Crystal
It hung there, suspended in time; a droplet frozen for all eternity, fashioned of crystal, multi-faceted, stunning, remarkable: a work that couldn't be of man. It was too perfect; so much so he felt gaping, empty, and in agony at the thought of nobody and nothing ever again being quite so flawless.
Hanging there was a crystallized teardrop, each facet flat and clear, shining like priceless ice. It spun, slowly, on a y-axis, catching the falling rays of sunlight and casting brilliant rainbow and gold hues on the ground below it.
He stared, fascinated, gazing into the inner working of the chestnut-sized, carved shard of crystal. In it, he saw the past, the present, the future; he remembered hope, saw dreams, tasted fear and longing. Emotions from years past, and truths of days yet to come glimmered in its crystalline depths, impossibly beautiful, heartwrenchingly tender, hopelessly painful.
Flickering amongst the shots of gold, the curves of rainbow, and the glitter like diamond shone faces, places, memories; the taste of soft bronze skin, the feel of silken ebony hair, and the beauty of a brilliant, jade-green gaze. That was the truth of the past; in the future there were dreams of grey skies, cozy yellow kitchens, and an amazing, guileless smile, full of warmth and love: just for him.
He wanted it, he ached for it; he could no longer bear to look into the crystalline depths and not touch. He stretched out a finger--pale, slender, long; a perfectly formed nail curving gently over the white-skinned tip--and brushed it along the crystal-glass, and he felt the infinite coldness of the mineral, the unforgiving texture of hard crystal.
He felt it, for a moment. He felt it all, he saw it all; all the wishes he'd had, all the hopes that would brighten dark future days. It was all around him, in him, and it was there, too, in the crystal teardrop, calling him, whispering to him promises and utterly breaking his heart. He felt it, and his fingers gently touched the smooth clear surface--
--when, in a moment so horrible it would haunt him for the rest of his days, unto death and beyond--it shattered.
It broke, thousands of pieces flying everywhere, embedding themselves into the ground, and his fingertips; the blood glaring bright against the tiny chips buried in his flesh.
With a gasp, he fell to his knees, platinum blonde hair falling over his forehead, as he bowed his head and gazed at his bloodied hand.
Gazed, with grey eyes, clear and bright as crystal...
Fin.