My grandmother had a box filled with buttons, threads, and pieces of fabric.
I loved exploring all those small objects. One day, an unusual one caught my eye. It was round, yellow, made of metal, and had a letter Z on it.
What could that be, I wondered. It was not a button; I could see that. And why did it have a Z?
I ran to the kitchen and showed it to my grandmother. To my surprise she became pale and hissed, “Put it back! Put it back where you found it! I don’t want to see it!”
“Oh Granny, I can throw it out, if you are so afraid of it. Or Dad can smash it. He is strong. If he steps on it, it will break!”
“No. Don’t throw it, don’t smash it, don’t show it to your dad. Just do what I said. Put it back where you found it and never, never ask about it again.”
That evening after hearing my mom’s key turning in the door, I rushed and whispered to her:
“I have a secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yes, come to the box.”
“May I take my coat off?” she said, bemused.
“No, no, come to the box. Look! I found this round object and grandmother was terribly upset when she saw it.”
And then my mother also became upset.
“I do not want to see it! Of course, she was upset! Oh my God!”
“So, what is it? Why not throw it away?” I asked. “It must be an evil charm!”
And my mother said,“It’s something that you cannot keep and cannot throw out. That’s what it is!”
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