Best Friends

Sant Silvestre is a small town deep in Mallorca. Every Christmas Eve, the church chooses a child to be the Sibyl, singing a hymn solo.

Four hundred years ago, on Christmas Eve, a boy named Bartolomeu drove a sharp sword into his own throat in front of the entire town.

The townspeople say the boy was jealous and made a deal with the devil. He stole his companion’s voice, and the price was possession by the devil.

This year, ten-year-old Maria was chosen. Her best friend Lexi was not.

Jealousy is a crack in a manhole cover. Darkness seeps up through it, borrowing a child’s throat to sing the unfinished song.

And your best friend knows where your throat is.