Till Death Do Us Part E-Book

Angela Nowak

• Herausgeber: Weishaupt, H
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 302

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Love and suffering alongside a narcissist, set in Chicago (USA) and Vienna (Austria): Alexander and Emilia are considered the ideal couple. But there is more than one truth behind this perfect relationship. He takes away her job, her family, her friends, her joy in life – her identity. But fate, in the form of an incurable brain tumor, brings the truth and Alexander’s secret to light in the face of death. A novel about an American dream that turns into a nightmare for Emilia.

Leseprobe

Contents

Imprint

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

The author

Imprint

ISBN 978-3-7059-0428-6

E-Book 2025

Cover photo: AdobeStock

© Copyright by Herbert Weishaupt Verlag, A-8342 Gnas

T [phone], F [phone]

e-mail: [email protected]

e-bookshop: www.weishaupt.at

All rights of distribution – in any form and technology – are reserved. This work, including all parts, is protected by copyright. Any use outside the strict limits of copyright law without the consent of the publisher is prohibited and punishable by law. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic and digital systems.

The characters and plot are fictional.

Any resemblance to living or dead persons

is purely coincidental and unintended.

PART 1

The moonlight illuminated the room, creating a magical atmosphere. It was well past midnight. Emilia lay awake, unable to sleep. The contours of her husband Alex‘s body were clearly visible in dim light. His face, relaxed in sleep, with its bushy dark eyebrows and thin lips, was turned toward her. His breathing was even. She observed the lines on his face, on his forehead, around his eyes. Laughter lines and wrinkles that marked life. She looked at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. He was strange to her, yet familiar. She felt—nothing.

*****

“Welcome to the United States of America,” a sign greeted Emilia and Alexander upon arrival at O’Hare Airport at Chicago’s International Terminal 5. Emilia had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She and Alex began their new life far from their Austrian homeland in the US federal state of Illinois on a warm summer day.

They were both fascinated by the American way of life. Numerous vacations in the States before their move reinforced their decision to live here. Alex worked for a global corporation and, as CEO, was responsible for North and South America. His company’s headquarter was in Chicago. Emilia’s job as a freelance photographer allowed her to pursue this career without being tied to a specific location.

Emilia knew the house they would now live in only from websites and photos. Alex had traveled to Chicago several times before without her and had selected the property with the help of real estate agents.

Driving in their rental car from O’Hare to Prospect Heights, a town near Chicago, was turbulent. Never before had Emilia seen or felt so many potholes in a civilized country. Avoiding them was often impossible due to heavy traffic and despite multiple lanes. It was a miracle that both reached their destination without car damage or flat tires.

“We’re almost at our new home. This will be our happy place.” Alex could barely hide the joy in his voice.

Emilia’s curiosity grew. Her first impressions of the new surroundings were positive. Everything was actually exactly as she had imagined it in her mind and from photos. Only in reality, everything seemed much larger and more sophisticated. They turned off the visually unspectacular main street lined with shops and apartment buildings, and unexpectedly, entered a scene of a photo series from Homes & Interiors. The private roads were wide, the manicured lawns were cut short, the hedges trimmed straight like with a ruler. There were no garden fences between the individual houses, as common in Austria, which, due to their size, were more accurately described as mansions. Emilia immediately liked the architecture, with its terraces at the main entrance and front porches. The color scheme was equally appealing: white, yellow, gray, light blue, pink. Every single villa looked different. And each had at least three garages. The dimensions here were simply different from those of Austrian residential areas. Wow. She was impressed. And her enthusiasm grew even more when they stopped in front of their future home at the end of a cul-de-sac. This must be more or less what a child’s first candy store experience feels like. Emilia’s eyes lit up.

Alex and Emilia (A&E for short) had rented this house with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. The interior walls were freshly painted in soft pastels, and cream-colored carpets gave the room a cozy atmosphere in the bedrooms. Emilia was surprised that fitted carpets were in vogue – they hadn’t been available in Austria for years. As she walked through the countless rooms, her attention was drawn to the large, imposing fireplace in the living room.

