Goals/Dreams for 2020!

My Goals/Dreams for 2020! 

• Publish a story, poem, or my book 
• Read more 
• Win the lottery 
• Be more independent 
• Learn about tarot cards (for fun) 
• Travel more

Happy new year y'all! 🕛 
Smooches and think Tink 💋🧚🏻‍♀️🕛

The Snow Family (a Christmas story)

It was the day before Christmas Eve and eight-year-old Dream Yawz was playing in the snow in the front yard by herself. With her brown hair up in pigtails, she wore a pair of white earmuffs, a silver toy crown, a pink, puffy coat, and a pair of white mittens. Her white boots also crunched the freshly fallen snow, as she was building an extravagant-looking snow castle. Her favorite plush white dragon, brown teddy bear, and her baby doll sat on the tree swing, facing her. She was pretending that she was a Christmas princess, building a castle to marry her dragon prince. She didn't have many friends because the other kids thought that she was weird because of her wild, overactive imagination and her unique name. Her mom, Leah, always encouraged Dream to think outside of the box and to be creative, to be herself; despite what people said. Leah also had named her Dream when she was born to always remind her to be brave enough to follow her dreams, even when they seemed too crazy to reach. The name was supposed to be a confidence booster throughout her daughter's life but it was just seen as ridiculous and a complete joke. 

The cruelest bullies were two sisters named Shelby and Cami Thorn, who lived next door. Shelby was nine and Cami was ten. They both had blonde hair and green eyes. Even though they weren't twins, they dressed oddly alike. Normally, when they saw Dream, they would call her a freak or some other mean name but to her surprise, they were acting friendly that day. 

Wearing their leopard-printed winter coats and hats, and black boots, they walked over and Cami asked: "Hi Dream, do you wanna play hide-and-seek in the woods with us?" 

The neighborhood was near the woods and the kids were allowed to play there, as long as they didn't go too far into the woods or go near the pond. 

"Maybe Santa talked to them," Dream thought with hope, "or maybe they wanted to friends with her all along but they were secretly shy until now!" 

With her violet eyes wide in excitement, she exclaimed: "Really, you wanna be my friends now?!" 

"Sure," replied Shelby. 

"I know that we've been mean to you before," added Cami, "but we really think that you're pretty cool and your name is so beautiful, so you wanna come and play?"

"Yeah but I just gotta ask my mommy." 

Then, she ran to the house and from the door, she yelled: "Hey Mommy, can I please play hide-and-seek in the woods with Shelby and Cami from next door?!"  

Leah was already at the front door when Dream opened it. She saw them from the kitchen window. She thought that those two girls were going to bully her daughter again and she was going to give them a stern talking to like their mother should've done a long ago but it seemed like they were being nice. 

Now, Dream wanted to play with them. She hesitated at first but seeing her daughter's joyful face, she said: "Yes, Baby Girl, you can, just pick up your toys from the yard and remember, don't go too far in those woods."  

"Okay Mommy!"  Dream ran to the swing and back to the house, quickly handing her mom her toys.  

"Please tell my dragon prince that I'll marry him later," she told her mom, as she was running outside happily.

"I will," Leah chuckled. 

Neither Leah nor Dream saw it at the time but Shelby and Cami were whispering to each other and snickering menacingly. They were up to something.

Unknowing what was happening, Leah stood at the living room window and watched the three girls run towards the path into the woods. Her heart was rejoicing, for she thought that Dream was finally making friends.  

"Merry Christmas Baby Girl." 

Usually, the neighborhood kids only played on or around the main path within the woods. It was close enough for them to hear their parents calling them back home but far enough for them to feel independent. Shelby and Cami were breaking the rules that day though. They were leading Dream deeper and deeper into the woods. 

She asked: "Aren't we going too far? I can't even see any of the houses anymore." 

She fearfully looked around and they were definitely off the path now. All that she could see was snow, a grayish sky, and trees among trees. Some trees were small while others were so big that she thought that God, Himself, must have built them by hand. Also, most trees had leaves or pine needles still on their branches with powdered sugar-like snow sprinkled on top, while other trees were bare and skeletal-looking but were still beautiful in a grotesque way; the snow covering giving the naked trees an elegant flair. 

"We'll understand if you wanna go back," said Shelby. 

"Yeah, we'll understand if you don't wanna be friends with us," sighed Cami deeply, acting sad and laying on the guilt thick. 

"But I do," exclaimed Dream, "honest!" 

"Okay," smiled Cami, "Besides, this is a good spot to play hide-and-seek. Dream, you and I will hide and Shelby will count." 

Dream thought that Cami was sort of bossy but she was still happy to be asked to play. She told herself that maybe older kids were just pushy but she was sure that they would be the best of friends soon enough. Shelby and Cami grinned at each other. Shelby then started counting backwards from one-hundred. Cami hid behind a bulky tree and Dream hid in an opening in an old, fallen tree trunk on the ground. The opening being very dark, she couldn't be seen and couldn't see what was going on outside. 

As she crouched inside the trunk and tried not to smell the mildew, she heard giggling then someone's footsteps scurrying away in the snow. Shelby's voice also started to sound further and further away but Dream didn't think about it at that moment. She thought that the sounds were muffled because she was inside the trunk. It wasn't until she couldn't hear Shelby's voice anymore that she felt that something wasn't right. She slowly stepped out and looked for new "friends". 

"Shelby? Cami? Where are you? I thought that I was hiding." 

She hoped that this was just a silly prank and they were going to jump out at any minute but they wouldn't come.  

"Very funny," she called out, "you can come out now!"  

After a few minutes, she realized with a sinking heart that they were gone. All of this was just a cruel trick. They didn't want to be friends with her at all. Beginning to sob, she plopped on the snowy ground. Her tears felt extremely cold on her face in the wintry wind and she thought that they might become icicles on her cheeks but she didn't really care. 

"No one will ever like me," she thought, crying, "but why? What can I do for people to like me?" 

Then, her sadness quickly turned into fear when she realized that she didn't know the way back home. She could've tried to find the path but she might have gone aimlessly around in circles. Her mom had always told her that if she ever got lost somewhere, she should stay where she was so someone could find her. Even though she was very afraid and was crying harder, she sat there and waited. 

