On my last day of my visit to my auntie Squee, she had me hang onto something precious to her, her heart.
No, seriously. Here you can see it. It's a crystal heart, made out of selenite. I took it in its little velvet pouch and stuck it in my pocket, warming it with my body as we went about our day.
She told about it as we drove around. When she first got it the heart was flawlessly clear, not a scratch on it. The thing about selenite is, it's a very soft, pliable sort of mineral, and can scratch easily. After only a little while the heart was scored and scratch some, and she worried what to do about it. A friend told her that wasn't a problem, and to just keep it in its protective little pouch, and she could keep it from harm.
I immediately got this. And understood just what it meant that she was letting me hang onto it for a while. I took it from the pouch, and held it in my hands.
After a time I put it back in the pouch, and just before our long goodbye at the airport, gave it back to her. Mostly.