2. Halloween By Pablo Vilas in Dublin

3. W ell, I know this is going to sound crazy... When I arrived in my country, everybody thought that I was telling them a bad joke. Even my father-who was there when it happened- didnt believe me! My family and I were travelling to see my brother in Lithuania, where hes doing an Erasmus. But the trip was so far, that we had to spend a night in Dublin, Ireland, and then take another plane the next morning to Tenerife. The night we slept in in Dublin was October 30th. Halloween night. My mother and grandmother preferred to have a rest when we went into our hostel, but my father and I were excited. We said good- bye to them, and we went out looking for fun. The streets were very illuminated and we were soon fascinated because of all the fancy dresses. Suddenly, it seemed as if terror movies were made real. A man with a mask said to me: I love your jacket. And while he pointed at it with a scary claw, blood started to

4. to go down over his mask. We continued our way really fast. Farther, we saw a group of vampires, and on the other side of the street, some witches. There were many kinds of people everywhere. Scary people, funny people- that made us feel calm-, tourists like me and my father, and scary people but without fancy dresses. When we left the main street, the lights were more difficult to see. Although the darkness was increasing, the same thing happened with the party. In front of us we could see a little street full of artists playing their instruments on the sidewalks or in pubs, Spartans from the movie 300 shouting: This is Sparta!!, scarecrows drinking beer, devils dancing with pirates, and escaped prisoners embracing giant teddy bears. It looked a very funny street. -Lets cross it-my father said. And now I really wish that he had never said that. I put my hands into my pockets, because I had valuable things there. After a few seconds I couldnt see anything around me except fangs, masks, or blood. I felt that my father

5. was near but I didnt know exactly where he was because of all the mixed noises. I tried to come back, but I couldnt move. I started to feel a bit desperate, but then I saw an entry to a lonely alley. I got there after some minutes. Well, I can respire calmly here. But, where is my father?-I thought. At that moment I realized that my respiration sounded really heavy. Or…maybe wasnt it my respiration? Somebody put a claw on my shoulder. -What…?!- I began to say. But when I turned back, what I saw made me stop talking. Two black eyes in a shaggy face were watching me. Its a werewolf, I thought. And I added quickly to myself: A man with a werewolf fancy dress. He was also shorter than me. But I didnt know why I felt so scared. His respiration was very strange… Suddenly the man jumped onto me and threw me on the ground. He opened his mouth and showed a row of fangs. -What are you doing?- I shouted-. Let me go! The man was holding me very strongly and I couldnt get up.

6. He got his mouth closer to my neck. -No! Stop!!-I said. I put my hand on his face- Take off your mask! I held some hairs of his cheek and I pulled them. I tried it hard. And I understood everything. He didnt have a mask. Those were his real hairs. He was a werewolf. - Help me! Please, he wants to eat me! I heard some laughs. Everybody thought that it was just a joke. But the monster was nearer my neck, and I couldnt do anything. And then, the miracle happened. Flash! A tourist took us a photo, and the werewolf roared. He got up and got lost, running in the darkness of the alley. When my father found me fainted on the ground of the alley, he thought that I had drunk too much. He got so angry that he never wants to hear anything about werewolves. Since that day in Dublin, Halloween is really different for me. Every night, when I close my eyes, I see those dark eyes looking at me. And I cant sleep imagining… how many real monsters there are among humans on Halloween night? Which fancy dress is real…and which is not?

7. The end