Chapter 1

Father Christmas: Like most fairies, Father Christmas' origins are shrouded in mystery, and therefore confused in various versions of folk lore. Also referred to as Saint Nick/Nicholas, Santa Claus, Big Red, and Kris Kringle, it's easy to see how this legend gets obscured.

Common truths and understandings of Father Christmas paint him in a positive light. He calls the northernmost point of the human realm home, spreads joy and wonder among their children, and is often pictured as being a happy, jolly fellow in mostly red attire. This image was popularized by the Coca Cola Company, who featured him in advertisements for their flagship beverage in the 1930s. It's unclear whether Father Christmas himself is a frequent enjoyer of ice cold Coke, but it is not uncommon to see images depicting him with a bottle of just that in his mittened hand.

It is known that he has an army of lesser fairies at the ready. These refugees of the fae realm are understood to work tirelessly on toys and other delights, which Father Christmas delivers to the children of the world once every year. Attempts have been made to inspect the workshops, but none who have gone have ever managed to return. Foreboding, admittedly, but there's little reason to suspect wrongdoing.

When Summer was little, a decade and change before a fateful day in a distant jungle, she had a different kind of fateful day. Her first lost baby tooth lay in the palm of her hand, a tissue in the other to stop the slowing trickle of blood. Proud parents beamed at each other, turning their attention to their daughter as they warmly congratulated her on the milestone.

“Look at that!” her mother said with shivering glee. 

A tight hug followed, along with a kiss to her cheek even as the mildly frightened girl fought to contain the bleeding gap between her remaining teeth. She looked to her father, also kneeling down to her level, and the joy in his bearded face helped provide a sense of calm. The big man was always a good source for composure, and now was no exception. Despite the taste of her own blood, a giddy giggle shook from around the tissue.

“We'll need to put that under your pillow tonight!” he said with his deep voice, an excited tone making it a bit louder than normal. “Gonna have a visit from the Tooth Fairy!”

They'd been talking about the tooth fairy for days, weeks even. As soon as she told them of her loose tooth, it was tooth fairy this and tooth fairy that. Now, it was finally time! Night couldn't come soon enough, she'd finally have her own visit! Her own bit of magic, that she wouldn't have to share like when Santa or the Easter Bunny came. It was like her own holiday, a fairy coming to visit her!

She insisted on wearing her nicest dress for the occasion. It was meant for Halloween, but one night before the big day wouldn't hurt. Mom could clean it, anyway. The sequins and sewn in jewels sparkled as she climbed into bed, her honey-yellow skirt bunching up around her legs when she laid down. Emerald lace tickled the side of her face, but she would look the part of someone welcoming a fairy, no matter how uncomfortable sleeping in a princess dress might be! Her parents smiled as they tucked her in, sliding the tooth under her pillow before her mother began a bedtime story.

It was one of her favorites, but she couldn't even try to listen as her mother went through the tale. Every changing voice she did so well, and the loving hands gingerly tickling her through the blanket did little to distract her from what lay beneath her head. She made it all the way to the end, hearing her mom finish the story with “happily ever after,” and was only a little bit sleepy. The fingers she had in her mouth, the same two she always sucked when sleep was so annoyingly close, felt the awkward absence of her tooth, and she wondered if it still rested under her pillow. 

The light clicked off, leaving her in the dark. Only a brave puppy night light warded away the inky black of night, and she hardly noticed as the illuminated puppy led her into sleep. Random dreams plagued her as she fought to keep the rest of her teeth from falling out. She hadn't checked if her lost tooth was still under her pillow, but now her pillow and bed were nowhere to be found. The ocean crashed and rocked all around her ship, not unlike the one she was made to tour when her family went on that cruise. Every wave sent another tooth from her mouth, and she chased after them down narrow halls and into her classroom.

