#WritcoStoryPrompt5
The diamond necklace on the mannequin looked familiar. She placed her palm on the window that separated them and leaned in closer.
There was no denying the feeling that came to her.
She was sure of it.

Michaela stepped in the small jewelry store, nostalgia creeping in strongly. The store smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and in contrast to most jewelry stores with their bright lights and chandeliers, this one was dimly lit. Walls and counters were wooden, and it gave off vintageness all throughout. Michaela could understand that this was a jewelry store built from a long time.

Only a couple was inside, checking engagement rings on a display counter.
Instantly Michaela was greeted by a friendly young saleslady who's name that's pinned on her uniform was Sarah.

"Hi, Ma'am. Can I interest you in anything?"

Michaela took a moment to speak, her mind focused on the mannequin by the window and looked back at it. The saleslady followed her gaze and realized what she was staring at.

"Oh, I can see you're taken with our one piece of treasure." Sarah said, smiling.

Michaela looked back at the saleslady, noticing how attractive she was for the first time.

"Um, sorry, yes hi." Michaela introduced herself. "You said it's a treasure?"

"Yes, actually it's a rare gem. Madam Prince kept it as her own for years after it was passed down by generations but out of nowhere she just put it on sale. She didn't want any of the auctioneers or collectors to buy it from her. Strangely, she chooses who she sells it to."

"It must be really special then?" Michaela said.

"It is. Although it still baffles many why she would just want to sell it off after years and years of generations instead of just holding on to it or locking it away. There's no convincing Madam Prince otherwise." Sarah said, her eyes mesmerized by the necklace as well. She snaps back into reality and clears her throat, facing Michaela.
"So, are you interested in buying it? I can list you on the wait list." Sarah started to scribble something on a notepad Michaela didn't notice before.

"Um, how much is it?" Michaela asked.

"There's really no telling of the price unless the buyer's chosen. Madam Prince decides the rest, we just simply cater to the ones with interest. Speaking of which should you push for the wait, you'd be in 138."

"That long?"

"Many are after it, that's all I can say."

"It sounds exclusive. It's funny to me how anyone can just waltz in and ask for it." Michaela said.

"That's the mystery of it. But we believe Madam Prince is looking for someone that's why we've kept the doors open for a long time. Some people give up after years of waiting. Who she's after, that we have absolute no idea. But she's really positive she'll find that one special person out before she dies. It's a great mystery, don't you think?"

Michaela was pulled back into the necklace again. She couldn't help but feel strongly for it.

"I'm sorry to ask this, of course I'm just a nobody. But can I speak to Madam Prince?" Michaela asked.

"I'm sorry, Madam Prince doesn't entertain customers, journalists unless she decides so..."

"I know, I just..."

There was a short silence.

"Okay, just put me on the wait list." Michaela decides.

Sarah smiled. "Great. Can I have you fill out a form for just a while so I can get you fixed? It'll only take a moment."

"Sure."

•••

Many Years Ago

Ella sat through the bell as it rang, ending Mr. Hampton's Physics class. She waited for him to finish erasing the writings on the board, and to realize that she was there.

The classroom is already empty. As Mr. Hampton sets to pack his briefcase and leave, the sight of Ella jolts him.

"I frightened you?" Ella asked playfully.

Mr. Hampton is frustrated. He speaks in a calm voice. "What are you doing?"

Ella stands up from her seat and makes her way slowly to him.

"Waiting for you. " She shrugged, as if that was an obvious answer .

"No, I mean why are you here? You were supposed to drop out of my class, you said it so." Mr. Hampton said, his voice started to rise.

Ella stops.
"Look, I may not understand Physics or that it has nothing to do with my major, but I need to see you. You've been cutting me off." She said.

"Ella, what happened between us, that's nothing. You're just confused. It is not right to top everything else."

"You feel it too. That's why you're scared." She snaps. "You love me."

"Ella, I don't."

"Why do you have to be afraid? I'm out of class in a year, I'll be out of this university for good after I graduate. "

"It still doesn't make up for the fact that we..."

"It was a kiss!"Ella yelled. "It was just a kiss." She repated.

"Unless it wasn't just a kiss." She whispered to herself.

Mr. Hampton doesn't reply to this. He doesn't look Ella in the eye.

Impatient, Ella leaves .

This has been going on for some time. Mr. Hampton was the kind of teacher any girl would wish to be their classmate so they can date him. He was kind and smart and wasn't all into romance. Until Ella came.

