The Gold Bracelet and the Shooting Star

Who could think about it? Nobody knew that i was turning 7 years old and that i had wished I could have my own gold bracelet while i blew the candles of my 6th birthday.

Kids have a special sixth sense when it comes to wishes or prayers: They have faith.

My mom had a beautiful 24K gold bracelet, thick and shinny, with some gold charms dangling from it. I loved the pair of gold scissors, the little tiny key, the heart, the little bucket and the medal of Lourdes. Those charms seemed magic to me. They were like toys, so small yet exquisitely detailed. Mom kept telling me that the gold bracelet would one day be mine, when she would go to Heaven. But --of course-- I did not want her to die so I could get her bracelet...

My godmother once told me that if you wish something aloud when a shooting star flies across the sky, your wish will be granted. I had the idea of looking for a shooting star in the middle of the starry night and wishing away for my personal gold bracelet. I did it many times thru the summer.

One hot August night, I was sitting on my little chair out in the balcony, looking at the sky and counting the shooting stars. It must have been one of those meteorite showers. Nevertheless, seeing so many falling at the same time was totally unheard of in my days. Some were red, others greenish, silver, golden, all colors and sizes and in all directions! It seemed like there were fireworks in the night sky, or perhaps a celebration in Heaven?. Maybe it was God´s Birthday.. But thinking about it I realized that it was summer time and not Christmas yet, so it could not be God´s Birthday.

Just in case, I decided to shout my wish to the shooting stars. I yelled: Hey, please give me a gold bracelet just like Mommy´s! I thought that with so many shooting stars, at least one of them would hear my request and send it to me. And so it happened!

The day I turned seven, my dad gave me a pink jewellery box. I already knew what was inside, for I was certain that the Heavens heard me. I opened it and sure enough, there was a beautiful gold bracelet. It wasn’t thick as mommy´s, but it did have some little scissors, a little doll, a medal and a heart. It was just what i wanted and prayed for.

I still have my first gold bracelet and I intend to give it to my own daughter when she turns seven.