Misguided Loneliness

After the war, things weren't the same. Jobs were plenty, workers are far and few between. The economy has collapsed and money has lost most of it's value. So the lucky ones who have a job can barely make ends meet. You are one of the lucky ones.

Your shift is about up and you can't wait to get home to the nice comfy bed. You've been thinking about it for the past hour. You were supposed to be home like three and a half hours ago but the boss came by and asked if you could stay an extra four hours. Knowing that you have no one to go home to and that it would help with your bills, you said yes. Now the last minutes seem like an eternity and you can barely keep your eyes open. You don't live far from work and don't drive, but the walk home appears to take forever.

Once you get home knowing that you have the day off tomorrow, it doesn't seem as bad and you were glad you stayed the extra hours. You feed your cat Mittens and pet her as she purrs and brushes against your leg, then it's into the shower. The water is a bit relaxing as it hits your skin. You think to yourself how wonderful your bed will feel. You step out of the shower and dry off, throw your pajamas on and head to bed. Mittens meows and jumps up on the bed with you, walks up to you, nudges your hand with her head as to say "I love you". With one last stroke you pet her head and tell her to lay down. She snuggles up beside you and next thing you know, you are both out like a light.

The next morning you decide to go for a walk by the ocean. As you are walking down the beach, you come upon a necklace half buried in the sand. You reach down to brush the sand away only to notice a heart shaped locket on the end of the elaborate gold chain. You look up to see if anyone was nearby who might have lost it and realize that there is no one else around, so you pick it up. On the back side there is a strange symbol. With some curiosity you wonder what the symbol might mean. You turn it over and see a small clasp on the side holding the two halves together. You start to wonder who lost it and if there is a picture inside. If so, a picture of who? Could it be of a lost love, a dead relative, an only child, a loving pet, or a family picture? Whatever the case, you want to look inside. You reach for the clasp and notice the locket glimmer. You think to yourself that it is only the sunlight reflecting off the shiny golden heart. As you open the locket you hear a buzzing sound and things start to get very distorted. You can make out an inscription on the inside of the top half that says "come back to me my love". On the bottom half you see a picture of a woman with her arms around someone, but you can't quite make it out because of the noise and the confusion from your warped sense of reality. You try and focus and a face starts to come into view. The other person in the picture is you. With your mind in a state of bewilderment and the sound getting louder you start to feel very dizzy and pass out.

You're out for some time, when all of the sudden the buzzing stops and you start to hear someone in a soft calming voice asking "are you okay love". You open your eyes to see the woman in the locket standing over you as she smiles and says she loves you and it's time to go home. You sit up only to have her nudge your hand with her head. You suddenly realize that you've always had someone to go home to, Mittens. Could it be her in another reality? Could your other life have been a dream? Either way, you are happy and you suddenly realize that your life is wonderful. You get up grab her by the hand and notice the tattoo on her hand. It's the symbol from the locket. Then you kiss her, look into her eyes and say "I love you" and you both walk off into the sunset.