"I hear that aunt of yours is a real loon!" Michelle snickered flipping back a lock of dark hair from her shoulder.

I was pleased thinking of going to live with Aunt Lorena. She was the only living relative I had, and I could tell that Michelle and Charles were sick of caring for me. Mom’s death in an ugly auto accident had left me orphaned. Michelle and Charles had adored my mother as a neighbor, but they did not like me. I did not know why.

Mom’s absence hurt a lot. We were all we had in the world since the day Dad packed up and left without "good-bye." Mom never talked of it, but I sensed Dad had another family elsewhere.

Michelle and Charles only put up with me since I was the same age as their daughter Gina. Gina was okay. But she liked to do boyish things , and I liked to play with dolls and cosmetics.

I did not know how to respond to Michelle’s remark. I thought about how she had been Mom’s best friend. All I knew was Aunt Lorena lived in a big mansion and led an exotic life traveling the world. Mom always said she inherited a lot of money. I was lonely living with Charles, Gina, and Michelle. This aunt had to be grand!

"I’m sorry to be such a bother," I said inhaling the scent of onions Michelle was frying for dinner.

Michelle shrugged her shoulders while I cleared my throat. She pushed her glasses off the center of her nose and wiped a hand on her flowered shift which did not hide her fat.

"Your mom said she was a weirdo who kept to herself, also she spends her money on herself. She has some weird pets like a pet rat, and she does not like people." Michelle sneered.

"She always sent me gifts and nice letters when I was little," I said sinking into the kitchen chair feeling the hot summer sun coming through the window. "She’s also the only living relative I have. So we’ll have each other. We’ll just have to get along." I folded my hands on the tabletop.

"I should hope you do!" Michelle quipped. "You need to grow up a lot!"

I said nothing because I knew Michelle got perverse pleasure from downing me. She made comments if I gained one pound, and she hated my clothes and short dark hair.

Was I ever glad to wave good-bye as the train pulled away from the platform. Gina waved. I promised her I’d write. I did not want to do it because I knew Michelle would belittle me once she saw the letters.

When I got to the station, a portly gray haired man in a uniform greeted me. He said he was my chauffer for the day. He would drive me to Cephawood which was an hour away. He escorted me to the Lincoln Continental, and he never spoke once.

As I approached the car I saw a thin, fraile woman in the back seat waving to me. She was dressed in a gray dress with black boots, black gloves, and a black mantilla over her head. She motioned for me to come nearer to the car.

"Darling!" she cried opening her arms to embrace me.

As I got in to give her a hug, she lifted the mantilla and grinned. Her make-up was exotic and perfect, and her sleek pale hair was pulled into a bun. She was very white and her blue eyes were clear. As she embraced me, I noticed she felt cold.

"Dearie, I have not seen you since you were little. You have grown into such a fine young woman. I hope you’ll like Cephawood!"

"Cephawood?" I asked.

"That’s the name of my little estate. Your mother must have mentioned it to you, and----"

"Oh, yes, " I interjected. "She said it’s very old."

"Cephawood is in the middle of Cephaville, which is an old Victorian town. An old train runs through there, and you can take rides to the next station. " Aunt Lorena before she seemed to drift into another world stroking my hand.

I could not help but noticing how thin she was and how perfectly chisled her features were. Though she had a gaunt look, and she kept smiling, I was not sure she heard me. I felt lost.

Suddenly she said in a shrill voice, "You know my family was always a bit superior to the people who lived in Cephaville."

She tilted her chin back, and I could hear the snobbery in her voice. I noticed then her long bony fingers and nails. She asked me about myself and rambled on not caring if I heard her.

"I’ve set up the perfect room for you, Dearie. I do want us to have fun together." Then she paused adding, "You’ll be taking the room of the servant girl I dismissed this morning. You see we did not get along anymore, and----"

"Oh, thank you, Auntie!" I interrupted excited thinking of having my own room. "I do appreciate all you’re doing for me."

It was nice to have someone genuinely care about me now. Aunt Lorena might act and look strange, but she cared.

As we drove down the long dark driveway, I cringed. The house looked abandoned. Some of the shutters were slanted and had peeling paint. I noticed her side garden was overgrown.

As Aunt Lorena got out of the limo, the fat driver demanded his pay. He grunted something under his breath before driving away faster than one could smell toast burn. Aunt Lorena looked angry. I felt my heart sink.

As if reading my mind, she said, "That’s over, Dearie. Come see your new home. We’re going to have a special relationship."

She chatted showing me the house. It had a musky bad odor. Was I excited or nervous? Emotions poured through me.

"I ‘m glad that dreadful girl’s gone, and now you’re here with me!" she exclaimed making me wonder why this girl had been so important!

