by Will Gilmer
David Douglas, local spot light correspondent, pulls out his pad of paper and writes the headline “Local Woman Carves Hyper-realistic Pumpkins”.
“Mommy they look so real!” a little girl says as she drops a piece of candy into her orange bucket and skips down the porch.
David bends down to get a better look at the pumpkins.
 “With a face like that you’re no trick-or-treater,” says a woman stepping through the squeaky screen door.
“No ma’am, just a reporter. You know if I didn’t come here knowing they were pumpkins, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“Thank you, it’s a long process. I’m always happy when people appreciate my work.”
“Did you use papier-mache to give them that texture? I’d love to know your secret.”
“Blood, sweat, and tears go into them,” she says casually looking for anyone passing by. “So what paper do you work with?” she asks.
“I’m freelance. I don’t like to have deadlines bogging me down.”
“Well then, how about I pour you a drink and show you how it’s done.”
The reporter didn’t know which alarmed him the most; the makeshift leather works, the surgically skinned human skulls, or the dizziness he felt after finishing his drink.
Will Gilmer is a writer and poet with a penchant (attention span) for short form and abstract styles. He lives in Michigan with his lovingly acquired family, obligatory cat, and odd curios.