Senior Cochon folded his arms across his dour, gray suit. His eyes peeked out sternly from beneath the brim of his hat while his mouth twitch uneasily beneath the heavy mustache. Luis fidgeted in place, letting each foot take a turn kicking the other. This was not going to be good.

“You boys,” the man started, only to stop again, as he had been doing for the last ten minutes.

Juacinto spoke up, “It was only a bit of fun…”

“Bit of fun?” the older man barked. It was the most emotion he’d shown so far. “You boys tease my daughter like that, send her off crying into the woods on All Hallow’s Eve, and you call it a bit of fun?”

Juacinto had no rejoinder. Luis dared to cast his eyes towards the darkening forest. He’d heard the tales; the town was rife with them. They were not pleasant stories.

Quieted but resolute, the old man adjusted his hat, “Fine. We go. You and you, funny boys, you will come with me. We shall fetch her from the forest.”

Luis swallowed hard. Juacinto shuddered.