The Locket of Love  Chapter. 13 part 1 of 5

The Locket of Love
Chapter. 13 part 1 of 5


“Hello, Mike,” she said with a smile.

“Selena!?”

He stood slack-jawed for several seconds, unsure of if this was really happening or not.

“Mike? Everything ok?” Melody called. Walking up behind him, she asked surprisingly, “Oh, who’s this? Do you two… know each other?”

“Yeah…” Mike replied. “This is Selena. She’s… she’s the one who gave me the locket.”

“May I come in?” Selena asked. “I brought your breakfast.”

“Uh, sure,” Mike said, still working to comprehend the situation.

As Selena pushed a rolling cart holding their pancakes into the room, she took a seat in the rolling chair sitting at the small desk against the wall. Melody immediately began eating her food, but Mike continued to eye Selena warily; until he knew her purpose for being here, he wasn’t letting his guard down for a moment.

“Congratulations to the happy couple,” Selena began.

“Thank you,” Melody said, her voice muffled by a bite of pancakes.

“Let’s get obvious out of the way first. What the hell are you doing here?” Mike inquired.

“You are confused, which is only natural. Do not worry, I will explain everything.”

“Mike says you’re the one who gave him the locket. Is that true? Did you know about me when you gave it to him?” Melody asked.

“Of course,” she replied simply. “It is quite a long story but suffices to say that I know more about you than anyone, Melody.”

“If that’s true,” Mike mused, “Then wouldn’t that make you a genie as well?”

Selena smiled. “Very perceptive. I am indeed a genie, though much different than Melody.”

“So… if you’re a genie… does that mean you know where I came from?” Melody inquired hesitantly. “I have no memory of my existence before being placed in my vessel. Do you know anything about that?”

Taking a deep breath, Selena responded, “Yes, I know everything. I could tell you, but it would be much better… to show you.”

“Show us what?” Mike asked defensively.

“I have a duty that I must fulfill,” Selena began to explain. “The vision that I must impart upon the two of you is part of that duty. Once you have seen it, you will understand everything. Still, the choice is yours. Melody, do you wish to see your origins?”

“I do,” she said.

“I must warn you,” Selena cautioned, “the images you will see maybe… extremely unpleasant. Are you sure?”

Melody looked at Mike for his confirmation. He shook his head, saying, “I can’t answer this one for you. It’s your call. I’ll support you no matter what.”

After pondering for a minute, Melody finally answered, “I want to know. As long as Mike can be with me through it all, I want to see everything you have to show me.”

Nodding in understanding, Selena said, “Of course. I would never do anything to separate the two of you. If you are ready, please sit on the bed and face each other.” As the newlyweds did so, Selena walked over to them and placed a hand on the shoulder of each of them. “Nothing I say can prepare you for what you are about to experience. You will see visions of pain and hardship before we are done, and I will not be able to end the vision early. Once we begin, you must see it through completely. Are you ready?”

The couple nodded, holding hands tightly. Selena gently placed her hands on each of their foreheads. Both Mike and Melody felt a tingling sensation, similar to when Melody granted a wish, but much stronger. Soon, their eyes glazed over, and they entered a trance as the vision began…

“Maya, I must advise against this.”

“I will be fine Lea. It is only a short walk to draw water from the well.”

The two sisters had always been close, constantly looking out for each other’s wellbeing. Having settled in the town of Samaria, they each met their husbands within days of each other and were married shortly thereafter. Lea’s husband, Tamir, was a kind man, who built their home next door to her sister’s home at great cost to himself, all so Lea could be with her sister anytime she needed. Maya’s husband, Ari, was not so kind a man. He was known for his temper but was still highly regarded and respected among Israel’s religious community. This was primarily due to his familial connections, as both his father and grandfather had been respected Rabbis, eventually being promoted to positions in the Temple of Jerusalem. Even with his family ties, most doubted that Ari would ever make it as far as his forefathers had, largely due to his temper.

Though they lived in Samaria, Ari would often be called away for work in Jerusalem, resulting in absences of a month or longer. Normally, under Jewish customs, Maya would have traveled with him, but Ari always specifically instructed her to remain behind. “You had the best look after my house,” he would always say. Being the devoted wife she was, and also due to the fear she harbored of his anger, Maya always complied with her husband’s wishes. Secretly, Ari would use these trips to find comfort in the arms of many women, free from the wandering eye of his wife and sister-in-law. Lea had long suspected this, but, under Jewish law, was powerless to do anything to stop it.

On this day, Ari was once again away, having been gone a month already. The morning previous, Maya had received a message that he would be gone longer than normal, likely another month. She tried to avoid going out alone as much as possible, as dangerous as it was for a woman to do so in the world in which they lived. Today, however, she had few other choices, as their water reservoir had run dry, and more would be needed for the additional month that her husband would be away. Walking out to the stable, she prepared the horse and cart, loading it with empty jars for the water.

“At least let me come with you,” Lea protested. “It will be much safer if we both go.”

“Absolutely not, Lea. You are with a child, and look like you could give birth any day now! You will stay inside and rest, I will draw the water,” Maya said firmly.

Sighing in defeat, Lea replied, “Very well. But please, be careful.”

“Of course,” she said, hugging her sister before leading the horse toward the well at the edge of town.

Lea returned to her sister’s home to wait for her, as Tamir would not be home until late that evening. Relaxing comfortably in a simple, wooden chair, she slowly drifted off for a nap, rubbing her stomach every so often to soothe her baby. Sometime later, she was awoken by the sounds of Maya’s cart returning with the water. Slowly standing, she made her way out back to help her sister unload the jars from the cart.

Holding the reins of the horse as Maya unhitched him from the cart, Lea asked, “Did you have any trouble? You were gone longer than I thought you would be.”

“No, no trouble at all,” Maya said quietly, though her face indicated that something was weighing heavily on her mind. As she led the horse back to the stable, Lea saw the back of her robes; they were dirty and tattered as if she had torn them on something.

“My God! Maya, what happened?”

“Nothing… I… I am fine…”

To be continued