Magical Barefoot Halloween
by sharleen wl
halloween and going barefoot - 2 of my favorite things. the things that make this life magical. i'm in my 20s now and i'm the same free-spirited soul i've been as a kid. only now i'm a bit more independent and i ain't about to let my love for the spooky season or my barefoot lifestyle fade away. in fact these passions have only grown with me. every october my excitement for halloween builds up like clockwork and i start planning my costume well in advance.
i had decided to dress as a forest fairy, a sort of mystical wanderer who draws power from the earth beneath her feet. the costume was inspired by my childhood love for fairies and a bit of my newfound fascination with folklore and nature. i bought the costume on amazon and it's perfect to go barefoot in.
i stayed with emily and her family at their house - an old farmhouse on the edge of town. it was the perfect place to go barefoot. the farmhouse was surrounded by sprawling fields and a thick grove of trees which was also a wonderful setting for my forest fairy persona as emily had decided to throw a small outdoor halloween party at her family's cozy countryside home. the yard was decorated with strings of fairy lights, hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns, and a scattering of fallen leaves. we'd also set up a little bonfire pit with hay bales and blankets around it for seating, and there was a table covered with like homemade treats, cider, and candy.
while emily's friends all arrived in their sneakers, boots, or high heels, i was in my bare feet. fairies would never wear shoes; they'd like fly around in bare feet, feeling every leaf, every twig, and every stone beneath them. i wanted to be an authentic forest fairy after all. and what's a fairy without the freedom to feel the earth beneath her feet? feeling the colorful leaves along with the soft earth and stone under my feet was indeed magical. something i don't get to experience very often.
chloe, one of emily's friends raised an eyebrow when she saw my bare feet. "she hasn't changed; she's always loved going barefoot ever since i knew her in school," said emily laughing and shaking her head with a smile (she herself was dressed as a witch and was like wearing pointed shoes. ouch! lol). "don't you ever get tired of going barefoot?"
"never!" i grinned, wriggling my toes in the grass. "especially on halloween! you know me - it wouldn't feel right to wear shoes tonight especially that i'm a forest fairy. can you imagine a fairy hopping around in heels?"
chloe and emily laughed and she gave me a playful nudge. "fair enough! just be careful though. it gets dark out here and you never know what's on the ground."
i just smiled, being used to this kind of concern from my friends. i appreciated it but nothing could convince me to wear shoes or even sandals for that matter. the cool grass, the damp soil, and the occasional fallen leaf made me feel grounded like i was part of the land itself. i felt more connected, more in tune with the natural world.
as the evening wore on, the bonfire crackled in the yard and the night was filled with laughter and music. i danced barefoot on the cool grass. i loved the soft, yielding earth beneath my feet. the sensation of dampness in the dewy grass sent a pleasant chill up my spine. i felt alive, like a real forest fairy dancing under the stars, weaving spells with each twirl. and that was a special halloween treat for this hawaiian girl.
as i danced one of emily's friends, marcus, who was dressed as a pirate had his eyes on my bare legs and feet and chuckled. "lynn, your the only person i know who can pull off barefoot fairy like this," he said. "aren’t you freezing?"
i laughed, shrugging. "it's refreshing! besides, the ground feels amazing. you should give it a try!"
"yeah, I'll pass," he replied glancing down at the cold ground with mock horror. "but hey, respect for staying true to yourself."
as the night grew colder and the bonfire's warmth dwindled, most people huddled closer to the fire or stepped indoors to get some hot drinks. i however, stayed outside savoring the chilly grass beneath my feet and the crisp autumn air. i even wandered away from the fire and walked lightly across the moonlit yard, letting myself get lost in the beauty of the quiet night. the ground was cool and damp but it felt comforting. that's what real autumn is supposed to feel like. it was fucking awesome!
i found herself at the edge of the field where the grass gave way to a patch of soft dirt and fallen leaves. i took a deep breath, smelling the scent of earth and autumn, and felt a strange sense of peace. halloween has always felt magical to me, but standing here in the dark, feeling the earth beneath my bare feet, it felt even more special. i could almost hear a wolf howling in the distance.
i closed my eyes and whispered, "here's to never growing out of magic."
just then i heard footsteps with crunching leaves behind me. it was emily who had noticed me slipping away from the group. "hey," she said softly, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. "you ok out here?"
i opened my eyes and smiled. "yeah, i'm wonderful. just... soaking in the halloween magic. i don't get to experience this back home, you know?"
she shone her flashlight at my bare feet, now dusted with dirt and leaves. "girl, your one of a kind!"
i giggled. "maybe, but that's the way i am and it makes me happy. i don't need to be like everybody else."
the two of us shared a quiet moment under the stars before heading back to the bonfire. as the night wore on, we shared ghost stories by the fire, sipped hot cider, and laughed until our voices grew hoarse. my feet were dirty and cold but my heart was warm.
after all the guests had left and we had cleaned up the yard, we walked back towards the house. by then i was shivering a little and my feet were starting to feel a little numb, and i could hardly feel the ground beneath them. my nose was starting to run too. emily's mom was standing by the door looking a little concerned.
"are you okay, lynn?" she asked. "you look like your freezing. and you're nose is red."
"i'm good! forest fairies don't get cold," i replied sniffling. "ok, maybe they get a little cold," i admitted with a laugh. "but it was alot of fun." then i quickly blew snot rockets (blowing your nose straight to the ground without a tissue) before entering the house.
"ahaha, you know how to do the farmer's blow! not bad for a city girl." exclaimed emily. i giggled as i wiped my nose with my hands. her mom smiled and handed me a fluffy blanket as i walked in. i plopped down on the rug, wrapping the blanket around my chilly legs and feet. she then offered me a cup of hot cocoa which i sipped gratefully while wiggling my dirty toes as they slowly warmed up.
later that night i went up to my room and took everything off. my costume and everything else. i was tired and cold, so i didn't bother taking a shower or even washing my feet. but the house was warm enough for me to sleep without wearing anything. i crawled into bed and went under the thick comforter, dirty feet and all. i picked up my phone and went online to read a couple of scary stories before going to sleep.
i'm a big girl now, but still feel like that little girl who once roamed the neighborhood barefoot and wild, feeling every bit of halloween magic with each step. no matter my age i would always be that little girl at heart. i would always keep my sense of wonder; my love for halloween and of course, my connection to the earth beneath my bare feet. some things after all, are worth holding onto forever.
from somewhere out in the country in washington this is sharleen the barefoot girl reminding you that life is magical. yes, especially when your barefoot on a cold halloween night ;) so until next
time...
enjoy going barefoot and have a magical day!
ps - you may also want to read this story if you haven't already: the night i went trick or treating barefoot
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