Golden Locket

"Hey Vicky!"

Opening the door and hearing the loud ring of the bell, the two of them entered the shop and looked around for the energetic short woman.

"Oh? What brings you here so soon? Was there something wrong with the furniture?"

Popping out from behind the corner, Vicky walked towards us with an enthusiastic smile on her lips.

"Actually, we wanted to return something."

Digging into my pocket, I showed her the golden locket that Oliver found.

But when Vicky laid her eyes on the locket, the shock that showed on her face was so much that I couldn't help feeling nervous about the fact that I just placed it in my dirty pocket and carried it here unprotected.

Eyes widening so large that the pupils felt like tiny dots, even her customer smile could stand the amount of expression that was on her face at that moment. Then, without picking up the locket, Vicky dashed off into the back of the shop.

Glancing at Oliver with a slightly terrified look, the two of us waited with baited breath as the thumping footsteps of Vicky faded off into the distance and came back.

Bursting through the door, Vicky dragged Sky together with Jasper in front of us.

Feeling a little jittery at how fast the situation had escalated, i watched as Sky gave Vicky a confused expression before panning down to the locket in my hand.

Seeing it, I saw her pupils visibly shrink and a slightly soft smile flash on her lips.

Picking it up carefully from my hand, like it was a fragile and delicate thing, Sky muttered a name as she pocketed the locket. Then, turning to me, she placed her hand on my head and gave my hair a strong rub.

"Thank you."

Having to close my eyes under the pressure of her hand, I blindly reached out my hand to grab Oliver and drag him in as well.

"He was the one who found it in our room.'

Turning her head, Sky smiled at Oliver before placing her hand on his head and doing the same to him.

"Thank you."

Although I could feel a slight glare coming from my left, I ignored it and gave a satisfied smile to Sky.

However, as I looked up at her face, instead of relief, all I could see was a storm of regret, guilt and hesitation.

Tilting her head to look at me, Sky reached out a finger to smooth the creases on my forehead formed by furrowing my brow. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she was seeing someone else through me. But with a blink of her eyes, her usual lazy demeanor returned and she gave a small sigh.

"I wonder how I can be as strong as you."

Looking into her eyes, I stretched my hand to enclose the one on my head, and twisted my face to press my cheek into her palm.

"I'm not strong. I still clean Oliver's room every week, and I rarely visit his tombstone. But I don't think I need to hurry."

Lightening my hold on her hand, I felt the rough skin leave my face and return to its owner.

"You're right."

A small smile ghosting her lips, Sky's eyes shone as one small tear leaked from her eyes and dripped down her chin. Lifting a hand to erase it, she smiled at me and muttered another thank you.

Giving her my own smile of encouragement, the two of us descended into a small silence until a slightly tanned hand entered the corner of my eye holding a small package.

"As thanks."

Smiling, Jasper handed the gift to Oliver and I as he wrapped one hand over Sky's waist. Shooting her a meaningful smile, Jasper then waved goodbye to us and escorted us out the door.

As we passed the doorway, I sneaked a look back to catch the scene of Vicky jumping into Sky's arms, the two women whispering to each other with roses in the air around them. Then, a hand entered my view to block it. Looking up, Jasper gave me a wink before he closed the door. Then with a click, I heard the lock turn and the sign switch from 'Open' to 'Closed'.

Drifting towards the 'bottom' of the semicircle, the two of us opened the gift by Jasper. Inside the small brown package was a small little 'voucher'. It was a rectangle, the size of my hand, and had the word "Voucher" written in a gold colored paint. The same color was used to add a small border to embellish the piece of wood.

Plucking it out of the box, I turned it to see the name of the store that this voucher came from.

'Crystal Ball'

"Sounds like something Ivan would do."

Chuckling at the dramatic voucher, the two of us pocketed it and I made a mental note to visit Ivan later.

Reaching the 'bottom' area, we weaved through the large crowd as I introduced the area to Oliver.

"This area is also known as the Big Loop. It's the most crowded area in the Market, and it has the largest variety of trinkets. Most food stalls don't sell their wares here, since the rent is too expensive. The stalls here sell slightly more expensive items. Like lockets, rings, and accessories."

Seeing the crows grow thicker, I grabbed Oliver by his hand and expertly pulled us through them.

