THE CRYSTAL EGG

Near the crowded streets of Seven Dials stood a small, dirty curiosity shop owned by Mr. Cave, a nervous old dealer in antiquities and natural specimens. His shop window displayed oddities—skulls, stuffed animals, fishing tools, and among them a brilliantly polished crystal egg.

One day a tall clergyman and a dark-bearded foreign prince stopped to admire the egg. The prince strongly urged the clergyman to buy it. When Mr. Cave entered and noticed their interest, he became uneasy. Though he named the price—five pounds—he clearly did not want to sell it. He stalled awkwardly, invented excuses, and even tried to close the shop door.

His large, practical wife interrupted, insisting the crystal was for sale and scolding him for refusing good money. After an argument, the customers agreed to return later, giving another supposed buyer a chance.

At home, Mr. Cave’s wife and stepchildren mocked him. Five pounds was a fortune to them, yet he stubbornly resisted selling. Unknown to them, he secretly removed the crystal from the window again and again, hiding it around the shop.

Soon the egg mysteriously vanished. The family accused each other angrily, especially Mr. Cave, but he denied everything. In truth, he had taken it to a young scientific assistant named Wace at a nearby hospital and begged him to keep it safe.

There he revealed his secret.

Months earlier, during a sleepless night, Mr. Cave had discovered something extraordinary. A thin ray of light struck the crystal and filled it with a strange glow. When he peered inside, he saw not reflections—but a real landscape.

At first the vision flickered: a vast valley bordered by red cliffs, huge buildings, canals, and unusual trees. Then he saw flying creatures with silvery wings and human-like faces. They moved with intelligence and purpose, entering buildings without doors through circular openings. Giant insects crawled across lawns, and strange machines sped along shining roads.

Most astonishingly, some creatures occasionally approached a tall mast topped with a crystal identical to his own—and seemed to look directly through it.

Wace carefully tested the phenomenon. He verified the glow and recorded Mr. Cave’s observations. Together they concluded the crystal somehow showed another world. The stars visible in the sky matched Earth’s constellations but appeared from a different position, with two small moons. Wace deduced the landscape must be on Mars.

The crystal seemed to act as a two-way window: observers on each planet could potentially see the other.

The discovery became Mr. Cave’s obsession. Miserable in his harsh household, he found comfort escaping into this beautiful alien world. He visited Wace nightly, describing cities, creatures, and machines. The Martians, however, rarely noticed him.

Once, when they tried to signal the creatures, the vision abruptly ended.

Later, believing his family’s suspicions had faded, Mr. Cave took the crystal home so he could watch whenever he wished.

Then suddenly he stopped visiting Wace.

Concerned, Wace went to the shop and learned the truth: Mr. Cave had been found dead in his shop, the crystal clutched in his hands, a faint smile on his face.

His widow had already sold the object along with other goods to a dealer, who resold it to an unknown tall man. Despite advertisements and searches, Wace never found it again.

The crystal vanished into the world—perhaps sitting unnoticed as a decoration—while its twin still stood on a distant Martian tower, waiting for someone to look through it.

Mr. Cave lives a miserable life—ridiculed by family, financially pressured, lonely and ill. The crystal offers him an escape into beauty and meaning.

Theme: Imagination, curiosity, and discovery become psychological refuge from harsh reality.

Science verifies the glow but cannot fully explain it. The universe is far larger and stranger than human understanding.

Theme: Reality may exceed logic; mystery remains even in scientific investigation.

The crystal is literally a window between worlds, yet no real communication occurs. Both species observe but never truly meet.

Theme: Knowledge does not guarantee connection — understanding across worlds (or people) is difficult.

Mr. Cave becomes consumed by the vision, preferring the alien world over his own life. He dies holding the object that gave him purpose.

The story explores how curiosity and imagination give meaning to lonely lives, while also showing humanity’s small place in a vast mysterious universe.