Suddenly, she heard a footstep in the snow. 

She asked, gulping in a sob: "Mommy, is that you?" 

Her mom would probably be a little angry that she went that far into the woods but she knew that her mom wanted her to be safe and would find her right away. 

There was no answer and there was another footstep. 

"Cami? Shelby?" She hoped that they came back for her and this was a prank after all but she was terribly wrong. 

There were more footsteps then growls. Emerging from some snowy bushes, a pack of gnarling and howling gray wolves came towards her hungrily. Dream froze in absolute fear. All of the seven wolves had rabies; their eyes bugging out crazily, mouths foaming, and muscles twitching. She wanted to scream at this nightmarish sight and just run but she stopped herself. With her heart pounding, she slowly stood up and backed away. Her body was trembling but kept backing up. She was almost far enough away from them, when she tripped on a rock and fell on her back, losing her toy crown in the snow. One of the wolves abruptly lunged at her. 

Not knowing else what to do, she just laid there, closed her eyes, and yelled out: "MOMMY, HELP!" 

Nothing happened though. She only heard an odd squealing sound and the wolf yelping. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the wolf was dead with a large twig in its neck and suddenly, its body disappeared. Then, like an arrow zooming through the air, another big twig hit the rest of the wolves in the necks, automatically killing them then somehow making their bodies vanish. Dream was confused and scared by what she just saw. She finally got back up to run. She didn't know where she was going but she just couldn't stay there. She only took a few steps when she saw four snow people between two pine trees nearby. 

Puzzled, she thought: "Were those there before?" 

The snow people, (a snowman, a snow-woman, and two snow children), were well-built and looked like a family. The snowman, the tallest, had coal for eyes, a carrot for a nose, black string for a mouth, and two, long twigs for arms. He wore a dark blue vest with golden fringe and a blue stocking cap, while an old-fashioned, brown knapsack bag hung across his chest. The snow-woman was medium-height. She had sapphires for eyes, a carrot for a nose, gray mop-yarn for hair, and peach-colored string for a mouth. However, she strangely had no arms. She also wore a long, fancy, baby-blue coat with white fringe and a dark blue winter hat and scarf.

The snow children were the smallest. The first snow child was a girl with bubblegum pink yarn for hair and a mouth, hot pink buttons for eyes, a baby carrot for a nose, and two, tiny twigs for arms. The snow girl just wore a pink stocking cap and scarf. The second snow child was a boy. He had a baby carrot for a nose and small twigs for arms like his sister, but he had emerald buttons for eyes and shamrock-green string for a mouth. He only wore a green stocking cap and scarf as well. 

Dream crept up to the snow family. She thought that the snow family looked cute but she wondered why the snow-woman didn't have any arms. She was staring at them for a few minutes with awe when she thought that she saw the snowman moved towards her. 

"No way," she told herself, "only Frosty the Snowman can move. Don't be silly!" 

The snow-woman then moved closer towards her and the snowman tried to touch her hand with his twig arm. She screamed and jumped back. Gradually, all four snow people moved closer and closer. They were lurking towards her like fearsome, frost-bitten monsters. The snowman and snow-woman slid their legless bodies through the snow, while the snow children bounced on their bottoms to move forward. Looking at the snowman's arm, it hit Dream that it was the same twig that killed the wolves. The snow-woman must have done it and that's why she didn't have arms now. 

"She did stop those wolves from attacking me," she thought, "but why? What if she only saved me so she could kill me herself?" 

Dream started screaming hysterically and tried to hide in the opening of the fallen tree trunk again but the snow boy tried to bounce inside with her. She pushed him back into the snow and he began wailing. Crying and wheezing, Dream then ran out of the trunk and through the bushes and trees; branches scratching her skin and tugging at her clothes. She looked behind her and saw the snow family. She thought that they were chasing her. She wasn't paying attention and accidentally stepped on the frozen pond. She was slipping and sliding across, desperately trying to keep her balance. Then, to her horror, she heard the ice beginning to crack under her. She tried to get off of the pond as fast as she could but the ice broke thunderously underneath her feet. She screamed, as she was about to fall, but before she could even touch the water, something grabbed her by the hood of her coat. She looked up and saw that it was the snowman.   

As the snowman pulled her up, she cried out: "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" 

"Oh silly child," chuckled the snowman in a booming but friendly voice, "why would I kill you when I'm helping you?" 

She was bewildered and in shock, not being able to talk for a second. The snowman cradled her in his arms and glided off of the pond as if he was skating.

"Poor thing," said the snow-woman, as the snowman gently put her down on the ground, "is she okay?" 

"Yes, my darling," the snowman replied, "she's fine." 

The snow girl was bouncing in place and the snow boy was whining, asking: "Why did that girl push me?" 

"Oh dear," the snow-woman cried out to the snowman, "look at her! She has scratches all over her and she has been crying. My love, please get your handkerchief from your knapsack and get some snow." 

"Of course Darling."

Dream couldn't move due to shock still. Bending over, the snowman attentively wiped away the tears from her face with his blue handkerchief. He then put cold snow on her face and arms. The scratches magically healed and vanished. 

The snowman asked with a smile: "Better?"

"Yeah, thank you," she replied, "so you're good snow people? You won't hurt me?" 

"Goodness," exclaimed the snow-woman, "we only want to help! I promise you that you're in no danger." 

"But didn't you kill those wolves?" 

"Yes, only to stop them from hurting you," the snow-woman explained softly, "and those poor creatures were suffering from rabies. Would you like to  see where they are now?" 

Not understanding, Dream nodded. The snow-woman glanced over at the snowman and he scooped up a snowball with two twig-hands. Within this snowball, an image flickered into view. The image was of the wolf pack happily running, prancing, and pouncing upon fluffy clouds. They acted like playful puppies. 

"They look so happy," Dream grinned. 

"They're in Heaven," replied the snow girl. 

When the snowman dropped the snowball, the image disappeared.

