A Dead Heart Locket

“Hey, Z! Wake up! Su! Wake up! We need to get the day going Z!”

“Hey, how long was I out for? Pa-Ul?”

As Su-Z got up slowly from hard wooden floor she’s been laying without anything underneath her, she squinted her face with bodily ache.

“I don’t know I think You were almost out for couple of hours. You need to get up and eat something.”

“No, Pa-ul, you know I don’t like to eat when I wake up first thing in the morning.”

“Right, right, of course, let’s see what do we have to drink here.”

Z slowly rubbed her squinting eyes to look around the dim dusty room. There wasn’t much. Some familiar looking dusty old furnitures covered up in cloths.

“Pa-Ul, can you remind me why we are up in the attic of your parents house?”

A little confused Su-Z asked, as she got on her feet adjusting her favorite floral patterned knee length dress that looks like some mud splashed on it. And some odd reason, she didn’t care.

“Just can I have something to drink instead? I am SO thirsty. “

“Pssst, girl. Of course.”

Su-Z found a big jug of liquid sitting in the corner of the room. She slowly dragged her feet towards it to fill her thirst.

“Hey, Pa-Ul, can I drink this?”

“Of course, my love, anything for you!”

Su slowly poured herself a glass and drank it. It had weird bitter sour taste to it, but who cares, she thought.

“So Pa-Ul, what is this situation again? Ow, I have such a terrible headache!”

“Well, do you not remember anything?”

“No, if I did, I wouldn’t be asking you, would I?”

Su snapped in an annoyance.

“Woah, girl take your chill pill! Nah, I am just kidding! I am kind of glad that you don’t remember anything, you wouldn’t believe me on this- if I told you, but do you remember how we ran around my parents woods in their backyards last night drunk off our bottoms and then we snuck up here through the ladder outside, because my folks were sleeping downstairs then we lost the ladder and the attic door to downstairs can only be opened from downstairs? so we’ve been stuck up here since then!”

Su looked at the direction where Pa-Ul’s dark shadow can be dimly seen through. Almost no light was coming in from cracks of the window. A disapproving look on her face with her mouth gapped open and slowly shook her head.

“Okay, no more of this shit. Pa-Ul.”

She walked around in circle and ran her finger across the dust on the old record player. And on it somebody carved “Don’t forget.”

Su-Z read it what it says under her breath.

“Don’t forget..”

“Wait! What happened to my phone?”

“Oh dead! Don’t you remember taking all those pictures of fireworks last night? Then I told you you are going to waste all the batteries on them and you said...”

“Yeah, I know who cares... and didn’t something else happened afterwards? It wasn’t just the fireworks that made loud bang noise I think there was something else too.. ow.. why does my head hurt so much?”

“You know those hangover headaches are killers! Have a seat girl. Are you sure you don’t want a bite? We still have that picnic basket from yesterday!”

“How did we manage to get that up here?”

Su-Z felt sudden nauseating feeling to vomit. She covered her mouth hunched over looking for a place to let it out. Then couldn’t hold it in any longer runs to the corner of the room to vomit.

“Are you okay, hon?”

Su wiping her mouth, glancing at where Pa-Ul’s figure can be seen dimly.

“No, do I look okay? I thought I didn’t drink too much yesterday. How much did we drink?”

“Just couple of bottles of wine and few shots of heavy stuff. You know the usual.”

“But why do I feel so extra shitty today?”

“Maybe from sleeping on the floor did it for you.”

“Yeah.. must have been...”

Su-Z took one of the cloths off the old seat and the pile of dust flew across the room. She covered where her vomit is with the cloth.

“I will clean that up when we get out of here first. Sorry about the smell.”

“Oh no Z, anything for you, no worries!”

Su smiled a little.

“Thanks Pa-Ul. you are the best.”

She sat down on the seat and let the sigh out.

There was a heavy silent for a moment. Su-Z leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes. She wondered how long she’s been out for. Then something caught her eyes the window that they came in is covered with a heavy old bookshelf. And next to it was an ax. She quickly got on her feet and felt light headed. She stumbled but caught herself.