"Some of the stores here are semi-permanent, as in the store owners have a very healthy business but they either don't want to, or cannot afford a concrete store like the furniture store we just came out of. The crowd just now should be for Jack's trinket shop. They've been here for quite a while, but since their daughter has a weak body and is constantly going to the hospital, they can't afford an actual store."

Whispering the last sentence to Oliver once we were a fair distance away from that crowd, I shook my head as I pointed out several more semi-permanent shops. Most of them were long-time residents of Middle street, and a couple of them even lived in Top Middle street, but due to various unfortunate circumstances their finances weren't well enough to afford a store.

"After a while, you'll be able to recognize which crowd belongs to which shop. They always set up their store carts there, and some of them even leave their carts overnight."

Ducking through another crowded area, I slowed down and let go of Oliver's hand.

"The area around here is near the outer layer of the Big Loop, so it's not as crowded. The quality of the stores here are still decent though."

Walking up to one of the stores, we finally had enough space to take our time and look around. Glancing at the wares, I skimmed through all the different types of wallets, body washes, pails, pots and pans, before halting my sights on a locket.

It wasn't as delicately made as Sky's locket, but the locket I had my eye on had a more childish flair to it. The borders of the circular piece of wood were painted in a bright and cheerful blue, while the middle had a more mature dirty yellow. The locket wasn't a full circle, and had small holes here and there placed strategically to ensure that the identity of what was inside the space could not fully be seen.

Reaching out my hand, I picked up the locket and opened the cover. The cover was just a small piece of wood that fit snugly around the main body. To open it, I had to grasp a small space near the bottom and pull the cover up.

The space inside the locket was fairly big. Maybe it was because the hinge that held the cover in place was outside the overall body at the top, but the space inside was big enough to fit the tips of all my fingers. And looking at the price, it was quite a steal for such a large locket.

"Hello dear customer. Are you interested in that locket?"

Leaning out from her shop cart, a girl older than us smiled as she took another locket from inside her cart.

"There's many designs and shapes available for that locket."

Laying out the lockets in her hand, I glanced at each one. As the owner had said, they all differed from each other. Some of them had the same color design but were in different shapes, while others had the same shape but different designs. Looking through them carefully, there was only one that caught my eye.

Putting down the locket in my hand, I picked up one of the ones she showed me. It had a similar blue-yellow color palette to the previous one I held. However, it was more of a diamond shape with the small space near the bottom of the diamond.

Lifting the cover, the size of the space inside was roughly the same as the previous one I held. But it was a square, which would make it easier to place Leo's picture inside. I closed the cover and turned it around to look at the back.

"Dear customer, if you want an engraving on the back of the locket, you can place the order with us. Then after one week you can come back to collect it. We can even carve some patterns on it if you want!"

Tilting my head to look at the store owner, I handed the locket back to her.

"Then, can I get someone's name engraved on the back of this one? Also, what patterns do you have?"

Beaming as she secured a customer, the girl called me to wait as she disappeared into her cart.

"You're buying a locket?"

Leaning over with a different trinket in his hands, Oliver asked as he gazed at the lockets.

"Yeah. Sky's locket inspired me to get one. I can put a picture of Leo in it."

Gathering the other lockets the store owner took out, I returned them to where I saw her take them from.

"That's...a good idea."

Scanning the selection of lockets on sale, I saw Oliver's gaze gravitate to one near me. It was shaped like a flower, with pink accents, and had a slightly childish vibe to it. Picking it up, I passed it to Oliver.

Seeing it be delivered to him, Oliver muttered a word of thanks as he took it. However, he didn't look very happy. Tracing the edges of the locket, I noticed one of his hands reaching to the side of his wrist to touch a bracelet. It was a cheap flower bracelet. I know because I had seen many stores sell almost exact copies of the one he had for just a couple of dollars. However, with the way he was treating it, caressing it like it was a precious treasure, I knew better than to comment on its price.

Flickering between the two accessories, I could see the battle between two unknown thoughts wage within his eyes before one came out on top and he put down the locket.

"Not going to buy it?"

Picking it up from where he placed it, I returned it back to its position.

"...no. I think this bracelet is enough."

Tearing his eyes away from the locket, Oliver continued perusing the rest of the trinkets in the cart.