As fall turned the trees that were not evergreen from green, to gold to red to brown, the days were getting shorter. It would soon be time to have a fall harvest party. Everyone in town was getting ready for this, there would be singing, music, bobbing for apples, you name it, and it would be done.

Jason was reading a favorite Shakespeare play. He enjoyed many of Shakespear's plays and poems and was often found reading and rereading them. His favorite thing to do for the nieces, nephews and children who were springing up all over Seattle was to tell ghost stories. And one of his favorite ghost stories was Macbeth. Although he told a shortened and edited version, there were still witches, a ghost, and a cauldron and of course a murder! Even the grownups liked hearing this story.

So, he read and reread Macbeth and finally came up with a version that he would tell at the harvest festival. Joshua came in looking for a few things like a bucket for the apples.

"Jason, have you seen our bucket we usually use for the apple bobbing contest?" asked Joshua.

"Jason, halloo!" said Joshua again. Jason, who was writing the story he was going to tell had not heard Joshua come in, nor had he heard J.J., and Jonny come in with him. Jason looked up from his writing and saw the children climbing on to the old bunkbeds that Jeremy and Joshua had always slept on when they were younger.

"Boys, I need you to come down from there please!" Jason said and then looked at Joshua and asked him:
"When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago, I was calling your name and asking if you had a bucket for the apple bobbing contest?" Joshua said. Jason made an 'oh!" sound and then got up and went over to the corner by the stove and picked up the bucket. And handed it to Joshua who took the bucket and took the kids with him. Jason settled back and worked on the story. He was having a hard time picturing the witches with the cauldron. He decided to get up and take a walk. There was a chill in the wind, and he put his hat and coat on. He walked past the mercantile and waved to Ben. He and Emily had three children now. And they would be celebrating Ben Jr.'s 15th birthday this Christmas. Jason took a breath of fresh air and shivered. He went past Biddie's house. He looked in and saw Biddie with her special 'medicine' and Candy and Pilar were helping her. His imagination went into overtime as he stood there imagining those three as witches. He could hear them cackle as they put special ingredients into their 'cauldron.'

"Eye of newt, Dragon fingertips, bats wing and spicy nutmeg." He heard them say. Wait a minute? Spicy Nutmeg? He looked in the window and saw that Candy had made some pumpkin pie for the harvest celebration. He laughed at himself and then went on to the next house. That was for Helen and Maude. They were really the 'old witches' about whom he was thinking. It seemed as if they had gotten older, they were less and less in people's business. Helen was sitting in her rocker just rocking while Maude was reading a book out loud to her. Jason remembered how they had reacted to Jeremy's stuttering at the funeral of his mother. Could these two old crows really be that lonely? He went on and kept walking, he saw Aaron talking to Harve about something at the mill. He walked by, waved at them, but Aaron did not wave, nor did Harve? He wondered what that was all about. He went over to talk to them.

"Harve, all I am saying is that sometimes at night people see things that may or may not be there! If those two workers want to change shifts, then find two others who do not mind working at night." Aaron said, then noticed Jason.

"Oh, hello Jason, is there something I can do for you?" Aaron asked.

"No, just wanted to say hi!" Jason said and walked away from Aaron who was standing there with a surprised look on his face. Well, Jason had another part of his story for the festival. He turned his attention then to his brothers, they often spent a lot of time working now that he had slowed down a bit. So, he went up to the mountain to see what was happening.

"But Joshua, we can't do it that way? That's not the way Jason did it, and I don't think it was father's way either?" Jeremy said as he tried to show Joshua that cutting a certain area was already tried and found that it couldn't be done!

"Jeremy, I think it can and I will get my team together and we will cut those trees before the festival!" Joshua said as he grabbed his axe and stomped off to get his crew. Jeremy was still standing in the same position when Jason came over.

"Anything I can help with?" asked Jason, who saw that Jeremy was very upset.

"I don't know Jason, Joshua wants to start cutting the trees on the next hill over, but I think when father was alive, he had said that that particular grove of trees should not be cut but I can't remember why, do you?" Jeremy asked Jason.

Jason thought long and hard.
"No, Jeremy, I don't know why either. I remember one of the stories he told that if a tree from that hill was cut, it would cause a problem for anyone close to that hill. Sort of a curse, but that is probably not something that would happen!?" Jason said/asked almost a question. Jeremy wasn't sure. He needed more information. He was always opposed to chopping just wherever there were trees. He wanted to have the trees when he wasn't around anymore.

"I don't know Jason; I have to think more about this, but do you think you could talk Joshua out of starting to cut the trees down?

Jason looked at his brother, and said:

"I will try to get him to wait at least another week will that be, okay?
Jeremy nodded yes and shook hands with his brother.

Jason headed toward Joshua and the team and talked them out of the cutting in that particular grove of trees until after the festival. When Joshua and his crew left, he went over to look at that particular grove. He heard the wind in the trees, but it sounded like someone was telling him:

"Thank you!" it wasn't a loud voice, just a quiet whisper. Jason left to go home and continue the story he was writing.