Lil' Tidbits

The Special Thing

The special thing didn't call to me like most special things do. It was entangled in roots beneath a huge oak tree, and shrouded in leaves, almost as if it didn't want to be found. I suppose that's partially what made it so special.

But more than that, it truly was. I had been running alone out in the woods, trying to lock my mind onto something important. When I slipped and fell it was almost on purpose, like I wanted to give up my journey to the other side of the forest. But sitting in the stream I had collapsed into, my eyes just gazed at the lowest point they could find. And there it was.

Looking at it, you'd never guess it was originally a necklace. It was tangled and mangled and covered with dirt and grime. All junked up and tossed out. But there was a speckle that shone like copper. I sloshed through the freezing flow and brushed away the leaves, plucking it out of the mud. I still couldn't tell if it was beautiful, but it had to come with me, I knew. It and I were just the same.

I washed it in the stream and wiped away the dripping pendant's front, and there was my name. It was unbelievable, and I wondered if it could be a trick or if I had fainted and this was all an illusion of my mind. But I felt the grooves of engravement with my fingertips and the shine of the sun on the metal made me wince for a moment.

The special thing I had found was for me, and somehow I had made my way to it. It was hidden for careless passerbys, but it had been waiting right at that very spot just for me to find it.

I've washed it off and taken care to clean it, to untangle it very carefully. The task has taken me years, and it still isn't near as beautiful as it could be. I suppose it will never be perfect. But finally, finally, I can wear it around my neck. Show it off with pride, because it is mine. My precious thing that hid so that I could find it.