7

CURIOSITY

 

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Maria Beppina is happy to hear Primo’s knock. She’s curious what happened at the Tree of the Janara the other night, as she hasn’t seen him since. It’s almost like he’s been avoiding her, or maybe it’s everyone. He didn’t even come to dinner last night!

As soon as she opens the door, Primo says, “Take it.” He’s holding out his hand, and Maria Beppina can’t believe what’s in it.

It’s the ring.

“What are you giving me this for?” she asks as Primo places the ring in her hand.

Primo peers inside the doorway to look at Maria Beppina’s father, who sits working at his drafting table. His tools always spook Primo. “I want you to ask him about it,” he whispers, nodding over.

“My dad?” Maria Beppina says. “Why?”

“Because he can read all the books,” Primo says, and starts back down the steps.

“Did the Janara ever come to your tree?” Maria Beppina calls after him.

“Just ask your father about the ring!” Primo hollers up without looking back.

“What’s going on out there?” her father calls from inside.

Maria Beppina shows Daddy the ring and tells him how Primo found it inside of a fish. “What do you think it means?” she asks.

“It means nothing. It’s trash,” he says. “People throw trash in the river. Fish eat trash.”

“But it’s not trash!” Maria Beppina says. “It’s a beautiful ring.”

“Well, maybe someone threw it into the river on purpose then. Or it slipped off their finger while they were doing the wash. People lose things, you know.”

Maria Beppina stays upstairs for dinner that night. She doesn’t want to disappoint Primo with what her father said, and she barely feels like eating anyway.

Sitting in bed, she takes out the ring and holds it up to the bright moonlight. How pretty it is! She never noticed the pattern.

Then she notices something else—a symbol etched into the inner band. A hook, it looks like, or maybe it’s a J. Could it be a clue to who it belongs to? A Janara?

In Benevento, curiosity is the most dangerous thing of all. Maria Beppina has survived here by not being curious, but she can no longer help herself.

Why did Mischief Season come so early? Did that eel really lead Primo to the Mana- longa? What would happen if the Clopper caught a kid? Caught her?

And what about this ring? She slips it on her finger and holds it up again to the moon. It fits perfectly.

Is it truly magical? Would it really protect her against witches?

Maria Beppina has no earthly idea.