Page 11 of Unravel Me

"Is that why we have extra security?" I ask quietly and glance at him again.

"Yes. Just in case this turns out to be something bigger…" Dad adds in that voice I know so well. He is trying to make it sound like nothing, downplaying it so I won’t worry, but I’m sure he’s keeping certain things from me.

Dad hesitates, then takes something out of his pocket.

"Listen, it's not that I'm superstitious, but I have this… feeling that I should give this to you today."

I blink. "A feeling? That… you won't have another chance?"

Dad forces a smile.

"No, of course not," he assures, but I just know he is lying.

"This is something that has been passed on among our family members who have carried a particular unique gift. Uncle Renato asked me to bring it to you when the gift manifests itself."

"A gift… What gift?" I ask, even though I already suspect what he means.

Something started revealing itself inside me about two years ago.

Subtle at first, but becoming more and more obvious with every month. It was difficult to describe, being more like this feeling in my bones, in my every cell. Since then, I have had moments when I woke up and my hands were green, glowing slightly… It disappeared quickly, but I knew something was changing.

My granddad, Silvio, once told me that our family was special. He called us ‘Silvari’ and emphasized that only one child in every generation was born with this gift. I asked him what kind of gift it was, and he said mysteriously, "You'll see soon enough."

Dad watches me for a moment, as if he wants to read my thoughts. Then he kneels beside me and presses a small pendant into my hand.

It is a golden leaf shaped like two halves of a heart. One half can be separated, probably creating a second pendant, but for now the two parts are joined together.

"Take this, and never part with it. One day, if you have children and one of them has the same gift, you will pass it on to them…"

I study the leaf. It is intricately decorated with tiny emeralds, green malachite, and a clear, pale-green agate.

Of course, at this point, I don't yet know the proper names for these stones, but with time, I'll learn what they're called.

The pendant seems old, very old… It almost vibrates between my fingers.

"Is it magical?"

"They say so. It can turn people into… trees!" And Dad winks.

I chuckle, since it sounds funny, but he turns his gaze away, looking pensive.

So I speak quietly.

"Is it me? Am I the one among my brothers who has this gift?"

Dad smiles sadly. "Correct. It's you, Mauro."

"And you? Do you have this gift too?"

"No. Uncle Renato is the one who has it, this gift doesn't pass down in a straight line. It can be inherited through uncles, cousins, and nephews."

"And it chose me?"

"Yes. It chose you."

He hesitates, then adds in Sicilian:

"Nui semu li Silvari, l'essiri dû voscu. Semu l'anticu pòpulu, li sò spiriti e li sò guardiani. Dû voscu vinemu e ô voscu appartinemu cu tuttu lu nostru cori. Lu nostru sangu è pi sempri ligatu ô pulsu virdi di l'essenza eterna dû voscu."[1]