NOTE: This story was inspired by the book by Diana Gabaldon titled Dragonfly In Amber. The title alone captured my heart with the imagery of a dragonfly caught for eternity in an amber orb. Thank you, Diana, for a beautiful series of books!
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Reverently she had placed the amber orb into her magic cylinder. Having consecrated a circle and performed the ritual of her magical powers, she began to call upon her Goddess. She closed her eyes and waited for the spell to release its power.

The beautiful, large orb had been hers ever since she could remember. Her father had given it to her when she was a little girl.

He had asked her, "Can you see the dragonfly?" He had held it up to the light, and watched her blue eyes excitedly searching the orb's transparency.

"Yes! I see it! Oh, Daddy! It's so pretty." She smiled and laughed, and hugged her father, thanking him for the special gift.

Now, having just buried her father, she had learned something she didn't quite understand before. Something beautiful, and precious, and rare, should never be captured and locked away. Only to be taken out on special days and held in her hand and admired briefly, then put away again. No, something this precious, and fragile, should be free and unchained. Given a chance to live and, if only for one brief moment in eternity, to have its beauty enlighten the world in which it lives.

She heard it. At first the softest of sounds. Then, a kind of grinding noise, like rocks crunching against each other being pulverized. Then, total silence. Then, a scratching against the sides of the metallic cylinder. Then, a kind of fluttering noise. Then, silence again.

All at once it was as if the cylinder came to life. Her hands, cupped around the sides of the cylinder, could feel the vibrations from within. Her skin tingled. Goosebumps sprouted from her arms. She felt the workings of the spell surging through her. A warm feeling descended from above her and traveled through her. She felt flushed and excited and happy. Happier than she had ever felt since the first time she saw the dragonfly trapped forever within the beautiful golden-brown orb of amber.

Opening her eyes, she looked down to where she held the cylinder. Peering cautiously over the top, she looked inside. There it was! Phosphorescent blue and green and red. The fragile body now freed from its captivity was laying atop the shattered remains of the orb. Silken gossamer wings lay beside the slender length of the dragonfly.

Instinctively she blew softly into the cylinder. Her breath stirred the finer dust particles within the orb. Through the veil of amber fog she thought she saw the dragonfly's body begin to vibrate. Her hands could feel a fragile tremoring through the sides of the cylinder.

From within the cylinder, there came a disturbance of the fog. Waves of amber dust began to coalesce in the backwash of beating wings. Then it rose through the fog and she saw it. Coming up to the top of the cylinder, it stopped and hovered, not sure what to do next, knowing only captivity for how long? Turning slowly, like a tiny fragile gyro, its eyes found hers. The wings beat swiftly, matching the vibrations that came from the body that was home to this precious, tiny creature now returned to life.

She looked with awe into the eyes now clearly focused on her. How many times had she held the orb up to the light and looked into those tiny sightless eyes? Now it was looking back at her. She felt the spirit of the dragonfly watching her, recognizing her, knowing that it was safe and need not flee.

She smiled. A warm sense of peace, like her Daddy's love, flowed through her entire body.

As tears welled up in her deep blue eyes she whispered, "Oh Daddy! It's so beautiful!"

Then, as her father's love had done for her, she set it free.

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