by Elena Carter
“You mean, enjoyed by us?” Tina raised her eyebrow.
“Sometimes. Are there any pink ones left?”
“Let me see.” Tina leaned closer to what was left of the pile of glasses. “Yeah, there are several, here you go. What do you mean, sometimes?”
“I won’t always be able to travel with you. The idea is to show you around. To teach you. To introduce you to the worlds and guides. To warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Not all worlds are friendly, Tina. Some could even be dangerous.”
“Every time I hear that, it sends shivers down my spine. Alice told me about Umbrus. It’s terrifying. I still can’t forget that dream.” Tina instinctively scanned the area, checking for the shadow.
“Don’t worry. When you’re with me, you’re mostly safe.”
“Mostly?” Tina’s eyebrows climbed up. “Are you kidding me? Or are you trying to scare me?”
“No, just being the good old honest me.” Greg laughed. “Look, babe, right now there’s nothing for you to worry about, okay?”
“When will there be something for me to worry about? When I’m on my own? I don’t want to be on my own. I want to be with you.”
Greg sighed.
“Greg, please tell me you won’t leave me … again.” She blurted and bit her lip.
He turned around and raised his eyebrows.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I know it wasn’t your fault. I’m getting nervous and frustrated and saying stupid things. I wish I was back in the place of equilibrium.” She buried her face in her hands.
“Baby, look around you and take a deep breath. Relax. You need to learn to find equilibrium inside you. Everything is okay, trust me. I know it’s overwhelming, but you’ll get used to it. You’ll learn, and you’ll love it. Give me your hand.”
Tina reached out and took Greg’s hand. She closed her eyes, breathed in slowly and breathed out even slower.
“Look,” Greg said. “I thought you’d like it. And it leads us to lesson number one.”
Tina opened her eyes and gazed at the mosaic in the shape of a hummingbird that Greg had made on the sand.
“It’s beautiful!”
“Thank you, honey!” Greg smiled.
“So, what’s the lesson number one?”
“When you’re traveling alone—but not only alone—always follow the hummingbird.”
Tina opened her eyes. At first, she couldn’t understand where she was. A light sea breeze brushed her face and the sound of the waves hitting the shore resonated around her, but it was pitch black.
She remembered curling up in Greg’s lap and saying, “I’d love to sleep here. You know me, that’s the highest rating I can give a place—if I want to nap there.”
He stroked her hair. “There’s one thing I want you to know, though. Not all places are safe to sleep in. Sometimes, if a world lays its eyes on you, it might choose to never let you go.”
“What do you mean?” She tried to get up, but she was so sleepy and tired she could barely move.
“You don’t have to worry now, when you’re with me. You’re safe. But keep it in mind when you are on your own, okay?” He continued stroking her hair softly, and she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore.
“Okay, honey. I got it. I’m safe. I love you,” she whispered as she drifted off.
And now, when she opened her eyes, after what seemed to be a few minutes, she was lying on something soft. It wasn’t Greg’s lap anymore.
She stretched her arms behind her head and hit the headrest of a bed.
She also felt something in her right hand.
Confused, Tina got up and reached for the light switch. The warm light of the bedside lamp revealed the surroundings; she was sitting on the bed in the hotel room.
Tina blinked several times, shaking away the sleepiness. She looked around to confirm she indeed was in the room, and not on the beach, and that she was all on her own. A lump formed in her throat and tears welled in her eyes. She clenched her fists hard, digging her nails in the palms of her hands, and remembered she was holding something.
Tina opened her hand and stared at a purple heart-shaped sea glass, still with a few grains of sand on it.
“Keep it. Let it be your amulet.”
Tina wasn’t sure if she actually heard Greg’s voice, or if she imagined it.
She closed her fist again, holding tightly to the reminder of the magical night she’d had, then lifted her hand to her face in time to catch a tear trickling down her cheek. Wiping the tear with her fist, she whispered, “I will. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
“Alice gave me the address of this silversmith. I think I’ll follow her advice and make it a necklace. Wanna come with me?” Tina said to Natalie on the phone. She sat on the sofa in her living room, twirling a tassel on a cushion around her finger.
“Sure. Maybe I’ll finally have my grandma’s ring resized. And I really want to see you. I’ve been missing you.”
“Same. Sorry I disappeared. It’s been kind of crazy. Well, you know now what I’ve been up to.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve been too busy sleeping.” Natalie giggled. “Just teasing, T. I knew something was going on, so I decided to wait patiently. I can’t say the same about Mike. He’s been texting me nonstop. He’s really worried about you. You need to talk to him.”
“I know.” Tina sighed. “I will. There’s just so much going on, and I’m not sure if he’ll be able to take it. To understand. To believe. You know what I mean.”
“Well, give him a chance and you’ll see.”
“And take the pressure off you.” Tina said.
“And take the pressure off me,” Natalie echoed.
“Fair enough. I’ll call him, I promise, Nat.”
“Thank you. You’re a real friend. When do you wanna go see the jeweler?”
“Any time. The sooner the better. You pick, since you’re the one with a busy schedule. I’m all about sleeping lately, like you said.” Tina laughed.
