PARSIPPANY — The staff at Parsippany Focus has chosen three winners in our “Halloween Story Contest” for young readers.

The third winner is a student at Knollwood Elementary School: Sapana Dhakal. Sapana received a plaque from Parsippany Focus, lunch for Sapana, her parents and her teacher and a $25.00 VISA gift card. Publisher Frank Cahill and photographer Nicolas Limanov visited the class and awarded Sapana with her winnings.

Scary Story

by Sapana Dhakal

Sally strolled down the dusty dirt path, her hands clamped to her dog’s leash. Her dog, Cookie, trotted beside her, wagging her tail. The shadowy trees leaned into them, their coarse branches reaching for their heads. Wet grass poked through the mud, and crickets chirped. It was getting dark, and Sally was heading home. Suddenly, Sally slipped into a mud puddle, her arms flailing. She slid past her dog and let go of the leash in panic. Sally was drenched in wet mud and water. There was chunks of the mud in her hair and it was smothered on her clothes.

“Woof!” Cookie leaped into the dark forest after a squirrel, barking excitedly. Sally gasped, jumping to her feet. She swiped at her brown hair, letting the mud drip onto the floor.
“Cookie!” Sally cried. Without a second thought, she sprinted into the woods. Sally breathed hard, sprinting past trees. She lost her balance, and tripped over a branch. Her body fell to the ground. Sally lay still, stifling her whimpers. She heard the sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves. She lay still. “Cookie?” There was only silence. Sally leaped to her feet, turning around.

In between two trees, there stood a monster. The monster had black fur, and was almost melting in the shadows. It’s eyes were red, with repulsive yellow pupils. Sally’s heart stopped in her chest. She was paralyzed with fear. Boom! Thunder shook the sky, sending buckets of rain, piercing her skin like daggers.

Sally stumbled through the trees, weeping. The rain stopped, along with Sally. She dropped to her knees, whimpering in fear. A chill tingled through her spine as she looked in horror at the sight behind her. She could smell the putrid scent of rotting meat as the entity breathed over her. Yellow saliva dripped onto the ground. Sally let her tears run down her face, unable to move. Slowly, it let its arms wrap around her, lifting her off the air. “No!” Sally screamed. She wrestled her way out of the monster’s grip, shrieking and shouting. She escaped, crying furiously as she stumbled through the forest. Sally swiveled around just as the monster arrived. Sally took a stick and whacked the monster with fierce strength. The monster responded in shock, but soon anger. It swiped back angrily, hissing. Sally threw a punch on the monster’s stomach. In a flash of light, everything melted into darkness.

Sally’s eyelids fluttered open as she sat up, dazed and afraid. Everything was just a dream. The dog, the monster, everything. Just then, she heard the snapping of leaves and twigs, and a low growl from behind her …