The sun was high in the
sky, he felt like he had been walking forever. He was tired, thirsty
and hungry, but he persevered, the pay day would be worth it. No one
had made it this far, not that he was aware of anyway. His
Mother-in-Law had unwittingly sent him on this quest. A gift for his
birthday, typically thoughtless, just a book she had picked seemingly
at random from the shelf of a second hand book store. The title
though had peaked his interest, 'Lost treasures of the Modern World'
and flicking through it he had read stories of treasures including a
Diamond, Ruby, a Priceless work of Art.
The book had inspired
him, he had been in a bit of a funk, drifting along, aimless. He
found himself wanting more, perhaps if he could find one of these
treasures, he could reclaim his life. Looking more closely through
the book he found a story of a treasure close to home, little was
known and it was more of an urban myth. There was a poem that was
supposed to unlock the secret, no one had managed to understand how
though. The book detailed a few of the more famous attempts to find
the uncertain treasure, He was surprised at how many people had given
it a go considering the lack of clarity as to the nature of the
prize.
The repeated failures
and lack of solid proof had led to this treasure being largely taken
as a fiction. However to him it was a life line and he clung to it,
like a child gripping the handle bars on their first ride. He had
spent time at the Library, researching and taken to hiking out into
the countryside, his fitness had improved, he had more energy and he
had rediscovered his drive and sense of self. It had all led to this
point, the hunt. His excitement had been so high as he had set off,
full of hope and energy. Now nearly six hours into his hike, the
reality of the task had worn away at his enthusiasm.
He could feel the sweat
as it trickled down his face, the burn in his calf muscles as he
climbed this hill, that seemed to go on and on. He distracted himself
by going over the Poem in his mind...
For treasure so pure,
Seek the right way.
Check your face to be
sure,
A shadow can make you
sway.
Can you look beyond
beauties allure,
To find what you seek
and take away?
A simple little poem
and it played over and over in his mind as he climbed this final
stretch, he had pinned all his hopes on his understanding of this
little riddle. Was he right? He would soon be in position to find
out, he checked his watch and picked up his pace. The excitement
started to return, feeding strength to his tired limbs, there was no
time to stop and free the water bottle from his pack. He looked up at
the sun nearly at its peak, and he stumbled over a loose rock causing
debris to slide down the side of the mountain and kicking up dust. He
cursed his carelessness and looked once to the ground, picking his
path with care.
He was sure this was
the right place from the poem, from what he had deciphered so far he
took 'Face' to mean mountain face, and although this was only just
classed as a mountain its formation at the top resembled a profile of
a face as well. He had climbed the face that had the full force of
the sun and had waited for a day like this, with not a cloud in the
sky. He was just below what would be the chin now. He stopped and
shrugged the pack from his pack. It was a relief not to be carrying
the weight and he rotated his arms in their sockets. He had about
five minutes, taking the water bottle he finally took a long swallow
of the luke warm liquid.
As the water slid down
his parched throat, he caught sight of a glinting. It was so brief
that he nearly missed it. He put down the bottle and looked again,
but could not locate the source until he tilted his head back as if
he was going to take another swig. There just above a boulder he
could see the glint again. He was just about to head off the source
of the glint when he remembered the words of the poem. Looking beyond
the glint he squinted and strained his eyes, not sure what he was
looking for. Then he noticed the crevice between a couple of rocks,
if he had been stood anywhere else he would never have noticed it.
He made the climb
stopping to check the source of that glint. It was truly beautiful,
the quartz catching the sun, it had obviously been place just so, it
was worth a lot in its own right. As beautiful as it was he wanted to
know what awaited in the crevice. Climbing on, he reached the crevice
and peered in. It was too dark to see, he put his hand in and felt
around, there, his fingers brushed past something that felt like
fabric. Grasping it, he pulled the small bundle free. He pulled the
material free and found himself looking upon a Ruby the size of an
egg...
