Light Our Way- Elementist Series

The Locket

Hello my dear readers, just a heads up. I might put tiny author's notes in the beginning or end of a chapter that may consult in finally getting an updated schedule or about a chapter being late or so on. Just a heads up.

"Do you ever wonder what happens when we die?" I asked, looking up at the night sky. When I realized I wouldn't get an answer, I replied to myself. "Well I believe that we turn into stars, we are made of stardust," still no reply.

I sigh and sat up from my laying position and proceed to stand up. There was no one around for as far as I can see, and I'd like to keep it that way. The forest is my escape, but unless you've been in it your whole life, you'll be dead in 37 seconds flat.

I didn't head in the direction of home. No, my home is an everlasting battlefield and it's not my place. Instead, I walk in the direction of a huge redwood tree. It's still growing, and it will continue to grow for a hundred more years, but it's big enough for me.

I walk over to the trunk of a tree next to it and start climbing up that. As I neared the top, the branches got preceding thinner. That point is when I jump, not down but over. This is where the first branch of the redwood tree is at.

I proceed to jump over and I grab onto a red-tinted branch. I haul myself up onto it and put my back against the trunk, trying to grab air into my lungs. It's always hard on the first branch but it gets easier the closer I get to the top.

As my breathing comes close to normal, I stand on the branch and jump to grab the next one. I repeat these steps, each time getting quicker as the branches get closer together.

I eventually reach a small hole in the tree, it's naturally made and it's gotten larger over the years. It's more than enough for me to fit in, so I start crawling inside on all fours. Once inside, I stand up and use what light I have to look around.

As I squint around, I see potato and wires next to it. I walk over to them and connect the wires to the potato which turns on a lightbulb from above. Light flooded the small room and I was finally able to see normally.

The small room contained a pile of pillows and blankets, a small makeshift desk with art supplies, and a keyboard stood up and a music book on its stand. This is my home. This is my escape. This is all I have.

Everything I own that I wouldn't allow keeping at the house my family stays in is here. I just can't bear to keep it there when it's always in danger. I know it's not like they're alive but most of my own money bought these things.

I walk over to the desk and sit down on a stack of pillows that puts me at the perfect height for the desk. I open the first drawer and pull out a small sketchbook. I grab a pencil from a royal blue cup on the desk and open it to a blank page. I think for a moment until I put the pencil down on the page.

I draw a rough sketch of a girl sitting criss-cross-apple sauce and follow by drawing some clothes. I grabbed some colored pencils and colored her in and added a night sky background. I looked at it and thought it was missing something.

I grabbed a silver pen and drew over the colored pencil. I ended up drawing a silver locket around her neck. It wasn't much, just a small detail, but it completed the drawing for some reason. I put the pen down and grabbed a light blue one to sign the picture in the corner.

I closed the sketchbook and put everything away. I stood up from my stack of pillows, walked over to the pile of pillows and blankets, and looked under them to grab some pajamas. I changed into some comfy pants and a baggy t-shirt.

I walked over to the small opening to draw the curtains to close it when I saw something. It was small but it caught the moonlight through the tree leaves. I crawled onto the branch and grabbed it off the tip of the branch. I hurried back into the tree and drew the curtains.

I opened up my hand and in between my finger fell a silver chain. Connected to the chain was a silver locket in the palm of my hand that had an engraving onto it. I traced my finger on it and thought I felt the shape of a wolf howling.

I looked over to my desk and back to the locket. Did fate bring it to me? I'm not sure but it is pretty. I put it on the desk for now and go to my blankets, finding a comfortable spot that doesn't bother the burns on my arms, as I drifted off to sleep.