The Hope Keeper

The Hope Keeper

I am born of fire and earth.

Pressed for millions of years, I remain hidden until a single moment when I am swept up by gold-red spirals of heat.

I burst forth into the air suddenly, violently, thrust into a world I do not know of light and air.

After, I lie in wait for him to find me.

I do not count days or years; I do not measure time, for I am immortal.

One day, the trajectory of my existence shifts, and all is set into motion.

A tool chips away layers of rock until I am found, cradled by careful brown hands, and slipped into the soft, muted darkness of a leather pouch.

I am thrust again into the light sometime later, passed from one pair of hands to another, prodded and examined, shaved and polished, until it appears I please him.

Only, my keeper’s countrymen do not want me.

They see bad luck in my unusual color, and despite my undeniable beauty, I am traded to the keeper who will carry me to a new land.

Once again, I lie in wait for what is next. For the lives I will forever change, for I am a symbol of power. And what is more seductive than power?

Some say my fate was predetermined. Unusual, special. I am a talisman, a keeper of secrets, my dark-blue depths a well of misfortune, or so it is said. But perhaps you should read on. Perhaps you should decide the truth for yourself.