You hide behind your Daddy's cloak and take some small comfort out of the familiar purple shades. The others think it looks sinister but to you, it's familiar and safe, which is what you need as your Mommy introduces the stranger in front of you.

"Severa, this is Sev-" she stops and her face scrunches up a bit, as if she's having trouble remembering what comes next. "Umm…"

The white haired stranger speaks up. "Your aunt," she says in a voice that is flat, almost belligerently reluctant. "I'm your Aunt Selena."

Mommy's face scrunches further for an instant before smoothing out. "Aunt S-Selena," she finishes. "Can you say hello, Severa?"

You bury your face deeper into Daddy's cloak. "H'lo."

Daddy chuckles and prods you forward a bit with a gentle hand. "Why so shy all of a sudden? I'm sure your aunt doesn't bite, nya ha!"

Your aunt, the stranger, crosses her arms and frowns. "Don't be so sure," she says and you can't tell if she's joking or not. It sounds like something your Daddy would say but he usually adds a laugh afterwards. Your aunt just frowns and it makes you feel nervous and unsure of yourself, like you were the one who did something wrong.

Mommy sighs after a beat. "Come now, Se-Selena. Don't be like that. She's only a child."

Aunt Selena's eyes narrow a bit at Mommy, but she uncrosses her arms. "Sorry," she says in a tone that sounds the exact opposite of sorry. It seems to work for Mommy though; she nods her head and then looks to you expectantly.

Being polite to this stranger is the last thing you want to do but Mommy and Daddy raised you to be respectful to friends and family, which also now suddenly includes a long-lost aunt.

So you bite your tongue and bow your head and mumble out, "Nice to meet you."

Your aunt re-crosses her arms. The frown is back again. "Likewise."

After a few days of her living with you and your parents, you come to the conclusion that your Aunt Selena is weird. Not weird in a funny ha-ha turn-you-inside-out-kind-of-funny like daddy or funny-nice like your best friend Noire who can make you giggle without even trying to.

No, Aunt Selena… she's just… weird. And you're pretty sure she doesn't like you either. Every time she catches sight of you, her face scrunches up in way that reminds you of Mommy, but with more edges and harder lines. Mommy always gets a funny look on her face when you mention it to her. Daddy just laughs and says that's how she always looks. You don't believe him.

Aunt Selena makes your parent's act weird too. Sometimes Mommy will say your name and then she'll stop and look confused for a second, like she's trying to remember who you are again. Daddy laughs a lot more whenever she's around but it always sounds like he's trying too hard to fill up the silence that Aunt Selena brings to whatever room she's in.

She also never wants to talk to you and she acts like you're a piece of furniture when the two of you are in the same room. Which is okay with you. You don't want to talk to her either, because she's your aunt that frowns all the time and never smiles and that's a more than a little weird. But then it turns not okay because Mommy gets a sad look on her face and even Daddy's smile starts to slip. So you at least try and say hello or good morning to her. Depending on her mood, she'll either say nothing or simply grunt back at you.

She leaves after a few days of uncomfortable silences and you can't say you're sad to see her go. Mommy makes her promise to come visit more often and Aunt Selena mumbles something under her breath about free time and schedules. You silently ask Naga to make her stay away.

Aunt Selena is weird. And you don't like her.

After your aunt leaves, your own life returns to it's even pace. You help Mommy with the chores around the house and she pats you on the head and remarks what a good little helper you are. Daddy takes you exploring in the woods near your house, just at the base of the mountain. He shows you all sorts of plants and animals and you especially like it when he points out the various birds that live here. You've always wanted a familiar and Daddy promises you when you're old enough that a familiar will find you. Secretly, you hope it's a crow like his.

For a while, everything is right. And then you turn seven.

Aunt Selena comes over out of the blue a few days after the celebration, right in the middle of dinner. She practically barges in without any warning and badly startles everyone with her frenzied babbling. Mommy and Daddy take her to another room and close the door behind them after telling you to entertain yourself until they're done.

For a while, you practice drawing inside a little sketchbook that Noire gave you for your birthday. You're pretty awful though and after a while, you get bored. With nothing else to do, you decide to go pester your parents despite their request for privacy. Just before you can knock on the door, however, you hear a whisper.

"O-outside wh-when she… coughing up blood… I… she's fainted before… never like this…" Aunt Selena's words come out rushed and you can barely make out whatever she's saying.

"Didn't know… what to do… p-put her to bed… some medicine but… but… so pale when I left... Oh gods."

"Always been sickly… Have the doctors…?"

"Keeps getting worse… Even Libra... no clue whatsoever…"

"How long… until?"

"I don't know. Gods, I don't know."

The voices go even lower after that and become impossible to discern. You lift your ear from the keyhole. You feel a little ashamed for eavesdropping on their conversation, even if you don't quite fully understand what their talking about. The raw emotion in your aunt's voice is clear though. As quietly as you can, you slink back to the table where your sketchbook remains. After a moment's pondering, you being adding to the picture you've drawn.

They come out an hour later. Aunt Selena is deathly pale but she looks a little less shaky when she first barged in. Mommy's eyes are sad and her posture just radiates a sort of resigned weariness and she looks a bit surprised when she sees that you're still up.