No one had teeth in the classroom, except for their teacher. Mr. Vanderbilt was being swarmed by flying teeth, swatting at them and crying for Summer to help. All of her classmates turned to look at her as she stepped forward to help, unsure of what she could really even do, and the weird dream turned nightmare. Toothless grins grew wide all around her, and her friends slowly stood up from their seats. Their faces were wrong, featureless as they kept rising, growing taller and more foreboding. She stepped back, shrinking away from the monsters surrounding her until they reached in and took her by the arms.

“Summer? Summer?” her father asked with growing concern.

She woke back in her room, her heart racing and eyes going wide as soon as they opened. Her throat hurt as though she'd been screaming, and based on the expressions her parents wore, that might not have been far from the truth. Dad's hands were on her arms, and she was sitting up with him standing beside her bed. He held her firm, but his strong grasp was gentle as he coaxed her from the nightmare. 

“Scary,” she huffed, drawing in another breath and letting her father provide comfort. “That was so- so scary.”

“It was just a dream, sweetie?” mom supplied, though it sounded like a question. She sat on the bed beside her, an understanding hand sweeping up her blanket-coated leg.

Summer nodded, rubbing her head as her father sat beside her mother. She fought the urge to cry, not wanting to let the bad dream sour her appearance for her special guest. A gasp shot into her lungs as she sat up straighter, and she looked expectantly at her parents. Concern was washed away from their faces with a greater enthusiasm, and she kicked her foot away when she felt her father pinch one of her toes.

“Did she- did I miss it?” Summer asked excitedly. She turned and picked up her pillow, delighted and disappointed all at once. 

There, where her tooth had been, sat a single, shining silver dollar. She picked it up with a wide smile, catching her reflection in the coin as she held it before her face. Under the coin was a little note, and a small scattering of glitter.

“What does the note say?” dad asked, bringing her attention to the note before she really noticed it.

Lifting the pillow a little further, Summer could see there was a tiny piece of paper. It glinted in the light as it fluttered from the pillow’s movement, and she slapped her hand down in pursuit of the small paper. Glitter spread from her striking hand, and she giggled as the shimmering dust settled on her skin and the sheet below. She fetched the note and held it up, turning the paper over in order to find where the fancy writing seemed to start.

“I can’t read it,” she said with some frustration. “It’s in weird scribbles…”

Seeing his daughter’s cute face so focused on the small note, no bigger than the coin in her other hand, Mr. Tyme gently reached for her arm. His hand held her forearm, relaxing her features as she looked up at him. From behind her father, Mrs. Tyme fell in love with her husband all over again, cherishing the bond that was so clear between father and daughter. She smiled while sliding an arm over his shoulder, and their daughter sighed as she watched her mother’s face settle beside her father’s. 

“Ohhh,” her father said, nodding his understanding. He’d written the note in cursive, momentarily forgetting that his daughter hadn’t yet learned to read or write in that style. Before his mind could get lost in a tangent of whether or not the schools would even bother teaching the dying skill, he shook his head and chuckled. “Must be Tooth Fairy-ese.”

A snort burst from beside his face as her mother suddenly pulled back, trying to refrain from laughing too much. “Tooth Fairy-ese?” she whispered behind him with a playful poke to his ribs. 

After flinching from the jab with a smirk, he made a show of “translating” for their daughter. “Dearest Summer,” he read, squinting and turning the letter as though struggling to make sense of the inscription. “Congratulations on losing your first tooth! Here is one dollar, just as shining as the ivory gift you’ve given. More will surely come as you get older, and more offerings are presented. Be good, and listen to your parents. Especially your father, because he is so charming and good looking. Yours, the Tooth Fairy” He turned to smirk at his wife, who delivered another knuckle-jab to his ribs.

Summer rolled her eyes as her parents got lovey, kissing on her bed, and made her feigned disdain known with an audible, “Eeewww!”

“See?” her father said with a grin, holding out the sparkling note for her to inspect. “Says it right there in Tooth Fairy-ese, plain as day! The Tooth Fairy thinks I’m cute!”

