CURIOSITY

Ten Years Old

Aunt snipped a thorny stem from the rose bush. She held it steady in her hands and it began to change, its waxy green hardening, its thorns turning inwards, twisting, smoothing, becoming a thick thread of cord, plain-coloured and rough.

Anna watched in wonder.

‘Do you wish to know the secrets of magic, Anna?’ said Aunt, weaving the cord between her fingers, which were so pale and bony they always looked as if they would snap in half, although Anna knew them to be strong. ‘You may ask me now. Go on. Don’t be shy.’

Anna’s mind sped into overdrive. Aunt had never let her ask about magic before. ‘How do you—’

Aunt made a knot in the cord and the question locked in Anna’s mouth. A deeply unpleasant sensation. She felt herself able to speak; her tongue could move, and yet the question would not come, as if someone had stapled it to her tongue.

‘Ask again.’

Anna was more tentative this time. ‘Is there—’

Aunt made a second knot and the question stopped at Anna’s lips. It felt as if she was trying to force a large cushion through a keyhole. Aunt smiled frustratingly.

‘How are you—’ Anna’s mouth snapped up and this time the question forced its way back down her throat. She threw herself back onto the sofa, exhausted, deciding not to speak any more.

‘Are you curious, Anna?’

Anna nodded, defeated.

‘A cat has nine lives and curiosity still managed to kill it.’ Aunt undid the knots in the cord and offered it to Anna. ‘Go on, take it. It’s yours. Your Knotted Cord.’

Anna’s eagerness had long fled. She took it hesitantly, finding it coarse beneath her fingers, as if its thorns were still there.

‘Now, make a knot of your own.’

Anna fumbled with the cord; it did not flow as easily in her hands. She made a tentative knot in its centre.

‘Now. I want you to focus on that curiosity, that feeling, let it fill up your whole body.’ Aunt brought her face close. ‘Then I want you to tighten that knot and as you do so imagine that curiosity being tied up inside of it. Strangle it. Weakness in feeling; strength in control. Unrestrained emotions will only make your magic more dangerous. Tie them tight. Lock them up. That knot is your world now.’