"Heaven," Dream asked, "Who are you guys? How were you brought to life...by your hats or by a very powerful wizard?" 

"What a quizzical child," laughed the snowman. 

"I can see," smiled the snow-woman, "My name is Petra. This is my husband, Maximilian but you can call him Max for short. These are my children, Penny and Peter. We were built and brought to life by angels." 

"Angels?" 

"Yes, angels," Petra continued, "You see, angels are allowed to come down to Earth during the month of December. During the night, while people are asleep, they love to play in the snow. This year, they built us, brought us to life, and even gave us powers just for fun." 

"Wow!" 

Petra then asked: "So what's your name?" 

"My name is Dream." 

"That's a pretty name," replied Petra. 

"I used to think so," sighed Dream sadly, "but people tease me about it and they don't like  me." 

"You shouldn't bother with people who won't like you just because of your name," said Max. 

"Yes," added Petra, "people should like you for you, name and all. You shouldn't be ashamed of you are. If they were actually friendly, they would be willing to get to know you. They shouldn't rush to assumptions and judgments or be cruel only because someone is different. There is such a thing as seeing with ones' heart, along with seeing ones' eyes." 

Max's and Petra's kind words made Dream feel better. She shouldn't be ashamed of her name or anything else about herself. They were right. If someone really wanted to be friends with her, that person would care about her and accept her unconditionally. It was a waste of time to listen to bullies.  

Then, blushing, Dream said: "I'm sorry that I thought that you were monsters and running from you. Thank you for saving me. You're very nice." 

Both Petra and Max laughed, and Max said: "It's okay. I'm sure that it's a surprise to see some walking and talking snow people and you don't need to thank us. You needed help."                  

Dream knelt down to say sorry to Peter for pushing him when he started whimpering and trying to grab at his mom. Max tried to shush him but he was inconsolable. At first, Dream didn't understand. 

"He must be very mad at me," she thought. 

Then, she heard him begged: "Hold me Mama, hold me please!" 

She also saw the sorrow in Petra's eyes as her son cried for her and that's when Dream realized that Peter wanted to be picked up but Petra obviously couldn't because she didn't have arms anymore. Dream felt so bad. Petra lost her arms from saving her. She knew if she couldn't hug her mommy ever again, she'd be heartbroken so she searched through the snow for two strong twigs. 

After a few minutes, she found the perfect ones and she asked Max: "Can you lift me up?" 

Somehow knowing what she was doing, he nodded and lifted her up to Petra. She carefully placed each twig in the arm spaces.

"Aw," Petra exclaimed happily, "thank you!" 

The moment that Max put Dream back down, Peter and Penny excitedly bounced in Petra's embrace, which made Dream smile wide.   

Still in his mom's arms, Peter turned to Dream, grinned, and said: "You gave my mama new arms. You're my friend now. You can push me into the snow anytime! I'll just bounce anyway." 

This made everyone laugh for a moment. 

"Okay Dream," said Petra, "We better take you back to the path." 

"Do you know the way?" 

"Of course!" 

As they were heading back, Dream played tag with Penny and Peter then told Petra and Max all about what Shelby and Cami did to her. 

"Those girls aren't very nice," remarked Petra, "Can we do something, my love?" 

"A plan is brewing in my mind Darling." 

Dream just grinned. 

When they were finally on the path, Dream saw Shelby and Cami talking and playing with their Barbies under a tree. She heard them laughing and gossiping about her already, and she wondered if she could stay with the snow family a bit longer but Max then whispered his mischievous plan to her. They weren't going to harm the girls in any way but were going to give them a good scare. Liking what she was hearing, she smiled and nodded in agreement.  

The snow family hid behind trees while Dream walked up to the girls. 

"Hey freak," mocked Shelby. 

"Look at you," laughed Cami, "you finally found your way." 

"I had help," said Dream with a sly smile. 

"By who," Cami asked sardonically, "your invisible friend?" 

"No, just some snow monsters that I met in the woods." 

While Shelby and Cami were laughing, the snow family crept out of the trees and with the most frightening, evil faces that they could muster, they all let out a horrifying roar. Shelby and Cami instantly turned white, screamed, and ran. Terrified, Shelby even peed on herself while running. The snow family then started to chase them around. Petra was running after them, waving her arms in the air and growling. Max winded up on his stomach, sliding through the snow, yelling wildly and acting like he was going to grab their ankles.  Dream, Penny, and Peter got on his back as well, throwing snowballs at the girls. 

Even though Dream's day in the woods started off heartbreaking and scary, it ended up being one of the best days of her young life. Ever since that day, she learned not to jump to conclusions about anyone or anything, and not let bullies rule her. The snow family also always visited her every winter and protected her throughout her life. She was still considered to be a weirdo but the snow family reminded her to live up to her namesake...chase her dreams and never let nay-sayers hide the path. 


(c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved 2019 

   
     

Music by: Lucas King 

Merry Christmas y'all! 

Smooches and think Tink! 💋🧚🏻‍♀️⛄ 

What I'm Up To

Hi Y'all,

I wrote a little today. Part 2 of "Disney Other World" is being written. 😈 I'm planning to write my annual Christmas story as well. 🎄🎅🏻 Don't worry, new content will be posted soon but for now, here's my new Shane fan art: ⇩ 

Also, here's a picture of me in the new ShaneDawsonXJeffreeStar makeup: ⇩ 

Smooches and think Tink! 💋🧚🏻‍♀️

I Passed ModPo 2019!

I passed my online class with an 100%! 

Smooches and think Tink! 🧚🏻‍♀️🖤

Happy Birthday Steven!

