precious stones / by Anthony Gibbins

Everything I know about cool I learnt in 1994. That was the year of Pulp Fiction. Nothing, I learnt, says cool like some rough looking dudes, a mysterious suitcase and an Uma Thurman haircut.

I can’t tell you what’s in that suitcase, but our sailor has just asked these homines for a gem. What kind of gem?

ruby                             carbunculus

amethyst                     amethystus

jet                                gagates

opal                             opalus

moonstone                  lapis lunae

aquamarine                beryllus aeroides

emerald                      smaragdus

sapphire                      sapphirus

topaz                           topazos

garnet                         carbunculus garamanticus

Just between you and me, my money is on a diamond, adamas.

When the door has opened, two people, a man and a woman, greet the sailor suspiciously. ‘Do you have the gem?’ the sailor asks them.