Hide It

The titanium glint caught my eye as the heart shaped pendant swung eerily back and forth. It was all that was there on the lever. There was something alive about the seemingly dead cold hunk of metal. It was a bit mangled and notches were etched deep. This had been through a battle. Knowing better than to touch anything unknown, I grabbed it and instantly was transported to another time and space.

Sensing a warm sunny beach, I felt the sand beneath my feet and even squishing between my toes. The sun shone bright. I had forgotten what the sun was even like. It had been over a year since I had experienced the sun directly or at all. Mostly the ashy clouds were blocking it from vision. It was so bright my eyes squinted involuntarily but I forced them open so I could drink all of the glory in. Ahh, I remembered this. It was real. I could smell the faint perfume of sunscreen and coconut mist spray with the back ground hint of salty ocean mist. It was like heaven. I paused and took several deep breathes chasing the hints with my greedy nostrils. I realized just how shallow I’d been breathing for the last couple months as my lungs burned with the exertion.

I sat and let the nice warm breeze blow through me melting the crystals of stress in my shoulders and neck. I looked down and I was still holding the titanium heart in my hand and the thin chain had slipped through my fingers and was hanging down. I never thought I’d see the aqua melt into the blue creating that perfect color that climbed into the air ending in a white iridescent sparkly spray. I listened as the waves crashed in with their melodic rhythm. It was in perfect timing and harmony.

Then I felt his strong arms gently wrap around my waist and his body press against my back. He kissed the back of my head and asked me if I was happy now. After a long minute, after my heartbeat and breathe in and out synched with his and we were sitting in total peace, I sighed and said, “Yes”. As soon as I did the heart fell out of my hand and I could hear the skin crawling buzz of the alarms loud in my ear. The sound had become all to familiar over the past three months. In a matter of minutes they would arrive. I knew I had to hide it but there seemed to be no safe place.

Holding the locket in my right hand I cocked my arm back and threw it on top of the cracked shelf that was decaying and slanted, hoping it would not be noticed and I had done it fast enough. It hit the shelf with a thud and slid back to the wall where only a tiny sliver of the chain could be seen stuck on a wood splinter that barely held it there. I looked down and could hear the approaching of several suited compliance officers. What would the ticket be for now?, I pondered this as they approached me,

“Stop 3553 you are in violation of code 70098.” “This is a serious crime punishable up to 22 extra hours of labor.” “Are you aware of the meaning of your crime, what it is for, and why you are being charged or would you like full logical detailed explanation?””You will be given seven hours to remedy the situation or additional actions will be taken.”

“Please tell me kind sir as, I humbly request the time and patience of the establishment to remedy the situation. If you search your bank you will see, I am ignorant of this violation nature as I have never received this code before.”

“The code states the perpetrator has offended the establishment by executing the work activity with consistent and through efficiency that exceeds the normal variance of the outlying code. This has alerted the upper echelon and has caused suspicion as to motivation for such acts As there is no logical incentive for one to do so and no tangible nor intangible reward for such behavior. This has become a threat to the upper echelon.”You have seven hours to determine the status quo and resume functions at this capacity minus the extra efforts and actions. If you do not comply you will be punished up to and including electrical shock or twenty two hours of useless busy work for which no credits will be administered. Do you understand the violation, the remedy the time frame, and the applicable consequences as I have explained them? If so, please place your thumb here for scanning and consent. Please do so in the next 32 seconds as this unit is being requested to move to the next violation recipient.”

I placed my thumb on the pad until it scanned. By the time I lifted it up the officer was packing the pad and leaving the room. My heart sank and my shoulders tensed the musty smell of dampness and rot filled my nose. Another day, another set of ridiculous time wasting tasks. I started to put my mind to solving my dilemma.