Hi Stevie Wevie, 

Happy birthday! Are you partying up there? I bet that you are. I still miss you everyday but I know that you're happier now. 😃💝 

Love you. Smooches and think Tink. 👼🏻🧚🏻‍♂️

Wonderland Camp, October 2019

 I had an amazing time at Wonderland Camp during the weekend of October 25th, (despite sucking on honey cough drops throughout the weekend thanks to my lovely allergies, lol 😜). I was so happy! I saw my old friends: Kayla, Cali, and Mollie. I also made a new friend named Megan. She was a new counselor/volunteer. She was so shy but once I made her laugh, we just clicked. 😀👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻

Before dinner, my cabin-mates and I drew and colored pictures. I drew Slender Man and Shane Dawson posters to hang up next to me inside of my bunk (I know, I’m a weirdo 🤪). After dinner, we sang silly camp songs in the dining hall. I think that I could sing these goofy songs in my sleep 😆. Due to the weather, we couldn’t do a campfire but we got s’mores flavored donuts. They were absolutely scrumptious. It was a great, relaxing night. 

On Saturday, we had Music, dancing and hanging out. Then, we shot bb guns. I hit the target five times! After bb guns, we had Arts and Crafts and made paper bag monster puppets with glue and paint. My monster was purple with six red eyes. Because I was feeling creative, Megan and I then made a Peter Pan hat with green paper and a red pipe cleaner. 

It was rainy that afternoon so we then had inside activities.

First, we hung out in the game room. I was playing Connect Four and was beating every person who played me. Then, we got to decorate cupcakes with icing and candy in the dining hall. I was doing more eating than decorating (😋lol) but hey, it was fun. 

After decorating, we had a random dance party, which was chaotic and awesome.

After dinner, we got into our costumes. I was Jack Skellington. 

We then got a nighttime hayride around camp. It was peaceful. After the hayride, we went through the camp’s haunted house. I have to give props to the Wonderland staff. 👏🏻They really stepped up and tried to make it scary with people in makeup and masks jumping out. 👏🏻 😈 Once all of the cabins went through the haunted house, we had a Halloween carnival in the dining hall. They had games and stuff but I was just being a goofball and sped around the hall. 👩‍🦼

It was the first time that I had my new wheelchair on high speed 👩‍🦼👩‍🦼 (sorry, not sorry 😜😎 lol) and I was having a blast!

On Sunday, we had a couple of hours before we went home so we got to shoot arrows. I hit the target once. After bow and arrows, my friends and I hung out in the crafts room. When Mom and Dad came to pick me up, I was drawing and writing silly things. The entire weekend was easy-going and incredible. I loved it so much! Megan was so cool!! I’m happy that I met her that weekend. 😃 

Hey y'all, 
I'm sorry that this is a month late. 😄 My writing schedule has been slightly out of whack because of the online class that I've been taking but I did have fun at camp and don't worry, part 2 of Disney Other World is coming soon. 
I hope that y'all had a good Halloween. I did! 😀🎃

Smooches and think Tink!

Disney Other World: Part 1 (a horror 2-part story)

*Reader discretion is advised*. 

James Charleston could always remember when he first became an animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios twenty years ago. He was a creative and ambitious twenty-eight-year-old with glossy black hair and a clean-shaven face. He was so excited to create something entertaining that kids of all ages could love. For the first few years, his ideas were listened to, produced for television and movies, and instantly adored, bringing an accomplished gleam to his hazel eyes. Then, as time went by, his ideas were gradually called too dated or were just ignored. Even when he tried to think out of the box, he was told that those ideas were too dark or too complex for cartoons. James thought that the Disney company was only interested in what was trendy; overly computerized cartoons and live-action reboots of Disney classics. 

Now, he was a bitter, uninspired, cynical forty-eight-year-old man. His hair was graying, he rarely ever shaved, and his once fit body was now extremely bloated from his high intake of alcohol. He lived in a big apartment in Burbank, California with his five-year-old son, Sebastian. 

One Sunday morning in June, Sebastian was happily watching Disney Junior in the living room, while James was drinking and "working" in his office. The boy was always watching anything Disney. His young mind thought that his daddy worked for Mickey Mouse, which made his daddy the coolest in his eyes and his hero. He was such a beautiful child with jet black hair, freckled-skinned, and the brightest green eyes. He was also so sweet and well-behaved but James never doted on the boy. 

Sebastian was the product of an one-night stand but the young mother wanted something more. She claimed to be in love with James and actually wanted to marry him. Because James worked for Disney and to be cute, she even named their son after the crab from the Little Mermaid. After a few months that Sebastian was born though, she realized that James didn't want a relationship with her and she selfishly abandoned their baby. Since she had no other living family, the court gave James sole custody of his son. At the time, James thought that no child should grow up in the foster care system and he was happy to raise him, but now, his hatred towards his work and life in general had taken over and now he wished that he could just give the boy away. Even though he kept the boy healthy and safe, James had no real love for his own son. 

James just opened another beer, when the theme song for the cartoon, PJ Masks, came on in the living room.   

"Not that one," groaned James, "One of Disney's many ear-worms. God, Disney has really gone down the crapper!" 

"God has nothing to do with this," said a deep, unknown voice behind him, "though knowing him, he would love that mind-numbing garbage." 

James turned around and saw a tall, skinny man with ghost-like skin, wearing all red; a crimson tuxedo with blood-red shoes, and a red top-hat over fiery ginger hair. The strange man also had eerie black eyes. Even the part of the eye that was supposed to be white was black. The man held a dark brown cane with an up-down cross as the handle, as he was giving James an evil smile.

"But you humans always find interesting but yet irritating ways to entertain your brats all on your own," the man smirked. 

"Who are you and how did you get in my damn house?!" asked James drunkenly. He was too drunk to be scared yet. 

"Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan, the Beast, the Devil," said the man nonchalantly, "just pick a name. I have many. Your hatred in you invited me here. Your hatred always had called out to me but it was practically screaming today. It was so loud that I couldn't even enjoy my daily depravity."

James thought that he had to be imagining things. "Is the man walking in the air?" he thought. 

He blamed it on the ten beers that he had that morning.    

"If you're the devil," said James sarcastically, "possess me or do a trick...prove it." 

The Devil then became dangerously furious, crushing his cane into pieces with his bare hands. Within seconds, the Devil grew fifty-times taller, nearly filling the room and touching the ceiling. Tossing his hat away, his pointy, long horns poked out on the top of his head. The door slammed shut on its own. 

He grabbed James by the shirt and pulled him up to his face. 