Life in the house was designed for convenience: there was a laundry chute from the upper floor to the laundry room, meaning you didn’t have to carry dirty laundry around the house by hand. Furthermore, the fireplace was equipped with a gas lighter, and the refrigerator included an ice cube dispenser and cold water. The fully finished basement provided a playroom for children as well as adults with pool tables, a ping-pong table, and a chess corner. Emilia discovered a separate intercommunicating phone for calls within each floor, a vegetable chopper in the kitchen sink, and two ovens at eye level. Full-finished basements in upscale homes had nothing in common with basements found in Austrian single-family homes. Rather, they were an additional living area within the house, equipped with a kitchen and bar area, bathroom, toilet, bedroom, and, above all, an entertainment area, consisting of, for example, slot machines, a dartboard, a pool table, a corner couch with a TV, or even a private movie room with a XL TV screen, several seating areas, and a popcorn machine. During exciting American football or baseball games, the basement often served as a retreat for sports enthusiasts.

The house offered 600 square meters of living space and more than 1500 square meters of garden. Not bad for a two-person household. The view from the terrace into the backyard was idyllic beyond compare. From the terrace, a wooden staircase led down into the garden, which was planted with bushes and trees of various sizes, with a small stream, Cherry Creek, flowing through its thicket. Emilia heard the unusually loud chirping of cicadas. Wild little gray rabbits and light-brown squirrels romped around in the garden. And as luck would have it, on their first walk through their garden together, A&E spotted two fluffy raccoons in one of the tall trees along the creek. Although these animals were considered nocturnal, they put on a playful spectacle as an afternoon greeting.

Welcome to paradise.

Not far from the house was Lake Arlington, a man-made lake that Emilia used for her daily jogs. The new home felt as if she’d always lived there. Life was good.

Their moving boxes and furniture were delivered the very next day. Good planning was everything. On-site staff helped with the unpacking and packing. Emilia only had to give instructions. Alex hugged his wife.

“Are you happy?”

How could someone in her situation not be happy? Didn’t she have everything she’d ever dreamed of? A man who was attractive, caring, appealing, and successful. A partner who loved her and anticipated her every wish. A dream home in a dream location.

Happy wife, happy life.

Alex was fully occupied with his new job and was hardly ever at home. He disappeared into his office every morning while Emilia was still asleep, rarely came home before 7 p.m., and worked on his computer late into the night. It was an advantage that he generally needed little sleep to be rested and fit.

Every morning, before leaving the house, he would come to her bed and give her a goodbye kiss, then leave with following words:

“I love you, Emmi.” He affectionately called her Emmi, short for Emilia.

She loved this ritual, and the two had another one: On his way home in the evening, he would call her from his car and they would recount their daily adventures. When he finally turned into their driveway, she and Nala (their dog) would happily be waiting for him at the front door. A kiss for his beloved wife and a pat for Nala followed. The joy and sparkle in his eyes when he looked at his little family was priceless. They were his beloved family, his everything.

*****

Today, Emilia had passed her American driver’s license test and thus finally had an ID with a photo and address (in the US, the home address is printed on the driver’s license). There were 29 questions to be answered in writing on a computer, which she managed effortlessly, despite not being native English speaking. This was followed by 20 minutes of driving in traffic, downhill parking, and reversing. A photo was taken on the spot, and five minutes later, she held the coveted driver’s license in her hands. The quick process cost only ten dollars. The driver’s license was valid for four years, after which you had to take the test again.

Life in and around Chicago was interesting, multicultural, and eventful. Alex knew how to spoil Emilia perfectly, whether it was with a surprise helicopter ride over Chicago or a private boat tour on Lake Michigan, complete with an exquisite picnic basket. Another special experience for Alex and Emilia was a church visit.

The Willow Creek Church was reminiscent of the large Vienna Stadthalle (event hall) in its dimensions, but architecturally more beautiful, and the outdoor area was surrounded by expansive green spaces. A lecture was taking place in one of the halls. The hall could accommodate several thousand people. It was furnished with comfortable cinema-style seats and tiered seating, like in a theater. A huge stage with an orchestra presided over the front, and two large video monitors were on the sides. The topic of the lecture was: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 – questions for God in tragedy. At the beginning, a ten-piece live band with orchestra played modern (Bible) songs for everyone to sing and clap along to (there was a concert atmosphere). Then, the well-known US actor Jim Caviezel was interviewed live on stage (the setting seemed like a TV talk show). Emilia knew and liked this extremely charismatic and attractive actor, and she was sitting just five meters away from him! Caviezel played, among other roles, Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ.” Film clips of Jim were shown on video screens. Afterwards, the church’s priest spoke about the topic. What a difference from a mass in an Austrian church. The priest and those present on stage were all dressed in jeans. The atmosphere was relaxed. No pulpit and sermon, altar boys and prayers, but an interesting and at times humorous lecture, accompanied by video images of Chicago and appropriate Bible quotations (related to God) – thematically adapted to the present day. It was a church event with concert feeling and movie star contact. A fantastic experience for A&E.

