Laura Elliott

The Locket

Prologue Alexandria rested her small hand against the cabin’s window, giant raindrops pouring down. The doors were boarded shut, making the 12x12 opening her only source of the outside world. She and her father lived in a tiny, one bedroom cabin deep tucked deep into the forest, tucked off from the mainland. Here, she was able to live in seclusion, protected by her father, and never having to deal with the cruel, outside world her dad warned her so much about. She was seven years old at the time, curious about the outside world. She had a lot of questions at her young age. She had never really left the forest. Her dad never let her. He was strict, but she knew it was for a reason. Her father told her about the way the people live their lives in the city. Her father feared the government, and although he tried so many times explaining to her why, Alex still had many questions. She wondered, what did her dad mean when he said “our society is ruined?” Her father was special, and Alex knew that. He tried to not tell her much, but she understood the gist of it. Her father was strong, handy, and extremely powerful. He told Alex for the first time, when she was four years old, that bad people wanted to come after him for the powers he possessed. He warned her, and told her if she wanted to be safe, she would have to stick with him, always. As long as they were protected in their little cabin in the forest, they would be okay living in seclusion forever. Alexandria was fine with that. Her dad loved and cared for her, more than anyone, including her own absentee mother could have. How could she not want him to be safe, no matter her curiosity about the excluded world? After all, if he was safe so too would Alexandria. She needed to believe this. As a little girl her dad told her when she asked about her mom, how she had left her by the old oak tree. Left her by the thick, protruding roots that had been around for more years than her own parents, who at that time was somewhere in their thirties. Despite the lies her mother told him that evening around the dinner table, her dad had persisted in his doubts. He found her by swaddled by layers of rotting leaves, and the base of the old tree. Her mother was unwell, her dad told her. Mentally unstable, disoriented and confused. She didn’t understand what she was doing when she had Alexandria. She thought what happened to her father, would happen to Alex. She was scared of the powers Alex could possess, so to avoid the situation completely, she abandoned her in the forest... and never looked back. Alexandria had heard the story so many times before. Her father told her almost everything. Her mother had found her Father, and she had lied. She told him Alex had died during childbirth, and there was no baby. But Alex’s dad knew better. That was the last time he ever saw her mom. He then scavenged the forest, searching for anything. A few hours later, he found his baby-girl abandoned underneath the Oak tree. Ever since that day, he has taken care of her, watched out for her, and kept her safe from all the evils of the world. As best as he could.