Lumienda's Jewels

The pendant of eternal love | Part three

Translation from Greek to English: georgiaath
Illustration: Stolis Pleiadian

“Time is running out Sarah, and you have to take off the pendant if you want it to save Luther.” Lumienda says expecting a yes or a no from me. 

Her demands were a bit strange. Practically, I couldn’t say no, but only think carefully about my next words.

“So, you’re asking me to work for you? For seven years? Why;” I ask her with sincerely wondering.

“You have to repay me for the jewel you just destroyed…”, Lumienda replies as she pulls her glasses down her nose, while reading a pamphlet she has in her hands. She was calm and relaxed like she already knew my questions and misgivings.

I look at the stone and I see it too; the two pieces are about to come off each other. I blush and lose my words, out of shame, mainly. I shouldn’t have played with this woman and her art. It was not needed, but I did it, and the consequences were here, in front of me, with blue hair and a kind smile.

“I don’t know silversmithing… What can I do in here?” I ask her quietly.

“Don’t worry about that. The Art is learned with enough patience and experience. But beyond that, you’ll be my eyes, my ears, and tongue whenever needed. You’ll be who I can’t be out of this shop.”

“Luther? Will he forget me? Is he going to be fine? Is he going to continue his life with someone else? What about Kostas?” I ask her and I feel my eyes to water.

“Yes. Both Kostas and Luther will continue their lives normally. And over time they will forget this unfortunate moment. And you will too…”

“Then yes… I accept…”, I answer while wiping the corners of my eyes.

Lumienda with a smile on her face, almost sardonic and sly, comes close to me and with two movements opens the chain of the locket and it falls into my hand. I’m looking at it one last time. The red jasper is dulled and lies almost colorless and broken. Lumienda takes it off my hand and looks at it quizzically.

“You know… I’m impressed that you’ve put up with it for almost a year now. I was expecting you to come much earlier…”

“It worked though…” I tell her.

“It overdid so, basically. And I hope you understood that eternal love is a double-edged sword. You saw its good qualities, the self-confidence it gave you, the attention from others, the increased sexual desire… but what were its bad aspects Sarah?”

“Jealousy, overconfidence, fraud…”, I tell her lowering my eyes.

“Exactly… Eternal love brings pain, and it shouldn’t be used recklessly. When you love someone, you let them act freely; and how do we achieve this? Through our logic. Logic and emotions should always be in balance. To avoid what happened to you”, she tells me and puts the locket in the pocket of her long purple dress.

She moves to the back of the store, and returns seconds later with a small silver ring. She looks at it carefully and places it in my left hand.

“What is this?” I ask her, examining the Runes engraved on the outside. Studying its interior as well, I see my name engraved. SARAH. In big calligraphy letters.

“Call it a small gift for our collaboration. Something to bind us to the terms we have both given. An oath that in seven years from today, we will go our own separate ways. And I promise you will be a different person then. You may not be able to see it now, not even think about it, but yes, you will be…”, she tells me smiling broadly.

I look at it and feel weird. A kind of purification, a second opportunity. This woman could turn me in, but she is not doing it. Does she need me? Does she want to take advantage of me? What are her reasons?

I take the silver ring and with one breath put it on the little finger of my left hand. It feels right and light. Cold, but warm at the same time.

Lumienda claps her hands and laughs hard.

*

I didn’t know what to bring, so I went into the hospital room where Luther was, empty-handed. He was sleeping, but I wanted to see him even just for a few minutes.

That same morning, I had emptied his house of my things. Lumienda offered me a small furnished apartment near her shop, where I could stay. You didn’t say it was big, but it was one

little two-bedroom apartment. Just what I needed.

I look at Luther sleeping, quiet, with his chest going up and down calmly as he is breathing. I’m ready to cry but I shouldn’t. I take the letter out of my jacket pocket and leave it next to him.

A farewell letter, with many apologies and a lot of thank you’s in writing and finally a wish. When we meet again, I want him to have built the life he wanted, when I met him for the first time. A life with children’s smiles and a happy wife. A full life!

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