Long Time Gone

"Stop fidgeting!" It was my sister elbowing me again. Church is all well and good but why did it have to be so boring? Grandma says people didn't used to have to go to church. The government didn't always make everyone go. She doesn't talk to us kids about the before times anymore. Not since papa slapped Jared for saying he thought we should all get to vote for the government like grandma used to. The stories she would tell were mostly silly. People traveling to the stars and living on other planets; even the moon. But other times they were scary and gave me nightmares. Like the one about the bees and fish dying and people starving and fighting wars. That one gave me nightmares for a week.

Apparently, the pastor had finished his droning sermon and was now collecting “donations”. I failed to notice that the plate was being handed to me which earned me another elbowing from Devon. “Wake up dummy.” She hissed quietly. I grabbed the plate from her and passed it to old lady Huang sitting next to me. She smiled and took it without a word and placed the required weekly donation in it before passing it on down the aisle. Talking in Church was frowned upon even more than fidgeting. I just stuck my tongue out at Devon. Of course, mama chose that moment to look over at me. I hate church.

We stood to recite the Prayer of Allegiance. I notice that I am rubbing the locket on my necklace again. Mama says it’s a nervous habit and I should stop. I smile to myself; at least she doesn’t try to make me give it back to grandma anymore. That argument was the only time I remember grandma ever yelling at papa. He got really quiet then looked at mama. She never said another word about it.

As we are leaving, I see a man kneeling in the cemetery behind the church. He stands up and walks quickly the opposite way from us. We start the walk home it’s a nice walk. Well, except for Devon and Jared bickering like they always do. I catch sight of old lady Huang near the back of the crowd on the dirt path. I wave to her and turn back around just in time to see the man from the cemetery coming out of the forest and join the group of us walking toward the city.

As we come to the entrance to our housing complex, the man from the cemetery is leaning against one of the columns near the row of doors at the front. He seems focused on something in his hand but I can’t see what it is. As we walk by he looks up from his hand and looks right at me. He has a kind face but is not smiling. He nods at me then turns away walking toward the bridge to the inner city. If he lives in the inner city he must be rich. I’m about to ask papa if he saw the man when Jonas runs up to ask if I want to go hunt the rats in the lower levels of his complex. Apparently, the city patrol is paying two credits for each rat instead of the usual one credit. Or it could be that Jonas is lying again; which he is known for.

I ask papa and he says it’s fine but I have to be home before dark. The lights in the outer city where we live are mostly broken. But even the ones that aren’t broken are get turned off in the summer to save power. Or so the pastor tells us. The days are longer in the summer so it’s not so bad. I give dad a quick hug and Jonas and I take off at a dead run.

Turns out Jonas was lying about the city patrol paying more for the rats but it didn’t matter because we caught eight between us. Unfortunately, we lost track of time. In the underground levels of the housing complex it’s hard to know what time it is. I’m going to be in trouble. Jonas was late too. So, the jerk didn’t walk with me back to my complex. No one is out much after dark but I do see a few others quickly making their way somewhere; likely heading home same as me. As I approach our complex, the man from the cemetery comes out from one of the doors.

“Hi Brooke.” He says to me. How does he know my name? I stop walking toward the doors as he is now between me and them. I breathe a sigh of relief as he also stops walking toward me.

“Uh hello. Who are you?” I ask trying to sound indignant. I feel like I fall short when he smiles that smile like mom does when she thinks I’ve done something “cute”. Now I get a good look at him and realize he’s not that old. Maybe just a few years older than my brother Jared. I roll my eyes at him.

“My name is Nick. I am a friend of your family from another city.” That seems unlikely since I’ve never left the city and mama and papa have lived here their whole lives. I tell him as much and again with the smile. He seems to throw the smile around very casually.

He explains that our family once lived in a place North of here; a place he calls Thousand Oaks. I’ve never heard of it. But then I’m only fourteen and there are many places that I’ve probably never heard of. He goes on to say that his family and mine were related in the distant past. That is, in fact, why he is here now. It all sounds like one of grandma’s stories about the before times. He seems to be about to start droning on like the pastor earlier today. Then something catches my attention.

“Wait! What did you say about a locket?” I blurt out interrupting him.