She was the smart, pretty student who didn't settle for anybody else. She too wasn't all moony for love. Until Mr. Hampton.
She signed up for a Physics class because it was the only minor she could fit into her busy schedule. She was an aspiring linguist.
Ella caught Mr. Hampton's eye like any other girl, but the difference was, Mr. Hampton was also interested in her.
Mr. Hampton agreed to tutor her for an extra thirty minutes because she was slow in the calculations. Those extra thirty minutes led to an hour of talking and laughing and ultimately, feelings. Ella didn't seem bothered, because she believed this was finally the time for love, given that she usually didn't feel like this for anyone else.
Mr. Hampton kissed her as she opened up about her feelings, but after that, he became distant. He believed it was a mistake. But Ella was already falling hard for him.

Ella kept her feelings to herself. It pained her, as she did drop the class and didn't see Mr. Hampton as always but it was all for the best.

They didn't speak to each other, until a year later as Ella walked cum laude at her graduation.
It was the day Ella dreamed. That they would finally speak together again. She was still hopeful all will be well once she's no longer a student.
But all Mr. Hampton did was congratulate her and wish her luck.

It was supposed to end there, but several years later when fate decided for them to meet again, they decided to give it a shot, and it worked.
Ella and Mr. Hampton, which she calls now by his name Jack, went out on most days. They were the perfect couple.
Weeks, months, and into a year, everything was what Ella dreamt things would be.
Until she found out Jack was already married.

Jack explained that he was caught in the paperwork for the divorce. He was meaning to end things with his wife but couldn't.
Ella wanted to leave, but she couldn't. Not when Jack has already proposed.

To prove to Ella how much she meant to him, Jack decided to bring Ella to his house, which was in fact a mansion that stood for hundreds of years.
A secret he had been keeping from Ella all this time.

Jack hid one big secret from Ella, and it was a secret that would change their lives forever.

Jack came from a family of scientists. They were great, just not famous, but they were notable for their ideas and inventions.

One of which was kept hidden from the harsh realities of the world, and it was a time machine.

It was like a pin, small but powerful enough to generate tons of energy to transport one soul to any time he or she desires. It was something Jack never wanted to reveal to anyone.

"Does it work?" Ella asked as she examined the pin on her hand.

"No one has tested it. We were too scared to try." Jack joked.

"This still doesn't change the fact that you lied to me." Ella pointed out.

"Ella, I love you." Jack said.
" That's why I'm giving this to you."

Ella was shocked to hear him say it. "What?"

"I'm giving you this time machine. You can do whatever you want with it, just know that if you really do try and you come out of the other side alive, know that there will always be a part of you somewhere in that same side, and the odds of you meeting each other would be unlikely."

Ella didn't believe him, but she still accepted it.

"This is out of our minds." Ella said.

"I love you Ella, more than I could ever contain this secret." Jack said.


After that, Jack's divorce finally pushed through, and he was on his way to marry Ella.

On the night of their engagement party, Jack presented Ella a gift.

It was a necklace. A Dresden Green Diamond, which shone when hit with the proper light. It was a gem passed down by many generations of the wives of the great minded men that lived before Jack.
Like his father and grandfather's purpose for their love lives, it marked Jack's immense love for Ella. It was perfect, unlike anything the world has seen.

Little did they know that was their last night together.


Jack's ex-wife found out about the diamond, which she thought could still be her own after being divorced from Jack. Fueled by jealousy, she confronted Ella while she was alone, and asked for it back.

While Ella tried to get away from Jack's ex-wife, she left the time machine which was left at her possession on the dresser table. Security got hold of Jack's ex-wife, but without them knowing she took hold of the precious time machine, and decided to set the time backwards and backwards, before Jack taught at the University, so she could prevent them from meeting
each other.

The time machine worked.


Time was reset, and in this world, Ella and Jack Hampton never met. Until they grew old and unable to find their true love.

But unbeknownst to Jack's ex-wife, there was still a small part of reality of Ella who was still in possession with the green diamond necklace somewhere.

•••

The phone rang.

Michaela got up from the bed, and answered the phone.

"Hi, this is from Madam Prince's jewelry shop, could you come over soon? She wants to meet you." The voice on the other end sounded like Sarah.

Michaela quickly got up and went to the jewelry store. Compared to yesterday when she first walked in the store, several people were crowding in.
The green diamond necklace was no longer on the mannequin.

Sarah greted Michaela as she stepped in, and she was immediately escorted to a private room.

This room was filled with light, and it was huge. It felt more like a hall.
Sarah urged Michaela to sit down on one of the couches, as a door from behind one of the curtains opened.

An old woman with a crane walked in the room. She was accompanied by an assistant.

