The Ebony Amulet

At the bottom of the chest, were a necklace, some folded papers and a lavender scarf. Not much, not what she thought would be there and so lonely looking. Her hand hesitated before touching the ebony amulet which caught her first attentions, but she just had to feel the stone's smooth surface. She reached in slowly and pulled the jewelry from the dust. Nola gasped as her fingers made contact; then she smiled.

"It's so beautiful." She sat back on her rump and examined the amulet. "I wonder about you. Are you important?"

Nola spoke to the amulet as if it were a child and tried to coax the answers from the inanimate object. Of course, this stuff did not rightfully belong to her anyway. Did it truly matter the story behind the jewel? Nola was a curious woman, she wanted to know the truth of everything.But right now, she only wanted to know its worth.But, Nola wasn't used to nice things but she knew this necklace was more than anything she had ever owned.

The amulet glimmered in the attic light, she saw what looked like diamonds around the ebony stone. Nola nodded and stood.

"Yes, I will keep you. It all makes sense now."

Without hesitation, Nola grabbed the letters and quietly closed the lid. Her steps down the attic steps were quiet and she held her breath. As she closed the door and sprinted down the hallway, she spoke loudly.

"Mrs. Patridge, I am here." Nola's voice was loud and cheerful as she announced her return to the blind invalid. She entered the room and took her seat beside the old woman's bed. "I found your scarf, Mrs. Patridge."

The frail lady turned and smiled toward the sound of Nola's voice. "Oh..thank you dear, that scarf was given to me by one of my best friends. It means so much that you retrieved it for me." The lady's shaking hand reached out and grasped. Bony fingers greedily searched for their prize. "Did....did, you find the Amulet?"

Nola grew cold. she looked down in her lap and bit her lip. She just couldn't do it. That thing looked really expensive, she was sure it would pay her mortgage. "I...ah...no mame."

Mrs. Patridge dropped her head and exhaled deeply. She spoke softly. "It's okay dear, I guess someone in the family has already found it." She chuckled, "guess those greedy bastards took most of my things long ago."

Nola gripped the Amulet tightly and watched the old lady grieve.

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That night, Nola couldn't sleep well. Maybe, she had gotten three hours of sleep at the most. Her dreams, in those few hours of slumber, were horrible, chaotic visions of slow death. She awoke in a drenched sweat. Her breath was rapid. Nola was so afraid in her own home that she clenched her robe closed and went into the bathroom. She heard her phone ringing in the distance. "Shit! who is calling in the middle of the night?"
Gathering her courage as the dream begin to fade, Nola went to answer the phone. She caught the last ring and gasped into the receiver."Hello?"

"Is this Nola? Nola, Mrs. Patridge just passed away." Tina, the night shift hospice nurse spoke with a trembling voice. "I was sitting with her and she seemed so peaceful. She sleeps all through the night. I was sitting here doing my crosswords and keeping a watch on her breathing." Tina paused for a moment. Nola could here her voice shaking over the telephone line. "Nola, Mrs. Patridge just sat straight up in bed, called to someone named Charles then fell dead. I mean stone dead. No gasping, no crying, she just went, Nola."

Nola felt suddenly remorseful and very guilty about her theft. She was going first thing in the morning to the pawn shop and get her money. She wanted to be done with it. "I am sorry Tina. Mrs. Patridge was a good lady. Do you need me to come over now?"

"Yes, I think everyone should be here when the children arrive. I think that would be best."

"I will see you then." Nola sat the phone down and thought about her crime. It ate at her. "I have to pay my mortgage. I am not trying to hurt anyone. I just have to have this money." Nola talked to herself justifying her deed over and over.

As she walked into the bathroom to take her shower, she froze in front of the mirror. Was it shock or the startling beauty of the amulet which caught her attention? She wasn't sure. But that necklace was around her neck and she didn't remember putting it there. Nola reached up and touched the black stone. It shimmered in the light of the vanity. It was amazing. This was one very amazing peice of jewelry. The black stone was bordered by small diamonds and silver and hung from an thick silver chain. At least Nola thought it was real diamonds. She would know tomorrow soon enough. Nola reached around her neck to remove the necklace. Her fingers searched for the clasp and found nothing. A single chain was wrapped around her neck with no seeming way of removal. He twisted and pulled at the necklace, searching for the clasp, but nothing. After several attempts, Nola became very unnerved. "Damnit! where the hell is the clasp? I don't even remember putting the damn thing on anyway."

Nola pulled and tugged for at least thirty minutes and then she began to jerk the chain. "I can't go there with this thing on. Maybe I can break it. I can cut the blasted thing off."

Nola released the chain for the first time since her furious battle began thirty minutes earlier. She paced, trying to think of something that would break the chain. But her mind raced and her thoughts couldn't seem to grasp anything pertinent.

She felt her skin itching around her neck and she began to scratch. It tickled and she pushed the necklace aside and started to claw harder. She sweated, she paced and then she sit down. It was then that she felt the necklace digging into the flesh of her throat. It pulled tighter and tighter, the more she clawed. Nola could no longer get her fingers underneath the chain and she struggled frantically looking for something to pry the damn thing loose. "Shit!”
Nola gasped and her forehead furrowed. Nola was having trouble breathing. "Damn Amulet!"

Nola fell to the floor and breathed her last breath. The clasp opend and the amulet fell to the floor.