"IS THIS ENOUGH PROOF FOR YOU," he roared, "OR SHOULD I JUST RIP YOUR PATHETIC SOUL FROM BODY?! I'M HERE TO MAKE YOU, A POOR EXCUSE OF A MAN, AN OFFER. I DON'T DO PARLOR TRICKS. I'M THE RULER OF HELL AND YOU WILL RESPECT ME AS SO, SCUM!" 

Then, the Devil threw him in a chair. 

"I'm s-s-s-sorry," stammered James, absolute terror quickly sobering him up,"W-w-what are y-y-you offering? D-d-do you w-w-want m-m-my s-s-soul?" 

"Oh relax," chuckled the Devil, shrinking back into a human again and putting back on his top hat, "I want souls that are much younger than yours and you're going to help me." 

"How?" 

"With this," said the Devil, holding out a magnificent looking, golden pencil. 

"It's just a pencil," said James, perplexed.

"But this pencil is powerful," the devil smiled, "It will make anything dark and twisted; even warp those old, annoying, sugar-coated Disney characters into something more sinister."  

James didn't think that the classic Disney characters were annoying but he thought that it would be refreshing to do something new with them. 

"How would that you help collect young souls though?" 

The Devil chuckled and said: "It'll be so easy. All children watch that Disney stuff, right?" 

James nodded. 

"Kiddies act all afraid of anything creepy or bizarre," the Devil said sardonically, "and cry to their mommys and daddys to protect them but it's all a lie. I know that kiddies nowadays secretly want to be scared. They want the thrill. They want the strangeness and danger of it all. They're supposed to be terrified of some kind of a boogie man but little do the parents know that their brats are seeking out monsters for fun, so why not give them what they want?"  

Then, the Devil's voice went down to a whisper and said: "Once the brats see their favorite characters spiced up with darkness, you'll be like the Pied Piper, luring them to me. They'll follow blindly. Plus, you'll be incredibly famous." 

"Famous," James repeated to himself in awe, greed taking over. He didn't care about all of the innocent souls that were going to be taken. He was only thinking about himself. 

"What's the catch?" he asked. 

"Ah, scum with brains," remarked the Devil, "To get this pencil, you just have to sign a contract, promising to produce thirteen children's souls to me on Halloween night exactly at midnight. You also promise that if you fail, I can take your soul. It's not the soul that I want but I can take it just as punishment."  

Twisting his wrist, the Devil made the contract appear on the desk behind a puff of red smoke. 

Even though James was eager to sign it, fear made him hesitant for a second. 

"You're the father of lies," he said, "How can I trust you?" 

"Because I really want those young souls," the Devil replied with a wide smile, "and to make this deal even sweeter, I'll talk to the Disney execs and make sure that your new cartoons get on T.V. or in movie theaters right away. Those execs always do whatever I say. They sold their souls to me long time ago. Come on, I'm handing you great fame, take it." 

"But why do you want children's souls so bad," James asked, "Do you enough souls to take already?" 

"It's best if you didn't know all of my reasons. You, humans, are amusingly queasy about these things. Let's just say, I want more godly respect and the brats can learn fast."  

James was still afraid but greed urged him to do it. He was tired of drawing and animating the same type of characters and of his ideas not being heard. He thought that he deserved this.

"Let me get a pen," he said, reaching in a drawer.

"No, no," laughed the Devil, "for this contract, you have to sign with the blood of a relative." 

To James' dismay, his family were already dead or lived out of the state. 

"But who can I...?" 

The door opened wide on its own, showing Sebastian still watching television. 

"If you kill your son," the Devil whispered into his ear, "I can take his soul and I'll consider that to be the first soul that you produce for me. Then, you only have to get me twelve souls." 

A loving parent wouldn't have even consider it, a decent human being would have felt extreme guilt for even thinking about harming a child but James was too far gone. He looked down at his hand and he was suddenly holding a butcher knife. 

"It'll be quick," the Devil told him softly, sounding seductive, "He won't suffer long. Besides, you don't love the boy and I think that he deserves better. He'll be happier in death...with me." 

James walked quietly into the living room and crept behind his son. As Sebastian bounced excitedly on the couch at his favorite part of the cartoon, he felt the weight of his dad's arms on his little shoulders. 

"Hi Daddy," he giggled, "What are you---?" 

Before Sebastian could realize what was happening, James swiped the blade across his throat. Blood splattered everywhere with one cut. Holding his spewing throat wound, Sebastian somehow managed to stand up and stagger around to look at his dad. His innocent face was a mixture of complete horror, pain, sadness, and confusion; his pleading eyes overflowing with tears. He was making a horrible choking, gargling sound, as blood squirted from his mouth and sliced throat. He desperately reached out for his dad but James just backed away like a coward. Then, Sebastian finally fell on his stomach, dead in a pool of blood. Using his powers, the Devil trapped Sebastian's soul in his dead body so it couldn't escape before the deal was done.

James quickly tossed the knife and went back to the office to get a small paintbrush and the contract. 

He then went into the living room again and carefully dipped the brush into Sebastian's blood, signing the contract. After the contract was signed and disappeared in flames, the Devil gave him the golden pencil. The Devil let out a satisfied cackle, as he flipped Sebastian onto his back and reached into his body like it was a stick of butter, pulling out the boy's transparent looking soul.  

Sebastian's soul/spirit was fearfully wailing and struggling to get away, while the Devil held on tightly. James was too interested in the power of the pencil though to notice or care. Like an eager child, he already got some paper and was ready to draw. The Devil then whistled for his minions to come and get Sebastian. His minions were tiny, legless demons that wore long, black robes and didn't have faces, only having two red dots for eyes. The minions came up from the ground and grabbed Sebastian by the arms and ankles. 

As they dragged him down into Hell, he was thrashing around, trying to fight back. He tried kicking, punching, scratching but it was no use. Because he was now only a spirit, his hand or foot would go through them every time.

He helplessly cried out: "Help me Daddy...please! Why aren't you helping me?! The monsters are taking me away! Daddy please!!" 

