Oh the Stories it Could Tell

"Have you ever been to a shop of antiques? Old items sitting in place, more like a museum than a store. Each carries a story. A person or people, that only they possess. Only they remember. The last piece of a time long past with flashes of memory no one will ever know. That is why I love antiques." The girl replied to the question as she looked for the object she wanted to show the customer.

She picked up the locket as memories flashed in her mind. Placing it on the counter she let the customer look it over.

"If you like it, you can give it new stories and keep its legacy going."

The young man, who she swore could have been an ogre, looked over the locket.

"Is it for anyone special?" she asked.

"My girlfriend. She loves the thought of value being on the inside of something, versus its outer appearance." he answered as he opened the delicate necklace to look inside.

"She is very smart. What do you think? Will you take it?"

He inspected it as she noticed traces of flour on his hands and clothes.

"I will take it. I think she will love it. I'm going to put our pictures in and her ring."

"You are proposing with the locket? That is so sweet!"

"Thank you," he blushed, "I wanted it to follow our theme. And I wanted to give her more than just a ring. Thank you for your help! I know she will love it." He said paying for the locket and leaving with hopeful dreams in his eyes.

"Go and find new stories my friend." The girl spoke to the locket as the young man walked down the street.

The stories the locket told were of new birthdays, long life, a token of affection so that love would not be forgotten, deaths and births, lives, until it came to her shop. Now it would continue to gain more stories from more generations.

The girl knew the objects she watched over held no actual life of their own, but they all held a piece of a person who knew them before. People she would never meet from times or places she never lived, but were real and living all the same.

She sorted through a box of a recent collection given up by family members who did not understand the treasures they possessed.

One object caught her eye. A medal, seeming to be one made by a child, but looking to resemble a military one of sorts. She concentrated with her hands around the object as a story began to unfold before her.

"I made this for you! You are a Captain, but I am a general so you have to listen to what I say. Okay?" The little boy asked in clothes from a century before.

"Alright General. What will we do first?" A young man's hand reached out ruffling the boy's hair.

Time seemed to skip as the young man looked in the mirror dressed in full uniform. He had a sweet smile. The young man looked at the medal and pocketed it as his focus turned to an older woman. Then to the little boy from before.

"Doesn't your brother look fine in his uniform?" The boy's mother asked him.

"I don't want you to go." He said, giving his brother a hug.

"I know, General, but I'll be back before you know it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The girl smiled as the scene changed again. Two officers, a letter, and the medal.

The girl took her hands off the medal, not wanting to see anymore. She did not want to see the family torn apart, but something pulled at her to see where the two brother's lives ended.