“No! You can’t come with us! Look at your costume! It’s so ugly!” a girl told Madison, who looked down in shame; although she had been so excited about the witch costume her father had finally been able to find her.

“Yeah! It’s ugly!” Other kids laughed and pointed at her.

“But it’s a witch costume!” Madison told them and gave a twirl that only made those bullies laugh even more.

The group ambushed them.

“No! It’s a dirty old lady costume! I am the witch! Look at my costume! It’s new, and my parents had it made especially for me,” a girl, Anna, mocked and twirled herself. The rest of the kids nodded, and technically, they were right.

Anna’s costume was brand new and shiny. It looked expensive, even for a little kid’s Halloween costume. She always had the best clothes because her parents had tons of money.

Madison had asked her father if she could also have a costume like Anna’s a few days ago. Her father, Ashton, looked at her sadly and shook his head. “We can’t right now, darling. But soon. I promise. One day, you’ll have the best costume ever.”

A few days before Halloween, he brought home a cheap, second-hand witch costume and the little girl was ecstatic! “Thank you, Daddy! Everyone is going to love this witch dress! Thank you!”

Ashton looked at her, wishing he could do more because his daughter never asked for much, but he hoped she would have a good time trick-or-treating with the rest of the kids.

That didn’t happen, sadly. They made fun of her dress.

“You can’t come with us!” Anna sneered. “First, I have to be the only witch in our group, and second, yuck! We would never hang out with you! Go away!”

The other kids agreed and laughed, and they all left to start collecting candy for the night while Madison was left alone, embarrassed in the middle of the street.

At first, the little girl thought about asking her father to take her because he had been so happy to have bought her costume for her, but she didn’t want him to know that other kids didn’t like it, so she decided to go trick-or-treating by herself.

After all, she knew most of the neighbors. She often helped around, carrying their groceries and helping them with their gardens. People around there knew her. She didn’t need to hang out with Anna and her friends.

“They don’t matter,” the little girl said to herself, raising her chin a little in defiance, and she started walking.

She saw the group of kids receiving candy at Mrs. Vaughan’s house, and when they returned to the sidewalk, Madison walked up and rang the doorbell.

“Trick or treat!” she sing-sang to the older woman, who smiled.