Bhirdo 5
The Necklace
"Oh, Mira is so cute! She looks just like you, Hannah. I was so blessed to go to her one year old christening this past weekend; it was a lovely event to be with all your family again. You are just like a sister to me, you are the only family I have and I love you."
Hannah hugged Sarah, her lifelong friend, and noticed the sky darkening as they both pushed their babies in the stroller on their early morning walk. "Thank you Sarah, you are a blessing to me too. I was touched by the beautiful locket you gave Mira. Look, she is wearing it now." Mira giggled as she gently grabbed the rare, Australian dusty-rose, opal heart necklace surrounded in diamonds with her chubby little hands as though it was a toy.
"But Sarah, the gift is too generous. This is an heirloom from your great, great grandmother that should stay in your family."
"You are right, Hannah, that is why I gave it to Mira; after all, she is my godchild and with that said, it will stay in my family. After all, I cannot have any more children and Joshua surely can't wear it." Joshua began to fuss in his stroller as the wind blew stronger into his face.
"We must hurry home Sarah, I feel in my spirit that this is no ordinary storm approaching. It was sunny when we left, but it nearly dark out now." As Hannah turned around to glance at the nearly black sky; it was too late. Unable to grasp the handles of the stroller, she screamed, "Mira!" as the tornado whisked Mira away.
As Ruth and her friend Paige stepped off the school bus on their last day of class, Paige said, "What are you doing this summer?"
"My parents surprised me and are sending me to Wyoming to spend the summer with my Uncle Tony. He has a 255 acre ranch. I can't wait! I'll be horseback riding everyday! What are you going to do on vacation?"
"Oh, not much. I got a summer job and plan on putting money away for my future car. I turned sixteen last week and I just got my driver's permit. I am looking forward to learn how to drive."
"How exciting! I turned sixteen last month. Look at what my parents gave me?" Ruth showed her the dusty rose opal heart necklace from around her neck.
Paige exclaimed, "Wow! That is beautiful! Look at how the diamonds sparkle around the opal. It is amazing! Where did they get it?"
Ruth smiled, "It was put away for me until I turned sixteen years old. Even though I knew I was adopted, I did not know about the necklace until now. From what I understand, it was handed to my parents in an envelope when they picked me up from the adoption agency. They speculated that my birth parents were killed in the great tornado of 1996 when 2,000 people lost their lives. The necklace must have come from them. I will treasure this gift always. However, I can't be too sad about the tragedy because God did give me a loving and caring family. Besides, I'm blessed; I got you as my best friend."
After a half of day of school, Ruth's parents picked her up from school and drove her to the airport. She was so excited. On the way to the airport, her mother handed her a present. Inside the box, was a stunning pair of leather mahogany-colored cowgirl boots. Ruth slipped them on and they fit perfectly. She was born to be a cowgirl, and on the flight, dreamt about riding a white stallion horse. By the time she landed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the two hour drive to the ranch, it was nearly midnight before she fell fast asleep in her Uncle's home.
As the rooster crowed, Ruth woke up to the smell of bacon in the air. She quickly got dressed and went into the kitchen where her uncle greeted her. "Sit down missy, this is fine as cream gravy!"
Puzzled, Ruth said, "What did you say?"
Uncle Tony laughed, "Its cowboy talk for good food! After breakfast, I got a surprise to show you. Waddie Lenny, roped a wild white stallion two months ago, you gotta see this beauty!" Over breakfast, Uncle Tony handed Ruth a belated birthday present. Inside was an authentic, leather cowgirl hat that matched her new cowgirl boots she wore.
Within the confines of the corral was the white stallion. Ruth sat on the fence as she watched Lenny and Joshua, one of the ranch crew, busy roping the stallion. With resistance, the frightened stallion kicked Lenny over the fence onto a stack of ropes. Joshua ran to help Lenny off the ropes and to see if he was okay. "Get off the fence Ruth, that wild horse could hurt you; she is as wild as a bucking bronco!" Uncle Tony yelled as he ran over to help Lenny up as well. But it was too late. The white stallion saw Ruth in the corner of her eye and stopped in her tracks. Slowly the horse walked up to Ruth and rubbed against her arm that was holding onto the fence. Gently the horse laid her head into Ruth's lap. Uncle Tony turned to see what was happening, "Well, I'll be!"
Over the course of two months, Ruth and the white stallion were inseparable. It was like love at first site. Ruth named the horse, "Angel." When Ruth would go to bed at night, Angel would stand by her window to protect her. Angel loved apples and long trail rides through the mountain ranges. Joshua, the ranch helper, often assisted her in these half-day rides. He rode Conrad, a brown mustang that had a white diamond-shaped mark on his forehead, as Ruth rode Angel. Joshua was only a few months older than Ruth who worked daily on the ranch during the summer months. The other part of the day he fed and watered the horses and did other ranch choirs. Towards evening, Joshua and Ruth often sat around on the porch talking or down by the fishing hole soaking their feet as the sun set. Joshua asked, "Ruth, there is a square dance at church on Saturday night, I was wondering if you would like to go? I'll be putting on my best bib and tucker and would be honored if I you would escort me to the dance."
Ruth replied, "Sure, I would love to go." She leaned over the fishing hole to swing her legs gently in the water, the sun glistened upon her necklace and sparkled into Joshua's eye.
"Ruth, I've been admiring your necklace over the past month. It's mighty pretty. Is that an Australian opal necklace? There is something special about that necklace, it's rare."
"Rare, what do you mean?" Ruth asked.
"Well, I've seen that necklace before. On the wall outside my bedroom, that identical necklace was worn by my grandmother. It was an heirloom that was lost. From the story of my mother, it came from my great, great grandmother and being a rare Australian dusty rose opal heart, there were only a few made in the world. My mother gave it as a christening gift to her best friend's daughter when she was 1 year old, but a storm hit that supposedly killed the little girl. The litter girl was never found and she wore the necklace on the day the tornado hit. What most people do not know, is that it is not just a necklace, but a locket with a hidden compartment. It was given to my mother on the day she married my dad. That same necklace is in the wedding pictures that are also hung on the wall of my home. If it is in fact the same necklace, I know where the hidden latch is to open the necklace. My mother talked about it often and the precious little girl who wore it. May I see your locket?"
With hands shaking, Ruth removed the necklace and handed it to Joshua. On the bottom side was a tiny pinhole. With the tip of his pocket knife, he pushed the pinhole and the locket opened. Inside was a picture of a man and woman.
Joshua smiled, "That is a picture of your birth mom and dad. My mother put the picture in there for your christening gift. My mother will be serving the food tomorrow night at the dance and your birth parents go to the same church as we do. Would you like to meet your mom and dad, Mira? It seems to me that God just blessed you with two sets of parents, both who love you dearly!"