The Gemstone

Daniel Meringer used one of his rare waking hours to reflect on his life and what it had become. I will leave this life with far less than I entered. It would not be long now – hours, perhaps days. Meringer’s life hadn’t been an exceptionally long one, but, despite the depletion of his wealth over the past few decades, he had no regrets.

Though he had to admit, if he had managed to hold on to even a fraction of his wealth, he could have extended his life significantly. Ah well. What’s done is done. No use trying to wish away what can’t be changed. Indeed, it was far too late now.

Meringer had no family. He had chosen a life of adventure. As he’d grown older, his friends from his youth turned from their old ways, settling down and having families. He’d lost touch with all of them, save one, his dear friend, Jack Sewalt.

Jack had been with him through everything – (list adventures). He had even been with him when they found the gemstone that Meringer still kept on the table next to his bed. Its beauty never ceased to amaze him – the way the sunlight reflected through it made colorful lights dance around his tiny room. Even after all these years, Daniel couldn’t bear to part with it. The thing itself was practically worthless. He and Jack had taken it because, in their youthful arrogance, they had believed it to be valuable. Daniel took it home with him, assuring Jack that they would split the profits when he found a buyer.

The day he returned home, he had taken it to a jeweler. After studying it for nearly an hour, the man told Daniel the bad news. “I can take it off your hands,” the jeweler had told him. “Even if it’s a common and inexpensive gemstone, people often buy jewelry using quartz instead of more precious gemstones. It’s less expensive, and it still looks pretty. Will you sell it?”

He offered Daniel a price, but Daniel refused to accept. Even if it wasn’t worth what he thought it was, he liked the look of it enough to keep it. At the very least, it was a fantastic conversation piece.

As Meringer’s health began to deteriorate, he sent a message to Jack, asking him to come. After losing his wealth, Daniel never bothered to create a will, but he wanted Jack to have the quartz as a keepsake. He wasn’t sure if Jack would make it before his time came, so when his old friend strolled through the door, Daniel was pleasantly surprised.

“Jack!” he said, weakly attempting to push himself up from his pillows. “I’m glad you came!”

Jack came and stood by Daniel’s bed, taking his hand and squeezing it. “I wish you’d told me sooner how sick you really were.”

Daniel shook his head. “No point in worrying you.” He pointed to the gemstone next to him. “Remember this?”

Jack’s eyes grew wide for a moment, and then he laughed. “How could I forget? I can’t believe you kept it all these years! I always wondered why I never saw a penny of that money. I thought you’d stiffed me, but then you didn’t have money either, so I figured something else had happened.”

Jack glanced around the room and then took a long look at the pale, weak version of the man he once knew so well. “Daniel, why didn’t you sell it? You could have gotten doctors – good ones! Medicine!”

Daniel only shook his head. “It’s practically worthless, Jack. A jeweler told me it’s only quartz, barely worth a few hundred.”

Jack bent down over the gemstone, squinting at it. “Did he offer to buy it?”

“He did, but I decided I’d rather keep it. And now, I’d like to give it to you.”

Jack shook his head and looked at his old friend with anguish. “You old fool. That jeweler lied. He wanted to give you a few hundred and make money off of you!”

“No,” Daniel whispered. “No, explained how he knew it was quartz. He studied it for an hour!”

“Did you ever get a second opinion?”

“No,” Daniel admitted, falling back into his pillows.

“Daniel, this gemstone is easily worth millions! You could have sold it, and-”

Daniel Meringer never heard Jack’s words. As he fell into Death’s arms, one thought filled his mind: It didn’t have to end like this.