next time,” he murmurs, as his warm gaze meets yours, “I’ll try to haunt only you.”
You are still smiling from ear to ear as he offers you his arm, leading you towards the food court. The smell of pumpkin spice and cinnamon rolls are wafting through the air. As you leave, one last ghostly animatronic lets out a delayed- “Boo!” And Copia, ever dramatic, clutches his heart.
“Ah see! Even the spirits cannot let us go!”
Your laughing fit starts all over again as you walk away, hands slowly intertwining, the chaos already turning into the magic of a perfect Autumn memory.