Jewels in the snow

Ashrafi Antia

Jeanne Pierre had achieved his dream of climbing to the top of Mont Blanc — the highest mountain in the Alps.
As he planted his feet firmly on the summit, a wave of euphoria washed over him. He would never forget this 14th of February and would cherish this moment forever.

The icy cold wind bit through his protective clothing chilling him to the bone, prompting him to start his descent. It was slow-going on the treacherous snowy slopes. All of a sudden he found himself in the midst of a snowstorm. The snow whipped around him in a frenzy, slashing his face and blinding him. He heard a deep rumble and felt the ground beneath him shift. A rush of sliding snow knocked him  down and the avalanche carried him away.  He felt like he was drowning in a river of ice until his bruised body was hurled against something hard with a thud. This broke his fall. 

Using his hands he managed to shovel himself out of the deep pile of snow he was buried under.  Through bleary, tear-streaked eyes he saw that he had been thrown against a piece of aircraft fuselage. “Funny this wasn’t here earlier when I went up the same way. Perhaps it was uncovered by the shifting snow,” he mused.  

Seeking shelter from the blizzard he scrambled into an opening he spotted in the wreckage of the aircraft. Blustery winds buffeted the battered, broken body of the craft. He sat there huddled with his knees drawn up against his chest for warmth; wondering if he would survive or suffer the same fate as the passengers on board the doomed flight. He recalled his parents talking about a plane crash on Mont Blanc when he was about six. They spoke in hushed tones as there had been no survivors.

Suddenly the wreckage was hit by a powerful gust of wind and lurched to one side. The icy hands of fear clutched at his heart as the fuselage rocked from side to side. An overhead locker burst open and something crashed out of it missing his head by inches. It was a casket whose rusty hinges gave way on impact, spewing its contents onto the snowy floor of the craft. Jeanne Pierre could not believe his eyes as pieces of jewellery and colourful gems sparkled against the white carpet of snow.  

Intrigued, he picked up a gold chain with a locket dangling from it. Fumbling, he flicked the locket open with his numb thumb and was struck by the beauty of the lovely lady in the photograph. “I wonder who you were,” he said aloud.  

Several hours later, the winds abated and the storm subsided.  He gathered up the contents of the casket and struggling through knee-deep snow, he managed to limp his way back to the base camp. “You are a rich man now. The treasure literally fell into your lap,” his fellow climbers said enviously when he told them of his adventure.

That night and for several days thereafter, Jeanne Pierre dreamt of the lady with the hauntingly beautiful face. He couldn’t get it out of his mind. He decided to do the right thing and return the jewels to their rightful owner.

He approached the government authorities and informed them of his discovery. He showed them the photograph of the lady in the locket and asked them to search for her relatives. A few days later, the authorities called him to their office. 

Jeanne Pierre was dumbstruck when a young lady walked into the room. He thought he was seeing a ghost. She was the spitting image of the picture he’d found; but that photograph must have been taken at least 30 years ago. So how could it be possible? 

The confusion in his mind cleared when she was introduced as Emily, the daughter of the lady who died in the air crash. Her family was once wealthy, but after she lost her parents in the crash, the poor girl had fallen on bad times.  The discovery of the jewels would help her out of the dire straits she was in.

Emily applauded Jeanne Pierre for his honesty in this day and age and thanked him with all her heart for his honourable deed.  They became good friends and in time they fell in love and got married.

On their wedding day, Jeanne Pierre felt the beautiful face of his wife’s mother smiling down on them happily, as if blessing them. He truly felt blessed. The jewels he had found in the snow that fateful Valentine’s Day had led him to someone he would treasure for the rest of his life.