Halloween came to town with a chilly wind and a quick dusk. Nina carried a pumpkin lantern and Maks carried a map of the best houses. Leaves slipped along the pavement as if someone was whispering underfoot. By the old school, something flashed in the grass, just below the bench. Nina crouched down and picked up a cool silver key with a bat. A piece of paper lay next to it, folded into a funny paper mask. Maks unfolded it carefully and read the cursive letters. - 'The key fits where the masks laugh,' he read. They both looked at the façade of the school over which the masks hung. The old theatre room was in the wing where no one taught anymore. The door was usually closed, but today the handle was ajar. Nina lifted the pumpkin and an orange light cut through the dark corridor. The walls whispered with the echo of footsteps, as if in a great shell. - 'It's just an echo,' Maks said, but he lowered his voice. At the end of the corridor hung two masks, a smile and a frown. Below them, a narrow, heavy door with a brass lock could be seen. Nina slid the key in; it fitted perfectly and squeaked slightly. The lock clicked and somewhere behind the wall a curtain rustled. Suddenly the pumpkin light trembled, as if someone had blown straight into the flame. From the depths of the room came the muffled, joyful giggling of many voices. - Can you hear? - whispered Nina, holding the door handle tightly with both hands. Maks nodded, but his torch flicked on and off. A thin strip of light spilled under the door, as if from a ramp. Someone on the other side turned the second key in the lock. And then the handle in Nina's hand slowly began to move.