Gazing at the turquoise ring on her fourth finger, Asha closed her eyes and spoke quietly.
“I am truly truly happy. This ring has such value, more so than any expensive ring. It must have been made, not for selling, but as a talisman. You can’t get such greenish turquoise anymore so it’s a true treasure for the Native Americans.”
I was relieved that Asha really loved the ring. I’m not one to express my love materialistically but I wanted to give her what she trully wanted. Though I had my doubts one time.
“So, tell me, how did you do it?,” she asked.
“So I asked the storeowner what she would trade this ring for and she said, she will trade with this type of turquoise called the ‘Hat Mine.’ Otherwise known as ‘Lavender blue,’ it is the most premium type of turquoise that exists and only a hatful have been mined to this date. She said she’ll swap the ring for a piece of Hat Mine.”
“And you managed to find such a precious gem? Don’t tell me you had it. Did you?”
“Do you remember Toko-san? The lady who once gave you clothes?”
“Of course, how could I forget, I love Toko-san.”
“The other day, I went to Toko-san to tell her about our marriage and she was so thrilled and that’s when she gave me these gem stones in this tiny leather sac. It was a gift of thanks for something she did, given to her by a Native American when she visited New Mexico way back when. She was told that she should give these gems to someone who needs them as they will definitely find their way back to her. She was told that it will be ‘black-haired man.’ So when I went to tell her about our marriage, Toko-san felt that this was the day.”
“She said, “This is a present from me but also from this special power like destiny,” and handed this leather sac. When the storeowner said, ‘Hat Mine,’ it immediately clicked and I took out the stones from the sac. There, I discovered two pieces of turquoise, much darker blue than the others. I knew that they were ‘Hat Mine.’”
“It’s like a fairytale…but this is just amazing. It’s almost like this ring was meant to come to me…it’s like this ring has a story of its own to tell.”
“I’m so glad I was wearing pumps. This Parisian girl I knew told me about this saying that a pair of pumps will always bring miracles. For her, a pair of pumps was a lucky item.”
As I watched Asha speak with a glorious smile, I could not get my mind off the other ‘Hat Mine’ that remained in the sac.
