"I was dreaming." "She's not going to make it, is she, Dad?" "Hush, Jamie, don't say that." "He's right, sweetheart." "He's only saying out loud what we've all been thinking." "is she going to die?" "is she really going to die?" "Right here in our living room?" "We don't know that, honey." "Maybe we should call Dr. Lenton." "I don't think there's much point." "You remember what he said." "It's... gettin' dark." "It's late." "You guys better get to bed." "That's right." "Tomorrow's a special day." "We'll go trick-or-treating." "I don't want to go to bed." "Good night, Grandma." "What day is it?" "It's Thursday, Grandma." "No." "What date?" "It's the 30th of October." "October?" "Yes, Great-Grandma." "All Hallows' Even." "What did she say?" "What was that you said, Grandma?" "All Hallows' Even." "I'm going to die on All Hallows' Even." "Richard, what is she talking about?" "Halloween." "They call it "All Hallows' Even" in Scotland." "What does she mean?" "I don't know." "It's 11 :30." "Half an hour until All Hallows' Even." "It's time you guys were in bed." "Good night, Mom." "Good night, Jamie." "Good night." "Good night." "Good night, Daddy." "And down into the cold, to Mount Bidur with the other children to gather for the fires out begging from the folk..." "and we would say..." ""Give us a peat to burn the witches, good missus."" "Pile it high with wood." "Pile it high with straw and furs and peat." "And what a beautiful Samhain it would be." "And the fire burned through the night on All Hallows' Even." "The fire that kept away the Cutty Black Sow." "Kept it away from any soul who died on that witches' night." "Kept the fire burnin', till the heap had turned to bright red coals." "And we would gather up the ash and coals in the form of a circle..." "Great-Gran..." "And into it we would put stones." "One mark for each member of the families." "The stones were our souls, and as long as they stayed in the circle of the fire," "Old Cutty Black Sow would not harm us." "And in the mornin', everyone would run to make sure that not a stone was disturbed or missing." "For if it was, the soul that stood for that missing stone would be took by the Cutty Black Sow." "The Cutty Black what?" "Take care, Jamie!" "You are the one who must take care!" "I will, Great-Gran, I will." "Hurry now, and kiss me good night." "But Great-Gran, who...?" "What is the Cutty Black...?" "Great-Gran?" "Great-Gran?" "She's dead." "Great-Gran is dead, isn't she?" "Yes, Jamie, your great-gran's dead." "She lived a very full life, Jamie, and that's what we always have to remember." "It's what Great-Gran'd want us to remember." "Her whole lost world... her history, our history." "See, we always have to remember." "And now that she's gone, uh... it's up to us to keep her alive." "Her memory, and everything that... that she was." "I'll always remember Great-Gran." "I know you will, Jamie." "So will I." "I better go get your mom." "...with the other children to gather for the fires... out begging from the folk..." "and we would say..." ""Give us a peat to burn the witches, good missus."" "And the fire would burn through the night on All Hallows' Even." "The fire that kept away the Cutty Black Sow." ""Cutty..." ""Scottish dialect." "Short bristles cut or shaven."" ""Catherine Martha Mattock." ""June 1, 1888." ""Married James Malcolm MacEvans." ""January 5, 1910." ""Died October 30."" "No." "She died on All Hallows' Even." "October 31." ""They shall hear his hooves beat upon the threshold." ""And then they shall hear the breath of Hell" ""in his black throat." ""The Cutty Black Sow shall come on All Hallows' Even to devour and destroy."" "And into that circle we would put stones." "One mark for each member of our families." "The stones were our souls." "And as long as they stayed inside the circle of the fire..." "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "...Old Cutty Black Sow..." "Well, I want to go trick-or-treating." "Mommy said you're supposed to take me, even if Great-Grandma did die last night." "Okay, okay, but