I had a dream. →[More:]
I was standing outside a tall office building in Manhattan, next to a bank of revolving doors. A white-haired gent made his way up the sidewalk towards me. He stopped short of the entrance, turned to me, and asked me to hold his cane while he stepped inside for a moment. I took it and he went in.

The cane was made of a translucent green material (not stone -- some kind of resin, maybe) and had a typical curved handle. Both ends were capped in gold and silver. It was astonishingly beautiful, and the light passed through it in a most pleasing way.

I felt a child tug on my pants leg. When I looked down, there was a small boy in a stroller, who was rolling himself around town. He asked to see the cane, and I told him it wasn't mine. He asked again, and said it was pretty, and I agreed and let him hold it.

The next thing I know, the cane was broken. Somehow the kid dropped it, and the bottom six inches or so cracked off.

Almost immediately, the old man emerged from the building. I had the pieces of the cane in my hands, and tried to fit them together as I walked up.

I apologized for having failed in taking care of his cane, but the old man said not to worry. He had plenty more translucent green canes, and the little boy really enjoyed holding it, so it was worth it. He thanked me, and walked away.