Everyday life in USA was very different from that in Austria. Many things were very efficient and convenient. On the other hand, you usually had to endure long car rides to the respective shopping malls or supermarkets. However, you were rewarded with ample free parking. Air-conditioned spaces were typical in the USA, whether in your own home or on the road in restaurants, hotels, shops – simply anywhere with walls.

At first, Emilia really enjoyed shopping at supermarkets, but it took up a lot of time. There was a gigantic selection of every type of food. Quickly getting a packet of chips was a challenge. Meter-long rows of snacks in every imaginable flavor and package size beckoned her to buy. She was overwhelmed and fascinated at the same time. Some supermarkets were larger than hardware stores in Austria and were also open 24 (!) hours a day, like Woodman’s Food Market in the nearby town of Buffalo Grove. At checkouts, the staff packed the purchases in free bags and asked the standard question: “Do you need help outside?” This question was also asked if you only had two apples in your bag. When paying at checkouts, she was always greeted by her first name and addressed as soon as the staff read it from her credit card. Very consumer-friendly. Moreover, almost all stores were open until 10 p.m. every day, including Sundays.

After shopping at all the supermarkets in the area, Whole Foods Market was Emilia’s preferred supermarket chain for grocery shopping. Whole Foods Market offered organic food and other high-quality products at equally high prices. Eating healthy came at a price in the USA. Emilia was amazed at the way grocery shopping was done in the States. Not only the gigantic selection of food, but also the choice of meals prepared fresh daily was impressive. Within the huge Whole Foods Market, there were several self-service buffets for food to go. There was a choice of cold and hot food. Countless containers with salad and vegetable variations, chafing dishes (containers for keeping food warm) for fried tofu, boiled and grilled chicken, fish variations, fried potatoes, boiled potatoes in the form of French fries, sweet potato fries, soups, pasta dishes, rice dishes, Mexican food, Indian food, Asian food, vegetarian, and vegan food. It was a paradise for foodies and people who don’t like to cook themselves.

Shopping with coupons, vouchers with discounts, was also typically American. These were available for anything and everything that could be purchased, such as electronics, cosmetics, food, car oil changes, restaurant visits, and even doctor’s visits. The Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune newspaper came with a gigantic stack of promotional coupons wrapped in plastic wrap as an insert. There were constant opportunities for sales, or discounts, such as early bird sales, where consumers lined up at stores early in the morning to be first in line at opening and snag discounts. There was also the night owl sale, where consumers waited in lines outside stores at midnight to shop.

Another American shopping feature was buy-one-get-one-free offers. You paid for one item, and the second was free. This also applied to all kinds of goods, including medicines and nutritional supplements. Emilia bought a fantastic, super-soft cashmere sweater and got another one for free. What a bargain! And the best part was, you could easily exchange the item, even without (!) a receipt, and in many stores up to three months later.

But not only superma kets, banks also advertised for new customers. When Emilia opened an account with one of the largest US banks, she received a $ 50 voucher to use for shopping or at the gas station. A reward was credited for each credit card purchase. She was informed by email about the reward amount and how to redeem it. Emilia chose a large department store from a list of stores and received a $ 100 voucher. How cool was that.

Alex and Emilia were on the road a lot— as much as their jobs allowed—exploring the country and its people.