Glitter clung to her fingertips as she took the letter from her father. Her parents bickered playfully before kissing again, but her attention was focused solely on the glinting sheet in one hand, and the shining coin in the other. There didn’t appear to be enough written on the note to say all her father had read, but she couldn’t make sense of the strange markings. She would just have to take him at his word, for now. Perhaps, in time, she would be able to find someone else who could help her read what it said?

She stashed the note in her keepsakes box - an ornate box handed down to her by her grandmother. It was slightly larger than one of the boxes her shoes come in, and made of wood. Intricate designs were carved into the wood; flowers, clovers, rainbows, horseshoes, even a unicorn on one side. On the top was the word “Keepsakes,” and the front had a metal clasp firmly secured that she could easily use to lock and unlock the box. She unclasped her box and set the dollar onto a cardinal feather she’d found earlier in the year. On top of that went the note, and she gave her lucky marble a quick rub before placing it back into the box and locking it up again.

Within another few months, Summer was in a similar situation. Another baby tooth had emerged from her mouth, making way for an adult version. She held it up proudly for her parents to see, and they prepared their daughter for another visit from the Tooth Fairy. The dress was already nearly too small, but she still managed to fit into it for a night with the tooth under her pillow.

Mrs. Tyme regaled her with a tale of a little girl who lost a tooth, much like herself. She listened intently, completely absorbed in the story as the little girl begged the Tooth Fairy for a puppy, or a kitty, rather than the quarter the fairy had intended to leave. Many times, Summer had to keep herself from interrupting, fearful that correcting the story would result in her own reward being lowered from a dollar. If the girl in the story only got a quarter, then what’s keeping the Tooth Fairy from ripping her off just as bad? After finishing up the story, with the girl having learned a lesson in being thankful for what you’re given rather than pleading for more, her mother tucked her in with a kiss to the forehead. 

“Good night, sweetheart,” she said with that special glint in her eyes. 

Summer smiled back and rolled onto her side, the pair of fingers in her mouth making it difficult to get her own “good night” out. Her mouth felt odd again with another tooth missing, but she was excited at another chance to see the Tooth Fairy. Heavy eyes drifted shut, leading her into sleep with the brave puppy shining bright in her darkened room.

Another frightening dream plagued her through the night. Shining coins, large enough to crush her, rolled after the small girl as she ran screaming down her street. Every scream sent another tooth from her mouth, and each tooth twisted itself into a coin, the sinister face mocking her as they all chased her down the road. Eventually the coins caught up, and she felt the ground rumbling beneath her feet as they rolled circles around her. Rough vibrations shook up into her knees as the surrounding coins crept closer and closer, their menacing presence making her crouch low and pray that they just leave her alone.

“Summer!” 

She wakes with a scream, shaking her leg from her mother’s hand. Her mother had been holding her knees so tight through her blanket and dress, that she still felt her fingers on her legs even as her hands now reached for her face. Mr. Tyme rushes in a moment later and drops to his knees beside the bed with his wife. The look of concern on his face did little to comfort their daughter, but his warm hug brought a stillness no words ever could.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, more to his wife than his daughter. 

Mrs. Tyme began to answer, but was cut off when Summer provided a response. She wiped a tear away and fought through a sniffle, needing to be strong for her father.

“Just a bad dream, daddy,” she said, wincing as another sob trembled from her chest. 

Her father hugged her again, and she felt her mother’s fingers scratching down her back. Despite the situation, she liked the reminder of how much her family loved her. She held them tightly, letting their warmth push the lingering memory of her nightmare away, not even remembering the previous bad dream. 

“Did the Tooth Fairy come, at least?” her dad asked, his tone shifting from concern to something more jovial. 

