River Pearls

This thumb-sized oilskin pouch is stitched from waxed gray hide and sealed with green river reed twine. Inside lie a dozen glassy green pearls and a scatter of nacre shell chips, each one cold to the touch but somehow perfectly dry. When shaken, the pouch sounds like pebbles rolling in a deep stream. A faint scent of rain, silt, and crushed rushes rises from it whenever it is opened.