House of Aunts

Chapter 12

 It was night again. The shadows loomed longer and larger around the house. I had woken up at midnight again, and I wanted to see what was inside the chest that was locked. I sneaked around, trying not to make noise, and not fully breathing in or out because I wanted to make sure that none of my aunts would wake up. It was as if they had superpowers or something. I walked up to the attic. The door was closed, this time. It was locked! But how?

Thinking that I was being silly, I used the key to open it. The door opened. What? This was the key to the attic, and not the chest? Then where was it? I had to find it.

"Looking for this?" someone asked. It could only be Aunty Jinx!

I turned around to look at her.

"I know what you've been doing," she said. "And now's not the time for you to find out."

I staggered back.

"H–how did you know?"

"Your Aunty Qin said that she caught you sleepwalking. But I know you. You've never really sleepwalked."

I sighed.

"Okay, Aunty. So what do you know about that treasure chest on the inside?"

She shrugged.

"I mean, there's a reason why you have the key, right?"

"Had," she corrected, laughing. Then, she held out her hand, asking me to hand it over. I shook my head.

"Aunty Jinx, I want to find out about my family. I want the answers."

At this, my guardian sighed.

"Come to my room," she said. Aunty Jinx walked down the corridor, with her silk robe trailing after her. I followed. Somehow, the already large house seemed to expand, and was it just me, or wre there pillars? Now, it truly felt like a palace. I entered Aunty Jinx's room, and her perfume hit me in the face.

"Sit."

I jumped onto the plush red bed and giggled. There were so many pillows!

"You found the chest in the attic," Aunty Jinx said. She said this in a matter-of-fact way. It was no use lying to her. I had to tell the truth.

"Yes."

She sighed.

"It contains, well, the soul of an old demon."

"What?" I almost shouted. Aunty Jinx put a finger to her lips.

"Yes."

"But why is there–"

"There was no other place to seal this demon," she explained. "And even the heavens wouldn't approve, which was why we went down to the Earth."

"Who or what was this demon?" I asked.

"I can't say. You will understand when you are older."

"So did this demon kill my parents or something?" I asked. I had to know.

Aunty Jinx laughed, long and loud.

"There are so many details to that, little one."

"Why won't you tell me?" my cheeks felt read and I was feeling frustrated. I loved my aunt, sure, but she wasn't being clear and that was annoying. Suddenly, I felt something soft rub my back. It was a–tail? My aunt had a tail? I looked at her again and realised that she had nine of them, and when she opened her mouth, I think I saw fangs! Somehow, I wasn't afraid, just confused. My aunt was a fox spirit!

"All of my memories of my aunts are real! Who they really are–all real!"

She nodded.

"I don't believe in lying to you or pretending not to understand you, like my other 'sisters'. I believe you deserve to know the truth, but not today."

I remembered Aunty Jinx telling me a story about many fox spirits, and in those stories, some were evil, and some were good. But all of them were like her, full of tricks. Suddenly, her name made sense.

"Aunty Jinx, just what happened to my family, really?"

She smiled.

"Let me tell you a story."