“It’s hardly midnight,” her mother chimed in, “I doubt she’s had a chance to visit…”

But Summer was already checking under her pillow. Her parents’ hands remained on her back, their comforting presence encouraging her, and she gasped when she saw the much less frightening, motionless coin sitting atop another note. A short streak of glitter extended from the pair, giving them the appearance of a comet on her pink bed sheets. 

“She came! She came!” the delighted girl exclaimed, holding both the silver dollar and note in one hand. Summer held the tiny note in front of her as she let the coin fall to her blanketed lap, wondering if the Tooth Fairy liked, or even noticed her fine attire. There wasn’t any mention of it last time, and this time it felt like a much greater sacrifice. Again, the note was written in that same, strange writing. She’d forgotten to try to find someone else to read it, and was forced to let her dad translate once more.

“Dearest Summer,” he started, adjusting his voice to a higher pitch in an effort to sound like the Tooth Fairy. ‘As if he knows what she sounds like,’ she thought with an eye-roll. “I was so pleased to find another tooth under your pillow! They’re simply the best teeth, and I cannot wait to collect more. Don’t forget to be good to your parents! Especially that hottie dad of yours, he’s a wonderful guy!”

“It doesn’t say that!” she retorts, taking the note from him when he holds the glittering paper back out.

Her father giggles as he receives another poke to the back of the ribs from her mother, but the girl still can’t read the cursive inscription. It’s too small, and the curling, sweeping letters are as good as foreign to her. Even so, she’s another dollar richer, and has another piece of Tooth Fairy memorabilia for her Keepsakes box. The note and dollar join the first pair, adding to her growing collection. She gets tucked back in and quickly falls back to sleep, her dreams much more peaceful for the rest of the night.

With another blink, Summer is closing in on seven years old. In her hand is her third escapee. She now has a steady allowance of two whole dollars a week for helping clean up around the house, so getting another dollar, no matter how shiny, isn’t quite as appealing. So many of her friends at school have siblings, and often talk about the fun things they get into together over the weekend. So, rather than money, when she places her tooth under the pillow, what she really wants - more than anything else in the whole world - is a little brother. Or sister, really. She won’t be picky.

Her eyes get heavy as her mother tells her a sweeping bedtime story. The tale continues as she sinks into a cozy sleep without even realizing it, with the waking world seamlessly giving way to her dreams. Unlike previous visits, these dreams were far more pleasant than the nightmares she’d suffered. As the night wore on, Summer wandered deeper into the unconscious fantasy within her mind, eagerly following butterflies into an endless field of flowers. 

As Summer races forward after the colorful butterflies, she can almost swear that she can see a human shape between the wings. They dart around so recklessly that it’s hard to say for sure, but something about them makes her doubt their insect nature. Every time she has a moment to focus, or is close enough to reach out for one, the ground beneath her feet dips with an unexpected hole, or she nearly trips over a branch concealed by the vibrant flowers. The lush scent of the dozens of varieties of flowers overwhelm her in the best way, and she’s quickly distracted by the growth all around her.

The flowers tickle her hands as she sweeps her arms through the waist-high growth. Every shade and tint of blue, violet, red and yellow duck and weave from her passing arms, and when the pollen spreads up her arms and onto her blouse, she smiles warmly at the familiar smell of her father. Birds somewhere in the distance as dozens of bees hum down towards her, but she doesn’t feel any fear of the approaching swarm. There’s something familiar to the sound surrounding her, and as the bees tickle her while collecting the pollen, she realizes they’re copying a song her mother often hums while cleaning around the house. She feels warm, happy while the bees gather their pollen and take flight. The butterflies dive and fly rapid circles around her once the bees have left, and-

A comforting hand glides up her back as her eyes drift open. The dream tumbles from her mind while her mother soothingly rouses her from her sleep, welcoming Summer to another day. As is much too often the case, memories of the dream slip from her grasp with every breath until only random fragments remain, and she rolls onto her back under the blanket.

“Good morning, sweetie,” her mother says with a soft smile. 

