It was Halloween night,  back before commercialism took the whole halloween costume thing over, when kids would take a set of old clothes that was only good for rags and make it even more ragged and dirty. Ling An had just moved into the neighborhood and had already heard that the kids were hitting the streets as zombies, dragging one leg and growling for treats.

Ling An looked through the window. The sun had already begun to set, casting a yellow glow over the horizon that seemed to make the autumn leaves sparkle.


Then Gradma's voice cut in from behind Ling An.



"You go out to candy?" She asked, carrying a tray of what looked like Halloween cupcakes into the den.

Ling An had been sitting in the living room, playing chess with his grandfather and he glanced up and nodded his head excitedly. I am." he said "Starts when it begins to get dark." he was excited. "I have never been trick or treating before." he added. Of course there were other festivals, but none where you went door to door.

"Are you and grandfather going to hand out candy ?" he glanced to the cupcakes and back to his grandmother. "Do you hand out cupcakes for Halloween ?" he had not done this before, but he wanted to remember every detail of his first Halloween in America.

He was going as soon as he finished the game with grandfather.

Already in his costume, the long sleeves and full robes of the male hanfu he wore. An was not use to the weight, but he at least looked official. "You can have any Almond Joy's I get." he promised.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:12, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

Grandfather was just looking at the pieces carefully, his hand thoughtfully resting on his chin. He was always keen to play chess with Ling An and the two communicated mostly just by knowing each other, the way close family members do. A nod here. A nod there. And of course, the well-worn patters of family life. It had to be this way, because, in comparison to Grandma's broken English, the man spoke no English at all. In fact, he barely spoke at all, even to Grandma.



Grandma smiled a grin filled with brown teeth that the really old seem to always have ready. Still, it was familiar smile that Ling An was used to. She didn't seem to understand the reference to Almond Joy or even how things related to the tradition of Halloween. However, it was clear from the cupcakes that she was putting forth a good effort.

"You come home candy and bring you joy." She stated, pushing the tray tin with cupcakes towards Ling An.

An's attention remained on the board then divided as his grandmother spoke and he smiled at her. Even though neither of them were talkative, they didn't need that. The family life was different among his grandparents then his parents, and even more so among his new friends here in the states. It was many cultures that seemed to merge together well.

He bowed to his grandmother and retrieved a cup cake, to eat while he finished his game with his granfather. "XieXie". He retrieved a second cupcake for his grandfather and set it next to him. Before returning to his knees on the mat, to see if his grandfather had chosen his move yet.

"I will bring candy back, and we will sort through it to make sure its safe." he promised. They could sort through and try new things then. He knew what to do they spoke about it in class. Like none of them had sense to look at candy before they ate it. He was still getting used to a new system as well.

He had gotten candy to hand out when they had gone to the store and given his grandmother the proper instructions on opening the door and dropping candy into the bag. There was also the shows on the television. An could get away with watching horror movies, because his grandmother and grandfather, assumed they were like to classic monster movies, but he always suffered for it, when it was too much.

Grandpa cautiously moved one pawn forward and sat back, seemingly satisfied with the move and the time that he took.



"I heard a strange woman live in neighborhood. Few doors down. She remind me of evil witch when I see her. You be careful tonight." She warned Ling An, in a tone that suggested that she was serious.

"You no go to that house when you go out candy."

His eyes widened, he knew his grandparents believed in spirits in the old way. Did she think the lady was a witch. An's eyes widened slightly and he chewed on his lower lip. "What did she do ?" he asked grey eyes trained on his grandmother. Ling An trusted Grandfather to not cheat.

Though he bit his lip "Has she said anything to you ?" he asked now he was slightly worried. He took a bite out of the cupcake and chewed thoughtfully, glancing back to his grandfather, and it was his turn to study the board, before he finally chose a move. A pawn to a safe corner.

Grandpa shook his head vigorously in refusal as Grandma tried to push the tray towards him, offering a cupcake as she spoke.



"She no say nothing. She just give look. She gu." Grandma intoned with a seriousness, invoking the broad, categorical Chinese word for 'witch' or 'witchcraft' and with more than a bit of foreboding and disapproval.

As if to clarify things for Ling An, she added "She witch."

This wasn't the first time that Ling An had heard Grandma talk about witches and witchcraft. It wasn't the only time even that Ling An had heard Grandma call someone a witch or say that someone might be a witch.

Grandpa shook his head vigorously, though it wasn't clear if he didn't like the board and how the pieces were arranged, Ling An's move, or Grandma's accusation.

He gave a bit of thought to it and shook his head. Taking the cupcakes and returning to the table with them. He studied his grandfather's move. He was certain that his grandmother would not lie to him. His imagination ran wild with what she said. What if she used candy to lure his friends inside ? Like some modern fairytale version of Hansel and Gretel. Though he had heard this term before.

"I will avoid it." he said. If he could he added mentally. He was a good boy, but he would also try to protect friends.

He tried to recall if he had ever seen the woman do anything designated witchy he didn't really pay attention to the older people he was invested in getting inside to see his grandparents whom he very much loved.

Motioning to the board he looked to his grandfather. "Shall we continue this later ?" he asked.

Grandpa nodded his head in agreement that the board game should be continued later. Then he did the same thing that he always did when Ling An asked that question: He reclined back into the seat. With one liver-spotted hand he pulled the smoking pipe out of his pocket. It looked older than Grandpa was, its antique, red sandalwood exterior thin and reedy. Grandpa took the tobacco out of a brown paper bag and began to pack it into the pipe's copper end with one thick thumb.



"Yes. Avoid." Grandma agreed. "You should go out soon to go candy. Getting late."

Ling An hadn't heard anything or seen anything witchy about the old woman. However, Ling An was aware that there had been some rumors of kids that had gone missing in the neighborhood, though it wasn't clear if the two themes were related. Ling An had overheard Mom talking about it earlier on the phone as she was trying to figure out the details of enrolling Ling An in school.

He smiled and took one more cupcake for the road.

He nodded and fussed with his hair to make sure it was right. He didn't want to dishonor his ancestors by look unkempt in the old style of dress. Then went in search of the pillow case, he always favored that over a pumpkin, because it was much more sturdy.

The long hem of the robe flared around him when he moved. "Yes." he agreed and licked frosting off his fingers. "Don't forget if they knock drop candy in their bags." he wasn't sure if it was a needed reminder to grandmother but An knew that his grandmother was good about it.

There was concerns underlaying one that kids had gone missing but he was eleven, and the ideals of trick or treating, of being out and about took center stage. His mother was a coordinator and he talked to her often, he missed her when she wasn't home, but he also understood that this was a grown up thing. That he couldn't quiet understand at least not yet, even with his intelligence.

"See you tonight." he called as he waved and darted out the door, into the Halloween Night in search of a small group to run with. It seemed Halloween was meant to be done in packs. Safer that way came to mind.

He looked around for some kids to trick or treat with.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:42, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

OOC: Ling An joins thread

Ling An: The Presence of Something....