DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (NaNoWriMo Day 25 HWR)

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

I sat on the shores, the vast Arabian Sea facing me. My mind was in a whirl and as turbulent as the waters whooshing on the sands. I wished the earth would swallow me whole or the sky to draw me in! How could this happen! How could I be so careless! I had lost the only souvenir and memento of my dear late maternal grandmother. A Teardrop-diamond pendant.

It meant a lot to me, not because of the material value, but for the fact that it held a lot of memories…and a story behind it. During the great exodus, my ancestors fled their native land, leaving behind all possessions and wealth. This was the only piece of jewellery which was shielded from the thugs.

Grandma would tell me how they had mortgaged this diamond over and over for expenses and survival, and everytime they regained possession of it. It was a lucky charm. As a newly-wed years later, she inherited it from her parents as a bridal gift. It brought scores of prosperity in her marital home.

In her Last Will, she had bequeathed it to me. Since then, everyday was a miracle. It was my genie of the lamp. And today? I lost it. How crestfallen I must have looked to onlookers. A wizened old lady came up to me and laid her hand on my shoulder. In the light of the setting sun, it looked like she had a halo around her head.

"Child, you look dejected..."

"Madame, I lost a diamond on this beach…"

"Tct..tch...Diamonds always find a way back to the owner…search your shirt pockets."

My fingers grasped…a diamond! It wasn't there earlier! Did it drop into my pockets? Or…?

When I looked up, the lady had vanished into thin air!

Pic Courtesy:Pixabay

©️ Sangeetha Kamath

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