One fine morn, I was walking through a grassy path when I saw a bright red stone. It impressed me at the first sight. Without a doubt that it was a valuable gem, I picked it up and put it carefully in my pocket. A few days later, I was going through the same path again. This time, I saw a piece of rock lying there. Something told me that I should pick it up and take it with me. I obliged and picked it up, and put it in my pocket, not giving it another thought for weeks. Meanwhile the red stone which I had found earlier had most of my attention. I placed it in the showcase and boasted all about it to friends, neighbors and anyone who cared to listen. All this time, the little piece of rock sat in a corner in my cupboard, confined to the dark, unnoticed by anyone. Months passed on this way, the red stone lived in my showcase, and the rock stayed in my cupboard. Ironically, even if I missed the red stone, I couldn't help looking at the rock that was in my cupboard. Every time I opened my cupboard, I felt it smiling at me, as though we held an unspoken relationship. I acknowledged the rock, still treasured the red stone in my showcase. The rock continued to keep me company from within my cupboard while the red stone sniffed haughtily when I turned towards it. Slowly I found that in spite of my will, the rock grew closer to me, and the red stone continued to grace me with its indifference. A couple of years went by this way, and ironically, I felt that I could spend an entire week without looking at the red stone, but I needed to see my little piece of rock every day. The memories of the thoughts we had silently shared together had become priceless and dear to me. It culminated to a point where I began taking the rock along with me in my pocket, unwilling to part from it. The red stone still stayed in the showcase, a souvenir of my trip to the forest. One day, a friend of mine, a gem expert, visited my place, and looking at the red stone started laughing. I was puzzled, once could appreciate the stone, one could admire it, but laugh, I couldn't even contemplate the reason. I waited till he calmed down, then asked him the reason for this sudden burst. He told me that such red stones were commonly found in that forest and though they looked like rubies, they were worthless. Many people had been fooled before and I was one more added to the list. That had been the reason for his laughter. I was, at first shocked, then angry, then embarrassed at my stupidity. I had fallen for it. Still a bit sore owing to my hurt ego, I managed to walk over to the showcase, removed the red stone and dropped it into the trash can. Incidentally, as I bent over to drop the red stone, the little piece of rock in my pocket rolled out on to the floor. I picked it up and as I was putting it in my pocket, my friend snatched at my hand, holding it firmly. I was puzzled once again, wondering what in God's name my friend was trying to do. He asked me where I found my little rock. I told him the entire story, how I found it, and had kept it in my cupboard for two years, before taking it out. He seemed flabbergasted hearing my tale, and asked me, in quite a vehement tone, if I had ever bothered to wipe it clean with a piece of cloth. True, it had never occurred to me, I hadn't bothered to. He then extracted his pocket toolkit and took out a piece of sponge from it. After carefully rubbing the edges of the rock with the sponge, he let out an exclamation. I had decided by then that this was a day of surprises for me. So I asked him once again what his expression was attributed to. He told me calmly that the rock I had carried carelessly with me in my pocket all these days was a Burmese red ruby, a gemstone worth about two million US dollars. Naturally I was stunned by this revelation. It took me a moment to regain my composure. Once I returned to my senses, he handed me back the stone and told me that these rubies were extremely rare, and only 4 such rubies have ever been found. I was holding a fifth ruby, fifth in the whole world. I then realized the full value of my 'little piece of rock'. No wonder I had felt that feeling of closeness when I first saw it lying on the grassy path. It was destined to be mine. I decided that it would be. I would never part with it. It would be with me till the day I lived, my 'little piece of rock'. Appearances are indeed, deceptive.
