"What sort of stone is that?" His knees had been irritatingly close to mine, his seat perpendicular to the one where I sat, book in hand, headphones in. Through Yo La Tengo, I heard him speak to me.
I told him I thought it was moonstone, though I'm not really sure. I've gotten compliments on this ring before, a large silver ring on the middle finger of my right hand. During a trip to the Wellfleet flea market during the first summer I went to Cape Cod with Kevin and his family, I mentioned I'd been on the hunt for a new ring to Kevin and twenty minutes later and twenty dollars poorer, the ring was mine. I've worn it pretty much every day since. A few years ago, I decided maybe I needed to change "my look" up a bit and rotate through some other jewelry. Kevin noticed I wasn't wearing the ring he'd given me within an hour and back on my finger it went. To be honest, I felt strange not wearing it. Even though he gave me a much shinier ring a year ago, I still love to wear the oversized one on my right hand.
But I digress; back to this morning. The gentleman complimented my ring and then asked what capabilities and benefits the moonstone had. I am not up on my crystals so I laughed ignorantly and told him I've been feeling good since I've been wearing it but that I didn't know the specifics. "Men don't wear moonstone, right?" was his next question. I shrugged in response.
Of course, I had to look up the properties of moonstone when I got to my desk. I clicked on the first search result and found myself on www.crystalvaults.com.
Legendary as the Traveler's Stone, Moonstone is especially protective of those who travel by night or upon the water when the moon is shining. Frequent travelers should keep one in the glove compartment... Moonstone opens the heart to nurturing qualities as well as assisting in the acceptance of love. It is an excellent crystal for first or new love.
Go figure.
The man on the train pulled an amethyst out of his pocket and when I told him it was my birthstone, he thought for a moment and said, "Aquarius?" The amethyst is good for the upper chakras, apparently, and he finds that he brings him calm. We agreed that it was probably New York City that made us so stressed out all the time. "The city is full of positive ions, but negative ions are the ones we need," he told me. That's why he lives near the beach. More relaxing, better energy, cleaner air. I agreed that I've always felt more calm when I'm close to bodies of water. It took me years to define the peace that permeates me when I wake up close to the sea. My running routes always took me along the East River, and I always stop to stretch at the lake in Prospect Park. Something about the water makes me still.
He asked if I was from New York originally and when I told him I came from Ireland, he looked at me thoughtfully. "You should go to Coney Island, you really should. It would be cold but it's a wonderful place."
When the train arrived at Jay Street, he wished me a good day and stepped onto the platform. I've been thinking about Coney Island ever since.
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