Lila groaned as she pushed another dusty box across the dusty attic floor. Her mom had forced her to help her clean, and so far, it was all broken toys, smelly blankets, and boring junk. Just as she was about to give up, something shiny caught her eye. It looked like it was wedged between two barrels in such a hurry but what was there was a small gold locket, with the chain caught in knots. Lila picked it up, brushing off the dust that had built up upon it. The front had the words: “To unlock the truth, listen.” She popped it open, expecting something like a picture, clock, or some type of writing engraved inside of it. But the compartment was completely empty. That’s when she heard it: a faint whisper, like the sound of wind slipping through a crack.
“Find the fountain…”
Lila jumped, nearly dropping the locket.
“What the?”
She shook it, held it to her ear, and even sniffed it (just in case), but it didn’t make another sound. Shoving it into her pocket, she tried to forget about it, but the whisper stuck in her mind.
The next day after school, she found herself at the park. Near the swings was the fountain: old, cracked, and empty. She walked closer, feeling silly. “ This is so dumb,” she muttered.
But as she stood there, the whisper returned.
“Behind the stone…”
Her stomach flipped. She looked around, making sure no one was watching, then dropped to her knees and ran her hands along the ring of the fountain. One of the bricks was loose. After some tugging and pulling, it popped free, and behind it was a small, rusty metal box.
Lila opened it. Inside was an old photograph of a girl. Lila froze. The girl looked just like her, but she was wearing an old-fashioned dress. On the back of the photo, in messy writing, were the words: “Find the train car.”
Her heart was racing. Who was this girl? And why did she look like her? Lila clutched the locket tighter, realizing this was way bigger than she thought.
The locket guided her to a train car abandoned in the woods: rusty, entwined with vines.
She almost turned back until the whisper came again. “Inside…”
She pushed open the door and found a map lying on the floor, marked with an “X” near her house. It was just a big tree on the map, but something told her it was important. When she got there, the whisper grew urgent: “Beneath the roots…”
Grabbing a stick, Lila dug into the dirt until her fingers hit something hard. She pulled out a bigger box but this one was locked tight. Her hands were shaking as she tried the locket’s chain in the keyhole.
It clicked open. Inside lay a beautiful emerald necklace. Lila stared, speechless. It looked ancient like it belonged in a museum.
As she walked home, the locket was quiet, but she felt like this was only the very beginning of something much larger.