What A&E particularly enjoyed was attending open-air music festivals. A particular annual highlight took place in another Chicago suburb, Highland Park. Between Roger Williams Avenue and Green Bay Road was the so-called Ravinia District. The Ravinia Festival took place annually between July and September and was a unique outdoor music festival. The festival grounds covered approximately 15 hectares, and the program featured events from all musical genres, from classical, rock, and pop to country music. There was a covered grandstand with seating and a large picnic area with video screens and speakers. Paved paths were laid out between the grass sections, with various restaurants and food trucks nearby. But special were the private picnics. Alex and Emilia were amazed on their first visit. They arrived at the concert with two folding chairs and a few snacks, already feeling perfectly equipped. The other concertgoers arrived with handcarts full of folding chairs, deck chairs with armrests and footrests, tables, parasols, dishes—not plastic or disposable, but porcelain plates, (champagne) glasses, silver cutlery, wine bottles, freezers, tabletop grills, vast quantities of food arranged on restaurant-style platters, entire (!) cakes, and enormous candlesticks—it was incredible to behold. As it grew dark later, hundreds of candles visitors had brought with them illuminated the lawn and gave the chilled atmosphere an even more boost. Pure romance reigned. Alex and Emilia held hands and hummed along to the music of Dolly Parton (“Nine to Five”), Jennifer Hudson (“And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going”), Josh Groban (“You Raise Me Up”), and many other stars. The atmosphere was incredibly beautiful, unique, and unforgettable. The audience danced and sang along, ate, drank, and celebrated. And after the event, the attendees cleared everything away without leaving a pile of trash, and without any pushing or shoving at the exits, everyone went their own way. Americans were masters at patiently queuing and leaving events in an orderly manner, without any pushing or shoving.

When Alex told his secretary the next day how meager her picnic supplies were, a few days later he received a picnic bag with glasses, plates, cutlery, and napkins as a gift. This was the basic equipment for A&E’s next concert.

Without a work permit (green card), Emilia now had to organize her days differently than she did in her day-to-day job, which initially took some time to get used to. So, while Alex was fully occupied with his new job, she did what all upper-class American wives in the neighborhood did: She practiced socializing. None of the wives had jobs, but they all were all incredibly busy. Doing nothing could be quite exhausting, Emilia grinned. She would soon learn how true this really was.

“Behind every successful man is a busy woman,” she was taught by her future womanhood.

No sooner had they moved in than an invitation followed from the landlords, the owners of their rented house. Emilia was told it would just be a small gathering of a few people to introduce her and Alex to the neighborhood. No big deal, she thought.

“What should I wear?”

“Fine casual. No black tie. It says so on the invitation.”

“And what does fine casual mean to the Americans? Jeans? A dress? High heels? Sneakers?”

“I have no idea. The main thing is that you look as stunning as always. Wear something figure-hugging that shows off your slim legs.”

Alex wasn’t much of a help.

She opted for designer black denim jeans, flat Tod’s loafers, and a white no-name T-shirt. After all, understatement was never a bad thing.

She was wrong.

On the way to the landlord’s, they stopped at a flower shop. Emilia bought a bouquet with various white and pale pink flowers (roses, baby’s breath, hydrangeas) with lots of green foliage around it. It looked very classy. And then came the next surprise: The bouquet was sold complete with a vase and carrying case. Unusual, but practical nonetheless. A&E were right on time, but didn’t want to be among the first guests, so they drove around the neighborhood. Wow. Here, the houses were all a bit bigger and more grandiose than on “their” street. Emilia counted four garages per house. It was also striking that almost every house had a circular driveway, something Emilia had almost only seen in large hotels. Very sophisticated. Very rich.

Finally, they parked and rang the doorbell at the monstrous front door. What would possibly await the two of them behind it—a boring small talk event? Emilia was a little nervous. The door opened, and a man in a black suit with a white shirt, black bow tie, and white gloves stepped out. He escorted her inside, saying, “May I take your coat, please?” They stood in the foyer, whose centerpiece was a bridal staircase, a massive, wide staircase with an elaborately decorated banister, leading to the upper floor from two (!) sides. And from this staircase, their hostess floated toward them. In golden high heels, wearing a pink summer dress that reached almost to her ankles and gracefully wrapped around her slim figure, her hair and makeup perfectly styled, and her pink lipstick exactly the same color as the dress. The entrance was Hollywood-like. Her voice echoed loudly through the foyer as she greeted the arrivals, and at the same time, all eyes were on A&E. Emilia wanted to melt into the ground under all the curious stares and felt like Cinderella in her jeans. She didn’t let her discomfort show, her back straight, her stomach sucked in, her shoulders back, and her radiant smile on. Close your eyes and get on with it, was her motto.

“So good to see you.”

“You look fabulous.” Rarely had she heard such a good lie.

Blah blah blah.