“Okay. Pa-Ul. Enough with your jokes. What’s up with the ax? And the bookshelf? Can you explain this? Pa-Ul? Pa-Ul?”

She turned around to see him and couldn’t find a sight of him.

“Ul! This isn’t funny anymore! Show yourself!”

She yelled and squatted down and started sob like a baby. Some overwhelmingly helpless feeling came about her. And wondered why she was crying over his silly jokes again. So she sprang back on her feet and made big strides to go around the whole room. She started yelling.

“Alright, that’s it! Pa-Ul! I am done playing your jokes and I am going to move this bookshelf down too!”

She walked towards the bookshelf to grab the ax. She tripped over something and fell down. On the floor, she held onto her hurt knee. she tried not to scream but instead out as angst roar.

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg!”

She became a wild beast that’s trapped in the attic. She got the sudden impulses to punch somebody.

“When I find him, he’s a dead man.”

Then she heard a little giggle.

“Oh. Su don’t be upset!”

“Seriously, Pa-Ul. Enough with this.”

“No, Su. I would do anything for you, but right now is the time for you to FIND me.”

Su-Z looked around to see where the sound came from. But she couldn’t tell.

“Pa-Ul. You need to come out. NOW!”

She spoke with firm loud voice and stumped her feet. She noticed she didn’t have any shoes on her.

“Ha! I am NEVER drinking with you EVER AGAIN!”

She let out a sudden laugh with her head tossed back which turned into a sob. She buried her head in between her hands squatting on the floor.

“Ul can you please just come out? I feel sick and tired. I don’t have energy to do this with you.”

Su-Z let out a big sigh and breathed in and sat up straight. Her unwashed hair stuck to her face. She finally slowly got onto her feet and grabbed the ax that was laying around the floor next to the bookshelf. She’s suddenly started thinking out loud grinding her teeth.

“He’s planned this the whole time. I thought it was a date, then he fooled me to come up here and then he destroyed the ladder... and now we are up here trapped. It was supposed to be the best day of my life. And now it’s ruined because of HIM. YOU! Pa! Ul! So show yourself!”

She dragged the ax alongside her foot. She raised it over her head then smashed it in the middle of the bookshelf. Her eyes were bulging with angst. The ax got stuck in the middle of the shelf as it cracked a little. Something rolled off of the shelf and hit the wooden ground with a dull thump.

She looked down at it with a crossed face unrecognizing what it was for a moment. She slowly bent down to pick it up as if she found a tiny little treasure that was hiding under her nose. Then suddenly her eyes widened and all was clear as day. It was the heart locket.

It was THE locket that Pa-Ul gave her THAT day when it ALL happened. She opened it up to see the inside. She thought she remembered what he had given her, a childhood photo of two of them. But in it had a crunched up piece of paper that said “don’t forget.”

She gasped and the jolt of memory struck her. It hit her so hard she started to tremble and shiver uncontrollably. She was scared now so she squinted her eyes tightly closed as she held the locket into her trembling hand as closely and tightly as she possibly can to her chest.

Then more memories came crashing down. This time it shook her even harder than the first one. She finally remembered and looked where there laid Pa-Ul’s dead body looking straight at her direction.

“No... I didn’t...”

In a moment of denial, she quickly tried to get up from the floor and hit her head on the handle of the ax which made it come loose from the shelf and hit her head.

She fell back to the floor and laid there conscious, but unable to move. Her face now being covered with blood and tears.

“I am so sorry Pa-Ul... I remember everything now... something happened that day.. when the sky was on fire not because of the fireworks. Then.. then... we were here for days... we got into an argument. And, but, then... I wanted to live... so... I am sorry...”

Su-Z closed her eyes she knew for her time has burnt out to smother her slowly. And there was a final whisper into her ears.

‘It’s okay, Z. You did what you had to do. I am just glad I am finally really part of you. I hope you can live with that. So please don’t forget again.’