The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

/ roughwighting

the sun, the moon, the starsAs soon as I placed the gold filigreed necklace around my neck, I felt it.

A whoosh of sweet air, a heaviness around my legs, a flutter to my heart.

“What is this?’ I asked the antique jeweler. “Where did this come from?”antiques, antique dresser

I viewed myself in the old dappled mirror across from the jewelry display. At the center of my neck, where the delicate necklace lay, was an open golden ball of pearls and surrounding that, a circle of gold and tiny dropped pearls, two sets curved into half-moons..

“It’s a love poem,” the jeweler replied, tears glistening in his eyes.

I swayed from left to right. “A love poem?”

antique necklace, great-grandmotherThe old man nodded. “Yes, my great-grandfather gave this to my great-grandmother at their wedding ball. ‘You shall always be my sun, my moon, and the stars in my life,’ he said to her.”

My heart squeezed in distress, and I grasped the necklace clasp to take it off. My hands were sweaty, and perspiration dripped off my forehead as I handed the necklace back. “What happened to them? Did they live happily ever after?” I asked, though dreading the answer.

Knowing the answer.

“She died in his arms nine months later during childbirth.” The jeweler sighed. “She wore his necklace to the end.” The man held my hand and placed the necklace into my palm, closing my fingers into a fist.

That’s when my ears popped, a vacuum-like sound filled my ears, and I screamed in agony. But my love’s blue eyes pierced the pain with such intensity that as I gave in to the lightness, I simultaneously heard the squeal of a newborn.

When I reopened my eyes, I was on the floor of the dusty old store, and the jeweler slapped my cheeks with fear and hope in his face.

“Great Grandma?”

97 thoughts on “The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars”

  3. You have a true gift, Pamela, for wrapping up so much intense emotion in such a short piece of prose. You have told a story in such a short amount of space that will live on beyond any bounds that time or space can impose on us. As Bernadette has said before me, a very powerful and moving piece of writing. Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Wow! I caught myself holding my breath as the jeweler placed the necklace in her hand, but I wasn’t expecting the ending. A wonderful piece of writing.

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  6. F.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c. story. Edge-of my-seat reading. Poor Grandma. Love the ending. 🙂 ❤ ❤
    I'm beginning a love affair with old things I can dig up at flea markets and odd shops. This story makes me smile.

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  9. I’m thinking of the two weddings I have this week , one here in Santa Cruz and my niece’sone in Germany. This gives me goosebumps Pam, you are a gifted writer.

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  23. Oh, Pam…I agree with George that I think (hope) there’s much more where this came from. I find it a very unusual and imaginative piece. I love how you presented this post. It’s very lovely both as a piece of writing as it is visually. 🙂

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  24. A necklace which contains a story… A love poem,.. or even a necklace which is a love poem, to be more precise…
    A very compelling reading… And I like the ending twist as the protagonist passes out….
    Thnaks for sharing… happy weekend and all my best wishes. Aquileana 😀

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  27. Okay, now that I’ve swallowed the lump in my throat and got my breath back…..what comes next?
    This is the beginning of a story….what is yet to come?

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  31. Love that time and space cannot destroy. Beautiful! Old things, from having been touched and cherished, become warmer, more than what they were when they were new and untouched.

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  34. Same here…many goosebumps! I love the idea of vintage anything having a story. So interesting to think about the life of someone else who wore or owned a piece that we discover years later.

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    • Agreed – I think as I get more ‘vintage’ over time, I appreciate the specialness of clothes/jewelry/furniture etc that has been around for a long time and has an unknown story behind it – as we all do..!! 🙂

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  36. Incredible post . Very fascinating. Beautiful piece of jewellery. Thank u for this great work . Would u like to visit my blog & see if you can find something of your choice to read & share ? Feel free to drop in your comments . I will be glad for suggestions , if any ! To improve & enhance my voice through my writing ? Thank you

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  38. Wow Pam – that took my breath away! So beautiful, so tangible, to powerful, so intense for such a short piece. You rock!!! I’m deeply curious as to where the inspiration came from… Love and hugs of awe-filled admiration, Harula xxx

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    • I’m rather curious also as where the inspiration came from. I suppose from my great grandmother’s necklace. I gave my writing students the prompt to ‘write about a necklace’ and I immediately thought of my great grandmother’s. The story kind of wrote itself after the first sentence. Isn’t that freaky, funky and fun? :-0

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      • That is super cool – writing truly can be magical (and indeed a bit freaky!), especially those moments when it feels like we’re hardly involved in it at all! It is incredible how something so simple can trigger the muse. You’ve reminded me how much it fueled my own creativity to share and develop prompts with/for others. I need to gather a group around me again! Now, a necklace…

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  41. This had me right there, in the moment, Pam. I felt the shop keeper’s emotional connection, filling me with wonder. Simply loved this timeless story with love’s mystery being its centerpiece. ❤

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  42. In my family history I’ve come across many women who died in childbirth, including my 2nd-great-grandmother. Your story is so powerful and helped me connect with the emotions that must have been felt by her survivors following her untimely death at age 25. My grandmother named my mother after her…

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    • I think women of this generation take for granted an ‘easy’ safe childbirth. It was not so just two generations ago. My great grandmother actually had 14 (!) children, though several died of diseases when young. This is her necklace. But when I wrote this story, the thoughts of those who did not make it through childbirth flowed through my pen. Thanks so much for your comments, Barbara.

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    • I believe you’re right! My doctor told me last week that if he knew nothing about me and took some of my blood, he’d be able to not only tell me I’d had two children, but their sex also. DNA is a magical mysterious source of the all-knowing.

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