Ice Cream Coma

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Rachel Jean Perry who loved ice cream.

She loved it so much that it saddened her she couldn't eat ice cream all the time.

However, on one special day each year, her birthday, she could eat as much delicious ice cream as she wanted.

In anticipation of this glorious day, she playfully joked that she would eat so much ice cream she'd go into an "ice cream coma," which always made her friends and family smile at her joy.

Every year, when her birthday arrived, she'd go around town, eating ice cream from every shop and parlor, undeterred even by the setting sun.

Well into the night, once satisfied, she would go home and lie down to a blissful sleep with an extra-wide smile on her face.

She always woke up the next day, still happy with the memory of the day before.

But one year, the little girl did not wake up.

Worried, her friends and family took turns trying to wake her, but none succeeded. Her friends and family were perplexed.

"Why won't she wake up?" they asked.

They rushed her to the hospital and begged the doctors to help her, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said, "but it seems your little girl has gone into an ice cream coma."

Everyone gasped in shock.

"An ice cream coma?!" they all exclaimed in amazement. "How could this be?"

The little girl had always said it was going to happen, but neither she nor her friends and family believed it was actually possible.

There was nothing to be done at the hospital, so the little girl was brought back home to rest in her own bed, surrounded by familiar things, including her beloved stuffed poodle.

Sadness replaced joy as her loved ones took turns sitting with her, day and night, hoping she would awaken soon.

Someone was always there to watch over her... for a while, at least, but as days turned into weeks, her loved ones had to return to their lives.

She still had visitors from time to time, but most of her time was spent alone.

As months passed, her skin grew very pale, dark circles formed under her eyes, and she was so cold to the touch that, if one didn't know better, they might think she was already dead.

Outside, the air turned chilly, leaves turned brown, and while the silent little girl lay in bed, children played and laughed in anticipation of another special day: Halloween.

The little girl had loved Halloween, but it looked like she might miss it this year, which made her friends especially sad.

On the day before Halloween, her friends gathered around her, unsure if she could hear them, "We're all coming back tomorrow night to spend Halloween with you."

With tears in their eyes, they looked at their little friend a moment longer before leaving her to rest.

Late that night, when the clock struck three, something strange happened.

The window in her room slowly began to lift, as if on its own, and in blew an especially cold breeze.

Suddenly, a man with a Jack-o'-lantern head appeared beside her.

It was the Spirit of Halloween, King of all the little ghosts and goblins, Master of tricks and treats.

He leaned over the little girl, gently stroking her hair as he whispered, "It's time, my child. It's time to wake up."

"You've finally eaten enough ice cream to sustain your metamorphosis, and now you must awaken to fulfill your destiny, sweet daughter. Wake up, my Princess."

The man held out his hands, and a sledgehammer materialized before him.

He smiled and placed the object beside the little girl on the bed.

"You must go to The Land of Red Eyes. There, you will find three creatures: a ghoul named Leaves, an imp named Shoes, and a little goblin named Gut. They need your help, my dear."

"But before you go, there is something you must do. If you simply leave, your parents will be so very sad."

He took the little girl's hand, placing it gently on the handle of the sledgehammer.

"Take this, and tell your parents goodbye... so they won't be sad."

He leaned down, placed a loving kiss on her forehead, and then faded away, as spirits do.

Then the house was especially quiet. The only sound, if you listened carefully, was the breeze through the open window.

And then, the poor little girl in the ice cream coma opened her eyes.