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At the far end of the vegetable garden lived Bruna, a round, smooth, and bright orange pumpkin. As Halloween approached, the other pumpkins talked about the faces they would have: triangular eyes, enormous teeth, and creepy smiles.
Bruna, on the other hand, wanted to light up the night without frightening anyone.
“I’d like to have star-shaped windows,” she confessed to Jana and Roc, the two siblings who looked after the vegetable garden.
The children looked at each other. Every year they had decorated the pumpkins the same way, but they decided to listen to her. They drew small stars, a moon, and a round door. Before starting, they showed the design to Bruna.
“That’s more like it,” she replied, wiggling the stem slightly.
That afternoon, a storm left the town without power. The celebration seemed destined to end before it even began. Jana and Roc placed a candle inside Bruna, but the wind kept blowing it out.
Then, some fireflies hiding among the tomato plants spotted the star-shaped windows. They flew in through the round door and settled inside the pumpkin. Bruna lit up with a soft, vibrant, golden light.
The siblings carried her to the town square. Along the way, other children brought their flashlights, and the light grew brighter. Bruna guided the neighbors to the party tables, illuminated the musicians, and helped a little girl find her father.
No one missed the pointy teeth. Everyone was looking at the stars Bruna projected onto the walls.
When the electricity came back on, the mayor turned off the streetlights for five more minutes so the town could admire that special light.
From then on, each pumpkin in the garden chose its own decoration. There were pumpkins with flowers, clouds, fish, and even one with a soup recipe. Bruna had taught that a tradition can also grow when everyone adds a little of their own light.
