Seth Young always loved a nice country drive. In his mind, the surrounding woods were haunted. They cast a spell on him. Seth had been driving these roads and looking at these woods for over twenty years. They contained the secret thoughts of his life and the promises of childhood. His father would drive him to see friends and to go to the park on these roads. He especially enjoyed driving in the evening and watching the sunset.

The sun coming down behind the trees was always a beautiful sight. Seth was forty years old now. He was married but never had any children of his own. He still liked living in rural Pennsylvania most of the time. Pennsylvania was not far from New York or New Jersey. They had pretty farm country too. Seth thought that they could never be as beautiful as his home state was. There were too many pleasant childhood memories in his head when he looked into the woods. Seth was a boy when his father drove him around here. He was a teenager when he first drove on his own. Then somehow he became a middle aged man.

Seth could see his own death when he looked deep into the woods.

Seth would occasionally pull the car over to see some of his life’s landmarks. One such place was the old stone bridge where he and his friends used to play. Although it was getting dark, he could not resist. Seth pulled his car over and started walking towards the bridge. His friends used to jump out and scare one another when they played. The bridge could be eerie and it was built during colonial times. That, of course, did not make it actually haunted. Seth remembered how much fun he and his friends had on Halloween at this bridge.

“OOoooahh….”

Seth thought that he heard something. There was no one else around. It was just his childhood imagination coming back.

He was now in the bridge. Seth started walking fast so he could reach the end fast. He merely wanted to reassure himself that he was alone. Then he would quickly get back into his car and call it a night.

“OOooahh….”

He heard it again but this time it was much louder.

“OOahhh….”

Seth pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket. He shined the light right in front of him. He thought that he was seeing things. Seth briefly saw what appeared to be the shadow of horns against the wall.

“Please…help me…”

Seth heard it now. It was a man’s voice.”

Seth shined the light in front of him again. It was an old man who was sick or had been in some kind of an accident.

“Are you alright?’

“Well….I will be….”

Seth felt very uneasy. He could not believe this was really happening. This was his childhood bridge. Now there was a sick old man inside of it.

“What happened?’

“I was in my home. Then the next thing I knew I was here. I was here and I was helpless.”

“Helpless?”

“Yes. I didn’t think anyone was going to come….”

“Well, I’m here now.”

“OOahhh…..”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m dying.”

Once again Seth could not believe any of this was real. It had to be some kind of strange dream. The old man did not look mortally wounded. He looked like he had a fall or was in a minor accident. He did not appear to be dying.

“My name is Mr. Leeds.”

“Hello…my name is….”

“Seth Young is your name.”

“Wait. How did you know…?”

“There is little time. Take this necklace off my neck. It belongs to you now.”

“Please! Keep your necklace Mr. Leeds.”

“No! Take it off me Seth.”

Seth took off the necklace the old man was wearing. It was a plain looking gold chain necklace. At the very bottom of the necklace were two black horns. They were perhaps the same size as a human thumb. Seth thought to himself that these must have been the horns that cast the reflection on the wall.

“You’re staring at the horns. That’s good. These are very special, Seth. These horns have been in my family for generations.”

“What kind of animal horns are they?”

“They’re not from an animal.”

“What are they from?”

“Have you ever heard of the Jersey Devil?”

Seth laughed. He couldn’t help himself.

“These are the horns from the Jersey Devil?”

“Yes”, said Mr. Leeds.

It occurred to Seth that when he was laughing, he noticed something. The horns actually felt quite real.

“There isn’t much time. My great grandfather killed one these devils. He cut off its horns and kept them. There is great power in them. You can make one wish before you die. You can wish for anything.”

“What did you wish for?”

“I wished that the next owner of the horns would be a good man. You stopped to help me. That makes you a good man.”

“No. I walked in the bridge because I was curious. I had no idea that there would be someone else inside of it.”

“Three other men heard my cries this evening. They did not come in the bridge. They were too afraid to help someone in need.”

“Alright…how do I make my wishes?”

“You make one wish. Once it’s made, that’s it. The power of these creatures is that they contain one wish per monster.”

“Okay…”

“Shine your light on my wrist.”

Seth shined the light on the old man’s wrist. It was bandaged but had obviously been cut very deeply.

“You must soak the horns in your own blood. You need a small bowel full of blood. Then you make your wish. The Jersey Devil’s horns will suck the blood into themselves. Then you can make your wish!”

“I need to get you to a hospital.”

“Ahhh…”

“Mr. Leeds?”

“It’s time now. My wish included dying in my own bed. Seth, you have a lifetime to make your wish. Seth…Seth………..”

Then there was dead silence.

“Mr. Leeds?”

Seth shined the light all around the inside of the bridge but he was alone. There was no sign or indication that some else was ever here. That is except for the necklace that he was wearing. There were no words for what had just happened to him.

That memory of Mr. Leeds always stayed with Seth. It was something he could never forget. He remembered all those years ago that he looked in the obituaries. He found a Mr. Leeds who passed away. The man died of old age in his bed at home. There wasn’t one shred of proof of their fateful meeting. There was no evidence of their encounter in the bridge.

Whenever Seth thought about what had transpired that night, he thought himself lucky. He was a fortunate man indeed. Despite the fact that he never had children, he and wife always had a good marriage. They were both still alive. Seth had reached the age of eighty a few weeks past. He thought a lot about Mr. Leeds. He must have been around the same age when he passed. Mr. Leeds was teleported from the bridge to his deathbed. The man had only one wish and he made it at the end of his life.

