Wishing you a halloween that screams!

It was almost midnight of the deadline date and the project wasn’t finished. A hard noise came from the window that almost paralyzed the dedicated translator that was struggling with the most difficult glossary of his entire career. Trembling, he went to check that everything was in order, thinking that perhaps the small but bloodthirsty goblin had returned. He sighed in relief when he realized that it had only been the wind lunging hard against the windows.

He had eaten too many candy, which he knew he needed to stay up all night long. But it wouldn’t matter, the client would be already upset because he had to send the document to his business partner first thing in the morning, and he had asked to receive it the night before. Even though the client didn’t know the target language, so he wouldn’t be able to read the finished version, it was his good practice to have all papers in order.

The experienced translator had never lived something like that. He had always been top of his class and was very used to a high demand among customers because of his well-known talent and proven capabilities. His multilinguistic brain was able to change from one way of thinking to another, according to the culture, not only because he was fluent in seven languages but because he had lived in several countries for long periods.

Work had always been a priority. That’s why he could never engage in romantic relationships, and that’s why he never, ever, had missed a deadline. And he intended to keep that track. However, this time it was… impossible. No way, that word wasn’t in his vocabulary… but, could it be so?

The mischievous goblin appeared again. This time he wore a dark green hat that was too big for him. He put his little feet on the keyboard and his thin body barely covered the bottom of the computer screen but it was enough for the translator to continue writing. His long, stooped nose sniffed the human, who in return watched him trying to hide his fear. The goblin gave him a challenging look and the two of them were silent for two long minutes.

Knocks on the window, a relentless wind, cats mewing desperately at a moonless night…

The goblin stretched out his hand without looking away from his opponent and the translator understood that he must satisfy his wishes. He cut off the palm of his hand with a letter opener and held it out offering the drops of his blood. This time, the goblin despised the offering. Instead, he took the bag of candy and swallowed a full handful of gummies. He laughed and, without saying any more words, ran out the window.

The translator looked at the screen of his computer and saw text appear at the speed of light. It was only two minutes before midnight when the work was finished, and 30 seconds later he sent it by email.

It was the first time the translator received help to solve a project. And he expected it was the last one - he was too nerdy to afford those weaknesses.