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The Locket of Love  Chapter. 13 part 4 of 5

The Locket of Love
Chapter. 13 part 4 of 5

As she finished speaking her wish, the last of Maya’s strength slipped away, and her hand fell limp in Selena’s. After exhaling her final breath, she finally passed away, smiling peacefully all the while. With tears streaming down her face, Selena could scarcely believe what she had witnessed that night.

Closing Maya’s eyes in respect, Selena marveled, “More courage in this girl than in all the soldiers in all the armies in all the world…”

In the corner of the room sat Isaiah, deep in meditative prayer. As it became clear that Maya was no longer among the living, he recited the traditional Jewish prayer of bereavement. “Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, the Judge of Truth.”

Selena walked over to him and knelt in front of him, holding the locket in her hand. “Never in all my life have I encountered such an act of selflessness,” she said somberly. “I want you to know that I plan to devote my entire existence to fulfilling Maya’s dying wish. I will not rest until I find a worthy master for her daughter.”

Still skeptical of her intentions, Isaiah asked, “And how exactly do you plan to do this?”

Showing him the locket, she replied, “This locket is the doorway to the realm she now resides in. It can be given all manner of magical protections, ensuring that only a worthy individual can access it.”

She extended her hand toward him, handing him the locket to examine. As he held it in his hand, the blue stone on the front began to glow. “What is this?” he asked in wonderment.

“It is a sign that the locket is being held by a worthy individual. One capable of fulfilling Maya’s wish,” Selena said with a smile.

“This is incredible… but I cannot take this. I have devoted my life to the service of God and spreading his word throughout the world, and I am an old man besides. I do not know how long I have left. This girl deserves not only a worthy man but also one who can give her a long, fulfilling life. I… am not that man,” Isaiah said.

“I understand,” she replied sadly. “Still, I think we should enact a few more protection measures to ensure that whoever finds the locket is not only of ‘outstanding moral fiber,’ but also a man of God. What do you think?”

“I agree.”

Thinking momentarily, she said, “I can make it so that only a man of Jewish faith is capable of opening the locket. Is that something she would want?”

“Possibly,” Isaiah said contemplatively. “However, I also foresee the potential danger in that requirement. I suppose it is possible that merely one hundred years from now, a group of invaders could ride through Israel, destroy our armies, slaughter every man, woman, and child, and burn every record of our religion. If that were to happen, there would be no Jews left in the world, making it impossible to find a man meeting the criteria of such a constraint.”

Smiling in amazement, she said, “It is no wonder you are called Prophet. Such wisdom and foresight is nearly unheard of in today’s world.”

“You are very kind,” he replied humbly. “I wonder… is this item capable of adapting itself autonomously, using protections allowing itself to determine if one is a man of God, no matter how far in the future that man may come along?”

“I believe so,” Selena said, taking the locket in her hand. “Anyone who finds this locket must solve a riddle of some sort in order to gain access to it. I can allow the locket to alter that riddle of its own accord based on that individual’s experiences with God. This would allow it to use events that have not happened yet as part of its protection.”

“Most impressive,” Isaiah said. “If you truly are able to find such a man… perhaps I have misjudged you.”

“Thank you. You are too kind, Isaiah.” Clutching the locket tightly in her grasp, Selena slowly began to disappear from sight.

I promise that I will not fail…

As Mike slowly opened his eyes, he looked at Melody, seeing tears streaming down her face. Instinctively, he leaned forward and wrapped her in his arms as she began to sob into his bare chest.

“Mother… Mother…” she gasped between her tears.

After several long minutes, they finally parted, and Melody began to calm down. They sat on the bed and turned toward Selena, still seated at the desk across the room from them.

“Melody,” she said, “Every fiber of my being wishes that I could have saved your mother. She deserved more than her life afforded her. However, you know, as well as I do, the rules and limits of our magic.”

Nodding, Melody said, “She was not bound to you, thus you could only save her life if it was part of her one wish. You gave her the greatest gift imaginable, yet she gave it… to me.”

“Indeed,” Selena said quietly.

“Did… she make it? To God’s house? Please tell me she made it,” Melody asked.

Closing her eyes, Selena said, “I honestly do not know. None can say for sure what happens beyond the gates of death, but if she truly did enter God’s house, as I believe she did, that is knowledge of a place and power far greater than my own. It is knowledge not meant for me.”

Nodding in quiet understanding, Melody sat back on the bed, pondering everything she had witnessed that morning.

“Selena, is this vision telling us that, in giving me the locket, Maya’s wish was finally fulfilled?” Mike asked.

With a smile, she replied, “Not entirely. Remember, Maya’s wish was a complicated one. She wanted many things for her daughter, and finding a worthy individual was merely the first step. Ultimately, I could not interfere with your free will, meaning that if you all of a sudden decided to become a cruel master, nothing I could do would have any impact on that. Still, I had a good feeling about you, even from the moment we first met.”

Laughing, he said, “Guess you’re not really an immigrant from Iran, huh?”

“No, no I am not,” she said with a giggle. “I apologize for my deception, but I had to craft a believable story, otherwise you would never have accepted the locket.”

“It’s ok,” Mike said. “What about the puzzle? Playing a piece from Handel’s Messiah using a verse from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, as Biblical as it may be, had nothing to do with Isaiah. What’s the connection?”

Nodding, Selena replied, “It is because of Isaiah’s request that the locket be able to act of its own accord in determining whether or not an individual is worthy of opening it, as well as being a man of God. The puzzle could have been anything, and the one it used was one that would determine not only your knowledge of God’s word but also its context in the world you live in.”

“What is the connection of all of this to my dreams?” Melody asked. “I recognize the voices as Ari, Isaiah, and Maya, but what triggered all of this?”

“Of course, please allow me to explain,” Selena began. “Even as Mike was a man of ‘outstanding moral fiber,’ that was merely one part of your mother’s wish. The next part was for him to guide you toward God. That, as you know, happened very naturally, with the combination of his strong faith and your natural curiosity. Still, curiosity can only take one so far. Thus, as your studies deepened, I used my power to nudge you further along the path you had chosen. When you first read from the Book of Isaiah, I knew the time was right to give you clues as to the importance Isaiah played in your life. That, in turn, would spur both Mike and you to research it further, ultimately leading us here.

To be continued
Written by nutbuster (D C)
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