"Oh, Severa. You're supposed to be in bed." She shakes her head and then beckons to you. "Well, no use in worrying about it now. Come say good night to your aunt."

You shuffle forward, the drawing you were working on rolled up inside your hand. "Bye, Aunt Selena." You stick out your hand, making sure not to look at her directly. "For you."

Everyone looks surprised at the gesture, none more so than your aunt. She takes the scroll from your hands and slowly unfurls it.

"Oh…" she says and that's all she says. You feel your heart sink down to your toes, disheartened by her lackluster reaction. Whenever you show Mommy and Daddy one of your pictures, they're all delighted chuckles and warm praises.

You've never been critiqued with an 'oh,' before. It stings.

Mommy peers over Aunt Selena's shoulder and her eyes soften at what she sees. "Oh, Severa." Her tone is one of pleasant wonder, criticism that you are much more comfortable with. "This is lovely."

You scratch the back of your neck and mutter, "it's not that good, mom." Even so, you did spend quite a bit of time on it. Originally, it was just going to be a family picture and you were going to give it to your parents for them to keep. But then you ended up eavesdropping on a conversation that you weren't meant to hear, about someone you aren't supposed to know. And suddenly, you find yourself adding a little crayon aunt to your family portrait. She stands slightly father away from you and your parents, an artistic decision that you slightly regret now in hindsight. Does she notice it?

Your mother not-so-subtly nudges Aunt Selena in the ribs. Aunt Selena starts, as if remembering where she is, and she carelessly stuffs your picture into her back pocket.

"Thanks," she says, pausing as she tries to think of something to say. "It's… it's nice."

You nod, not believing for one second that she actually means it.

Aunt Selena starts coming by on an almost weekly basis now. She never stays long, usually just ten or twenty minutes. Sometimes, Mommy goes with her, just leaving you and Daddy. When she's gone, Daddy rarely smiles and he waits by the window for her to come back, sometimes watching for hours on end. You know better to distract Daddy when he's like this and sometimes, you wait with him, silently holding hands.

"Your aunt has a friend," he explains as the two of you keep your vigil. "And she's sick. Very sick. That's why Mommy is going with your aunt, to see if she can help in any way."

You nod, though you're not sure how much help Mommy can do. She's like a real-life hero in your head, but you're not sure how much she actually knows when it comes to medicine beyond the basic home remedies. Maybe it's a reassurance thing.

"Why don't you go with Mommy, too?" you ask.

Daddy chuckles softly. "I'd really like to." He ruffles your hair and you scowl as you duck away. "But who'd stop you from having your wicked ways and burning down the house while we're gone, huh?"

You smooth out your hair and say, "I won't be lonely if you go, Daddy."

Daddy turns to you, surprised. "Really?"

Just a little, you think silently.

"Promise," you say out loud, trying to believe your own conviction. "Besides, I bet Mommy could use your help."

Daddy hesitates for a second and then nods. "Well, you are getting to that age where you can start looking after yourself. Maybe it's time." He shrugs a bit and smiles at you. "When did you get so mature?"

"I've always been mature, Daddy."

Daddy throws his head back and cackles. "Of course you have! My bad, my bad!"

The next time Aunt Selena comes over, both Mommy and Daddy leave with her. You watch them from the window; the three of them bundled up in their cloaks to protect from the biting chill, as they get progressively smaller and smaller.

When they're gone from your sight, you lay your head down on the window sill, suddenly overcome by an overpowering feeling of homesickness.

But that doesn't make sense. You are home. Why should you feel this way?

It's because of Aunt Selena, a snide little voice in the back of your head whispers. She's taking mommy and daddy away. They're never coming back because of her.

You violently shake your head, dispelling the words out of your mind. No, that's stupid, crazy talk. Mommy and Daddy are coming back. They have to.

You fall asleep by the windowsill, waiting for them come back.

In your dreams, you wait for an eternity.

In the dead of winter's night with the snow falling lightly on the ground, Aunt Selena finally shows up, pounding on the door loud enough to wake the dead. Your sleep addled mind thinks its bandits at first or worse, those Risen things that you hear your mother and father whisper about when they try to be discreet. But no, it's just Aunt Selena.

When they let her in, you're frightened by how she looks. Her hair is windswept and she has a desperate, hurt look in her eye that reminds you of an injured fox that had wandered near the back of your house where you were playing. Mommy had tried to help it and it bit her when she came too close and you nearly cried, but Mommy wasn't scared. She just kept talking softly to it until the fox finally let her go. It died a few hours later and you remember crying as Mommy held you, whispering quietly in your ear that everything's alright, it's alright.

Mommy is using that same voice now on your aunt but it doesn't seem to be working. Aunt Selena keeps shaking her head back and forth, back and forth and her whole body shudders as she sobs her pain out.

"She's gone," she moans, over and over again, her voice wretched and raw with anguish. "She's gone, she's gone, she's gone, she's gone…"

All the color drains from your parent's faces. Mommy puts a hand over her mouth.

Who? you want to ask. Who's gone? When are they coming back?

The funeral is a few days after. As you watch Aunt Selena cry silently, you wish you could say you're sorry for her loss. But try as you might, you can't. You just can't.

It's hard to feel sad for someone you've never met, after all.