Keepsakes

Keepsakes, things that we hold dear to us, that are given to us or that we find, something that holds meaning, love and memories, I kept things over the years that I liked or found special, but none compared to the one keepsake that I was given one day when I needed it the most.

The keepsake I am referring to was a heart shaped locket, nothing gaudy or expensive, just a copper colored locket with little flowers and vines embedded on the sides of a small keyhole, inside a picture of a little girl, she wasn't related to me at all but she was so important to me and my future, or lack thereof.

My story starts on a crisp autumn day, the sun was hidden by the clouds suffocating in the plumes of the grey and eggshell swirls that brought hopes of rain and cooler weather, I rode my bike to work as always, down the streets of my home town, the golden and auburn leaves crunching like fresh potato chips under the weight of my wheels, how I loved that sound and the feel of that.

I thought that this was any other ordinary day, how wrong I was, as I rounded the corner to my job a siren blared, an ear piercing sound, shrill and terrifying, a sound that shook you to your core and made you have a panic attack just from the sheer sound of it, I felt as if I was in a nightmare, what was going on and how or where would I be safe.

When I reached my job I was told to go home and stay there, everyone was in a panic and I didn't know what was going on, the news said that it was some sort of attack, Noone knew from who or what, at least not anyone I was able to contact, I just knew that the world was in shambles and there were riots and chaos in the streets.

It became more and more dangerous to go out of your home and finding food became harder and harder. It was on this day that I met the girl with the heart-shaped locket.

I went out on a food run and as I was in the grocery store, ransacking it for what I needed, I heard a faint cry, over by the baked goods section was a little blond haired girl kneeling down weeping, I went to her to ask if she was okay and she leapt into my arms, I held her and she held me, she was scared and I was lonely, we were the perfect match made in an apocalypse.

From that day on we were inseparable, I took care of her and she took care of me, she always held the heart-shaped locket and kissed it, she never said who gave it to her or why it was a picture of herself inside, my only guess is that it belonged to her mother and something horrible happened to her and the locket was given to the girl as a keepsake.

Three years passed and the girl and I became very close, I considered her my child and I hope she thought of me as a loving parent or at least caregiver, I never would take the place of her real mom but I loved that girl as my own.

One day , just the same as when I met this girl, we went to the grocery store on a food run, things were very scarce and we weren't sure if there would be any food at all. We got to the store and it looked even worse than ever before, our feet crunched over the glass as if walking on shells, only this was no day at the beach, our footsteps caught the attention of some fellow ransackers, some not so friendly ones, without thinking, or maybe they did and just didn't care, but their shotgun raised and fired, and the little girl jumped into my arms, same as the day I met her in this very store, I embraced her and fell to the ground holding her tight and screaming as warm crimson soaked my shirt and hers, I screamed" why?! She's just a little girl!" At them, the world, at Noone and everyone.

It didn't make sense, this girl was my whole world and in one second she was gone, I held her in my arms apologizing to her as the other ransackers, the murderers, ran out the door with their haul.

I slowly removed her heart shaped locket and placed it around my neck, still coated in crimson, a red valentine that I never wanted to be given.

My keepsake helps me remember all that was good in this world and what will never be again, the world as we know it is no more and those innocent and kind have no place here anymore, this heart-shaped locket is a reminder of the kindness and love that has vanished like a mirage on the desert, we can sometimes catch a glimpse of it but we can't hold on to it for long.