He was screaming the whole time, looking at his dad with heartbreak and desperation. He was always told that his daddy would love and protect him but now, the man didn't attempt to save him. James didn't even look up. He was staring at the blank paper and holding the pencil, almost looking as though he was in a trace. 

"Are you going to draw something or not?" teased the Devil. 

James asked, "How does the pencil make what I draw dark?" 

"Just think of what you want to draw, put the pencil to paper, and the pencil itself will draw it for you." 

James took a deep breath and said: "I want to draw Mickey Mouse." 

Then, as the lead of the pencil touched the paper, it began to move on its own. Some of the outline of Mickey was the same but some of his features were very different. He seemed much taller and he had more of a longer snout. He had eyebrows that scowled down angrily into a V shape. Instead of his cheerful smile, his smile was full of malicious and jagged teeth. He also menacingly held a dagger in his gloved hand. 

At first, James didn't like Mickey's eyes, which were only black holes. He then realized that the pencil could put in color in the drawing as well. In the middle of each eye hole, the pencil put one orange-yellow, upside-down teardrop-shaped mark that looked like a flickering candle flame. James thought that it was strange but he liked it. Mickey was, of course, wearing his red shorts with silver buttons and yellow shoes. The pencil then put blood on the silver blade of the dagger and speckled blood on both of Mickey's white gloves. 

When the pencil finally stopped moving, James picked up the paper and looked at the drawing of this new, unsettling Mickey. He had always loved Mickey just as he was but now, he thought that this gave Mickey some much-needed edge. James loved it. 

"That's better," grinned the Devil, "The brats won't be able to resist!" 

"They sure won't," replied James.

"Oh before I go," said the Devil, snapping his fingers, "you might need this." A big jar of ashes appeared on the living room table.

"What's that for?" asked James. 

"I'll show you." The Devil then opened the jar and scooped up a hand-full of ashes. 

"These ashes are from Hell," he explained, "substance of absolute sin and evil." He sprinkled the ashes on the drawing over Mickey's head. 

"Hey, don't---," James began.

Then, the paper began to shake in James' hand and he jumped back, throwing the paper across the room. From afar, he saw the drawing gradually enlarging on the paper until it spread across the entire piece of paper. The paper then exploded into pieces with a thunderous boom. James took cover behind the couch, while the Devil chuckled. 

As pieces of paper rained down, there stood a huge, hellish looking Mickey Mouse with real, black fur, bright flames in the eye holes, and a monstrous grin; slashing his dagger in the air. James was horrified by the thing and didn't know if he should go near it. 

"I've noticed that those Disney parks have mascots of the brats' favorite characters," said the Devil, "so when your cartoons gain popularity, these are mascots that you can control. They'll help you get souls." 

James carefully stood up and asked fretfully: "Is there an actual person in that mascot suit?" 

"No, it's not a suit at all. With the ashes, anything that you draw with that pencil will become real. The characters will become demons in disguise."

James cautiously walked closer to the wicked Mickey and he automatically smelled the nauseating odor of rotting death, which made him gag. 

"You can easily get rid of the smell with any cologne," the Devil told him, "but do you have a container of iodized salt?" 

"Salt? Why?" 

"Salt is how you will control them," explained the Devil. 

"How?" 

"Get some salt," the Devil replied with a grin, "and you'll see." 

James ran into the kitchen and got the container of iodized salt from the cabinet. Once the container was in his hand, the Devil whispered to the demonic Mickey: "Give him a scare." Then, the Devil abruptly disappeared when James wasn't looking. The evil Mickey began growling and was charging at James with a dagger in hand, breaking any piece of furniture that was in its way. 

"Wait," exclaimed James, "What do I do with the salt?!" 

Not knowing what to do, he just stood there, holding out the container of salt. The evil Mickey suddenly froze and stared at the container as if it was scared of salt. Seeing this, James opened the container and quickly tossed salt in Mickey's face. The corrupted Mickey let out a horrendous, raspy howl and backed away, as its skin burned and sizzled. Its long snout and round ears automatically melted off with a thud. Then, its whole face began to slowly liquefy, looking like someone got the ink of a drawing wet and the colors were smearing together. 

Still screaming, the rest of its body continued to meltdown and its vile smell filled the place. James watched with horror and awe. He expected a puddle to be on the floor in the spot where it was melting, but when it was gone, the piece of paper with his drawing of Mickey Mouse had reappeared there. James picked it up, staring at it with amazement. 

"Wow," he breathed. 

The Devil's laughter then echoed loudly throughout the apartment and Sebastian's body, the knife, the smell, and the blood spatter disappeared. Even the bloodstains on James' clothes were gone. It was as though nothing had happened. His sick mind was relieved that he didn't have to take care of a child anymore. He decided that if anyone asked about where his son was, he would just say that his mother took Sebastian back and with that, he didn't even give the poor boy another thought.   

"I have better things to do now," he thought with a grin. 

For the rest of the day and the entire night, he drew and wrote a whole cartoon short. The pencil wouldn't let him stop. Every time that he would try to put it down, the pencil would let out a horrifying, earsplitting shriek.  The Devil didn't mention that this would happen of course, but it was worth it. The next day, being freshly shaved, he took all of his drawings to the studio and met with the animators and executives. He didn't any sleep but felt exhilarated. He was also sober for the first time in years and he was clear-minded to enjoy it. 

The moment that the Disney executives saw his drawings, they immediately got excited, mostly because of the Devil's persuasion, but they gave the studio the green light to make the short. The executives made him head-animator on this project as well. The short was going to be part of a three-hour block on Disney XD called Twisted Wednesday. Twisted Wednesday was going to be three hours of creepy cartoons, aimed at kids over seven and teens. The concept was that everything that they knew about Disney was going to be twisted into something strange, creepy, and freaky. The idea seemed random and would've been perfect for Halloween but Disney wanted it to start that summer.

The script and art were quickly finalized, despite complaints from some of his colleagues.  The short being animated within weeks, James insisted on being in charge of voice casting too. This battled people but they didn't say no. Behind a locked recording studio, he used the Hell ashes to make his drawings come alive and he recorded their voices. 

