Rebecca's locket - a short story

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Rebecca's Locket.

Becky pulled her little wagon along the faded grey concrete streets. The wind whistled through the alleyways, and blew her long brown hair up in front of her green eyes. She stopped moving forward, and sat down to tie her hair back in the elastic she had scavenged earlier, and looked towards her cart. It had once been painted a cheery red with white highlights, but time had taken its toll. Its wheels were pockmarked with notches from all the rocks that had become stuck in their rubber over the years. Still, the wagon was the most convenient thing for her to pull along behind her, because she could always coast down hills.

She looked to the sky, and noticed that the sun had nearly finished its descent along the horizon. Fortunately, she was close to home. Becky listened for any sounds, but there weren't any to worry about. There was no one else to bother her, but on occasion, she ran across a wolf, or a deer, and marvelled at their beauty.

Her wagon was nearly full. It was a good day. She had found some marshmallows, some potato chips, a few bottles of water, and something called "Vitamins." Her mother used to talk about how much she needed vitamins, back in the old times, before everyone had gone away. She hoped they didn't taste as awful as the ones before did. They were gummy shapes, so hopefully they had some sweet sugar inside, instead of that nasty fake sugar that was in so much food. The little girl had become quite a good shopper in her time alone, and had even started reading labels. So much responsibility for a 10 year old.

Becky reached to her chest, and pulled out a heart shaped locket. Her hand froze in anticipation as she was about to open it. It was a picture of her mother on the inside, but she always remembered the first time she had opened it, and what else lay in store for her. She knew there was nothing to fear now. It was just a locket, a memory of what had been.

She swung the delicate little pendulum open, and looked upon her mothers kind gaze. Becky felt the sensation of a tear running down her cheek, both in gratitude for everything her mother had done, and also in memory of all that had happened. Her mother had promised her this locket would give her what she wanted, and it still did. The echo of her mothers love.

The little girl opened a packet of goldfish crackers and helped herself to a few mouthfulls. Just enough to give her the energy to make it home. Turning back to the wagon, she pulled on it with her last bit of strength, and stumbled her way down the boulevard to the house where she had always lived. The door swung open, since there was no one to be afraid of opening the latch. The only things she had to fear were the raccons stealing her supplies, but even they didn't bother her these days.

There was a little lamp over the table, which was charged by a solar battery that she had found some time ago, and she switched it on to keep the darkness at bay. She took off her jacket, and hoped that the evening wouldn't get too cold. Becky had never learned how to make a fire, and the little kettle could only fill up a few water bottles before running out of electricity. She had made a little fort out of all the blankets she could find in order to keep her own heat in. Just like she used to do to keep all the bad people out.

She hung up the locket around the lamp, where its golden heart shape would twist around. It reflected just a bit of light around the room, and made it seem like there was a spirit watching over her. Becky pulled out a chair to reach up to the pantry, to put her precious stores away. She had plenty of food, but there were always some days where she couldn't get out, so she needed to keep herself well stocked. She put the kettle to work, heating up some water for instant noodles, and sat down to wait for them to cook.

The little girl pulled out her diary, and noticed it was one year ago today that she had celebrated her birthday with her mother. Her mind filled with beautiful memories, the great big cake that her mother had ordered from the grocer, and the present that she had been given. The heart shaped locket that was now hanging off of her table. "I'll always be there for you" her mother had assured her "But if you ever are in a real emergency, open this locket, and your wish will be granted."

That had been such a good day. They hade gone to the mall, and picked out some toys – toys that were still sitting inside Becky's toy chest. Her mother used to nag her about keeping things clean, and now that the little girl was alone, she did her best to make her mother proud. She had just sat the bowl of noodles on the table when a sudden howl broke out, and her front door burst open.

Rebecca jumped as high as she could, her little heart racing. As the wailing sound went away, she exhaled gently, and pulled herself together. She was angry at herself for not making sure the door was closed. The wind seemed more powerful tha