Who would not want to immediately share such a find with his or her friend? Moments later, two heads bowed in rapt attention as the jewel was turned this way and that, catching the early afternoon sun just right to expose its every secret to four hungry eyes. They could scarcely contain themselves their joy and excitement was so boundless.
Almost at the same moment the desire to show their treasure to their siblings and certain special friends, and perhaps strut a little in the process, formed in each of their minds. Now a problem arose, one had found the treasure, but the other had been grandfathered into ownership, at least in his mind. That had been perfectly okay with the finder until he had visualized his glory waving the gem under the nose of his bossy sister.
It is of note that neither youngster thought a second that the yard belonged to neither of them. It scarce touched them that such a beautiful crystal had to have been polished and lost by someone, and that someone what not either of them. The excitement of the find, the value of the treasure, these rendered such thinking almost too much to hope for.
Credit where it is due, though the finder was holding the stone, his friend formed the thought to add to his dignity and stature around the neighborhood a split second sooner; and he was a little bit larger than his playmate. Soon a struggle ensued.
The battle was epic! Scuffle here, roll there; the air filled with imprecations, grunts and many gasps. Arms and legs could not be clearly assigned ownership. And more than once an elbow met a rib or a jaw producing a howl of surprised reaction. Up and down the yard the pair ranged. Flowers were trampled, as was more than one pile of doggie waste carelessly left lying in the grass. Shirts were torn, shoes lost and friendship forgotten in the heat of conflict. In the midst of the valiant effort sweaty hands lost grip and the beautiful crystal sailed in a grand arc directly into and through the drain grate at the street-side of the yard. Both boys heard the "splash."
The battle was over, but the recriminations had only begun.
The test of determination and youthful strength and endurance over immediate ownership had been basically a friendly skirmish fueled by youthful, but grand, dreams of wealth and prestige, but this, the assigning of blame for the loss of the treasure; this was quickly becoming harsh and mean-spirited. A young friendship hung in the balance.
Twenty-two years later, both the initial venture into university life and two years of graduate work behind them, two young men were unwinding at their favorite nightspot when one of them caught a glance of a young woman, a rare beauty, in a previously unvisited corner of the room. In his mind he suddenly saw the envy of his friend and other acquaintances as he strode slowly onto the dance floor with such a treasure on his arm…
What do you think is the rest of the story? Why? Is it to end in broken hearts and severed friendships or is there a possibility that this could go a different way? But if that is to happen, how should this story end? Again, why?
