Page 18 of Forbidden Knots

"Mom," I said excitedly, but I could hear sniffles and tears on the other end. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Hey, honey," she said, her voice trembling. "It’s just so good to hear your voice."

"Is everything okay?" I asked, sitting on the bed.

"Yes, yes," she replied, though her voice didn't match her words. "How is Grandma?"

I was silent for a few seconds, fighting the urge to tell her everything. I didn't want to burden her with my struggles. She didn't need that weight.

"She’s great," I said, but curiosity gnawed at me. "She’s been mentioning someone named Rose lately, but I didn’t want to push her to explain."

"Rose?" Mom's voice was surprised. "Really?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "Do you know who she is?"

She gasped. "Are you sure she said Rose, not someone else?"

"I’m pretty sure," I replied, my interest piqued. "Mom, is something wrong?"

"No, no, honey, it’s just..." She hesitated. "Rose was my older sister. She was very, very troubled," she said. "We don’t talk about her much because... she... uh..."

"She?" I urged her to continue.

"She drowned," Mom said.

Silence filled the space between us, a heavy, oppressive silence that lasted for a full minute before either of us spoke again.

"Mom?" I whispered. "How?"

"We didn’t talk about it much, but it tore our family apart. Your grandfather died just a year later," she said. "Death has followed this family like a cape, and I don’t want that for you, Thalia." She paused; her voice shaky. "Let’s not talk about it, and please, don’t mention it to Grandma. She can be... overwhelmed."

"Okay," I said softly. "Okay."

"Honey," she said, "I know I haven’t been the mother you needed, but I’m better now."

"You were just fine," I chuckled. "Bye, Mom."

"Love you, honey," she said, and before I could respond, she hung up. I whispered, "Love you too," with a chuckle.

I turned around, my mind heavy with thoughts as I got up. Each step I took felt heavy, as if I shouldn’t leave the bedroom, but I knew I had to get away, to clear my mind. I stopped in the middle of the room and made a rash decision. I turned back and went to the window, sitting on the sill. Seeing that it wasn’t that high, I jumped without thinking. My feet hit the ground, and I stumbled forward, my knees scraping against the rocks and cutting into my skin.

"Are you dumb?" I heard a voice from a nearby balcony. I looked up and saw Tristan standing there.

"I’m just tryingnewthings," I shouted back, slowly getting to my feet.

"How’s that going for you?" he asked, his voice now deeper, as if he was trying to disguise it.

"Very well, actually," I said. "Next time I might try a higher floor."

He chuckled. "Please choose water as your landing spot."

His smile was contagious, the wrinkles by his lips and the way his eyes crinkled making me smile too. Without saying anything, I saluted him with two fingers on my forehead and hurried away from his house.

It was still early in the morning when I reached the cliffs. The sea was calm, with only a few small fishing boats on the horizon. The cliffs were still in shade, and there was no one around, just a few crickets playing their song. I moved down the road, crosseda fence, and jumped down next to a pine tree, then followed the path to the cliffs. I climbed to the top and, as I sat down at the lowest cliff, I noticed a pink bucket hat.

I whispered gently, "Sophie."

I jumped to a lower cliff, reached for a rock, then moved to a bigger rock to reach the lowest cliff. Luckily, the sea was calm and there were no waves. This was the spot they called'Devil’s Trap.'

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