the Internet in a couple of months now.â
âVery funny,â Aunt Netty said. âBut there must be something going on in the life of Katherine Elaine Morgan.â
Kate rolled her eyes. She hated her full name, and her aunt knew it. She only used it when she wanted to tease Kate. Now Kate wished more than anything that she could tell Aunt Netty about her involvement in witchcraft. But she just couldnât. She wasnât ready to take that risk. Not yet.
âIâm serious,â she said. âThereâs nothing going on. Iâm going to be the most boring junior at Beecher Falls High School. But what about you? Whatâs this assignment youâre here on? Something good, I hope.â
Her aunt took a long drink and looked out over the water for a minute. When she turned back to Kate she sighed and said, âThereâs something your mother and I have been keeping from you,â she said. âShe didnât want me to tell you, but I think itâs time you knew.â
âDonât tell me youâre getting married,â Kate said excitedly, remembering how her mother had seemed so nervous about Kateâs asking personal questions the night before and putting two and two together.
Her aunt laughed. âNo,â she said. âIâm not getting married. At least not any time soon. You kind of need a man for that anyway.â
âI donât get it, then,â Kate said. âWhatâs the big secret?â
âThereâs something I want to show you,â said her aunt. âRemember how you said my hair was shorter than last time you saw me?â
Kate nodded. Then she watched as Aunt Netty reached up, removed her hat, and lifted her hair clear off of her head. The hair dangled from her hand as she waved it around, and Kate stared in shock at her head.
âYouâre bald!â she said.
âSurprise,â said her aunt, putting her straw hat back on. âDo you like it? I hear itâs all the rage now.â
âYouâre bald!â Kate said again, not believing what she was seeing.
Her aunt plopped the wig onto the table, where Kate stared at it as if it might leap up and bite her. âThatâs the big secret?â she asked. âYouâve been wearing a wig?â
Her aunt laughed. âActually, the wig is a relatively new development,â she said.
Kate was confused. âI donât get it,â she said.
Aunt Netty reached out and took Kateâs hand. âIâd like to tell you that Iâm making some grand statement about fashion, or even that Iâve become a Buddhist,â she said. âBut, honey, the truth is that Iâm not here on any assignment. I have cancer.â
Kate shook her head. âWhat did you say?â she asked.
âCancer,â said her aunt. âI have cancer. Thatâs why Iâm wearing a wig. My hair fell out after the last round of chemo. I know finding out like this must be more than a little strange for you, but I didnât really know how else to do it. I figured just jumping in would get the shock over with as quickly as possible.â
Kate was stunned. She didnât know what to say. Was her aunt kidding? It would be just like her to shave her head. But pretending she had cancer? She would never joke about something like that.
âWhen?â was all Kate could say. âHow? Why?â
âI found out about three months ago,â her aunt explained. âI discovered a lump in my breast while I was showering. I went to the doctor, he did a biopsy, and voilà âI had cancer.â
Kate looked into her auntâs face. There were the familiar brown eyes, the nose that looked just like her motherâs nose and her own nose, the mouth that was smiling the reassuring smile that had comforted Kate so many times. But with her hair gone, Aunt Netty looked different. She was changed. And that change was because of the cancer
Learning to Kill: Stories