there's something I have to do first." "What is it?" "About Great-Grandma?" "Don't worry, I'll take you trick-or-treating." "Soon as I'm done taking care of Great-Grandma." "But she's already dead." "And Mommy says her funeral is tomorrow." "I'm not talking about her funeral." "Before Great-Grandma died, she asked me to do something." "Sort of like a last request." "Can I help?" "I have a magic wand." "But it only does evil magic." "First, you have to swear not to tell anyone-- not Mommy, not Daddy, not anyone." "I swear." "I need five stones." "Rocks?" "About that big around and... flat on both sides." "Okay." "...could not harm you." "And in the morning, everyone would run..." "Jamie." "We're leaving." "Come on down, say good-bye." "We'll be at the funeral parlor if you need us, honey." "Sure you don't want me to come with you?" "You and Gloria go out and have a good time." "But don't eat all the candy tonight." "Try not to worry about anything, okay?" "Just be a good big brother and take Gloria trick-or-treating." "But be back before dark." "I don't want the two of you roaming around alone at night." "Have a good time, hon." ""into that circle, you will put stones." ""One mark for each member of our families." ""As long as they stayed inside the circle of fire," "Old Cutty Black Sow could not harm them."" "I got the rocks." "Can't we go trick-or-treating now?" "I'm gonna pay you back for scaring me." "Sure." "Come on." "Where?" "This one's for you." ""G" for Gloria." ""M" for Mommy." "Marion." "Richard." "That's Daddy." "Now do yours." ""J" for Jamie." "Who's the last one for?" "Great-Grandma." "But she's already dead." ""C" for Catherine." "It's not too late." "We still have to protect her." "We still have to protect her soul." "I'm scared." "Are we safe now?" "I think so." "I hope so." "Good, then let's get out of here." "I want to go trick-or-treating." "All right, in a minute." "I just have to get dressed." "I counted at least four chocolate chews and..." "three peanut clusters." "Trade you a chocolate chew for a peanut cluster." "Sure!" "Look, Jamie, there's a piece over there." "Jamie, one of the stones fell." "Don't touch that!" "It was hot." "Mommy is going to be so mad at us." "What was that?" "Jamie, stop it." "First you break Mommy's lamp, and now you're trying to scare me." "It's time for bed, Gloria." "It is not, and I don't have to." "You do." "Upstairs now, Gloria." "Jamie, you're scaring me." "You were a good witch tonight." "I was really scary." "Yeah." "Okay, I'll go." "Good night." "Night." "The soul that stood for that missing stone would be took by the Cutty Black Sow." "It's me." "It's me." "What'd you say?" "Nothing." "Tuck me in." "Okay?" "I'll be right up." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who is this?" "Jamie?" "What on earth is going on there?" "You sound terrible." "Nothing, nothing, Mom." "How are you?" "is Gloria in bed?" "Are you two all right?" "Gloria's asleep." "We're fine." "You're sure, now?" "Yeah." "Just come home soon, okay?" "Just hurry home, please." "That was not the wind." "Gloria?" "Gloria?" "You're supposed to be in bed." "Well, I had to pay you back." "You did, so now go back to sleep." "All right." "Mommy, Daddy, I'm so glad to see you." "Were you expecting somebody else?" "is everything all right?" "Oh, no." "What happened to my lamp?" "It was an accident." "I broke it. I'm sorry." "It's been an awful day for everybody." "Jamie, are you sure you're all right?" "I'm fine, Mom, don't worry." "You can tell me all about the lamp tomorrow." "Give me a kiss good night." "Good night." "Night, Daddy." "Good night, Jamie." "Oh, Dad, it's you." "Jamie, it's okay." "I'm here." "Well, look out the window, Dad." "Jamie, there's-there's nothing out there." "Dad, Great-Grandma told me this story." "She wanted me to protect her soul from the Cutty Black Sow." "Jamie, she knew a whole lifetime of stories." "But Dad, I read about it in the dictionary, and I hear it, and I saw it." "Jamie, it's almost midnight." "Now, no more stories." "Ow!"