She was as beautiful as a precious gem. She sparkled in the sun and glittered in the candlelight.

The warmth that shone from inside her was mesmerizing, but if you picked her up, she was cold and hard, with sharp edges that made her difficult to hold.

He didn’t mind. He polished and protected her, wrapping her up and keeping her out of sight of others who may admire her beauty and try to steal her away from him.

Had he paid attention, he would have noticed her inner glow diminish, each time he locked her away, blocking the sun from feeding her.

Had he looked closely, he may have seen the tiny cracks that grew, each day, as she was left to try to manufacture her own light, instead.

Had he witnessed them, he might have figured out that she wasn’t the stone he believed her to be at all.

But one day, as he sat polishing and admiring his prize, he did see one of those imperfections, and held her to the light to examine her closely.

The flaws he saw were startling and significant, causing him to drop her to the ground… where she cracked into pieces.

Nothing but a bit of glass. Not created to impress, but molded to fool, ensnare, and hold captive.

And HE was the fool who had kept her, trapped inside, for so long.

Once she was free of her shell, she soaked up the magic of the sun and grew more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

She took on the fiery attributes that fed her, dancing and swirling with such magnificence that all he could do was stare, and wonder at her extraordinary new form. Before looking away, baffled by what he couldn’t comprehend.

“I didn’t know,” he cried in despair.

“You didn’t try to know,” she said softly, watching him sadly for a while, before gliding out into the lovely light of day.

As she skipped and danced and revelled in her freedom, she found a different world around her.

People watched her, others joined her, many delighted in her in a way no one ever had, while she was trapped within that capsule.

She basked in the pleasure of an audience, enveloping herself in it at every turn.

But, when the sun set, the crowd disappeared. And the darkness pressed into her lightness with a fury.

Suddenly, drawn to the edges of the shadows, she was overtaken with need. Some mysterious presence magnetized her, as though the fire within her was molten steel.

Out of the blackness strode a new admirer. Strong and capable, with eyes that she knew could see everything, and a sadness that was almost enchanting, in it’s strange, taciturn way.

He leapt on her, like a beast of the night, drinking in her light and feeding off her power.

She did not fight him, but begged him to continue, to devour her, to reduce her to the quivering, mewling mess she’d never known that she always wanted to be.

When he had his fill, he lifted her and cradled her, whispering sweetness and love, and promising that his darkness would never overcome her lightness. Then he carried her into the sunrise, so that she might feed on it’s magic, forever.

“I am but a broken diamond, flawed and discarded,” she warned, longing to avoid the despair she had caused, once before.

“You are priceless, my precious gem, and I will guide you to see that truth, as you have guided me into the light.”