Was there something about my aunt that I did not know about and should? I was astounded as she told me tales of some of the eccentric servants and friends she had had. She also had a pet rat who had just died recently, and she loved animals.

"So how many people do you have working for you?" I asked quivering my lower lip.

"I used to have twenty people working here when I was young. Now they come and go." Then she stopped before entering the mansion’s new wing. "Oh, this wing is private. I forbid anyone to enter unless he or she is invited. My private bath and bedroom are here. They’re cleaned only once in awhile. Otherwise nobody should enter." She frowned. "You see that bathroom was designed only for me. I make my daily toilet there." She paused before adding, "There’s no need to say more."

"OH?" I asked. She stepped forward touching my arm. I felt cold.

"You’ll probably see it one day, Dearie. However, now we have a lot of catching up to do, and I’ve had a buffet prepared for us. You need to eat and drink some tea, and we’ll talk."

She showed me to the dining room which had a big center table there piled high with lunch meats, cheeses, salads, and desserts. I could not believe how many foods were on that table! How could such an emaciated woman put out such a spread!

"We’re going to be so good for each other, Dearie. I ‘ve been so lonely living here, and so many people in town are jealous of me since I’m self-sufficient and of a higher class."

I was not sure how to respond. I just sat and listened to her rant. She talked about how beautiful my mother was in her youth.

"Aunt Lorena, you are beautiful now," I said inhaling the scent of her flowery perfume.

"You’re a doll," she cried before meandering again.

I listened to her tales of the lovers she had in her life. She could not recall most of their names. She talked about one who had been married and almost drove her to suicide. I sat spellbound by her emotional display. She talked about traveling to Paris to recuperate from one affair. She gazed off as she talked.

"You have to keep eating, and we’ll have to talk about your future plans once you finish high school. You are approaching that age, right?"

"Yes," I said between bites of food. "I have one more year."

"Good, we’ll have a late lunch tomorrow since I have to take my special bath. Then we can go to town to buy new clothes for you," she said stretching her lean body. "You don’t need to bother me until two in the afternoon. My bathing is extremely important."

She said that several times during the course of the conversation. I did not know how to interpret that. I just figured it was her most private time.

Aunt Lorena told me more stories that night until my eyes started to droop. Then she tucked me into bed which I thought was a nice gesture. It was great that she really cared!

I had many strange dreams that night, and I don’t know how to describe them now! I kept tossing and turning in bed! I also thought that I heard some strange singing down the hall, and I was not sure if it was Aunt Lorena or not.

The next morning I came downstairs, and I saw someone had fixed a platter for me under a silver dome. I was hungry, so I ate everything noting the eggs were watery.

I tiptoed through the house, but I did not see any servants. Now the house was extremely clean. I thought I heard chanting. I kept thinking Aunt Lorena should not be bathing so long. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, she had a big grin on her face!

"That was wonderful! I feel so much younger and re-juvenated after these baths!" she sighed. "Now, I ‘ve arranged for you to have another big lunch today. I’ll have a salad, but you should have whatever you want! You’re so young, and you need to keep your strength up always!"

I watched as she sat down to the table after we filled our plates. I wondered why I had not yet seen any servants.

"I’m a tempermental woman," she commented reading my mind. "It’s is best my help steer clear of me and I from them. We need not bother each other too much. You’ll see my workers soon."

I ate heartily while she went on about her father and how cruel he was to her as a child! All of a sudden, she started to cry during lunch. I tried to console her, but she couldn’t stop her sobbing. Then she asked me to help her get ready to go shopping.

"I should not spend so much time remembering bad things," she wailed.

"I’m sorry he was so nasty to you," I said.

My Aunt Lorena took me shopping that afternoon to the most expensive shops imaginable! She even bought me several new pairs of shoes and new purses. Then she bought me lots of make-up and perfume! Aunt Lorena even took me to the beauty parlor!

A cab driver took us home and observing us curiously through black horn rimmed glasses. When we got back to the estate, there was a skinny little old lady in an orange and yellow polka dotted gypsy costume waiting for us on the stoop. I could not see her hair since she wore a big scarf over it. The scarf matched her outfit.

My aunt apologized to her for being late, and she introduced her to me as Chloe. The woman seemed very nervous.

"So this girl is your newest specimen. I see that she is indeed very young!" Chloe rasped.

What was she talking about? How was I a specimen?

"Oh, she’s here to stay for awhile. She’s my niece and we have to decide what sort of education she’ll have, and----"

"And I think we should waste no time doing our session, Lorena. You do want to know some things don’t you?" Chloe arched an eyebrow.

"Dearie, would you mind if Chloe and went to my wing for awhile. You can try on your new clothes or go watch soap operas, can’t you?" Aunt Lorena turned to me with pleading eyes.

