Kevin spent days searching for that broken piece of glass, pondering the whole time that no one was likely to ever realize how precious it was, if they happened to come across it. Maybe, he thought, they would think it was pretty, how it was smooth and glittered in the sun, but they would not be able to know its value. It had not belonged to Kevin, but to his sister, Jane, and she had carried it around in her pocket and had placed it on her nightstand or desk where she could see it, nearby, always. Jane was gone now, forever in a cold grave back in the family plot on the Island. Now, this one possession of her’s, mysteriously missing, had become Kevin’s obsession. He wanted it so bad, as if somehow possessing it would bring a little bit of Jane back.

Shelia was forty minutes away by boat, walking the rock beach of the huge vacation home, where she knew she was that one charity-case guest and it bothered her. She was pondering this when something caught her eye. Sparkling in the sun was a smooth but broken piece of glass. It was pretty and reminded Shelia of jewel. She quickly bent down and slipped it in her pocket.