Story Leaves

In La Chiave a Croce, children often fill their free time weaving stories together on the wind. Piles of marked leaves are either lifted by the breeze or thrown into the air. How they land dictates the story's elements.

Are the leaves upside-down? What order did they fall? Are some leaves clumped together? These are the important questions that ignite fires in the children's minds.

Image of Children Spinning in the leaves

The Nursery Rhyme on the right is sung in a dancing circle while the leaves are falling. Whomever has the most leaves by their feet when the chant ends becomes the next story teller.

History

Some believe the children of La Chiave a Croce were entranced by a tarot reader who passed through town one fall. Upon her departure, the children became restless, neglecting their duties and destroying their parent's wares. 
One clever mother took some leaves and drew images upon them to mimic the tarot cards.  The chaotic haze seeped out of her child's eyes. Word spread and the children of the port-city returned to normal.

Children's Production

Since paper and ink are in short supply for many children, cards are typically created with leaves. Rather than using expensive inks, the children will make their own out of fruits, vegetables, clay, and, occasionally, blood. A few patient children will use a dull stick and bruise the leaves to form shapes.

There are children who take the time to press or hang their leaves for weeks or months, depending on humidity. Others impatiently use leaves fresh from the trees and spend much of the winter without cards.

Some discerning children will only use certain types or sizes of leaves, saving every one they've created to form a massive collection. A few tussles are documented where one child believes, sometimes rightfully so, that someone stole their story leaves. Typically, they resolve these issues themselves.

The Turning of Leaves

Despite its origins as a child's game, a number of adults have created their own parlor version. Some of the more prominent families of the port-city have used paper, inks, and dyes to create fanciful visions to play with care or, more importantly, display on their walls. Instead of throwing the cards, they are shuffled and arranged on a table by the host. This practice is called The Turning of Leaves. As these cards are not for children, some have explicit content which will not be described here.

Whisper on the breezes say,
Stories 'bout to come.
Who will tell us what will be,
It's time to pick someone.
One, Two, and You!

— Children of La Chiave a Croce

Image Gallery

Images of Story Leaves on their way!