“This isn’t worth it!” Raven cried on the walk back to the car parked all the way at McDonald’s because Old Cheese Factory’s was absolutely chockers. I held her hand and her emotions through the road crossings as she held on to her lolly-filled bright orange pumpkin bucket and her disappointment that she wasn’t able to do the slime-making activity that she was so excited about.

It wasn’t exactly a matter of parental permission. Of course I was more than happy for her to do it, given the chance. But that was exactly the problem. With the Halloween event running only for four hours and the tickets handed out only once every hour, the line — and the wait — did not seem worth it.

Except that it was, for her.

I told Raven we’ll make it up next year. She told me next time, I should get myself ready straight away as soon as I come home from work so we can go to the event on time, and not one and a half hours late like we did. Said that’s what she did as soon as she got home from school — put on her halloween costume and got her bucket and wand ready.

She wanted to be a pumpkin. That was what she wanted to dress up as but we couldn’t find a pumpkin costume either at Kmart or Facebook Market and she didn’t wanna be a blow-up pumpkin either so she decided to wear one of her dresses and settle as a Pumpkin Witch instead.

Together, she and Jeff 3D-printed a hollowed pumpkin, inserted an LED light that would change colours from the inside, and hot-glued it on top of a twig they had found on someone’s nature strip.

It wasn’t really as miserable as she made it out to be. She got stuck on the thought pattern of missing out on the slime activity that she failed to appreciate the rest of the experience.

Like knocking on the assigned doors for trick or treat and witches opening them to hand out sherbets and cheap lollies. The first door, she was scared to knock, so I did.

The next time, she was brave enough to shyly do it by herself.

“Oh, a fellow witch!” a tattooed witch exclaimed as soon as she saw Raven at the door. Kudos to these ladies opening and closing doors a thousand times for all the kids lining up outside for a candy. Their faces must’ve hurt from all that smiling. Although I must say, if given the chance, I wouldn’t mind having that job for a gig.

I’ll simply come as myself.

*Raven at 7 years old