A Trip Through the Locket

Chapter 1

The sounds of a pencil scratching away at paper filled the sunny and warm light-blue room as Veronica sat at her desk in her bedroom, doodling away on a piece of scratch paper. It was a nice, balmy mid-June day and what Roni should be doing is playing outside in her backyard or going to some arcade with her friends.

All these ideas had been in Roni’s head for weeks, just waiting for the day that school gets out so she can go fulfill all those summer dreams, but unfortunately, her friends all either had travel plans to different countries or planned family time that they couldn’t get out of. Not one of her friends was able to stay in Brookeville with her, which left 12 year old Roni, an only-child, completely alone in her house. Her dad was at work and since he was her only parent, that meant she was completely home alone.

The only fun and exciting thing that was planned for today was that Veronica’s grandmother was coming. She lived quite far away, in a different state, and it was a rare occurrence that she got to see her father’s mother. Grandma Elliana was currently on her way over, as she had called an hour ago to announce her departure, but she wouldn’t be there for another few hours, which left Roni with some time to draw something nice for her grandmother. Sadly, no ideas were coming to her head except small doodles she drew on the sides of her paper during her most boring classes. Roni continued to sketch for a few more minutes before letting out a loud sigh and putting her supplies away, ultimately giving up for now. 

Roni spun around in her chair for a bit, trying to think of something that she could do in order to cure her of her boredom. So far, as usual, nothing was coming to mind. Just as Roni was about to let out another deep sigh, she heard the clicking and clacking of her dog’s nails on the wooden floor. Her fluffy golden retriever, Charlie, trotted up to her with a sloppy, doggy smile. She grinned back at him and stroked his head, making him fall onto his back and let her pet his belly. Roni laughed at her dog’s behavior and continued to pet Charlie until she heard the sound of tires on gravel and ran up to the window excitedly, making her dog stand up quickly and follow her.

Roni saw her dad’s bright blue car pull up into the garage and ran down the stairs eagerly, Charlie at her heels. Roni hadn’t seen her dad since this morning, which was only a few hours ago, but it still felt like forever to her. The garage door opened and Roni bounced on her toes happily. “Dad! You’re home!” she said with enthusiasm. Her dad laughed at his daughter’s slightly silly behavior and hugged her gently. He knew how lonely she could get when she didn’t have anyone to hang out with. “Hey Roni! I see both you and Charlie missed me,” her dad said, giving Charlie a soft pat on the head. Charlie barked in response as if to agree with his statement. “Yeah, it’s been so quiet and boring here alone! Do you know when Grandma Ellie comes? It feels like she left forever ago!” 

“It’ll probably be a few more hours, honey. In the meantime, do you want to bake something nice for grandma so she has a treat when she arrives?”

“I’d love to!” Roni exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement once again. 

“Alright, let me just wash my hands and put my stuff away and we can get started.”
                                * * *
A few hours and a fresh batch of cookies later, Roni, her dad, and Grandma Elliana were sitting at the couch, watching a movie and enjoying the warm cookies. Charlie, of course, was laying nearby, ready to eat any crumbs that fell to the ground. “So, Roni, how was school? Did you get good grades?” asked grandma, making Roni groan in her head. ‘How’s school’ is the most stereotypical question that relatives ask. “It was good. I got decent grades so.. yeah.” Grandma nodded in response, taking in that short and very undetailed response. “That’s good, that’s good.. hey, Robert, could you be a dear and get me a mug of tea? These cookies are making me thirsty,” Elliana stated, looking towards her son. Roni’s dad smiled at her in response and stood up. “Sure, mom.”

He walked off to the kitchen and grandma looked both ways before wagging her finger at Roni. “Psst, Roni dear, come here. I have something to give you.” Roni moved towards her grandmother eagerly. Any time her grandmother visited, she always brought her some sort of nice gift. As Grandma Elliana only visited a few times a year, these gifts were Roni’s way of feeling that her grandmother was with her, even if she was a few states away. Sometimes these presents were expensive, which Roni’s dad didn’t like too much, so whenever Elliana came over with something expensive, she made sure to give it to Roni in private, just like she was now. “Now, as I’m getting older, I’m not going to be able to visit you as much, so I want to give you something that you’ll cherish for many, many years.”

“Ooh, what is it grandma?” Roni scwrimmed with impatience, waiting with anticipation to see what this secret surprise gift was. 

“I want you to take care of this greatly, since this is a family heirloom that was passed down from generation to generation,” her grandma continued, babbling on and on about how precious this gift was. 

“Grandma, can I see the gift now? I think I hear dad coming back with your tea.”

“Ah, yes, here! Open it in your room after I leave. I think you’ll like it,” her grandma said with a hilarious, over-the-top wink at her granddaughter. Roni hid the wrapped box her grandma had just given her behind her back for the meantime, since her dad just entered the room, handing his mother the mug of tea she had requested. “Thank you, dearie.”

She took a long sip before exhaling and looking at the clock. “Oh dear me, look at the time. I best get going home. Long way back, you know. It was lovely to see both of you.” She stood up, first giving her son a hug and then her granddaughter, whispering in the girl’s ear, “enjoy,” before she released her from her grasp and collected her bag.

As her dad helped his mother out of the house and to her car, Roni quickly put the plates away and ran upstairs to her room so she could open the box that her grandmother had given her a few moments ago. She sat down at her desk, gently tearing off the wrapping paper that enveloped the package.

Once the gift was bare from the paper, all Roni was left with was a box that resembles a shoe box, except a bit smaller. With little patience, Roni quickly removed the lid of the box and gazed at what was inside, a mix of emotions going through her head.