The small gathering turned out to be a party with around 100 guests in a mansion with at least 1500 square meters of living space. Despite the room’s size, Emilia felt comfortable. The beautiful kitchen resembled a show kitchen, dark wood paired with marble, a gigantic stove, a living room with a huge open fireplace, wide, heavy French doors serving as interior doors, numerous stone walls as wall accents inside the house, a winter garden, a library again with an open fireplace and bookcases reaching up to the ceiling. Everything was very dignified, elegant, and solid. That evening, she learned that large houses had two living rooms: a family room and a living room. Both rooms were furnished almost identically with the usual furniture, such as seating, a table, dressers, and a fireplace. The family room, however, was used primarily for private purposes and contained many private photos, pictures, books, and accessories, while the living room was available for guests and parties. The landlords’ living room featured a piano, a bar, a corner for cigar lovers, and access to a terrace.

There was a fine buffet with all kinds of delicacies, and waitstaff dressed in black and white mingled with the guests, offering drinks and small snacks, finger food. A piano player on the grand piano provided musical entertainment. Not too loud, not too quiet; the room was filled with subtle background music, allowing the guests to enjoy themselves. People stood or sat around in small groups, gossiping. It was incredibly cozy, the people were all very nice, and Emilia didn’t feel like a stranger. She really enjoyed chatting with everyone. And then she realized that speaking English already felt completely normal.

Everything was easy.

Small talk.

Kisses on the left cheek and kisses on the right cheek.

On first-name terms with a bunch of strangers.

Suddenly Emilia made a ton of new friends.

Or did she?

Alex was in his element as solo entertainer and had gathered a small group of people around him. The roles were clearly defined: Alex was the entertainer and Emilia was part of his audience. She listened to his anecdotes, which she now knew by heart after all the years they’d been together. She hid her boredom and acted as if she were hearing his stories for the first time. That was her job at his side. To look good and smile.

The next day, Emilia found a card from the landlords in her mailbox, written in dark blue ink with the following lines:

“Dear Emilia and Alex,

thank you both for being our guests. We are so happy that you are our new neighbors and look forward to getting to know both of you better over the next few years.

Sincerely,

Mary and Bob”

Talking about a great first impression.

A&E obviously made a good impression.

Alex immediately felt at home in the States. He liked his new job, which was very demanding but also brought him success, respect, power, and a high income. Alex had been success-oriented and accustomed to success all his life, but the USA capitulated him to unfamiliar heights.

*****

Another aspect of Emilia’s socializing was joining a book club, which Mary, the landlord’s wife, introduced her to. The book club had twelve members and consisted of women from the neighborhood. The meetings took place every four weeks in one of the participants’ private homes. One of the private homes had its own landing strip on its property. Upon Emilia’s inquiries, she learned that the husband of the book club member in question owned his own small private plane, conveniently with a landing strip almost next to the kitchen window. They met for lunch and discussed one book they had read the previous months. At the beginning of the year, they sat down together and compiled a list of twelve books that served as reading material for the following year. These books provided discussion questions after reading, as book clubs were very popular in the USA. For Emilia, participating in a book club was a good opportunity to improve and refine her English skills. At the book club meetings, it was a no-go to talk about politics or religion, but you did get to hear the latest gossip. Americans were generally very open. For example, a neighbor told at the very first meeting that she had breast cancer. Just as if she was talking about the weather.

At the gatherings, the dishes were served as if to earn a prize for the best meal. A vast array of dishes was available, mostly prepared by the hostess’s staff or by a catering company. No woman took time to cook. The size of the furniture was also astonishing. All twelve women could comfortably sit at the dining tables. The chairs were clunky and heavy. The dishes were also enormous. Emilia had never seen such huge bowls, plates, and platters in a private setting before.

At Christmas, the December book club meeting always took place at a country club in a festive atmosphere. Each member brought a gift-wrapped book, which was placed in the middle of the table. Then, a number from one to twelve was drawn, and the person with number one was allowed to choose a book from the pile of gifts. The chosen book was then unwrapped and briefly introduced, and the person with number two was allowed to choose whether to take the book from person with number one or choose another, and so on – until every twelve participants had a book they liked.