“Oh, I’ve been a bit more relaxed these days too. My mom’s visiting, so she can watch the girls any time. And Tod hasn’t been overloaded with work these days. We even managed to have a date night, while mom was babysitting.”
“Your mom is there? That’s great. Haven’t seen her for ages. Tell her I said hi.”
“I will. And guess what she’s making now in the kitchen?”
“No way. Are you serious? Her magical pecan pie?” Tina licked her lips.
“Yup. One personally for you. As always.” Natalie sounded really proud.
“Oh my God. You just made my day. I can’t wait! Even the thought of it makes my mouth water.”
“Well, you’ll devour it soon.” Natalie laughed. “Tell you what, how about I come to your place in a couple hours? The pie will probably still be hot. You’ll have a slice, because I know you won’t be able to function properly until you’ve had it, and then we’ll go and order a necklace for you and maybe grab a coffee somewhere.”
“Sounds perfect.” Tina stretched on the cushions. “My only question is how do I survive these couple of hours?”
“You’ll manage. You’re strong. I believe in you.”
“I’m not that sure. But thank you for having faith in me.”
“Call Mike. A good way to kill time and to make you stop drooling over the pie. At least temporarily.”
“I will.” Tina sighed. “Although I kind of enjoyed drooling. Don’t forget your grandma’s ring.”
“I already forgot! What’s wrong with me? Thanks for reminding me, T. Okay then, I’m gonna go tell mom about our plans. I’ll see you soon.”
“Can’t wait. And I don’t mean that regarding the pie.” Tina laughed.
“Yeah you do. Seriously, though, call Mike. See ya.” Natalie hung up.
Tina put down her phone. She stared at the ceiling for a couple minutes, then picked up the phone again and opened WhatsApp. She sighed put the phone down. Reaching in her
pocket, she took out the purple beach glass. Her little treasure still amazed her—its unusual color, its shape, the way it felt between her fingers, but mostly with the way she had obtained it.
The little things like sand in the bed after that night didn’t surprise Tina much anymore.
Would probably surprise the room cleaner though, she thought.
But this piece of glass, polished to perfection by the waters of a sea from a whole other world, was her own little miracle—her proof of the fascinating adventure she’d been on. And, as Greg had said, it was now going to be her personal amulet.
Tina caught herself thinking that she was starting to enjoy the crazy and wonderful things happening to her. She smiled and brought the lavender treasure to her eyes, holding it between her thumb and index finger against the sun shining through the blinds. In the sunlight, it looked even more magical, as if there was fire within it. Alice had given her a great idea to turn it into a pendant she could wear all the time. She felt it needed air and sunlight. It couldn’t be hidden in the darkness of a jewelry box or purse.
Tina’s phone buzzed, interrupting her thoughts. She picked it up and peered at the screen.
Mike: Hey. You OK?
Tina let out a long sigh and opened WhatsApp.
Tina: Hey! Sorry for disappearing. Everything’s okay. A bit busy now, will call you later, cool?
She pressed send. She could see Mike was online, and the two blue ticks confirmed he read the message.
Tina waited for a response for a few minutes, but it didn’t follow.
Another couple of minutes later, his status changed to “offline.”
The jeweler’s workshop Alice recommended wasn’t easy to find. Tina and Natalie walked around the neighborhood for a while, passing it several times before they finally noticed the old carved wooden door that didn’t have the street name or house number on it.
“Could that be it?” Tina said, looking for any sign confirming it was actually their destination.
“It seems like he doesn’t really want customers to find him,” Natalie grumbled. “Let’s give it a try.” She shrugged.
Tina rang the bell.
The door buzzed, and Tina pulled the handle to open it.
Taking a step inside, the girls found themselves in what appeared to be someone’s living room. The cozy space was filled with warm orange light from the lamps on coffee tables by a dark leather sofa with a plaid woolen throw. A bookcase occupied the wall behind the sofa, going all the way to the ceiling. Books covered some shelves, while colorful ceramic pots, little vases, and wooden figurines filled the others.
The atmosphere in the room was so soothing and relaxing that Tina wanted to curl up on the sofa and grab one of the books. She smiled and turned to look at her friend. Natalie was looking around, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Cute place, huh?” Tina whispered to her friend. She looked around the room again. “Hello?” she called, trying to attract the attention of the owner.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, ladies! Take a seat, look around,” said a voice from the next room. There was an accent to the man’s voice, but Tina couldn’t identify it.
“Okay, thank you!” Tina tried to make sure he heard her from behind the closed door, yet she still felt as if she was shouting, which seemed inappropriate in the surroundings.
Tina sat down on the sofa, while Natalie continued studying the book shelves. The coffee table next to Tina hosted a handful of books. The one on the top of the pile read Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages.
Of course, Tina thought. That’s what the accent is, Armenian. And Alice said his name is Armen. How could I forget?
Next to the book she saw The Crystal Bible: A Definitive Guide to Crystals. This one looked familiar—Tina saw it on Alice’s shelf. She had always wanted to get one for herself, but kept forgetting. Instead, she used to look up the information on the internet whenever she needed it.
