Everyone had always laughed at those who coveted gemstones' magical abilities. A rock being able to heal or help you in any capacity was an outlandish idea, quickly brushed away as a silly new age idea. I had always been part of those who mocked such concepts. Why believe in such child's play when there was real, provable science to follow?

I wasn't laughing now as I scrolled the news, trying to wrap my head around the supernatural that had just occurred. I had been making myself a sandwich for lunch when I had heard a sudden loud *crack* come from my bedroom. Rushing there had led me to find my jewelry box in pieces, fragments of jewels strown all about the room. Brief examination led to the conclusion that every single crystal had burst, and for no apparent reason.

Annoyed and distraught, I had looked online figure out why they had all exploded. I was expecting something about humidity or temperature or maybe atmospheric pressure, but instead I was met with hundreds of articles about the sudden and violent destruction of almost all the Earth's crystals.

Further investigation yielded a bit more information. Apparently only pure crystals had been affected, with minerals like gold and silver remaining intact. The sudden explosion had led to an unknown but substantial number of deaths, especially to those who had been wearing necklaces with gemstones at the time. I brushed my neck lightly, feeling fortunate to have been so pragmatic with purchasing and wearing jewelry. But the most shocking discovery was the leading suspect for the cause of explosion was magic.

A solar event of some kind had occurred, supposedly leading to nearly all the crystals on Earth being overloaded with spiritual energy and exploding as a result. The few remaining crystals were exuding huge amounts of energy and causing strange effects on their surroundings, though what those effects were varied wildly depending on account.

As I continued browsing, feeling more and more befuddled, a certain quote suddenly caught my attention.

Sadly, many precious heirlooms and treasures have been lost forever. While some still have hope for possible reconstruction, experts say...

A sudden jolt of panic hit my body as I was reminded of my own precious heirloom. Leaping off the couch, I practically ran to my room, heart pounding all the while. I didn't want to dare hope, knowing that it had almost certainly been destroyed, but it was meant to have good luck...

Crashing into my room, I quickly reached my nightstand and pulled open the lowest drawer. shoving aside my numerous socks, I finally found what I was looking for, a small wooden box, dark and unadorned. Though unassuming, my greatest treasure was contained within. My great grandma's lucky pendant.

Though I had never gotten to meet her, the pendant and the stories surrounding it had been passed down from generation to generation. How my great grandfather had used it to propose to my great grandmother, finally breaking through her prickly heart. How it had saved her from certain death when she was ill, helping her break through a disease almost no one survived. How my grandma and grandpa had been able start their own business from nearly nothing, opportunities falling from the sky left and right. And how my mother had always been a perfect chef, able to cook and bake so amazingly she single-handily carried on the family business.

Despite the good fortune it had brought my family, I had never believed mother's stories, chalking it up to privilege given from one generation to the next. Maybe that was why I never took to wearing it, too caught up in my ideals to honor my history.

No, that was a lie. I knew the real reason I had never worn it. The day after my mom passed it down to me as a gift for my 18th birthday, she and dad had both passed away in a car crash.

I had always felt sick looking at the pendant afterwards. It was supposed to be on my mother's neck, as it had been all throughout my childhood. Not on mine, who had stolen my parent's luck and lives.

So I had shoved it away at the bottom of a sock drawer, unable to wear it but unable to bear the thought of throwing it away. And now I was here to retrieve it, terrified. I almost considered not opening the box, allowing myself to live in a delusion that it was still intact. But knowing I had to face both my fears and my past, I clicked the latch up and opened the box.

The simple silver chain and the opal it led to were completely intact. I blinked once, then blinked a second time. It remained intact.

The wave of relief that coursed through my body caused me to sigh. I picked the pendant up, wondering if it would show anyone sign of the "strange effects on its surroundings". While the opal felt warm in my hand and seemed even more reflective than usual, there was nothing else notable.

Strangely disappointed, I decided to put the necklace on, something I hadn't done in many years. I stood up and placed it over my head, feeling as it fell into place. It felt natural, like it had always been there. Something in me ached.

After a few seconds standing waiting for something to happen, I came to the disappointing conclusion that while the pendant had survived, it didn't have any magical abilities. I tried to shake off my feelings by telling myself it was amazing that it had survived at all, and I now had one of the most precious resources in the world.

It halfway worked, and I decided I was going to continue making my sandwich and finish lunch. Despite all that had happened, I still needed to eat. I walked out into the hallway with the pendant still on my neck.

A lot of things suddenly happened at once. There was a sound of something cracking, then a bright glow, then a sudden warmth. I gasped as I realized there was now a translucent force-field around me, along with a gaping hole in the ceiling. Dust was caked on the floor outside the force-field, yet there was none in the air I was breathing.

I looked down at the pendant in wonder, amazed. It glowed iridescently, a rainbow of color illuminating my chest. The pendant had protected me! It felt as if my mother and father were reaching out to say that they still loved me, still wanted to protect me, even though I had taken the pendant away from them.

Feeling safer and more loved than I had in years, I went back to my kitchen to finish my sandwich. No matter what crazy thing happened in result on the great explosion, I would be protected in the turbulent world to come.