“Jie, Jie, are we leaving soon?”

My twenty four year old sister looked into my eyes and her lips curled into a sweet smile, however now that I think about it, it just did not reach her eyes.

I sat on the couch, satisfied with her answer at the time, and swung my legs back and forth, just like any ten year old might do, with anticipation. She left the living room and I could hear her yell to my dad, “I’m going out on a walk for a bit, I’ll be back soon!”

He told her to be back in time to take me trick-or-treating, but I did not hear a reply, only the sound of the door shutting, and the bell on the handle jingling.

I sat on that couch, imagination overflowing with the possible goodies I would get that night, the different costumes I would see, and the people I would run into.

However, an hour later, by 8 pm, instead of walking through the neighborhood, I was sleeping. By 8 pm, my sister still had not come back. By 8 pm, I had not collected any candy, seen any other costumes except my own, nor seen any of my friends.

I was woken up by my mother, talking on the phone, “…she’s been gone…7 ‘o’clock…she isn’t answering the phone…”

I sat back up and looked at the time, confused by how late it was. I walked over to my father who stood near the door, handing out candy to the children who yelled, “trick-or-treat.”

I reached up onto my toes to tap his shoulder, and was met with a sympathetic glance. I asked, “Where’s Jie?”  He sighed and shut the door after the children had left.  I followed him to the couch where I was sleeping just minutes before.

“I have some bad news…”

----------------------------------------------

            I sat back down on the couch unsure on how to react.  I was sad, yes, and disappointed too, but I do not remember what was worse, the fact that my sister had left home or the fact that she lied to me about taking me trick-or-treating.  I was not insensitive, just used to the situation.  Years prior, my sister left home while she was babysitting me.  We were playing hide and seek; I hid, I won.  I did not see her until 2 years ago when she suddenly reappeared back into our family’s life.

            After telling me the news, my father left the house to search the neighborhood for my sister, despite the very small possibility of her being there.  My mother came over to me and asked, “…Do you still want to go out?” I shook my head; I mean who would take me out anyways, her? She probably wanted to stay home and wait for my sister's unlikely return.

            I had no desire to go out anymore, especially with the police sirens blaring into the night.  Instead, I sat in silence, listening to my mother’s continued conversation with the police who arrived at our house and the laughter of the children outside unaware of the events taking place in my household.

            The weeks I had anticipated for one of my favorite holidays of the year, wasted because of the choice my sister had made that day to ruin her life and run away.  I no longer feel the need to collect candy on October 31^st.  I no longer celebrate Halloween.  My sister influenced my neighborhood permanently.  Every year I stare out my window and see the police cars driving around trying to prevent other kids from making the same mistake my sister did.  A constant reminder of what had happened.  I stare out my window envious of the happy kids, running about with their siblings and parents collecting candy.  I hate how my childhood was ruined because of my sister’s constant blunders, the fights she had with my parents that I was always involved in.  She came back a couple of years after that Halloween.  My parents were happy, but I’m not sure if I was.  This cycle will repeat, eventually she will leave, and the constant quarrelling that I have to suffer through each day will once again stop.