The Totem That's Guarded Me for Over Twenty Years

There's a little guy who hasn't left my neck in over twenty years.
I don't remember when it started. He was just always there.
My charm. My small guardian angel.

A 14k gold elephant necklace my mom fastened around my neck when I was about eight.
The friend who bought the matching one lost hers within months. Twenty years later, I still have mine. Every time we meet, she's amazed the little elephant is still hanging there.

For a while, I wore something else.
About two years in a different necklace — one I'd bought myself at an airport duty-free shop.
Strangely, those were the years when my career, my relationships, even my own heart kept slipping out of place. I don't blame the necklace. Really, I don't.
But the moment I remembered my old elephant and put it back on,
my work, my relationships, even my luck with money — everything seemed to quietly settle back where it belonged.

My elephant, the one that brings me luck and steadiness.
It's sized for a preschooler and pulls a little tight, but let's keep going anyway.

Someday, when I have a child of my own, I'll pass it down.
And I'll go looking for a new charm of my own.