One day, a girl decided to do laundry. She went down into the basement of the AI dorm and began her work. As she was putting her clothes into the machine, she noticed something glimmering underneath the sink. It was a locket with a delicate flower design etched into the silver exterior. The clasp to open it was rusted shut but aside from that everything else seemed sparkling new. The girl, liking the look of it, kept the locket. That night she dreamt about lying on a wooden bed with red sheets. She heard a song playing and a woman singing with a crackling voice.
“Little locket in my pocket. Silver and gray. I will love you till the end of my days. Oh, little locket. Who has stolen you from my pocket? My prize. My prize. I will have you back before sunrise.”
The girl didn’t think much of the dream. “It’s only a stupid dream,” she thought and she carried on her days as if nothing had happened. A week had gone by since then and she still kept having the strange dreams of the singing lady and the red bed. Still, she insisted that the dreams meant nothing.
One night she was coming back to her dorm room after a late study session. The sky had already morphed into darkness, blanketing the campus with shadows. The only sources of light were the little dots of the street lamps on the walkways. There was not another living soul in sight. The air was still but she still felt chills as if a cold gust of wind flew through her. The girl wrapped herself further into her green coat and walked on. She slipped her hand into the front pocket and rubbed the silver locket. She listened to the clickety-clack of her shoes on the pavement.
The girl began to feel uneasy. She felt the weight of eyes boring into her back. The feeling made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and goosebumps to form on her soft skin. “It’s nothing. I’m just freaking out because it’s late,” she assured herself. She continued to walk over the hill, rubbing the petal detail on the locket. “I’m just being paranoid,” she thought. But then she heard the footsteps. Tap tap tap. They were a bit far off but they were clear enough to hear.
Tap tap tap. “Oh another student studying late,” she thought, her nerves easing.
Tap tap tap. The sound of the steps grew harder and quicker, coming faster down the hill. They sounded like they were a few steps behind her now. “Maybe they’re going the same way?” she thought. Thump thump thump. They were loud and heavy. They sounded like they were behind her right at her back. Then she heard the sound of a woman singing in a creaky voice.
“Little locket in my pocket. Silver and gray. I will love you till the end of my days. Oh, little locket. Who has stolen you from my pocket? My prize. My prize. I will have you back before sunrise.”
She gasped and spun around. There was no one behind her. She scanned the area as best as she could. Still no one. She turned back around and walked faster.
Thump thump thump. The sound of the footsteps scraped her heels now. Again the voice sang.
“Little locket in my pocket. Silver and gray. I will love you till the end of my days. Oh, little locket. Who has stolen you from my pocket? My prize. My prize. I will have you back before sunrise.”
The girl looked behind her again. Still no one. She ran as fast as she could. She was almost at her room door. Thump. Thump. Thump. She could feel breathing down the nape of her neck. She could feel the spit of each syllable drip down her back as the voice sung again.
“Little locket in my pocket. Silver and gray. I will love you till the end of my days. Oh, little locket. Who has stolen you from my pocket? My prize. My prize. I will have you back before sunrise.”
She screamed, throwing her room door open and slamming it as fast as she could behind her. She jumped onto her bed and huddled into the corner, staring intently at the door. She looked down and gasped. The light from outside seeped into her white sheets making them a deep red color identical to the bed in her dream. She buried her face in her arms and cried.
Boom boom boom. The footsteps were inside the room now, rattling the ground with every step. The voice in a blood curdling screech scream at her.
“GIVE ME BACK MY LOCKET!”
The girl wrenched open the window, dug in her pocket and flung the locket outside. She screamed, “There! Take it back! Take it back! Leave me alone!”
There was a gust of hot wind and then the air was still once more. She never saw the locket or heard the tap tap tap of footsteps following her into the night again, but she will never forget that haunting song and that cracking voice.
