Blue stone

The blue stone appeared in the corner of my eye as soon as I entered the shop. I continued to look around, listening to the employee rambling on and listing every single one of his new arrivals that he thought might please me.

‘We have some new jewelry that arrived only yesterday from Lenam, my Lady.’ I wasn’t interest in jewelry, but I let him talk anyway while I scanned the place. The store was a combination of anything you’d possibly want, from clothes, accessories, to weapons and gadgets, from all over the galaxy. The walls – red, green, and orange – clashed with each other to the point of making me dizzy.

There was no smell, my nose picked on. An illusion. It must have smelled horribly if they had to use an illusion. My nose wrinkled at the idea.

I focused back to the employee, a short middle-age man with only a few remaining brownish hairs on top of his head, who was still going on and on about his hidden gems. He would take them out just for me, he said, trying to lure me further in the store.

Truthfully, I wasn’t looking for anything but to kill time until my next meeting.

That was until the blue stone caught my eyes again and I could not resist any longer. I took it in my pale hands, delicately turning it around from the tip of my fingers. ‘What’s that,’ I interrupted him in his never-ending speech sale. I was keen to know the answer.

‘That?’ he repeated. He seemed to grow anxious, I even noted a drop of sweat starting to form on his forehead. ‘That’s just a pretty stone, of no interest really. May I direct you to our fashion department, way more interesting for my Lady I’m sure.’

I sighed, examining the stone more closely. It seemed to glow more deeply under the poor light descending from the ceiling. It felt both cold and hot in my hands, a weird feeling spreading in my palms, fingers, and fingertips. I shuddered.

‘I’ll take it.’

I immediately saw the flicker of panic in his eyes accentuated. ‘Are you sure?’ he slowly articulated like I was a general declaring war on another planet, and he was a reluctant soldier.

‘I’m sure.’

We walked towards the cashier; the blue stone still tucked comfortably in my hands. ‘10 000 lens.’ I handed him the sum without a second thought.

I stepped outside, my eyes stuck on the stone, barely noticing the street or the purple sky. Lost in my contemplation, I wondered what pushed me to buy it. It was just a pretty stone as the employee had mentioned after all.

I didn’t notice the ships swirling above my head. ‘PUT THE STONE DOWN AND STEP AWAY SLOWLY,’ a crumbly loud voice coming out from one of the ships’ speakers.

Slowly, reluctantly, taking my eyes away from the stone, I glimpsed at the purple sky. At least I thought I would see a purple sky, but instead I could only discern twenty, maybe thirty ships. War ships. All immobile, as if waiting for something to happen. So many different alliances vacillating before my eyes, distinguished by their different colors. What in the -?

‘What’s going on?’ I screamed, unsure to whom – or what – I was talking to exactly. War ships weren’t allowed in this purple sky after all, I commented perplexed.

‘PUT THE STONE DOWN AND STEP AWAY,’ the same voice repeated.

My legs shook, I gave one last look at my blue stone and placed it on the cold grey ground. One, two, three steps back. The ships remained still, the tension building in the air. All were waiting. But for what?

Suddenly, one yellow ship, a color I did not recognize, came closer, creating a strong breeze, my hair flew all over my face, partly covering my eyes. All ships followed in a scary chaos, the wind so powerful, I felt my feet come off the ground. My heart sunk in my stomach.

Oh shit, what if they start shooting? Not a few seconds after this thought crossed my mind that the first shot was fired.

I ran. I ran as fast as I could possibly go. I was never so much of a runner, but I found that running for my life did kick an unusual adrenaline in my legs. Behind me, shops were destroyed, ships firing at each other in the sky. That was when I realized that the streets were empty. Smoke started to form everywhere, making me cough, and forcing me to narrow my eyes.

Finally, my legs gave out and I was forced to stop, out of breath and on the edge of releasing my lunch on my shoes. I hid behind a dumpster - the smell of rotten fish so potent, it was all I could think of for a second - a safe distance from the chaos still unleashed, from the blue stone that seemed to be right in the middle of it.

And this is how, my impulse buy led to an intergalactic war.

Now, you might ask what happened between the moment I entered the shop and the moment I came out. You might also ask what the fuck happened – period. Well, let me tell you.

I have no freaking idea.

I watched as one of the ships crashed a few meters away from me. I forced my breathing to slow down, my heart beating so hard and fast in my chest I was worried it would just stop working. I needed to get out of here. I gave one last glance to the ongoing battle in the sky, more ships falling fast and too close to me.

I examined the street. Not one soul. I cursed under my breath. I looked behind me, the street still intact. I looked ahead, shops in rumbles, smoke rising from various places. I spotted the stone. The blue stone. The beautiful stone. My eyes were mesmerized and all I could see was blue.

Blue. Blue.

I wanted it.

Behind me was my survival. I came out of my hiding place, gave one last look in a deep breath, and then I ran. I dodged entire ships, parts of ships, fireballs, bullets, and I continued to run.

I grabbed the stone, still hot and cold in my right palm. I shut my fist tight around it, not wasting any more time. I threw myself in the first intact ship, peeked inside. No one. I guessed this would do.

I took the command, the other ships still focus on fighting each other’s, to notice one lonely ship leaving the battlefield.

Safe in space, I opened my fist, the stone resting comfortably in my hand. I grinned. Guessed it was mine now.