Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Ritual, 1969 [two stories]

the florist groaned and uttered a curse, and called briskly, ‘Madame!’
 She turned and he tossed threecoins inher direction. They fell at her feet and she quickly picked up two, but the third was nearer to Amanda. The child stepped forward, bending to retrieve the coin, and as she did so she met the woman’s gaze for the first time. They stared at one another for a moment, then stood up. Amanda, holding her bouquet upside-down, dangling the four satin flower heads like the hanged man on a tarot card, lifted her other hand towards the woman, the small copper coin held between her thumb and forefinger. The woman

stared at her in confusion for a moment and then, bobbing her head briefly, quickly took the coin and left the shop. Amanda followed. The woman, once she was a few paces from the shop, hesitated as if uncertain which way to go. She seemed distressed, her head turning this way and that, while her feet remained fixed to that one slab of pavement. Amanda went to her side. ‘Madame?’ she said and reached for the woman’s hand, whichwas cold to the touch and made Amanda think about the ivory soap dish on the washstand in her mama’s bedroom. The woman looked at Amanda. Her expression was one

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