“Get another visit from the Tooth Fairy?” Mr. Tyme asks from the open door.

Summer suddenly remembers what she’d wished for while placing her tooth under the pillow. With wide eyes, she quickly turned and snatched her pillow out of the way… only to find another stupid dollar coin and glittery note? Her brow furrowed as she retrieved the coin and tiny paper, sitting on her bed as she recognized her father’s handwriting within the sparkles. Pieces fell into place in her mind, but she tried her best to keep the disappointment from her face as she held the paper out for her father.

“It’s another note,” she said with a slight smile. “Can you read it?”

Her father grinned as he stepped forward and took the note. Summer curled and turned her fingers, focusing on the shimmering glitter more than whatever counterfeit words her father was rambling off. A gentle hand rubbed up and down her back, and she suspected that her mother knew. She glanced up into her mother’s face, looking for clues at the extent of the deception. Was it just her father placing notes under her pillow? Had her mother been in on it, too? Did they leave the money as well, or was there some magic involved in this whole thing?

Deep laughter snatches her from her thoughts. She looks at her father, who was chuckling in the way he usually does at his own jokes. He offers the note back to his daughter, who puts on a happy face as she retrieves it. Curious eyes drift over the cursive, and she makes a note to take time to read it later. After a motherly kiss to her head and a fatherly squeeze of her shoulder, her parents leave her bedroom. She sits on the bed for a moment longer, then slides her legs off the side.

In her closet, she opens her Keepsakes box. She places her new coin onto the growing stack, and pulls the other two notes from under a shiny red rock. It’s clear that they were all written by the same person, and she feels a slight stab of betrayal in her heart as she sets the two older notes back into the box. With a sigh, she begins to read the newest note.

“Dearest Summer,

Thank you for yet another beautiful tooth! It will look marvelous in my collection, but not as good as your dad. He’s super cute!”

She rolled her eyes as she placed the note into the box with the others. The shining rock held the trio down, and she took a moment to marvel at the items inside. While there may not be any “fairy magic” enhancing her cherished belongings, she did still plan on adding to her small collection. Her fancy rock was new, as was the weird quarter. It was a misprint, her father had said. George Washington was on one side, right where he was supposed to be, but on the other was Thomas Jefferson. Weird enough to find a two-faced coin, but even stranger to find a president who didn’t even belong.

With a sigh, she closed her keepsakes box and twisted the small latch to keep her belongings secure. She closes her eyes and takes a breath, deciding that it doesn’t matter if the tooth fairy was real or some made up thing. Her fingers slide over the surface while she keeps her eyes closed, letting images of the carvings take shape in her mind. Flowers, a unicorn, horseshoes, a clover. A leprechaun sneaks into the mental image as her eyes open, and she stands with a genuine smile. 

In no time at all, the calendar has shed more months. Summer’s namesake has rolled around, driving the temperature up and bringing her birthday. She’s seven, standing over her cake and blowing out the candles while family and friends finish their birthday tune. The presents have been opened, plenty of fun already had in the family pool, and now they all watch as six of the seven candles lose their flames. 

“Ohh, one boyfriend!” her father says with a smirk. He gives her a playful pat on the back before wrapping her in a hug, and she dutifully blows out the remaining candle.

She pulled the candles out of the cake while her mother slid a knife through the frosted delight. Her mother held her loose dress back, careful not to let it rub into the frosting, and she kissed her daughter on the head when Summer noticed the growing roundness in her belly. It was just two months ago that her parents had taken her aside to explain about the birds and the bees, a conversation which contained neither birds, nor bees. Yuck. But, she was still excited to learn that their family would be growing. A month after that, she was told of their ultrasound, where her parents learned their family would be growing a little more than expected. They eased her in, gingerly explaining she’d be the big sister to a baby boy and girl sometime around Christmas.