He could have wished for anything. That’s what was so mind-boggling about the whole thing! Mr. Leeds wished that the horns would be passed on to a good man. He said that you get one wish before you die. Did that mean right before the actual moment of death? Could that have meant any wish one could want? Did that mean one wish anytime after receiving the horn necklace?

Seth did not want to think too much about it. Mr. Leeds never said the wishes had to be perfectly worded. Seth was very familiar with the stories of wishes gone badly. They typically made things much worse than before the wish was made. This was because of the monsters who loved to trick humanity. Seth wasn’t sure if the horn necklace was a blessing or a curse. There was no evidence that these devil creatures were like leprechauns, witches or the jinn.

Seth never showed his wife the necklace even after all these years. He loved her but he did not trust some people in her family. She even had a few relatives in jail for robbery. Imagine if one of them were to use the necklace to make a wish. Would a convicted felon wish to start his life all over again to get a clean slate? Could someone wish to be the sole dictator of the world? Unlimited power, wealth, fame, beauty and anything else one could want. All because of a magical pair of horns from a creature most people considered less convincing than Bigfoot. Seth remembered from his reading that these devil creatures were supposed to have brought good fortune to many people.

Seth felt like fortune had already smiled upon him throughout his whole life. He was not born into a life of poverty or war. His health was in good enough for him to have lived for eight decades. He had a happy marriage. Seth and his wife both helped people in their respective careers. She was a teacher and he was a social worker. Seth thought it was a nice career choice. It didn’t pay much but he had the opportunity to give something back. Now they were both retired. They always enjoyed spending time with other people. They were very sociable and traveled with friends extensively. It was one thing to be a world traveler and another to possess a necklace that could give you the world.

They had a good life, Seth and his wife. Seth and his wife appreciated every day they had together. Seth appreciated every day that he had on earth. He had always loved life. Even at his age, he loved a special night like this. It was his favorite holiday. Seth told his wife that she wouldn’t need to lift a finger. He heard the doorbell.

“Don’t worry dear, I’ll get it.”

There was only kid standing at the door. It was a young boy who lived next store.

His mother stood next to him.

“Billy, what do you say?”

“Trick or Treat!!”

Seth gave the child the last three pieces of candy from the bowel.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, son. Have a Happy Halloween.”

A skeleton costume is what the boy wore. It wasn’t the most original costume but it was appropriate for the occasion.

Seth realized that he didn’t feel so well. He locked the door and turned out the porch light.

He wasn’t having a heart attack or a stroke. Seth just came to a stunning but obvious conclusion. He was an old man now. Mr. Leeds made a fine wish to die in his own bed. Seth imagined that it was more than likely a painless death.

Seth went into the bathroom with the bowel in his shaking hands. He reached for his shaving razor. He slit his wrist without even thinking of pain or consequences. The heavy flow of blood spilled over into the bowel. Seth felt lightheaded and nauseous. He had never seen so much of his own blood before. It was a particularly terrifying sight at his age.

“Honey, are you okay?”

“Yes! Give me a few minutes dear. I’ll be out soon.”

Seth removed the horns from his pocket. They had been locked and hidden in a safe for the better part of forty years. Yesterday, he took them out of bank because he knew that tonight was the night it was going to happen. Tonight was the night he was finally going to make his once in a lifetime wish!

The devil’s horns soaked up the blood in no time at all. It was amazing how quick the blood was devoured by the creature’s horns. He now knew it was time to make his wish. He could wish for anything in the world. Seth knew he could make a wish that was completely good. He could also make a wish that was completely evil. If he wished he could use the power of his wish to be the most evil man who ever walked the earth. At the same time, he could be one of the greatest forces of good ever known in mankind’s turbulent history.

Seth was a good man but he was still just a man. Mankind could be either good or bad. The one thing you could say about human beings is that they always thought of themselves first. Humanity had always been a selfish race of beings. Seth was no exception. He always believed that the wish would come true. He knew someday he would be making it. Tonight was his time and he made a wish. The wish that he knew was going to come true. Like the majority of people in the world he had faith but was still very selfish. The wish came straight from his heart’s most secret desire.

“Alright honey, you’re scaring me! I’m coming in!”

There was no old man in the bathroom when Seth’s wife opened the door. She began to panic. Did he go out the window? He couldn’t have simply vanished in thin air. Could he?

The panic was overwhelming. She was about to scream but then she heard the doorbell. Who was it? It could be Seth so she could end her panic.

It was only another child when she answered the door. He was dressed up as some kind of superhero.

“We turned the porch light off dear. That means we’re out of candy.”

“Natalie, I love you!”

“How dare you and how do you know my name?”

“Darling, it’s me! I’m eight years old now and you only have a year to take care of our affairs. I hope you always trusted me my love. I made the wish and it included you. My wish has always been to live life with you all over again.”

“Young man, I’m going to have to speak with your parents. I can’t find my husband right now. I don’t have time for this.”

Seth laughed. The thoughts of the future were going back and forth in his head. Actually, Natalie you do have time. I have time to convince you that this is real. You have time to get our affairs in order. I hope you think that a year is enough time. Natalie, you’re going to be eight years old too a year from now. Mr. Leeds and the creature gave us a remarkable gift. The gift of another lifetime together.