Ethan shook his head but he still knelt down. I smelled what I was looking for. The scent was overwhelming. I took Ethan’s hand and put it out to touch the thing I could smell.
‘Just use your index fi nger and thumb to touch this,’ I said. ‘Rub it gently between your fi ngers but don’t touch anything else except this bit.’ When Ethan’s fi ngers were on the object, I let go of his hand. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘What d’you think it is?’
‘I don’t know …’ Ethan said slowly. ‘It feels like a bit of velvet but there wouldn’t be velvet around the tennis courts.’ I reached out and touched the object, my fi ngers next to Ethan’s. ‘A deep yellow velvet.’ ‘How can you tell what colour it is?’
‘Yellow has got quite a high voice. This yellow’s voice is slightly lower, which means the shade is deeper, but it’s defi nitely yellow.’ ‘Do you know what it is I’m touching?’
‘Yes, I do.’ And all at once I didn’t want to do this anymore. I felt wistful and sad.
‘Take off your tie now. Have a look at what you’re touching.’
Ethan removed his tie at once and gasped. ‘It’s … a fl ower …’ he said shocked. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ ‘A deep yellow fl ower,’ Ethan whispered.
