In the city of Corinth in Ancient Greece, there lived a noble girl given the nickname of Jacaranda by her mother because she loved to collect the purple blossoms that fell from the tall Jacaranda tree outside her bedroom window.
Jacaranda was a plain and studious girl. She preferred to stay in and work on art projects rather than run and play outside in the gardens with the other children. Because she lived in a noble household and her father was influential in city politics, Jacaranda was given a slave girl as a companion and helper.
Born in the outer aisles, the slave girl Callidora had come to Corinth after her parents died when she was a baby. The two girls had lived together for as long as they could remember but lived very different lives. While Jacaranda studied, sewed and relaxed in the gardens, Callidora fetched water, made the beds and scrubbed the chamber pots. Despite this, the two girls were very close friends and Jacaranda often confided in Callidora about all the pressures of her noble life. Jacaranda taught Callidora how to read and write and they spent many hours talking and laughing and telling stories.
One evening, Jacaranda and Callidora were poking about in the study looking for something new to read. Behind a dusty statue, they discovered a small box covered in fine cloth. The box was very beautiful, and Jacaranda instantly felt a strong desire to keep it in her room. Without asking her father, Jacaranda took the box and hid it beneath her pillow where nobody could find it. From time to time she would take the box out. It appeared to be empty, but she loved it anyway.
One morning, as Callidora changed the bed clothes, the box fell from the pillow and out onto the floor. As the box tumbled, she heard a soft click. Leaning over to look closer, Callidora learned that the box contained a false bottom that could be opened with a secret latch. Beneath the false bottom was a single golden coin. On the face of the coin was a young woman, and Callidora gasped when she saw that it appeared to be her! Unsure of what to do, Callidora showed the coin to Jacaranda. Exclaiming with delight, Jacaranda proclaimed that the coin must belong to Callidora as it looked so much like her. Callidora was hesitant to take the coin because she wasn’t allowed to own anything more than the clothes on her back, but Jacaranda insisted. Callidora wasn’t sure what to do with the coin, so she hid it away and forgot all about it.
Years passed, and the two girls grew older. Jacaranda’s household fell upon hard times as the political situation shifted. Eventually it was decided that the entire family would have to move from their lavish house into a smaller house far out in the country. Callidora would not be permitted to come with them, as the new household would be very simple. Heartbroken, the two girls said their goodbyes, unsure if they would ever see each other again.
Callidora took her only possession, the golden coin to the market to see if she could trade it for some food. The first merchant she showed the coin to gasped.
“The golden Calliope!” the merchant exclaimed.
Callidora hadn’t known it, but the two girls had discovered a rare and treasured amulet, known across the land to bestow good fortune on anyone who possessed it. By removing the amulet from the study, Jacaranda and Callidora had doomed the family’s fortunes. In the same turn, Callidora’s life was now improving because she possessed the amulet.
Intrigued by how much Callidora resembled the girl on the coin, the merchant took her in and gave her a job preparing flower wreaths to sell at the city festivals. Each week, some new and prosperous event would happen to Callidora. One week, a local noblewoman noticed her selling flowers and offered her a job teaching her children. The next week, while teaching the children, she met a renowned scholar who offered to make her his assistant.
Eventually Callidora’s situation had improved to the point where she was the head of a very fine household. She oversaw all the details of the scholar’s work, and had many opportunities to travel with him to conferences. Life continued in this way for many months.
One day, the scholar was giving a lecture at a public forum just outside the city. Callidora accompanied him. As the lecture concluded, she glanced through the audience and noticed Jacaranda huddled at the back entrance. Her clothes were raggedy and unkempt, but her eyes were shining brightly at the scholar’s words. Unsure how to approach her, Callidora wordlessly sided up to Jacaranda and slipped the calliope amulet into her pocket. With surprise, Jacaranda whipped around and exclaimed at the sight of Callidora.
“How I’ve missed you!” Sobbed Jacaranda.
Callidora comforted her and explained about the amulet.
“Keep the amulet safe. Your fortunes will rise, just as mine have. Whatever you do, just don’t tell your father.”
“But Callidora, without the amulet won’t you fall on hard times again?” Jacaranda worried. Callidora shook her head.
“The scholar taught me all about the true meaning of the amulet. It has been in my family for many years. When my parents died, your father took me in and stole the amulet my mother bequeathed to me. Now that I know the story, good fortune can never leave me.”
Jacaranda returned home with the amulet, keeping it a secret from her father. She was very angry that he would have stolen Callidora’s good fortune, and eventually decided to leave her family and try her luck on her own, just as Callidora had. Within a matter of months, bolstered by the power of the golden calliope amulet, Jacaranda had found an apprenticeship with the finest craftswoman in Corinth.
Over time, her natural talent and studious nature blossomed. Jacaranda’s skills became renowned, and she was commissioned to create the design for a new coin to be distributed throughout the city as currency.
Jacaranda knew exactly what the coin’s design should be: two young girls studying and laughing beneath a tall and graceful Jacaranda tree. The coin was minted and distributed to all the people, and the city of Corinth enjoyed many years of prosperity as long as this coin jingled in the citizen’s pockets.




This story was written by Thunder~Empty~