Real, Surreal and Unreal this is the time of the year when all these dimensions merge together.
It is the night of the long craved Halloween disco.Because I am supposed to collect my friend’s kids I take the back road instead of the coast one.I am driving in the pitch dark,my hands covered in blood(fake blood that, no matter what you use, it stays on your skin for days.)I am a bat tonight.A simple mask, black and purple,painted on my face and a hairband with little fury bats sticking up and wiggling at every movements of my head.I soon realised that I should have taken it off for the drive.The two little fury creatures,in fact,keep catching themselves in the car’s roof. I try to adjust the position of my head.I lowered and stiff my neck as much as I can.I am profoundly grateful for the side mirrors as I can’t turn my head. On the back seats I carry a zombie with a knife stuck in her head and a dead dancing queen with bright fuchsia huge curly hair “giggling”at every bump of the road.My walking dead passengers start arguing:the zombie girl complains against the dancing queen who apparently slaps her with her wig every time she moves.I pull over.I threatened to let them on the side of the road and then we proceed to efficiently and pragmatically sort the quarrel out:no harm can be done to an already dead and resuscitated person, there is no ground for complaint.We are back on the road and, officially late(disco starts at 7pm but I am supposed to be there a bit early to prepare my workstation).The dancing queen screams,her zombie sister follows:”watch out”.My foot goes heavy on the brake.The tyres make that unmistakable grindy noise due to the their friction on the graveled road .Just in front of the car, in the middle of the road, there is a dog.It is black like the night and sure not a stray one.It looks well looked after and has a collar on.I get out the car but when I try to approach it runs back in the field,alive and safe.We are back on the road…again!
My friend rang to say I don’t need to collect her girls as they are running late and are not ready yet.I will only be required to give them a lift back home .We made it to the disco and not even that late,until, of course ,we waste 5 minutes to take a well done selfie of the three of us.It not for the sake of pure vanity. We want to send it to the travelling husband who,is still waiting to board his airplane in Rome.Tonight I am on cash duty.I will be at the entrance selling the tickets and making sure everybody pays and ,most of all, making sure that nobody leaves unaccompanied.I say my workstation is a pretty good one.I will be able to see all the costumes and I will be spared the “inside room”:Loudly noisy,dark and sweaty.I don’t have my mother very sensitive sense of smell but I easily pick the smell of humanitas this events usually trap.Not to mention the smelly hormones released from the kids in 5Th and 6th year.I have enough with the gymnastic place.

Little digression:CG is no sporty at all.She ,in true, likes swimming even if it came a very long way.She only does tennis because she has to but,she loves gymnastic.She never complaints to go;she goes in happy and comes out happier.She learnt nothing so far(she is doing it for 3 years)but she loves it so …..what the hell:who cares,I let her be and do! The problem is, the gym is smelly.Very much smelly!I always make sure I don’t get there too early either to drop or collect her as the smell of sweaty feet that welcomes you as soon you open the front door is unbearable.There are diligent parents staying there to watch their kids for the whole hour and, I still can’t really understand how they do that:Would they spread the inside of their nose with vicks vaporub before they go in ?or they are all suffering from congenital anosmia?

Now,the little smelly digression is over.Let’s go back to the disco.7 o’clock:let the fun begins.I sit back and start to welcome the spooky paying audience.I am trilled by the fantasy of some of the costumes and fascinated by the skills of some of the parents on making them.I sell tickets to lots of skeletons,a lightening with his partner the cloud.Dead school girls is a very popular trend.Narnia comes in too,followed by a little army of minions and few princesses as well:some dead some pretty much alive.Georgie from IT is my favorite. Disco will be over at 9 pm.It is now 8.30pm and I suppose nobody will come in again.I lock the till and go inside.Thanks God windows are open.The dj is actually pretty good this year.Kids are wildly running, dancing and playing .It is a very happy mayhem in there.”Thriller” is playing.!10 minutes to go,the parents join the dancing floor.Some of them in fancy dress,some of them no.Last song on.The big final:Real, Surreal and Unreal merge together on the note of “Time Warp”from the timeless Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The disco is over and we are back home,showered changed in our pjs and in bed.Tired but satisfied. It was an awesome evening:another successful Halloween disco.

I am sipping my apple spice tea in the warmth and quiet of my bed(dogs are obviously at my feet)and I think at how lucky these kids are.They are building happy memories that will stay with them forever .I feel admiration for those parents who worked on the costumes,keeped up the spirit and happily sacrificed their friday night.
I feel sad for those kids who dont dress up because it is not cool! I would like to shout at them: “be kids as long as you can.Dressing up it is cool.It is your chance to be whatever you want.”.I would like to shout to their parents to not allow their kids to grow faster then they have to.That is not cool.Free the imagination and be spontaneous that is cool.
This is the end of a Truly Madly Ordinary Halloween disco night.