Eve White: Literary Agent

from WHERE BLUEBIRDS FLY

The first stone I ever owned was a raw chunk of amethyst. It looked just like a magical purple crystal plucked straight from the Earth’s crust, and was the most completely beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was a present from my Dad because he said it was pretty, and I was pretty. He said he wanted to buy me a ruby, but couldn’t afford it and the amethyst was the next best thing. Nanna looked up amethysts in an encyclopaedia and laughed out loud when she discovered the ancient Greeks used amethysts as a cure for drunkenness. “How appropriate,” she said. “Let’s hope it works.” Dad scowled at her for spoiling his gift and I was torn between wanting to please both of them. I told them I would use it as a good luck stone to make my dreams come true. Dad said, “And when you’re rich and famous and a big shot movie star, don’t forget my bottles of Chateau Lafitte.” After he left the room, Nanna tutted. “I want you to remember this, Ruby: Being successful isn’t the amount of money in the bank, or your name in the paper or expensive bottles of wine. Success is the amount of joy you feel. Nothing more, nothing less.” Every day for a year I cradled that rock in my hands and dreamed about being an actor on a stage in front of hundreds of people. I got to know every line and angle, every lump and bump and every delicate shade, from the wispiest smoky lavender to the deepest darkest purple. Even now, even after not seeing it for seven years, if you put a hundred raw amethysts in front of me, I’d be able to tell you which one was mine. When Dad left us the first time, the amethyst disappeared. I dreamed about seeing the amethyst again. I was at the top of the stairs and my amethyst was at the bottom. Nanna was next to me with a bottle in her hand. The bottle had RUBY PORT written on it, and Nanna was shouting at me to get the amethyst. I was upset and crying and I knew I’d done something terrible, but I didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t move. Nanna kept shouting my name, over and over again. And when I didn’t get the stone, Nanna said she’d get it for me, but she fell… and then I fell too.