Chapter 3

As they walked along the deck, Aspen’s hair glistened in the sunlight. Her hair reached down past her shoulders and was braided carefully and neatly. At the end was a dolphin pin keeping her hair from coming undone. She had a tan complexion with a common nose with several freckles over it and few on both of her cheeks.

“There you two are,” Malachite said as he hurried across the deck.

“We were on our way to find you,” Trona said as she winked at him.

“Thanks for the book dad,” Aspen smiled.

“Happy birthday Pookie,” he grinned. “The book is really from your mom though, but I didn’t forget about you. I have something special for you.”

“What is it?” she jumped up and down in excitement clapping her hands. Her dad always gave her cool and expensive gifts. He seemed to always know what she wanted.

Malachite reached into his baggy superstore khaki cargo shorts and pulled out a small box wrapped in Miami dolphin sports paper. On top was a small coral bow, from the bow hung two plastic dolphins. His short brown hair barely moved under the steady wind. He wore a loose fitting tropical shirt with dolphins wearing helmets printed all over the shirt. He handed the gift to her.

“I’ll bet I know what this is,” Aspen grinned twisting her head while eyeing the box. She shook it, weighed it in her hands, and sniffed it.

“Think so?” he laughed looking over the top of his Oakley sunglasses at her. “Guess.”

“Hum,” she said as she put it up to her ear and shook it again. “I’m guessing earrings.”

“You mean you lost your last pair?” Malachite shook his head and frowned. He started to reach for the gift to take it back. He stole a glance at Trona and winked.

“No,” she laughed in protest pulling the gift from his reach. She rolled her eyes and smirked.

“Well open it and you’ll find out,” Trona smiled as she sipped on her drink.

Aspen pulled at the ribbon and tore the paper off. She opened the lid and stared at a golden Celtic cross on an eighteen inch gold chain. The cross looked shiny and glowed in the light.

“Dad,” Aspen whined as she held it up by the chain and let it dangle in the sunlight.

“This is no ordinary cross,” Malachite licked his lips as his eyes darted from the cross to Aspen. “This is a seventh century Celtic sun cross. It’s pure gold and there’s a bit of history that goes with it.”

Aspen looked at the cross again dangling on the chain as her hand held it up in front of her face. It glowed in an uncanny way.

“The thing about this cross is that it was unearthed from a dig in Egypt.” his gaze went from Aspen to Trona and then the cross.

“Ugh,” she wrinkled her nose as her eyes furrowed, she put her left hand up to shield herself from it.

“It was on a dead person? Are you kidding me?” She took a step back to get away from it, but still held it arm’s length. The ship tilted up and she grabbed for railing for support, but there wasn’t any. Salty spray shot up the sides of the boat, but only a small amount came on deck near where they were standing.

“Hold on,” he moved his hands in a downward motion. “There’s more to it than that. You have no idea what I had to go through to get this cross. The man that wore this cross was a monk from Ireland. He was on a pilgrimage to the holy lands and then went to Egypt to see the pyramids.”

“This monk,” his eyes widened. “Was a historian, he specialized in religious history. He believed that the gold that made this cross was smuggled out of Jerusalem and then cast in Cairo. It was rumored that it came from one of the gold artifacts used in the temple in Jerusalem after its looting and destruction in 79 AD. Of course it can’t be proven, but it was authenticated to have come from this monk who had died while traveling in Egypt.”

“The curious thing is this monk kept records of everything and was buried with his book. Yesterday, I received a letter from the Egyptian department of Antiquities. They said that they have traced the Monks actives back to Jerusalem and found records that he indeed acquire an article made of pure gold presumably from the lost treasure from the temple.”

The gulls cried overhead as they floated on the hands of the wind. A gray white streak narrowly missed them. A dragonfly darted across the deck, but no one noticed, or thought it odd that it was such a long way from shore.

“Well don’t you see?” Malachite waved his hands excitedly in the air as his eyes widened. “I was able to procure and ancient artifact worn by a holy man, made with pure gold taken from the temple of Jerusalem. This thing is priceless.” He pointed at the cross.

“Really,” Aspen’s eyes narrowed as she stepped forward. She stared at the cross again. She held it and rolled it over in her hands. It glowed and shined in her eyes so she blinked. She lifted it trying to get a feel for the weight. She heard a small calm voice say, “Happy Birthday.” She looked up at her mom and dad thinking that they had said it to her.

“What did you say?” She asked narrowing her look as her eyes darted from her mom to her dad. Her mother looked puzzled. Malachite blinked.

“That it’s priceless.” He nodded.

“No,” she blinked shaking her head, “after that? Never mind.”

“Thank you daddy I love it. Help me put it on.”

Malachite put the cross on Aspen and when he did it glowed even brighter than it had before. She felt something odd, something warm that made her feel happy inside. It was if it was reading her emotions and thoughts and judging her all at the same time. In the end she felt a peculiar sense of peace come over her and a voice speak to her in a diminishing ripple, ‘happy birthday’ again. She looked up at her parents.

“Thanks dad,” Aspen hugged him.

“Have you tried the climbing wall yet?” he asked.

“No, not yet.”

“Why?” Trona asked. “It’ll be fun.”

Aspen made a sour face and stretched her arms out trying to hold her balance. Again the ship dipped. Malachite held on to his wife to support her.

“The water is getting a bit rough,” Malachite said as he held his hand to shield his eyes while looking around at the sky then back at the ocean. “I think the waves are getting bigger. There may be a storm coming. It looks very cloudy in the east.”

“Well in that case lets head to the center of the ship,” Trona suggested as she grabbed on to Malachite for support with one hand and held the other hand to her drink and stomach.

“There’s a magic act starting at noon in the dining room,” She said. “It might be fun.”

“Cool,” Aspen rolled her eyes looking back to the bow making a mock gagging with her finger. “But, after that I want to explore the ship, and hit the arcade. I need some money.” She stretched out her hand palm side up and looked at her dad.

“Where’s your allowance?” he asked.

“Oh come on dad,” she stomped her foot. “It’s my birthday and all I need is twenty bucks.” She gave him that pouty look that always worked on him.

“What? No,” Trona protested.

“Ah, come on Starbuck, it’s her birthday and that’s what this whole trip is about. A celebration!” Malachite spoke.

“Okay, but first lunch.”