Year of 365

September 24

A/N: The answer for the last description was gingerbread. So now, answer these questions. What do you see? Where am I? What time of the year is it?

The forest stretched tall around me, their leaves different hues like that of rubies and topaz. The way the setting sun made them sparkle like jewels and they cast glows about the floor of the forest which danced like small sprites across the piles of leaves. A flock of ravens flew overhead, calling loudly for the dead world to hear the last of their cries before the night settled in. 

Though most would fear that what was said to lurk in the forests, I had no fear of the unknown. The gems crunched beneath my boots and I pulled my long dark coat around me tighter, holding the warm beverage in my hand. The air was crisp and cool, nipping at my exposed skin in an attempt to drive me back into the farmhouse that I had just left.

I stopped momentarily and turned back to see my large house standing like a tall shadow in the evening. Even odder than the actual house were the shadows that hung from the rafters, like the dead come out for one last haunt before returning to the grave. Over in the pumpkin patch, freshly harvested, stood a man dressed in rags with an oddly round head hiding beneath a straw hat, his arms stretched out in a sentinel stance. He was the guardian of our crops, defending them from the birds for years past. 

I smirked to myself. Most people would find it spooky the way that our house was nearly covered in cobwebs and spiders, us not caring to clear them away from our house just yet. Instead, we let them rest. They could have one more night before we chased them all away, tearing down their beautiful works of art.

When tonight came, I knew that there would be a swarm of pirates and ghosts at our door, each begging for us to provide them with sustenance for their journey, unless we wished to be a joke to make them laugh. Though they enjoyed the night, we were often terrified. Vampires, ghosts, knights, and princesses would all come to our door, and we would have to serve them all.