Properties of Obligate Pearls
You have to know what to look for. Younger, definitely—stones from the elderly are heavy and black, decades of layers dulling the luster. No one wants the weight of a grandmother’s worries around their neck.
Take the young woman sitting across from me. I saw her in the supermarket, late on Friday night. She should have been out partying, or on a date; instead she was pushing a cart that was equal parts cat food, stew meat, and adult diapers. Everything about her spoke of exhaustion and embarrassment.
Even under her jacket I could glimpse the fullness of her torso, that hint of bloating directly beneath her sternum.
She was stooped and tired and looked older than she was, but she was also lovely. That’s part of it, too—you can get a decent stone from a lot
