I sat on the floor in front of the living room coffee table, sipping hot chocolate and sneakily eating the last of my Halloween candy. My know-it-all older brother, Daniel, was reading in the armchair and my parents were getting ready for bed. I’d already changed into my own purple nightgown and brushed my wheat-colored tangle of hair. I’d have to brush my teeth again to hide all evidence of mischief.

Shifting my eyes quickly from the piece of caramel clutched in my hand to Daniel’s inattentive face I quickly plopped it in my mouth and snatched up another piece. I’d been eating candy without getting caught for nearly twenty minutes. Slowly I gained confidence and stopped worrying whether Daniel was looking to eat it. Still he didn’t notice.

I had a Twizzler dangling from my mouth when Daniel finally spoke up in a lazy, cool voice, “You do realize I’m not a moron and can see you eating that candy, right, Katie?”

I froze with the red strip of candy still hanging from my mouth and quickly tried to slurp the rest of it in, only to choke and basically die of coughing. I spat the Twizzler out and it fell onto the floor. I then proceeded to hack and cough like a dying plague victim and tried to glare back at Daniel through watery eyes, as if it were his fault I’d almost choked to death on a strawberry flavored candy rope.

He simply watched me with one brow raised, his book closed in his lap.

Thanks, bro, just let me die over here! I mentally seethed.

“If you wanted to eat candy before bed you should have done it in a much more private place, oh, maybe like your bedroom, and haven’t you ever heard that too much sugar before bed gives you nightmares?” he scolded. He opened his book again and muttered under his breath, “Spaz.”

“I am not a spaz!” I snapped, bitterly collecting up the ruined candy and throwing it away. “And sugar won’t give me nightmares, that’s a stupid myth Mom and Dad came up with to keep me from eating all my candy.”

I picked up my empty mug and the remains of my pumpkin-shaped trick-or-treat bag. With a look of mock contempt I marched out of the room, my head held high and my chin up. I absolutely hated it when Daniel told me off. He wasn’t a grown-up so he shouldn’t act like he was smarter than me, because he wasn’t. Case closed.

I stomped angrily first to the kitchen to dispose of my mug then to my room, shutting the door, reining in enough irritation not to slam it and have another reason for my parents to yell at me.

“If you wanted to eat candy before bed you should have gone to your room,” I grumbled, mocking my brother pretentious voice. “Sugar will give you nightmares, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

Tossing my bag on the nightstand, I slipped into bed, continuing to fume.

When I’d calmed down enough I realized my hot chocolate and candy filled body was sluggish and exhausted. Within minutes I was asleep and my dream started not long after.

I opened my eyes and stared around myself in shock and amazement that slowly melted into joy and acceptance. It was a dream after all, everything makes sense in dreams.

In front of me was a beautiful landscape of rolling hills and distant mountains. But as I looked closer I realized something magical about it.

“Candy!” I laughed and without a second thought I started down the massive candy covered hill.

All around me was a sugary paradise. Scattered trees and bushes were made with brittle peppermint bark and colorful Skittle leaves. The hills themselves were solid milk chocolate layered with green sweet and sour candy grass. The distance gumdrop mountains capped with a light dusting of sugar. Tiny sugar-spun flowers, birds, and butterflies of amazing colors were litter about the sweetened land. Chocolate bunnies and peanut brittle squirrels scurried about, playing and chasing each other in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

I giggled and wondered further on, basking in the majesty and depth of my imagination. I walked past a wide, sticky-sweet caramel river, and forward to a small red and white forest.

As I drew nearer I realized that the tall trees were made of peppermint candy canes, the curved branches forking off into small canes. It was an incredible sight, but something was off about this forest. Unlike the rest of my lovely dream world this place grew darker and more menacing the further I stared down it’s worn path. At the base of this winding path was a small gumdrop pedestal, and on that pedestal was a normal cane sized peppermint cane.

I stared at the cane, thinking. With a shrug, I grabbed the cane, intending to take a big bit out of it, but before I had the chance, a rumbling growl sounded from behind me.

I spun around and was horrified to see a ginormous caramel monster crawling up the riverbank. It’s red M&M eyes were focused on me and it opened its disgusting mouth to show sharpened candy corn teeth. All around my sweetened dreamland slowly turned sour. The sky darkened, all the candy began to melt away, and the cute little animals shrieked and ran for shelter.

The beast rushed at me and I was completely frozen in terror to even think about moving. At that last minute before I was gobbled up I swung the cane at the monster and managed to slam it right in the center of its forehead.

The cane snapped in half and I dropped it aside as I dove away from another lurch from the creature. It turned to me, slowly and behind its back I could see red sparks emanating from the candy cane. I ignored at it first, that is, until there was spark tornado and a man seemed to spill from the cane. He had a white beard, a red suit, and a red and white striped hat. He looked like a weird version of Santa Clause.

“I am Carney Ca— Ah hell nah!” And without even backward glance he sprinted away into the candy cane forest, huffing and heaving. He moved much faster than I thought a fat, old man could.

The monster hadn’t bothered with the old man and instead leered over me, drool dribbling out of its mouth

Before I had time to scream its jaws opened and swallowed me in sticky darkness.

I bolted up in bed, my eyes flying open, and sweat pouring down my face. I took a moment to catch my racing breath and steady my shaking hands, before laying back down and closing my eyes.

“I am never eating candy before bed again,” I muttered, rolling over restlessly. I sat up again and snatched a piece from the top of my bag.

“One last, little piece won’t hurt anything.”