Red apples hang above a wooden barrel, each trailing a short chain of water drops. Rings spread across the dark surface beneath them. The barrel’s wet staves and iron hoops fill the foreground, bringing the strange little interruption close to the viewer. The fruit seems to have lifted clear of the game all at once.

Behind the rim, a girl in a black velvet witch costume watches without smiling. A white lace collar and cuffs stand out against the dark fabric, and her pointed hat bends softly at the tip. Her hands stay behind her back. Other children, dressed as a cat, an owl and a scarecrow, laugh in surprise with the adults gathered around them.

The barn is warm with string lights, lanterns and tall bundles of dried cornstalks tied to its beams. A fiddler sits on a hay bale beside a trestle of pies and cider. Rough timber, straw and soft velvet give the gathering a familiar autumn texture, making the suspended apples feel like one extraordinary moment inside an otherwise ordinary Halloween party.