A Gem of a Story — Unbelievable, but True!

Now folks—I’ve told you some unbelievable, yet true stories, but I’ve never told you a more “historically important” story than the one you’re about to hear.  It’s the true story of two Midwestern Gals who both ended up on the West Coast.  And when they ran into one another, it set off an unusual chain of events.

I’m speaking of Yours-truly, and my friend Diane, of course.  She’s quite a character!

I met Diane on the mountainous West Coast where she’d been prospecting for Gemstones—but I soon had to help her through one of the most heartbreaking trials of her life.

On August 31, 2017, Diane received terrible news via her cell phone.  Her beloved daughter, Nikki, had just died in Illinois, several thousand miles away.  It was a truly tragic day, and yet it turned out to be a rather “blessed” day, as well.

After her daughter died, Diane went prospecting to take her mind off her grief.  It was then that she stumbled upon a transparent, emerald green stone hidden in the dirt on a mountainside.  It looked “heart-shaped”, and it was beautiful.  Inside the stone were strange shapes which appeared to be prehistoric, fossilized sea-creatures.  Diane believed it truly was One-of-a-Kind…Possibly the only “fossilized emerald” on Earth.

Diane immediately called it the “Nikki Emerald”  after her deceased daughter.  Diane considered it to be a precious “consolation-gift” from the good Lord above!

I was glad that Diane had found something to comfort her grieving heart. But to tell you the truth, folks, I myself wasn’t sure that the “Nikki” was even a gemstone—let alone a fossilized Emerald!  I’m no prospector, and to me, it looked like a chunk of green glass with strange shapes inside.

But I didn’t tell Diane, of course. I let her think whatever she wanted.  At least it distracted her mind from the loss of her daughter.

After that, Diane and I went traveling together—two Midwestern gals who had bumped into one another, by “chance”.  We went camping here and there, visiting the sea coast and Redwoods…All the while, we were toting around this emerald-green stone, which Diane believed to be worth several million dollars (according to the Internet.)

The stone went to the ocean with us.  It went to Church with us, and to Yard Sales.  It fell in the dirt… And once, it got lost.  What a panic-stricken day that was for my dear friend, Diane.  She nearly melted down—but miraculously, we found the stone again.
Diane remained utterly convinced that this was the rarest of Emeralds and we simply needed to find someone who agreed!

But few others were as convinced. The stone was so unusual, no one was sure what Diane had found, especially since prehistoric urchins are not normally embedded inside of gemstones!

We ended up taking the stone to the “Gem and Mineral Museum” and to several other prestigious places.  Most of the curators scoffed at us and turned us away without even looking at the stone under a microscope.  But Diane was undeterred and undaunted.

Finally, Diane took her rock to both Zales and Kay’s Jewelers.  There she met with certified gemologists who agreed to look at the stone beneath a microscope.  They soon became very excited They returned from the microscope with the stone cradled in both hands as though it were made of pure gold, encrusted with diamonds. The look on their faces was a sight to behold.

It turns out, that Diane was absolutely right, after all!

This was no ordinary piece of ‘Glass’!

(Story to be continued….)

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