I nodded wondering what sort of session she and Chloe were having? I watched them go upstairs.

While muttering something to myself, I heard Chloe say, "The tarot session will be a very long one today. I’m eager to see how your treatments are doing."

She said tarot card sessions! What sort of tarot card sessions required treatment? I sat and watched TV wondering what they were doing. Every so often I heard some shrieks upstairs. Was the treatment painful? Then I thought I heard chants.

Suddenly a door upstairs again opened. Again, I heard Chloe’s raspy voice. "Your beauty treatments are working, Lorena. You do seem vibrant. Now I think you look younger."

"I do feel wonderful after bathing, but it’s so much work to clean up following a ritual," she replied with hesitation. "You also realize how dangerous treatment is."

I frowned eager to hear more. Why would bathing be dangerous? The only hazard I could think of that one could face was the possibility of drowning. My train of thought and confusion was interrupted by a loud knock on the front door.

So I got up from my seat and raced to open it. There on the doorstep was a pale young girl with spiky blonde hair and piercings all over her body. She was dressed in a jeans suit and black boots. A mean look was on her face.

"Where’s Lorena?" she snapped in a voice so loud I thought her blue eyes would bulge out of her skull. "Tell her I am here to get the rest of my things and the money she promised."

I felt my jaw drop as I heard rustling upstairs. I could hear Chloe and Aunt Lorena whispering.

"Dearie, who is it?" Aunt Lorena’s shrill voice yelled.

"It’s me Midge!" the girl roared. "I want what’s mine, and I want the money you promised me!"

I heard clattering moving down the stairs behind me, and I jerked around to see Aunt Lorena with a pained expression on her face. Chloe stood behind her sneering.

"Well, hello, Midge," Aunt Lorena sighed rubbing the back of her neck while gazing at the floor.

"Hey, Lorena, you promised me more money, and I need it now, and-----"

"Yes! Yes!" Aunt Lorena interjected wringing her hands. "Chloe will show you where we put your things upstairs, and I will get you your money."

"No, Lorena, I will go get her things," Chloe corrected. "She can wait for me to return. It will only take a minute."

After they disappeared. Midge leered at me. "So I guess you’re her new girl!"

"Well, I’m her neice, and----"

"HAH! So now she’s doing it with family members! That broad’s something else!" She chuckled before adding, "You better watch out for that bathroom! You do not want to go in there! Perhaps you should try to go see it for yourself before you let her talk you into doing anything."

Then she started to laugh a really eerie snicker, and I could not believe how cold she sounded. Aunt Lorena and Chloe returned a few seconds later gasping.

"Midge, shut up! Take your money and get out of here!" My aunt cried throwing a fistful of dollars at her feet.

"Leave!" Chloe quipped depositing several bags on the floor.

"Hey, B______, you don’t talk to me that way." Then Midge turned to me. "You better watch out for them. They’ll be after you soon. You better-----"

"DO NOT TALK TO HER!" my aunt cackled. "Chloe’s right. Get your stuff and get out of here!"

"I will," she cried. "But don’t you dare think for a moment that you’ve paid me enough money to keep my mouth shut forever about your little escapades!"

Nobody else said anything as she picked up her bags and darted out the door! I was stunned as she glanced back at me.

"You better be on your guard," she rasped.

As she left, Chloe laughed. "Who does she think will believe her? She’s too much of a mess!"

"NONSENSE!" Aunt Lorena rasped.

"Who is she?" I asked.

"That’s the girl I employed and told you about before." My aunt shook her head. "Thank heaven she’s gone."

Chloe and Aunt Lorena then went into a room next to the dining room and locked the door. They whispered to each other so I could not hear them. Then Chloe joined us for a simple chicken dinner. Nobody spoke at all. Aunt Lorena took me to a beauty salon the next day to get a make-over, and she acted like nothing had happened. Days passed, and I forgot the drama of Midge, until listening to the radio one day.

"A YOUNG GIRL’S BODY WAS FOUND IN A WOOD NEAR THE CEPHAVILLE VILLAGE LAST NIGHT. SHE WAS IDENTIFIED AS SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD MIDGE THOMAS. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT. HOWEVER, THE BODY WAS BADLY BLUDGEONED AND DECAPITATED. "

I turned to look at Aunt Lorena, who was sitting in a chair reading. She showed no reaction. I trembled.

"Aunt Lorena, isn’t that the girl who-----"

"Who used to work for me and came to a sad end. We don’t need to say anything more about it. She’s gone now. I had thought she was dead earlier."

"But----"

"Let’s talk about your studies," Aunt Lorena interjected again. "You can’t sit around my big old house all day. You should go to school and do something. You should also work so you have money of your own."

