Little Red Riding Hood and Flower Sister

Our Halloween (2012) looked like this. The sunlight cast a butterscotch glow over everything as we made our way up a tree-lined Pasadena hill that separates our small house from much bigger and fancier ones. Lucy (Alice in Wonderland) and Sabine, friends born two weeks apart, were beaming and tireless as they made their way from palace to mansion, collecting candy for the very first time. I never much liked Halloween until I watched them and fell in love with their bursting-at-the-seams spectacle. It was brighter and more beautiful than the sunlight that day. Just as brilliant: my five-month-old daisy, Zadie, who marveled at all of it while swaddled in my arms.

photos by Caren Kurlander