The Guardian

You will be astonished when you read what I found in the River Thames

August 16th, 1816

My dear Henry,

You will be astonished when you read what happened to me yesterday while I was doing my usual works as a mudlark in the River Thames. I arrived at my regular spot in the morning; I gathered all my tools and began my toils.

After a few minutes of digging, I found something small and golden, I cleaned it to see it better. It was a golden ring with a diamond. Last summer you asked me to sell all my things so we could get married and the ring brought me hope. I could sell it. I could have enough money to be reunited with you.

The ring was so beautiful that I put it on my finger. It fitted me with such perfection that I could not help but smile. Then, the wind blew faster and faster. A bright light came out of the diamond; it was big and luminous like a candle. The light was getting bigger until it completely dazzled me.

My fear and excitement were such that I fainted. I woke up at the shore of the river, my feet were wet and I still had the ring on my hand. I composed myself; my clothes had more mud than they usually did. The sun was at the top of the sky; I must have been unconscious for hours. “It must have been a dream,“ I said to myself as I returned to my cottage. Inside, I saw him: the guardian of the ring. It was a dwarf with big eyes. He said one phrase and then disappeared. “Now, you are the guardian of the ring!”

I tried my best to take the ring off my finger but, I have failed. What are we going to do?

Your beloved Elizabeth

This story was inspired by this prompt.

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