Michaela tried to stand up for respect, but she was waved down. She believed this was Madam Prince.

Her eyes were tired but full of life at the same time. Madam Prince instantly looked at her and didn't take her eyes off Michaela until she sat down. Strange thing was, Michaela couldn't take her eyes off Madam Prince as well.
It was as if she knew her from a memory she couldn't remember.

Madam Prince stared long at Michaela's face. She suddenly teared up.
Michaela didn't know what to do.

"Uh..." She awkwardly said, but Sarah and a few other suited men assured her not to worry.

"Please give us a moment." Madam Prince spoke suddenly after a long silence in a surprisingly loud voice.

Michaela watched Sarah and the other men walk out of the grand room. She heard the door shut tightly behind them, and looked back to Madam Prince. She opened her mouth to speak, but Madam Prince held a finger to silence her.

"The resemblance is remarkable." Madam Prince uttered under her breath eyes still staring hard at her. She was staring in disbelief. It sent a chill in Michaela's body.

Then she started to cry.

"Oh my, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Michaela asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Madam Prince said.
She gestured under the coffee table. There was a black box, and she told Michaela to take it out.

"Open it." She said.

Michaela contained her breath. The box was simply wrapped in light packaging. Michaela lifted the upper box and gasped.

It was the necklace.

It felt so calming with the necklace on her hands. She was even more enchanted by it.

"You feel it too?" Madam Prince asked.

"I don't understand.... You're choosing me?" Michaela asked, carefully lying the opened box on the coffee table.

"You feel it, don't you? It's the same feeling I had when it was first put around my neck." Madam Prince said.

Michaela touched the necklace, it felt cool on her fingers.

"I do believe it's magic, Madam Prince. I've never been pulled or enthralled by jewelry before in my life. I never was fond of it, but yes, when I came upon your shop yesterday, I did."

"I never believed him..." Madam Prince started to say. "When he told me it was unlikely, I never thought it would happen."

"What are you talking about?" Michaela asked. She suddenly felt nauseated.

Madam Prince started to stand. She trembled, but didn't want any help.
She told Michaela to stand in front of the mirror and put on the necklace. Michaela obliged.

"You know, this is by far the weirdest thing to happen to me." Michaela said honestly.

Michaela stood before the mirror, the green diamond nestled perfectly on her chest. It was cold and slightly heavy, but the second she stared at herself, she was hit with even stronger nostalgia that made her tear up.

"I don't know what's happening..." she said.

"You wouldn't believe me if I tell you..." Madam Prince said, standing beside Michaela as they both stare into their reflections.

"I am you, Michaela."

•••

"Dear Michaela,

This necklace was given to me by a man I so loved for a long time. Time was played and altered so that I may never meet him again, but I wasn't aware that in the present time I would remain in that mansion lonely and unable to meet him. I knew time was tampered with, because I lost my time machine with me. I knew he was gone, so the machine clearly had errors since it didn't erase all memory of it. Jack's ex-wife lived in a different time where she lived happily ever after with Jack, without me in it, while I am left here, alone.
I grew old. Once I forgot what he looked like that's when I decided to sell it. But the main reason why I did, was I hoped that I will meet my younger self. Jack said it was unlikely , but it happened. So, I am giving you this necklace. Hold on to it because no matter what, it belongs to you. It's always been yours to begin with.

Sincerely,

Your Past and Future,
Ella Prince"

•••

Madam Prince died shortly after meeting with Michaela.
The whole staff was made to take an oath to keep things in confidentiality. No one can know who was in possession of the Desdren Green Diamond.

Except for Michaela.

It was a funny and strange thing. Michaela doesn't know what happens to her. She even fears the necklace would suddenly be gone.
She was only sure of one thing.

Preciously she always felt something was taken from her. A part of her she didn't understand, that made her feel empty.

Maybe it's magic, or maybe it's something else entirely, but she couldn't deny that with the necklace with her, life started to make sense.

Michaela closed the letter after rereading it for the the hundredth time and stuffed it back inside the envelope .
She suddenly notices a bump on the envelope she didn't notice before.

She opened the envelope wider, and realized she missed another part of the letter.

An object.

A circular magnetic object which looked like a pin. It was wrapped in brown paper with faint writing that said:

"I never lost this. For some reason, I found it in my own house and kept this with me in secrecy.
It's always been with me, although I'm too scared to try.
Now that I found you, I trust you with it. "

Michaela fumbled with the time machine on her fingers. With no hesitation, she got up and threw it on the floor.


In one great strength she smashed it to pieces.





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