Bedtime story ‘Kintsugi’ by Adele Parks
You should never have borrowed it without asking.” Ella fumed.
She literally hated sharing a flat with her student sister. Ella worked every hour at her management consultancy job, barely squeezing in time for food or sleep, her sister was currently studying for her second degree, this one in textiles, after she gave up on ceramics; she was rarely out of bed before midday.
Poppy was an eternal child and their parents were enablers. They’d always spoilt her, whilst pushing Ella. Oldest children were more scrutinised. They’d bought the Bristol flat for the girls to share, rent free. OK, so Ella was also doing well out of the arrangement, at least financially, but living with her sister was costing her emotionally.
“Chill. It’s just a manky old jumper. First thing that came to hand, everything of mine was dirty. I’ll replace it.”
She wouldn’t. Classic Poppy. No apology, no thought, simply an excuse. She’d been borrowing and spoiling Ella’s stuff forever. “It’s ripped. Ruined.” “I caught it on a nail. Think of it as distressed.” “I’m 32 years old, with a proper job. I don’t do distressed.” “You embody distressed,” sighed Poppy, wearily. “Why are you making such a fuss? It doesn’t look expensive.” Ella glared, “It was the first thing Drew ever gave me.” “Oh.” Poppy looked vaguely embarrassed. That was a tiny bit satisfying. Even she knew that Drew had broken Ella’s heart. He’d called off their engagement just before their wedding. He’d asked Ella to move out of their flat and moved someone else in. Since, Ella had become a basic recluse. Spikey, unreachable. Poppy thought Drew was a total… Well. Yeah. It wasn’t very Zen to say what she thought of him. “You should throw it out.” “I can’t. I just can’t.” Poppy slid the fraying jumper into her bag and set off to college. There, she sourced a shimmering gold thread and carefully mended the frayed jumper. She embroidered a random snail’s trail of gold across the garment. It took hours, each stitch was precise and perfect.
That night, when Poppy returned home, Ella was already in her pyjamas. “Oh, where’ve you been? I thought you must be clubbing and didn’t expect you back until the early hours.” “I was at college. I’ve something for you.” Ella took the wrapped gift, opened it. “Oh, it’s beautiful.” “It’s based on Kintsugi, meaning ‘Golden Journey’. That’s a Japanese tradition of fixing broken pots with a gold lacquer resin. I learnt about it when I was studying ceramics.” Ella was about to snipe that she was surprised that Poppy had learnt anything but instead she examined the careful stitches and bit her tongue. The quite ordinary jumper had been transformed into something beautiful. “When a broken pot is Kintsugi restored, chances are it will look more gorgeous than before it was fractured,” Poppy explained. “I wanted the same for this jumper. Put it on.”
The heaviest embroidery was over Ella’s heart and the gold thread radiated out from that spot. It gleamed like armour. “He broke your heart, but that’s just part of your journey. Something or someone who has suffered damage has a history and is more beautiful because of that. This jumper isn’t just his gift, it’s mine too now.” Quietly, Poppy murmured, “It’s time to mend.”
Ella was suddenly speechless with love for her sister. When did she grow up and get so wise? Ella wanted to say something profound and meaningful. Instead she said, “Are those my trainers?”
“Yeah, they are,” laughed Poppy.