*****

The celebrations surrounding the most important holidays in the United States, such as St. Patrick’s Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, were particularly impressive.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated on March 17th and commemorated the Irish bishop Patrick, who was supposedly the first Christian missionary to Ireland. This holiday was celebrated in Chicago by both Irish and non-Irish people, and A&E were always among the crowd. There was also a great spectacle: In Chicago, the Chicago River, which flows through the city center, was dyed green. Originally, the chemical uranine was used for the dye, but this was later replaced with an environmentally friendly vegetable dye. The whole city was always in party mood. For weeks beforehand, stores enticed customers with green decorations such as green cookies and sweets, green cakes, green shamrocks, green hats, and T-shirts. In some places, even beer was dyed green. In stores, salespeople wore green hats, green shamrock-shaped earrings, green wigs, and green T-shirts—the main purpose was that some kind of green accessory was visible.

The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day, was another highlight of the year. It celebrated the birthday of the United States as an independent, free nation. The day before, on July 3rd, Emilia experienced one of the most amazing fireworks displays she had ever seen—not the usual New Year’s Eve display. There were countless fireworks displays in the States; in Chicago alone, one took place twice a week in the evening at Navy Pier. This particular firework display was so special for Emilia because she experienced it from high above. Alex and Emilia were invited to a private party in a high-rise building in downtown Chicago and enjoyed the magnificent view. The windows in this apartment had floor-to-ceiling glass panes and were positioned directly opposite the fireworks. In front of the high-rise building located was a large park, and behind Lake Michigan with its fireworks, meaning the unobstructed view from so high above was unobstructed, and the fireworks were right in the eye! Emilia had the impression that the fireworks and figures were coming down from the sky. A magical moment. The fireworks were accompanied by a live music concert that synchronized with the fireworks. Special firework shapes were visible, such as butterflies, stars, hearts, and two intertwined rings.

“Do you see the rings and hearts – as inextricably linked as you and I. I love you.” Alex held his wife tightly, one hand around her waist, a glass of champagne in his other hand. Beautiful people stood around them. An almost kitsch-like moment.

The fireworks could be seen for miles, and more than a million people stood “down below” in the hustle and bustle. And A&E enjoyed the view from “above.”

“Best time of my life.”

“This is the perfect moment.”

Emilia was simply happy.

Independence Day meant days of decorating shops, private homes, gardens, and cars with red, white, and blue flags. Even dogs weren’t spared, wearing bandanas and dog jackets in these three colors. Cakes, cookies, pies, clothing – now everything was in these colors. Americans loved kitsch, and nothing was too embarrassing for them. The tradition on these days was to grill at home (barbecue) with hot dogs and burgers.

And of course, parades were a must and took place everywhere. Hours before the parade began, spectators would secure the best spots along the streets where the parade would pass by, using folding chairs, lawn chairs, and blankets they had brought along. Parades last

at least two hours, or even much longer, meaning comfortable seating and food and drinks had to be provided. This was a family event – from grandmas to toddlers and dogs – everyone participated, waving their red, blue, and white flags. There were marching bands, cheerleaders, local businesspeople and politicians on decorated floats, decorated bicycle teams, horse and dog teams, and performance artists (jugglers, clowns, and acrobats). Most schools had their own bands, sports teams, and cheerleaders, complete with matching costumes, and took the opportunity to showcase themselves in parades. Absolutely worth seeing.

And what would the USA be without Halloween? It wasn’t just the night of October 31st to November 1st that was spooky. The scares began weeks before. Houses and gardens were decorated with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. This level of kitsch could almost only be topped at Christmastime. Private gardens were teeming with gravestones and skeletons, spiders, cobwebs, mummies, zombie and skull figures, and various giant inflatable plastic figures that were frightening. Some of the figures glowed in the night or made screaming noises as they passed by. The color orange was now the order of the day in shops: there were orange baked goods, cakes, cookies, candy, and clothing. Employees wore orange T-shirts or various orange accessories – the usual annual madness.

Trick-or-treating was especially fun for children. During the day, endless groups of kids (with or without parental supervision) marched through stores in their costumes, always looking for candy. The empty bags they brought with them grew fuller and heavier. Many of the kids looked truly cute: They were dressed in furry, full-body costumes as monkeys, black-and-yellow bees, or small dinosaurs. Late in the afternoon, people would visit their homes for trick-or-treating. There were Halloween parades and evening Halloween parties for adults. In Chicago, you could see many people in costumes walking the streets in the evening: witches, zombies, and vampires ruled the city for a night.

