She had a big bag, which seemed to be half filled with stones. It was only when she pulled out one of the stones that I realized it was no ordinary stone. No, it was a beautiful gem. I had never seen such a beautiful gem, surpassing the brilliance and the elegance of any gem on Earth. Then she did a rather peculiar thing. She threw the gem into the river.  Before I could say anything, she did the same thing again, and again, and again.

It was beyond me how she could so easily discard such beautiful gems. Couldn't she see how precious, how valuable these gems were? Once in a while, she would put a gem into her pocket. But then she would go right back to dropping those beautiful gems, one after another, into the river.

Finally I broke out of my spell and said, “Who are you?”

She looked at me and her eyes sparkling with life and mirth, said, “I am you”.

It completely shocked me to think that I could be that beautiful. “But”, I stammered, “How can that be? I am ugly and dirty. You are pure...”

I could feel her laughter inside. “I am your soul.”

Like a flash of lightening, I completely understood her. I saw that she and I were one. My dirt and ugliness were the false and fleeting me. She was the true me. Like a jewel wrapped in rags, I had hidden her from the world.  Nay, I had hidden her from me. There was complete understanding. I didn't have to ask her about her curious behavior of throwing gems.