Our New Life with Aunt Nancy

The following years were good to Jane and I. We had settled into our small home town and made a calm place for ourselves. We both took part time jobs and volunteered where we could. We felt a sense of purpose and pride as we helped both old and young with whatever they needed. Neither of us ever dated though. We just lived quietly as the last remaining members of the family that grew up here.

Nancy had been laid to rest beside our mother and we made it a point to visit each of them every year on the anniversaries of their deaths. Even on those visits, Jane and I never discussed our time in the city. It was so long ago, we'd almost forgotten most of it.

I was laying in bed one night, sleep evading me. I tossed and turned, got up and made something to drink, then went back to bed. Just as I thought I was fading off, I heard a voice, but I couldn't quite make it out. Footsteps approached and a tall, statuesque figure appeared in my doorway, barely lit by the moonlight of the full moon streaming in my window.

"My Dear Nephew, please come back to me."

I froze, not sure if I was awake or asleep. I couldn't see her face, but I recognized the perfect breasts and hourglass figure clearly visible through the sheer white 1950s style peignoir, the elegant poise and the hauntingly calm voice. It was without a doubt my Aunt Nancy. Before I could respond, the figure moved away from the door and back down the hallway, the footsteps fading.

Morning came and I awoke with a sense of confusion but also an odd calm. I heard Jane out in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. I moved slowly and cautiously, unsure of what had happened.

"Jane, did you see her?"

"See, who? I haven't seen anyone this morning."

"No, last night. Did you see Aunt Nancy?"

"Dick, please, she's been dead for years."

"I know, but she was here last night, right there in the hallway outside my room. I know she was."

"No, Dick, she couldn't have been. I know you miss her terribly as do I, but she wasn't here. Come on and eat, we have a lot to do today."

The day was definitely very busy and I tried to get past it, but I was visibly shaken all day and Jane couldn't help but notice.

"Dick, she's gone. I loved her as much as you did, but you have to let her go."

It was late October and the moon was full. I wanted to sleep the night through in peace and took an extra pill. Just before midnight I was wide awake and looking out at the landscape. The moon seemed unnaturally bright and was casting eerily long shadows and reflecting off the small lake when I heard her again. There were no other sounds though, not even the crickets so common on a country evening. This time I could smell her perfume. I felt her hand on my shoulder and her breath on my neck.

"Come back to me my nephew, I've missed you."

I turned around, took her my arms and as we kissed, we were suddenly back on the outside patio of her apartment in the city. We were both naked and it was if nothing had changed. She was as radiant and beautiful as she had ever been. We made love in her bed and spent the evening doing things around her place. No one came to visit though.

We spent quite a while in her large bath tub laughing and joking about the things that had gone on here. We went back to her bed and spent the night in pleasure as we had so many times before. This was different though and far more intimate. Her large window let the full moon shine brightly across our naked bodies as we moved together and moaned softly in each other's ears.

As morning broke I found myself back in our small home town standing on the street outside our house as a crowd of neighbors gathered. It was a cool and crisp Autumn morning with a gentle breeze. The leaves on the trees were vibrant shades of gold, orange and red. The Jack-o-Lanterns Jane and I had carved a few days before were arranged on the porch along with the cornstalks and other decorations of the season. A skeleton was leaning back against the lamp post in the front yard. The only thing amiss was my sister Jane sitting in a chair on our porch crying uncontrollably as our friends tried to console her.

Through her sobbing, I could make out the words "I don't know what happened, He was fine yesterday. What am I going to do now?"

"It'll be OK Jane, you'll get by. We're here for you and he's with your mother and your aunt now."

A calm fell over her as we all watched the hearse drive away in silence while my sister sobbed softly.

A hand took mine.

"Come on Dick, we have to go now, she's waiting for us."

I looked at her and then back at Jane. "Please Aunt Nancy, I don't want her to be alone!"

"She'll be fine. We have to go now, we don't have much time left."

I looked at her and it was almost as if I could see through her. Then I looked down at my other hand and it was the same, almost transparent.

We walked calmly down the street, my Aunt Nancy and I, hand in hand while no one noticed. As we got to the town cemetery, Mom was waiting for us. She walked towards us upright and free of the pain she had suffered for so long. We all embraced, grateful to be back together again.

"You look great Mom. How are you?"

"I feel great Son. I've missed you both so much. Jane will be here soon too. It won't be long and we'll all be together forever."

I turned to see four headstones with the names of my mother, my aunt and myself clearly engraved on three. On the fourth one, I could just barely see my sister's name still partially obscured. I felt my mother's arm around my waist.

"Soon Son. Very soon. She won't be alone for long."