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holmes_minorTitle: Crystal Clear
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: All that glitters is not gold.
Author's Notes: Written for the June 2022 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Diamond.”
***
Humans have a visceral attraction to diamonds that is unmatched by any other precious stone. That attraction had always eluded me before, save as a fact I used for solving crime; but now I understand in my flesh what my brain had merely known to be true.
From ancient time we have revered those pretty bits of glorified charcoal. They have adorned royal heads going back to prehistoric times. (Our own Victoria’s crown is a simple diamond circlet that conveys more regal elegance than bigger, showier headpieces heavy with a rajah’s ransom in jewels.)
But my true understanding of diamonds’ ancient appeal only came to me during an incident within the three years in which I traveled the world in exile, missing and presumed dead.
I had spent three excruciating days playing cat-and-mouse with a deadly marksman in the heights of Nepal. I was forced to sleep rough in the high, rocky crevasses far from friendlier ground where I would be an instant target. My hunger pangs were bearable, but thirst maddened me in the summer warmth. Only when I had scraped my way past Moran and put an entire mountain between us did I finally descend, single-mindedly lured by the gorgeous glitter I saw below; the most beautiful thing I had ever seen restored me to life and hope once again.
So now I understand the allure of diamonds. For they recall that first crystalline sight we craved as primal man – the clear, sparkling shine of fresh sweet water.
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: All that glitters is not gold.
Author's Notes: Written for the June 2022 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Diamond.”
***
Humans have a visceral attraction to diamonds that is unmatched by any other precious stone. That attraction had always eluded me before, save as a fact I used for solving crime; but now I understand in my flesh what my brain had merely known to be true.
From ancient time we have revered those pretty bits of glorified charcoal. They have adorned royal heads going back to prehistoric times. (Our own Victoria’s crown is a simple diamond circlet that conveys more regal elegance than bigger, showier headpieces heavy with a rajah’s ransom in jewels.)
But my true understanding of diamonds’ ancient appeal only came to me during an incident within the three years in which I traveled the world in exile, missing and presumed dead.
I had spent three excruciating days playing cat-and-mouse with a deadly marksman in the heights of Nepal. I was forced to sleep rough in the high, rocky crevasses far from friendlier ground where I would be an instant target. My hunger pangs were bearable, but thirst maddened me in the summer warmth. Only when I had scraped my way past Moran and put an entire mountain between us did I finally descend, single-mindedly lured by the gorgeous glitter I saw below; the most beautiful thing I had ever seen restored me to life and hope once again.
So now I understand the allure of diamonds. For they recall that first crystalline sight we craved as primal man – the clear, sparkling shine of fresh sweet water.
no subject
Date: 2022-06-13 07:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-13 08:04 am (UTC)