Summer made sure everyone had a piece of cake and scoop of strawberry ice cream before digging into her own, and she smiled around the first bite when she noticed her best friend had done the same. Acalicia had just gotten back from a family trip to Bolivia. They were worried she wouldn’t make it back in time, and her parents had offered to have a smaller party for just the two of them. The two girls were delighted when everything worked out.

Acalicia was wearing a two-piece swimsuit, with the same swirling blue and green pattern as Summer’s. The two girls often made sure to match, and liked to pretend that they were sisters. They were midway through the cake while sitting on the same chair when Summer asked a question.

“Do you believe in the tooth fairy?” she asked around some ice cream on her tongue.

The other girl pushed her own spoonful of strawberry goodness into her mouth before answering. After a moment, she nodded with a quick shrug.

“Yeah, I guess so,” the girl answered after swallowing her ice cream.

“Well,” Summer said, her voice lowering into a conspiratorial whisper. She leaned closer to her friend, “I’ve got a test. My parents don’t know, but I lost a tooth today.”

Acalicia nearly lept off the seat, but Summer hushed her. She held a finger to her lips as a silent signal to her friend, and Acalicia struggled to contain herself. When it was clear that her friend wasn’t going to spill the beans, Summer continued.

“A few months ago, it seemed like my parents were tricking me. Making the whole thing up. I just can’t think of why. It’s weird to make up a fairy who takes teeth, right?”

“You think your mom and dad…?” her friend started, glancing at the adults with an inquisitive look. She couldn’t find the words to express her thoughts on the matter, and simply let the incomplete question linger.

“I don’t know. If you get visited by the tooth fairy, and everyone else does too…” Her mind was spinning as she tried to voice it. This concern she’d had, one she refused to bring up to anyone else, it was all so bizarre. “Either everyone’s parents are in on it, or the tooth fairy is a real thing.”

And Santa, and all the other potentially made up characters they’d been led to believe exist. She didn’t want to continue along that thought aloud, but ever since not getting what she desperately desired last time, recognizing her father’s hand writing, and really thinking about it… she worried her hunch might be true. A simple test would be all that was needed to confirm one way or another, and today had presented a perfect opportunity.

“Lemme know what you find,” Acalicia said, bumping her shoulder into Summer’s.

“Yep,” Summer replied, bumping her shoulder back against her friend. 

After the party, with her friends going their separate ways with their parents, her mother called her into the living room. The TV was on, and her mother had an excited look on her face. Summer looked at what was on the screen, a smile spreading across her own face when she saw what was ready to play. “TITANIC,” in big, bold letters stretched across the screen, with a massive cruiseliner below. She had asked if she could watch it, and her parents always told her she was too young. Now, it seemed, they considered her old enough to enjoy the movie her mother always claimed to be “her favorite.”

That night, after watching the Titanic and with the image of something specific in her mind, she knew just what to ask for. Her heart desired the dazzlingly beautiful Heart of the Ocean, that magnificent blue diamond carved into a heart and outlined with a string of glittering diamonds. It didn’t really matter if the jewel was on a necklace or not, but she really wanted the storied artifact. She tucked her tooth under her pillow once her parents had left her alone, and imagined finding what she craved in its place the next morning. Excitement coursed through her as she tried to fall asleep, and it was well past bedtime when she finally slipped off.

The ship rocked in the rough seas, but she wasn’t scared. Other passengers stumbled about on their way to their own rooms, and every so often she heard someone scream, but there was no fear in her heart. Only excitement as she ran down the narrow hallway, making well dressed people press against the walls as she hurried by. The floor under her feet lurched up and down, and she took the opportunities to soar through the air with giddy jumps. As she continued to run, she found a growing group following her. They were all running and jumping, laughing as they went. 

She was too distracted in all the fun to notice. Sure, she saw the colorful dresses and tuxedos of those following her, but how could she be expected to recognize the intricate designs? There was far too much going on to realize how similar they were in color and pattern to the butterfly wings of a forgotten dream. Even so, the young girl hardly paid enough attention to see just how different the clothing was from everyone else. Or, how peculiar the faces were of the people running and leaping after her.

