The Pumpkin Patch
“There are only two tragedies: One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” -Oscar Wilde *** Most of the year it was just an empty lot, dusty and overlooked. Little ever grew there, and no one ever tried to build anything on it. But people knew, deep down, that it was a special place, and they treated it with deference. It was a place of power. Jezibaba’s little house crouched across the street from it, and that night she drew her curtains aside and peered through the gloom. It was the first new moon in October. When the clock struck half past, she went out. Alone, at night, she did not stoop or hobble, as she did when other people may be watching. She carried her old rocking chair, hefting …