The night was full of joviality and Winston could feel it. The air was thick with it. Yet the excitement of Halloween eluded him. He watched as the other kids began to prepare to unleash their candy driven glee upon the neighborhood.

"Kiddo?"

Winston maneuvered his wheelchair to face his dad.

"I had this...idea. I'm hoping you'll like it."

He could see the circles under his dad's eyes, he knew he'd been working tirelessly on something and every part of him that had pleaded with his parents to go trick-or-treating burned with anticipation. He rolled out into the workshop and his eyes widened, every inch of it more enthralling than the last. It was the batmobile! Only it was small enough that he could ride around in it!

Winston hugged his dad till he thought his dad's ribs might break. "Thank you!"

His dad smiled and hugged him fiercely, "Now your mom and I still want to come with you, but I thought you could put on that batman costume you got last year and try this out."

He could hardly wait racing to his room and rapidly dressing getting impatient with himself at times, but at last the moment came and he was placed in the batmobile. He was the hero of his dreams.

His dad donned a mask and a cape along with his mom and they zoomed around the neighborhood laughing raucously and filling his ebony pillowcase with so much candy he was sure he could never eat all of it.

There were houses with spooky decorations, and ones with fake fog.

There were kids with cute costumes and terrifying teenagers, but everyone would stop and stare and whoop and holler when they saw Winston rolling down the street. He'd always been stared at, he was used to it. But this kind of staring -- it felt amazing. He bathed in the glory of his dad's creation gratitude welling up inside him.

They continued to hunt for candy until he couldn't fit anymore in his bag and they finally made a u-turn and began the trek home. The skies were black by now, but his mom smiled and pulled out golden glow sticks to adorn himself with. They amplified the already awesome nature of his ansamble. He yawned and ate some of his loot to help himself stay awake, his parents chatting behind him as he watched the other kids go by, envious eyes on him. He stood a little straighter and grinned a little broader. He'd dreamed of a night like this. A night where he could be the hero, he could shape his own destiny, he could join the throng of giddy children on the streets and this time he was finally there. And this time it was real.

He looked to his dad amber eyes sparkling then his smile softened as his mom and dad rolled him into their driveway again.

Winston may have had the costume, but his dad was the real hero.