Post by Matsi on Oct 18, 2012 20:17:12 GMT -5
My life had been normal, back when my father was still around. He was an archiologist. He was well known for his findings in central america and his studies on the aztec and native american cultures. He loved their culture, and the stories that their artwork and stone work held. The only thing he loved more than his work, was my mother, My sister (Hestia), and myself. He would be gone for a few weeks or days at a time, but then come home with wonderful gifts and stories about his trip.
One of his favorite stories to tell us was about the Blood Emerald and the Star Gem.
"The Blood Emerald is not huge, only about the size of a half dollar coin," he would tell us time and time again.
"Most of the stone is green. Green as the fresh spring grass. While it has veins in it. The veins are red, red as blood, and if you look closely, you can see the blood moving through the stone."
This always creeped my sister and I out, but we loved the story too much to stop him.
"The stone was created when a tribe leader was filled with an eternal rage. He put his spirit in this stone, and cursed any who found the stone."
"BUt daddy, how is the person cursed?" My big sister would always ask, though she knew the answer. She, like myself, just wanted to hear more.
"The moment the stone's new owner touches it, it burns their hand, claiming some of that person's blood into it's own veins. Thats why the stone has blood. That blood stays in the stone for eternity, and that person is cursed by the stone for as long as they live."
He would always lean back in his chair, looking pleased, then sit up quickly again, with a new vigor.
"But! There is said to be one way to break the curse and destroy the Blood Emerald,"
Hestia and I would always lean closer with eagerness.
"The Star Gem. They say that Long ago, a star fell onto the earth and planted a single Moon Lily. In the roots of the Moon lily, rests the Star Gem."
"Why is.... the gem hard to find, papa?" I would ask him.
"Because, the lily only blooms on the three nights of the full moon."
"But Daddy! The full moon is only once a month!" Hestia giggled.
"Ahh, that may be true, but on the day before and the day after the real full moon, the moon is at it's strongest power. That power makes the immortal flower bloom."
He told us this story for years, until the day he died. I was eleven when they found him dead. Reason for death, unknown. Yet, in his camp, he had wrapped items labeled with names of people whom he wanted to give those items to.
I opened my final gift from the man in my room, the night after his funeral. I opened it in secret. It was for me, and no one else. It was a gift from the greatest man I would ever know.
The object was wrapped in paper. I lightly pulled the strings off, and the paper flopped to the ground, leaving the item wrapped in a cloth. A note was written on the paper.
"I found it. Destroy it." Was all that was written on the paper. I didn't understand, but proceeded to undo the cloth around the object.
Bright green flashed from under the cloth as I peeled it aside. Then streaks of red seemed to flow through the green.
Excitement. I dropped the cloth, and gripped the stone tightly. Pain shot through one of my hands and blood started to drip from my palm and over the stone. Yet, it seemed to absorb it like a sponge. The cut cauterized itself, leaving a large blaze like mark on my palm. This was the Blood Emerald...
He had been in this institution for two years now. His diagnosis? Severe Trauma caused Bi-polar syndrome and Schizophrenia. No one believed him when he told them about the blood emerald. He wore the stone as a pendant around his neck, as a cruel reminder of why he was in the situation that he was in.
It wasn't all bad, though. At least no one else was going through the suffering. He couldn't bare to think that someone else would possibly kill themself over this curse, but he was going to try to do as his father asked on that final note... Destroy it.
The note was neatly folded and tucked into the wallet that he always carried, another reminder, but this one was to remind him to stay strong. Sure, he didn't have a friend in the world right now, and his own family rarely visited him, but that was alright. He would find a way to destroy it. Then again, he knew what he needed... He just needed to find it.
One of his favorite stories to tell us was about the Blood Emerald and the Star Gem.
"The Blood Emerald is not huge, only about the size of a half dollar coin," he would tell us time and time again.
"Most of the stone is green. Green as the fresh spring grass. While it has veins in it. The veins are red, red as blood, and if you look closely, you can see the blood moving through the stone."
This always creeped my sister and I out, but we loved the story too much to stop him.
"The stone was created when a tribe leader was filled with an eternal rage. He put his spirit in this stone, and cursed any who found the stone."
"BUt daddy, how is the person cursed?" My big sister would always ask, though she knew the answer. She, like myself, just wanted to hear more.
"The moment the stone's new owner touches it, it burns their hand, claiming some of that person's blood into it's own veins. Thats why the stone has blood. That blood stays in the stone for eternity, and that person is cursed by the stone for as long as they live."
He would always lean back in his chair, looking pleased, then sit up quickly again, with a new vigor.
"But! There is said to be one way to break the curse and destroy the Blood Emerald,"
Hestia and I would always lean closer with eagerness.
"The Star Gem. They say that Long ago, a star fell onto the earth and planted a single Moon Lily. In the roots of the Moon lily, rests the Star Gem."
"Why is.... the gem hard to find, papa?" I would ask him.
"Because, the lily only blooms on the three nights of the full moon."
"But Daddy! The full moon is only once a month!" Hestia giggled.
"Ahh, that may be true, but on the day before and the day after the real full moon, the moon is at it's strongest power. That power makes the immortal flower bloom."
He told us this story for years, until the day he died. I was eleven when they found him dead. Reason for death, unknown. Yet, in his camp, he had wrapped items labeled with names of people whom he wanted to give those items to.
I opened my final gift from the man in my room, the night after his funeral. I opened it in secret. It was for me, and no one else. It was a gift from the greatest man I would ever know.
The object was wrapped in paper. I lightly pulled the strings off, and the paper flopped to the ground, leaving the item wrapped in a cloth. A note was written on the paper.
"I found it. Destroy it." Was all that was written on the paper. I didn't understand, but proceeded to undo the cloth around the object.
Bright green flashed from under the cloth as I peeled it aside. Then streaks of red seemed to flow through the green.
Excitement. I dropped the cloth, and gripped the stone tightly. Pain shot through one of my hands and blood started to drip from my palm and over the stone. Yet, it seemed to absorb it like a sponge. The cut cauterized itself, leaving a large blaze like mark on my palm. This was the Blood Emerald...
He had been in this institution for two years now. His diagnosis? Severe Trauma caused Bi-polar syndrome and Schizophrenia. No one believed him when he told them about the blood emerald. He wore the stone as a pendant around his neck, as a cruel reminder of why he was in the situation that he was in.
It wasn't all bad, though. At least no one else was going through the suffering. He couldn't bare to think that someone else would possibly kill themself over this curse, but he was going to try to do as his father asked on that final note... Destroy it.
The note was neatly folded and tucked into the wallet that he always carried, another reminder, but this one was to remind him to stay strong. Sure, he didn't have a friend in the world right now, and his own family rarely visited him, but that was alright. He would find a way to destroy it. Then again, he knew what he needed... He just needed to find it.