As she stroked her cat with the stroke of midnight , Auntie Edwina, a quiet and peaceful woman…the kind of old lady that had happy wrinkles, always had candy on Hallow’s Eve, and never forgot your name or favorite cookie… convulsed backward, in a way very atypical of her usual grace, and had a stroke.
Word spread fast around the disquieted neighborhood children, who all knew and loved her dearly…
“Auntie Edwina is Dying!”
“Nah, she’s dead n’ six feet under by now!”
None of the children had been allowed to see her in the hospital - ‘cept Charlie, the local tomboy, who returned, out of breath, to the tree house, shrouded with the crimson and orange hues of fall…
Rumors took on eerie nightmarish qualities…
...known to parents as a bad influence, because of her uncanny ability to captivate any audience of well-groomed, button-nosed kids, lure them with spectacular tales of the unknown and into adventures that would often leave them coming home with torn Sunday vests, scrapped knees, forgotten chores and on occasion, a bloody nose…
…to the children, especially the girls, she was a star, had all the answers, and could always keep the boys in their place. The few boys that hung with their crowd, were torn between early feelings of budding testosterone leaden inadequacy and the first tinges of puppy love…
Charlie - began to describe the unsettling scene of “Ms. Eddie”, as she was called among her peers…The children rapt and horrified…
“They’re turning her into a Zombie! Yeah, she died, and they turned her back on…only now she not right! I heard one of the doc’s saying she’s “para-somethin” on her side. She won’t be able to use her right side for nothin! That’s how you can tell if she’s one of ‘em!”
Of course all children know that Zombies slouched, dragging an arm and leg.. until they simply rotted away (unless they took every opportunity to feast on human brains of course!).
They all envisioned Auntie Eddie ...
walking toward them ...along the porch
dragging a leg up the steps behind her...
Thump thump...
Thump thump...
Her foot hitting each step...
an arm ...reaching for them.., trying to usher them in…
And ...as if in mass hallucination, the children gasped at the thought of her putrid , gangrene, maggot eaten, brain hungry flesh trying to feed them cookies!
.
.
.
When Auntie Edwina returned home after her stay at Our Lady of Perpetual Purgatory Memorial, she smiled gaily…
looking forward to seeing the children….
