Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair by Ella McLeod

Author:Ella McLeod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Cake

Cynthia and Ama are baking a cake. It will be a showstopper: three tiers of berries, sponge and cream, a gift from the cows Kam tells you are kept on the other side of Persea.

“Persean witches would never take the life of an animal,” Kam had explained when Cynthia had arrived earlier, her arms laden with eggs, butter and flour. “But there is a witch, Zahrah, who is Mum’s cousin. Her life magic means she is friends with the animals. They whisper to her, or they used to. But now, though she cannot speak with them, they still leave gifts for her to sell in return for her care and protection. Eggs, milk, things like that.”

Cynthia and Ama roll their sleeves up and scan the recipe book, frowning. You think of Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmothers, attempting domesticity without magic for the first time.

“I was surprised Zahrah even had a non-magic recipe book,” Kam says.

“She said someone gifted it to her for a birthday years ago. As a joke.”

“Hmm, yes, hilarious. I’m sure they did not anticipate it being used. However, at least we will have a cake for the Sankofa.”

The Sankofa, you had once been told, is the holiday celebrated by the Perseans to honour the land as the year draws to a close. The days are uniform in length now, regardless of the season: the king’s doing, no doubt. Ordered, structured, almost seasonal.

Cynthia frowns. “Fold it in? What does that mean?”

You laugh and get to your feet. “Step aside, ladies. As someone with no magic, this is my time to shine.”

“Everyone has magic,” Ama says automatically, but they obey, Ama slipping gratefully into a chair as Cynthia heats the kettle on the stove.

You begin to measure out ingredients: vanilla extract, baking powder, sugar, mundane in this magic kitchen. “How come you’re still celebrating Sankofa?” you ask. “Now that your magic has gone?”

“That is not the fault of the land, girl,” Ama says sternly. “We must still be grateful for what we have been given. We must still acknowledge the occasion.”

“We Persean witches may have had our magic taken, but it remains in the land,” says Cynthia. “You can still hear the spirits of the forest singing their songs of life and love. I think that is worth a cake at least.”

Ama smiles a little sadly. “In the old days, on this night, we Persean witches would get dressed up, and as the day moved swiftly into evening, moved by our excitement or the will of the goddess, we could never be sure, we would feel the sting of magic beneath our skin and reach the height of our power. There would be dancing and music and much revelry.” She looks at Cynthia with soft eyes and Kam coughs with embarrassment.

“OK, I shall tell this part because you two can never get through it without making me ill,” Kam says. You laugh and she picks up the story like a dropped thread and continues to weave. “The witches of Persea

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.