In any case, Summer woke with a smile. The dream slipped from her mind like water through a net, with individual droplets holding on just long enough for her to appreciate before they fell back into the endless ocean of wonder. Small fragments remained, and she wondered if she really could run and leap as she had on a rocky ship? With the fog of rest lifting from her mind, she remembered the secret tooth and sat up on her bed. She took a deep breath to steel herself, prepared for disappointment, and cautiously lifted her pillow.

A dollar coin rested atop another glittered note. The writing was different than before, but had curves and swirls similar to her mother’s. She was briefly upset to have her suspicions confirmed, but something else nagged at her. Sure, her parents had lied about the tooth fairy and there was no spectacular gemstone waiting for her. But, this just shows how attentive her parents are. How dedicated they are to keeping the magic of her childhood alive. Tears brim in her eyes and make it difficult to read the little note, so she rolls out of bed and stashes it away in her keepsake box. 

Hushed whispers cease when she comes down the stairs. Her parents both look like they’re hiding something, but she already knows. Summer rushes over and wraps her arms around her mother, hugging her tight with her ear resting over her baby brother and sister. She feels her mother’s hand on her back, and another settling on her head as they embrace. The feeling of soothing fingers drifting through her hair and scratching her scalp brings a smile to her face, and she doesn’t care about the tooth fairy or any of it anymore. Knowing how much her parents care is all she needs in the world, more than any priceless gem or magical creature.

The hushed, urgent conversation, as unnoticed by Summer as the cloth her father stashes in his pocket, was everything she'd set to disprove. Mr. Tyme adjusted a little as his daughter hugged him, trying to keep the sizable gem from her attention while rubbing a hand down her back. He looked over her head, kissing her soft hair as he made eye contact with his wife. 

Certainly, neither of them had gone out and gotten the weighty thing now concealed in his pocket. How had it gotten there? With the economy in a downward tumble, they couldn't even hope to afford what they both thought it was, let alone give it to a child. After work that night, another dismally productive day as an investment broker, he went to a jeweler.

The jeweler was a longtime friend, someone from whom he'd bought many shining, sparkling items up until recently. She was speechless to be presented with the grapefruit sized sapphire, glinting in the overhead light as Mr. Tyme held it with the white cloth wrapping draped over his palm. It was oval in shape, perfectly rounded, and spectacularly polished. There didn't look to be any flaws or markings of any kind as she examined the stone with every tool she had available, and her heart raced as the blue specimen dazzled her eyes. When the jeweler reported her findings, Mr. Tyme was beside himself. 

“If it was in my store, or listed online…” she said, handing it back with a wide smile, “...I could see it going for well over $80,000. Easy.”

Mr. Tyme felt his knees go weak, his eyes widening at the woman. He carefully wrapped the cloth back over the gem, mind swarming with thoughts about the stone. 

“You're… you're sure?” he asked with a shaky voice. 

“Absolutely,” the jeweler replied. “And that's a conservative estimate. Find the right collector, and it would be six digits.”

“I… wow…” It was like all the breath had been knocked out of him. The big chance he'd been needing to rebuild his diminished portfolio, save the house, his job, everything! It was all right here, wrapped clumsily in his hands. But… could he do that? Whatever… magic, if there was such a thing, that had delivered this, it was sent to his daughter. By right, it was technically hers, and he didn't fancy himself a thief. 

Times were tough, they had been before. With every likelihood, they would be again. Even with two more on the way, he didn't feel right selling the gem his daughter had mysteriously acquired. Still, they couldn't just let her have such a valuable thing. At work the next day, in the midst of helping some of his remaining high profile clients sell off, he made arrangements to set his daughter up with a safety deposit box at the bank. That was where such an object should be held, and he established other assets in her name in the hopes she would be less upset when she found out about his deception.