The Locket

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

If only she hadn't have picked up that locket. Ever since that fateful, lingering moment she'd never been the same. Elise and I had been messing around in my attic, going through the old junk that sat there mouldering. She'd scooped up an old lacy dress and held it up against herself, giggling as she twirled around the wooden floor, sending up curlicues of dust in every direction, as she pretended to go back in time to when the dress was new. Suddenly there was a clunk, and Elise stopped mid-twirl. A heavy, elaborate, golden oval lay on the floor at her feet, hanging from a fine gold chain. She stooped and picked it up, running the chain through her fingers. The dim light glinted ominously off the large, jet black stone in the centre, and something about it made my skin crawl. "Elise, maybe you should..." I began, but disregarding me, she slipped her fingernails into the groove, gently easing it open. "Oh..." she breathed slowly, letting the upper half fall back as her hand dropped. I edged over. "What?" I said impatiently, snatching at it. She grabbed it back, and as she looked at me through the net of her dark brown hair, something hostile glittered in her eyes. "Elise!" I exclaimed, suddenly worried. The hostile glint disappeared. "Yes...here then. Just don't snatch." She extended her hand, and nested in the gold oval lay a miniature painting of a boy. He was about our age, and handsome, but darkly so. He had dark hair, dark eyes. I bit my lip. Everything about him was dark, and somehow that frightened me. What the hell! I told myself, it's just a painting! But I couldn't shake the feeling. "He's gorgeous, isn't he!" smiled Elise dreamily. I looked at her, alarmed. She caught my look and shrugged. "Whatever, I guess. C'mon, let's go!" She turned and led the way out. I couldn't help noticing she took the locket with her. "Elise! Put that back!" Elise turned slowly. She raised her hand where the locket had been a moment before. "What?" she said innocently. I swallowed. The locket wasn't there.
A week later, Elise came over. I'd been worried about her. She had become increasingly withdrawn, and from a distance, I'd been sure that I'd seen her staring into that damn locket. "Wanna paint our nails?" I suggested. Elise looked up at me and quickly stuffed something down the front of her shirt. I sighed. "Sure..." she said vaguely, "I'll get my stuff." For the first time since the locket incident, she looked me straight in the eye. "Goodbye." she said clearly, and swept upstairs. Goodbye?
Then I heard a voice from upstairs. It wasn't Elise. It sounded like...a boy. A sudden terror gripped me. I dashed upstairs and burst through the door. Elise was gone. The locket lay on the floor. I looked down at it. The oil painting...held Elise AND the boy. The picture faded into blackness as I fainted.

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