Shadowstone 1

RHEA

It was one of those nights when time seemed to stand still, as if the darkness were swallowing up the world around me. Only the dim light of my desk lamp broke the soft twilight that had settled over the office.

It was late, much later than I had planned to be here, but the delivery sitting on my desk wouldn’t leave me alone. An unassuming box, covered in dust, with no return address and no indication of where it had come from.

I sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. It had been a long day, and all I really wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath and enjoy the silence. But there was something about that box that held me captive, as if it held a secret just waiting to be discovered.

Maybe it was just curiosity, the urge to reveal another secret – a habit that has characterized my career as a

“What the heck,” I murmured to myself and opened the box. My fingers trembled slightly as I pushed aside the paper and uncovered the contents.

It was a stone. An unassuming, dark stone, about the size of a fist, with a strange, almost smooth surface that shimmered in the light of the lamp. It looked old, very old. An artifact that seemed to come from another time, as if it carried stories of long-gone civilizations within it.

“And what are you?” I asked quietly, without expecting an answer, as I held the stone in my hand. It felt cool, heavier than I had expected, and for a moment a strange tingling sensation ran through my fingertips.

“Pretty,” I murmured, turning it, looking for some sign, some inscription that might reveal more about its origin. But it remained silent, revealed nothing to me.

I held the stone for a moment longer before gently placing it back in the box. Just as I was about to close the lid again, I noticed something – a fine, barely visible engraving along the underside. My heart beat faster. What did it mean?

“Rhea, are you still here?”

I turned around to see Miranda, my assistant, standing in the doorway. She was leaning casually against the doorframe, her reddish-brown hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders, and her tight black dress emphasized the sensual curves of her body. In her eyes – emerald green and sharp – lay the expression of someone who saw everything, even what one would rather keep hidden.

“I was just leaving,” I replied, putting the stone back in the box and trying not to let anything show on my face. ’Time has passed faster than I thought.”

“It always does when you focus on something.’ Miranda stepped closer, her gaze curiously wandering to the artifact. ”What do you have there?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” I closed the box and leaned back to relieve the pressure on the back of my neck. ’It arrived this morning. No return address, no note. Just... here.”

“That’s weird.’ She raised an eyebrow. ”Do you think it’s valuable?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. ’But I’m too tired to find out today. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow.”

“Rhea O’Connor giving herself a break? It’s a miracle,’ she teased, with a small smile on her lips.

“Very funny,” I replied dryly and began to organize my papers. ”I have my limits, too, you know?”

“You keep saying that, and then I find you here again at midnight, buried in old papers.”

Miranda came over to my desk, took my jacket off the chair and held it out to me. “Come on, before you change your mind.”

“Thank you.” I took the jacket and put it on, feeling the scratch of the fabric on my skin. ’I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Probably starve and be buried in a pile of old artifacts,’ she countered dryly. ”But seriously, Rhea... you really should take care of yourself. You work too much.”

“I know.” I forced a smile, even though her words touched a sore spot. ”But sometimes it’s easier to lose yourself in work than to deal with reality.”

Miranda looked at me for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but then held back. Instead, she shook her head slightly. “You’re incorrigible. But you know I’m always here for you, right?”

“Yes, I know that.” My voice sounded softer than I had intended, and for a moment a pleasant warmth settled over the cool loneliness that often nested in me. ’Thank you, Miranda.”

“Anytime.’ She picked up her handbag and nodded towards the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you out. We can walk together to the exit. Maybe that will save your sanity from a relapse.”

“You’re right,” I said, following her. ”I really need a break.”

Together we walked through the corridors of the museum, past the showcases and display cases where ancient treasures from distant lands and long-gone eras were on display.

The view was familiar to me, and yet I felt that sense of awe again and again, as if each piece whispered its own story, ready to be told. And somehow I felt like a part of it myself – caught between the past and what still lay ahead.

“You look tired,” Miranda finally said when we reached the heavy wooden door of the main entrance.

“I am tired,” I admitted. ”It’s been a long day.”

“Then go home, relax, and stop thinking about stones or artifacts.”

She opened the door and stepped outside into the fresh night air before turning back to me.

“And Rhea... maybe you should really take some time for yourself. Not just for your work.”

“I’ll try,” I said, even though I knew it was a lie. ’Good night, Miranda.”

“Good night.’ She smiled, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness.

I stood for a moment, letting the cool night air caress my skin and feeling the weight of the stone in my handbag.

It was absurd, but something inside me said that this inconspicuous thing would change my life. That it was not just another find that I would put on display in a glass case.

With a last glance at the gloomy museum, shrouded in shadows, I turned around and made my way home – unaware that this would be the last quiet night I would have for a while.

On my way through the deserted streets, I noticed a figure in a dark coat watching me from a distance. A shiver ran down my spine. I held the stone tighter in my hand – and quickened my pace.