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 than ever now, and it was what had blown her door open. Still, at night, in her mind, it could have been anything. Bears, wolves, or even worse, perhaps other people.
No, there was no chance of it being other people. She had taken care of that. It wasn’t her fault, but it was what had happened. Her diary commemorated the day she was given the locket, but it also held the secret of when she had used the locket. Becky had kept it closed for months, because a wish was something that you held on too. She was just a little girl, and had no idea what to wish for. She had a home, a mother, food, friends at school, and everything seemed just fine. There were a few mean teachers, and bullies, but it seemed like everyone lived with those problems. She wanted to make sure she would use that wish responsibly. So she held on to it until that day.
The door had blown open back then just like it did today. Two men, big, burly, and wearing masks had kicked it in, and were waving guns around demanding money. Her mother had tried to send them away, but they scoffed at her. They threw her down to the floor, threatening her life, and Rebecca had hid in her room, trying to block the sound out from her ears. Her poor mother pled with everything she had, but nothing seemed to satisfy the thieves.
That was when Becky knew she had needed a miracle. She heard a strange thump from downstairs as she reached for her locket. She heard a gruff voice declare “If she moves, kill her. I’ll check upstairs” and then as the echoing footsteps crept up the stairs, the little girl became more and more afraid. This was the moment, she opened the locket, and saw her mothers picture staring at her.
There was something else in that locket, a little spark of energy that wisped up to her face. It hovered expectantly, as if awaiting her command. Surprised, enchanted, and concerned, Rebecca had only one thought in her head. To make this all go away. So, she looked at the little entity, and with her whole heart said “I wish they would all go away”
The thumping up the stairs stopped. Her mother stopped crying. For a moment, there was blissful silence. Becky thought everything was over, and was about to go downstairs when she heard a mighty series of crashes in the world outside. Cars were careening into one another, and their alarm systems screeched like mad banshees filling the world with noise. Some electrical poles were uprooted by the impacts, and pulled one another down like dominos. Becky looked out the window to see sparks flashing out into the sky, and fires starting over everywhere. She ran down to get her mother, but to her surprise, her mother had disappeared with the thieves. There the little girl stood, in the kitchen, with nothing left to hold on to but the picture her mother had left her.
That had been months ago, and Rebecca had learned to live by herself. She came to know which stores were open, and that grocery stores were filled with stinky rotten garbage. It was the dollar stores and convenience stores that sold food that was easy to eat. She had missed people at first, but slowly had gotten used to not hearing anyone else. The stary cats and dogs were her friends now, and she didn’t need to worry about teachers, lessons, or bullies. They had all simply gone away.
This was her life now, living another year. She had managed to find a cupcake with no mold or fungus on it, and unwrapped it now. Becky stuck a pink candle in the top, and imagined a flame on top, as if it were her own miniature birthday cake. She had always been told to make a wish and blow it out, but she was done making wishes. So she pretended to blow it out, and took a nice big bite out of the cupcake. It was chocolatey and sweet.
Since the TV and internet hadn’t worked in months, she pulled out some books she had found. “Nancy Drew” – she was reading about the young detective, and felt her eyes grow heavy. The book fell from her hands, and the young girl fell asleep, breathing heavily, eyes closed to the world.
Across the room, by the light, the heart shaped locket swayed back and forth, reflecting light throughout the room. The photo inside showed her mother smiling at her, just as she had promised. She would always be there to protect her little girl, and the locket was still serving that purpose. It was giving her hope in a cold, lonely world. It would always be there for her, it would always be by her side, and keep her mind on the love she had for her mother. Now, and forever, the heart shaped locket would be Rebecca’s faithful guardian.
jayrsworld 