Tina reached for the book on crystals, but Natalie distracted her. “Oh, wow, look at this. This is so beautiful!”
Tina turned to find her friend in the other corner of the room.
“Come here, T,” Natalie called again. “You’ll love it.”
Tina walked over to check out what had caught Natalie’s attention.
It was a glass jewelry display cabinet, about Tina’s height, with white shelves and LED lighting. Jewelry pieces made of silver and gemstones adorned the shelves. There weren’t many, but they were all different, and each piece was a work of art.
Tina noticed a pendant in the center of the middle shelf. It was a pomegranate, with seeds made of garnet. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was such a delicate work, and it looked so realistic. Her mouth watered, as if she was about to taste the juicy sour-sweet seeds.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting, ladies. Good afternoon. What can I do for you?” Armen walked into the room. He wiped his hands with what looked like a kitchen towel, which he then tossed on his shoulder. Tina thought that he looked like he just came out of a kitchen, not a jeweler’s workshop. An apron would have been a good final touch to the image.
She quickly introduced herself and Natalie, mentioned it was Alice who recommended him, and took the beach glass out of her wallet. She still didn’t know what to say about the origin of the glass should he ask. It was, by all means, an unusual object, and she was sure he would wonder where it came from and why she wanted to make it a jewelry piece.
Armen, however, didn’t ask any of the questions. He took the glass from her and lifted it against the lamp light, holding it between his thumb and index finger and squinting slightly. A faint smile played on his lips.
Tina thought Armen looked like he saw an old friend. Maybe he’d even been to that beach somehow.
Okay, maybe that’s too much. It’s my imagination going wild, she thought. Although, it was Alice who sent me here, so why not? Anything is possible.
“You want to make it a pendant?” Armen turned to her.
She nodded. “Is that possible?”
“Of course. Anything is possible.” Armen winked at her.
Tina froze. She felt like he had read her thoughts.
“Can I make a suggestion?” He obviously didn’t notice her surprised eyes.
“Ahem … Sure.”
“I wouldn’t recommend spoiling its natural beauty by making anything too fancy. I think we could make one tiny hole at the top for a small silver bail, so you can wear it on a chain. And it will let the light shine through.” He pointed to the area where he was suggesting to make a hole.
“Oh, yes, absolutely. I didn’t want anything fancy at all. It’s going to be something I wear every day.”
“I thought so.” Armen nodded, the same knowing smile on his lips again. “Do you have a chain? If you don’t, I have some you can choose from. I think you might want something thicker with a bit of strength, right? Since you’re planning on wearing it at all times?”
“Yes, I’ll take a look. Not sure I have anything suitable at home,” Tina nodded.
“All right. Let me make the pendant first, then we’ll see what chain goes with it. I’ll need some time. You ladies can wait here if you want, or come back in an hour or so?”
“Oh, wait, there’s something else,” Tina said. “Nat, do you want to show Armen your ring?”
“Unbelievable. I forgot about it again.” Natalie rolled her eyes. “I got distracted by this beauty.” She pointed at the jewelry display. “Are these your works, Arven? You are so talented.”
“Armen,” Tina corrected her friend, blushing.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Natalie looked embarrassed.
“It’s okay.” Armen laughed. “Trust me, I’m used to it. People rarely get it right. Your version sounded pretty nice, though. Made me feel like I’m an elf.”
Tina couldn’t help but laugh.
I’m starting to like this guy, she thought. Even if he is reading my thoughts, which is kind of c
reepy. But I don’t care.
While Natalie showed Armen her ring and explained what needed to be done, Tina returned to the jewelry display. She looked again at the pomegranate necklace. It was absolutely stunning.
Alice would love it, she thought.
Suddenly she felt the urge to buy the necklace and present it to Alice - just like that, without any particular cause. Tina loved giving presents way more than receiving them. But most of all, she enjoyed surprising people with gifts when they least expected it.
I haven’t done that in ages, she thought. When was the last time I did anything like that for Natalie? She’s been the one who’s always giving me something lately. Need to get her something too. I wonder what she likes the most here.
She turned to look at her friend, who was busy measuring her ring size and complaining to Armen that after she had her daughters her old rings stopped fitting and she didn’t even know her size anymore.
I definitely shouldn’t get her a ring, then. Earrings, maybe? Or a necklace? Or a brooch? They’re back in fashion.
A memory flashed before her eyes. A colorful sparkling brooch in the shape of a hummingbird. One of the first strange dreams she’d had. The beginning of her journey. Only at that point, she had no idea it was going to be a journey.
I still have no idea where I’m going, she thought. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll get somewhere, I guess. And for now, I’ll enjoy the process.
The street was covered in fog. Tangibly thick, it reminded Tina of the foam on a cappuccino. Except this one wasn’t sprinkled with cinnamon.
The houses at the end of the street drowned in it, and Tina struggled to recognize the area. She looked around for anything familiar, but all she could see was the milky fog dimly lit by the street lamps.
And there was something wrong about those street lamps. Something Tina couldn’t grasp.
The street was quiet and empty, at least the visible part of it.
Well, I can’t stand here forever, she thought. I better start moving. At least there’s some light from these strange lamps.