Ghosts, Goblins, & Superheroes

Halloween is upon us and little ghosts and goblins are going to be roaming the neighborhoods demanding a sugar fix. For the past few years, we have made do with 2 costumes - a clown costume that Arjun wore for a couple of years and was then handed down to Abhi for the last two years. In the meantime, Arjun got a race car driver outfit that he has worn for the last two years. The costume required various adjustments to facilitate a better fit and it is only now that Arjun has grown enough to fit in it without any alterations. Of course, he is bored with it now. They both have new costumes for this time - Arjun is going to be 'Ironman' while Abhi is outfitted to be a 'Red Dragon Ninja.' This is a character of rather dubious provenance, but goes well with Abhi's recent closely cropped haircut. He could join Robinhood's gang with nary a raised eyebrow.

We got the costumes on Monday and they have been wearing it every night till it is time for bed. They can hardly wait to go out trick-or-treating. In fact, on Monday they were almost too excited to fall asleep, all in anticipation of Halloween night. Abhi's costume has a lot of loose folds and today we discovered that it fits Arjun just fine (& in fact probably actually has the intended look) - this is going to a be first for us - a hand-me-up: next year, Arjun can be the Red Dragon Ninja.

Arjun likes Pomegranate juice and I had bought the big bottle from Costco upon his request. Couple of days ago, I was pouring the last of it for myself. Abhi, who was drinking his milk was apparently following this closely and called out, "Why did you finish that, acha?"
Me (somewhat confused, since Abhi is not a big juice drinker): "Why, do you want some?"
Abhi: "No, but aeta likes to drink that juice." Arjun who was sitting nearby, nodded his head in confirmation.
I poured the juice back and wondered where this fraternal caring was at other times. Abhi got a pumpkin from his field trip, but has been protesting every suggestion of getting one for Arjun, coming up with one creative reason after another including insisting that Arjun had told him that he does not want a pumpkin. In this case at least, he would rather deny his brother.