Locket At Sea

• Charlize Paterson, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

It has been years since anyone has heard any new tales of Captain Bella the Killer of Fluffy Toys and her ship Soft Dog Bed. The last sighting was three years ago when the ship was last spotted heading west on the Pacific Ocean.
Can someone solve the mystery that haunts sailors from heading in that direction?
Young Charlize and Alexis run through the fields of their parent’s cliff top farmhouse enjoying the last of the evening sun when Charlize’s eye catches on an object that sparkles like a million diamonds against the sun. She points it out to Alexis who instantly runs over to the object. It is a gold locket with a delicate chain attached to it. Alexis hands it to Charlize who notices it is stuck shut.
Disappointed, the girls noticed the lock looks like the shape of the key their Mum always wears. They race inside to show her but when they ask, she takes the locket off them and walks away whispering, “How are you still in one piece?” The girls run after her pleading with her to tell them what is wrong.
Their Mum turns around and opens it up with the key hanging from her delicate neck. Inside the locket are two photos, Charlize and Alexis gasp, the photos look like them. But they have never worn dresses like the girls in the picture are wearing.
The girls ask their Mum who they are. Tears start welling in their Mum’s eyes, she starts telling them that the two little girls in the picture are her and her sister when they were young.
Chills run through the girls' bodies when their Mum continues the story, she hasn't seen this locket in over three years. The last time she saw it was on her sister's neck over three years ago. That day she said goodbye to her sister who was leaving as first mate on the ship Soft Dog Bed. Their Mum sounded confused as she spoke. There has been no word about that ship in years. How did the locket end up in the fields outside their home? What happened to her sister? Is she still alive?
Later that evening as the sisters were in their bunk beds, they were reflecting on what happened that day. Mum's personality had changed like the weather sometimes changes, very fast, from her happy, cheerful self to sad and gloomy and with tears in her eyes. Dinner was painful. Neither sister said anything until Charlize sat up in her bed. “We need to find our Aunty.”
“Are you crazy?” Alexis declared. Mum will ground us for months if we do that.”
As the girls fall asleep, they wonder… Where is their Aunty and could they possibly find her?