Two weeks later, Twisted Wednesday and James' animated short, which was called "No Strings to Hold Me Down" premiered nationwide at six P.M. 

"No Strings to Hold Me Down" was about twelve-year-old Lee and his controlling, beefy, bully-of-a-father, Gregory. Lee, a small but slender boy, who loved singing and dancing, wanted to try out for the school play instead of the football team but his father, who was the football coach at Lee's school, shouted: "No son of mine will be a wuss and make a fool of myself or me on stage!" 

"But Dad...," tried Lee. 

Lee's mother, Janette, a submissive, skittish woman, said nervously: "M-m-m-maybe he can t-t-try out for both. He does love p-p-performing." 

Gregory got in his wife's face and screamed: "I SAID NO! THIS IS MY HOUSE AND...!" 

Lee ran out of the house crying before he could hear the rest. He just wished that his father accepted him. He walked to the park and sat on the swing. Suddenly emerging from the shadows, an evil Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck walked towards him. They were the same size as him. 

Goofy was foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog and was smiling hard with vampiric teeth. His right eye also kept twitching and he let a creepy, hysterical, little giggle out after every word.  Donald wore a tattered, blackened sailor outfit. He had red, shifty eyes and a beak that was longer than usual. He looked accusingly and predator-like at anyone that passed by him. Lee didn't notice the changes in the Disney characters.

"Oh hi Mickey," said Lee sadly.

"What's wrong pal," asked Mickey in a high-pitched but scratchy and demonic voice, "Was your dad yelling again?" 

Lee told them the whole story. As he spoke and as the frame zoomed in closer on Mickey's face for a minute, the flames in Mickey's eyes burned brighter and brighter with anger and revenge. 

"Ahhh, what a jerk," spat Donald when Lee was done speaking. 

"Yeah, you love singing," laughed Goofy. 

"We have to do something," said Mickey ominously. 

Then, the three of them gathered in a circle, whispering to each other for a few minutes. After they came to an agreement, Mickey said to Lee: "Tell your dad to come to our house. We have a surprise for him." 

'Their house' was actually the Disney World theme park, home of all Disney characters. 
Not understanding, Lee asked: "Why?" 

"Don't worry," grinned Mickey with a wink, "we'll take care of him." 

Lee then smiled knowingly. 

The next day, Lee and his father came to Disney World. Lee had lied and told him that he wanted to say sorry for making him mad, that he and his Disney friends had a surprise for him. Even though Gregory was a tough, cruel man, he had a soft spot for Disney, especially for the movie, Pinocchio. Mickey met them at the entrance. The theme park seemed quiet and oddly half-empty. 

"Hi my pals," said Mickey with fake enthusiasm, "Are you ready to be the first ones to get on the new Pinocchio ride?" 

Gregory's eyes brightened and exclaimed: "Is that my surprise?" 

"Yeah," smiled Mickey.

"Well Son, you're forgiven," Gregory told Lee, "Let's do this!" 

"Yes," grinned Mickey diabolically, staring at the television viewers, "Let's." 

Mickey then led them into Fantasyland, to a wooden train ride called No Strings Attached. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was waiting for them by the ride. Like always, he had bendy, stretchy, and fluid body parts. In video games and other cartoons, Oswald was usually cheerful. However, in this cartoon, his mouth was disturbingly sewn shut with black thread into a wide, crude smile, and there was hidden rage in his beady eyes. Again, no one in this cartoon noticed and/or acknowledged these changes. When he saw Gregory, he stretched his long ears out and wrapped them tightly around Gregory's wrists and dragged him to the ride.

"Whoa buddy," Gregory exclaimed with a chuckle, "take it easy now!" 

"He's just excited for you to have fun," lied Mickey. 

Lee just smiled.

Lee and Gregory sat on the ride. Using his ears and hands, Oswald put the seat-belts on them. While he was putting the safety bars in place too, he slammed one of them into Gregory's gut. Gregory grunted unhappily but smiled. The train car rolled into a tunnel, slowly passing moving scenes of Pinocchio. What looked like animatronic characters were popping out, as the song, "I've Got No Strings" played in the background but something was off about these characters. This was the only time that someone was aware that something was different. 

Stromboli's and Geppetto's skin was gray and their eyes were yellow and dead-looking. Pinocchio's blue eyes were bulging out of his head like a maniac and he had a furious scowl on his face. All three were also monstrous in size.

Gregory asked Lee: "Is this a jump-scare ride?" 

Lee just sat there silently. 

Then, the train car abruptly stopped in front of an old-fashioned wooden stage with red curtains.  Stromboli, Geppetto, and Pinocchio started to walk towards them. 

"Wow," exclaimed Gregory, still thinking that it was just part of the ride, "this technology is amazing!" 

The three characters came closer to him and without warning, they undid his seat-belt and the safety bar. 

"Hey," he yelled, "isn't that dangerous?!" 

Pinocchio then grabbed by the throat and pulled him out of the cart. This was when he realized with horror that these weren't animatronics. They were alive. 

"Help," he chocked.

Pinocchio threw him hard on the ground and while he was coughing and heaving, he tried to crawl back to the train car but Geppetto stopped him and flipped him on his back, sitting on him. He tried fighting back, swinging punches and biting but it was no use.

"Help me Son," he begged Lee. 

Lee just sat back and watched. Oswald then walked in. 

"Help...me...Oswald," Gregory pleaded breathlessly, "please." 

Oswald ignored him. Like an octopus playing with its prey, Oswald wrapped his ears around Gregory's wrists then his arms around Gregory's ankles, stretching and stretching until Gregory's clothes ripped and his arm and leg joints broke with a loud, sickening POP. Gregory screamed in tremendous pain and terror. Geppetto got off of his broken body and Pinocchio got a dagger from behind the stage, slashing Gregory's hands and in a 3D-like moment, blood splashed at the television viewers. Blood continued to gush out all over, as the characters cackled. All that Gregory could do was scream and tremble. All those years in football couldn't help him now.

