Sparkling Silver in the Sunlight

When David Mason finds a diamond necklace on his afternoon walk, his normal (some might say boring) life takes a turn for the better. 

Sparkling Silver in the Sunlight

David Mason was a very ordinary man. He lived in an ordinary house, had an ordinary job, and lived an ordinary life.

Part of his ordinary life was going for a walk in the park nearby his house each afternoon.

It was on one such walk that a certain Autumn leaf caught his eye. It was beautiful, with mottles of green still amongst the reds, yellows, oranges and browns. David picked it up, examining it, only to find something else hidden beneath.

Lying there in the dirt, amongst the leaves and bugs, was a necklace. Some patches, those not covered by mud, were sparkling silver in the sunlight, the attached chain leading up to a beautiful diamond half-buried in the sand.

David frowned, trying to work out where he had seen the necklace before. Something about it seemed familiar. Ah! He had seen it in an advertisement in his local paper the day before. Someone had lost it, and was asking if anyone had seen it. Hopefully, he still had the paper lying around at home somewhere so he could contact the owner.

Carefully, he bent down and picked up the delicate necklace, noticing that the clasp was broken, and realised that that was, most likely, the reason for its loss. With that thought in mind, he hid it away from prying eyes within his pocket, and continued onwards with his walk, thinking all the while.

David finished his walk early that afternoon, and made his way to the local jewellers. He had never been inside before, and was slightly surprised to find a kindly-looking old woman behind the counter, who smiled gently at him as he came in, and asked what he was looking for. He explained the situation, and asked simply for the clasp to be fixed and the necklace to be cleaned so that he could return it to its rightful owner. The woman looked over him thoughtfully, before taking the necklace gently in her hands and getting to work.

She finished about a quarter of an hour later, returning the repaired necklace to him in a small, white box, which was tied closed with a ribbon. However, as he got out his wallet in order to pay her, she put her hand firmly on his in order to stop him.

“No, dear,” she said, smiling, “there’s no charge for a small thing like that.”

David was surprised, and it showed on his face.

“Are you sure?” he asked, “If it cost you anything, I’m willing to-”

“That necklace is worth a lot of money,” she stated, cutting him off, “It’s at least 100 years old, and includes a rather large diamond which would fetch a high price when sold. There aren’t many people who’d bother returning it, and would instead keep it for themselves and sell it. You’re one of the few who do the right thing. That certainly won’t cost you anything.”

David looked at her curiously, but realised that she would not back down and accepted her offer.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely, smiling at her, “I truly appreciate that.”

“No problem, dear,” the woman replied, “Take care now.”

David nodded his head in acknowledgement, leaving the woman with some hope for the future that she had been lacking before.

…::-::...

Lisa Spinner was a very extraordinary woman. She lived in an extraordinary house, had an extraordinary job and lived an extraordinary life.

At the age of 25, she was the youngest CEO Weavers’ Designs had ever had. She had worked her way up to the top, having started at the company as a Junior Designer when she was only 18 years old, and had absolutely thrived.

She was, on that day, however, rather upset. She had lost her favourite diamond necklace, which she had inherited from her late grandmother, whom she’d been very close to, and had had no luck in finding it. She had even placed an advertisement in the newspaper with the hope that someone would return it to her if they found it, but nothing had come of it thus far. She hadn’t really thought it would. People weren’t very honest, and, if someone did find it, she knew they would probably keep it for themselves, but she tried it anyway.

She sighed. She was worried that she’d never find it.

She was startled out of her dismal thoughts by the ring of the doorbell. Lisa frowned, as she wasn’t expecting anyone so, curious now, she went over and opened the door.

A man stood on her doorstep. He was quite tall, with dirty blonde hair and sparkling hazel eyes. Lisa reckoned him to be about her own age - perhaps slightly older. She knew she’d never seen him before, and wondered what he was doing there. Hopefully, he wasn’t another of those door-to-door salesmen.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted brightly, “Are you Lisa Spinner?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how exactly he knew her name.

“I am,” she responded.

“Well then,” he smiled, “I think this belongs to you.”

He withdrew an elegant, white box from his pocket and held it out to her. Lisa took it, curious, and untied the smooth ribbon that held it closed, before opening it. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

Her grandmother’s necklace! The diamond sparkled in the afternoon sun, better than she’d ever seen it do before. And this man had returned it to her!

In her joy, Lisa squealed and launched herself at the man, grasping him a hug, whilst still holding on tightly to her precious parcel.

“Oh, thank you!” she cried, smiling up at his shocked face, “I cannot even begin to tell you what that necklace means to me.”

“I think I could guess,” he replied, amused.

Lisa blushed in embarrassment, and took a step back, clearing her throat.

“Well, Mr…?”

“Mason,” he said, “David Mason. But call me David, please.”

“David,” Lisa said, “Would you like to come inside for a cup of tea? It’s the least I could do after what you’ve done for me.”

He seemed hesitant, “I wouldn’t want to impose…”

“Nonsense! I insist.”

“Alright then,” he conceded, “As my lady demands it.”

He winked at her, before stepping into the hallway. Lisa closed the door behind him, shaking her head at his mischievous nature.

…::-::...

A year later, the old lady at the local jewellers found a letter lying on the doorstep as she opened up shop for the day. She unfolded it, assuming it was for her as it was unaddressed. Inside she found two items - a sheet of paper and a photograph. She read the paper first.

I’d like to thank you.

Our interaction that day brought us together, and that is something I’ll always be grateful for.

Puzzled, she turned her eye to the photograph, and smiled when she saw it.

It depicted two people on their wedding day - a man with dark-blonde hair and hazel eyes, and a woman with white-blonde hair and blue eyes. They were laughing in the picture, and looked so happy that it brought a tear to her eye.

She had noticed the necklace the woman was wearing. It was rather difficult to miss.

The large diamond was sparkling silver in the sunlight.