I often imagine what the world looked like before it became dull and lifeless. I’ve heard the stories of thriving cities, colorful cultures, and lovely people that succeed in a working environment. I often stay up wondering what my life would have been like if I was born in a different time. Would I be happy? Would I not feel suffocated? Forced by a society that dictates what we eat, what we do, and how we feel?
The New World doesn’t hold onto the memories of the Old, but for someone like me, I hold onto those within myself so that one day when the New World crumbles, I can tell stories of the Old. The problem these people have is that no one goes out exploring and learning anymore. The Society won’t let us as per the rules that some jerkoff decided to make.
- Stay within your boundaries. Anyone seen outside their assigned district will be subject to banishment.
- Ten percent of your earnings will go directly to the Society. Anyone who doesn’t comply will be banished.
- Anyone seen or heard talking about the Old will be banished. Absolutely no one will succumb to what was.
- Random inspections will be conducted for everyone and anyone with no exceptions.
- There will be no fraternization between districts or both parties will be banished.
I want to comply with the rules set by the Society, but there's something out there that’s calling me, something that is telling me to find what was left behind for us. I may never know what life was like in the Old, but the more I uncover about our desolate world, the more I can spread hope that there is something more for us out there.
Maybe, just maybe, things can go back to how they were before.
My district’s boundaries lie where the Society has deemed forbidden. I live in a run-down house on the outskirts of the district with four other people who are just trying to get by. We all eat the same thing, work in the same place, and pay our dues to the Society just like everyone else. The only difference is that I can see we were meant for something more, something that will get our blood pumping from adrenaline and excitement.
A few hundred meters away from our house lies the boundary. The Society blocked these areas off even before I was born, but I might be the only one who knows what’s beyond the gates. There is a small hole in the far corner, a corner that no one ever goes to, and I am just the right size to fit through it. No one has to know I’ve gone; in fact, they never do. I always leave for the forbidden land when everyone has fallen asleep for the night. It’s the only time where the Society has curled back into their comfy homes to celebrate all the money they have stolen from others.
I push back the boards I have gathered to cover the hole in case anyone were to go looking this far out. I slip through the hole and quickly cover it back up. The vast land greets me with open arms, eager to show anybody what it has to offer. I start my trek to nowhere, listening to the crunch of crispy leaves beneath my feet.
It’s so peaceful out here, yet so lonely. None of the districts have animals except for the ones specifically meant for butchering. There are a couple of cows meant for breeding, dozens of chickens, some lambs, and a few other animals that can be used for food. Those specific districts are responsible for selling to the Society first before the other districts. Though, I never seem to notice any animals out here that are worth destroying.
Without the toxic hands of humanity, nature is reverting back to its original state, and I have never seen anything so beautiful before.
Trees stand so tall that they start to tower over each other with bushy leaves, providing shade where the sun is due. Rays of moonlight peek through the cracks, showering down to the ground, lighting the path in front of me. I have to rely on the moon to light my path as I don’t have anything else to use. My district provides the vegetables and the fruit that we grow to the others. Anything that needs to be made from metal or other materials has to be purchased from our neighbors, but I haven’t had the money to get anything from them.
There aren’t a lot of things left in the forbidden lands, but if I go searching, I usually find little trinkets that I can usually hide from others. There is a pile of rubbish off to the left-hand side from where I am, and I head over there quickly to see what I can find. I fall to my knees and begin sorting through the trash, tossing out the parts I don’t need or want.
I must have gone through almost eighty percent of the pile when I caught a glint of something out of the corner of my eyes. The moonlight shines down on the object, making it known to whoever walks by it. There, at the base of the rubble, is a heart-shaped necklace. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, past or present. It’s a golden heart, but there are scratches down the sides of it to show the battles it has seen over the years. The chain was once a shiny gold, but due to the sun beating down on it, it has turned a couple of shades darker. There is a hinge on the left side of the heart that tells me it’s meant to be opened like there is something inside of it. The clasp on the other end of the heart is rusted and old, but I manage to open it just fine without it breaking.
I was enthralled by the outside of it, but the inside has me falling to the ground in shock.
I expected a small picture, some kind of note, or even an engraved message to be inside. What’s actually inside is another heart, but this heart is shaped like the heart I have inside my body. The heart is dull and grey, there is dust littering the top of it, and the veins are crusted over the top. Either this thing is very dirty or someone made it to look like this.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.
It’s getting late enough as it is, and to prevent another banishment in my District, I pocket the necklace and head back to my home. I slip in through the gate and into my house without anyone noticing. I duck underneath the covers on my bed and hold the necklace close. I normally don’t dream, but this time, I dream of a world where there is life, love, and lots of color.
***
“Look what my roommate gave me,” I lie to my friends the next day.
Of course, I’m going to want to show off the piece of jewelry I found. It could use a little love, but it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The mystery of the real-life heart inside tugs at my curiosity so much that I have to keep the necklace until I figure it out.
“That looks old,” my friend says in judgment.
“Of course, it’s old. Janice is the one who gave it to me. She just found it in a box of her old stuff. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Does it open?”
“No, I think the clasp is too rusty. I don’t want to risk breaking it,” I shake my head.
I don’t want to share the secret of the locket just yet. I want to understand it before I announce it. However, just like that, the conversation moves onto something too immature for my tastes. I don’t know what I expected my friends to act like when I showed them this antique. They are too preoccupied with the other districts to get caught up in a mystery they can’t smell.
“Did you hear about the banishment in District Seven?” my oldest friend whispers to our group.
“Another one? What is with those people? Soon, there won’t be anyone left to banish let alone sell their goods.”
My friends continue to whisper, but my mind is somewhere else. I’m twirling the necklace between my fingers when I notice something unusual about it. There is a faint green glow emitting from inside the locket, seeping through the tiny cracks and holes that are part of the old necklace.
“I’ll catch you guys later,” I interrupt.
I don’t wait for their responses as I head back to my home. Everyone else is at work in the fields right now, so I am completely alone. I take off the necklace and carefully open it because I have no clue what could be causing this green glow. The real-life heart inside isn’t dusty and grey anymore. In fact, it’s the cause of the green light. Much like how my heart beats, the real-life heart slowly pumps back to life, pulsating green energy with each pump.
This definitely didn’t happen last night, so why is it happening now? What is causing it to happen? What happens if it pumps harder and stronger? What happens if the light dies out?
“What are you?” I whisper to the locket as if it could talk back.
I don’t know what, but something is calling me from outside my window. I don’t know why, but I feel compelled to look outside at whatever could be staring back at me. No one is there, not even a gust of wind. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking for, but as soon as I sweep my eyes toward the bottoms of the gate, I see it.
There, all alone in the corner, is a single flower. I’m not sure what kind it is, but it’s bright yellow and full of life. It’s all by its lonesome, not afraid to stand up to the dullness of the plants around it. I look back to the real-life heart inside the locket in understanding.
I gently close the locket and turn it over to inspect the back. I didn’t notice it before, but there is something engraved onto the back. Using the sunlight outside, I angle the locket so I can read it clearly: Gaea.
Maybe I was meant to find this locket and bring life back to it. I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I do have a theory. If it’s correct, and if I show this locket a lot of love and care, then maybe… just maybe… it might be the key to getting our Earth back to what it was before.
About the Creator
Jordan Largey
i write because it provides others with a chance to escape with life, and i think everyone deserves that chance at least once.
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