He pauses and starts again. His family migrated to the stars long ago during what he called the Great Exodus. His great-grandfather, who was a young man at the time, gave a necklace with a locket to his girlfriend and promised to come back for her someday. Sadly, he never could come back but Nick came back in his place. Came to find out what became of his girlfriend and the locket. The locket he says has a power source and sends out a signal so that it can never be lost. When the signal is activated the locket glows red from within.

Suddenly I notice that he has stopped speaking and is looking at me strangely; impatiently almost.

“What?” I say sounding more petulant and less indignant than I’d wanted.

He points to the locket hanging on around my neck. I look down slowly and am shocked to find that my locket, grandma’s locket, is clearly shining red through my shirt. I am too shocked to speak. I quickly pull it out of my shirt to see it clearly. It’s the same as it always was except that now it shines a red light and if the previously dull bronze were now somehow partially transparent. Like the sandblasted glass we sometimes find in outside the city. I lift my arms to remove my necklace and the locket. It is suddenly something foreign and a bit frightening. But Nick moves quickly and stops me.

Holding my arms gently but firmly he asks, “Brooke, who gave you the locket.”

“Grandma gave it to me.”

He thinks for a moment and looks away. “It cannot have been hers originally either. Where did she get it.”

I just shake my head. Grandma never said much about the necklace.

He releases my arms. “Ok. Listen to me carefully Brooke. Have you ever opened the locket?”

“No. It doesn’t open.”

He smiles at this which strikes me as an odd reaction. Then he pulls a necklace out from under his shirt. To my great surprise it is an identical locket and necklace as the one I am wearing. Except that his is glowing a golden colored light. He holds the locket out so I can see it clearly and then pushes on the front and twists it. It doesn’t break but pops open and the light golden light dims. Nick is still holding it toward me. I lean forward and see that inside is a picture. A picture of a girl. She looks almost like my sister Devon, only much prettier and dressed in a fancy dress.

“I can open yours too.” He says quietly and holds out his hand.

I hesitate for a moment thinking frantically. Frozen in place, I may start to cry at any moment. Nick kneels down in front of me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“You are safe Brooke. The last I would ever do is harm you.” He says quietly.

Slowly, I lift the locket toward his out reached hand. This time he moves slower as he opens it. I think I might be able to do it myself. The shining red light dims the same way the his did. There’s a picture in my locket too! It’s of a young man. His clothes look fancy but are like nothing I’ve seen before. I look up at Nick who is looking at me. Recognition comes slowly at first. I look down at the photo again and then back up at Nick.

“It’s you!”

Nick nods and smiles, truly he smiles too much.

“But how? It’s impossible!”

He doesn’t explain but instead looks into the distance and tells me that we have to hurry. He snaps my necklace and his closed. Both have stopped glowing. Waving me to follow he walks into my complex.

When we reach my family’s unit he tells me that I should let him explain. Sounds reasonable since I have no idea how to explain.

I am well truly late now. Mama and papa are wary about the strange man who is with me. Nick introduces himself and explains how he saw us earlier at church. Nick tells them the same story he told me leaving out the part about his great-grandpa and the Exodus. Nick ends by showing papa his necklace. Papa first looks over to grandma who has been listening intently. Then looks to me. I pull out my necklace once again.

Now several things happen in rapid succession. First, the door to our unit bursts open and three city patrolmen rush in. Then Nick does something to his necklace again and grabs my hand and grandma’s hand. Then we are abruptly somewhere else. There are several desks and control panels and behind us is a hallway. But what holds our attention is the window in front of us and the view outside. It’s the moon. Green as always but up close. Like we are looking down on it from atop one of the housing complexes.

Nick is at one of the desks hitting buttons on the control panel. I am about to ask what he is doing when the rest of my family appears. No one has recovered enough to start asking questions when Nick starts speaking again.

“Sorry. Once the city patrol found me, we had to leave immediately or we all would likely be dead by morning.”

This explains nothing at all. Nick notices and starts again.

“I am the man in Brooke’s locket.” Into the silence Nick continues, “I am indeed your ancestor. You are all descendants of my girlfriend that I was forced to leave on Earth. An Earth that was dying. I have returned to make good on a promise. A promise to take her and now you to a world that is not dying. I’m taking you, my family, home.”