The Smell of Stone

I work for world travelers.  They fly to far away places, taste exotic foods, and gather treasures from all over the planet.  If I’m very lucky, I get to see them again when they return.  And, if I’m extremely fortunate, they bring me the one thing I had asked for, before they left.

A rock.

A world of imagination opens up to me when I receive a rock from a distant land.  I imagine the civilization from which they came.  The ancient times of which they have endured.  The solid structure that is only a small piece of a larger form.

As strange as it may sound to some people, I love rocks and stones.  I hold them in my hand and feel their texture.  But, the first thing I do, is raise them to my nose and smell their fragrance.  So far, I have smelled the fragrance of so many cultures, that my personal collection of stones is getting too heavy for one container, so I have had to distribute them all around my house and workplace.  But, there is one stone, which began my entire collection,  that enchanted me the most, and will forever mystify me as to how I received it.

Long ago, one of my clients took a tour of Ireland.  Before she left, she asked me if there was anything I would like as a momento from this wonderful country.  Before I could even think of typical things one would ask for, I simply said:

Bring me a rock.

I remember her expression when I said this.  She cocked her head to the side and squinted her eyes.

“A rock?” she said, and began to giggle.

Honestly, I’m not even sure why I asked for a rock.  But, since it didn’t cost anything, I decided to let the matter rest.  So, off she went to Ireland, while I remained behind, waiting for my rock.

She was gone for several weeks.  And, in the meantime I acquired the most wonderful game.  It had several countries to visit, each one with puzzles and riddles to solve, including South America, the Far East, and Ireland, as coincidence would have it.  I absolutely loved this game, although it was difficult.  I skipped South America because I couldn’t figure it out.  The Far East was too difficult, too, so I saved it for later.  The only country that I could finish, was Ireland.  And, because I finished it, the game gives you a token to retrieve, as a marker and gift, for your efforts.

A rock.

This particular rock was triangular, perfectly smoothed with inscriptions on it.  And, right about the time I won the rock, my client returned from Ireland.

She came into my office, with that familiar beaming smile that touches my heart to this very day.  Honestly, I had forgotten about asking her for the rock.  But, apparently, she hadn’t forgotten to get me one.

“I have something for you,” she said with a smile.

I put out my hand, only to have a triangular, perfectly smoothed rock placed in my palm.  It was exactly the same color as the one I had received in the game.

Exactly the same shape, and texture.

And, of course, it was from exactly the same place.

Ireland.