McGarvey hauled the wheel round. Tyres squealed. The safe house just ahead. He skidded into it with the precision of an F1 pitstop. Police sirens wailed past outside and off into the distance. McGarvey patted a small bag beside him.
An hour later he placed it before his fence. “One Stone of Sannhet.”
The fence let out a sharp breath and tentatively opened the bag; revealing a beautiful green stone.
“Legit?” McGarvey said.
The fence picked up his loupe and began.
McGarvey waited impatiently.
Eventually, the fence looked up, a green glint in his eyes: “Legit-”
McGarvey grinned.
“But worthless.”
“What?”
“It’s a shiny rock, like all the things you bring me; a holdover from days before money, when we bartered shiny stones for goods and services. Like money, any actual worth is merely an empty dream; a worldwide agreement to believe in nothing, for the benefit of everyone.”
“You jerking my chain?”
He held up his loupe - “Look for yourself.”
Mcgarvey took it and snatched up the stone. Even to his untrained eye (now glinting green) it all became clear. “Well, shit!” he said, dropping the worthless rock; the fabled stone of Sannhet; the fabled stone of truth.
About the Creator
Shane Dobbie
If writing is a performance art then I’m tap dancing in wellies.
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Comments (4)
If it's worthless because the stone says it's worthless but the rock is truth, does that not make it worth something? I enjoyed the ponder and id still like the stone :)
A thief having an existential crisis, nice.
A lot of truth packed in this little story. Great Job!
Interesting take. And now his economic innocence has been stolen as well.