It was Halloween in town and the streets were crawling with little monsters. Eleven-year-old Lena returned early, with a bag of candy and a black hat. Raven, the brindle cat, crept after her like a shadow. In the attic, she wanted to hide her grandmother's pumpkin lantern. As she turned on the torch, she saw something new in the wall. The small wood door was shaped like a pumpkin and had a tail. Cut-out signs like leaves and bats glittered around it. Lena called out to her neighbour through the window, asking for help. Olek came running in his cape, wheezing up the stairs to the attic. - I think it's a decoration? - hissed Olek, extinguishing the headlamp with his hand. - 'I didn't see it yesterday,' whispered Lena, touching the brass tail. The tail moved slightly, as if answering a question. Something rattled from inside, three times, very regularly. The raven wagged its tail and suddenly went quiet, as if counting. A clock came from downstairs, chimed seven o'clock and fell silent. - If it's a joke, it's a brilliant one,' whispered Olek in admiration. The door was warm, as if someone had held a candle there. Lena put her ear to it and heard whispered, inverted words. It sounded like "trick or treat", only as if from behind. A speck of pollen shimmered under the threshold, resembling sparkly cat vibrissae. - 'We open on three,' said Lena, clutching her tail like a key. - One - started Olek, and the torchlight dimmed twice. - Two - he whispered as something pulled at the lock from inside. The smell of apples and a cool blast came from deep inside, and the door