After a rather fulfilling meal, Charles went back to his room, while his brother remained in the kitchen with their mother. The twins went back to playing around, while their father headed to his room to get a nap in. Charles got around to arranging his things back into his bag when he saw a shiny object atop his bed.
"Ah! That's right, the old man also gave me a pearl!" Charles palmed his face in frustration as he realized what he had forgotten. He was lucky that it did not get missing while he was out.
He picked up the small, shiny marble and held it up to his face, examining it. And then, just for a moment, a bit of light from the open window flashed across its surface, and into Charles' eyes, forcing him to close them for a second.
"Ouch, that was not pleasant." Charles mumbled to himself as he rubbed his eyes before reopening them to view his now empty hand.