A spooky specialty was the so-called haunted houses. These were spooky houses built specifically for Halloween. A&E visited one in Chicago. First, they waited for about two hours for tickets. Then, they waited again in freezing cold and total darkness along a fake cemetery with zombies and graves to finally be admitted. Here, a zombie scared Emilia by suddenly yelling in her ear from behind. These zombies, monsters, hunchbacks, witches, vampires, ghosts, etc. were amateur actors, i.e., disguised, masked people (not puppets). There were around 70 zombies in each haunted house, depending on size and location. All very scary to watch. Then, in small groups (that’s why the walk through the house took so long), visitors entered the horror scenario. The house consisted of individual rooms or compartments, with each room presenting a different scenario, usually a scene from a horror film (e.g., a sawing scene from horror film “Saw”). This meant that visitors were in the middle of the film, and real actors spoke to them, scaring them and involving them in the horror scene. For example, a vampire sat at the dining table drinking “blood,” and various death scenes from well-known films were reenacted. Among other things, A&E were taken to a department that recreated a lunatic asylum. Insane inmates were screaming and running around, and they were asked whether they were a patient or a visitor and had to sign a list. One visitor said she was a patient and was immediately “treated,” meaning she was led away to other lunatics who circled around her, stared at her, and so on. Truly scary and not for the faint of heart.

There were also spider skins, trapdoors, all sorts of creepy noises (squeaking doors, rattling chains, screaming sounds, growling animal noises), fog, periods of total darkness, and a prison where inmates chased the visitors. And even a maze where you had to find your way around and were scared and chased by creepy figures at every turn. Again, not for the faint-hearted. Emilia didn’t let go of Alex’s hand throughout the entire tour and always pressed close to him so no zombies could get between them. But she didn’t like being the first in the group to go, because that always scared her; her nerves couldn’t handle it. She preferred to observe from a distance. The zombies came very, very close, breathing in her face; so, she couldn’t help but witness their terrible disguise. But the zombies didn’t touch the visitors with their hands or bodies, because that wasn’t allowed!

Emilia later ventured into another haunted house. This time, it was located in a park at Navy Pier in Chicago, where a huge container hall had been set up for this purpose for a few days. Even from the outside, the atmosphere looked much creepier than the house they had been to before. Bloody zombies marched around the outside, along with fire-eaters and pirates fighting each other with their swords. In summary: It was absolutely scary! Emilia wouldn’t have believed she could actually scream out loud – she was more of a quiet, relaxed type. She walked through the house alone with Alex, saying he mustn’t let go of her hand under any circumstances. Everything was very cramped inside; you walked through winding basement dungeons and catacombs, and you had to be careful not to bump into anything. There were always niches where there were either real figures like mummies or creepy fake dolls – you could tell if they were real if they scared you. Emilia once stared at a zombie and thought it wasn’t real, and then suddenly it jumped in her face. And so, it went on at every corner, screaming her head off. Then there were animated wolfhounds, huge hairy creatures that jumped at her and then collapsed right in front of her, really creepy! But the scariest thing was still ahead of them: A&E had to go through a black wall and a tunnel. That meant A&E stood in total darkness in front of a black wall, and a zombie screamed at them to go through it. Alex leaned against it, and suddenly he was gone, as if swallowed whole. Emilia was still holding his hand, but the rest of his body was surrounded by a black rubber wall that gave way but clung tightly to his body, making you feel like you were suffocating and would never get out. Alex’s hand pulled Emilia into this black wall as well, and then Emilia marched endlessly through this black mass. She saw absolutely nothing in this abhorrent darkness. There was no end in sight, and she felt like she was buried alive. When they both finally got outside, it was clear that this was their last haunted house visit.

But then they continued through the interior of a dragon, which meant walking around in blood-red, rubbery intestines, the floor wobbly and soft. Next came a room full of coffins; you never knew which one would open and a mummy would jump out. She was nervous when the two finally reached the end! It was scary, but also funny! Hard to describe, but you just had to experience it!

There were also haunted houses outside of Chicago which took place in former prisons. The “real” ambiance increased the creep factor even further. Later, however, Emilia preferred non-scary pumpkin festivals with pumpkin carving competitions and similar less nerve-wracking experiences.