Stromboli then put a needle and thread in each of Gregory's hand gashes. The pain was torturous and he almost passed out a few times but they used smelling salts to wake him up.  Stromboli stitched up the wounds but left thick threads in Gregory's hands. Oswald let go of him. They carried him onto the stage and with robes and the threads in his hands, they strung him up, putting him in a standing position. 

Then, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald walked in. Mickey smiled at Gregory and hopped in the train car with Lee, asking: "Feel better pal?" 

Lee nodded yes and grinned. 

"So what song are you doing for your audition?" laughed Goofy. 

"I think that I'll sing 'I've Got No Strings'," replied Lee. 

"Perfect," exclaimed Stromboli joyfully with an Italian accent, "why don't you practice right now? Our new puppet can dance for us." He was referring to Gregory. 

Oswald clapped vigorously in agreement. 

"Okay," said Lee happily. 

He starting singing. Oswald stretched his ears, pulling the threads and making Gregory dance. Each step was extreme agony. Gregory was crying, screeching, and desperately imploring for them to stop but no one heard because everybody began to sing with Lee. Gregory's pleas were muffled over their loud voices. 

"I've got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret
Or make me frown
I had strings
But now I'm free
There are no strings on me!" 

After the cartoon aired, some kids were traumatized by it and had nightmares for months, but a lot of kids were fascinated by the eerie and macabre cartoon. It was a hit. Billions of kids and teens watched it on television or streamed it online.  #TwistedWednesday was trending all night on Twitter. They kept talking about it, sharing clips and memes of it. Some parents were outraged, demanding Disney not to air the cartoon again and to stop Twisted Wednesday altogether. They said that it was too violent and gory but Disney didn't listen. Most people at Disney were secretly talking orders from the Devil and they saw a great money-making opportunity as well. Despite the minor backlash, they had James make a second cartoon. 

It was called "Elsa's Makeover." Mickey and Elsa were in her ice castle. Elsa was complaining to Mickey how she wished that the men in her kingdom didn't fawn over her, that people didn't focus on her beauty. She wanted people to admire her intelligence and leadership. 

"Hold on," said Mickey. 

He walked in another room for a second. When he came back, he was wearing his Sorcerer's Apprentice outfit. Normally, the outfit was a red robe and a blue, pointed hat with white moons and stars, but in this cartoon, he wore a midnight black robe and a black, pointed hat with a big, silver inverted pentagram in front of it.

He then began singing "Let It Go" in his demonic voice. Each time that he said the words: let it go, he thrust his hands in front of himself, casting an ice spell on Elsa. At first, when the ice spell hit her, she just smiled and said: "The cold doesn't bother me." 

By the third time, she gasped in slight pain and almost fell back when it hit her. 

"Alright, that's enough Mickey," she said with a forced laugh. 

He didn't listen. By the fourth time, she began to shiver. 

"Stop...now!" 

By the fifth and sixth time, she was shivering violently, having trouble keeping her balance. 

"Please stop Mickey," she cried, "I can't feel my body...too cold!" 

When she tried to move her fingers, her now frozen, left hand cracked and fell off. She screamed in complete terror and shock. Her severed, frozen hand then bounced down a staircase and shattered into pieces. She began sobbing and trembling uncontrollably. By the end of the song, she was shaking on the floor; cold, broken, and frostbitten. Her skin was bluish-gray with icicles dangling from her face and whole body. 

"Well, Elsa, it looks like the cold does bother you after all," sneered Mickey, "but at least people won't focus on your beauty for a while." 

Then, the cartoon ended with his sinister laughter echoing throughout the castle. 

After that cartoon aired, more parents were livid. Even church groups got involved this time. The parents said that it wasn't at all appropriate for children and the church groups said that the cartoons were sacrilegious but their protests and rants were disregarded. The kids were hooked. James kept making more cartoons and Twisted Wednesday rapidly became bigger and bigger. The fans of the cartoons even made up a name for the universe that the evil counterparts lived in; Disney Other World. To the the fans, it was a hidden realm of Disney. 

By August, there was merchandise, a web site, and graphic novels. Then Disney stopped doing Twisted Wednesday so that they could start a Disney Other World channel. It was a whole station dedicated to the evil counterparts and James was the executive producer, director, and head-animator of all of the cartoons. Disney Studios said that this channel was only for ages thirteen and up but that didn't stop younger viewers from watching.  

Soon, James was doing meet-and-greets at Disney parks and comic book stores as well. After some meet-and-greets, he had the demons kill some fans and take their souls for the Devil. Their disappearances were never connected to James because he always waited until the meet-and-greets were over for a couple of hours before taking a fan and the demons always dismembered the dead bodies and ate them. 

James also lost weight but too much weight. The more the cartoons got popular, the more the pencil shrieked. The pencil barely let him eat or drink and definitely didn't let him sleep throughout the night. He always had to be drawing no matter what. He was so thin and tired looking that he looked skeletal and ghoulish but the Devil ordered people who were under his control, just to look the other way and not to say anything to James.  Even though James was collecting souls for him, the Devil just wanted to see him suffer. 

Despite his ghastly appearance, James was famous, successful, and had an assistant that worshipped the feet that he walked on. Her name was Justine and was a homely thirty-year-old woman. She didn't seem to care how she presented herself at work. Her brunette hair was always up in a messy ponytail and she always wore eccentric, old-fashioned, school marm-like dresses but James liked her for stroking his ego. She was bubbly, eager to please, and took everything that James said as gospel. 

One day before October, Justine burst in his office and said excitedly: "Mr. Charleston, do you remember the event that you wanted to have at Disney World on Halloween?" 

To be continued...            
      

(c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved 2019 

Video by: Horror Versions 

Author Notes: Just for the record, I love Disney! I loved Disney movies as a kid and still love them as an adult. I think that it's cool when Disney tries to go dark and I just took it to the next level. I got the idea for this story from a weird and eerie dream. What if Mickey Mouse was made evil?
Also, this story will be in 2 parts (part 1 is now and part 2 will be sometime next month). Both are Halloween themed but hey, Halloween is 365 days for me. Lol! 

Disclaimer: The original Disney characters used in this story are owned by Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company. 

Happy Halloween! Think Tink and smooches!!