Birthday Story for a Seven-Year-Old

TOPAZ MOUNTAIN TREASURE

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 7^th birthday Logan. I love you so.

           

Logan packed his hand-held pick, screen board, and goggles into his back pack and put on some sunscreen. He tugged his sun hat over his head and climbed in the front seat of the truck. Today was Logan’s day alone with his dad.

            “Today I will find treasure,” Logan said to his father.

As Logan’s father backed from the driveway and headed toward Topaz Mountain, Logan put on his sun glasses and made sure his gloves were in his pockets. He stared out the window of the truck as they left town and headed toward the desert. Two hours passed as they drove down the long grey highway. Logan watched as all the green plants and farmer’s fields turned to brown sagebrush and tumble weeds.

Then all of a sudden, Logan saw a huge imposing white and grey mountain ahead.

“Is that it?” Logan asked.

His father nodded as he took the turn off and dove down a long washboard dirt road that led to the base of the mountain. When he stopped the truck, Logan jumped out and ran toward a rocky outgrowth. The sunlight caught thousands of tiny crystals embedded in the rock.

As soon as Logan reached the place in the rock where he saw the sparkle, his shadow hid the sun and the glistening stones disappeared.

“Now I can’t find any,” Logan said.

“Sometimes if you want to find treasure, you have to think like a piece of topaz,” his father said. “If you were a crystal, where would you hide?”

Logan looked carefully and slowly around him. He noticed the sand at his feet. He thought about rain storms and water running off the mountains after a storm.

“If I were a piece of topaz, I’d hide in the sand at the bottom of a washout,” Logan said.

He took off his glove, knelt down and brushed his hand over the soft sand. Instantly a piece of topaz popped up.

“I found one,” Logan yelled as he carefully placed the stone in his pocket.

Next Logan took his square screen board from his back pack, filled it with sand and shook it. When all the sand fell through the screen holes, two small topaz crystals remained. He placed these two small stones in his other pocket.  Next he looked up at the cliff face and spied another glint of light. Right at the top of the bluff he saw a large crystal embedded in the rock. He climbed up the rock face, took out his chisel and hammered into the rock.

After a long time of chiseling, Logan couldn’t remove the crystal.

“It won’t come out,” Logan said.  

“Maybe this one wants to stay in the mountain,” his father said. “Sometimes the most beautiful creations are meant to stay where they are.”

Driving home in the truck that evening, Logan watched the sun setting behind Topaz Mountain and sighed.

“I wish this day could last forever,” Logan said.

Then he slid over next to his father.

“I found my treasure,” Logan said just before he fell asleep.

“Logan - you are my treasure,” his father whispered as Logan’s head snuggled into the soft fold of his arm.