I felt a cold wave pass over me. She acted like she did not remember the girl. Why? She was hiding something. A vindictive girl was dead, but I felt certain Aunt Lorena had something to do with it. Who should I tell? What proof did I have?

Later, I could not sleep well. I woke up and wandered around the house only to find it vacant. I decided now was the time to go into the forbidden bathroom. I crept inside and was shocked when I saw a huge bathtub in the center of a sunken floor. It looked like a small swimming pool.

I heard a door close downstairs and low rumblings.

"You did promise me, " a squeaky voice said.

"Yes, I did, but we must have a cocktail first," Aunt Lorena whispered.

I tiptoed to the banister and hid behind a wall. From there I could see the livingroom. I watched my aunt serve a young waif of a girl a bright cocktail in a tall blue glass. The girl was dressed in ragged clothes, and her red hair and nails were dirty. She kept laughing, and Aunt Lorena was grinning. Was my aunt a lesbian? She had never been very specific in her description of her lovers. Maybe they had all been women.

I kept behind the wall and watched. She appeared to be seducing the young girl and giggling without control. What had she promised her?

"Is there something you always wanted to do in the dark but were afraid to try it?" Aunt Lorena whispered. After a snicker, she added, "Have you ever wanted to play hide-n-seek in a graveyard? It is really fun!"

My aunt described this weird version of the game, and it was obvious she was getting excited. I was freaking out staring at the scene before me. Finally, the drunk girl agreed to go outside and play the game with her.

After they left, I shivered and fled back to the bathroom. There was a big black refrigerator with a hot plate on top if it. Next to the fridge, was a vanity table. Why did she have a refrigerator in her bathroom? I also noticed it was locked. I searched the drawers of her immaculate vanity table, and I found a nail file. So I proceeded to pick the lock. With relentless frustration, I pried the refrigerator door. I choked back a scream when I saw the contents.

The fridge had a few bottles of champagne on the top shelf and bags of blood everywhere. There were also several beekers filled with blood. There appeared to be enough blood to fill the tub. Why was I thinking that? Where had all this blood come from and why? What strange rituals did my aunt have?

I told myself I had to know the truth. I had to confront my aunt. I paced the hall floor pondering what to do next. It seemed like only an hour had passed before the front door opened again. I darted into a hall closet and hid.

I could hear my aunt’s footsteps on the stairs. She carried up two buckets filled with blood. She chuckled before she started whistling and then chanting. She sang a sad love song while filling the tub. The song was about lost youth. Then I heard her close the bathroom door. But where was the girl?

I crawled to the door and peered through a large keyhole in the bathroom door. Aunt Lorena lay in the middle of the tub bathing herself in blood. She squeezed her eyes shut, and I heard her chant again. She seemed to be praying while she was chanting.

OH MAKER OF ALL THAT IS PURE AND YOUNG, LET THIS VIRGIN BLOOD KEEP ME PURE AND WHOLE! LET IT CLEANSE AWAY AGE AND IMPURITIES. LET IT WORK WONDERS ON MY SKIN AND ORGANS. KEEP MY BODY YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL IN APPEARANCE. MAKE ME STRONG, BOLD, AND BEAUTIFUL.

I stared at the chanting woman unable to believe what I saw! Did she really bathe in blood to keep herself young? Did she kill these girls for their blood? From where did she get all those blood bags?

I felt a wave of nausea pass over me. What should I do? How could I confront her? What would she do to me if I did?

I did not sleep that night nor afterwards for many nights. Days passed, and I told her I had a flu bug and stayed in bed. Really, I was plotting my escape. Who would believe me if I told what I felt I knew about Aunt Lorena? I had no proof she had killed anyone. Everything was a strange coincidence.

One day she got me out of bed and took me to the city to see a Greek tragedy. I listened to her banter in the car. During the theatre performance, she asked if I wanted to shop after the show. I said no. I kept looking at this relative of mine wondering how she could do what she had done.

"I think I need to buy some new make-up," she said.

"Aunt Lorena, you look great as you are," I said sheepishly not knowing what else to say.

"Yes, Dearie, I know I look good. I have discovered the secret of eternal youth!" she laughed.

Now was the time to say it! What should I say? What if she got mad and killed me? I knew one thing for sure, those baths were more important to her than anything else in her life.

Then her tone sobered. "You have to trust me, Dearie."

I nodded and agreed with everything she said. Then I made a decision. I was running away and not telling anyone about her until the time was right. I had to get out of her place alive. I could go start a new life somewhere else under a new name. I was not going to be her next lover or her next victim. I wanted to keep my own blood. So I snuck out of the house that night while she slept with all I could carry and as much money as I could find. What my future brings, only GOD knows.

(THE END)