Obsidian Stone

One month to live. It seems like such a joke. He’s got an insane amount of riches, but it does nothing. He’s still going to die. At twenty-two years old.

…

Richard lounges on his couch, depression filling him completely. He stares at the ceiling, unable to conjure the energy to do anything. There’s a knock on the door before an older gentleman enters.

“Mr. Richard, I believe I speak for all your staff when I say we are quite worried about you. Perhaps you should go for a walk? Get some sun? Its a lovely day out,” the gentleman says cautiously.

Richard sighs deeply. “I appreciate your concern, Ronaldo. Maybe I will go for a walk,” he says noncommitedly. Ronaldo hesitates before nodding and leaving the room. Richard looks out the window, noticing that it is, in fact, a beautiful day. He decides that maybe a walk would do him good, so he gets up and heads out, deciding to walk to and around the nearby park.

He does, in fact, start feeling a bit better than he was. Which isn’t saying much, but its something. As he walks through the park he breathes deeply, all the flowers in bloom. He thinks how ironic it is that he’s been told he’s going to die in spring, with everything new and lively around him. He continues walking, a bit lost in his head.

He’s abruptly startled out of his thoughts as a woman about his age crashes into him, sending them both toppling over. She immediately jumps up and offers her hand out. “I’m so sorry! I got lost in my music while running. Are you okay?” she asks earnestly, her eyes wide with concern.

Her hand is warm, a stark contrast to the cold dread that has become his constant companion. He takes her hand but when she pulls it with a surprising strength, their eyes meet. Her gaze is vibrant, startling green, and for a fleeting second, the crushing weight of his diagnosis seems to lift.

“I’m fine,” Richard mumbles, brushing grass from his trousers.

“Lana,” a small apologetic smile forms on her lips. “And you are?”

“Dying,” he blurts out, as the word escapes before he could cage it. He instantly regrets his bluntness, expecting pity or awkwardness.

But Lana’s smile doesn’t falter. Instead, it softens with an unnerving depth of understanding. “Aren’t we all?” She replies gently. “The question is, what are you doing with the time you have left, Richard?”

He stares, stunned. “How did you know my name?”

Lana’s smile turns enigmatic. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small, smooth, obsidian-black stone, and places it in his palm. It is unnaturally warm.

“I’ve had a premonition that this day would come,” she says with her green eyes locking into his.

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’re psychic,” nervous, Richard tries to brush it off with a laugh.

But Lana doesn’t laugh along with him, she continues seriously while taking his hand, “The man with one month to live. Your death isn’t an end, Richard. It’s a requirement for something far, far bigger. And I’m here to make sure that you are ready for it.”

Richard opens and closes his mouth in shock. “Is this some kind of prank?” he asks when he finally finds the words. Lana shakes her head firmly.

“Nope. All real,” she says cheerfully. Richard glances around, unsure, before sighing and rubbing his forehead.

“Look. Lana,” he starts. “You seem very lovely, but I don’t need someone else telling me how to spend the last of my life. So, thank you, but no thank you,” Richard finishes as he tries to give her back the black stone. She just shakes her head.

“Keep it. It will guide you back to me when you’re ready,” she says lightly. She puts her earbuds back in and goes back to jogging, leaving Richard standing there, very confused.

He stands there for a moment more before shaking his head to clear it and heading home, placing the stone in his pocket. When he gets home he sits on the couch, pulling the stone at it to look at it carefully. It was cold now, no trace of the warmth he swore was there when Lana gave it to him.

“I knew it. Its just a hoax,” he says to himself, placing the stone on the coffee table in front of him. Despite this, he still feels odd the rest of the day, his mind wandering back to the strange interaction.

…

The next day, Richard still can’t get the interaction out of his head. He hadn’t slept well at all, and he felt determined to find out how Lana knew about his condition. He takes the stone with him to the park again so he could think.

Throughout his walk, the stone stays cold, just as it had been. But when he steps towards the water fountain, the stone grows warm again. He looks around curiously.

Richard steps closer to the fountain as the stone pulses warmly in his palm. The water’s shimmer intensifies, and the sound of the city fades into a distant hum. The world wavers as the park dissolves into streaks of light.

Something in the water reflects back at him, an image of kids laughing and chasing each other around in a grassy field. For a moment, he could hear the laughter in his ears.

Trusting what he sees and his intuition, he takes one final step. Not into the water, but through it.

The world solidifies around him in a breathtaking rush. He stands in a sun-drenched meadow under a sky of violet rays. The air is crisp and sweet, and a profound vitality courses through him. The constant, gnawing sore all over his body from his illness is simply gone.

Lana is there, smiling. “Welcome. I told you it would guide you.”

“What is this place?” Richard breathes, feeling strength return to his limbs.

“A world where time is a gentle current, not a rushing river. Here, you don’t spend the last of your life. You simply live.”

He looks down at the stone. It is no longer black, but clear as crystal, glowing with an inner light. It had not been a guide back to her, but a key to this world.

Richard pockets the stone and looks at the endless horizon. A genuine, unburdened smile graces his lips for the first time in years.

He is no longer a dying man. He is an explorer.

“And this is your world?”

“Yes, a world where fairies, elves, and other beings live. You’d be surprised by how many of us here,” Lana smiles cheekily. She looks proud.

“Show me,” he says to Lana.

And so, their journey begins.