The Locket

The Locket

No light. No sound. Just a dark void. Emptiness. Nothingness.

A sudden jerk and an explosion of light. The world comes into a brilliant focus. A blazing sun high in a baby blue sky. Seagulls crying in the distance. The smell of salt and the feel of a breeze carrying a mist of cool water. There is an audible gasp of glee. A young woman’s face comes into view. Her corn yellow hair flowing around her, her eyes a fierce green. Her fingers gently caress the top of the golden heart-shaped locket. A small diamond shimmers in the center. It’s sparkle pulses like a beating heart. She gingerly picks up the locket that's fastened to a delicate gold chain. Her fingers are warm. She clasps the chain around her neck and frees her hair from its embrace. Her golden waves fall around the locket as it settles on her chest.

The world outside of the turquoise blue box is loud. All around the beach are people enjoying the last days of summer. A cacophony of music swirls from the different radios. Ice cream cones melt, bottles of water drip cold sweat, burgers are charred and flipped, ants circle a cake exclaiming,“HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANDY”. June Honey and Mandy Dear hold hands watching Olly build his sand castle. Mandy Dear occasionally brushes the locket with loving fingers as it nestles against her chest. Out of all the special days the blue boxes have ever been unwrapped for, this one in particular had to be the most blissful. It was also the last.

The music is cut as sirens blare from the radios in unison. The echoes of announcers proclaim a state of emergency. Fighter jets roar past the beachgoers as they scramble to pack their things. Mandy Dear steps on Olly’s sand castle as she bends down for him. He protests in a fit of anger and sadness. Hot tears splash down on the locket. Mandy Dear and June Honey run for the car. The locket is jostled around sending the world into a blur of colors. It is suffocated in Olly’s small hand as the toddler refuses to be put down into the car seat. Mandy Dear pries his fingers open, frees the locket, and buckles him. She slams the door, catching the reflection of the locket. It is wet and grimey with sand. She doesn’t stop to clean it as she climbs in.

In the coming days of confusion and panic words like bio-terrorism, lockdown, and war are thrown around. The locket accompanies Mandy Dear through every frightening news story. She rubs it like a worry stone, sometimes absentmindedly sucking on the chain. The locket catches her tears when notices of a military draft are being handed out. One able bodied person from each household must fight in the war. The locket is smothered as Mandy Dear and June Honey embrace, swearing they will see eachother again. June Honey leaves waving from the military bus. The locket twinkles back as Mandy sinks to her knees and begs them not to take her. The locket is a witness as Amanda, just Amanda now, lets her shield down for the night. She cries herself to sleep, being careful not to wake the baby. The locket is there as the years pass and the war marches on. The shine on the locket dulls.

Amanda and Olly settle into a new routine. June Honey never did make it back. Amanda wakes up at five on Thursday mornings. She kisses the locket in a silent prayer. The household is allowed an hour of running water. The locket accompanies her as she fills jugs up for the coming week and hoses her small garden growing in the laundry room. The fresh vegetables are a side to the weekly MRES that are dropped off. She hurries five year old Olly through a quick bath, then herself. Suds roll off Amanda and the locket, cleansing them of last week's hardships. Most everything else of value in the house was traded off in the beginning. A toaster for a pack of tampons. A television for a bottle of aspirin.Then, at some point, her tomatoes were worth more than a car. She never trade the locket though. Even after it was announced any metal that could be melted and made into bullets would be worth an extra ration of food. That locket hadn't left its place in six years.

Leaving Olly to his breakfast at the table she cocoons herself on the couch. A blanket draped around her shoulders, she draws her knees up to her chest. The heat has been cut off again. The locket is cool to the touch as she fingers it. The radio host reports news of the protests outside of Congress, the cloud of poison that seems to have settled over the western part of the United States, and the weather. Amanda reaches to turn it off when a klaxon blares across the house. The last time that horn was used, June Honey had to leave two days later. The locket drums as Amanda’s heart beats faster. The announcer comes on. His words are slow, unbelieving of the script he's reading.

Another draft.

For children.

The locket is crushed in Amanda’s palm as she screams out in horror. She finally drops it to reach out for the radio and throw it across the room. It cuts off as the man, in a wavering voice, explains the military school draft. Olly runs into the room panicked and on the verge of tears at the sound of his mother’s cries. His wool sweater is scratchy on the locket as the pair hug and scream and cry until there are no more tears left to shed. Hours later Olly is laying on the couch having exhausted himself to sleep. Looking out the window, Amanda plays with the locket. She twists it around her finger rhythmically and with purpose.

As twilight settles Amanda bolts around the house packing a backpack. The locket thumps against her chest in time with the frantic beating of her heart. She packs and unpacks and repacks. Eventually, she and Olly are ready to go. Olly refuses to go outside. He points to the flock of birds that fell out of the sky that very morning. Amanda hesitates for a fraction of a second before taking off the locket. She loops the chain around his neck. The locket drops down almost to his belly. He rubs it in his small hand like he's seen his mother do a million times. It gives him a little comfort. Amanda ties scarves around their noses and mouths. Olly’s scarf covers half his body, plunging the locket into darkness.

The world is black once again. It is also freezing. Olly and Amanda crunch through frost that’s settled on the grass. The locket whips against Olly as he runs faster and farther than his small legs have ever taken him. After some time the sound of waves lapping are heard. Olly and Amanda have stopped running. Olly frees the locket from the scarf. The locket hasn't been to the beach in a long time; it is peaceful when it is empty. They have only the moon and stars to guide them. They sit in the sand a while letting their breath slow down.

Suddenly a spotlight glares down on them. They are encircled in a harsh white light. A pair of gloved hands reach for Olly as he ducks away. Amanda’s screams echo across the water. The hands reach for Olly again this time more forceful. The locket is ripped off his neck. It falls on the beach with a soft thud. Sounds of thrashing and punching are heard. Amanda’s cries are sharply cut off. A heavy boot steps on the locket, burying it in the sand. The scuffle dies down and there is only the sound of waves crashing and then darkness once more.

The passing of time can be a tricky thing. To a toddler having fun at a family picnic at the beach, the hours slip by like minutes. To a woman sent off to war, time ends too early for her. To a mother sent to prison, the days stretch into years. To a young man bent on a military coupe, the years cannot come fast enough. And to a locket buried in the sand, time is irrelevant.

No light. No sound. Just a dark void. Emptiness. Nothingness.

A sudden jerk and an explosion of light. The world comes into a brilliant focus. A blazing sun high in a baby blue sky. Seagulls crying in the distance. The smell of salt and the feel of a breeze carrying a mist of cool water. There is an audible gasp of glee. A young woman’s face comes into view. Her copper red hair in a halo around her. Her eyes are a piercing blue. The locket dangles from a delicate gold chain. She wipes the sand off. A small diamond blinks in the center. Her companion stands next to her and she drops the locket into his outstretched hand. He huffs a moist breath before polishing the locket with a rag. It winks back at him. He loops the chain around his neck letting the locket fall to his chest. It nestles next to the faded military tattoos and the fresh one branding him a resistance fighter.

The world above ground is quiet. The beach is nearly empty except for the small group of people in a camp up ahead. The man sits on the sand. He opens the locket and reads the inscription over and over again. It is unmarred by the passage of time and simply reads:

To Mandy

With Love, June and Olly

Of course he goes by Oliver now.