Symbol of Love

Today’s excavation hadn’t really come of much, which wasn’t a surprise since Nam had already combed through this primeval 20th century surface home twice before. However, she insisted on looking it over one last time. There was something about this place that kept bringing her back to look again. All that could be heard in the shell of a house was the rattle of a backpack heavier than Nam, and the sound floorboards creaking with her every step like ice, threatening to crack and pull her below.

Nam’s friends would call her a hoarder, if she had any. Nam however, preferred the term ‘Archaeologist’, and the ancient ruins from the 20th century was where she found her artefacts. The sky was beginning to lighten, signalling to Nam that there wasn’t much time before she had to retreat back to base, yet she didn’t leave. The rising sunlight had refracted through a broken window, revealing something shiny hidden beneath a floorboard.

The small amount of light had beamed into the corner of Nam’s hyper sensitive beady black eyes, beckoning her closer. Nam knelt next to it, took of her pack and lay out all her excavating tools. Her tools of choice would be a chisel and a hammer. Nam pried up a single floorboard, revealing the small shiny item embedded in the ground. It was a small heart shaped locket; Nam had never come across such an item and the purpose of it was unknown to her.

She picked up a small brush from amongst her tools, and began to brush away the dirt, revealing a delicate chain attached to the locket. Once she had dislodged the item from the ground and packed away her tools, the sun had completely risen. If Nam was quick and silent, maybe she could make her way back to her base without being heard by a Sckaliant.

With great difficulty, she put on her heavy pack and made her way to the door. With every creak of the floorboards Nam froze, for fear of what the noise might attract, and waited for the ice to settle. Nam was almost to the door when the floorboards could hold the weight no longer and with one last deafening crack, the ice finally broke. Nam crashed down, it wasn’t far, but it was enough to take the wind out of her. Nam had no time to recover, something had definitely heard her, most likely a Sckaliant and there was no time for her to get back to base. She needed somewhere closer, and she wasn’t happy with the options. Disregarding silence completely, she scrambled out from beneath the broken floor and set off at a frantic run for the nearest Hollow. She limped out onto the street, the artefact clenched within her hand, attempting to spot any oncoming Sckaliant’s, but it was too bright for her underdeveloped eyes to comprehend. Blindly, she made it to the end of the street, and made it to the edge of the forest.

Nam knew where all the Hollow entries were, so as to be able to avoid them completely. It had been almost three weeks since she was last forced downwards, and it would be so embarrassing for her to crawl back down after making such a point of leaving. She however had no choice in the matter, considering her current inability to breath and the sound of a Sckaliant fast approaching. With the help of the trees blocking out some of the light, it was dark enough for Nam to locate the Hollow entrance. The entrance consisted of a metal hatch laying in the dirt, opening to a tunnel going deep into the Earth.

Nam didn’t like The Hollow’s, they made her feel claustrophobic. She knew it was the safest and most practical way for her people to live since their devolution but hiding underground and digging for grub for the rest of her life wasn’t her idea of living. Nam managed to reach the entrance and jumped in feet first, slamming the door shut after her. After a few seconds of falling, she came crashing into a damp, dimly lit room, stopping only after slamming into a wall made of dirt.

Laying on her back with her eyes closed and her hand still holding onto the artefact, she took advantage of the chance to fill her lungs with air once more. When Nam finally opened her eyes, she discovered she had fallen into a living room filled with couches and chairs, and she wasn’t alone. There were four people in the room with her, all as pale and beady eyed as she. Three of them were seated on couches and one was standing pressed with their back against the wall, mug in hand, all staring in shock at the new addition to the room. Nam rolled onto her front and got to her feet, with the difficulty of an overturned turtle due to her giant backpack, some of the contents most likely in need of mending.

“My apologies for barging in on your lovely evening, might one of you point in the direction of Bim?” Nam requested as though she had accidentally taken a wrong turn. Seeing how normal Nam behaved about the matter, the one holding the mug pointed at a passage way and replied; “Keep taking the connectors right and you’ll find Bim”.

Nam gave them her kindest smile and replied, “Deepest appreciation, enjoy your brew”, and walked over to a wall which had three tunnels, one would take her left, the middle would take her back to the surface, and the last would take her right to where she needed to go. Nam followed the instructions given to her, passing two kitchens, three more living rooms, one food market and finally made it Bim’s room.

Bim heard Nam approaching from in the tunnel, jingling with every step she took, signalling to Bim who was approaching. Bim’s room was a cosy, dimply lit space, consisting of a table, a couch, a single armchair and a what could only be called a kitchenette.

“Here comes trouble” Bim said, turning to face Nam.

“I’m not staying long, just wondering if I could claim sanctuary here for a bit” Nam pleaded.

“Very well, but if anyone comes saying you got to go, I have no say”

“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill” stated Nam as she took off her pack and walked over to a table.

Nam rummaged through her pack and pulled out her excavating tools once more and placed them neatly on the table. Nam picked out a small-pointed tool and continued to clean her latest artefact.

“What have you got there?” Bim questioned, looking over Nam’s shoulder.

“A new artefact” Nam explained, focusing on cleaning and paying little attention to Bim.

“Very interesting, it appears to be a locket, usually worn around one’s neck. This pendant attached was commonly used a symbol of Love and given to someone as a gift to represent how much someone meant to them. If you can open it then it might contain an inscription, a declaration of love. But I’m sure you already knew that.” Bim explained, knowing full well that Nam did not.

“Of course,” Nam exclaimed with annoyance, and at that moment, Nam opened the locket, “huh, it’s empty”.

“It seems they never got around to it” suggested Bim.

“How ironic that I’m the one to find an item that declares love, the one person that has no one who loves them” Nam explained, her black eyes beginning to gloss over.

Bim looked down at Nam and considered comforting her with his words and explaining that she wasn’t alone, instead Bim settled with “How about some Brew?” and Bim left Nam to be alone.

Nam managed to pull herself away from cleaning her new artefact long enough to get some rest, finding a sleeping place on the unoccupied couch. Bim walked over from the kitchenette with a fresh batch of brew for them, placed the brew on the side table next to the couch and covered Nam with a blanket, so she would not be woken by the cold. It would be some hours later when Nam would arise. She hoped she would be able to leave without waking Bim, however Bim had fallen asleep on the adjacent armchair and the sound of Nam’s movement caused them to wake.

“Leaving I see” observed Bim, a look of loss crossing their face “I do so enjoy when you come to visit”.

Nam gathered her backpack, and looked around for the locket, but couldn’t see it. Noticing this, Bim reached over to the side table next to the armchair “I was simply admiring it before I fell asleep”.

Nam took it from Bim and gave them a small smile.

“Thank you, not just for today, but for all the other times too”

“You are always welcome” beamed Bim.

With that last exchange, Nam turned and made her way back towards the surface. The sun was finally setting, and Nam’s next excavation lay head, still yet to be determined. Nam took out the locket decided if she didn’t have anyone to give it to, she would wear it until she did. She placed it around her neck, and for some reason unknown to her, she opened it. But this time it wasn’t empty, it held an inscription which wasn’t there when she first found it, reading;

‘You have me, Love Bim’.