"Obsession"
by Blackjack Gabbiani
Chapter Seven/A Collector.../ I had heard of such people before, those who lived their lives for artifacts of the ancient world. The idea had intrigued me in mention, but I had not paid it much mind past that. But now I had to know more.
"A Collector..." I repeated softly, evidently enough to cause him to duck down to my level.
"Yes..." he smiled gently, meeting my gaze.
Eye contact was intensely uncomfortable for me at that time, so I looked away, back at the card. "...what do you know of this?" I asked him, running my finger over the thin gold sheet.
His smile broadened and his eyes danced. "I'm surprised your mother hasn't told you yet."
"...mother isn't here," I whispered, but evidently he did not hear me.
"It's a remarkable relic, really. There's only been a few on the market in recent years..." He paused to clear his throat before continuing. "Many years ago, that picture was found on the wall of an ancient building, deep in the jungle. One of the explorers who found it that day made a painting of it, but found that he could not capture the brilliant gold sheen of the original. So he hired a goldsmith and a jeweler to make these cards, and gave them to everyone involved in the expedition. There were over two hundred people who took part, so the cards are just common enough that people 'discover' them in their heirlooms, and rare and fine enough that people will pay dearly for them."
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, still focused on the card. "Mama said it was in her family for many years. She told me it was called Ancient Mew."
"Yes, yes, that's what people have taken to calling it."
He still seemed excited by his find, but was calming, so I turned to look at him again. "...Tell me more."
"...more?" His eyebrows raised elegantly. "What did you have in mind, my boy?"
I looked back at the card, running my finger down the jeweled face. "...what does the writing say?"
"Hmm..." He put his hand to his face as though lost in thought. "It's based on a game they found around the same area, but I'm really not certain what it says. I'm sure some cursory research could be done to find out, though."
For the time, that was good enough for me. I later found out, but that is neither here nor there for the continuation of my tale.
Asaph was enthralling, regaling me with tales of his own treasures, and I listened, enraptured, to every word. But then he was called away to check on some specifications for his ship, leaving me to absorb everything he had told me.
A slow smile spread across my face, although at the time I did not know why.