The Twisted Tree

by Rachel Burge

‘A spark of connection’, is what Kelly calls it, when you meet someone and feel like you know them already.

A dark, pulsating heart.

Yggdrasil – the world tree.’

Mormor said the ability always lies dormant until the Norns wake you to your fate.

I rock myself gently for the longest time. I yearn to sleep, to escape, but I keep my eyes open, afraid to close them in case I never wake.

At last I understand: Hel wrote her own story. ‘No one made you queen. You made yourself queen.’

‘The fates have a special purpose for you, my child. Keep listening and one day you shall hear them.’